The cosmos – it mystified Sungyeol. He was head over heels in love with it. What drew him was the fact that most of it is shrouded in enigma and humans flattered themselves thinking they know even a quarter of all that the cosmos holds. It was almost hilarious to think that human minds have the capacity to process it, the infinity of cosmos. Simply thinking about it was enough to drive anyone crazy.

But of course, people are too shallow to understand that.

All the stargazers and scientists who had claimed that they’ve seen beyond what could be seen with the eyes and man-made telescopes made Sungyeol laugh. It wasn’t so simple, a telescope and a night out wasn’t enough to breach into the cosmos’ secrets. It took more - learning, open-mindedness, diligence and most importantly, the belief that you’d never get to know the whole story.  Sungyeol believed he had all the important characteristics; he believed so because that was what his grandfather had said.

“You’re one of the enlightened ones Sungyeol, I can say it by the stars in your eyes.”

Honestly, Sungyeol couldn’t see what his grandfather saw completely, but his grandfather’s words were not to be taken lightly. He had been one of the frontrunners of Mystic Cosmology, the single most important member of the Mystic Cosmologists’ Society of the century. He had given to the cause of finding the Universal Secrets and he was responsible for the advancement of the human knowledge of the cosmos.

Sungyeol’s father, to put it simply, didn’t have the spark. His grandfather used to lament a lot about him not having the stars in his eyes.

“It’s a shame, I hoped he would carry on my legacy at the Mystic Cosmologists’ Society,” the old man used to say.

Sungyeol remembered his grandfather vividly. He had looked ordinary enough, but had extremely bright eyes that sparkled intelligently and seemed to hold the secrets of the cosmos in their black depths. Sungyeol felt proud to think that he had inherited those eyes - his father’s eyes looked nothing like that. Sungyeol was angry towards his father for not following his father’s footsteps. It was not like he didn’t believe in it all, he simply wasn’t enthusiastic enough to delve deeper, to give to the cause of humanity.

Luckily, he didn’t bar Sungyeol from fooling around, in his words, with his grandfather’s paraphernalia. From a very young age, Sungyeol developed a liking for mystic cosmology, and when his grandfather had passed away, he laid claims on all of his books and other materials. Legally, his father was supposed to inherit them but he had showed no interest.

There was another legal heir though – Sungyeol’s uncle, his father’s younger brother. But he had left the family long ago and maintained no connection with the members. The only memory Sungyeol had of him was a pair of extremely bright eyes. At first, he had thought that it had been only a dream because when his uncle had left, he was only a year old. But his grandfather had later confirmed that it was true.

“He liked you a lot, he said you look like him. You do.”

Sometimes, Sungyeol couldn’t help but feel that it was one of the reasons why his grandfather had liked him so much, because he had reminded him of his second son, who was enlightened as well. He definitely had liked him more than Daeyeol – but then again, Daeyeol had his father’s passion for platitude, mysticism was just a word for him. The old man had probably liked Sungyeol more than his own son, who had been a disappointment when he had refused to join the Mystic Cosmologists’ Society.

It was ridiculous for someone as young as Sungyeol – he was barely 18 – to pass his free time poring over books on mysticism and the cosmos. That was a major reason why he kept his interests secret at school. The only one who knew, apart from his family, was his best friend Woohyun. Sungyeol didn’t know what made him tell Woohyun, but at least he hadn’t laughed. Woohyun was skeptic at best, but he respected Sungyeol’s beliefs and always listened to him patiently. Sungyeol wished Woohyun was an enlightened one as well, it would have opened up a whole new world to them. But for now, his serious acceptance meant a lot.

I’m glad I have at least someone to share it with, even though he doesn’t understand much.

Like many mystic cosmologists out there, one of Sungyeol’s missions was to find the book, The Sacred Secrets. It was an ancient book, thought to be written over millions of years ago, but no one knows for sure. It was lost and only a few times in history, it had resurfaced in the hands of great Mystics. The Sacred Secrets was said to contain powerful information, scores of secrets of the cosmos and ways to find more. It was also believed to predict the Fate of the Universe. The thought of possessing the book, the thrill of going through its pages drove a lot of mystics through hills and valleys, to foreign lands. Only the very enlightened, the truly enlightened could ever possess it.

If only my parents were more understanding.

What enthralled Sungyeol the most was that his grandfather had almost had it, The Sacred Secrets. He had laid his eyes on it but before he could open it, it had been taken away from him. He had been badly injured but the grief of losing it when it was within his reach had become his life’s bane. That was the last time anyone had ever heard any news of the book. After that, it had vanished and his grandfather had fallen unusually quiet after that incident.

But the book was out there, and Sungyeol was waiting for his time. Even though he hadn’t told his parents yet, he meant to go after the book, make it his life’s aim. He had already applied for the Mysticism and Cabala course at a University in Egypt. Honestly, it was just an excuse to get away from his parents because he knew they were not enlightened enough to allow him to go on this journey willingly.

He believed he could successfully find what so many sought. He was after all his grandfather’s heir.

I can do it. I have to do it.

The only thing he’d probably miss was being with Woohyun. Woohyun of course would enroll in a normal course, like engineering or science, and stay in Seoul. His biggest adventure in life would probably be changing diapers of his kids. But Sungyeol is having none of that. He’ll miss his best friend, but there is nothing he could do – their roads were very different.

When Sungyeol had told Woohyun about his plans – he was the only one he told about his University application – Woohyun had gone very quiet. He hadn’t tried to discourage him, in fact he hadn’t commented at all. He had only looked immersed in thoughts. In a way Sungyeol was glad, because refusing Woohyun would have been difficult for him, but he had to refuse. Nothing could stop him, no one could stop him.

This is my destiny.

Sungyol flipped through another page. He was reading a book by a scientist who called himself a modern mystic. After going through half of the book, Sungyeol had formed reasonable doubts about this scientist’s knowledge on mystic cosmology. His information was mediocre and he veered away from the main point, the main enigma, the central dogma of mystic cosmology. Sungyeol thought that this scientist was probably scared of dealing with the power and the secrets of the cosmos. Annoyed, he threw the book away and yawned.

What a waste of time!

It was Friday night and Daeyeol had gone to hang out with his friends. His parents had also gone to a friend’s party – it was only Sungyeol in the house. On other Friday nights, Woohyun would be with him but today, he had to be home to look after his younger sister since his parents were not home as well. Sungyeol was supposed to go and meet him at his house but since he’d started reading the book, he had forgotten all about their plans.

Woohyun’s going to kill me.

Sighing, he looked around for his cell phone. Woohyun had probably tried calling him several times. He now had to apologize to him and that was not an easy feat since Woohyun was extremely melodramatic.

The door bell ringing incessantly made him look up from his phone.

Who’s here now?

For one fearful moment, he thought it was Woohyun. He might have come over to slap the life out of Sungyeol – it wouldn’t be the first time.

But he would never leave his sister alone.

With an inexplicable trepidation, he opened the door forming a thousand good excuses in his mind but he needed none. The man standing on his doorstep was definitely not Woohyun, he was at least a head taller than his friend and he wore so much black that it almost weaved him into the darkness of the night.

“I -” Sungyeol was cut off as the man pushed something heavy into Sungyeol’s free hand and then vanished – literally vanished into the darkness around him. Sungyeol blinked several times but nothing changed. He was almost sure that he had dreamed up the whole incident until he saw that he was holding the object the man had pushed into his hands.

What’s this?

With a sinking feeling in his stomach and a streak of cold sweat running down his spine, he closed the door and grasped the object with both of his hands. His gut filled with dread – somehow, he knew what was wrapped in the grimy black clothes. He felt energy draining from his body and he had to sit down on the sofa. A storm was raging inside his mind. He gulped, trying to stem the flow of confusion and fear.

It can’t be.