Chapter XXI "House of Emptiness"   

   "Your two harnds that used to hold me, it makes me want to live again." ~ iKON 'M.U.P (Make You Proud)'  

“Junhoe, what happened to you?”  Jungkook asked, his throat swollen as he saw little bits of black blood staining the hard wood floor.

Junhoe’s golden weapon was stained with black and all that he felt was fear. He’s never seen Junhoe like this, the last time he saw someone act like that was when two vampires kidnapped him, from two creatures that couldn’t even control their thirst for blood.

Junhoe wanted to curse, he wanted to punch the wall and see it disintegrate under his anger. He played so well into Hanbin’s trap, he played right into his motives. Hanbin wanted Jungkook to see his fighting side, the side every Light Warrior keeps hidden until battle. He felt Hanbin’s blood staining his fingers and he saw fear staining Jungkook’s eyes.

The boy didn’t know what to say. He looked just like when he had turned them away, when he had doubted they were the good guys. But Junhoe couldn’t compose himself, he even broke one of the fundamental laws and could be held for trial. A Light Warrior should never initiate in an unnecessary fight or engage in an unnecessary fight.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to see me like this,” Junhoe muttered, his throat aching and his weapon returning to his precious pet.

The snake hissed softly, beginning to wrap its slender and metallic body around Junhoe until its head rested on his cheek. It could notice how shook he was, the thought of Minyoung being held by the Dark Klan.

The thought that his partner in crime, the wall that he leans on and the reason he can even stand up and fight every day, was just gone. The thought of her being snatched from him was making him want to declare war himself.

Jungkook felt his eyes sting as the simple thought of Minyoung not returning was making him ache. In so little time, he grew so attached to them, so attached to her. His thoughts were all split in pieces.

He wanted to run away, fearing that Junhoe would one day be angry enough to hurt him like that. He wanted to chase Hanbin, wanting to hurt him himself for what he did to Sehun, for taking Minyoung. He wanted to crying, trying to figure out of his best friend was okay and if he needed his help desperately. He wanted to find Hanbin, because the look he had given him only meant that the Darkness will only release Minyoung for him, the Mortal Phoenix.

“You must not think like that,” Junhoe snapped, the golden snake tightening a little as if telling him to calm down, to not frighten the boy anymore.

The boy took a deep breath and got to his feet, his knees aching as he looked at Jungkook’s frighten face. He was neve filled with this much hatred, and he needed to calm down because hatred attracts darkness and he could not let darkness come anywhere near Jungkook.

“I can’t help it,” Jungkook muttered snakingly, his gaze dropping at his coffee.

He didn’t even notice that he was gripping the cup tightly and that the liquid had turned to ice. His hands were wet, the warmness from his body melting the coffee that was now a dark block of ice. He didn’t know he did this, nor realize it genuinely came from him.

“You’re more powerful than I thought,” Junhoe muttered, realizing what had caught Jungkook’s attention.

It takes time, a couple of years of training for a being to even begin to turn other elements into the one their chakra wields. It took him a couple of years to even turn water vapor filling a large room to a decent cup of water. Jungkook had done it in ease, turning a hot cup of coffee to pure ice, and he wasn’t even trained.

“I don’t know how,” Jungkook whispered, setting the cup down on the table as if it was something horrid he didn’t want near him.

“Jungkook, this is a bigger reason you can’t think about going to them. War is already waging, it’s what Hanbin is waiting for. With you on their side, you might be able to keep Minyoung and Yugyeom safe, but our world would be destroyed,” Junhoe muttered, fear drowning in his words as his tone sounded pained.

He looked at the sink, feeling his heart ache as he saw Minyoung’s bedroom through the ajar room. He stretched his arm, his palm spread open and in a deep concentration, he clenched his hand into a fist and the pipes creaked. Water poured out of the sink without the nob having been turned, and it looked as if gravity did not even control it. It was hoovering in blobs and made their way to Junhoe.

Jungkook has never seen them use their abilities, only fight physically. But he was in awe. Seeing the water come to Junhoe as if its sole purpose was to serve the water being. Every spot of black blood, the remaining marks that Hanbin was there, were washed out as the beautiful clear water was absorbing the black liquid. It swished in undulating sounds that it reminded Jungkook of the beaches at Busan, the clear and calm waters that were at the will of the moon.

“What do we do then?” Jungkook asked, slightly desperate as he once again felt helpless.

He hated this, he hated having been the Mortal Phoenix and letting so much misery and chaos happen because of him.

“Lieutenant Guppy,” a soft voice echoed in the room, a boy sneaked in through the window.

The chilly spring wind rolling in as if they were hills in the countryside. The boy stood tall, but compared to Junhoe, he was shorter than he appeared. His hair was red, like normal blood, as his silver white eyes found Jungkook’s in a second.

He had defined muscles, much like Sehun, and wore a lose white tank top that draped over his built body. He had a pair of dark gray shorts and his feet simply had black socks, no shoes at all. If Jungkook were to take a wild guess, it would be that the boy was also a werewolf.

“What happened out there Captain?” Junhoe demanded with a soft yet stern voice. It was odd that one could convey both emotions, but Junhoe could.

The boy had big eyes that suddenly dropped to the floor. He suddenly stood like a soldier, his legs separated as both his arms were together at his back.

“A ghoul from the Dark Klan came, he reeked of human blood.” The language Jungkook could interpret with a delay returned as the captain of the pack begun to give his report.

“He was used as a distraction, the moment we all gathered to dispose of him, the dark wolves surrounded us, ambushed us. They said it best served us to not attack, they had the human boy. They got orders to retreat a few minutes ago, they left the boy and this,” the captain spoke, his hand reaching out and a dark bottle that shone violet in the light was in his grip.

“How is the boy?” Junhoe spoke, knowing very well that the boy they spoke of was Yugyeom. The captain handed over the bottle and returned his hands to where they were.

“He is fine, he is asleep. Apparently, the other pack that was supposed to take care of the boy were heavily injured, no casualties but severe injuries.” The captain’s voice was slightly weak, his own pack, the one he had to leave alone were injured and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Jungkook saw this, knowing very well what that look derives from. The guilt of not being able to do anything to help.

“Bring the boy in,” Junhoe muttered, his sad gaze casted down as the report had a delay effect on him.

The captain nodded, bowing before he slipped out the window. Jungkook was about to ask why the window, then the door was only a few steps back. But the apartment had ladders and ledges in the back for the fire department, considering how agile Sehun was, he assumed this boy had no trouble moving through those ledges.

“Jimin, don’t drop him,” Junhoe stopped, warning the boy before any accident happens.

The boy stopped, smiling as he was saddled on the window frame. His silver white eyes finding Jungkook’s again and he smiled quite brightly. Jungkook held in his breath, not knowing why the wolf had taken it upon himself to look at him so directly, as if hinting at something.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” the voice spoke in Korean, making sure that Jungkook understood at ease as he bowed his head and disappeared for a moment.

The brief time it took him to retrieve Yugyeom, there was nothing but silence in the room. Jungkook wasn’t ready for any war but he was not ready to be responsible for the destruction of a world. Even if it wasn’t the world he was born into, it was one that Jin had dragged him into.

The moment Yugyeom’s body was settled on the couch, his chest moving up and down and assuring that he as alive, was the moment Jungkook felt a large weight lift from his shoulders.

“I’m guessing I will be taking over Captain Sehun,” the captain spoke with slight doubt as his eyes begun to sparkled as he looked at Jungkook.

“Captain Jimin, you seem excited for that position,” Junhoe muttered, realizing that the wolf’s mood shifted drastically as he eyed Jungkook. He rose his brow as Jimin stuffed his hands into his pockets and bashfully smiled.

“Well, protecting handsome guys is always exciting, I am a predator after all,” the captain spoke, his plump lips spreading as his silver white eyes looked at Jungkook in a too familiar way. Jungkook always got that look from the same girl in his first year in college, a girl that only wanted one thing and one thing only, to devour his lips.

“Jimin, refrain from such thoughts,” Junhoe spoke with slight amusement at the wolf’s attempt to flirting. “Don’t you have a pack to tend to,” Junhoe spoke, finally noticing that Jungkook was shaken at the comment and felt uncomfortable that the captain was hitting on him.

The boy giggled, standing up and bowing before disappearing into the darkness of the night. Leading the rest of his pack with the moon shining down on them.

“And you, we’ll stay at your house. You have class and training tomorrow,” Junhoe muttered, his hands already to cradle Yugyeom’s sleeping body.

~*~*~*~

“Are you ready for tonight’s training?” Jin spoke, his body standing tall on the neon grass that made his skin shimmer in a dewy glow.  

Jungkook simply nodded, feeling his heart fall heavy as his stomach sunk so low he didn’t know if he could walk. Junhoe’s hand found his shoulder and he softly squeezed it but it only made his other shoulder feel cold and stiff. It only made Minyoung’s presence that much more vacant.

“Before we go in, you must know something Jungkook-ah,” Jin spoke, his words released as if he was in pain or simply scared of the aftermath.

“Yugyeom’s memory was extracted and blocked last night. He had information about Jiwoo’s plan and things she knew. We extracted those memories from him and blocked those of Minyoung, he doesn’t know who she is,” Junhoe spoke, his words spoken softly and carefully as if he was trying to defuse a time bomb.

Jungkook felt his throat tighten and stiffen, remembering that Hanbin was the one to suggest that memory erase thing because he said she wasn’t coming back. The reality hit him, he felt all the air suddenly taken out of him as if someone hit him in the stomach.

Minyoung might not comeback.

Junhoe and Jin would not erase Yugyeom’s memory without knowing they’d get her back soon. They must believe that she was gone for the time being. And that fact, that they also believed in it was like a hug of coldness.

“She always felt like you were right, her love with him is what places him in danger. She’s contemplated erasing herself from his life too,” Jin spoke, his words snagging onto guilt and dragged it out from inside of Jungkook.

Jungkook knew the older was trying to comfort him, by saying it was an inevitable thing Minyoung was going to do, but that only made him feel even more terrible. She only thought that way because he was the one who pushed the idea towards her. And that only made him feel like he crushed her heart slightly, telling her that she should not be in love with his best friend.

And he didn’t get a lot of time to feel guilty about anything because the moment Jin opened a large black oak door, a knife came right at him.

Jin stepped in front, his hands clasped together and moved out. A thick yet clear layer of ice formed between his hands and the knife landed right in the middle.

“Woah, do not aim at the door!” Jin yelled, his voice echoing loudly as everyone stopped what they were doing. The knife had landed right in the middle of Jin’s ice layer as everyone eyed the trio by the door.

Everyone was simply sweating, their skin glistering with exhaustion and hard work. Hair was saturated and brushed back away from their line of vision. Everyone wore light army green shorts, a pair of black boots and a black tank top.

“This is Jungkook, the new trainee. He can understand Greek like all of you but speak slowly,” Jin spoke, his voice sounding strong and confident as the struck every member in the room.

They all spoke a simple yes in unison, Jungkook wondered if that’s the language he has been hearing, the language he could decipher with a delay. Greek.

“I’ve never learned Greek,” Jungkook mumbled, Jin’s presence suddenly leaving as he begun to walk along the wall. 

The room was as big as a school gym. There was a pit right in the middle, it would pass as a circle pool but the bottom was deeper than any pool. It was like a pit that are sometimes found on the ocean that seemed to have no bottom.

“You don’t need to, it’s one of the powers of a Mortal Phoenix. The chakra wires your brain to understand the native language of the world, Greek,” Junhoe spoke, pulling Jungkook softly among the gym.

Everyone stared at him, their bodies frozen where they were. Two people were stuck frozen on the beam that was elevated right about the pit of water. A person was in the middle of climbing the rock wall in the back. A white wolf had his body on top of someone else, and neither showed signs of moving. There was even a couple of people in target practice, and their bodies were frozen in the stance right before they release their weapon.

“Let’s get you geared up,” Junhoe mumbled, pushing Jungkook into a room in the corner, there were rows of lockers, it felt like a normal gym in the human world. There was a room at the side for showers and towels available.

Junhoe retrieved a set of clothes, there was a pair of army green shorts, black boots and a plain black tank top. But there was also a gray long sleeve shirt on top of the pile.

“The gray shirt represents your element, gray for ice because transparent shirts don’t exist, its simply called shirtless,” he mumbled, a smile spreading on his lips but Jungkook could see he was devastated.

His smile didn’t reach his eyes, they simply curved his lips. He needed to be strong for Jungkook and for Yugyeom, but the boy would simply see how incomplete he felt. How lonely he was and in general, how worried and frighten he was.  

“Is everyone color coordinated?” He asked, his mind remembering that there were five main colors during the trials that were worn by the council. And even the students have a designated color on their gray cardigans.

“Yes, the five elements are arranged in colors. Fire has red, Water had blue, Air has white, Lightning has purple and Ice has gray. There are five main packs of creatures living in the world, they all have a combination of white and gray. That’s why Sehun always wore gray and Jimin was wearing white,” Junhoe spoke as he removed his shirt, not hesitating in explaining since it was in fact time for him to know everything.

Jungkook nodded, a question on his lips was about to spill but he got caught by the marks on Junhoe’s body. There were two black circles right on his neck, around where he remembered vampires love to bite. He had a tribal tattoo on his stomach that went to his rib cage. The one Minyoung has. And the rest of his creamy pale skin was left untouched.

“I know I look hot, but it’s a little weird you’re staring,” Junhoe spoke, amusement trying hard to show in his words as Jungkook jumped.

He has been staring at his topless body. But not for the reason Junhoe joked about.

“I’m assuming that mark isn’t a seal. What is it?” The moment the question left his lips, the moment those words touched the air, Junhoe froze.

There was a glimmer of ice that ran throughout his entire body as he was frozen in shock. His jaw clenched and his brow begun to glister in nervous sweat. Junhoe nearly always forgets that when he takes of his shirt, that is the first mark that everyone notices. For obvious reasons because it takes up so much room.

“It’s best I show you,” he whispered, his mouth clutching onto the words as if he didn’t want to even say them.

Jungkook knew that the question had brought a negative impact. But before he could refrain from getting the answer, Junhoe stepped towards him. His chest was buff and hard but Jungkook didn’t even look at that, he was staring right at the tribal spiral that sharply started at his bellybutton, looped once and extend to cover his entire right rib cage.

Just like Minyoung’s.

Jungkook winced, not realizing that Junhoe had grabbed his hands and was digging his nail down onto his palm. If Junhoe was human, he should not be able to draw blood. But because he was phoenix being, his dull nail dug deep into Jungkook’s palm and drew blood.

Jungkook winced harshly and groaned once the pain was strong, but noticed Junhoe’s face was also stained in pain. Junhoe’s mark, the tattoo, begun to burn white. As if it was on fire, and Jungkook remembered seeing that in his dream.

Hanbin’s black eyes staring at Sehun’s wrist mark that glowed white. And that simply made him realize that the light was not harmless, it was burning Junhoe.

Junhoe dropped to his knees, feeling his torso burn so strongly, he could no longer take it. He wrapped his arms around his bare stomach and felt the pain subdue little by little.

That wasn’t a mark that represents a bong. That wasn’t a seal to erase his choice ins ides. That was Junhoe being burned by light as if he was being branded. That, was a punishment. A punishment, Jungkook could not even believe, could be bestowed to a person, let alone Junhoe.

So, there isn't a lot of training, I'm sorry, I promise that that will be all next chapter and Jungkook learning almost everything that the Phoenix World is and how it was formed. The next few chapters will be back an forth between Jungkook and training, and Minyoung and her kidnap.

I'm excited for those, I already have the dialogue script and just need to put in all the details and I'm so excited. Hope you are too, happy reading. 

Have an amazing day you amazing human.