The Beginning after the end : Perfect Duo

CHAPTER 1

I drifted in an endless darkness, with a distant light slowly pulling me closer. At first, I was confused—this had to be a dream. The last thing I remember was falling asleep in my bed. Yet, something about that light felt... familiar. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like one of those typical reincarnation or isekai setups.

Wait—am I the protagonist here? I'm just an ordinary high school student! Well, maybe not *ordinary*. I'd already finished college despite not even being 18 yet. But still—why me? Then, like a sudden shock, I realized: I've been reborn.

Voices cut through the void: *"Congratulations, Miss Leywin! You have two healthy children."*Miss Leywin? Isn't that Alice from *The Beginning After The End*? Hold on—I've been reincarnated into that world?

And wait—I'm Arthur's twin brother? Seriously?

Quick body check. Yep, still a boy. Everything's in order. What's the game plan here? Oh right, there's a war coming. I need to get stronger, fast. Mana core? I'm on it. And some events... yeah, they need tweaking. Elijah? Dead. Lucand? Also dead. And I can't forget—protect Tessia. She's probably getting kidnapped soon. Help Arthur with his Aether core, and—oh boy—master fate.Alright, time to get to work. Forming a mana core on Day 1—yeah, let's do it. I followed the steps Arthur took in the story, meditated, gathered mana fragments, and after some effort, made some solid progress. Not bad for a first attempt.

**ONE YEAR LATER**

A year flew by, and I managed to form my mana core. No explosions—so, that's a win. One day, I snuck out while everyone was busy. Dad thought I was still asleep, but the look on his face when the house shook from a spell I was practicing... priceless. When Mum got home, he definitely heard about it.

Arthur was improving too, but I figured I'd wait until he awakened his core before telling him my secret. Today was the start of learning mana rotation. Mastering it would be key to controlling my mana efficiently.

As a conjurer, my absorption rate wasn't the best, so I had to be careful not to overuse what I could store. Watching Arthur train later, I finally understood why Regis called him the "masochist princess." The pain of forming those Aether channels... yeah, not fun.

**ANOTHER YEAR LATER**

Two years down the line, Arthur's almost ready to form his core. He just needs one more year. I, on the other hand, was moving faster, thanks to my smaller frame. Mana had less distance to travel. Meanwhile, I'd been working on a few tricks—like Mirage Walk, a technique that masked my mana signature. Paired with mana rotation, I could basically vanish from detection while using magic.

My conjuring skills had leveled up too. I mastered advanced forms of lightning, ice, gravity, and sound magic. I even figured out how to manipulate air pressure, create floating platforms, summon tornadoes, and control fog density. Combining wind and sound magic? Yeah, that's how I pulled off shadow clones for trickery.

For more... delicate matters, I created a small army of golems, all infused with illusion magic. They gathered intel and stored it in a giant crystal hidden beneath the house. My old-world programming knowledge blended nicely with mana manipulation, letting me fine-tune their abilities.

To keep it all secret, I built an underground playroom-slash-training facility where no one could find me—not even our parents.

During training, I used shadow clones to speed up my learning. One clone practiced mana rotation, another Mirage Walk, and others worked on thunderclap impulse and my elementals.Eventually, it was time to confront Arthur.

"Arthur, are you awake?" I asked.

"Yeah, Tom. What's up?" he replied.

"Well, this might sound crazy, but... I know you're King Grey."

Arthur froze. "What? Who's Grey?"

"I know you're reincarnated, Arthur. Trust me."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because I'm reincarnated too."

"What the—? You're kidding, right?"

"No joke. I had another life before this one. I was a genius, but... lonely."

"Wait, how do you even know about me?"

"Well... in my world, your life was a novel."

Arthur blinked, utterly bewildered. "A *novel*? Are you serious?"

"I know it sounds insane, but this is your second chance at life. You don't have to believe everything right now. Just know I'm your brother, and I'm here for you. And please... don't tell Mum and Dad."After a long pause, Arthur sighed. "I won't tell them... but I'll think about what you said."