Swordmaster’s Youngest Son: I am the Twin of Jin Runcandel

As Khan rode away towards the Runcandels' main residence, the castle seemed to fall into a heavy silence, broken only by the howling of the wind that violently struck the windows.

Rin and Jin stood at one of the castle's large windows, watching Khan's silhouette disappear into the darkness. The sea storms gave the landscape an almost ghostly appearance, and yet the two brothers seemed perfectly calm, as if they were the absolute masters of this tormented scene.

Rin let out a soft sigh, breaking the silence.

"As expected, Khan will report you to our father, Jin," he said thoughtfully, his eyes still following the horse's path through the night. "We need to get ready, because by my estimation, father will be traveling to see us."

Jin looked away from the window and fixed Rin with a serious expression.

"Even though it may seem unreasonable for our father to travel to meet his youngest sons, that is also the conclusion I have reached", he replied in a calm voice.

Silence fell again, only broken by the intermittent pounding of the rain. Jin, thoughtful, suddenly remembered Khan's importance in the Runcandel family.

"After all, Jin murmured more to himself, who is Khan in our family? He is not just any swordsman. He is a 9-star master and, above all, our father's personal knight. If Khan returns to his side, he will report everything, and father will certainly pay attention to what he has to say."

Rin nodded silently, the shadow of a smile stretching his lips.

Jin, for his part, was lost in thought, staring absently at the darkness through the window. "Rin… This twin brother that I never had in my previous life." At first, he had been skeptical about having such a close brother, but he had to admit: Rin was impressive. "Sometimes, I really feel like he reacts better than me to certain situations, and yet, I am a regressor," Jin thought, recalling their interactions. "But I don't mind. We have pretty much the same way of acting and thinking. It will make our cooperation much easier once we leave this castle. In the end, having a brother like him may be an unexpected blessing. I plan on making him an ally, not just a brother."

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Rin, who broke the silence with a question that caught him completely off guard.

"Well, Jin, I think it's time you told me about this dark energy you possess. You're not going to hide this from me, your own brother, are you?" Rin asked with an enigmatic smile, his dark eyes shining with intense curiosity.

Rin's frankness stunned Jin. He remained expressionless for a moment, blinking as if he hadn't heard correctly. Then, slowly, a smile crept onto his face.

"So you noticed it?" Jin replied, his voice calm. "It's not that I wanted to hide it from you… But to be honest, I don't know what exactly this energy is."

Rin raised an eyebrow, looking thoughtful, but his smile remained unchanged. "He doesn't want to tell me everything, huh? I figured as much." But at least he doesn't deny its existence," he thought.

"So this dark energy is unknown to you? Hm, it's quite intriguing," Rin admitted, placing a thoughtful finger on his chin. But he didn't let the subject drop. "Can you show it to me? If you don't mind, of course."

Jin, slightly surprised by the request, shrugged casually.

"No, I don't mind at all," he said.

He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating, and almost immediately, a dark aura began to emanate from him. A dense, mysterious energy enveloped his body, spreading like wisps of black smoke. Slowly, Jin raised his hand and formed a compact ball of dark energy that began to float above his palm.

"Here," he said simply.

Rin, who had been watching the scene with an almost childlike fascination, felt his breath catch for a moment. The raw, unfathomable power of this energy astounded him. He had seen similar descriptions in novels he read in his old life, but seeing it in real life, right before his eyes, was another reality.

"So this is what Shadow Ki is… This unique and devastating energy, that only Jin, Solderet's contractor and the hier of Temar can possess."

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a notification rang out in his mind like a celestial gong.

[ Ding. The host is detected to be exposed to Shadow Ki. The host's Heaven-Defying Understanding activates. The host receives a heaven-defying reward. ]

Rin felt his heart race. His breathing quickened as he read the next line.

[ Reward: Astral Ki. ]

Almost immediately, Rin felt an unprecedented force invade his body. A powerful and comforting warmth, but also an overwhelming intensity, took hold of him. It was as if a new dimension of power had just opened up inside him.

"Rin? Are you okay?" Jin asked, noticing the change in his brother's expression.

Rin clenched his fists, trying to control this wave of new energy. He smiled widely, his eyes shining with a new brightness.

"All is well, Jin. Very well, in fact," he replied, his voice vibrating with excitement.

[ Astral Ki could be conceptualized as a higher, rare and transcendent form of energy that surpasses conventional energies such as Shadow Ki or normal Ki.

Astral Ki comes from the astral dimension, a higher spiritual layer that transcends physical and elemental realities. Unlike other types of ki, which are usually tied to specific entities (like shadows or light), Astral Ki is directly tied to the cosmos, the universal balance, and the soul itself.

Astral Ki is incredibly pure, without impurities, making it a nearly perfect and unrivaled energy.

The host is the only one in history who has the ability to use it.]

Rin stood still, staring at his palm with an expression that was both intrigued and satisfied. The iridescent silver and purple light that danced gently in his hand gave off a powerful, almost divine aura. It seemed to pulse in time with his heart, as if this energy were a natural extension of his being.

"I'm really starting to like this system… Astral energy, huh?" Rin thought, a thin smile stretching across his lips.

Facing him, Jin couldn't help but frown, watching his brother carefully. His intuition told him that something significant had just happened. However, Rin's sudden stillness and the strange glint in his eyes made him feel a certain worry.

"Brother, what's going on? Why are you standing there so stoic? You don't seem to be in your normal state," Jin said, trying to break the silence while scrutinizing Rin warily.

Rin slowly raised his head, his dark eyes staring at his brother. Then, without losing his smile, he calmly replied,

"It's nothing, Jin… But you know, I didn't expect you to show me your secret. It means a lot to me. Since we've been here, we've always moved forward side by side, but today, you've just proven that you trust me. So, I think it's time to show you something rather… interesting."

Before Jin could ask a question, the atmosphere abruptly changed. An energy wave erupted around Rin, silver light mixed with dark purple hues radiating from his body like a rising tide. Jin's eyes widened as he saw this aura form with such intensity that it seemed to suck all the air out of the room.

"What the…" Jin began, but he didn't have time to finish his sentence.

The pressure emanating from that energy hit him full force, pinning him to the ground. His knees hit the wooden floor hard as he gasped from the force of its manifestation. "This… is incredible! This energy is… unlike anything I've ever seen. It's unlike anything… not even my shadow ki!" he thought, trying to raise his head to look at Rin.

The walls of the room seemed to shake under the invisible pressure, and a strange vibration ran through the air, as if the world itself was responding to the call of this astral energy.

In other parts of the castle, the effects of this energy explosion did not go unnoticed. Tia and Gilly, Jin and Rin's nannies, who were busy chatting in an adjacent living room, froze instantly. Their warrior instincts, honed by years of training, immediately alerted them to imminent danger.

"What is this pressure? It seems…" Tia muttered as she stood up hastily.

"A danger?" Gilly replied, clenching her fists. "No, it's different… We have to go check on the young masters."

Meanwhile, in the room where the twins were standing, Jin continued to fight against the crushing pressure. Every fiber of his body seemed to want to collapse under this energy, but he refused to give in.

"Rin… What is it? This power… Is it you?!" he managed to articulate, his voice slightly trembling.

Rin closed his eyes, letting this cosmic energy flow out of him, filling the room with its radiant presence. When he opened them again, a mystical glow crossed his dark pupils, adding an almost divine dimension to his gaze.

"It's Astral Ki,that's what i named it" he replied calmly, his voice resonating with an authority that seemed well beyond his six years. "I don't know how I obtained this ki, but it seems to be… somewhat powerful."

With a simple wave of his hand, Rin swirled the energy around him, creating a luminous sphere of pure silver with purple flashes that gracefully floated above his palm. The vibrations in the room grew stronger for a moment before slowly calming down, as if Rin were learning to tame the power.

"Bro… I'm sorry… I didn't think releasing this energy would be so powerful." Rin said, scratching his head.

Jin, who was still on his knees, couldn't help but smile slightly in spite of himself. The initial fear he had felt had dissipated, replaced by a mixture of wonder and excitement.

"So, you too… You have something beyond your control," he murmured, slowly getting up despite the residual pressure. "I didn't know you had such a card up your sleeve, Rin. But… I'm not jealous. In fact, I'm rather happy. With you, I know we'll be unbeatable." Rin smiled in turn, slowly dissipating the Astral Ki. The atmosphere quickly normalized, and the room regained its calm, although the walls still bore the subtle marks of this manifestation.

In a dense and mysterious forest, where the silence was broken only by the whisper of the wind through the leaves, Chiron Runcandel, patriarch of the family, sat in meditation. His aura, imposing and calm, permeated the air around him, making the clearing almost sacred. Behind him, on his knees and his head bowed, Khan recited every detail of the recent events at Storm Castle. His voice, measured and respectful, betrayed no emotion, although he was inwardly agitated.

"Thus, the younger ones have brought down their elder brothers, Daytona and Haytona, with unexpected mastery and power," Khan concluded, his voice resonating in the quiet of the clearing.

Chiron slowly opened his eyes. His gaze, piercing like a blade, seemed to probe an invisible horizon. A brief silence followed, charged with an almost palpable gravity.

"The younger ones… Jin and Rin," he murmured in a low but deep tone, as if speaking more to himself than to Khan. Then, he straightened up with a grace surprising for a man of his size, his presence seeming to fill the entire clearing. "Khan, gather the leaders. It is time for me to meet my youngest sons."

Khan, though accustomed to his master's orders, could not hide a spark of surprise in his eyes. For the patriarch to decide to come in person was a rare, almost unprecedented event. But, true to his duty, he bowed deeply.

"At your command, master," he replied before quickly slipping away to carry out the task.

A few hours later, at the edge of the forest, an impressive gathering had formed. Seven of the most powerful knights of the Runcandel family, bearers of the legendary crest, stood in a row, their imposing figures radiating unquestionable authority. Luna, the eldest and the indomitable sword, stood at the head, calm and focused. At her side were Joshua, a brilliant strategist and potential heir, Mary, a fearsome warrior with a fiery temperament, as well as Dephus, Viego, and other eminent figures.

Behind them, two hundred knights of the Runcandel family waited in silence, forming an impeccable line. The atmosphere was charged with respect and tension, for it was not common for Chiron to mobilize so much force for a move.

Joshua, watching the scene, sketched a slight smile as he saw his father emerge from the shadows of the trees, his dominant aura crushing any doubt or hesitation. "Seven Runcandel knights and two hundred knights united." Joshua said to his father, Chiron walked up to them, his steps resonating like a drumbeat. His eyes briefly scanned the faces of the knights present, lingering for a moment on Luna and Joshua, before staring out to the horizon, where Storm Castle stood.

"Good. We're off," he said, his voice firm and commanding. "Toward Storm Castle."

Without another word, the knights formed up into formation, the Runcandel family banners flying proudly in the wind. A wave of excitement mixed with fear ran through the ranks. The patriarch himself was about to meet his youngest sons, and no one doubted that this event would mark a turning point for the family.