[Ren’s PoV]

A couple of days had passed before Jonghyun was finally able to walk around on his own and a week before he was able to use his magic freely. His condition had improved greatly, but worry still consumes me from time to time because he is clearly still very ill because of the exhaustion that is constantly showing on his abnormally pale face. He had spent the night’s since he woke up searching for the original temple’s locations and apparently he had discovered them over night along with a book about dark magic and how to break curses caused by either a mage or a tear in the realities.

JR had been spending the days in his father’s office going through all his books and records, looking for a map or something that hinted at the locations of the original temples. He then would spend the night looking for a way to get rid of the bond between his brother and their uncle; he tried his hardest for his twin, his only direct blood relative.  He had yet to find anything on how to break the curse of the Void’s Seed, which was why we all were surprised he was so willing to travel with Minhyun alone to find the Book of Water, despite knowing that it could very well be a trap set up in an effort getting the location of the original temples and getting the two other element books, which he left behind in my care – promising that when he returned he’d begin to teach me the ways of the air.

As he and his brother did eventually set off, I felt worry creeping up my spine – especially as they left my line of sight, especially as I thought of the possibility of this being a trap and of Minhyun playing us in the most horrible way.

I couldn’t keep still, my mind was too anxious as I thought of all that Minhyun could do to the still weak Jonghyun – what their uncle could do to them while they were out. I prayed that Minhyun would be able to fight off the evil man’s control, even if it was only for a little bit, prayed that he’d protect Jonghyun rather than harm him, and prayed that he’d prove to the others that he wasn’t going to harm anyone anymore – prove that he wasn’t as bad as they thought he was…that it was possible to change in a few days.

[Jonghyun’s PoV]

Silence sat thickly between Minhyun and I as we strolled through the shadow filled land, avoiding as many as we could as we advanced towards the location of the Book of Water, which was shockingly not too far from the mage’s tower – our base of action.

“Are you sure we should be traveling alone right now?” questioned Minhyun, “Just you and I?”

“Is there a reason that I should be afraid of you, as to why I should not trust you?”

He paused in shock, peering at me and the biting words I spoke, he shook his head, whispering, “No, but…the others don’t trust me.”

“I don’t trust you fully right now either,” I responded, “My brother or not, you tried to poison me without a second thought…”

“I’m sorry about that,” whispered Minhyun, clearly guilty, I could sense it in the bond that had appeared between the two of us – it still was not like the one between Minki and I, but it was still very strong.

“I know you are, but I’d rather us travel alone together, because I will only let you near the prince if I fully trust you,” stated Jonghyun, “Plus, if you do decide to attack me, do decided to lead me into a trap, then I won’t have to worry about any of the other being harmed – worry about any of them being brought into this horrible mess.”

Minhyun sighed, “Good…”

I grew uneasy as I peered at his slightly jittery form as he continued to lead me through the white wasteland – where days and nights did not pass, or didn’t seem like they did.  A sudden shiver ran up my spine – I could sense the shadows dancing around us, closing in on us – getting ready to swallow us.  

“He’s here isn’t he?”

Minhyun nodded silently towards me, whispering – more like choking out the words, “I’m sorry…”

I shook my head and cursed, pulling Minhyun in the direction of the small cottage he had pointed out the location of earlier in our travels. I cursed, knowing that the man – our uncle – was preventing Minhyun from aiding me – I could feel the fear the man felt about losing his vessel, the fear he had since I had survived the poison.

“Come on Minhyun, fight off his control,” I stated, peering over my shoulder at Minhyun, seeing that the male was zoned out – his expression void of emotions and his eyes staring at me blankly as I pulled him through the flats of the land, “I understand it now…you’re not doing this willingly anymore…from his reaction I know that you’re betraying him.”

He continued to stare blankly at me, it really shocked me that he was still following me, letting me pull him in the direction of the book, I was shocked to see that the male was not fighting against me what so ever – that our uncle had not taken control of Minhyun, that he had not made him prevent me from advancing towards the book.

However, it was a very pleasant surprise to not be attacked during the travels – something I found both really odd and really relieving. Just as the cottage came into sight, wall of purple fire was sent our way; it knocked us both off our feet and a couple of meters away. Minhyun lay lifelessly on the ground upon impact – despite the cold expression on his face. I on the other hand, pushed myself up onto trembling legs staring in shock as countless different Guardians of the Void and their personal Hounds formed from the shadows before us.

“It was a trap,” I whispered, peering at the prone form of Minhyun – who was still clearly being controlled by our uncle, “You just didn’t know about it…huh?”

Minhyun’s form writhed a bit and he choked up a bit – making a weird groaning noise as if he was trying to talk to me but was incapable of doing so. I watched for a second more as he screamed out in pain and his back arched up off the ground before he collapsed back down onto the cold snow, unconscious.

“What did you do!?” I called out in anger, knowing that although he wasn’t physically here, our uncle was watching as the Guardians and the Hounds of Hell circled around me – their prey, “What did you do to him?”

I groaned as I got no response, but felt something edging its way into me – as if the man was trying to converse with me through my thoughts, however, I fought to keep him back – not wanting him to get what he wanted, not wanting to let him into my brain or thoughts, knowing how dangerous it would be if he did…knowing that even with the Seed of the Void implanted in my mind, I could fight him off. It would be dangerous if he learnt the locations of the original temples – the ones from the legends of when our kingdom was first formed due to the battle between the neighboring countries.

“You’re not going to get a hold on me like you did with him!” I called out angrily, feeling something hot start to spread through my veins, “You aren’t going to manipulate me like you did with Minhyun, you are not going to make me your puppet – I won’t allow you to…I will not permit you to make me into a monster!”

Defiance coursed through my veins with the flames, especially as the Guardians and the Hounds crept even closer to me. Some drew their weapons back in preparation of an attack while the hounds howled, signaling for their attack.

I growled out in aggravation as I felt the prodding in my brain, as I felt something trying to reach out to me – sink its teeth into part of my memories, however, I fought it off desperately as I felt another surge of power, much like the ones I remembered feeling as a baby.

However, unlike in the past where it would just go away unseen, a wall of fire surrounded me and spread rapidly towards the guardians and their hounds. It was as if I was the epicenter of an earthquake and the flames were the shockwaves and aftershock because they kept coming periodically – burning some of the guardians and some of the hounds and forcing the others back. The waves appeared with each surge of power within my veins –despite it not doing much for the Guardians and Hounds it fended them off, kept them away, it also wiped away the prodding feeling in my mind. With each surge, the feeling in my head faded ever so slowly – forcing my uncle to give up on trying to wedge his way into my memories for the time being.

As the enemies crept closer bit by bit as the flames steadily declined in strength, I accessed the situation, noting that there were about five Guardians’ standing between me and Minhyun.  I bit my lip before pulling my attention away from my conscious brother and towards the enemies surrounding me. I took a deep breath and braised myself for the fight to come, sensing the silence growing thicker and my powers weaker.

I clenched my fist tightly, taking one final deep breath, before outstretching my hands and sending forth a large wave of flames, one stronger than the ones that had come before it. I bit my lip as many of the hounds screeched as they were devoured by the hungry flames while their agitated masters backed away from the approaching wall, bringing up defenses of their own before charging in blindly all at once in hopes to overwhelm me as I brought up a second wall of flames, catching many of the guardians off guard as they charged forward – not expecting me to bring up a second wall so quickly.

As I felt exhaustion creeping up my spine, I pulled out my swords made of ebony, knowing that there was no way I would make it back to Ren and the others if I exhausted my powers, knowing the effect it had on my body. I also knew that I’d have to face them head on in a physical battle because they were too strong – they possessed too many powers to be able to face off with them using magic, there were too just too many of them.

As one came into my range, I lunged forward, preparing my attack and upon getting close enough to my enemies, striked down the nearest mercilessly – knowing that it was either them or me. Upon the one I was attacking turning into ash, I moved on to the next – striking it down just the same as the one that had come before it. For those who were supposed to be strong, they were weak – weaker than the ones I had been forced to face before this.

As the final burst into a pile of ashes much like the others, I seethed the weapons I possessed and doubled over from a coughing fit – panting as I tried hard to get oxygen into my burning lungs before finally moving to check on the still lifeless lump I called Minhyun.

I took a deep breath again as I kneeled over his prone form, staring at him in concern as I realized the purplish tint to his skin.

“Don’t tell me the seeds power is spreading…” I whispered, resting my hands on his temples and focusing on sending a good bit of my powers into him. I bit my lip at the slight pain I felt from doing so, I saw the small tentacles that had seemingly spread under his skin retract a bit.

As soon as his skin turned back to his normal tone, well, the visible parts of it, he jolted awake and automatically looked me in the eye. His eyes shone with fear as he whispered, “He knows the locations off the books…”

“Then we have to beat him there, huh?” I muttered, pulling him back up onto his two feet and slipping his arm over my shoulder - making it so that I was supporting most of his weight, "Lead me there." 

He nodded weakly and we both set off in silence, both trying to ignore the waves of exhaustion coursing through our veins in place of power for whatever reason.

So...yeah, the next couple of chapters may seem a bet repetive in the events that happen and I'm sorry for that. However, I hope you all enjoy what is coming - as much is possible since they are not ordinary situations to be happy about. Also, don't killl me when you discover what I'm am going on about... 

Also, I just realized that we're up to 38 subscribers...YAY! Althought this isn't nearly one of my most popular pieces, it is not one of my least popular either, however, that doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy that I do have people reading it. 

I really appreciate you all taking your time to read this story (as crappy as some of the chapters are). Thank you, really, thank you.