The Day of the Beginning had arrived and Hyungwon was not quite sure if he loved the fact or hated it. If the plan worked out well, then after this day he would be free and he would share his first kiss with Minhyuk. He brushed his fingers over his lips. They were trembling and yearning for the other boy's touch. His breathing hitched in his throat as he once again imagined the older one lying on the bed beneath him and being able to run his fingers over the milky white skin, undressing him slowly and appreciating every inch of his body.

“Minhyuk”, he moaned and immediately bit his hand to stop the forbidden words from leaving his lips.

But if the plan didn't work out well, who knew what would happen. In the worst case they could all die. No, he corrected his thoughts. In the worst case Minhyuk would die and it would be his fault, because Minhyuk had tried to free him from the sect. Hyungwon couldn't stand the thought. Even now he felt guilty about Minhyuk being in love with him. He sighted and put on his long black robes for the ceremony.

“Are you ready?” Someone knocked harshly on his door.

“Almost”, Hyungwon answered and hastily rummaged through a drawer until he found the tiny bottle with the blue liquid that would protect him from the magic fire. He poured it down his throat where it left a tingly feeling all the way down to his stomach and then turned into a lingering warmth. This had to work. It just had to.

He stepped out into the hallway where two men were waiting for him, escorting him to the crypt.

The crypt was well lit. Candles and torches were burning alongside the walls and filled the room with an almost suffocating smell of smoke.

“The son of the High Priest has arrived”, someone announced and the room went quiet. People bowed their heads to Hyungwon and as he passed the other priest, they even knelt. It was just like every year. He bowed deeply to his father, the High Priest, before occupying his usual place next to the altar where the book sat.

“No, Hyungwon, today you will stand in my place”, the High Priest said and when Hyungwon didn't move, someone roughly shoved him to the spot right in front of the altar. “Today, at this Day of the Beginning, Hyungwon will become a priest.”

The other priests hummed in agreement and started the ceremony while Hyungwon just stood there in shock. He had known that this day would come but he had hope that it had still been years in the future. His hands started shaking and some drops of sweat formed on his forehead. He knew this ceremony. After chanting and casting spells and sacrificing some animals and goods, they would make him drink poison. Normally the poison wouldn't kill him. But he knew that in combination with the potion that was supposed to protect him from the magic fire, it would.

He gulped and mumbled voicelessly a few quick prayers that his friends would burn the building soon. But his prayers weren't heard. The ceremony went on and on, the day turned into night and then the moment arrived that Hyungwon feared the most. A priest went up to him, handing him a wooden bowl with the poison. Hyungwon's mind started racing in the hopes to find a way out, to stall until the fire came to his rescue. But there was none. Slowly he put the bowl up to his lips and tilted his head back. The poison made his tongue go numb and before he had even drunk half of it, he felt dizzy and dropped the bowl. A tear escaped his eye as a stinging pain flickered through his head and the world around him seemed to spin endlessly. He tried to grip the nearest thing to keep his balance but could only reach the cloth that covered the altar, pulling it and everything on it to the ground with him.

The people in the crypt began to move hastily. Someone rushed to his side and tried to get him back to his feet again, but Hyungwon's knees were too weak to hold him up. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw candles getting knocked over and flames began to crawl over the wooden floor, burning whatever stood in their way.

“No, no, no”, Hyunwon mumbled as he saw the flames reach the spell book and quickly turning it into ashes.

“Everybody out!” The High Priest's voice echoed through the crypt as he strode towards the entrance and left, hastily followed by the other priests. Hyungwon whined and tried to move, but all he could do was slowly stumble towards the exit and he wasn't quick enough by far. Rather than the pain it was more the smell of his own burnt flesh that told him that the flames had caught up with him as he fell down once again in the hallway. He gathered his last bit of remaining strength to get back up and push through the main door, welcoming the feeling of the soft grass under his hands and feet as he tried to crawl further away. But his consciousness slipped away from him before he could see the curtains of rainbow coloured flames that were attacking the building and before he could feel Minhyuk's strong hands wrapping themselves around his waist and pulling him into a safe distance.

**

“Hyungwon… Hyungwonnie…”, Minhyuk whined. He had carried the unconscious body of his boyfriend all the way to his home and drawn a bath with cold water for him to cool the burns.

“Hyungwonnie… Hyungwon-ah, please wake up, please please please”, he kept begging but it didn't help. The younger boy was still lying in the bathtub motionlessly, his head resting against the wall. Minhyuk looked at him in worry. The cut above Hyungwon's brow hadn't healed yet and his jaw was still covered in fading bruises. Gently he brushed his fingers over the swollen skin.

“Hyungwon, I'm so sorry.”

He had sat on a chair next to the bathtub f