Chapter Nine – Missing Identity

The gigantic double doors of the conference room slammed shut the moment Kyungsoo and Luhan arrived. The former was fuming and the King looked like he had done a crime.

“What was that about Luhan?! Who was that man?!” Kyungsoo growled the moment he knew they were safe from the eyes and walls of the castle. “I swear that he was Baek—“

“Kyungsoo he’s not my brother! At least that’s what he knew! There’s no guarantee that he was Baekhyun’s incarnation, or he just looked so much like him coincidentally but the fact that he knew nothing about Baekhyun or that Baekhyun existed was something we were trying so hard to conceal.” Luhan explained.

“Why would you do that?!”

“Because he’s the Heartfire Child Kyungsoo, but he doesn’t know that. He woke Chanyeol up, and he might be the key to end this winter. We need him on our side. With him knowing the inner conflict of his identity would hinder our mission to stop the one who casted this horrendous curse in Alfaran.”

“So you’re basically just using him.”

“I hired him. He came willingly with us together with his friends as a part of a deal we both agreed on. And hell, Kyungsoo, I didn’t even know how he looked like until the deal was over. It took me off guard as well!”

Kyungsoo paced in front of Luhan with laboured breaths. Others forgotten while the two were lost in their argument.

“He has the right to know, whether he’s Baekhyun or not, He has the right to know he was the Heartfire Child. But aside from that, you have to tell him about Baekhyun.”

The king stood on his ground and shook his head firmly.

“No.”

“What?”

“I won’t tell him.”

“And why the bloody hell not?!”

“Ka’yen will be betrayed feeling like I’ve only taken him not because of his ability, but because he looked just like by century old dead brother!” the king screamed, slicing the silence. “And I know the feeling of not knowing myself anymore just because of the misfortune that had happened to me. And I know this might be a little selfish, I had this feeling that he will leave once he knew, and I wouldn’t want him to leave.

Seeing him was just like living with my brother. It was like I was given a chance to be with him, to know him. I don’t want him gone this time as well.” Luhan’s hands trembled as it formed fists.

“Let’s do not play pretend Kyungsoo. You’ve shaken when you saw him. It’s like Baekhyun came back to life. Chanyeol too.” He looked at the silent fire wolf leaning against a pillar. “I know you felt your lover from him. With or without evidence Ka’yen is Baekhyun’s incarnation. And he must not know this. I don’t want him to lose his trust on us.”

Yixing frowned at the idea of the king and muttered, “But this is betraying him Luhan.”

“What do you want us to do…?” the King asked. “Do you want him gone? Do you want him not to exist in our lives once again? Who would want him gone for the second time around?” he asked.

No one in the room dared to raise their hand.

“You want him to stay right? You want us to be complete again, right? Then this is the decision I’ve come up with. Do not tell him about Baekhyun…Maybe the fact that he was the Heartfire child, yes we’ll talk to him about that since it was proven, but about him being my brother, being your friend…” he looked at Kyungsoo, “your lover,” then to Chanyeol, “will remain a secret.”

What they didn’t know is that outside of the room, a white, fluffy furball was floating mid-air, on the top of one pillar attached to the wall next to the door. Its wide sparkling white eyes blinked once, and twice before he had to wrap one of his long ears on his mouth to prevent himself from squeaking in shock.

Ka’yen had asked him to follow the King and the man, Kyungsoo. His new master’s first assignment for him is to find out the secret the king was keeping. And he didn’t know if it was really wise for Ka’yen to know this scandal. However, Xiumin would keep his promise and he would tell him the truth.

He disappeared into sparkles of white and snow before someone could sense his presence. Along with this news, Xiumin flew out of the palace and went back to where Ka’yen was.

The said man was out in the fortress’ front yard, in the ring where he dances with fire, along with his two short swords. Xiumin flew around his head, taking his attention first. When Ka’yen paused and motioned for him to come down, he changed into his human form, a few feet far from the Heartfire child.

“Xiumin… what did you find out…?”

Xiumin’s eyes moved and looked everywhere but him. “U-Uhm…are you sure you’d want to hear what I say?”

That was what Ka’yen had to hear to conclude that the king had hidden something from him.

“Spill it out or I’m going to stew you.” He hissed at the bunny.

“S-Stew?! That’s not part of the deal—“

“Yes but I can make it if you don’t tell me now Xiumin.”                                                        

The bunny’s gaze was something akin to concern and sympathy, two things that Ka’yen hated the most. “Ka’yen,” Xiumin started, “You’re not the person you think you are.”

The corridor seemed to be longer than how it was before. With every step that he took, the door to his room wraps in a black hole, moving away from him. Ka’yen stumbled and leaned against the nearest wall for support. Everything was spinning, even the ceiling, even the walls were shifting shapes. Lucky he managed to grab the knob of his room, pushing it open and locking it once he was inside.

He told Xiumin he wanted to be alone for a while.

All of the things he had said caused this pain, this dizziness. His head throbs like it has been pounded hundred times.

Truth comes with a price.

Ka’yen thought this was his price to pay.

However when he collapsed before he even reached his bed, he realized he was wrong.

Ka’yen you’re the Heartfire Child.

Series of images, so vivid and clear suddenly resurfaced from the back of his mind. Images of himself, as a child, so entrance by the forge of his father. His childhood that he wanted to spend making weapons with the own fire he was making.

Then it changes into images, of him summoning fire through his swords, of him breaking down that wall of ice that was built for a hundred year or so, in less than a minute, freeing Xiumin from that place.

You’re the reason why the Fire Wolf was awakened… because you have that fire he gave you a long time ago. The fire of the spirit that engulfed your being, when the Fire Wolf chose you as his mate.

Ka’yen clutched his chest, he breathes in the air through his mouth. His insides were burning and churning… As he blinked his eyes the room was no more… but he was on the ground, cold and thick snow underneath him. He gasped for air, he felt like drowning.

Then there was a man coming from his right, he was wearing that robe… he had that same face… he had that same built…

The man hovered his hand over his chest, taking out a mix of gold and ruby jewel from the inside, shaped like a diamond, floating on his palm. Ka’yen heard a call of a creature—a thunderous wave of wings against the wind…

He watched that man split the diamond into two, not that he knew how he did it. The diamond just became two. One is gold, one is ruby red.

That one ruby red was placed on top of that old dais Ka’yen didn’t notice before. It was made of ivory, small and now surrounded with red candles. In a wave of hand of that man the candles were lit up.

Ka’yen’s heart drummed louder and louder.

A huge and exotic bird came into his view, eaten by fire until transformed into a man, having the same red hair, orange eyes and wide broad wings in his back.

“Baekhyun… you’re splitting yourself into two? That’s insane! Your powers will be split in half, you could die in the process!”

The man who was holding the golden diamond laughs, “I know that Yrif… But as much as everyone looked at me like I am some kind of carefree man who doesn’t know anything but to have fun, they were wrong… I could feel that I will face the scythe of death soon. And I couldn’t just leave this world like that. Someone will take advantage of my absence…”

“Someone?”

“The Snow Queen.” Baekhyun told the winged man, suddenly serious. “She was just waiting for my fall, and she’ll invade this world. She’s my mortal enemy, Yrif. She wanted to outweigh the balance and rule Alfaran.” Sighing, the man turned to the red diamond. “I can’t let her do that. That’s why I am doing this…”

The man, Baekhyun, enveloped the red diamond with fire. What Ka’yen saw when the fire was gone, was a baby, with scarlet hair and garnet eyes, sleeping so soundly as Baekhyun wrapped it with a pelt of a mountain lion.

“Sleep well, my other self.” Baekhyun kissed the baby’s forehead.

Ka’yen gasped when the image was out in darkness. The next time he opened his eyes, he found himself in the same place. There was his father… walking in distance in the midst of hailstorm.

Tears continued to fall from his blood shot eyes when his father took out an axe, breaking the ice that froze the altar.

Ka’yen watched the scene unfold in front of him.

“Heavens… how could an innocent child like you be trapped inside that ice!”

Ka’yen cried. His father wrapped a thick blanket around the baby, who started crying for the first time. His father wasn’t really his father. Xiumin was right.

“Sh…shh… it’s alright I am gonna take you home son… “ he patted the child’s back and began rocking him side to side. “It’s alright… little boy…” he paused for a bit before smiling, “Little Ka’yen…”

He wasn’t the person who he thought he was.

He had no strength to stay awake, nor to think about what he had just saw when he found himself, his consciousness back in his chamber. Ka’yen drifted into slumber; completely heartbroken of what he had just find out.