Servant of Snow
Title: Servant of Snow (Part Two)
Author: his_angel16
Characters: Minseok-centric, others mentioned
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Angst
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Kim Minseok was carefree and happy until something inside of him made him a freak. His parents sent him away, back to their native country. They leave him in the capable hands if his grandfather. All was well until fate caught up to him, sending him something he never thought was possible. Friends, people that understood exactly how he felt, and it changed his life forever.
“We do. This journal, it says that the powers awaken in great times of need. Does that mean something bad is going to happen?” Luhan asked. He felt a little sick knowing this has been happening for decades.
Hyun Ri nodded. “It happened when I was around your age. There were only five of us to fight it. We were able to repel it, but not defeat it. It's a creature much like the magical being that gave us these gifts. Luhan, your grandfather had the gift of telepathy, too. I had Joonmyeon's power; and, Minseok, your grandfather had yours.”
“Is that why he kept calling it a gift? I always thought it was a curse.” Minseok frowned, looking at the table. “I think I should apologize to him.”
“There are things you should know that this book does not hold.” Hyun Ri pulled out a key. “This unlocks a secret chamber within the library. I have only been inside a handful of times. It was when I was younger. This property was the cornerstone of the palace in that photograph. The library holds documents from that era, but most of them were destroyed when the palace was burned down. The only thing that remained in the rubble was the secret chamber. It was built underground.”
“What threatened you back then?” Luhan wasn't certain he wanted to know the answer to his question.
“It was a very powerful being. Like I said, we weren’t enough to kill it. The only way to do that, is when all twelve stand together, the same goal lying within their hearts.” Hyun Ri looked at the journal, frowning. “Even if we could find the others, I doubt they would want any part in this.”
“Have faith,” Joonmyeon said, finally speaking up. “Luhan had a vision before he came here, before he moved to Korea. He took a picture of the painting and it has all twelve of us together. It'll take a few years, but we'll all be here eventually. All we can do is hone our own skills while we wait.”
Hyun Ri chuckled. “You are definitely my grandson. I said the same thing when I was your age, but the others, they never came. It lead to unrest within our group and we soon disbanded. We wanted to be heroes so badly, but our own egos got in the way. One of us was almost killed.”
“Which one?” Joonmyeon knew they all wanted to ask the same question, but he took the initiative.
“He was a good friend of mine and I haven't spoken to him in years. He controlled fire. His ancestor was the one that burned the palace down, to hide their identities, to conceal their powers. He had one awful temper, too. Almost burned this building down, but I was able to stop him. Fire is no match for water.” He chuckled again before his tone turned sad. “If only we had the ones that controlled healing and time back then. We might have won and banished that magical being forever.”
“The we should look for those two first,” Luhan stated. He looked at Minseok. “I'll let you know if anyone comes up in my dreams. Until then, I think we should do what Joonmyeon suggested. We should work on controlling our powers first. I still can't see glimpses of the future while I’m conscious and whenever you feel threatened, you freeze everything.”
“Okay. When should we start?” Minseok looked at Hyun Ri, determined to get better at using his gift. He decided that he wouldn't refer to it as a curse anymore, that he was destined to do something greater. See, Mom, he thought to himself. I'm not a monster, I’m not a freak. I’m welcomed among these people. They accept me for being like this. If only you could, too.
“Start by going to one of the classrooms. Learn to throw your power around a bit. Try to control it once it leaves your body. Your grandfather said it would just happen, that it had a mind of its own.” Hyun Ri watched as Minseok's face fell a little. “Don't get discouraged, child. You are one of the twelve to bring about a new future, a new era. You must have faith in yourself.”
“What if I freeze everything? What if I can't control it?” Minseok felt the weight of Hyun Ri's words on his shoulders. “I can't control my power at all.”
“That isn't true!” Luhan placed his hand on Minseok's shoulder. “You kept it bottled up back at your grandpa's place. When I told you that I’m telepathic, you started to freak out. But you held it all in.”
“That's because I didn’t want to hurt you!” He pulled away from Luhan, frowning at him. “If I had let everything out, you'd have gotten hurt. You're my only friend. I didn’t want to lose you.”
Joonmyeon rubbed soothing circles on his back. “I can be your friend, too. We can all be friends,” he stated, smiling lightly. He reached out his free hand, smile widening when Luhan took it. “We're going to have lots of friends, so let's learn to control our powers. To protect them.”
Minseok nodded slowly, staring at the photo of their ancestors, of of their history. He reached out, picking it up. “To protect them,” he repeated. Can I really protect them? It won't be as easy as punching Kang in the face. I'll have to learn to use my ability without overdoing it, but I can't hold anything back either. Am I capable of this?
“Kang?” Luhan asked, blinking. He chewed on his lip. “What if we set up a dummy in one of the rooms and you can use it for target practice?” He looked ay Hyun Ri. “Joonmyeon and I could be in there, too, so he could practice directing it away from us.”
“No,” Minseok said, voice tight. “If I’m going to be willingly letting this out, I don't want either of you two near me. It would be best for you to stay away while I practice.”
“We'll be okay, hyung.” Joonmyeon held out his hand, a ball of water forming. “What happens to water when it gets cold?”
“It freezes.” Minseok didn’t know where the younger was going with this.
“Exactly. If things get too dangers, I can form water barriers in front of us and then they'll freeze once your ice hits it. We'll be fine.” He grinned, knowing it would be hard to argue with his logic.
“I agree with him!” Luhan blurted. He smile sheepishly at Minseok. “Sorry, but I want to help you. After what you did for me today, I'm in your debt.”
“Friends don't have debts.” Minseok knew it was going to be pointless to argue now that they were both against him. He could have bet anything that Luhan would have sided with him. Sighing, he looked at both of them. “Fine, you can be there while I practice. But if I tell you to go, you go. Both of you.” At their eager nods, he stood up. “Okay. Let's go.”
Luhan and Joonmyeon waved to Hyun Ri before following Minseok to one of the classrooms. They found a practice dummy already inside, but it looked like it had never been used before. Dragging it into the middle of the room, they stood on either side of it, ready and waiting. Finding his friends tensed and on edge, Minseok began having second thoughts. Just when he opened his mouth to speak, Luhan shot him down.
“Nope. We aren’t leaving. It doesn't matter if it's your first practice with this or not. You'll only get better if you have something to protect while the enemy is present.” He grinned at the glare the other shot him.
“Would you stay out of my head?” Minseok could feel his hands getting cold as irritation spread through him. Wait. Was Luhan trying to egg me on? Just to give me something to start with? He looked at Luhan, not missing the large grin plastered to his face. While they had their little one on one, Joonmyeon had written Kang onto a piece of paper before taping it to the dummy's head. Closing his eyes, Minseok envisioned the real Kang standing there, the same smirk on his face as he talked about Luhan. It seemed rather ridiculous, trying to place Kang there with them. It was untainted by him, but just thinking that he was there, that he wanted to harm Luhan, it angered him.
Opening his eyes, Minseok felt ice coiling around his arms, snaking around his waist and twisting in his hair. Under his feet, ice began forming, shooting out in a large mass before it soared up form the ground. One giant, living icicle whirred through the room, zeroing in on the dummy. That's when things turned difficult. Luhan walked to stand in front of the dummy and Minseok wasn't sure he could stop his attack. It was rather large for just practice, but it held all of his emotions from the past. The hurt from being called a monster by his own parents; all the times his schoolmates ostracized him for being different; and anger from Kang always picking on him. But now the ice was shooting toward Luhan, his first friend that actually understood him. He could see Joonmyeon focusing, channeling water to protect Luhan in case he couldn't stop his own power.
“Minseok hyung!” Joonmyeon shouted, water swirling around him. “Stop it!”
Luhan drew a shaky breath, not moving from his spot. “I believe in you, Minseok. You can do this.” He closed his eyes, trying to hide his frightened tears. One slipped down his cheek and everything seemed to stay still.
He's scared, Minseok's mind screamed at him. He's scared that you won't be able to stop it. But not because he's afraid of getting hurt. It's because he knows I'll be discouraged, that I'll hate myself for hurting him. Raising his hand, Minseok focused on stopping the ice. He didn’t want Luhan to get hurt because of his own inadequacies. I won't let him get hurt because of me. Still focused on stopping the ice, Minseok noticed Joonmyeon throw up a wall of water in front of Luhan as the ice didn’t slow down. It sliced through the water, dragging it with it as it froze. There was a hole punched through the middle of Joonmyeon's wall of water, it freezing as the room's temperature dropped. Seeing that the ice had finally stopped, he ran over to Luhan instantly. He stopped at seeing the tip of the icicle pressing against the hollow of Luhan's throat, tears streaming down his face.
“Luhan,” he breathed, unable to hold back his own tears. When the other moved, backed up a step, he hurried over, pulling him into a tight hug. “I'm so sorry, Luhan! I was trying to stop it, but it wasn't working. And then Joonmyeon threw up the water wall and it slowed it down just enough for me to get a grasp on it.” he cupped the other's face, wiping away his tears as he stared at him. “Please, say something.”
Luhan blinked at him, reaching up to pat Minseok's cheek. “I told you that you could do it,” he mumbled. He looked over as someone opened the door, finding Joonmyeon's grandpa standing there. “Look what Minseok was able to do!”
Hyun Ri stopped short, mouth agape. He stared at the ice, still completely frozen. “He...he did all of this?” he asked, eyes going wide at seeing Joonmyeon's water barrier pummeled through the center. “Joonmyeon, he...?”
Joonmyeon nodded. “Something seemed to awaken within him. I don't know what it was, but it was a really large power surge right before the ice shot up from the floor.” He pursed his lips, deep in thought. “Maybe it's Kang? Perhaps he hold the key to Minseok's power? But who is he?”
Luhan rushed over, dragging Minseok behind him. “Kang is the kid that bullied Minseok in school! He had some very threatening thoughts running through his head about me. They scared me. And that's when Minseok fought back for the first time in a few years.”
Minseok tugged on Luhan's arm, forcing him to turn around and face him. “You were reading his mind? That's why you were scared?” At Luhan's nod, they all heard ice shooting through something. Looking behind them, they noticed the giant icicle pierced straight through the dummy, its head cut clean off. Eyes wide, Minseok looked back at them. “Oops.”
Hyun Ri shook his head, patting Minseok on the shoulder. “No, no, child.” He smiled at him, hoping it gave him courage. “You did good. If someone threatens your friends, you must protect them. Stand up for them, Kim Minseok, and they will always have your back.”
“That's similar to what grandfather said.” Minseok blinked back tears, wondering why he felt like crying. Was it exhaustion getting the better of him? Or was it flowing out now that everything else he had bottled up inside had been unleashed? Whichever it was, he felt Luhan wipe the tears away as they fell.
“Come on, hyung,” Joonmyeon said, holding his hand out toward him. “How about we go get something to eat?”
Minseok nodded, letting the two of them drag him from the practice room. He looked back to see Hyun Ri running his hand over the ice, inspecting his handiwork. He smiled a little, seeing that he could be so powerful. He had never felt so alive, so strong. He was always being bullied by Kang, by everyone else, that it broke his spirit. Whatever had ignited within him, he hoped would never extinguish.
“Hey, sit here,” Luhan said, easing Minseok into the chair he had been sitting in before. He left to help Joonmyeon prepare a meal for them, the two chatting happily as they worked.
Distantly hearing their laughter, Minseok found himself smiling. It was weird that he had not one, but two friends. He never thought he'd see the day. And the fact that they had something similar to him, powers, a gift, whatever they would call it, made it all the better. He thought back to all of his lonely days inside his own home and inside his grandfather's house. He stared at the journal left open in front of him, smiling at it.
“Grandfather, is this why you wanted me to come here? To find happiness in my life?” h asked, knowing his grandfather clearly hadn’t heard him. He was hours away, at his home. He pulled the journal closer to him, deciding he could read a little more of it. He flipped through to a later entry, frowning at what he found. There was blood smeared across the page. “Hey, guys! Come here for a second!” He waited as they came back to the table, pushing the journal over for them to see.
“Is that blood?” Joonmyeon asked, eyes wide.
Minseok nodded. “Yeah, it is. But, I think it belonged to someone other than my ancestor. I don't know why, but I don't think it's his.” He ran his fingers over it, finding that it hadn’t stained any of the words. “Maybe if we read this part, we'll figure out who it belongs to?”
Luhan nodded, sitting down across from Minseok. He licked his lips before he began to read it aloud. “Everything was going smoothly; everything was working out. After Park engulfed everything in flames, that magical creature returned. Not the one that gave us these gifts, but the other one. The one that wanted to kill us for knowing too much. Zhang is trying his best to heal our wounded, but I fear it's too fatal. We all have families that we want to protect, but we can't do that if we're dead. Some of us are thinking about calling it quits. I know I am. I can't take much more of this.” Luhan frowned, looking at Joonmyeon and Minseok. “It's signed Kim. But that's such a common name! It's both of your names!”
“I don't think it was either one,” Joonmyeon stated, looking at it. “I agree with Minseok hyung. It seems to have a different feel to it. Almost like it's slightly more solid or something.” He snapped his fingers, the elder two blinking at him. “That's right! The one that has the power over earth! He was bleeding while writing this.” He looked down at it, running his fingers over it. “I wonder if we'll meet his descendant soon.”
Luhan shook his head. “I haven't seen anything since I saw myself meeting Minseok in the office at the old school.”
“Then, we wait. They'll all show up eventually.” Joonmyeon looked at Luhan. “Let's go finish preparing the meal so we can eat.”
Minseok waited until they were back by the stove before he flipped the page. Something seems off. He scanned the page before something jumped out at him. “They've turned against us,” he muttered, eyes locked on those words. He forced himself to continue. “The ones that control time, healing, flight, fire, and wind. They've sided with that creature, that monster! How could they? We were friends! Allies! It was enough of a challenge to fight that thing on its own, but now that it's managed to take those five over to its side. We're done for. Our ties have been severed and we shall never accept them again!” Minseok could feel the anger, the rage, emanating from the pages. He shook his head as the other two came back, both looking at him with puzzled looks.
“What's wrong?” Luhan asked, sitting down. He scooted a plate over toward Minseok.
“The twelve of them, our ancestors, they didn’t all stand together to fight. Five of them left to side with the magical being that was trying to kill them. Whoever wrote this part, they said they would never accept them again.” Minseok looked up at Luhan and Joonmyeon. “What if a part of our ancestors lives within us, intertwined with our blood? What if it makes us hate them without really giving any of them a fair chance?”
“That logic is invalid. Grandpa said he fought alongside the one that had the power over fire.” Joonmyeon frowned. “But he hasn't seen him in a few years. I wonder if he's still around? And if he is, I wonder when we'll meet his grandson.”
Luhan took a large bite of his sandwich. “I'll keep trying to see things while I sleep, but I won't know immediately. I just hope that we can all band together before whatever that thing is comes back. It's been what, at least thirty or so years?”
Minseok quietly ate his sandwich, eyes never leaving the journal for long. After he finished it, he set his plate aside. “I'm going to go back to the practice room for a little bit. Let me know if you find anything new in the journal. After he left, Joonmyeon sighed.
“I wonder if we should try going to the secret chamber in the library?” He looked at Luhan, finding him stuffing another large bite into his mouth. “Hyung, what do you think?”
Chewing his food quickly, Luhan swallowed it before turning to the younger. “You go to the library. I’m going to go take a nap and see if anything comes to me.”
Joonmyeon watched as he left, sighing again as Hyun Ri walked over to him. “Grandpa, how are we supposed to do this?”
Sitting down, Hyun Ri shrugged. “I have no idea, child. My generation failed to protect you all from this path. I trust that you can end things before another generation is cursed with this fate. Go, read in the library. Sealed within the ancient documents of our history are secrets and magic that this world has forgotten. Bring it back, Joonmyeon. Our ancestor would have wanted us to end what he could not.” He watched as Joonmyeon nodded before scurrying off. “Dear child, forgive me. What you will find lurking in those pages, in our past, might frighten you. It is a burden we must carry for the rest of eternity.”
Joonmyeon pushed the library door open, closing it after him as he entered. He grasped the key, taking it from his pocket as he shuffled toward the far side of the room. He stared at the portrait of the original twelve, hand trembling as he lifted the key to push into the lock next to it. Hearing the distinct click, he pushed open the door to the secret chamber. As if on cue, fire ignited down the hall, illuminating his path. Clutching his hands to his stomach to keeping them from shaking, he walked down the hall, watching as it gave way to a large circular room. In the very middle stood a large circle table, twelve chairs placed around it. Going a little closer, Joonmyeon looked at its top, eyes widening as he saw images etched into the surface. Each one was different, representing their gift respectively. At the head of the table was water as the others circled away from it.
“This is unreal,” he murmured, awestruck. He reached out, fingers trailing along the smooth surface, caressing each sigil as he passed. He stopped at the frost sigil, unable to look away from it. “Why does this one seem different?” He traced it with his fingers, chewing on his lip. A coldness took over the room in an instant, the frost sigil glowing. “What?”
Illuminated by the faint light of the torches and the glowing sigil, he looked over his shoulder toward the door as a howl echoed in his mind. It sounded foreign and familiar at the same time, but he thought it was all in his head. Regardless, he sprinted back the way he came just in case it wasn't. He nearly collided with Luhan, the elder having woken up from his nap and had been running toward the classroom Minseok was in.
“Did you hear that howl?” Luhan asked, hair tousled from his sleep.
“You heard it, too? I thought it was all in my head.” Joonmyeon frowned when Luhan nodded. “Let's go see if Minseok heard it.” The two of them turned to run toward the room they had been in earlier, panic coiling within them.
Minseok panted as sweat ran down his face. Ice was layered throughout the room, twisted in elegant spirals and jutting out in harsh clusters. He was getting exhausted, but he pushed himself harder. He had to get better at this. Sure, he could do this while no one else occupied the room with him. But stick another living, breathing being inside and he had a problem focusing. This way, he could unleash as much hatred and pain into his attacks without worrying about what would happen to someone else. He could handle being trapped within an icy wonderland. In fact, he thrived in it. He felt at home since his ability left him pretty much immune to the near subzero temperatures. He looked over at the window, mesmerized at how the sun filtered in through the ice. It was remarkable. Raising his hand, he turned to concentrate on his practice again before he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He felt as if he were on fire as he doubled over, clutching at his shirt. His vision was blurry as he felt his strength being sapped.
What's going on? Why do I feel like I’m suffocating? He blinked, squinting as he tried to focus his eyes. He could hear someone shouting his name, shouting for him to answer. He managed to turn toward the door, finding two blurry images coming toward him. Luhan? And...and Joonmyeon? He opened his mouth to say their names, to respond and tell them he felt like he was dying, but nothing was coherent. He licked his lips to try again, but words aren’t what bubbled up his throat. It was a howl, reverberating from deep in his chest. It was intimidating and he wasn't sure it had come from him before the blackness overwhelmed him.
Author: his_angel16
Characters: Minseok-centric, others mentioned
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Angst
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Kim Minseok was carefree and happy until something inside of him made him a freak. His parents sent him away, back to their native country. They leave him in the capable hands if his grandfather. All was well until fate caught up to him, sending him something he never thought was possible. Friends, people that understood exactly how he felt, and it changed his life forever.
“We do. This journal, it says that the powers awaken in great times of need. Does that mean something bad is going to happen?” Luhan asked. He felt a little sick knowing this has been happening for decades.
Hyun Ri nodded. “It happened when I was around your age. There were only five of us to fight it. We were able to repel it, but not defeat it. It's a creature much like the magical being that gave us these gifts. Luhan, your grandfather had the gift of telepathy, too. I had Joonmyeon's power; and, Minseok, your grandfather had yours.”
“Is that why he kept calling it a gift? I always thought it was a curse.” Minseok frowned, looking at the table. “I think I should apologize to him.”
“There are things you should know that this book does not hold.” Hyun Ri pulled out a key. “This unlocks a secret chamber within the library. I have only been inside a handful of times. It was when I was younger. This property was the cornerstone of the palace in that photograph. The library holds documents from that era, but most of them were destroyed when the palace was burned down. The only thing that remained in the rubble was the secret chamber. It was built underground.”
“What threatened you back then?” Luhan wasn't certain he wanted to know the answer to his question.
“It was a very powerful being. Like I said, we weren’t enough to kill it. The only way to do that, is when all twelve stand together, the same goal lying within their hearts.” Hyun Ri looked at the journal, frowning. “Even if we could find the others, I doubt they would want any part in this.”
“Have faith,” Joonmyeon said, finally speaking up. “Luhan had a vision before he came here, before he moved to Korea. He took a picture of the painting and it has all twelve of us together. It'll take a few years, but we'll all be here eventually. All we can do is hone our own skills while we wait.”
Hyun Ri chuckled. “You are definitely my grandson. I said the same thing when I was your age, but the others, they never came. It lead to unrest within our group and we soon disbanded. We wanted to be heroes so badly, but our own egos got in the way. One of us was almost killed.”
“Which one?” Joonmyeon knew they all wanted to ask the same question, but he took the initiative.
“He was a good friend of mine and I haven't spoken to him in years. He controlled fire. His ancestor was the one that burned the palace down, to hide their identities, to conceal their powers. He had one awful temper, too. Almost burned this building down, but I was able to stop him. Fire is no match for water.” He chuckled again before his tone turned sad. “If only we had the ones that controlled healing and time back then. We might have won and banished that magical being forever.”
“The we should look for those two first,” Luhan stated. He looked at Minseok. “I'll let you know if anyone comes up in my dreams. Until then, I think we should do what Joonmyeon suggested. We should work on controlling our powers first. I still can't see glimpses of the future while I’m conscious and whenever you feel threatened, you freeze everything.”
“Okay. When should we start?” Minseok looked at Hyun Ri, determined to get better at using his gift. He decided that he wouldn't refer to it as a curse anymore, that he was destined to do something greater. See, Mom, he thought to himself. I'm not a monster, I’m not a freak. I’m welcomed among these people. They accept me for being like this. If only you could, too.
“Start by going to one of the classrooms. Learn to throw your power around a bit. Try to control it once it leaves your body. Your grandfather said it would just happen, that it had a mind of its own.” Hyun Ri watched as Minseok's face fell a little. “Don't get discouraged, child. You are one of the twelve to bring about a new future, a new era. You must have faith in yourself.”
“What if I freeze everything? What if I can't control it?” Minseok felt the weight of Hyun Ri's words on his shoulders. “I can't control my power at all.”
“That isn't true!” Luhan placed his hand on Minseok's shoulder. “You kept it bottled up back at your grandpa's place. When I told you that I’m telepathic, you started to freak out. But you held it all in.”
“That's because I didn’t want to hurt you!” He pulled away from Luhan, frowning at him. “If I had let everything out, you'd have gotten hurt. You're my only friend. I didn’t want to lose you.”
Joonmyeon rubbed soothing circles on his back. “I can be your friend, too. We can all be friends,” he stated, smiling lightly. He reached out his free hand, smile widening when Luhan took it. “We're going to have lots of friends, so let's learn to control our powers. To protect them.”
Minseok nodded slowly, staring at the photo of their ancestors, of of their history. He reached out, picking it up. “To protect them,” he repeated. Can I really protect them? It won't be as easy as punching Kang in the face. I'll have to learn to use my ability without overdoing it, but I can't hold anything back either. Am I capable of this?
“Kang?” Luhan asked, blinking. He chewed on his lip. “What if we set up a dummy in one of the rooms and you can use it for target practice?” He looked ay Hyun Ri. “Joonmyeon and I could be in there, too, so he could practice directing it away from us.”
“No,” Minseok said, voice tight. “If I’m going to be willingly letting this out, I don't want either of you two near me. It would be best for you to stay away while I practice.”
“We'll be okay, hyung.” Joonmyeon held out his hand, a ball of water forming. “What happens to water when it gets cold?”
“It freezes.” Minseok didn’t know where the younger was going with this.
“Exactly. If things get too dangers, I can form water barriers in front of us and then they'll freeze once your ice hits it. We'll be fine.” He grinned, knowing it would be hard to argue with his logic.
“I agree with him!” Luhan blurted. He smile sheepishly at Minseok. “Sorry, but I want to help you. After what you did for me today, I'm in your debt.”
“Friends don't have debts.” Minseok knew it was going to be pointless to argue now that they were both against him. He could have bet anything that Luhan would have sided with him. Sighing, he looked at both of them. “Fine, you can be there while I practice. But if I tell you to go, you go. Both of you.” At their eager nods, he stood up. “Okay. Let's go.”
Luhan and Joonmyeon waved to Hyun Ri before following Minseok to one of the classrooms. They found a practice dummy already inside, but it looked like it had never been used before. Dragging it into the middle of the room, they stood on either side of it, ready and waiting. Finding his friends tensed and on edge, Minseok began having second thoughts. Just when he opened his mouth to speak, Luhan shot him down.
“Nope. We aren’t leaving. It doesn't matter if it's your first practice with this or not. You'll only get better if you have something to protect while the enemy is present.” He grinned at the glare the other shot him.
“Would you stay out of my head?” Minseok could feel his hands getting cold as irritation spread through him. Wait. Was Luhan trying to egg me on? Just to give me something to start with? He looked at Luhan, not missing the large grin plastered to his face. While they had their little one on one, Joonmyeon had written Kang onto a piece of paper before taping it to the dummy's head. Closing his eyes, Minseok envisioned the real Kang standing there, the same smirk on his face as he talked about Luhan. It seemed rather ridiculous, trying to place Kang there with them. It was untainted by him, but just thinking that he was there, that he wanted to harm Luhan, it angered him.
Opening his eyes, Minseok felt ice coiling around his arms, snaking around his waist and twisting in his hair. Under his feet, ice began forming, shooting out in a large mass before it soared up form the ground. One giant, living icicle whirred through the room, zeroing in on the dummy. That's when things turned difficult. Luhan walked to stand in front of the dummy and Minseok wasn't sure he could stop his attack. It was rather large for just practice, but it held all of his emotions from the past. The hurt from being called a monster by his own parents; all the times his schoolmates ostracized him for being different; and anger from Kang always picking on him. But now the ice was shooting toward Luhan, his first friend that actually understood him. He could see Joonmyeon focusing, channeling water to protect Luhan in case he couldn't stop his own power.
“Minseok hyung!” Joonmyeon shouted, water swirling around him. “Stop it!”
Luhan drew a shaky breath, not moving from his spot. “I believe in you, Minseok. You can do this.” He closed his eyes, trying to hide his frightened tears. One slipped down his cheek and everything seemed to stay still.
He's scared, Minseok's mind screamed at him. He's scared that you won't be able to stop it. But not because he's afraid of getting hurt. It's because he knows I'll be discouraged, that I'll hate myself for hurting him. Raising his hand, Minseok focused on stopping the ice. He didn’t want Luhan to get hurt because of his own inadequacies. I won't let him get hurt because of me. Still focused on stopping the ice, Minseok noticed Joonmyeon throw up a wall of water in front of Luhan as the ice didn’t slow down. It sliced through the water, dragging it with it as it froze. There was a hole punched through the middle of Joonmyeon's wall of water, it freezing as the room's temperature dropped. Seeing that the ice had finally stopped, he ran over to Luhan instantly. He stopped at seeing the tip of the icicle pressing against the hollow of Luhan's throat, tears streaming down his face.
“Luhan,” he breathed, unable to hold back his own tears. When the other moved, backed up a step, he hurried over, pulling him into a tight hug. “I'm so sorry, Luhan! I was trying to stop it, but it wasn't working. And then Joonmyeon threw up the water wall and it slowed it down just enough for me to get a grasp on it.” he cupped the other's face, wiping away his tears as he stared at him. “Please, say something.”
Luhan blinked at him, reaching up to pat Minseok's cheek. “I told you that you could do it,” he mumbled. He looked over as someone opened the door, finding Joonmyeon's grandpa standing there. “Look what Minseok was able to do!”
Hyun Ri stopped short, mouth agape. He stared at the ice, still completely frozen. “He...he did all of this?” he asked, eyes going wide at seeing Joonmyeon's water barrier pummeled through the center. “Joonmyeon, he...?”
Joonmyeon nodded. “Something seemed to awaken within him. I don't know what it was, but it was a really large power surge right before the ice shot up from the floor.” He pursed his lips, deep in thought. “Maybe it's Kang? Perhaps he hold the key to Minseok's power? But who is he?”
Luhan rushed over, dragging Minseok behind him. “Kang is the kid that bullied Minseok in school! He had some very threatening thoughts running through his head about me. They scared me. And that's when Minseok fought back for the first time in a few years.”
Minseok tugged on Luhan's arm, forcing him to turn around and face him. “You were reading his mind? That's why you were scared?” At Luhan's nod, they all heard ice shooting through something. Looking behind them, they noticed the giant icicle pierced straight through the dummy, its head cut clean off. Eyes wide, Minseok looked back at them. “Oops.”
Hyun Ri shook his head, patting Minseok on the shoulder. “No, no, child.” He smiled at him, hoping it gave him courage. “You did good. If someone threatens your friends, you must protect them. Stand up for them, Kim Minseok, and they will always have your back.”
“That's similar to what grandfather said.” Minseok blinked back tears, wondering why he felt like crying. Was it exhaustion getting the better of him? Or was it flowing out now that everything else he had bottled up inside had been unleashed? Whichever it was, he felt Luhan wipe the tears away as they fell.
“Come on, hyung,” Joonmyeon said, holding his hand out toward him. “How about we go get something to eat?”
Minseok nodded, letting the two of them drag him from the practice room. He looked back to see Hyun Ri running his hand over the ice, inspecting his handiwork. He smiled a little, seeing that he could be so powerful. He had never felt so alive, so strong. He was always being bullied by Kang, by everyone else, that it broke his spirit. Whatever had ignited within him, he hoped would never extinguish.
“Hey, sit here,” Luhan said, easing Minseok into the chair he had been sitting in before. He left to help Joonmyeon prepare a meal for them, the two chatting happily as they worked.
Distantly hearing their laughter, Minseok found himself smiling. It was weird that he had not one, but two friends. He never thought he'd see the day. And the fact that they had something similar to him, powers, a gift, whatever they would call it, made it all the better. He thought back to all of his lonely days inside his own home and inside his grandfather's house. He stared at the journal left open in front of him, smiling at it.
“Grandfather, is this why you wanted me to come here? To find happiness in my life?” h asked, knowing his grandfather clearly hadn’t heard him. He was hours away, at his home. He pulled the journal closer to him, deciding he could read a little more of it. He flipped through to a later entry, frowning at what he found. There was blood smeared across the page. “Hey, guys! Come here for a second!” He waited as they came back to the table, pushing the journal over for them to see.
“Is that blood?” Joonmyeon asked, eyes wide.
Minseok nodded. “Yeah, it is. But, I think it belonged to someone other than my ancestor. I don't know why, but I don't think it's his.” He ran his fingers over it, finding that it hadn’t stained any of the words. “Maybe if we read this part, we'll figure out who it belongs to?”
Luhan nodded, sitting down across from Minseok. He licked his lips before he began to read it aloud. “Everything was going smoothly; everything was working out. After Park engulfed everything in flames, that magical creature returned. Not the one that gave us these gifts, but the other one. The one that wanted to kill us for knowing too much. Zhang is trying his best to heal our wounded, but I fear it's too fatal. We all have families that we want to protect, but we can't do that if we're dead. Some of us are thinking about calling it quits. I know I am. I can't take much more of this.” Luhan frowned, looking at Joonmyeon and Minseok. “It's signed Kim. But that's such a common name! It's both of your names!”
“I don't think it was either one,” Joonmyeon stated, looking at it. “I agree with Minseok hyung. It seems to have a different feel to it. Almost like it's slightly more solid or something.” He snapped his fingers, the elder two blinking at him. “That's right! The one that has the power over earth! He was bleeding while writing this.” He looked down at it, running his fingers over it. “I wonder if we'll meet his descendant soon.”
Luhan shook his head. “I haven't seen anything since I saw myself meeting Minseok in the office at the old school.”
“Then, we wait. They'll all show up eventually.” Joonmyeon looked at Luhan. “Let's go finish preparing the meal so we can eat.”
Minseok waited until they were back by the stove before he flipped the page. Something seems off. He scanned the page before something jumped out at him. “They've turned against us,” he muttered, eyes locked on those words. He forced himself to continue. “The ones that control time, healing, flight, fire, and wind. They've sided with that creature, that monster! How could they? We were friends! Allies! It was enough of a challenge to fight that thing on its own, but now that it's managed to take those five over to its side. We're done for. Our ties have been severed and we shall never accept them again!” Minseok could feel the anger, the rage, emanating from the pages. He shook his head as the other two came back, both looking at him with puzzled looks.
“What's wrong?” Luhan asked, sitting down. He scooted a plate over toward Minseok.
“The twelve of them, our ancestors, they didn’t all stand together to fight. Five of them left to side with the magical being that was trying to kill them. Whoever wrote this part, they said they would never accept them again.” Minseok looked up at Luhan and Joonmyeon. “What if a part of our ancestors lives within us, intertwined with our blood? What if it makes us hate them without really giving any of them a fair chance?”
“That logic is invalid. Grandpa said he fought alongside the one that had the power over fire.” Joonmyeon frowned. “But he hasn't seen him in a few years. I wonder if he's still around? And if he is, I wonder when we'll meet his grandson.”
Luhan took a large bite of his sandwich. “I'll keep trying to see things while I sleep, but I won't know immediately. I just hope that we can all band together before whatever that thing is comes back. It's been what, at least thirty or so years?”
Minseok quietly ate his sandwich, eyes never leaving the journal for long. After he finished it, he set his plate aside. “I'm going to go back to the practice room for a little bit. Let me know if you find anything new in the journal. After he left, Joonmyeon sighed.
“I wonder if we should try going to the secret chamber in the library?” He looked at Luhan, finding him stuffing another large bite into his mouth. “Hyung, what do you think?”
Chewing his food quickly, Luhan swallowed it before turning to the younger. “You go to the library. I’m going to go take a nap and see if anything comes to me.”
Joonmyeon watched as he left, sighing again as Hyun Ri walked over to him. “Grandpa, how are we supposed to do this?”
Sitting down, Hyun Ri shrugged. “I have no idea, child. My generation failed to protect you all from this path. I trust that you can end things before another generation is cursed with this fate. Go, read in the library. Sealed within the ancient documents of our history are secrets and magic that this world has forgotten. Bring it back, Joonmyeon. Our ancestor would have wanted us to end what he could not.” He watched as Joonmyeon nodded before scurrying off. “Dear child, forgive me. What you will find lurking in those pages, in our past, might frighten you. It is a burden we must carry for the rest of eternity.”
Joonmyeon pushed the library door open, closing it after him as he entered. He grasped the key, taking it from his pocket as he shuffled toward the far side of the room. He stared at the portrait of the original twelve, hand trembling as he lifted the key to push into the lock next to it. Hearing the distinct click, he pushed open the door to the secret chamber. As if on cue, fire ignited down the hall, illuminating his path. Clutching his hands to his stomach to keeping them from shaking, he walked down the hall, watching as it gave way to a large circular room. In the very middle stood a large circle table, twelve chairs placed around it. Going a little closer, Joonmyeon looked at its top, eyes widening as he saw images etched into the surface. Each one was different, representing their gift respectively. At the head of the table was water as the others circled away from it.
“This is unreal,” he murmured, awestruck. He reached out, fingers trailing along the smooth surface, caressing each sigil as he passed. He stopped at the frost sigil, unable to look away from it. “Why does this one seem different?” He traced it with his fingers, chewing on his lip. A coldness took over the room in an instant, the frost sigil glowing. “What?”
Illuminated by the faint light of the torches and the glowing sigil, he looked over his shoulder toward the door as a howl echoed in his mind. It sounded foreign and familiar at the same time, but he thought it was all in his head. Regardless, he sprinted back the way he came just in case it wasn't. He nearly collided with Luhan, the elder having woken up from his nap and had been running toward the classroom Minseok was in.
“Did you hear that howl?” Luhan asked, hair tousled from his sleep.
“You heard it, too? I thought it was all in my head.” Joonmyeon frowned when Luhan nodded. “Let's go see if Minseok heard it.” The two of them turned to run toward the room they had been in earlier, panic coiling within them.
Minseok panted as sweat ran down his face. Ice was layered throughout the room, twisted in elegant spirals and jutting out in harsh clusters. He was getting exhausted, but he pushed himself harder. He had to get better at this. Sure, he could do this while no one else occupied the room with him. But stick another living, breathing being inside and he had a problem focusing. This way, he could unleash as much hatred and pain into his attacks without worrying about what would happen to someone else. He could handle being trapped within an icy wonderland. In fact, he thrived in it. He felt at home since his ability left him pretty much immune to the near subzero temperatures. He looked over at the window, mesmerized at how the sun filtered in through the ice. It was remarkable. Raising his hand, he turned to concentrate on his practice again before he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He felt as if he were on fire as he doubled over, clutching at his shirt. His vision was blurry as he felt his strength being sapped.
What's going on? Why do I feel like I’m suffocating? He blinked, squinting as he tried to focus his eyes. He could hear someone shouting his name, shouting for him to answer. He managed to turn toward the door, finding two blurry images coming toward him. Luhan? And...and Joonmyeon? He opened his mouth to say their names, to respond and tell them he felt like he was dying, but nothing was coherent. He licked his lips to try again, but words aren’t what bubbled up his throat. It was a howl, reverberating from deep in his chest. It was intimidating and he wasn't sure it had come from him before the blackness overwhelmed him.