Inspired by: Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun

20 years ago, a young woman, a vampire, gave birth to twin boys. However only one was saved by some unknown creatures, which later were revealed to be warlocks. The other was adopted by a couple who turned out to be the king and queen.

The young woman gave the boys original names, but both were changed to Taekwoon and Leo to avoid the two finding about about them being twins. Twins were seen as unfortune, so twins were always separated from each other.

Years went by and Leo had turned into a very well respected vampire. The king and queen had learned how to raise a vampire, since both were humans, but it was still challenging. Everyone had a dislike towards vampires because of their nature, but Leo had managed to behave and to only drink blood at certain times. And in case prisoners were sent to death, Leo was assigned to drain them.

Leo was aware of the rumors that started to spread about him. Right when Leo turned 16, he heard people on the streets gossip about him being a twin brother of someone from a discarded species living among the humans. Because of these rumors, Leo started to hate his possible unknown twin brother. Who dared to look like him? Who dared to be like him? But no matter how much Leo tried to hate this person, he wondered if it actually would make sense to hate someone he never met. 

On the other hand, Taekwoon had become the High Warlock of Joseon. He was in the highest position any warlock could be and he was responsible for every warlock out there in Joseon. They also came to him for any problems or if they needed serious help. However, Tarkwoon didn't know about the vampire side he had. Sure, his teeth were sharper but Taekwoon never thought anything of it.

Taekwoon too was aware of the rumors that a prince looked like him. Taekwoon knew about the twins curse and wondered what he had done to end up like this. He was also aware of his position in the society, but he acted as normal as possible. 

Taekwoon had his long hair up in a ponytail and was dressed in black clothes, finished with a dark purple coat and shiny shoes. Leo on the other hand had blonde hair, very unusual for a vampire in Joseon, and wore a red robe with a black robe underneath it. The black robe served as protection and made sure Leo could go outside. 

One day, Taekwoon was doing his business by helping out a fellow warlock with a problem. Out of the blue, a member of the Royal Army showed up at Taekwoon's place. Taekwoon wasn't having any of it, so he actually ignored the man at first. It wasn't the first time either for this man to show up, because he had showed up more often and he didn't leave for hours. It was only after Taekwoon had spotted him that the man decided to take off.

This time, he stayed and also made no effort to actually leave after Taekwoon had looked into his direction multiple times. Taekwoon could read his thoughts and it scared him, because no warlock was able to do so.

"Yes, it's him. The rumors are true and now I have found the prince's twin brother. Now I have to reunite them." the man thought.

Taekwoon had shivers running down his spine. He hated himself for reading such thoughts and panic started to flow through him. However, he focussed on the warlock he was helping out and was able to ignore the man.

Just minutes later, Leo showed up too. But not because he had to check something. Leo showed up as he had to search for this man. The man in question was the Commander of the Royal Army and the king had requested Leo to bring him back, since there were some serious business issues that had to be discussed.

"Your Majesty, I'm here because I wanted to confirm if the rumors were true or not." the man asnwered.

Leo looked at the place where he pointed at and his eyes widened when he saw someone who looked identical to him. Leo's blood boiled and his fangs grew too, but the Commander told him to calm down. Because it wasn't needed to be angry at someone who happened to be his twin without either knowing.

"But why is he dressed like this? Why does he look so different than I thought?" Leo mumbled.

The man overheard him and explained that rumors about his twin said that he was a warlock. He was quite powerful and even a vampire couldn't defeat him. Warlocks were able to teleport without anyone seeing them pass by. They also possessed blood that was lethal for vampires.

Leo looked at his lost twin for a while and his eyes widened when he was doing something with his hands that Leo couldn't explain. Something was flowing between his hands, it looked like blue fire, and Leo wanted to know what he was doing.

"Your Majesty, your twin brother is a warlock and warlocks are using magic. Yes, it's true that it exists. And warlocks are known to disappear into thin air without anyone knowing. By the looks of it, I don't think he has any hatred against you. It appears to be that he has no idea about your existance." the Commander explained.

In the mean time, Taekwoon had spotted the man who appeared to resemble him and it scared him. However it also confirmed the rumors to be true. But how could he be so different from this pale looking man? 

Taekwoon finished the business with the warlock he helped out and was met with shivers running down his spine, when he felt the hand of someone on his shoulder. Taekwoon turned around and saw two men, one being identical looking to him, behind him.

"So it's true? The rumors I mean. I know you have seen me quite often, because I kept an eye on you. I kept an eye on you because I wanted to confirm whether the rumors were true or not. My intention was to reunite the two of you, but it happened sooner than expected since His Majesty showed up here." the man explained.

Taekwoon looked from the man who spoke to the identical looking guy on his left. The pale young man had blonde hair and also had it wrapped in a ponytail, which was hidden between the royal hairclip underneath his hat. The young man in question was dressed as a scholar, which wasn't a surprise to Taekwoon actually.

But it was surprising to Taekwoon that his lost twin was a prince, which made him question about his own background. Why was this man a prince and why was he a warlock? It was a puzzle that seemed unsolvable to Taekwoon.

The Commander of the Royal Army took the two men with him to an abandoned place. As the three of them went there, people were looking at both Leo and Taekwoon while they also wondered about how it could've happened. Being twins was a curse and there was no way that they were twins.

Taekwoon hated the attention he got, but Leo loved it. He was the Crown Prince and he adored all the attention he could get. Taekwoon noticed that when he looked at Leo, but he himself kept looking past the people when he looked forward again.

Once arrived at this abandoned place, Leo and Taekwoon were asked to get inside. The two had to have a talk and to reunite, since they were each other's lost twin. The Commander kept an eye on them from the outside.

Taekwoon took a seat and Leo sat across from him. Leo examined Taekwoon from head to toe, feeling jealous of how Taekwoon was the most good looking out of the two. But how was it possible for Taekwoon to have a darker complexion, while Leo was extremely pale and couldn't handle the sunlight if he didn't wear his black robe.

"So... you're the twin who appeared to be lost? How come?" Leo broke the ice between the two.

Taekwoon sighed when he looked at his royal twin brother. Leo looked like he hated Taekwoon, but why would he hate on Taekwoon? The two didn't know of each other's existance and only knew about each other through the rumors.

"How come? I didn't even know I had a twin, let alone a prince." Taekwoon answered, trying not to sound offended.

Leo laughed for a second, but returned to a serious expression the next. He tried to read Taekwoon's thoughts, but he failed. Leo knew that vampires could read thoughts, but why couldn't he?

"I saw you doing something with your hands and I was taken away by how fascinated it looked." Leo continued.

Then it hit Leo. Taekwoon did look slightly pale and he too had sharper teeth, so he wasn't completely human after all. Well, warlocks weren't exactly human. During the walk, Leo learned that warlocks are partially demon and that would explain why they possessed certain powers.

"I was practicing some magic, which is part of us. You're a prince, but I am the highest warlock in Joseon. I'm as important to warlock as you are important to the people in Joseon." Taekwoon explained.

Leo was stunned by what he heard. Not only was the vampire blood still running through his brother, he also was twice as powerful as he himself was despite him being a warlock.

"But do you realize you're like me? Your skin isn't that much darker than mine and your fangs are still there. I don't know what they've done to you, but you're not that much different from me. However, you're more powerful than me since you possess powers I can only dream of." Leo then said.

Taekwoon's eyes widened and looked down at his hands. Leo was right about this, he wasn't that much darker than his vampire twin. But for Taekwoon, the fangs being there explained everything to him.

"Wait... what? I'm a vampire? How?"

"Look at yourself, warlock! You're skin is slightly darker than mine and your fangs are present. Since you became a warlock, I don't know how that happened, your transformation came to a halt." Leo explained, raising his voice.

It was then that the Commander entered the room and sat down with them, time to explain everything.

"I knew your mother. She was a good friend of mine and always came to me when there were issues, issues she couldn't discuss with your father. When the two of you were born, your mother was in panic as she knew about the curse. So she decided to keep you, Your Majesty, save. But since she couldn't raise you, she gave you up for adoption. As for you, Taekwoon, you were saved by warlocks since you were abandoned practically. You are a vampire too, except warlocks manipulated your DNA to prevent you from turning into a vampire.

It was hard for me to see you two live a separate life, but it was the best for both of you. And seeing how different you two have become, this was the best outcome for you two. In fact, this is what your mother would've wanted. She sadly died 10 years ago." the Commander explained.

Both Taekwoon and Leo got mad. Leo's fangs grew and his eyes turned red, whereas Taekwoon's eyes changed to yellow cat eyes. Leo saw the eyes of his twin changed and he knew by now what would make Taekwoon special, as each warlock had a different birthmark. In Taekwoon's case, it was planted in his DNA this way.

"Why would she do this to me? To us? Abandon me?! How crazy was she?!" Taekwoon yelled and got up from his seat. 

Tears welled up in his eyes, actual tears instead of tears of blood. Taekwoon now had the pieces to the puzzle and it explained everything. He was abandoned by his biological mother and then warlocks raised him while manipulating his DNA. He was born a vampire? No wonder why he looked so different from other warlocks.

The Commander himself got up too and was shocked to see Taekwoon's eyes change completely. Taekwoon's eyes were yellow cat eyes instead of the usual chocolate eyes and Taekwoon looked scary to him. Warlocks had birthmarks and all of them were different, yet Taekwoon had the most common one.

"She didn't abandon you two for a reason. She simply couldn't raise you two, but it wasn't her intention to have you picked up by warlocks. She wanted to put you up for adoption too, but you were gone by the time she came back to pick you up.

You're a powerful warlock Taekwoon, you're the High Warlock of Joseon. I didn't even know you were the High Warlock of Joseon until I started to keep an eye on you months ago. You see, I work with Leo all the time and I had forgotten about you. But after the rumors surfaced, I had to confirm it for myself whether it was true or not." the Commander said.

Taekwoon cried at this point, followed by heaving breathing. Leo, funny enough, started to do the same. He didn't cry, but his breathing changed. He was more than ready to kill this guy on the spot, but realized he would be punished for it.

The Commander approached Taekwoon and dropped his hands on Taekwoon's shoulders. Taekwoon wanted to shake them off, but the hands were too heavy for it.

"Your mother did what she could, Taekwoon. She did everything she could to give you and your twin a better life, but she never wanted you to become a warlock. Your mother was a vampire, which explains your fangs and your slightly pale skin. But since you're a warlock, you act human and are partially a demon. Like I said, your DNA was manipulated by the warlocks and only some vampire features are visible in your case." the Commander said, demanding Taekwoon to look at him.

Taekwoon's eyes remained to be cat eyes and it was scary to look at whenever Taekwoon was angry. When Leo looked into his eyes, he realized that they had a lot in common. Sure, they were twins. But despite one being a vampire and the other being a warlock, there was no doubt about them being so similar at the same time. But even Leo had to agree, Taekwoon looked somewhat scary with these eyes.

Taekwoon played around with his fingers and the Commander backed off, releasing his hands from Taekwoon's shoulders, when he saw blue sparks dance inbetween Taekwoon's fingers. Leo was amazed by what he saw and kept looking at Taekwoon's hands. But his magic was blue and it looked both dangerous and powerful.

"No, you leave me alone. I'm fine with knowing who my twin brother is, but you... I'm deeply hurt by this and I will never forgive you or my mother." Taekwoon screamed and backed off.

Taekwoon stepped back, created a portal and disappeared. Leo's jaw dropped when he saw his twin brother disappear like that. He was even more fascinated by his twin than he was about his own life.

"Give him some time okay? I mean, I too feel deeply affected by this story. But he feels betrayed by our mother, whereas I am thankful that she gave me up for adoption." Leo explained.

Sure it was weird to see his twin brother being the High Warlock of Joseon, but he no longer felt the hate he once felt. He actually wanted to develop a bond with his twin brother and he was convinced that whenever no one of the Royal Guards accompanied him, Taekwoon would be open for it aswell.