The fire crackled and spat sparks under the night sky. Jisoo was warmed as she has been around the fire ever since Myungsoo lit it up. After some time she started to sweat though she wasn’t sure if it was due to the only source of heat before her or the conversation she has been holding with Myungsoo. He had said only she and the previous keeper could see the dark creature in the woods, and till the present time he hasn’t figured out why.

Sungjong spoke this time and it startled Jisoo greatly, to the point where she leaned the wrong way and nearly fall toward the fire. But Myungsoo was quick enough and stopped her with a stretch of his arm. “Perhaps it has something to do with your ability. For instance, the power to climb trees or something,” Sungjong recklessly threw out. Though his suggestion may be right, the way he put it amused Myungsoo.

“I thought so too. In the past, a seeker who can see them in water can bend water. However, there was one who uses fire when he could only see them on stones and rocks,”

Jisoo who still hasn’t recovered from being surprised scanned her surrounding even when she can’t see anything in the dark, “Is there someone else here?”

Myungsoo chuckled meanwhile Sungjong chose not to answer. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce you. Yes, my partner has been with us. He’s also a wizard named Sungjong,”

Without searching further Jisoo smiled briefly, “I see. No wonder, I thought I felt another presence here,” she confessed utterly. Myungsoo grinned, exposing his dimple, as he looks to Sungjong. The younger who has been observing him pivoted his body and direction altogether. Then Myungsoo saw how the blondie helped himself down against a tree. But rather than staring at the younger’s beauty, he turned back to Jisoo.

“Now that you’re aware of who you are, will you be willing to come with me?”

Jisoo sat still. She wasn’t sure if he was talking to her, though it would only make sense if he is. “Where are you headed?”

It was the first time in a long time that Myungsoo has to answer so many questions in one day, “Windy Hall, as I’ve mentioned before. There’s someone you have to free,”

She frowned, “But I can’t see? I can barely get around the place I grew up in,”

Myungsoo folded his arms and tap his chin, “It’s true that you’re the first blind seeker I’ve ever have to guide. But as the keeper, I’m certain that one day your inability to see may be an advantage for you—” before he could finish explaining, she jumped in and cut him off.

“Why must I free someone..? How are they...not free?”

“Northeast of here is a hidden Castle. It’s kept away in another dimension. Though any magic user can enter the site, only the keeper can free him. He is East. He must be freed before South comes. If East isn’t freed and South unite with West, then North, East, and West will fall,”

Jisoo was beyond lost. Nothing made sense to her and it didn’t surprise her when the mage’s partner expressed his frustration. “That makes no sense. Why would West fall if West and South unite?” Myungsoo gazed over to the lad who spoke with a hint of anger. The Black Magic caster adored it when the other gets a little annoyed.

“There are only two reasons why West could fall if teamed up with South. One,” Myungsoo held up one finger and bounced his gaze from Jisoo to Sungjong, and back, “West falls during war against East and North. Two, South ends West as South don’t work well with others,” This time Myungsoo’s eyes fell on Sungjong for what appeared to be the longest time. This made Sungjong blushed a little but he pushed it aside as it wasn’t the time to be shy.

“Why do you refer to them as cardinal directions?” Sungjong questioned, to convince Myungsoo that he wasn’t flustered just a second ago.

Myungsoo only smiled before shifting his attention elsewhere, “It’s almost midnight. We should all get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day,”

On the following morning Jisoo blamed herself for not listening. When Myungsoo said it was going to be a long day he wasn’t lying. All night long Jisoo couldn’t sleep as she couldn’t stop thinking about what was happening. What Myungsoo was talking about. And how she somehow possessed another ability aside from being able to see what Myungsoo calls “dark matter”. However, what bothered her the most was the location she’s able to see them in.

While the two lads waited for her to pack, Jisoo moved around the house freely to fill up her bag with clothes and necessities. She has been on road trips with her father before, but this time it would be different traveling with two wizards.

“Earlier I went to check the bed. The Keeper’s father was gone,” Sungjong voiced only so Myungsoo could hear. The older hummed as he pets his horse on the shoulder. “Did you really relocate his body?”

Myungsoo nodded, “He’s in good conditions now,”

Trying hard to read the older’s facial, Sungjong simply gave up when Jisoo joined them. “After I free Windy Hall’s owner, can you bring me to my father?” It fascinated them to see Jisoo facing Myungsoo and stopping just before she ran into the horse’s behind.

“Sure,” Myungsoo answered shortly. Then he tightened the saddle on his horse, “Have you ridden a horse before?”

“I have,” Jisoo smiled. For some reason, her smile put Sungjong at peace. As Myungsoo help Jisoo onto the horse and got on behind her, he eyed Sungjong moments later.

“Let’s get going, if we want to free him, it’s best to do it during daylight,”

The younger didn’t like it that Myungsoo knew too much, which pushed him to be a control freak. For once Sungjong did as Myungsoo said and climbed onto the back of his own ride. It didn’t take long for Myungsoo to lead them away from the small shack. Away from Jisoo’s father who continued to lie on his back.

Under the ground.

Entering the forest calmly all they could hear were the steps of the horses’ shoes. Until Myungsoo leaned in and whispered, “If you see any dark matter, let me know right away,” Jisoo bobbed her head at this as a sign that she understood. Meanwhile, off to the side Sungjong study them carefully. He wondered what sort of abilities does this Jisoo obtained and if any when will she revealed them. Little did he know, Myungsoo has been reading him like a hawk.

“Jisoo’s powers will most likely awaken when she encounters him, the master of Windy Hall,” Myungsoo uttered, surprising both Jisoo and Sungjong. Taking the hint that he shouldn’t be so curious in front of them, Sungjong made sure they were out of his line of vision. “However, if it doesn’t show itself before the master then don’t be burdened. Some keepers simply do not possess any other ability outside of being able to see dark matter,”

This time a question came to Jisoo, “You said I must free him, but may I ask why he's unfree..?"

Myungsoo heaved a long sigh. As a keeper’s guide for nearly a century, he was used to telling the same story over and over again. But, depending on the keeper the stories may be a little different, including the start, “Windy Hall,” Myungsoo began softly, “is in the form of a black castle when in truth is a prison. Locked and sealed away from our world. Inside the prison is the man we call Windy Hall’s master. He is the older brother of an immortal soul, someone I refer to as master. But to you, you mortals, he’s known as Lord Xia of Skyfall,”

Jisoo blinked at the familiar name. She has heard of the name from bypassers in Aruficus, Titanis, and even from the woods. Humans often speak of him as their savior and the ruler of their mortal King. A handful has also said to have visited Lord Xia of Skyfall’s tower and the massive building was unreal. Then the voice of Myungsoo brought Jisoo back to reality.

“Lord Xia has been ill lately and has sensed that the enemy is awakening from his long recovery,” Jisoo’s little break from Myungsoo’s story time had her confused. Who was ‘awakening from his long recovery’? But before she can question him, his next statement stopped her, “So as the keeper your task is to break Master Kim free from the spell he’s under. Only Master Kim can defeat Deathless Light as Lord Xia is sick,”

Deathless Light?

“This Deathless Light must have a Korean name, doesn’t he?” Sungjong asked, for Jisoo and his sake. If they don’t start learning and knowing these powerful individuals by familiar names then they won’t get anywhere.

Myungsoo grinned at his question, “He does. It’s Jiyong. Kwon Jiyong,”

Water dripped onto cement from the melting ice crystal. The sky blue crystal held a dark, human-size being inside of it. As the ice began to melt and shrink in size, movement and breathing became audible. Inside the abandoned dungeon the sound and sight of a berg cracking were taking place. The chilling sound echoed throughout the long, shallow tunnels and rattles resting insects and reptiles.

On the inside of the ice, the figure began to melt from its solid form, then gradually begin to slip through any cracks. On the ground the black liquid gathered into a puddle and slowly rise, shaping into that of a 170-centimeter tall human being. The once dark color transformed into that of pale and peach until it looked like skin. In less than three minutes a man was standing alone in the frosty room. His coal-colored hair was caked with snowflakes, beautifying his sharp yet soft Asian features.

Scanning the all too familiar room, he searched for any presence. Then before him, just a few steps away, he sees a white robe resting over a large, crystal rock. Striding over clumsily he the fabric once it was in reach. A handsome smirk was drawn on his face as he whispered, “So, you lived eh?”