Footsteps clicked as he walked down the dark hall. The other two went into the other doors. The interior was littered with different shades of red cloth, as if they were setting the walls on fire. At the end, there was some sort of magical ritual set up with a wall tapestry of the mythical phoenix in the middle. He inched over to the table, saw a pendant of the same phoenix and a dim, glowing book. Apparently the title of this book is called: Place Hand Here. He did as the book said and immediately, his insides twisted and almost vomited his precious lunch. He almost lost his balance and used the table to prop himself, pulling his senses together.

 

He noticed that he was in warmer and thicker clothes and found himself on a busy path. There were specific walkways for people and drawn out lanes for the oddly shaped transportation vehicles he saw only once. The buildings towered as if they were the redwood trees around his cabin. Even though he was lost, he searched for anyone who would seem to give him any clue on getting back home. He mustered his courage, stopped a stranger and said, “Do you know where I can find Gaudiam?” The stranger gave a utterly confused and disgusted face towards the awkwardly tall and lanky male. Our tall male was very tall and skinny, to the point where there was almost no muscle between his bone and skin. The tall male apologized and quickly strided away.

 

After leaving the scene, he wandered the streets and the sun began to set. He stuck his hands into the pockets of the coat and found a small rectangular object that fit perfectly in his hands. He wondered what it would be able to do and after inspection, he found a loose part on the side. He was about to press on the loose button but the object started to vibrate and let the rectangle crash onto the brick walkway. There was a picture of a girl around his age and two circles, a red one and a green one. He loved green so he touched the green circle cautiously. Nothing happened at first but heard a small voice from the new object. “Hello? What took you so long to pick up the phone?! It’s my birthday and you’re still not at my building!” He almost let the rectangle fly out of his hands before he caught it again and realized that this could be some kind of magical spell! He lifted the rectangle high and shouted, “Mother! I found a magical, glowing rectangle that could speak to me!” The female voice from the rectangle suddenly sounded louder than it was before and scolded, “Geez! What’s with you? You’re shouting for your mom now? Anyways, I sent my limo and two of my assistants to bring you over to the training facility!~ If you don’t get your in the car, I’ll have my assistants haul you over!”

 

The rectangle lost its glow and he slumped to the floor. He thought that he just lost his chance to study the origins of this sorcery and use it to help his mother. If he could use this to speak to his mother, he would be able to do anything. On the other hand, he should have stopped his friends when one of them suggested that they should explore the rundown Leecyeol mansion. He had no means to get back home to help find food for the last remaining population in the town, he doesn’t even know how to obtain food in this kingdom either.

 

Out of nowhere, two pairs of muscular arms hoisted him up and threw him into a longer version of the transportation things on the road. At least there was a window for him to observe how the people in this kingdom dressed. The lost man soon realized that he didn’t understand why the women on the land wore such short dresses and the men had a lasso on so tight that they looked as if they were about to choke. The bulk man on his right suddenly spoke. “I do not understand why boss loves you. You’re thin as a stick, a trainee in progress and not even qualified in the junior team! She’s too good for a bum like you, she has to train the elite team!” The dazed and younger man wondered about what kind of teams the buff man was talking about. Was he talking about soccer teams? Large screens on the buildings were lit as a voice was heard in every nook and cranny of the city. “The Xing team takes out another potential team of the championship game! Will the well anticipated Xing team be up against the rivaling Guardian Angels?! The hopes of this city are personified in these brave warriors!”

 

The so called assistants pulled him out of the cushioned vehicle, which sounded like a mix of a dying man with lung problems and horses, and arrived at the entrance of a vast woods, similar to the one around his cabin. He flashes back to the time when his mother held picnics outside on the forest floor. The tall trees provided shade with streaks of sunlight, the bushy floors had many types of berries, nuts and lovely flowers he would pick for his mother. The birds would sing to his mother’s hum and he would strum his homemade instrument, a hollowed out log with some string he tied over a hole in the log. However, everything changed when the Leecyeol family lost control over the kingdom. An unknown power washed over, turning the days shorter and shorter, the citizens fell into comas according the age, the green Mother Nature became into a black and white world.

 

A familiar face broke his thoughts. She looked like his friend’s family friend, Ryra. “You’re finally here!” She instantly latched on to his wrist and ran deep into the forest. This girl was very energetic compared the first impression he thought of when the assistant had mentioned about her. The man said, “... she has to train the elite team!” Ryra stopped and they were both huffing and puffing. She gave him a tour of the forest, with all the favorite hiding spots she loves. Ryra also had a whole bucket list to go through. She brought him to her isolated house in the middle of the forest. The house largely resembled his, the doors, cabinets, quits, sheets and even the dishware. Ryra starts speaking, “It’s my first time I got to show someone else outside of the Xing team! I’ve been dying to show this cabin to you!” Like a strike of lightening, her tone turns serious. “I know you’re not from around here and about all the darkness you’ve experienced. How about you tell me about it?”

 

Ryra spots that the male fidgeted uncomfortably and snapped out of the cold aura. She reads him like a book and says, “Are you thinking about home? I believe that I’m right, Chanyeol!” The younger man almost fell out his chair when she says his name. “H-h-how did you know my name?” She gave a bright smile and started explaining all she knew.

 

Time passed by like the wind as Ryra informed Chanyeol that she had been able to access the two kingdoms of Brangwen, the one Chanyeol is currently in, and Gaudium, the one he is from. She had an illusionist make a copy of her, and implant it into his kingdom. Ryra anticipated that his emergence into Brangwen and secured his safety. At the end, she trained Chanyeol how to use his temporary power and mentioned that he would be added to the Xing team to survive in the kingdom before he would be able to travel back to Gaudium.

 

Chanyeol didn’t want to participate in some kind of survival game. He couldn’t protect his mother from the spreading darkness and constantly got into trouble when he went hunting for the remaining survivors back home. He felt his brain squeeze and Ryra’s voice was in his mind, “You are the ‘Bonus’. The Xing team would need a trump card in the final rounds and you would be the one to win. Also, I’ll give you a hint to saving your kingdom. I can only give you a hint because the Exousia would shut my power through the limiter if I were to raise more suspicion of revolt. Learn about your father, his history and how all these things relate to each other.”

 

Ryra gave him a strong and bright smile even though Chanyeol was clearly afraid and confused. Ryra walked him to the main Xing training building, introduced him and left. Chanyeol met the Xing team’s main warriors. He shakes hands with Xiumin -who had ice cold hands- and Kai. As Chanyeol was about to sit, a blonde walks in from a shower. “Hello, my name is Lay!” Lay offered his hand like the others. Chanyeol recognized the warmth in Lay’s caramel brown eyes. This Lay looked exactly like Yixing from Gaudium! He was a shy and quiet survivor who always finds the most food and herbs for the other survivors! Chanyeol slurred his words like a machine gun without a stop, “Lay! You’re Yixing from Gaudium, right? We were exploring the Leecyeol mansion and…”

 

“Hold your horses! You’re more like a writer than a warrior! Tell me this crazy story once we settle you in my dorm!” Lay gave Chanyeol a light punch on the bicep. The four ate and held conversations on their interests. In this world, everyone has a power when they are born. Xiumin had frost -not a surprise because of his abnormally low body temperature and non-changing stoic face-, Kai had teleportation, Chanyeol has fire and Lay had the most interesting power, life mending and destroying powers. If Lay wanted, he could have separated Chanyeol into bits of flesh but a power always has a weakness. Ice melts with fire, water smothers fire, ice freezes the water, teleportation uses a light-based medium so a light-user would be able to nullify it and so on. Lay was the most disadvantaged because he was his own weakness. He could heal others but not himself and took the longest to recover from injuries. They were building bonds as they ate but when they were washing the dishes, the four of them felt an ominous auras creeping up behind them.

Chanyeol laid awake on the bed as he was formulating solutions to take down the ‘King’. He realized that he had the pendant he saw before teleporting into Brangwen around his neck but couldn’t remember how he put it on himself. Without noticing himself, he rubbed his finger over the pendant and out of nowhere, flames enveloped the pendant. He felt a wave of warmth and safety, and closed his eyes. When he opened one eye, he was in a space of white, with a man who had similar features as himself. The man introduced himself as his father, who died trying to stop the tragedy that occurred.

 

In the hours they spoke, Chanyeol’s father talked about his efforts to stop the eroding of nature with the creation of Brangwen. There was a total of eight men who rose to the challenge but at the end, they all sacrificed something very dear to them. Their powers were reincarnated into the next generation. However, only Chanyeol, Lay and another acquaintance from Gaudium who were able to fully receive the powers.

 

The pendant of the phoenix was his father’s symbol. Chanyeol’s father sealed part of himself so Chanyeol would be able to defeat the ‘King’ and end the suffering. Brangwen was a dream world, connecting all the minds and creating an endless sleep into an Internet. All Jackal had to do was to approach the ‘King’ and everything would play out from there.

 

Before the final battle between the ‘King’s’ Royal Guardians, the two teams met before as a greeting. His father’s prediction was right, Suho was on the Royal Guardians as their “Bonus”, who showed up near their training grounds one day. Chanyeol took a note tht Suho looked exactly like Junmyeon from Gaudium and had the manipulation of water to his will. Through endless persuading and negotiations, the Guardians agreed to stage the battle and let the Xing win. Suho and Chanyeol would attack as fiercely as they could towards each other while Xiumin was Chanyeol’s back up. Kai and Baekhyun, their light manipulator, would duel and Lay would take the two remaining members, Sehun and D.O. who were wind and earth users respectively. The whole battle took place in a battle world, where their attacks would be analyzed and wouldn’t hurt the audience due to live broadcasting. The two teams made a pact and sealed the promise with a symbol. Little did they know, on the back of everyone's neck, they had a symbol of their own power and Chanyeol’s father cracked a smirk.

 

The day of the battle came before they knew it. From the first moment the go sounded, the attacks were exactly as they planned together, however a chill went up their spines as they fought. Within ten minutes, the ‘King’ ordered a change in the rules. Usually, the Exoursia, the power limiters, kept the players in check but the participants had a choice to be limitless for five minutes, attacking until the opponent admits defeat. The ‘King’ wanted the teams to either kill or severely injure the other at full power in order to win. After forcefully removing the Exoursia, the arena was crackling with all the power each person held. Chanyeol felt like he could touch the Sun with the power he possessed. Because of his basic training, his flames flew in multiple directions, without control. Luckily for the others, Suho was more prepared and shielded everyone else from his stray sparks. From that moment on, the fight was Chanyeol against the other seven. Chanyeol behaved as if he was consumed by his own power that he kept attacking without batting an eye towards his own teammates. The citizens of Brangwen viewed the amateur as "possessed by the devil".

 

Left with no choice, Lay assessed that Chanyeol reached his Exploitation Point, which was the point oneself is consumed by their power and eventurally have their own powers rip their bodies apart. Lay tried to baracade all blood and energy flow from reaching the premotor and motor cortex of the brain. Lay had many years of experience and practive. However, this time, Lay could not easily locate the points on Chanyeol. Within moments, Lay felt like he was enveloped in flames, which resulted in a high fever and causing himself to reach his own Exploitation Point. Desperately trying to confine Chanyeol, everyone was battered due to Chanyeol’s energery capacity except for Suho, who either dodged or shielded himself with his water forts. Though he wasn’t as injured as the others, his stamina was declining. Due to Suho's fatigue, the victory was given to the Xing.

 

All of the participants had to be hospitalized after the tournament. Chanyeol was guilty of losing his mind at one of the most important moments of their plan. Just as he was debating if he should enter Lay’s ward to visit him, a suited man approached him. He stated that the ‘King’ requested to see him and was instantly teleported into the ‘King’s’ room before he could respond.

 

The ‘King’ looked exactly like his father. But this wasn’t Chanyeol’s father, this man couldn’t be his father. Something was off, the ‘King’ seemed to had an overpowering aura, which sent throbs of energy to choke Chanyeol. The imposter told Chanyeol to sit. Chanyeol struggled to control his own body, but Chanyeol’s body easliy complied to the 'King's' every beck and call. He wanted to speak but his voice was muted and the ‘King’ spoke, speaking of all his father’s efforts in stopping the ‘King’. The ‘King’s’ voice invaded his mind similarly to how Ryra had done and inserted many abstract ideas of ruling others, such as forcing the world bow to under his feet and taking out anyone who opposed him. Refusing to accept his teachings, Chanyeol thought back to who he was, he was a young man who loved the nature and all he wanted was to live with happily with his friends and parents, if that was even possible. He didn’t need the whole world, all he needed was his world, that was his dream. He would do anything to restore equilibrium in between the worlds. Just as Chanyeol was about to give way for the 'King', the door smashed open, with all of his new allies standing behind the shards of wood.

 

 

“Brangwen, a world meaning dark and pure, is where I am now, but I want to be at Gaudium, where my world of joy and delight is.”**

 

 

 

*This is a compressed version of the original version I had planned to write. Sadly, I have forgotten about the story and only wrote in detail up to the meeting of Chanyeol and the Xing. The parts after was from my short story assignment. I had plans on making this a full fledged story, but have no free time. Hopefully, you have enjoyed the story. As for the names, I originally based a Latin or Old English names for each of the members in the story,

** The meanings of the two worlds debunked:

Because the meanings are my view for the two worlds. Brangwen is dark and pure, the world is seen as a paradise but also is dirty in different ways, like how modern society is, humans are always advancing in technology but regarding less and less about the natural environment and the unfair rules and norms that are laid out by other humans. I also personify our use of technology to look over the "natural" world when Ryra tells Chanyeol that she had replicated herself and teleported her double to Gaudium. In addition I also portrayed the need of competition for being the best, at school, in sports, and other aspects for the younger generation, putting them into more rigorous lifestyles to have them succeed in life. Now, almost all high schoolers are expected to go straight to college and recieve a degree to find a decent job nowadays. 

There was supposed to be a more clear link but the compressed version did not give enough room for the explaination. The full story is that Brangwen was all the humans, energy and beauty by using the resources to power the superficial world. Therefore Gaudium is suffering. Gaudium is a representation of the natural world, the nature. I emphasize this by creating the world where only a small percentage of humans left there, where everything is abandoned and the young have to live in a monotoned world instead of the colorful and abundant world. In conclusion, Brangwen is a representation of the developed cities and the superficial, human-created, Earth-polluting world we live in now and Gaudium is the way humans first coexisted with the wild and caring for the beauty and wonders of nature.