[Ren’s PoV]

“Come on Ren, just a little bit more,” stated Mi Young happily, waving her sword a bit.

I shook my head as I stood bent over, resting my hands on my knees, panting after all the physical activity she had been making me do – what physical activity did she make me do? Well, none other than sword play even the weeks of training she had been giving me, I was out of breath in a little over ten minutes.

“Can’t we take a ten minute break?” I whispered, finally standing to my full height as I wiped away the beads of sweat on my face.

“Well, I guess we could but if Jonghyun comes to resume your training with you…then…” whispered Mi Young.

I smiled, “I understand, so how about a five minute break?”

Mi Young nodded, “Alrighty then, we have a deal, right?”

I nodded, shaking on it. As soon as the deal was set, we both looked towards the stairs, watching as Jonghyun descended the stairs to where we were – expressionless as ever.

“Any luck?” I questioned, “Finding the locations?”

He shook his head, yawning slightly – I expected him to be tired, after all, he hadn’t been sleeping well since his brother’s passing just three days ago. It was expected, “I don’t think the locations are in there…”

“Then where could they be?” I questioned.

He shrugged, “I don’t know but I feel as though rather than being countless different locations, there is just one main location.”

“What makes you think that?” questioned Mi Young.

“I keep seeing this one temple…it had four pedestals…as if it was made to hold all four books,” muttered Jonghyun, “I keep seeing it, even the nights when I hardly sleep…”

I looked at him in worry, finally processing what he had said, “So, you believe that rather than being in four separate locations, they are in one central one?”

He nodded, stumbling a bit as he moved towards me, exhaustion obvious on his features as he did so and it was also obvious through his sluggish movements, “I’ve gone through all the books in my father’s office, the locations are not in there…unless I over looked a book…”

I hummed, pacing back and forwards, thinking long and hard about her words. My eyebrows furrowed in concentration and I blocked out all the noise the others were making – ignoring the clash of steel from where the twins had resumed their practice with Baekho, ignoring their pants and grunts of effort. I pondered over something that could possibly be our new lead on the location of the temples – or if Jonghyun is right, temple.

“You ran into your uncle, right?” I questioned.

He nodded, peering at me emotionlessly. Despite the expression on his face staying blank, I saw the flash of betrayal and anger flash in his eyes at the mention of his uncle, “I did, why?”

“Did he say anything odd? Anything you weren’t expecting?”

“He said countless unexpected things,” stated JR, responding to the vague question I had asked.

“I deserved that sass…Let me rephrase that, did anything stick out more than the others?”

Jonghyun paused, taking a minute to think before humming and stating, “He did say something about needing me still…that I still had a purpose. I also remember him saying something along the line of ‘somewhere in the recesses of your memories you know where the original temples are located’.”

My eyebrows furrowed again in aggravation, not understanding the riddle.

“So, you know where the temples are?” questioned Mi Young.

“According to my uncle I should, but I honestly don’t,” responded Jonghyun, frowning.

A sudden epiphany hit me like a bat and my head shot up, my gaze towards JR, “Could it be that they aren’t in our memories but in one of our ancestors, one of your family members?”

Jonghyun paused and looked at me in shock, “It could very well mean that certain events will trigger its awakening...the unlocking of the memory.”

“What should we do while we wait for it open up?” questioned Mi Young in concern, “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to handle being cooped up in this place.

“We train,” stated Jonghyun, “Nobody is perfect and we need to assure that we will be strong enough to take my uncle down as a team…you will carry on your swords play practices and I will take Minki up to the floor between my father’s office and the roof, the practice room for beginning mages. I’m going to start teaching him the elements…”

Mi Young hummed in understanding, “Good luck Minki, work hard our future king.”

I smiled and nodded, chuckling lightly as she sent a mock salute our way as we leisurely walked up the stairs, both of us urging our tired bodies to keep moving up the stairs and through the practice. Despite how difficult it was, we willed ourselves to climb the stairs and make it to the training room – we willed ourselves to start the training.

Without our realizing, another week passed and the tower had grown colder as the freezing air of the void seeped through the cracks between the ancient stones as the darkness’ limits continued to extend, to stretch its dark tendrils over the lands that were once lively and bright, turning the different kingdoms into frozen wastelands. The fact that it grew every day kept it in my thoughts, urging me to train my hardest and fastest so that I could end this once and for all.

Talking about training, I currently stood in the arena with Jonghyun, sure he was still very tired looking – very pale – but he had begun looking better, finally coping with his brother’s passing, finally coming to his senses.

I stood tensed on the side of the room opposite of Jonghyun who was covered in a layer of sweat – just like me. We were both standing on our toes, ready to dodge if needed; our eyes were locked onto each other’s body – watching every single moment, noting every twitch of the other’s fingers, of every time they shifted their weight – our muscles tensing as we saw the other lightly flexing theirs in preparation for an attack. Both of us eyed each other as if we were predators stalking our prey – both of us were prepared to both attack and defend each other.

I clenched my fist as he sent a gust of wind my way, knocking me back a couple of steps. He seemed shocked to see me countering within seconds by shaking the earth we stood on – which was separate from the tower itself. He stumbled back and I saw his weakness right away. With a deep breath, I used the wind to quickly move towards him, kicking him in the chest, causing him to fall backwards onto his back on the floor. Even as I set my foot lightly on his chest – in a motion to say I won this round, he lay on his back, panting as his lungs became greedy for oxygen.

He smiled, raising his hands in defeat and happily stating, “Good job, Minki. I was starting to lose hope in you these past couple of days.”

I smirked, “It might have taken me over a hundred times, but I’ve finally won once.”

“Hopefully this is the sign of many successes to come,” stated JR, smiling my way.

I hummed, removing my foot from his chest and holding out a hand to help him up. He nodded in thanks as he clasped his fingers around my hand, standing up with my aid.

“You’ve really improved,” stated Jonghyun, obviously not realizing just how close our faces were.

I smiled sweetly, staring into his eyes, “That’s because I’ve got myself an excellent teacher – one unlike any other and he’s all mine.”

He rolled his eyes and chuckled, “You’re too modest. Your improvement isn’t all my doing.”

“You are right, it’s not your doing, its Mi Young’s,” I stated cheekily, smiling as he shook his head. I was surprised that he hadn’t stepped away from me yet.

As I stared intently into his eyes, I realized the slightly dazed expression he had taken on and realized that he wasn’t returning my stare, but rather was staring elsewhere. From what I could see, he was staring intently at my lips, a flash of desire appeared in his onyx orbs before it faded just as fast as it had come and his attention snapped back to my eyes. A gentle smile played on his lips as he pulled out a towel – practically making it appear out of thin air – and gentle dabbed my forehead, removing the sweat from my skin.

“Minki, you’re nearly ready…” whispered Jonghyun, tossing the towel over his shoulder and cupping my chin with his calloused hands, resting his forehead against my own as he stared into my eyes – obviously trying to read the emotions that I kept guarded – a trick I had learned from him earlier on in the week, prior to him permitting me to touch any of the elemental books.

“There is only one element left,” I responded in agreement and he nodded nervously.

“Fire…” whispered JR, his warm breath sending cold chills down my spine as it caressed my still slightly sweaty skin, “Are you sure you are up to the challenge?”

I nodded, “I’m positive.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” questioned JR, smirking.

Disappointment filled me as he suddenly pulled away, his warm hands leaving where they had previously rested against my cheeks – causing the cold to yet again attack my skin. I shivered and tried hard not to shudder from the chilly air that had recently filled the tower.

I watched as Jonghyun moved away from me and towards his rucksack – where he was carrying the four elemental books, three of which were glowing with life – the fourth’s cover was a dull red and the rubies embedded in the cover longed to be touched, longed for their keeper’s touch, longed for the power to be released from them yet again. Despite being entranced by the books, my gaze settled back on Jonghyun’s face, especially as he turned to face me again. I could feel the disappointment heavily settling in my chest, despite me having no idea what I was so upset over – what I was so disappointed about.

“Ren, snap out of your thoughts,” stated Jonghyun, jolting me from said things. I looked over him one last time before permitting my eyes to gaze into his concerned eyes, “You need to be focused for this Minki. Fire is dangerous…it is hard to possess. One mistake and you could end up hurt, alright?”

Nodding nervously, I stepped forward, approaching the elder male as he raised his hand – his fingertips caressing the ruby covered cover. He took a deep breath and with one hesitant pause, continued on, muttering a soft but slightly frightening spell.

As his lips fell silent, he grabbed my hand and gently brought it to touch the largest ruby with his own and as soon as my fingers made contact with the freezing crystal, heat shot up my arm and spread through my veins. I whined, feeling as though I had been shocked – I tried to withdraw my hand but JR kept it in place, biting his lip in pain as well.

However, as soon as the sudden shock began it stopped and the gems decorating the cover of the book shone brighter than the other three books, shocking me as I was forced to close my eyes tightly to shield them from the light as it steadily grew brighter. Jonghyun released my hand from his hold and I felt him move away from me, I kept my eyes closed as the heat continued to course through my veins, not nearly as painful as before, but still very, very uncomfortable.

“What just happened?” I questioned upon finally opening my eyes, my gaze settling onto JR as he slipped all four of the books back into his rucksack before turning towards me.

“That, your highness, was the fire welcoming you…the light welcoming you…” stated Jonghyun, I shuddered at the power that continued to rapidly course through me, “Do not fear it Minki, for it is the thing that’ll protect you in the void.”

I peered at him in curiosity as he motioned for me to come at him, “Welcome it back before it gets angry.”

Confusion bubbled up a little, but I obeyed his words, raising my hand as another wave of power surged up within me. I felt its path – I felt it begin in my chest and fly outwards, through my arm and building up in my palms before finally pushing itself out through my fingertips. I shuddered in slight shock as a large wall of crimson flames flew towards a shocked JR.

Recovering from his shock, JR raised his hand and the flame was seemingly absorbed by him – I shuddered at the loss of power while he seemed to tremble because of the opposite, because of the sudden gain of power.

“W-what just happened?” I questioned, noticing how shocked Jonghyun was at the outcome.

“I don’t know…I just absorbed the flames…” muttered JR in shock, “I honestly wish that I knew....I also wish I knew how you automatically gained the trust of the fire while it took me years to earn it.”

“Maybe it’s because it knows me well?” muttered Minki, “Maybe it has something to do with what your uncle had said about you two being the last of your blood line – about only one side coming out victorious this time.”

JR gave me a slightly confused look, motioning for me to continue.

“Maybe it trusts me more because it knows I – the final being of the royal family bloodline – will never abuse its powers since my ancestors never did while yours…”

“While mine did…” muttered JR, looking disappointed and causing me to nod.

“That could very well be the reason for its actions,” muttered JR, tapping his chin in thought, “Anyhow, let’s not worry about that right now, let us resume our training…let’s get you  comfortable to its power so that we can be on our way, we can’t have much time left to close the void.”

I nodded in agreement, knowing that he knew just how cold it had gotten in recent days, how there were no bright clouds in sight anymore – not more natural lights peeking in over the horizon.

Hours later, we descended from the training room, both still covered in sweat and both of us still slightly out of breath. We halted in our steps as we came to the common areas and JR released my hand, “Go on, get to bed.”

“Aren’t you going to go to bed as well?”

He shook his head, “I’m going to the top of the tower…”

“Why?” I questioned in wonder, no one had ever been on the roof since our arrival all those weeks ago, and no one had wanted to go up there knowing that it was where my father and all of Jonghyun’s family took their last breaths. I had silently forbid Miyoung, Baekho, and the twins from speaking up about it, knowing that it was a relatively sensitive subject for Jonghyun. 

He shrugged, “I don’t know…I just feel something pulling me there.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” I questioned, not really understanding why the words slipped from my lips when I did not really feel like going there – not feeling as though I was ready for it.

“No,” stated Jonghyun, filling me with relief, “I know you just said that to be nice…I know you don’t really want to go up there, but even if you did, the answer would be no. I feel like I have to go there alone.”

I nodded in understanding, whispering as the twins groaned and shifted in their sleep, I did not want to wake up any of the four slumbering people on this floor, knowing that living in this cold wasteland was taking a big toll on their bodies alongside the constant training, “Don’t be too long.”

JR smiled, pressing a chaste and very sudden kiss to my cheek bone before moving back up the stairs, smiling at me one last time, “I won’t be…now, get to bed we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

I hummed and watched as he ascended the stairs yet again, waiting for him to be out of sight before I permitted myself to think about the slight peck to my cheek. I don’t know why, but butterflies suddenly appeared in my stomach and my cheeks heated up as I pressed a hand against the patch of skin that still burned from the contact with Jonghyun’s lips. I smiled faintly and shook my head, glancing towards the four nervously, praying that not one of them was faking sleep – not wanting them to know anything of the kiss. I wanted it to be my little secret. 

I hope that this sudden development in their relationship wasn't too odd...Anyhow, the story is slowly drawing to it's close...

Anyway, as of right now it's a double update. My goal is to get another chapter up but I can't promise anything.