Maximus thought with surprise. "What?! Why is Brother challenging me?! Aren't we on the same side?!"
Minimus thought with a disappointed expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Brother. But I can't let you have the greatest name..."
The man with crimson armor chuckled mischievously and said. "You want to challenge your own brother?" He laughed and said, "You Scarions really care more about yourselves than each other." He smirked and said. "But I suppose I'll allow it. The least against the greatest. I'm curious who will win." He looked over at Maximus and said. "So what will it be, Maximus? Will you accept your brother's challenge? Or will you refuse and lose everything?"
Maximus said with worry. "What do you mean I'll lose everything?"
The man with crimson armor laughed wickedly and said. "Your status, your titles, your possessions, your rank, both the name I bestowed you and your family name. You will lose all of it. You will become a lifeless Nameless."
Maximus said with distress. "So I either have to accept Brother's challenge or become a lifeless Nameless?"
The man with crimson armor grinned wickedly and said. "That's right."
Maximus thought with worry as he looked at Minimus. "So I have no choice but to fight him? Isn't there any other way? Do I really have to fight, Brother?"
Minimus thought as he looked at Maximus. "What's wrong, Brother? You've heard the options you were given! Are you really considering giving up everything just so we don't have to fight each other?! I won't allow that to happen! I won't let you make the wrong choice!"
Maximus pleaded to Minimus. "Do we really have to fight each other, Brother? Isn't there any other way? Didn't you tell me you were rooting for me to get the greatest name last night. Isn't this what you wanted?"
Minimus clenched his right fist and gritted his teeth as he thought with frustration. "It is. And I wish I could be happy for you. But Sister swore to me she would find a way to permanently kill you if I let you get the greatest name. I won't let you die, Brother! I will protect you no matter what!"
The man with crimson armor smirked mischievously as he looked at Maximus and said. "You don't want to fight your brother? Does that mean you refuse his challenge?"
Minimus thought with determination. "I'm sorry, Brother, but I won't allow you to become a nameless husk... even if it means you will hate me for the rest of my life."
Maximus said. "Brother, I-"
Maximus was suddenly cut off by Minimus, who yelled out while annoyed. "Quit calling me that! Do you really think I consider you to be my brother?'" He said with disgust. "You're just a weak and pathetic Right-Hander.
Maximus had a confused expression on his face as he thought. "Did Brother just call me... a Right-Hander?" Maximus said while confused. "Brother, what are you talking about? A Right-Hander? That has never mattered to you before? You always treated me kindly even though I'm right-handed."
Minimus thought sadly. "Why do you have to make this so difficult for me, Brother? Do you think I like having to act like this just to get you to fight me? Why do you care about me so deeply? I was only kind to you because you were kind to me from the very beginning."
Maximus said loudly. "You've always treated everyone equally regardless of whether they are left-handed or right-handed like me. So why are you suddenly acting like this now? Who is forcing you to be like this?"
*****
The boy with light brown hair and light red eyes felt something repeatedly poke his left cheek. He groaned and touched something cold and solid beneath him. He thought as he touched the cold and solid surface beneath him. "This doesn't feel like my bed... It feels like the ground..." He opened his eyes. Staring down at him from above was a tall, dark figure.
The boy with light brown hair and light red eyes jumped back with surprise and fear as soon as he saw the tall, dark figure looking down at him. Right as he opened his mouth to yell something out, his mouth was suddenly covered up by a hand from the dark figure.
The boy had a terrified expression on his face as he looked at the dark figure and thought. "Is it a human or a monster? Its hand feels human, but it looks so unsettling."
The dark figure leaned its head close to the boy's head and spoke to him. The dark figure said quietly, "I knew it would be you on the floor, Brother. You always let Little Brother take your bed. How pathetic."
The boy's terrified expression changed to an expression of both fear and surprise. "Sister?! What is she doing here?! Why does she look so unsettling?!" He attempted to move his lips to speak, but the hand covering his mouth prevented him from doing so.
The boy's sister, Ismene, whispered into the boy's ear. "Don't try to say anything. Little Brother is still sleeping. You don't want to wake him up, do you?"
The boy shook his head side to side and thought. "I didn't realize Brother was still in here... I don't want him to get involved."
Ismene kept her hand covering the boy's mouth and used her other hand to pat the boy's head as she said quietly. "Good boy. You're not completely stupid, after all." She then asked. "Now you know why I'm here, don't you?"
The boy shook his head side to side and thought while irritated. "Why would I know why she's here? And why is she talking to me in such a demeaning way?"
Ismene sighed and said quietly in an annoyed tone. "Did you already forget? Do you not know what day it is? Or are you just playing stupid." She grabbed his hair and lifted his head up to where he could see her face.
Ismene's face was dark, but clearly looked angry. She whispered to the boy angrily. "Did you think you could avoid me all day? I told you last week I'd give you orders today, didn't I? I had to wait all day for that Guardian to finally leave. I bet you purposefully had them escort you around all day, didn't you? I bet you were thinking that if you weren't alone, you wouldn't be able to receive your orders, weren't you?"
The boy shook his head side and side and thought with a confused and scared expression. "What is she talking about?! I didn't tell Father's Second Guardian to follow me around all day! He just did that on his own!"
Ismene's angry expression disappeared, and she said to herself. "So that wasn't your doing, huh?" She smiled cruelly and said to herself. "So he must be suspicious of me..." She moved her head and looked around the room. She then looked down at the boy again. She leaned in next to his ear and whispered to him. "Your orders are to get the greatest name at the Ceremony."
The boy had a confused expression on his face as he thought. "That's it?" He had a look of realization on his face as he thought. "But wait... I wanted Brother to get the greatest name... Would I be able to do a name swap after the Ceremony is over?"
Ismene smirked cruelly and said quietly. "I bet you were thinking you could get the greatest name and then give it to Little Brother after the Ceremony is over. But it won't be that easy. Did you really think someone as weak and helpless as you would just be able to receive the greatest name? You will have to challenge whoever they give the name to... and beat them."
The boy had a worried expression on his face as he thought. "I have to fight somebody? Will they be as strong as me? Or will they be even stronger?"
Ismene said cruelly. "If you fail to get the greatest name by the time the Ceremony ends, I will make sure Little Brother dies and never comes back." She squeezed the boy's cheeks with the hand that was covering his mouth as she smiled cruelly and said. "Then I will kill you next! Do you understand?"
The boy nodded fearfully.
Ismene smirked and said. "Then I'll give you the rest of the night to prepare." She removed her hand from his mouth and walked over to the bed.
The boy became alerted as soon as he saw Ismene move towards the bed. He immediately stood up and thought. "Isn't Brother on the bed? Why is she moving towards him?" He looked over at the dark bed.
On the dark bed, a small dark figure was curled up in a ball. The dark figure did not move.
Ismene stood by the edge of the bed and looked over at the boy as she said. "I'll be taking Little Brother back to his room. Don't fail tomorrow, or you know what will happen." She reached her left hand over the bed toward the small dark figure.
The boy saw the hand reaching toward the small, dark figure on the bed and immediately began dashing toward it as he said. "Wa-!"
Before the boy could even finish uttering the word, both Ismene and the small dark figure on the bed disappeared. The boy stood by the edge of the bed and thought with both annoyance and disappointment. "I was too late!"
*****
Minimus yelled out with annoyance. "Acting? You think I'm acting? You really are a fool, aren't you, Right-Hander. The only time I was acting was when I pretended to be kind to you. I've always secretly hated you for being a traitor. If it wasn't for you, treacherous Right-Hander scum the great Scarion Empire would be the strongest empire on the entire continent. Maybe even in the entire world. You and the rest of your people should all be purged from this world. You're all just going to betray us again as soon as the opportunity arises.
Maximus thought sadly. "So this is how Brother really felt this entire time..." He clenched his right hand and thought. "I thought he was different..." He looked at the ground and thought. "But even my own brother views me as a traitor..." He thought with disappointment. "I was considering giving up everything just so I wouldn't have to fight him..." He looked up at Minimus and thought with conviction. "But that was a mistake."
Maximus glared at Minimus and said. "I accept your challenge, Minimus." He pointed at his chest with his right thumb and declared loudly. "If you want my name... then come and try to take it!"