The Black Fox & The White Tiger

Black Magic

"Or mostly dead. My body is gone from the material world and my magic is what's keeping me afloat here," Minhyun said. Baekho's brows furrowed into confusion.

"Magic? I don't get what's going on."

"Poor Baekho," Minhyun said, patting his head with his cold hands. "Always lost without his Minhyun."

"Are you mocking me?" Baekho asked but he found himself laughing instead of getting annoyed. He missed Minhyun so much and even though this Minhyun wasn't anything like him, he still missed him.

"Maybe. Aren't you lost now? Finding for him?"

"I am... did I die then? Since I'm seeing you now," Baekho asked and Minhyun shook his head while withdrawing his hand from Baekho's hold.

"No. You're just mentally exhausted. You've travelled through multiple dimensions in a span of two days. It's a toll your mind has to pay. Right now, you're just asleep and I thought it would be nice to have a little chat with you."

"How do you do it? Magic?" Minhyun motioned him to sit down and a throne looking chair appeared behind him. Baekho took a seat and Minhyun made another one for himself.

"Yes. It's easy for me to enter your dreams when you're mentally weak. I've been trying to stop Baekho from doing this but his mind is too corrupted now. There's nothing I can do that will get through to him," Minhyun sighed and motioned his hand again. A mirror appeared at his fingertips and he adjusted it so Baekho could look within it too. He gasped softly when he saw the black haired Baekho in it.

"Corrupted... how did you die? What should I do to make things right again? Do I need to... save you? What do I have to do to get Minhyun back?" Baekho asked. His gaze didn't leave the mirror.

"This will be a very long talk though. Are you sure you would like to chat?"

"Please. As long as you tell me how to set things right."

"Well, I have all the time in the world in my hands now. Guess it wouldn't hurt to have company." Minhyun smiled and made the mirror go away so Baekho would turn his attention back to him. "I'll tell you what happened between me and Baekho. Who we are, where we came from and what he's planning to do with all of them."

Baekho nodded and leaned forward slightly, eager to know. He may not like that Baekho but maybe the reason behind him doing this was solid.

"We came from a kingdom where you are either born filled with magical powers or with strength of a thousand men. There are some who are unlucky enough to be born with either, though in my opinion they are the lucky ones because the fate of those like me and Baekho don't end well. We were brought to the castle ruled by an all powerful queen. She was the strongest magic user of all time and we became her knight and mage." Minhyun made little icicle puppets so Baekho wouldn't be too bored with just his voice but Baekho would never be able to tire of listening to him.

"With Baekho and I by her side and multiple others, no one stood a chance against her. No country could defeat us. The twist. Baekho and I fell in love with each other. We even planned on running away together when we had the chance. The queen was filled with jealousy and rage when she found out. Her most loyal subjects betraying her country, betraying her. We were caught and brought to her. Things... didn't go well then. Her rage made her magic go out of control. She tried to kill Baekho first and I protected him. Even though I'm a pretty powerful mage, I didn't stand a chance against her but I had to save Baekho. I casted a spell on him, allowing him to travel to different worlds where he could hide from her while my body was destroyed by the queen."

"Baekho became filled with anger and sorrow over my supposed death while I am trapped here in this... purgatory. That's who we are and where we came from. As for what Baekho is currently doing.... he.... Silly Baekho. He plans on hypnotising the others, brainwashing them into thinking they love him. His mind is so crushed, soul so broken...."

"Does it pain you too? To watch him like this?" Baekho asked softly, feeling terrible for both of them. Minhyun chuckled and shrugged.

"I have lost a lot to get here. My emotions have been scattered. I would love to say it hurts me to see Baekho suffer like this but now, I feel nothing. Empty. Yet I still love him which is why I watch over him."

"Then how do I save him? How do I save you and Minhyun?"

"Honestly, I haven't got a clue but what I do know is... if you want to save Minhyun, you would need to make sure Baekho no longer has the power to travel between worlds. As for me, you can pretty much say I'm dead."

"You put that spell on him. Can't you just reverse it?" Baekho asked. Minhyun shook his head.

"Not while I'm like this. Without a proper body, I do not exist anymore in the plane of existence. Confusing but... I'm afraid I'm incapable of actually doing anything in the real world." Baekho tried to think of ways to solve this problem but he couldn't. He wasn't smart like Minhyun or Aron.

"Can't I just knock some sense into him?"

"You could try but he is... very strong. After all, if he wasn't that strong, I believe your Minhyun would have very well won against him." Baekho bit his lower lip. This Minhyun was right about that. So what could he do?

"What about my body? Could you take over my body?"

"You mean possess you?"

"Yeah. You're kind of like a ghost now, right? You could possess me and then undo the spell, right?"

"Intriguing proposition but it's a risk I dare not take. What if your soul gets stuck here instead? What if I truly fade away once I leave your body? There are too many risks."

"Teach me magic?"

"Impossible."

"You're not being very helpful here."

"Of course not. Anything a Baekho suggests does not end well too. Running away was his idea too."