𝗝𝗲𝘂 𝗱𝘂 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗴 (𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 )

❛ 0 7 ❜

"I wonder what brings the shadow men to me?"

Yeosang and Jongho looked up and what they saw they in some way expected, but surprised them anyway.
An elderly woman emerged from the shadows that they probably did not see. She had tied her dark grey hair back and her age showed on her skin. She was dressed in an older looking dress, wore no shoes and had dull eyes. The shadow men had seen many things, so they were not intimidated by the large scar that covered her eyes. They did not look into her eyes, they looked into a white emptiness. "Sorry to disturb you, but we saw your hut yesterday from the forest and identified it as a witch's hut. We apologise in advance if we are wrong with our assumption," Jongho replied to her. And even though she could not see, they both bowed slightly, and even though she could not see, she stared at Yeosang.

"You were not wrong, there is no need to apologize. But even if you were, why would you go to see a witch? As far as I know, the shadow men have everything and get everything they want." Jongho found it relatively rude and unpleasant that she only looked at Yeosang, but said nothing out of respect for her age. "Times are changing, we too must work for what we need and want," Yeosang replied, his eyes watching the witch intensely, he could not deny that he too was uncomfortable in her presence, especially with her empty gaze which seemed to see through him nevertheless. "I believe you, the worlds change so fast, one second you treasure something and the next you lose it," she commented, "What exactly brings you to me now?" she asked and finally looked at Jongho. Slowly she approached them, whereupon Jongho took a step back. He was not comfortable being in a room with a power as strong as him, if not stronger than him. "Elixir Madam. Normally we brew our own, but at the moment we don't have the time, we fear something big is about to happen," Jongho remained strong, but she could sense all his emotions. "Which elixirs are we talking about?" she asked them again, whereupon Jongho avoided her as she ran over to a shelf.

"Of several. Inviolability, wolf taming, fire resistance and something that makes it easier to shift shapes," Yeosang replied and Jongho cleared his throat. "And something to hold back the hunger of soul devourers." he added. The witch grinned knowingly. "The wolf, the dragon, the shapeshifter, the soul eater and the bearer of the blood of the gods. All five shadow men. You really seem to have something big in front of you. May I ask what it is you are preparing for?" she asked cautiously, this time approaching Yeosang. Unlike Jongho, he did not avoid her and let the witch come closer. She reached for his hand before he could answer her and put a dagger in his hand. She put her veiny and dry hand over his and stared into his eyes again while the dagger lit up, with bright light coming from the blade.

Jongho wanted to intervene, was almost afraid, even though he did not know why. The situation and the aura suddenly seemed completely different, he wanted to scream, cry and felt betrayed. Yeosang felt a pain similar to Jongho's, a physical pain where his heart was, and a mental pain that spread quickly through his body. He held back his tears as he watched the witch start to cry as her eyes lit up. She inhaled sharply in and let go of his hand, where the blade of the dagger had turned a bright red. She breathed heavily a few times before she looked at the younger one, who was also crying. Her eyes found those of Yeosang again. "The black castle.You want to go to the black castle to break the fate and curse." The sobbing of Jongho interrupted them. "Yeosang, what is she saying?" he cried, confused why he suddenly broke down and felt such intense pain. "I will not stop you, for your plan will be effective. But you should be careful, everything has its victims, my child. She stroked his hand once, her index finger running across the middle of the blade where a crown anemone was growing. Yeosang looked at the flower, which was unusually small for her species. "How ironic," he said.

But Jongho was not the only one who felt this inexplicable pain and the feeling of being betrayed, San, Seonghwa and Wooyoung also felt the pain. They had long since finished their errands and were jumping through the few shadows of daylight, but when this wave of inexplicable emotions hit them so suddenly, their cover was blown. Only much too late did they realise that they were on the edge of the palace. "I am happy to announce that from now on the shadow men will protect us and free us from Blutmond," King Hongjoong proudly announced. His advisor Mingi was a little more alert than him, and noticed the shadow men immediately. He quietly approached the king and informed him of their presence. The king just grinned crookedly and raised his hand towards the shadow men. "Please give them a loud applause, the ally of Obsidian," he said proudly again.

The shadow men did not know why, but they felt betrayed, even if they did not have any real reason to,— yet.