Tested

Morning came and Sungjong was awoken by the sunlight streaming on his face. He almost forgot where he was when his hand struck a stone and it rolled right off the ledge he was on. He was suddenly alert, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Oh gods, it was sure lucky I didn’t fall right off in my sleep, he thought with relief. He stood up and fixed his clothes, and braced himself for another day of climbing. And as if the loose rocks and narrow crevices were not enough, he had not gone far when he met his first challenger.

It was a boy, no older than he, but a whole head taller. He was crouching behind a thick bush when Sungjong accidentally ran into him. The tall boy turned to him sharply and in a split second he was hovering above Sungjong with a hand on the smaller boy’s throat.

Sungjong was caught unawares, but as soon as he understood what just happened, he fought back. Despite being a scholar, he has gotten strong through constant exercise of doing errands for their neighbors back home. Plus, his master the blacksmith had taught him that a good blacksmith should be stronger than his forged weapon.

Sungjong put his weight against the taller boy and they rolled over each other until they were at the edge of a cliff. Sungjong was under again, and his whole head was off the ledge. The tall boy had both his hands around Sungjong’s throat now, and Sungjong was using all his strength to get them off. Then, a thought crossed his mind, and as his mind was too busy trying not to be killed, he didn’t hesitate to execute that plan. He folded his knees under his opponent and kicked him over his head. Now the tall boy was hanging more than a hundred feet above the ground, held by the mercy of Sungjong’s grip.

Sungjong caught his breath and studied his opponent. “Who… Who are you?” he demanded.

The other boy looked straight into Sungjong’s eyes and the latter shivered at what he saw: his eyes were empty black orbs. Sungjong also noticed a cut on the boy’s forearm, and he didn’t like it better than the eyes; it looked as if it were fresh, but instead of red blood, something like black sand dripped from it instead. Then the boy spoke.

“Sungyeol.”

Sungjong blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“You asked who I am, and I answered my name: Sungyeol.”

“Oh.” He paused. “Why are you here?”

“I want to find the rest of the parts of my mirror.”

Sungjong’s breath hitched. This boy was one of those affected by the black curse. Now he didn’t wonder much about the eyes and the wound. Then he remembered something that chilled his bones all the more: these people would do everything to get the other pieces of the mirror, even commit murder. And he had one of the pieces.

Do I give it to him? I could go home quickly if I do. But also, if I do give it to him, what good would it do? The curse would only spread, and who knows what might happen then?

The other boy, Sungyeol, interrupted his train of thought. “If you’re going to let me fall to my death, why don’t you do it now? If ever I get up from here, I’d kill you. I know you have one of the pieces I want.”

Sungjong was struck by fear. I couldn’t give it to him, but I can’t just kill him either. What am I going to do?

Then he noticed a ledge not so far from where Sungyeol was hanging. If he swung his captive even by just a bit, Sungyeol would land safely on that ledge. It would also give Sungjong time to get away.

“I don’t want to kill you,” said Sungjong shortly. Then he exerted force on his arm and swung Sungyeol toward the ledge, then let go. He watch Sungyeol fall and roll to the edge and for a moment Sungjong thought he was roll right off. But he didn’t. So Sungjong got up and lost no time going on his way.

He sighed in relief. Who else might I meet here? Because as far as I remember, there were four shards, and if I have one and that Sungyeol boy has another, that means there are two more wielders of the shards. Who knows who might they be, and what they might do?

Sungjong shivered at the thought but went on, further up and further in. And he remembered to be wary of bushes this time. One could never know if someone was hiding behind one.

Midmorning rolled in and Sungjong stopped for a rest. To be safe he climbed atop a low crevice and hid among its shadows. The crack in the rock gave him enough shade from the heat and felt quite comfortable when the wind blew to cool his damp hair. And he almost fell asleep if not for the sudden shouts he heard, and it was directly below him. He peeked down cautiously and saw another man, someone much older than he, but not too old; somewhere between the ages of his uncle and his late father.

The man was shouting, but Sungjong couldn’t see who it was. Then he heard the man speak softly, and then he started shouting again. This man must be mad, he thought to himself. He listened in on the man’s conversation with himself.

“Come out, Dongwoo! I’m not afraid of you! Come try to take my Resa, and I’ll show you what I’ll take from you!”

A pause followed, then the man started speaking so softly that Sungjong had to bend lower to hear.

“But Dongwoo is your friend, Howon. He would never do such a cruel deed. He knows that Resa is yours.”

Another pause, then the man started shouting again. Sungjong almost fell from the crack in surprise.

“No! He’s always been jealous of me! He’s out to take my gold and my wife!”

This man probably had a lot of issues, thought Sungjong again. When he thought that the man had gone, he jumped down from the crevice and dusted his tunic and pants. He made more noise than he ought to and got the shock when the mad man started charging towards him.

“There you are, Dongwoo! Came to settle this dispute, eh? Well, let’s finish this right now!”

Sungjong jumped in fright and started running. The man pursued him, and doubtless he knew this part of the mountain better and was a lot stronger than the village boy, because in a matter of moments Sungjong was cornered.

“I’m not that man you’re looking for! My name is Sungjong, not Dongwoo!” yelled Sungjong desperately, bracing himself for another fight when he was barely rested from the other one.

But it seemed that none of Sungjong’s words registered in that man’s head besides the name 'Dongwoo'.

“I know who you are, Dongwoo! What do you take me for?”

A madman? But before Sungjong could physically react, the madman threw himself toward the younger boy. Sungjong let out a yell and ducked, then ran the other way. Good thing the man was rather slow, so before he could realize what happened, Sungjong has gotten quite far from him. The younger ran and ran, not knowing where he was going; anywhere but close to that madman.

When he has taken a great deal of distance between him and his pursuer and was as tired a mule, he slid down against a smooth rock and caught his breath. So it’s true, what they say: a crazy man is sometimes scarier and more dangerous than a hundred ghosts!

Sungjong wasn’t really looking forward to meeting the last wielder of a mirror shard, but before he’s had time to wonder who it might be and where he has gone to, he stopped and gasped.

Right in front of him was a dark cave with an opening that resembled that of a roaring lion’s jaw.