Chapter Text
Kim Shidae’s job had been an easy one for the amount of money that he was offering. It was a high-profile murder case of a top government official related to a possible celebrity under Shidae’s entertainment company.
Changkyun’s job was to catch the true murderer and clear the name of the unknown celebrity before paparazzi caught wind. It had taken him three weeks to collect enough evidence with the guidance of the local spirits before he turned in the files to Shidae and was rewarded.
“I’ll keep in contact,” Shidae had said before Changkyun left his office with the cash. “You did well.”
As Changkyun left, Shidae’s driver made eye contact with him and nodded, expression grim, before the driver turned away and walked inside the office. Shaken, Changkyun walked off.
Inside the envelope was enough money to keep Changkyun happy for a good few months. The first thing he spent it on was dinner at an expensive restaurant that promised an authentic Japanese ramen experience, tired after so many weeks of eating instant ramen and microwave meals because he hadn’t been able to take on any other jobs while he was working on Shidae’s case. The instant the rich ramen broth touched his tongue, he moaned in delight, the savory and creamy soup like heaven after months of spiced water.
He hummed as he ate, enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the restaurant. Distantly, he thought of Hoseok and his obsession for ramen, an ache that made him stop eating for a moment to let it settle.
Thinking of the others hurt. It had been months since he had moved to Soule and he wondered how much longer it would be until he had to run again. Changkyun knew the others were in Soule, knew their approximate locations and knew that they had gotten glimpses of where he was before he turned off his signal.
But Soule was much too big for just them and Changkyun was easily lost in the crowds, impossible to find like a specific fish in the big wide ocean. Using that to his advantage, he managed to outrun them every time. It also helped that he rarely interacted with the other clans and while his magic was easy to sense, it was difficult to identify for someone who did not know him.
Still, it was becoming exhausting. Quiet nights alone in his small room were tiring, Changkyun too afraid to spend the money he earned on a bigger room in fears that he would have to leave soon. There was always a constant fear of accidentally running into them and not knowing what to do because he knew the moment he caught sight of them, his clan bond would become active. The burden he carried seemed to multiply until he suffocated under it.
Why were they holding on so tight? They should have given up by now, packed their bags, and headed back home now. If they kept holding on, what was the point?
-- --
It had been a week since Changkyun’s signal was last active. The rest of the clan was tense with anxiety, unsure what it was supposed to mean. Did Changkyun give up on them? Did he refuse the clan bond permanently? Those questions were better than the other ones that ran through their head.
There was no way Changkyun was dead. They had to believe it otherwise the anguish would have ruined them all.
Soule was too huge. The moment they thought they figured out where Changkyun was, by the time they got there, he was someplace else. It was a game of cat and mouse with no clear distinction on who was winning.
Hyungwon and Kihyun sat down while they waited for their drink orders. The magic in the air told them that the cafe was run by a local clan, the barista a mage. It was quiet, only the gentle jazz music that filtered through the air making any noise.
The dark-haired barista put the coffee down at their table, bowed to them, and left to pick up the phone that was now ringing. The two didn’t say anything, only sipped at their drinks and listened the the background music play.
“Sorry sir, we don’t do delivery,” the barista said into the phone. He hummed a little and nodded to whatever the person on the other end of the line was saying.
Hyungwon turned to Kihyun. “It’s been a really long time since Changkyun’s been in Soule,” he said, taking a sip from his iced americano and making a face.
Kihyun stirred his fruit-flavored tea, looking at it with mild disgust. “We’ve been in Soule for a long time too.” He sipped the drink and frowned. “But we still can’t find him.”
“He’s got an advantage on us,” Hyungwon agreed. “We spent over a week in Chinone. Would have spent more if his clan bond hadn’t gone active.”
The shorter hummed, lost in thought as he sipped his drink. “But it means he probably missed us enough that he couldn’t keep the bond turned off. It’s been going on and off lately and it’s driving me crazy.”
“Changkyun-” both Hyungwon and the barista said at the same time. Hyungwon’s mouth snapped shut and they both diverted their attention to where the barista was wrapping up the phone call.
“Lim Changkyun? One medium iced americano, extra shot?” The person on the other end must have confirmed because the barista nodded and wrote something on the cup. “Alright Changkyun-shi, your order will be prepared for you when you come to pay. We’ll make sure the coffee is brewed in time.” There was a slight pause. “Thirty minutes? Alright. Thank you.”
With a sigh, the barista hung up on the phone and wrote something on a clear plastic cup with the cafe’s logo on it.
Kihyun and Hyungwon looked at each other. “Do you think it’s Changkyun?” they asked at the same time.
“Should we call the others?” Kihyun said, opening his phone and pulling up the group message.
Hyungwon looked doubtful. “Would that help? It might just scare him off if he sees all six of us.”
“Or,” Kihyun said, “all six of us have a better chance of capturing him than just the two of us,” as he gestured between the two of them.
Taking another sip, Hyungwon looked doubtful. “I don’t know. When you say capture him , it makes it sound like we’re taking him against his will. What if he hates us more for doing that? What if that causes the clan bond to completely break?”
The face Kihyun made could only be described as helpless. “I don’t know then. We can’t take any chances,” he said.
“But we don’t know what the chances are,” Hyungwon finished.
Kihyun sighed. “The others are a couple blocks away. I’ll message them a few minutes before Changkyun is supposed to arrive. If he runs before then, that means he really doesn’t want to see us.”
Hyungwon nodded. “That’s as good a plan as we’re going to get,” he said with a sigh before drinking the rest of his americano. His nose scrunched in distaste.
“Why do you always get americanos when you don’t like them?”
“Changkyun likes them.”
-- --
The chiming bells welcomed Changkyun into the local coffeeshop. Clan-owned coffee shops were more comfortable to go to, he had discovered. The magic in the air was soothing and most of the workers and patrons were mages themselves, which allowed Changkyun to relax the strict control he had on his magic. A plus was that the coffee was always brewed fresh for each batch, the mages able to control elements that would cost too much for human places.
He stood in front of the counter, tapping his foot while he waited for the barista to ring his order up and prepare his drink. Calling in usually meant the pickup was faster because the coffee was brewed in advance.
The fresh smell of coffee floated through the air as it was poured out. Changkyun closed his eyes and breathed in, let the calming scent soothe his frazzled mind. Kim Shidae had handed him another mission just a few hours earlier and it was already much bigger than anything he had ever done before. That being said, it was a jackpot of a mission. He was offered over a million dollars to finish the case. With that money, Changkyun could live in luxury for years. Of course he said yes.
The barista handed him his drink and Changkyun thanked him before going to a table to sit for a little bit. He closed his eyes and let the soothing jazz song take him away. It was quiet, not many patrons that frequented the cafe, but a nice atmosphere that didn’t remind Changkyun of his clan despite the presence of magic.
He opened one eye when he heard the soft sounds of footsteps approaching him. A shadow fell over the table and a soft cough rang out. Changkyun looked up.
Standing in front of him was the barista, who handed him a small cake. Changkyun looked at him in confusion.
“Someone ordered this for you,” the barista said.
“Who?” Changkyun asked, using his fork to take a bite. He sighed in bliss. The cake was sweet but not cloyingly so, a light cream cake with sweet strawberries mixed in. Within seconds, it was gone.
“Those two over there,” the barista gestured while Changkyun ate. Changkyun turned and his blood ran cold. Kihyun and Hyungwon were engaged in conversation with each other, not looking his way. He sighed and looked mournfully at his coffee.
“I’m sorry, I have to go,” he apologized before he sidestepped the barista and made a beeline towards the door. He had to hurry before Kihyun and Hyungwon realized he had left.
The door chimed as he opened it and he cursed silently when, from the corner of his eye, he saw Kihyun and Hyungwon’s faces pop up from their conversation. He wasn’t a fast runner but he could probably disappear from sight before they managed to get up and run after him.
With a sigh, he took off into a sprint, towards a shortcut through an alley that he normally took on days when the streets were crowded. Tired, he sat down behind a trashcan and waited to catch his breath.
He froze when he felt the trace of magic that floated by. This wasn’t one of the mage enclaves, where magic was easily found. Without trying to reveal himself, he peaked to look who was passing by. The snow white hair and platinum blond hair told him what he already knew: it was Minhyuk and Hoseok that had passed him by.
Again, he cursed silently to himself. These two were one of the best at sensing magic. Even if his clan bond was turned off, his magic might give him away.
“Hyung, did you see what Kihyun and Hyungwon posted in the chat?” Changkyun froze, waiting to hear what the light mage would say. He had removed himself from the group chat in order not to be tracked, or at least that’s what he claimed. Reading the messages made him long for them so he deleted the app and refused to let himself fall back down that hole again.
“They said they saw Changkyun,” Hoseok replied. It was a tense moment, Changkyun holding his breath and hoping they wouldn’t sense his magic and walk past effortlessly.
“Yeah, but they said he ran away,” reminded Minhyuk. “What if he’s nearby?”
Hoseok scoffed. “If he’s nearby, then he must really hate us cause he keeps running away and hiding from us.” His voice broke a little. “What did we do wrong? Does Changkyun really not want to be part of the clan anymore?”
Changkyun groaned internally. He knew the moment that he saw them, it would be hard to stop the feelings of longing from rising. Hearing Hoseok’s fears made Changkyun want to jump out and scream that it wasn’t their fault, it was his, and that they needed to let him go because it was getting hard to protect them from himself.
Quietly, he slipped out from his hiding place and ran to the other opening, where he managed to throw himself into the crowd. He kept his head down, trying to blend in, but he nearly walked into a lamppost that drew more attention to himself anyways.
With a sigh, he made haste towards his little room. The longer he was out and about in the city, the greater the chances they would find him. Hyungwon and Kihyun had already spotted him and he had been within earshot of Hoseok and Minhyuk. If he ran into Jooheon or Hyunwoo, it was time to move on.
He made it back to the hostel in one piece without another encounter with the others. Hastily, he started throwing stuff in his bag before he sat down on the small bad and calmed himself down. Looking around, he frowned when he spotted the case file sitting innocently on his desk.
Changkyun still had some money left over from his last case with Kim Shidae but there was no doubt that the current case was the end all to end all. If he finished this, he wouldn’t have to worry about finding jobs and settling down for a long time. And if the X-clan’s search continued for him, he would need the buffer.
He sighed and slowly unpacked what little he had in his bag. For now, all he could do was pray that he wouldn’t exactly reveal himself before he finished the mission. The rest of the members were too close now and it was only a matter of time before it was all over.
Changkyun frowned as he toyed with the corners of the paper in the mission file. One million dollars to find the murderer of Kim Shidae’s mistress. It had to be done in secret so that his wife would not discover the illicit affair that had been occurring under her nose.
In the case notes, there was a comment that made Changkyun wary on the full extent of what the mission would entail. I’ve only offered this case once before, to a mage much older and much more experienced than you, and he could not finish it. He turned to dark magic but that corrupted him so completely that I was forced to terminate his contract.
It was possible, he knew, for mages to attempt to gain more power by coveting dark magic. Though rare, it was still a common enough phenomenon that rumors spread amongst the inner circles. Although not tested, it was believed that mages that truly wanted dark magic would have to steal it from another dark mage.
But dark magic was unstable in the hands of someone not naturally born a dark mage like Changkyun, which is why the new laws were passed that dark mages must be part of a clan to stabilize the volatile magic they possessed. The immense power it took to steal someone’s magic and not kill them was beyond mortal ability. Murder was the easier option but those who were too young or who lacked well-developed magic control would be unable to contain the magic and lead to a soul fragment, ultimately killing themselves, and maybe others, in the end.
What about this case would have made the person before him so desperate they would turn to dark magic? The young, youthful face of Kim Shidae’s mistress stared back at him and he frowned. The woman could not have been much older than himself.
Changkyun closed the file and sighed. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.
-- --
He barely made it home before he passed out on the floor of his room, door still slightly open. When he came to, he groaned in pain and rubbed at his chest.
In order to figure out what happened to Kim Shidae’s mistress, Changkyun had to travel to the small private cemetery where the CEO had built a small monument in her honor. Changkyun laid down a thick blanket on the grass and sat down. He closed his eyes and let his magic loose, where it penetrated through the ground in search of something.
Distantly, he felt it. Taking a deep breath, he forced his magic through and the feeling of the world disappearing took over.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing on an empty street at night in the middle of Soule. Behind him, a girl emerged wearing a sheer silk kimono and a tight-fitted black dress. Behind her, another man appeared, holding out his tan jacket to her.
“It’s cold,” he said, draping it across her shoulders. She frowned a little, touching the fabric carefully before pulling it off and handing it back to him.
“It’s fine,” she replied, coldness evident in her voice. “You should go. He’ll be picking me up soon.”
“Who is this he?” the man asked, still uncomfortably close to the woman.
She stepped back. “Someone important,” was all she said before walking away and leaving the man behind. A car rolled up and she got in quickly, shutting the door behind her. The car zoomed away before Changkyun could even think of diving into the car after her.
He sighed and let his magic carry him through time and space of the memory until he opened his eyes and he was in front of an apartment complex. The car that the woman had stepped into stopped and she alighted from the car. Behind her, Changkyun could see the silhouette of what looked like Kim Shidae.
“Thank you, oppa,” she said. Changkyun couldn’t hear what the man in the car was saying, only that she smiled and shut the door. He followed her up to her apartment waiting for something to happen. As she changed clothes, he averted his eyes and looked around to see what could have gone wrong that would have led to this young woman’s death.
Outside, a light patter of rain started before turning into a thundering storm. A fierce crash of lightning lit up the night and when it cleared, everything was dark. Changkyun blinked, unable to see clearly until the light of a phone illuminated the girl’s face. She looked tired and upset.
A knock on the door sounded through the apartment. She frowned and standing up walked to the door, slowly opening it without removing the chain lock. From Changkyun’s vantage point, he could see a dark silhouette holding a candle.
Quietly, she undid the lock and let the mysterious person in. To Changkyun’s surprise, it was the same man from earlier, who she had met before leaving with Kim Shidae.
“What do you want?” she asked. The man was soaking wet and leaving water trails all over the floor. He followed her in and shut the door.
“Someone’s chasing after me. I need a place to hide.”
She frowned. “And you chose here?”
“If I’m going to die, I’d rather die with you, my love,” he said, giving her a dark smile.
It was quiet for a moment. “Go fuck yourself,” she responded finally, walking away from him. He grinned and followed after her.
Right as he grabbed her by the arm, the front door swung open and both turned quickly towards the noise. In the doorway, illuminated by the flashes of lightning, a dark figure stood. Something crawled up Changkyun’s skin, a feeling of discomfort that left him feeling cold.
The man pushed the woman behind him and held a fighting stance. Although it was difficult to tell in the memory, Changkyun recognized the appearance of someone releasing their magic. He was a mage.
It was a tense moment before suddenly both of them were thrown back by an unknown force from the mysterious figure in the doorway. The man staggered up and launched his own attacks. It was too dark for Changkyun to tell what type of mage the man was but he could sense the power as it spread heavily.
From behind, Changkyun could faintly make out the woman crawling away. She seemed to be choking on the heavy magic that permeated the air, too thick for any mage to breathe easily, let alone a human.
The fight between the two mages was intense and Changkyun, although he did not need to, wanted to run for cover. He made his way to the woman and waited for something to happen. The true cause of her death would appear soon.
Finally, the man collapsed to his knees and gasped. The dark figure, face hidden by his black hood, stood in front of him like a towering obstacle that he could not overcome. With a grim smile, he lowered the hood and revealed his face.
Changkyun gasped when something tried to force him out of the memory. He held on, feeling the dark magic unleash itself. Then there was screaming, blinding lights, and pain. Immense pain that it knocked Changkyun out for a brief moment.
When he came to, the lights had returned. The man on the floor lay prone but the light breathing told Changkyun that he was still alive. However, the woman behind him was frozen in death. Her body laid lifelessly against the wall, a thin trail of blood leaking down her lips. She remained in the shadows, covered away from anyone who had not been looking at her.
Changkyun winced when he stood up, feeling a sharp pain run through his chest. Soul crack , he thought. The sheer power of the magic coming off from the two mages must have caused his magic to rebel to protect itself.
He frowned when in the corner of his eye, the dark figure stood and rubbed at his chest. Did he go through a soul crack as well? In front of him, Kim Shidae’s driver stood, blood leaking through his mouth in a morbid grin.
The driver bent down and started to drag the other man’s body down, where he groaned in pain, attempting to turn in on himself to soothe the burning in his chest.
Slowly, the pieces were coming together. But there was one thing that was missing that Changkyun needed to know before he could connect all the pieces together. He walked over to the corpse of the woman, even paler in death, the only color the bright red of blood and her lipstick. Gently, he placed his hand on his forehead and released the remaining magic he had left.
In the real world, it was raining, a soft drizzle that had soaked Changkyun to the bone while he lay unconscious on the ground during his venture into the memory. Luckily, the blanket he was on protected him from being covered completely in mud.
He stood up and started the trek back to his room, shivering as the rain poured around him.
As he heated boiling water to make instant ramen, he waited for Kim Shidae to pick up his phone. In new clothes, he sat down and listened to the ringing of the phone.
“Kim Shidae speaking,” the voice on the other line said.
“Hello sir, this is Lim Changkyun. I had a few questions about the case.” The CEO grunted. Changkyun took that as a sign to continue. “I discovered that your driver was a mage,” he started slowly.
“Ah yes.”
“Why do you not put him on these cases that you give to the black mage market. You obviously trust him.”
“I try to make it so that there’s less obvious connection to my involvement in these cases. He does other jobs for me. And he also tends to be a little less… subtle when he does such cases.”
Changkyun nodded. “I see. And would you happen to know any other mages?”
There was a pause. “I’ve hired a few before,” he admitted. “Why do you ask?”
“One’s that you’ve tried to kill before? Or had your driver kill?”
The tension lingered the longer the silence remained. “Why do you ask?” he repeated, tightness evident in his voice.
“I’d take it that you were planning to file criminal charges against the murderer, right?” There was a sound of affirmation across the line. “It seems you hired the murderer yourself.”
“What do you mean?” If Changkyun had been face to face, he imagined Kim Shidae’s face would have paled.
“The dead was killed in the crossfire of a mage battle,” he said slowly, feeling the distaste in his mouth. “The combined magic power and subsequent soul cracks from both mages were too much for a human. She died from the sheer force of magic around her.”
“No, you’re lying,” Shidae said shakily. “That wouldn’t have had happened.”
“I believe you’d find that it is within the realm of possibility and is what happened,” Changkyun replied calmly. He stuttered over his next few words, not used to giving off long monologues. “But- but there’s some things I’m trying to connect before I can give you the final answer.”
“Ask away,” he said, wearily.
“Why did you send someone to kill that mage?”
Kim Shidae sighed. “I didn’t. The only time I’ve sent my driver to deal with a mage was when one had gotten cocky and attempted to monopolize the black market cases I gave out.”
Changkyun hummed. “Then how did that one know your mistress?”
On the phone, it went silent, not even light breathing or the clicking of pens could be heard. “What?” the CEO breathed out.
“What was the relationship between your mistress and that mage?”
“None,” he said. “The only possible thing I could think of was when I sent him out to investigate her… her death.”
Changkyun frowned. It seemed the CEO did not know there was a prior relationship. “Do you… do you think that’s why he turned to dark magic?”
There was a pause. “Possibly. He was very distraught when he saw the picture.”
“I see. It’s starting to make sense now,” Changkyun said. “I’ll be at your office with the full details tomorrow. Please have the money ready to be transferred.”
There was a quiet “Of course,” before the line cut off. Changkyun frowned and stirred his noodles. Lightly, he rubbed at his chest, feeling the ache where there was no doubtedly a crack on his soul mark.
For a moment, he thought of the X-clan before shutting those thoughts down and turning on the TV. Tomorrow, he would prepare to leave Soule and move on.
-- --
Changkyun walked out with his wallet much heavier and none of his questions answered. Kim Shidae had only given him a wary look as he spoke, detailing what he knew of the crime. After he had finished speaking, the CEO slid him an envelope.
“For your efforts,” he said. “Although I can’t get justice for her, at least there’s no more questions. It seems-” he hesitated, “it seems that I should have been more careful who I chose for missions from the very start.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Changkyun replied, “if you hadn’t given me the opportunity to do jobs for you, I would have starved by now.”
Kim Shidae smiled lightly. “You said you’re moving away from Soule now?”
Changkyun nodded.
“It’s a shame. Who will I go to for missions now?”
A soft smile settled on Changkyun’s face. “If you can’t contact me, may I recommend a group?” The CEO gestured for him to continue. “The X-Clan. They’re quite powerful and I guarantee you will be happy with their work. They’re not exactly from Soule but they’re close enough.”
With that, he bowed and left. He stopped by the bank to deposit the check and to withdraw some money for the road. Changkyun only had his bag and a few possessions that he had grown attached to in his stay in Soule. But it was time to move on.
A part of him mourned leaving everything behind, the same part that missed his hyungs and loathed the loneliness of being a stray mage. It was different now than it was those few years ago after his first clan had disbanded. Having gotten a taste of what clans were supposed to be like made Changkyun crave it more, like an addict searching for his next fix.
He walked down the streets, soaking in the sights, the last he would see for a long while as he traveled the country. Changkyun considered leaving the country, especially now that he had the money to do so, but border rules about unbound dark mages made it difficult to leave easily without proper planning months in advance.
It was a quiet afternoon, he mused. The sun was bright and shiny, the sky a perfect blue. He had just barely missed the morning crowd headed to the subways for the early commute. As he walked past the inner city subways to the trains, it transitioned from a busy crowd to a quiet street where Changkyun’s footsteps echoed off the buildings as he walked.
Streets empty, he closed his eyes and let his feet carry him along. His eyes snapped open when he heard footsteps behind him.
The heavy footfalls seemed to get louder and Changkyun tensed as he sped up, hoping not to run into the other members. How did they know where he was? He headed to an alley, hoping to use it as a hiding spot.
As soon as he turned in, the footsteps disappeared. Changkyun bent over and tried to catch his breath only to look up and be pushed down to the ground and out in the open when a dark-haired man stood in front of him.
This man was a mage, Changkyun could sense his magic because it raged uncontrollably around him. It wasn’t magic he was familiar with. Changkyun winced as he moved his hands, scratched up from scraping the ground when he fell. He looked up, hoping to see who it was.
Changkyun froze. In front of him was the man that he had seen in the memory, the mage that had been taken away. In the back of his head, a faint voice reminded him that this person was the same person that had turned to dark magic when he couldn’t solve the murder of Kim Shidae’s mistress and what he presumed was the mage’s lover.
The mage’s eyes were a dark black, black lines radiating out from the pupils. His face was unnaturally pale, like the life had been sucked out of him and along his neck, spidery black lines spread across, looking like it originated from where his soul mark should be. A long tongue licked grayish-blue lips and Changkyun shivered at the intense smirk that the mage in front of him wore.
He bent down unnervingly close to Changkyun and Changkyun could see the thin black lines that spread across his face, like tiny cracks on the surface of a pot about to break. Changkyun looked down, unable to look at the messed up features without feeling sick.
A thin, spindly finger reached under Changkyun’s chin and pushed his face up to look at the dark mage. “So this is who Shidae decided to replace me with,” the mage mused, a cruel smile playing on his lips.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Changkyun said, voice shaky. He slowly tried to back away.
The other mage stood up and laughed hysterically, like a psychopath. Changkyun took the chance to stand up and run as fast he could, hoping to lose the dark mage quickly.
It wasn’t as easy as he hoped it would be. Changkyun could feel the sheer magic power fill the air and something grabbed his ankle sending him toppling over. When he looked back to see what it was, a hand made out of shadows let go of his leg and slithered back into the darkness.
He winced when he stood up, feeling a twinge in his ankle. Behind him, the dark mage walked leisurely, the shadows bending towards him at his will. Changkyun debated what to do. He couldn’t run, not with his bag full and his ankle hurt.
Then there was a shrill scream and Changkyun turned. Just a little off ways was a young woman holding a small child to her chest. Unbidden, the image of Shidae’s mistress appeared in Changkyun’s mind. The sheer force of magic between this battle would kill her if she wasn’t able to get to the safety.
There was no hesitation, no questions asked. He turned to her and barked, “Get out!” Changkyun threw his bag down and stood up, holding back stumbling from the pain.
“Hey,” he shouted, “your fight is with me.”
He turned and ran off away from the train station, hoping to put distance between them and any humans that could be caught in the crossfire. When he turned around, there was a leisurely smile on the other mage’s face as he calmly walked after Changkyun. But his strides were long and it seemed that the shadows propelled him forward because for every stride he took, he got even closer to Changkyun.
The necromancer ran faster, trying to outpace the nameless dark mage. He tumbled to a stop as he got to the large, empty clearing by the river that ambled lazily through the city. Behind him, he could hear the faint steps of the dark mage.
Scanning the vicinity, he sighed in relief when it was completely empty. Changkyun picked himself up and dusted himself off as he turned to glare at the approaching dark mage.
“I thought you wanted to fight, little one,” the man in front of him laughed.
“What do you want,” Changkyun spat out. “I don’t work for Kim Shidae anymore.”
The dark mage’s eyes darkened. “Good choice,” he said, voice tight and bitter. “But that’s not what I want.” His eyes gleamed.
Changkyun resisted the urge to shudder. “Then what do you want,” he gritted out, trying to keep his face expressionless and voice calm.
“Power.” The way the man said it made Changkyun’s blood run cold. The sheer force of the dark magic that leaked out of this man spoke of unbelievable power as it was, power that he could not control nor handle. Why would he want more?
The dark mage laughed at Changkyun’s expression. “Ah, you probably can tell that I already have a lot of power,” he said, gesturing to himself. His expression hardened. “It’s not enough.”
Changkyun stepped back as the magic surrounding the mage grew even more frenzied and thick, dark lines started spreading along the lines that were already visible on the mage’s neck.
“Tell me. What would you do for someone you love?”
Changkyun paused, confused at the question. “Why are you asking,” he said guardedly.
“Just answer the question.”
“Anything.”
With a smile, “Exactly,” the other mage said before all his magic came blasting towards Changkyun. The necromancer was thrown back into the air where he landed with a thud on his back. He groaned in pain, pushing himself to stand up.
Changkyun could feel his own dark magic warring to get out. It seeped out along the crack in his soul mark and the longer he didn’t fight against the other mage, the more it pushed against his control.
“Don’t worry, little mage,” the man cooed, “your magic will be put to good use.”
Before the man could approach him, Changkyun ran to the largest leafy tree and grabbed the trunk. Instantly, death spread throughout the tree, battering the other mage in dead leaves and broken branches, burying him under the yellow and orange foliage. Changkyun grabbed one from the ground and held it out in front of him like a sword.
With a snarl, the dark mage blasted the plants away from him and in a blink of an eye, was in front of Changkyun. He ripped the branch from Changkyun’s hands and grabbed Changkyun by the neck, pinning him to the tree. As Changkyun struggled against the stranglehold, the man leant in with a cold smile.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “It’ll be over in an instant.”
Changkyun’s last thought was I wish I could have said good-bye. I’m sorry hyungs. Then there was immense pain and the world went black.
-- --
“I found his backpack,” Kihyun called out, holding up a dark black bag with a few button pins decorating it. Inside were a few clothes and a wallet that when opened revealed Changkyun’s ID card.
“His signal is somewhere here,” Minhyuk said, frustrated. “It was so strong before. But now it’s really faint. I can’t get a good hold of it.”
Hoseok, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke. “There’s traces of dark magic down here,” he said, pointing down a road.
“Changkyun wouldn’t use dark magic if he didn’t need to,” Jooheon countered.
Hyunwoo’s eyes furrowed. “What if his powers manifested and he lost control?”
“What if he’s in trouble,” Kihyun said, gripping Changkyun’s bag in his hand. “We need to hurry.”
They followed Hoseok, the presence of dark magic becoming thicker and more cloying the closer they got to the river. A human would not have been able to pass, the air so heavy with magic that it lay like a weight on top of them.
Hoseok screamed but was quickly shut off by Hyunwoo putting a hand over his mouth.
Hyungwon, who had been closer to the back, froze when he saw why. In the distance, two figures stood facing off. The tree behind one of them had fallen over, destroyed.
The shorter figure wobbled a little on his feet, like nausea was starting to settle in. He clutched his chest for a moment, trying to balance himself. The taller figure did not seem fazed, only raised his hand to wipe his mouth and spit out some blood to the floor.
Even from where they were, Hyungwon could see the spindly black patterns stretched over the taller’s face. Next to him, Jooheon was tense.
Slowly, they approached, trying not to make the two fighting mages aware of their presence. They hid behind a tree, careful not to make too much noise. As they got closer, they could hear the rasping voice of the taller.
“Stop fighting back, you piece of shit,” he spat out.
“No,” was Changkyun’s quiet reply. A bit of pride swelled in Hyungwon’s chest, admiration for Changkyun’s resilience filling it with warmth.
Hyungwon tensed as the rogue dark mage rushed toward Changkyun, towering over the smaller body. “I need more power!” he roared, reaching for Changkyun’s throat. Hyungwon’s breath hitched as Changkyun did not move and the hand enclosed around it, fitting perfectly across blue bruises already etched in the skin.
“Let the dead stay dead,” he cried out, and the dark mage was thrown back, sending Changkyun to the floor. He looked up and thanked someone that the others couldn’t see, spirits perhaps.
The other man struggled on the floor, the shadows around him wriggling in agitation. If Hyungwon looked closely, his arms and legs were held down by bones that had breached the ground and wrapped themselves around the man like shackles.
Changkyun staggered forward. “She doesn’t want this,” he said quietly, reaching out to touch the man’s forehead. The magic surrounding the two became thicker but cleaner and with a sigh, Changkyun reached down and directed his magic to pull the dark magic out of the man.
The dark mage stopped struggling before letting out a long wail. All the shadows in the area rushed towards the two, causing Changkyun to fall back, stopping him from finishing the extraction of dark magic.
“Changkyun!” Hoseok screamed.
Changkyun turned to them and his eyes widened in shock. He didn’t have time to say anything before the shadows at his feet started wrapping around the prone mage on the floor and bubbling around, pure darkness engulfing everything in its path.
“Get out of the way,” Jooheon screamed, pulling Hoseok back where he was about to run forward. “It’s a soul fragment!”
“No, Changkyun!” Kihyun yelled.
No one was prepared for the seismic amount of magic that was released when a soul fragmented. Instantly, everyone threw up their magic to shield the group. Changkyun stood alone, closest to the detonated magic.
In almost a mess of magic colliding and creating a hazy chaos of mess, a boom! was felt and everyone was thrown backwards. A bright light took over and the world faded into the shadows.
When Hyungwon finally managed to stand up, a giant rock wall had been erected, fortified by a heavy thicket of branches from the tree they had hidden behind. Several of the park benches and metal fences were piled against it too.
He blinked and looked around. The others looked disoriented but fine. He gasped. “Changkyun!”
A painful feeling in his gut brewed. Changkyun hadn’t been protected and he had been closest to the soul fragment when it happened. Was he okay? How could he be?
Slowly, everything fell away as the others put down their shields crafted by their magic. In the dust, Hyungwon saw a prone body and his heart sank. No, it couldn’t be.
As the dust cleared, it became obvious that the body on the ground was not Changkyun but the dark mage that he had been fighting. His face was pale in death and the cracks that littered his body spoke of unspeakable horrors. In the area where his soul mark should have been, a gaping hole that leaked darkness and shadows remained. Soul consumption .
“Where’s Changkyun?” Kihyun asked, voice wobbly. “Where is he?”
“He had to have gotten away,” Jooheon said, shaking his head. “He has to.” The rawness in his voice would haunt Hyungwon’s nightmares for a long time afterwards.
Minhyuk pointed to something. “There’s something there.”
Hyunwoo looked down. “I don’t see anything.”
“Look,” Minhyuk emphasized. “There!”
Hoseok turned his gaze. “No, he’s right. There’s something there.”
Hyunwoo sighed. “Be careful,” he warned. “We don’t know what it is.”
Slowly, they made their ways towards it, each mage holding their magic ready to fight if it came down to that. As they got closer, the magic became clearer, waves of magic bending the light around a certain spot. It looked like… a portal.
In front of them, standing in what seemed like a rip between the human plane, was Changkyun.
“Changkyun! You’re okay.” Jooheon cried out, rushing forward, only to stop when Changkyun took a step back.
“Don’t get closer, hyungs,” he warned. “This is a portal to the Netherworld. Put one finger in and you’ll die.” He coughed, voice shaky and legs weak.
From where Hyungwon stood, he could see the paleness that had settled on Changkyun’s skin and how color continued to leak out of his complexion, making him almost unnaturally ghostly.
“Changkyun, please,” Kihyun begged. “Don’t run away.”
The necromancer shook his head resolutely. “No, this is for the best. I need to do this.” Changkyun swayed on his feet, obviously struggling to stay conscious.
“We need you!” Hoseok exploded. “Whatever is going on in your head, just stop. We’ll work it out!”
In the corner of his eye, Hyungwon caught the edge of the portal inching closer. “Please, Changkyun,” he said. He huffed and reached forward. “If you don’t come out, I’ll come in and get you,” he threatened.
Changkyun’s eyes widened. “You can’t,” he said. “You’ll die.”
“And so will you if you don’t hurry,” Hyungwon countered. He held his hand out.
Hesitantly and ever so slowly, Changkyun reached his hand out across the divide and gripped Hyungwon’s hand. Behind him, the others wrapped their arms around each other and pulled until Changkyun had been lifted out of the portal and back to the real world.
He stumbled to the ground, legs shaky and red starting to filter through his cheeks. He wheezed and with a soft sigh, Changkyun collapsed, a dead weight that dragged all the members down with him.
Luckily, Hyunwoo managed to cushion his fall with his body and Changkyun rolled gently to the ground a few feet away. But before anyone could reach over to the boy to make sure he was okay, a burst of magic sent them flying back.
“It can’t be,” Minhyuk said quietly. “A soul fragment would be much stronger, wouldn’t it?”
Kihyun approached slowly and pushed Changkyun over, where he had been laying in a pile of limbs. He patted Changkyun’s cheek slowly, checking for any responsiveness but Changkyun remained motionless. Only the light rise and fall of his chest through his baggy jacket was any sign of life and it wasn’t necessarily a good one. Soul fragments broke the connection between the soul and the body but it didn’t necessarily mean that the body would die.
“We have to check,” Minhyuk said. Kihyun slowly pulled at the top of Changkyun’s shirt, so that it slipped off his shoulder and revealed the soul mark on his chest.
The circle, surrounded in chains, the sign of a necromancer, was covered in dark lines, cracks that spread out fully throughout the mark. They gathered around and traced each line, hoping that no line would completely connect, signaling a complete soul fragment.
After a long, tedious moment, they stepped back with a sigh of relief. While extensively damaged, Changkyun’s soul was not fragmented, only severely cracked. With enough love and rest, he would be fine.
Hyunwoo gathered Changkyun into his arms and the clan walked back, ready to head home and finally complete.
-- --
Changkyun woke up to a dark room on a soft bed. He touched the bedding carefully only to realize that it was his own back at the clan house. He sighed softly and held up his hand to trace lightly at the clan mark, fully inked and perfect.
“You’re awake,” a voice said. Changkyun jumped and turned around blindly in the dark. The lights flickered on and Hoseok appeared by his side. How Changkyun had missed him, he wasn’t sure. He would blame the disorientation.
“How long was I out?” he asked softly, voice hoarse. Hoseok handed him a water bottle and watched him drink with unreadable eyes.
“About a week,” he finally said. Changkyun choked. What?
“You gave us quite a scare there, kid,” Hoseok said. “We didn’t know when you’d wake up or even if you’d wake up at all.”
“Well, I did,” Changkyun mumbled.
Hoseok gave him a fond smile that made Changkyun’s heart flutter. “Yeah, you did.” He stood up and clapped his hands. “Go to sleep a little more. It’s like 4AM. Kihyun will be up soon but you should rest before he comes in and gives you the ultimatum.”
Changkyun groaned, not pleased about being lectured after almost dying.
But Hoseok was right, that he would need the rest. He sat through Kihyun’s speech, then Hyunwoo’s stern lecture, then Hyungwon’s rants, then Jooheon’s rambling, and Minhyuk’s long-winded monologue. He suffered through their hugs and affection until the warmth that filled in became too much after spending so much time alone.
Finally, they were all gathered around his bedside. “Changkyun, why did you run away?”
He hesitated, unsure of how to answer Hyunwoo. “I- I thought it would be for the best,” he managed to say. “Dark magic corrupts clan bonds and I didn’t want anything to happen to you guys.”
“Don’t you think,” Hyungwon interrupted, “that you should have given us that choice?”
Kihyun hummed in agreement. “We were so worried about you, Changkyun.”
“And in the end, we were okay. You didn’t have to run,” Minhyuk added, rubbing at Changkyun’s shoulder gently.
Changkyun turned his head down and nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Jooheon soothed, voice soft and careful. “You only did what you thought was best. Just,” he said, “just talk to us, okay?”
“Okay,” Changkyun nodded.
And that was the end of that. It took Changkyun another week to recuperate and at least to get back on his feet. Kihyun’s prescription for him was intense love and adoration so that his soul cracks would heal. Slowly and carefully, things returned to normal.
One afternoon, as Changkyun flipped through Monsta , he spotted a small handwritten note at the back of the book.
Changkyun,
It has come to my attention that you are worried about how your powers will affect your clan. I offer this advice to you.
For all good luck, there must be bad luck. Death is not inherently evil nor is it inherently kind. It is neither a punishment nor a blessing. Love is something the heavens do not willingly offer, only what mortals can. And as always, death is the inevitable end. Everything must die, even the gods.
I wish you luck in your endeavors, you who I have blessed with great power. I saw in your soul, greatness, which is why I granted you your magic. Be sure in yourself that the magic you possess is a gift and not a curse.
The Grim Reaper
“Changkyun? Hey, we have to go.”
Changkyun closed the book with a soft smile and looked up to where the six other members of the X-clan were waiting.
“You okay?” Jooheon asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”