The Rise of the Mages [EXO VERSION]

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[The Locked Lands]

I closed my eyes gripping Sehun's hand in my right hand as we bounced in the air. I could hear fussing and scrambling, Wooseung beside me as he kept a hand on my shoulder. Everything was going to be alright, I thought to myself. The gods were on my side and even if most of the world wasn't, I had the people who mattered. Wooseung seemed to know how worried I was and he nudged me, flashing me a smile that made me return it.

"We take it one step at a time." He told me and I nodded. That was right. One step at a time. Even when life gets hard, we take it on step at a time.

We bounced and I felt my stomach drop at the movement, Haechan clutching fearfully on my left hand. It didn't take long before Uncle Rumpel asked Haechan to come out and he stood up, bouncing out of the pouch before I looked up to see his own hand searching for us in his pocket space. I let go of Sehun's body and out I went, with Wooseung, Kris, and Ahjumma.

Once we came out, I realized we were at the border of a forest like land, but it was no where near the same as The Forest of Isea. The shadows were darker, the trees were taller and it seemed like a dark mist had settled over the land. If death took on a physical space, this is what it would have looked like.

"Remember to be mentally strong. The forest preys on fear and self-hatred." Rumpelstiltskin said and I saw Haechan gulp.

"Well, shit." He mumbled and Wooseung flickered an eye over to him.

"Language, Haechan." He warned and Haechan shuffled is feet awkwardly, staring into the ground. It was obvious that the kid was scared, but he knew we couldn't have done it without him. Sighing, I turned to look at Wooseung, raising my eyebrows at him when Wooseung blinked at me.

"What?" He asked and I jerked my head towards Haechan. "Fine." Wooseung mumbled, turning to Haechan and changing the tone of his voice while offering his hand. "Come here, let's go."

It worked like magic and Haechan brightened up, taking Wooseung's hand and holding it tightly. Ahjumma stood beside me with Kris, keeping close as if she knew the powers of The Locked Lands when Rumpel told us to head in. Nodding, I stepped into the forest.

Everything felt heavy. My worries were amplified, my chest felt like it was twisting in my chest and I found myself doubting everything I ever was. Ahjumma stood beside me before she spoke.

"The Locked Lands are known for mind games. It's best we think logically from this step forward." She told us and Wooseung nodded. He didn't seem affected like Rumpel, both of them probably just seeing trees and dark shadows. Haechan sniffled and I saw him tear up, trying to regain emotional balance. Kris looked stricken, and it was obvious he had put up a wall and refused to speak despite what he was feeling.

"How do we know where to find him?" I found myself asking and Uncle Rumpel shook his head.

"We don't. We walk and walk and walk, and we pray that we run into him." He said and I let out a sigh. "Time can be distorted here too. It's the dark magic that inhabits the land." He told us. "Five minutes can feel like an hour and it's not going to be long until your mind will play tricks on you."