Chanyeol woke to find himself staring at his legs. He was now sitting in a chair, no longer tied. He was barefoot and the concrete felt cool under his feet. Dirt and mold was caked in the divots and cracks in the ground. Under the grime, though, he could make out a pattern of a crescent moon surrounded by stars. He looked up. Torches lined the walls. Bookshelves full of dusty books sat perfectly between each torch. They were organized by color and what color print was on the spine. One bookshelf had all black text while another had gold. There was one shelf that didn’t have books. A large metal bowl sat on the top shelf, boxes filled the shelf below, and then the others had plants and animal bones on them. There didn’t seem to be an exit, not that he would know where to go. For all he knew, he could be trapped underground.

He stood up. After sitting for so long it felt great to stretch his limbs. Then it hit him. He had no idea how long he had been asleep. It was definitely more than an hour, he concluded, but what if he had been out for a day? Maybe he had been out for two days. He didn't want to think about it, but he could have been out for much longer than a few days. His family was probably looking for him. Maybe he was asleep for so long that they gave up, or they were already old and wrinkly. He shook his head. That wasn't plausible. He hadn't aged a bit. He checked the back of his hand. They still looked young. He sighed in relief.

He put his hand down and glanced around the room again. Nothing changed, not that he was expecting it to. With everything that had happened, though, he wouldn't have been surprised. It was all because Jongdae just had to get his hands on money. Now Chanyeol was kidnapped by some buff men who could make him go to sleep with a wave of their hands. If he ever escaped, the first thing Chanyeol planned to do was to kick Jongdae’s . Never again was he going to walk into shady carts with Jongdae.

Chanyeol walked towards one of the bookshelves--the one with black lettering. He put a finger on a purple, medium sized book. There was something that drew him to it. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was a sudden urge to read the whole thing. He pulled it out. The book was heavier than it looked and came down with a crash. He paused. What if someone heard him? He probably shouldn't have touched the book, but he had nothing better to do. He waited another minute to make sure no one was going to burst in (if they even found a way to) and yell at him for touching a sacred book. However, the room stayed silent. He breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in front of the book. He turned the pages up, making sure they weren't bent, before laying it on its back.

The book was opened to somewhere near the center. Two pages were bordered with elaborate designs in gold. Upon closer inspection, Chanyeol noticed that certain parts of the border depicted an event. The one on the left page had two parents holding a baby. On the right page was a picture of a unicorn. He flipped backwards until he found where the section with the baby and the parents started.

His eyes scanned the page. What was there didn't seem very important to him. It was about a boy being born into a royal family who had a history of magic. The baby was supposed to save some magical world when he was older. It all seemed more like a fairy tail, the more Chanyeol read on. Some things sounded impossible, and others were just plain weird. At that point, he stopped reading and flipped the last couple of pages. The second to last page had a note in small handwriting. Chanyeol leaned down to get a better look, and he nearly dropped the book when he read what it said.

The Byun heir. Find him.

Chanyeol squinted, thinking he read it wrong. It probably was just messy handwriting. In all honesty, though, the script was neat and that was when Chanyeol started freaking out. There could be many peasants with the last name Byun, but there was only one family in all of the known kingdoms with the last name Byun. It was Baekhyun’s family. Chanyeol shook his head. It couldn't be Baekhyun. Maybe the book is talking about his dad. It was a pretty old book, and he didn't know when the note was written. It could've been one hundred years before Baekhyun was born, making it pertain to the, now, emperor.

Chanyeol closed the book and was about to open another when he heard the sound of shifting bricks. The shelf with things that weren't books had disappeared and the wall was separating. A wooden door appeared in the middle of the wall. It was old and had a metal handle. A click sounded from the other side and the door was pushed open. Chanyeol dropped his hands and scrambled back to the chair he woke up in.

A man dressed in dark robes walked in. He was a bit shorter than Chanyeol and was middle aged. Strands of grey could be seen in his hair. His eyes were droopy and had a soft look in them. When he saw Chanyeol, he smiled and bowed his head. An odd sense of familiarity hit Chanyeol, but couldn't place it. He relaxed his muscles and let his arms swing loosely at his side.

“Hello, Chanyeol,” the man said.

Chanyeol looked at his feet. He saw the bottom of the man’s robes. They were rimmed with gold and had a small pattern of the moon phases going all the way around. They shimmered in the light as he shifted.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience earlier.” The man sighed. “The guys tend to be aggressive.”

Chanyeol kept his mouth shut. He didn't know what this man wanted, but he wasn't going to give away any information, especially if it's about Baekhyun. He was unable to get the “prophecy” out of his mind. When he saw the shelf and wall become a door, suddenly the idea didn't seem so far-fetched.

“Ah, the prophecy.” The man clasped his hands together. “I was hoping you'd see that.”

Chanyeol’s head snapped up. Did he say that out loud? Surely he didn't, or at least he didn't think. He stared at the man.

“Your thoughts are loud, Chanyeol.”

His thoughts? His thoughts were his, in his head. How could this man know his inner monologue? He could be a psychic, or a fortune teller who could see his future comments, if he decided to ever say them. Chanyeol shook his head. Both of those options seemed too out there. Then again, so was the whole magical prophecy.

“You know very little of what's out there.”

“Who are you?” Chanyeol muttered.

“You will know in due time. For know, just know that I'm here to help you understand what's going on.” The man walked over and put a hand on the back of Chanyeol’s chair. “But first, get up from the chair.”

Chanyeol did as he said and turned around. The man wasn't very tall. In fact, Chanyeol towered over him. There was a good five inches between them. Chanyeol felt comforted knowing this.

The man caught Chanyeol’s eye. “Before we go, let me just clean up.” He tapped the back of the chair and it disappeared.

Chanyeol went bug eyed. He began to back away from the man. The sense of comfort disappeared completely. The only thing that went through his head was, I’m crazy, this man is crazy, I must be dreaming. There was no other explanation for it.

“Follow me,” the man said. He was now at the door. He had a serious look in his eyes and Chanyeol knew he should probably do as he said, but he stood there, eyes wide. He shook his head and glanced around the room. He was hoping that some other exit was there that he didn't see earlier. Unfortunately, the only one was where the man was.

“I won't hurt you, don't worry. I just want you to meet a few people.” The man walked over in a calm manner to Chanyeol. Chanyeol backed up until he hit a shelf. The man put a gentle hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. A sudden warmth and fuzzy feeling started from Chanyeol’s feet and moved through his body. He was instantly calmed and the man didn't seem as terrifying as before. He relaxed under the hand and was more willing to follow.

The man’s eyes softened and he looked at Chanyeol with a sort of fondness. “I didn't mean to scare you, but please, this is urgent.” The man dropped his hand and turned to the door. When he began to walk, Chanyeol followed.

On the other side of the door was a winding staircase. The walls were stone and there were few windows. A breeze blew through, causing Chanyeol to shiver. The torches’ light flickered and the man’s shadow shifted on the walls. As Chanyeol went, he realized the torches weren't nailed to the wall. They were floating a few inches from it. He wanted to pass his hand behind one to check, but they were just barely out of his reach.

Many steps later, they reached another door. The only difference from the previous door was that this one didn't have a handle and it wasn't wood. It looked like glass, but it was foggy and Chanyeol could barely make out the shapes on the other side.

The man wasn't fazed by the lack of handle. Instead, he just pressed his palm to the glass. His hand sunk in, as if the glass was malleable, and a light glowed from underneath. The door disappeared and now it was just an archway into a hall.

Chanyeol followed the man out and when the door reappeared, he tried to press his hand against it. He was expecting it to be softer and bend under his hand, but it was just solid glass. He frowned and looked to the man who was already a few paces ahead. Chanyeol shook his head and caught up.

The hallway was large. Tapestries hung here and there. They depicted a magical battle of, what looked like, wizards. One side was dark, and the other was light. On the dark side, large monsters rose from the ground along with goblins and ghouls. On the light, there were men on white horses, angelic creatures following them. Chanyeol couldn't help but notice the color purple was prominent with the dark side and blue was obvious on the light side. He looked at the man’s robes. They were a deep plum. He hoped it was a standard color robe between wizards and that he wasn't kidnapped by the dark wizards.

They turned the corner and were now walking towards two glass double doors. Blurry silhouettes moved behind the door. Chanyeol could see large items that were being moved back and forth. Muffled voices were heard. There was some shouting. Whoever was yelling was commanding the other people. The man stopped a few feet from the gigantic doors and turned to Chanyeol.

“Do not be alarmed when we walk in. No one in there will hurt you, and if they do, they will be severely dealt with,” the man said, face turning dark for a moment before becoming a smile. Chanyeol shuddered at the change of mood. What could possibly be behind the door? He braced himself for the worst. The man nodded, satisfied, and pressed his hands against the door. The glass began to fade starting from the bottom and going up.

When the glass door finally disappeared altogether, Chanyeol’s eyes went wide.