SHADOWLESS |seongjoong|

#8#

Beomjoong:

(Memories)

The story begins long, long ago. There was a powerful bloodline of shamans. So powerful that they were almost equal to us grim reapers. They were no ordinary shamans. Some of them could even bring back the dead. The secret behind their power was us. Many grim reapers fell in love with their offspring, and their blood mixed with ours. However, no one was as powerful as the newborn son of the Park family. They named the child Park Seonghwa. Seonghwa was born with powerful spiritual energy, so powerful it attracted monsters. At first, the elders used their energy to hide the child from the unwanted attention. But as the child grew up, his power got stronger. I tried to warn them about it. I warned them how dangerous that was for the child and their entire family, but they didn't listen. I also tried to advise them on what to do, to protect the little boy. However, the Park family was too stubborn and proud to take my word. So, one night, they got raided by many monsters. Different monsters had united to attack the Park family and steal their child. The shaman clan tried to protect themselves and their precious boy, but it was no use. There were too many monsters. The family bought time for the child and its father to escape and come to me. When they came here, the father was wounded. With his last breath, he asked me to protect Seonghwa, no matter what it would take. I took the child in and had to make a difficult decision. There were only two options to protect him. I had to choose between locking up the child or sealing his spiritual energy and taking part in his being. I decided to seal away his energy. That was the reason I had taken his shadow. After I took away his powers, I had to find him a new home. Somewhere safe with people who would protect him. I decided to give Seonghwa to an old friend of mine, a hunter. I knew he would come by to investigate the fall of the Park clan.

...

Once I finished my story, I took a better look at Seonghwa's face. He was as pale as a canvas. I knew it would be hard for him once he heard the story. As it should. After all, he just learned that none of his relatives and clan was left alive. He was the only one remaining of the once mighty Park clan. Seonghwa probably blamed himself for the death of his family, even if he did nothing wrong. It was their pride that brought banish upon them. If only they listened to me when they could. If anyone was to blame, it was me for not persisting on them. I was the only one here who should be guilty. I failed to protect not one but two young boys: my dear Hongjoong and little Seonghwa.

I had a hard time facing Seonghwa. Especially, at this moment. I couldn't watch the pain on his face. I tried to look at my brother to make myself feel better. It was no use. I saw the look of pity and pain on Hongjoong's face. My brother had fallen under the Park's spell. Even, if he didn't know it yet. I could see how Hongjoong shared the pain of Seonghwa and cared for him. That was unusual. For all the years of observing Hongjoong, he never felt care for a human. He didn't show any human emotions. But here he was, feeling the pain of his human.

"Seonghwa, don't blame yourself," I said. "If there's someone to blame, it's me."

"But I attracted those creatures. I brought them to my defenceless family!" Seonghwa argued. I could see the tears in his eyes.

"They weren't defenceless, but the monsters were too many."

I tried explaining to Seonghwa that he wasn't the one, to blame, but he wasn't listening to me. The words were of no use in that moment. I couldn't help him not to blame himself. I tried to get closer and console him. Seonghwa pushed me back. The young man stood up and dropped off any weapon he was having. Then he walked towards the door. What was he doing?

"Where are you going?" Hongjoong asked him.

"I'll join my family," Seonghwa responded. He was planning to sacrifice himself to those evil spirits outside my shrine.

Before I could react, Hongjoong jumped at Seonghwa. They fell to the ground, and my brother held Seonghwa. I could see Hwa's attempts to fight off my brother but to no avail. Hongjoong held him strong, in his hands. I had to join in. Sleeping spells could work best in our situation.

Hongjoong:

As I held down Seonghwa, my brother came to us and put a sleeping spell on him. It was better than knocking him out the old-fashioned way. After Seonghwa fell asleep, I moved him to the sofa. I put him down to nap over there. Then, I took my brother out of the room. We needed to talk about Seonghwa. His condition was worsening.

"Hyung, where is Seonghwa's shadow?" I asked Beomjoong.

"I hid it under the shrine," Beomjoong answered.

"Okay. I think we should reunite Seonghwa with his shadow. He isn't whole, and that is wrecking him."

As I spoke those words, concern showed up on Beomjoong's face. There was something he was hiding from us. My gut told me he was hiding something.

"That's not a good idea," my brother said.

"Why? Usually, it's not a problem for humans," I argued.

"For normal humans, yes. But Seonghwa's spiritual energy is too strong. There might be some unwanted side effects."

"Side effects? What kind of side effects?" I asked him. "Could it be worse than his current state? Seonghwa is losing his mind! You saw how unstable he is."

"Hongjoong-ah, the side effects could be worse than this," my brother said. "He can go insane or die. In the worst-case scenario, his shadow can take his body and become an evil spirit," Beomjoong explained.

To the sound of it, I was taken aback. Could it be that bad? Beomjoong said Seonghwa's spiritual energy was strong, but could it be that strong? Strong enough to make him go insane or even kill him? And what did he mean by taking over his body and going evil? There was more to the story that Beomjoong didn't tell me.

"What do you mean by 'taking his body and becoming evil'?'" I asked my brother.

"I took his traumatic memories too. I'm worried, that they will make him go berserk if he regains them with his power," Beomjoong admitted.

So, he hid this. I knew my brother did that to protect Seonghwa, but in the end, he harmed him more. Beomjoong's actions put me in a difficult spot. We couldn't reunite Seonghwa with his missing part. But without it, he was slowly going insane. Ugh, I didn't know what to do. The only thing I knew was that I needed to help Seonghwa. I had no idea why. However, something inside of me, was telling me I had to help him.

"Bring me to that shadow!" I commanded my brother. There was no place for hesitation or avoidance.

My brother hesitated at first. It was no place for hesitation. He messed up in the past; now was the time to fix it. We had to figure it out. For the sake of Seonghwa.