A mysterious thief grabs hold of one-half of an ancient artifact that threatens the lives of the wizarding community. Byulyi, a magical law enforcer bands together with Jungkook, her mentee, and Jin, a peculiar time-traveling wizard, to collect piec...
He looked at himself in the mirror and observed his features. Gone was the little boy with wide and curious eyes that dreamed up possibilities. The man before him no longer believed in the frivolous. Evidence and knowledge are the only way to prove that something is true.
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Moon Minhyuk had no roots to call home. He found comfort in the cabins set up in Norway or the makeshift shelters in the mountains of Peru. He had taken up Social and Historical Studies at university, packed up his bags, and never looked back.
The sound of the tent flap opening made him turn to his Sherpa, a man familiar with the ways of the Sahara desert. "Sir, you might want to take a look at what the men had found," he announced.
"I'll be right there," Minhyuk wiped his brow with a towel and proceeded to follow the man.
They traveled by jeep through the desert, and once they reached an area with hills and valleys, they traversed by camel and broke into teams of two. One group searched for the artifact in the higher lands, while the second searched in the dunes. Minhyuk went down to the latter's site and asked the men fluently in Kanuri.
"What did you find?" he hunched down to where a man pointed to the ground.
"There, sir. The sand is disappearing as if there is a hole."
He promptly rummaged through his worn bucket bag and fished out an ice pick-like tool. He eased the end down to the sand and met with rock. Minhyuk took a chance and jabbed at the opening.
In a jolt, the ground shook beneath their feet, and a low-pitched hum reached their ears. A few men huddled together, while others sang pagan prayers to protect them from whatever thing they had disturbed. Minhyuk leaned closely and noticed the hole had cracked into a bigger opening, letting in more sand at a speedy pace.
"Someone hand me my harness! I'm going down!"
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Minhyuk rappeled down the opening with one hand on the thick rope and another with a lit wand. Set beneath the dune was a large ominous cavern. While the Saharan desert experienced high temperatures, the inside was dry and cool. Minhyuk felt his heartbeat quicken as he shone a light on his surroundings. Along the surface of the hallowed out space was carved symbols- protection spells written in Hanja.
When he reached the middle, Minhyuk felt the magic in the air grow thick. As if there was pressure bearing down on his skin. He forced himself to focus on deep breaths until his hiking boots reached solid ground.
He took out his journal, placed his wand between his teeth, and opened a page. A sketch of a palace was on the paper, and when he raised his lit wand over his head, his research was reality. Standing mighty and proud was a palace in the style of the Unified Silla period.
He climbed up the stone steps, and once he reached the tall wooden doors. He pressed his palm on the surface and breathed a sigh of relief. "All this time. They hid you here."
With an effort that strained his muscles, Minhyuk pushed open the doors. He then strode inside and was met with a dark room where the only things present were an ornate throne and a stone basin on the floor.
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"At last," he said, eyes twinkling with triumph.
Before he could take another step, Minhyuk felt a vibration on the ground running towards him. At that moment, the magical pressure increased to a crushing level, causing Minhyuk to fall to his knees. The palace had heard him. It had sensed him, and he was not welcome.
"Arg!" he clenched his teeth and gripped the fabric of his trousers.
His gaze turned to the stone basin in the middle of the throne room. He knew what he had to do. With a shaky hand, Minhyuk took a Swiss knife from his pocket. He then opened his palm and winced at the sharp slicing pain. In the past, he would have hesitated. A coward of a boy, he thought.
He staggered forward and hovered his trembling hand over the basin. One drop turned into two. Like bleeding candle wax, the third drop turned white and caused an ivory fire to erupt. It was a nightmare from long ago.
The flames swiftly formed towers and blasted toward him. Minhyuk bit his lower lip. The fire that surrounded him flowed past his skin as if it were familiar to Minhyuk. No. Not familiar. It respected him. It respected the firstborn of the Moon clan. It respected the Moon family.
The flames swirled around Minhyuk and quickly gained momentum. His eyes caught sight of a scroll materializing in the bottom of the basin. It had an emerald covering, and wrapped around it was a green knot with the king's emblem.
Minhyuk reached out. A few centimeters before his fingertips could brush on the scroll the fires exploded into a blinding light.
.
Hours of silence.
Ashes fell from the palace ceiling like snow.
The visitor lay unconscious in the dark. Had he been another man, I would have burned him down into soot. But the blood in his veins was a marker.
.
Minhyuk lay face down on the palace floor.
On his left hand was the artifact he had been searching for, the scroll from the king. And on his right hand, with a faint but strong beating pulse, was a tattoo of a golden magnolia flower.
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