Chapter 10

The three boys had left town and had begun to walk in one direction when Minwoo asked, “So, where are we going?” Yougnmin took out his map, looking it over carefully before saying, "We need to find a place to get information on the stone, the map says that there's a temple not far from here and a town so it is up to us, they are both equal distance away." Minwoo nodded and came to look at the map. Kwangmin looked at the map as well, they were trying to decide where to go. Kwangmin didn't want another painful trip to the temple, but at the same time, a temple could offer a safer place to stay the night than a town. Kwangmin's gaze went up to the road ahead, something was not right. He couldn't put his finger on it though. Youngmin and Minwoo didn't seem to notice anything, or, maybe, they were too busy to notice. It was then that he saw someone come up on the path. He was too far away to see the person, but he knew one thing; this guy seemed to come from a temple of some sort with his robes, but he could be a villager, too. Don't monks usually shave their heads? Thought Kwangmin. He patted his brother's shoulder. After gaining his brother's attention, he looked at the man, bringing Minwoo's and Youngmin's gaze as well.

            Youngmin looked at Kwangmin, he was on alert, but he was calm, the darkness wasn't active. This gave him the thought of, perhaps he isn't a threat? "Maybe he's friendly." Youngmin suggested.

            Minwoo wasn't very open to that suggestion, "Maybe, we should be ready to defend ourselves?" He spoke out. This made Youngmin chuckle, "Don't worry about it, Kwangmin's power somehow is able to sense if he's going to be in trouble, that will be our warning." Kwangmin didn't like the fact that Youngmin was now referring to him as if he were an alarm or a dog. He wasn't happy. Still, it was true, the power of the darkness would've acted if he were to be in danger.

            The person on the other side of the path noticed the three boys, they seemed uneasy by his presence. His eyes focused on Minwoo, mortal. He thought to himself. He then looked at Youngmin, he has power sleeping within him. He thought again, continuing with his analysis. Then he went to Kwangmin and he immediately took out a sutra, "this one is a demon." He muttered to himself. He quickly recited the restraint sutra to pin the so called 'demon' down so he could exercise it out of the boy.

            Kwangmin felt himself being pinned down, there were cuffs around his wrists, ankles, and one thick one around his neck. He sunk to one knee, he was submitting so easily to this monk.

            "Wait, hold on! He's not a demon, he has dark powers within him, your sutra won't work!" Youngmin called out to the monk. Kwangmin was tired, but he felt like he could still attack. Get up....I'm burning with rage.... That voice again, it seemed like the cuffs were affecting it. The voice was never this angry before. It always had a sarcastic, bitter, voice, but this time it sounded pure evil, its true nature, the nature of the evil one. Kwangmin knew that if this continued, the dark powers would swallow him up faster and if he lost control at that point, then looking for the stone will be useless.

            Minwoo was unsure of what to do. He watched as Kwangmin struggled to get up, but he also saw how badly Kwangmin was fighting with himself. Now he understood why Youngmin cared so much for his brother and how much he wanted to free his brother from this dark power. Just watching Kwangmin struggle pained the younger.

            It was then that another voice joined the commotion, "sutra release." The cuffs around Kwangmin's limbs disappeared, releasing him from being held down. Youngmin was at Kwangmin's side in an instant, "are you alright?" He asked. The younger nodded and stood up with his brother's help. The person who set Kwangmin free was, interestingly enough, another monk. He had a stern and yet releaxed look on his face. He looked at his companion and smacked him upside the head, "doofus." He said. He then walked over to the three younger boys and bowed, "I'm so sorry for my friends rashness, he just started training at my temple a few days ago so he isn't very familiar about how to attack properly." Kwangmin backed away he was not going to trust this monk. Youngmin didn't like this monk either, "p-please tell your comrade to be careful when he summons a sutra, my brother did nothing wrong." The monk smiled kindly, "I know he did nothing wrong. I had a strong sense that I was going to run into some special people today, I guess they must be you three. My name is Donghyun, I am a monk that resides in a temple near by, please come and stay the night, I'm sure you could use the rest."

            Youngmin looked at Minwoo who nodded and then he looked at Kwangmin who shrugged, as if to say "do what you want." Youngmin looked at the monk and nodded, "thank you that is very kind of you." Donghyun smiled happily, "great, this way then." He began walking toward the temple with the three travelers following suite.

            The temple was quite large and quite luxurious looking. It seemed like it was doing well and many people came to this temple, which made sense since a town was close by. Kwangmin backed away, not wanting to near the place after his experience with the last temple. Donghyun looked at Kwangmin and reached out to give him charm. "Take this, it will help you get inside." Kwangmin looked at the charm and then back at Donghyun who was encouraging the younger with his smile. He slowly took the charm and followed the monk to the temple.

            Once they were inside, Donghyun got them settled into some travelers quarters that they could spend the night in. As they made themselves comfortable, the three boys looked at their map again, "gee, now I think the town is next, huh?" Minwoo suggested. Youngmin nodded. He looked at Kwangmin who was sitting farther away from him than usual, "Kwangmin, come here we wont bite." He said trying to lighten the mood a little, but Kwangmin didn't move. This made the older worry. He scooted over to his brother and placed a hand on top of his brothers. "Kwangmin, you've been acting strange, are you alright?" The younger didn't reply. Youngmin scooted a little closer and said, "Kwangmin, if anything is bothering you then please tell me." The younger twin looked at his brother and smiled nodding.

            "So, we are going to the town tomorrow, then?" Minwoo wondered. Youngmin nodded, "Yeah, but we still can gather information about the purification stone here." He said turning to Minwoo. "Perhaps I can answer some questions for you." Donghyun said coming into the room with some extra blankets.

            "You could?" Youngmin wondered. The monk nodded, he placed the blankets on the floor and sat down next to them, "Yes, I've read many things about the stone during my studies, I will definitely be able to answer some questions for you." Youngmin and Minwoo smiled while Kwangmin looked at Donghyun with a serious, untrusting look.

"What is the stone?" Minwoo wondered. "The purification stone is said to be one of the most valuable and purest stones that ever existed. It is said that the stone can purify the evilest of men with one touch of the stone." Minwoo became wide eyed, "How can it do that?" Donghyun smiled at the younger boys curiosity, he found it cute, "The stone is able to bring in the negative or dark powers into itself and purify the person with those powers." Minwoo nodded, he understood why Kwangmin needed the stone. "Where can I find the stone?" Youngmin asked.

            Donghyun shrugged, "That's the one thing no one knows, the stone is clear and can blend in with the surroundings really well. However, if I had to guess I would think its in purity cave." Youngmin didn't like that answer. Purity cave was located not far from another temple. It is known as the purest point because demons and dark forces are instantly destroyed. So, if Kwangmin even steps foot into the area, he will be destroyed.

            "Isn't there any other place that the stone could be in?" Youngmin wondered, his hand gripping Kwangmin's tightly. Donghyun thought for a moment before replying, "Well, the stone is never in the same place so its hard to say, but I'm sure its somewhere out there. But we can't leave purity cave untouched. The twins nodded, but then Kwnagmin's senses spiked, something was coming, something dark. It is time Kwangmin, come now, I will purify you, come to me... The voice spoke in a hypnotic way. Kwangmin's eyes blackened and his body began to move on its own. "Kwangmin, what's wrong?" Youngmin wondered. Minwoo got up and stood in front of the door, blocking the exit. Donghyun took out a sutra and muttered, "may the dark spirit that has buried its way into this boy disperse!" He slapped the sutra onto Kwangmin and the younger immediately snapped out of his trance and collapsed into Youngmin's arms. Donghyun stood up and said, "get him to bed, there is a dark force near by, most likely it was the evil one." Youngmin couldn't believe this, the God of the Underworld, was so close to taking Kwangmin away from him, and he didn't even realize it. He was not going to give him up so easily, not without a fight. Donghyun slipped out of the room and got the other monks on alert. Minwoo helped Youngmin get Kwangmin into bed and covered him with a blanket. "Has this ever happened before?" He wondered. Youngmin looked at the younger and shook his head, "N-no, this is the first time that he completely lost his mind to the voice, I am usually able to pull him out, but this time I couldn't even stop it." Minwoo thought for a moment and replied, "Youngmin, Donghyun sensed it and he was able to calm Kwangmin down, maybe he should come with us. Just in case if you're not around. Plus, he knows a lot about the stone, he could be helpful." Youngmin looked at the younger. "You like him don't you." Minwoo blushed, "I-I do not!" This made Youngmin chuckle, "yes you do, I can tell. I will invite him to join us, but it is his decision in the end, alright?" Minwoo pouted and replied, "alright."

A/N: Hello~

This fic has been updated yay!

Goodness, I feel its been ages since I updated this, but A Frigid Heart is complete and so now I don't have a lot to finish.

This one is pretty long so I hope it makes up for not updating for a bit.

Enjoy!

^.^