haven - zb1

22

The other two water heirs had found the books Jiwoong was going through before he fell asleep among them. With much effort, he had organised them by order, so it was relatively simple to go through them.

The book Jiwoong was perusing before he fell asleep was still left open. Woohyun picked it up and took a read. Hanbin joined him, reading over his shoulder.

"Woah," Was all Hanbin could manage after they read the first entry. The duo stayed silent for a moment, pondering.

"You know, the elders have never told us where he came from. They've never told us this, I mean," Woohyun said.

"Maybe even they didn't know. They always discouraged us from even thinking of entering this room."

"Isn't it crazy to think there's a whole other world beyond ours?" Woohyun looked mesmerised as he flipped to the next page, "Honestly, it's hard to believe."

"I have too many questions," Hanbin shook his head, "But still, it's cool to know."

Outside, a ball of fire was shot into the air, Quanrui's promised signal to announce the spar was going to begin.

"Let's get going," Hanbin grinned, "Can't wait to see what they have for us."

-

Jiwoong looked a little worse for wear but he assured them he could spar. Gyuvin was bouncing with energy, his black fan gently sending gusts of wind to Jiwoong's face.

The two stood in the centre of the training grounds, Jiwoong loosely grasping his pronged spear.

When they began, Jiwoong's eyes were sharp with focus, choosing to first take a few slow paces as he studied Gyuvin.

Then, he swiftly shot out three spheres of fire, all of which Gyuvin gracefully dodged or countered with a rush of air. It was a slow back and forth, both taking it slow and careful.

"He might overexert himself," Quanrui mumbled, fingernail digging into his lip, "Usually he's fine but I bet today he wants to show off a little. Also he's not well rested so his mind isn't clear."

"Is that important for fire users?" Hanbin asked curiously.

"Definitely," Quanrui nodded sagely, "That's why both times I sparred, he kept reminding me to keep my cool. Fire is volatile and unpredictable, so our emotions need to be kept under our control. If not..." He didn't elaborate further, so everyone returned their attention to the match.

Sweat was starting to bead at Jiwoong's temple, which could be blamed on the scorching noon heat. Gyuvin, probably due to the churning mini vortex of air around him, looked at ease.

Pillars of flames were starting to swirl around Jiwoong. Gyuvin too started to amp up the amount of air protecting him. The fire user suddenly shot out a stream of fire into Gyuvin's wind cocoon, which startled him.

Now, within his little bubble of air, were streaks of burning fire. Visibly starting to panic, Gyuvin immediately expelled the air around him outwards, the force knocking Jiwoong to the ground.

Quanrui tensed, red marks on his pale skin. Jiwoong winced from his position on the floor, his elbows now had angry red abrasions. His spear lay a metre from him.

The thinning flames around him flickered and wanned, before rising higher than before. Jiwoong secured his spear, shakily getting to his feet. Gyuvin took the same approach as Yujin had before, tearing his fan through the air to push the fire further from him as well as to propel him upwards.

Jiwoong charged forward, determination burning in his eyes. That burst of energy shocked Gyuvin and for the first time, Jiwoong got close enough for his spear to clash against Gyuvin's surprisingly sturdy fan.

Their match went on for a little longer, Jiwoong, while sleep deprived, had an excellent stamina, but the same could be said for Gyuvin. It seemed like the match would end in a stalemate.

Then lines of bright red and orange erupted on Jiwoong's skin, crawling up his neck and running down his arms. He fell to the floor, groaning in pain. Gyuvin froze, horrified, as if he may have accidentally done something,

Quanrui ran to him immediately, and yelled, in the most panic-stricken voice any of them had ever heard, "Someone douse him in water!"

Woohyun and Hanbin were stunned but Zhang Hao sprang into motion and enveloped the spasming Jiwoong in water.

Quanrui lifted Jiwoong's shirt hurriedly, where the same bright fiery lines traced his skin like spiderwebs, laid over horrid ugly scar tissue. "We have to bring his body temperature down," Quanrui frantically looked around.

"We can soak him in the lake," Gunwook said helpfully, earning a slap on the shoulder from Taerae.

"That could work," Zhang Hao said, as he knelt beside Jiwoong, moving his hands slowly over the water coating Jiwoong. Jiwoong shifted slightly, his face contorted in discomfort.

Together, they hauled Jiwoong to the nearest body of water, as he mumbled nonsensical words, drifting in and out of consciousness.

"He's really hot," Woohyun said worriedly as he pressed a hand to Jiwoong's forehead.

"He is but that's beside the point."

"Taerae."

"My bad."

As he was dipped into the icy water of the pond, Jiwoong stopped shaking and his muscles gradually relaxed. Only then did Quanrui properly give a sigh of relief.

After a few beats of silence, Gyuvin, still a little flushed from the spar, finally asked, "So what was that about ?"

The youngest fire heir stared at his senior as water lapped at his skin. "Have you heard of the incident our elders hate?"

Zhang Hao nodded, "I vaguely remember it, but I would guess that the younger ones might not be aware of it."

Gyuvin, Yujin and Gunwook looked confused. "What?"

Quanrui winced, then said, "A few years back, there was actually...another set of heirs. Our seniors. You may have known a few."

Some nodded, and Quanrui continued, "They came to Celestial Palace, just like us, only a couple years ago. Then, Jiwoong was the youngest, even younger than Yujin. Something happened, something that even now, Jiwoong refuses to tell me. For good reason, I suppose. We're not close."

"I've heard of this," Woohyun piped up, "I heard every single heir was killed except one. Was that one...Jiwoong?"

Grimly, Quanrui replied, "It was. Till this day, he is still suffering from the injuries he sustained."

Everyone looked sombre and grim, before Yujin asked the aching question on everyone's mind. "If it's not too sensitive, what happened to him?"

Quanrui pursed his lips, "From snippets of things I've heard from elders, he was forced to use our House's technique. All Houses have a technique they use for ranking, don't they?" All the heirs nodded, so he continued, "But he was too young, too inexperienced, and he was driven by intensely negative emotions."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Yujin asked anxiously.

Another stiff nod from Quanrui. "He's been going under treatment for a while and it's been improving but I think his emotions and excitement got the best of him today."

"Will he recover?"

"Never." Was Quanrui's curt response. "There were actually many capable and talented heirs from our House. But attempting the technique handicapped majority of them for life. Jiwoong is one of the strongest out of them all."

Another bout of silence, then Quanrui said, "I can watch after him. You guys should go eat. You must be hungry." With that, after Hanbin checked the temperature of the water to maintain its coolness, the group left Quanrui half submerged in the water.