Four Accidental Goths, One Choking Bear, and a Translation Error

   "Oh, hello. Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you. Anyways, we do not have much time, so just listen to this. I’ll tell it to you from my point of view, and how I think of this.

   You see, once there were four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. I don’t know how to exactly explain it, but the oldest brother, Varek Ila, was just different. He just feels different, all those who knew them and met them said this, but I can’t pinpoint how exactly. So anyway, all of them were just normal kids, they went to school, studied, played, and, well, pretty much did what humans do. Surprising, isn’t it? Apparently, that’s how they were before, and they still seemed weird to others. How did that happen? Well, we’ll just have to start from the very beginning.

   On the day they were preparing for a family function, the youngest brother, Kael Ila, cut his finger.

   “Ouch! Damn it! These cucumbers are pretty hard, jeez.” He yelled as blood flowed out from his right index finger. He put it under the tap and cursed again.

   “Language! How many times do I have to tell you for you to understand?” the second sibling, Hina Ila, scolded him while handing him a bandage. Where did she get it from? Well, I don’t know, I wasn’t there. Now stop thinking.

   “CC! Ina’s nagging me again!” Kael shouted and ran out of the room, smiling gleefully.

   “Ina! Don’t bully Kae!” Cecilia Ila, the third sibling, shouted from the other room, “He’s just a kid.”

   “And that kid is turning out to be a thug!” Hina argued back.

   “Man, I can’t do this every time you two fight,” Cecilia sighed as she came into the kitchen. “I always have to mediate between you two. Ask Var-nii to do it next time.”

   “I’m not gonna do that,” Varek Ila buttoned his shirt as he walked in. “I won’t do a better job than you anyway. You keep at it. Good luck.” He patted Cecilia’s head playfully as she started pouting. “Anyways get ready, the guests are almost here.”

   “Kae, get ready! The guests are here!” Hina went storming after Kael.

   “Ugh, those two,” Cecilia sighed, “when are they gonna grow up.”

   “Ina’s grown mature, too mature, but she’s too much like a nagging mom than a younger sister. And Kae’s, well, too bratty or something? Ina’s just taking care of him in her own way.” Varek started cutting the cucumbers.

   “Var-nii, let me help.” Cecilia started rolling up her sleeves.

   “Sure.”

   After an hour or so, they started greeting the guests. Now, how to describe them? Well, Varek had normal-length, wavy black hair, with dark black eyes, and wore a full black shirt and pants. Hina was standing next to him with her black hair tied up in a bun. Her flowy black dress fluttered as she moved. Her eyes, a beautiful obsidian color, gleamed as she greeted the guests. Next to her, Cecilia wore black pants, a black jacket, and a white T-shirt underneath. Her shining black hair was braided over her shoulder, and she wore silver earrings to match her eye color. Kael stood beside her in a black T-shirt with a skull on it and dark gray jeans. He wore a silver chain that matched his eyes well, and his short, black hair stood up straight as if he had just been shocked. By the way, he was the tallest among them.

   “Damn, we look as if we’re here for a funeral,” Kael murmured as he welcomed their uncle and aunt into the house.

   “I told you guys I’ll be wearing black, so why did you guys copy me?” Varek asked.

   “I didn’t think that the others would be wearing it too, so I thought it’d be fine with just us two, Var-nii,” Cecilia grumbled.

   “Well, we had the same thoughts.” Kael snapped.

   Just then, their mother popped her head in the doorway and asked, “The rest will arrive late, why don’t you four come inside and help me set the food?”

   “Sure, we’ll be right there,” Hina replied. She turned to them and said, “Let’s go.”

   “Such a stic—” Just as Kael started grumbling and they took one step forward, everything went black. They were plunged into pitch-black darkness, and their surroundings completely disappeared—it was as if they couldn’t even feel the floor. Then, suddenly, they were pulled forward as if something were pulling them. They came to such a sudden stop that Varek keeled over.

   A sudden, bright light greeted their eyes, which hurt so much that they had to blink a few times to let their eyes adjust.

   “Wha—what happened?” Varek stammered, struggling to his feet.

   They were in a room—no, a massive hall, grand and brilliantly lit. Expensive-looking curtains draped the walls, illuminated by what looked like antique candles and a massive chandelier hanging overhead. The four siblings stood dead center on a long red carpet. It stretched from a set of giant doors behind them all the way to an elevated stage with stairs. Atop the stage sat two large golden cha-thrones, glittering with exquisite craftsmanship and numerous jewels.

   Two people, a man and a woman over forty, sat upon the thrones. Right in front of the siblings stood three figures: a young man in his twenties wearing a gold suit that matched his eyes and luscious blond hair; a bald old man in a black-lined white suit, curiously stroking his long white beard; and a buff thirty-year-old man wearing the kind of armor you’d only see in anime or manga, a sword strapped to his side. His silky dark brown hair flowed even though there wasn’t a breath of wind in the hall. On either side of the carpet, a crowd in wealthy attire watched them intently.

   Kael, Cecilia, and Hina huddled together and gathered behind Varek. “What’s happening?” Hina whispered. “Where are we?”

   “I don’t know...” Varek trailed off. “But those two boomers on the thrones look like the rulers. Like king and queen.”

   “Um, Var-nii... I know it’s going to sound stupid, but I think we just got isekai’d,” Kael whispered back.

   “Yeah, I think so too.” Cecilia agreed in a whisper. Suddenly, the old man and the knight began murmuring to each other.

   “What’re they saying?” Kael asked quietly. Suddenly, the old man and the knight turned and said something to the young blond man. He nodded, turned toward the group, and started speaking... completely in gibberish. They couldn’t understand a single syllable.

   “Um, we can’t understand you...” Hina voiced meekly.

   The young man stopped and spoke again as if asking a question. Then, without waiting for an answer, he turned back to the old man and said something heatedly. The old man jolted, hurriedly rummaging through his pockets. The knight started laughing— a booming sound that came out as if a bear was choking. After a moment, he pulled out a long stick—resembling an orchestra conductor's baton—and waved it in their direction.

   A complex pattern manifested along the wood, glowing a vibrant green. For a split second, something massive seemed to shimmer behind the old man, radiating the same green light, but it faded too fast to make out. Then the old man spoke a single, resonant word.

   Pop.

   “...can’t believe you forgot to use the Law of Perception!” the knight was saying to the old man, “Looks like you’re getting old, Eldrin! Hahaha!” He was laughing at the old man.

   “Quiet, you muscle-brained fool! Even you were surprised to see that.” The old man, Eldrin, scowled at the knight. “I just hope this isn’t a bad omen.” He murmured in the end.

   The blond man cleared his throat. “Ahem! Now, can you understand me?”

   “Um, yeah?” Varek answered.

   “Good, I can now understand you too!” the blond man beamed. “We can finally hold a proper conversation. Heroes, let me welcome you to our kingdom—the Kingdom of Imperial Avarice, Axioma!”