Black Magic

The Great Divide

Chapter 27: The Great Divide

[M]

--~~--

Scribbled on a piece of paper found within the pages of the book titled Dragons: A History of Mixed Blood and Magic, Written in the year 611 A.C.

I let him go. This is all my fault.

And I knew what was going to happen. I'd Seen it.

And still.

I let him go.

This is all my fault.

--~~--

It was only a short while after Kris had left the Infirmary that another EXO member showed up beside Kyungsoo's bed.

"How are you feeling?" Yixing questioned, eyes glowing blue as he gave Kyungsoo's body a clinical scan. "You've lost a good amount of blood."

Kyungsoo gave a bitter laugh, loud and stark in the otherwise empty Infirmary. His head ached, his skin was beyond pale, and his heart was still throbbing with the painful knowledge of what Kris had just told him.

It appears that we suddenly had another position open up.

Or in other words, Baekhyun is no longer one of us.

Kyungsoo's new place in EXO had come at a steep price. He'd give his new membership up in a second if it would bring Baekhyun back.

"I feel like shit," Kyungsoo finally answered, voice cracking pitifully.

Yixing gave a sympathetic hum, his eyes fading back to warm brown as he finished his scan of Kyungsoo. "Welcome to the reality of EXO."

The Healer gave Kyungsoo a change of clothes, and as Kyungsoo turned away to shed his bloody rags, Yixing continued to talk.

"The Induction Ceremony is kind of a secretive thing that only EXO members are allowed to witness. It really doesn't take that long, but with two new members it might take a little longer than usual." The Healer paused, and when he started speaking again, his voice was almost speculative. "I'll have to keep my eye on you since you've already lost a good bit of blood today. It'll really only take a few drops to seal the Binding, so hopefully it won't be enough push you over the edge. I can tell you're exhausted."

Kyungsoo grunted in response and tiredly swung the last of his outfit over his shoulders, settling the heavy black cloak with a shudder. His head wound had been healed, but it was still throbbing like a newly acquired bruise, and Yixing's voice wasn't making it any better.

He didn't care what the Induction Ceremony actually entailed. He was honestly to the point of just wanting to get the whole thing over with so he could go to sleep.

Yixing finally stopped speaking and Kyungsoo followed him out of the Infirmary and down quiet hallways that were usually teeming with students. As they were walking, Kyungsoo caught sight of a clock, and was surprised to find that it was nearly midnight.

"Here," Yixing murmured, slowing his steps.

Kyungsoo spared a glance at his surroundings and was hit with the sudden memory of his first time in the School of Magic. He'd been blindfolded for half of his walk through the building, but he could still recall the moment that black cloth had been removed from his eyes.

And now that memory was overlapping with the present. He was back in that same elaborate hallway, the imposing double doors seeming just as severe as the first time he'd seen them. The carved dragons seemed more alive tonight, the shadows of their bodies more prominent, the edges of their wings more defined. Like they could leap from their frozen positions and fly away at any moment.