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Technically, Minseok didn't have a problem with sand.
His hometown was famous for its beaches. Minseok grew up frolicking by the shorelines, tracing fingers along the waves, the salt, and the sea. The sound of wet sand crunching beneath his feet was familiar.
That in itself was probably the problem.
Unlike beach sand, its desert counterpart was scorchingly hot and annoyingly dry. It didn't bring him any form of comfort; if anything Minseok swore to never ever visit a desert again in his life if he could help it. The sun was too hot, the sand was too crunchy, and Minseok was going to steal Minhyung's dessert for the next three dinners because this was his idea.
("Oh," Minhyung had said, when the locals told them about rumours of a new, terrifying beast terrorizing the desert. "Sounds interesting."
Minseok had agreed, then.)
"We're going to ditch this idea if we don't find the monster by nightfall, right?" Minseok grumbled, now.
In front of him, Minhyung threw his head back and laughed.
"When did you become such a quitter?" he teased, but at Minseok’s pout, Minhyung relented. "Alright, alright. Anything for your lovely complexion, Minseok-ie."
Minseok scowled lightly at him. His ears turned pink in embarrassment, as per whenever Minhyung threw out compliments as easily as he breathed.
"Can you see another cave yet?" he asked, instead.
Minhyung shrugged.
According to the stories they have heard, the large monster supposedly slept within a cave in the general direction they were going. Nobody ever returned from it if they entered, which was the explanation for how vague the directions were.
And for all of Minseok's complaints, the Desert of Hadramaveth weren't just entirely flat landscape and endless sand dunes. No, it had jutting rock formations, towering cliffs, and even deep canyons. The most eye-catching thing was the huge sandstorm tornado at the desert's centre; Minseok didn't plan on visiting that area anytime soon.
What this did mean was that they have checked several shallow caves throughout the day and found nothing except for the few local monsters and animals. Memorably, there was an instance where they found a family of desert foxes. They were so cute! If only they were closer to home…maybe Minseok would have adopted them in a heartbeat.
But they haven't found the large monster.
"We have to leave for home tomorrow," Minseok said, out loud. "Minhyung-ie, it's soon to be winter."
That got Minhyung to pause in his steps.
Minseok knew that Minhyung was aware of that. Yet, he also knew that part of the reason they both agreed to search for the monster was so they could help eliminate it. The people in the village had been terrified.
Minhyung was a kind person, a people's person. Logically, the fastest way to help would be to eliminate the problem. It wasn't that Minseok disagreed with him but Minseok had his own duty, and that duty involved reminding Minhyung of his responsibilities to their nation.
Minhyung turned his head to face Minseok.
Under the harsh, desert sunlight, Minhyung's shadow stretched across the sands. They had swapped to local wear when they reached Sumeru, and said clothing came with a cape that complemented Minhyung's broad shoulders, making for a truly intimidating silhouette.
Minseok locked eyes with him, staring evenly.
A second passed.
Then, a smile stretched across Minhyung's lips.
"I know," he admitted. They were quiet after that, just trudging forward, but something unspoken had been agreed upon. If they couldn't find the monster by tonight, they would begin on their departure from Sumeru. Whether or not they'd return someday would be a discussion for another time.
Eventually, they stumbled upon a canyon that had a relatively small river running through it. With water were plants, vines and small bushes flourishing along the walls. It felt like a small slice of Sumeru's rainforest areas.
"What a change in atmosphere," Minseok noted. "Ah, I'm so glad to be out of the direct sunlight!"
Minhyung laughed brightly.
He gestured for Minseok to hand over his water bottle, uncapping his as well. The Vision pinned to his waist glowed as he used the power of Hydro to filter clean river water into their bottles. "It's interesting that there are places like these in the desert."
"It's a lifesaver," Minseok groaned, stretching his arms above his head. He felt revitalized by the bit of greenery and taste of moisture, thanking Minhyung for the refilled water bottle and taking a swig. "I can't wait for the snow back home."
"And then you'll miss the sun when there's too much snow."
"Nothing some hotpot can't fix," Minseok grinned, before his smile faded slightly. "Do you feel that?"
Minhyung didn't need to answer. Instead, he looked past Minseok.
Minseok turned to see what caught his attention.
Claw marks, carved deep into the canyon walls. Huge, gouging, gashes crawled up the rocks, leaving a sight both breathtaking and terrifying.
A chill ran down Minseok's spine. His hands twitched.
"Is this what people called Abyssal corruption?" Minhyung murmured. He stepped forward, past Minseok, and stood in front of the claw marks. They seem to throb and glow purple at his presence. "Interesting."
While Minhyung was observing their find, Minseok's gaze followed the claw marks' trail. They lodged from the walls to the ground, leaving raised stone edges across the small river and diverting some of the water way.
Something else was scattered alongside the marks; Minseok paused, because those looked like—
"Minseok-ie!"
A loud explosion, then thick smoke was filling the area quickly. Minseok coughed and tried to cover his mouth with his arm, immediately turning to get to Minhyung's side—
—only for something to hit him at the back of his head, and his vision turned dark.
◆◆◆
"Are you insane!?"
Minseok slammed the doors of his room shut, before turning around and scowling at the other boy.
Said boy only blinked at him. Minseok threw a hand out dramatically and pointed at the door.
"Are you crazy?" He asked. "What were you doing in the armoury? You're just a kid!"
Now the other boy looked incredibly amused. "You're a kid too."
"That's different," Minseok said hotly. "I was there on an errand. An errand! Besides, the guards know me. What were you doing in there!?"
"I wanted to pick up a weapon for myself." At least the other boy had the courtesy to look sheepish when he admitted this. "You're right, that was a terrible idea."
"If the guards caught you, you'll probably be kicked out from the palace," Minseok huffed. When the other boy only looked intrigued at this prospect, Minseok bristled. "I'm serious! You should ask for a weapon from your parents or something."
"He told me it'll be my turn in due time," the other boy muttered. Was he actually sulking? It didn't last long though, because then he perked up. "You mentioned Hyukkyu-nim! You're his assistant?"
"Well…yes." Minseok blinked at the sudden change of topic. Without fail, a swell of pride burst in his chest whenever he was recognized as such. "Hyukkyu-hyung's best assistant, Ryu Minseok."
"Lee Minhyung," the other boy offered. "That's so cool. Can I call you Minseok then, now that we're friends?"
"If you think being friends with me will allow you access to the armoury, you can keep dreaming." Minseok narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
Minhyung burst out into a laugh. "Wait, no!" He stopped when he realized Minseok was serious, but there was still a wide grin on his face. "I mean, didn't you just save me? How could I not want to be friends with you after that?"
"If you say so," Minseok huffed. Only time would tell how sincere Minhyung was. "I will report you if you do anything funny."
"No armoury from here onward, promise." Minhyung smiled. He even gave Minseok a silly thumbs-up gesture. "Hey, how about exploring then? Gyeongbokgung is huge, no matter how much I explore I always seem to find something new. You can join me!"
Minseok blinked.
Minhyung was…bold. It startled Minseok and he bit the bottom of his lip in thought. On one hand, he didn't know Minhyung; they literally just met. But on the other hand, Minseok rarely met any kids around his age in the palace grounds. Any kids he did see were usually of nobility, which made it hard to interact with them. He missed the times when Hyeonjoon, Jihoon, and Changhyeon were with him.
"Fine," Minseok huffed, "No need for tomorrow, I suppose I can spare some time today." He could grab Hyukkyu-kyung's scabbard later, it wasn't like it was urgent. "Lead the way then."
Minhyung brightened, light sparkling in his eyes.
"We won't stay out long I swear," he said quickly, like Minseok would change his mind if Minhyung didn't act that very second. "I have to return by noon anyway." He walked past Minseok, pushing the room’s doors open. The morning sunlight streamed into the room, lending Minhyung's silhouette a gentle outline. "Let go, Min—"
◆◆◆
"—seok-ie. Minseok-ie."
Minseok jolted awake, then immediately started coughing. His hands tried darting out only for him to realize they were bound tightly.
"What." His eyes slid open. The first thing he saw was Minhyung's face, an exhausted smile on his lips. For a moment Minseok froze, the image of child-Minhyung and adult-Minhyung superimposed upon one another, their smiles equally gentle.
"Minseok-ie?" Minhyung prodded carefully. Minseok shook his head to ground himself back to the present and nodded. Minhyung let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods you're okay."
"What about you?" Minseok blurted out. There was a cut above Minhyung's eyebrow and a scrape on his cheek. "You're injured."
"Only minor ones." Minhyung brushed it aside, just continuing to smile. "I'm fine."
Minseok eyed him for bit, waiting to see if Minhyung was willing to admit anything else.
Minhyung, however, was a very stubborn man. He met Minseok's stare head on, not budging. Considering the situation, Minseok relented, taking in their surroundings instead. "What happened?"
"Seems like an ambush," Minhyung answered. He shrugged, and only then did Minseok realize that Minhyung's hands were also behind his back, likely tied as well. "They've left us alone for now. You actually just missed them, Minseok-ie. I woke up a little earlier and got to eavesdrop them. They called themselves Treasure Hoarders and it seems like they make a career out of robbing people." Minhyung let out an exasperated huff. "They are rummaging through our bags now."
Minseok cursed under his breath. This was annoying and embarrassing. Back home, he had the reputation of a genius for his situational awareness, so to be ambushed like this… it stung his ego.
"Sucks," Minseok grumbled. He narrowed his eyes at Minhyung. "Well, how much longer do you need?"
"None at all," Minhyung answered immediately, holding up his hands. One hand had the remnants of the ropes previously binding him, while the other held a knife he had hidden away. A smug smile tugged at the corners of his lips and he gave said knife a twirl. "Need a hand, Minseok-ie?"
"If you leave me tied, I'll never travel with you ever again," Minseok threatened. That only earned a light laugh from Minhyung. Minseok tilted his body so the other man could reach in and cut his ropes. "So we know who they are. Any idea of where we are?"
"The monster's lair, I think," Minhyung answered, while making easy work of the ropes. Minseok rubbed at his wrists with a small wince, then raised an eyebrow in question. "The marks we saw before? They're larger and deeper here."
Minhyung had a point.
Behind him, claw marks similar to the ones they saw before decorated the walls. These ones were larger, deeper, and had stronger menacing purple glow emitting between the cracks.
"Why is their camp here?" Minseok asked, baffled.
Minhyung shrugged. "Temporary camp, maybe?" he suggested. "Maybe a 'steal-our-items-then-feed-us-to-the-monster kind of deal."
Fairly logical deduction, Minseok mused, then said out loud. "We should grab our items and leave."
"Works for me," Minhyung agreed. He offered a hand to Minseok and pulled the shorter man up. "That way."
That way meant the opening to this small cavern they were in—the exit, although it seemed to only lead to the outer cave. Minhyung took a step towards it, but Minseok caught his hand and stopped him.
"Hmm?"
Minseok's hand reached up, brushing Minhyung's bangs aside. It revealed the cut above his eyebrow and Minhyung was right; it really was just a minor cut.
Relief flooded Minseok then, and his eyes trailed down Minhyung's coat. It was opened, likely from the robbers trying to search for extra valuables. They hadn't taken a small rose brooch pinned to the inner of the coat, the little gold metal accessory gleaming with magic. It was likely that the robbers haven't been able to remove it because Minseok could feel his own brooch within his coat, thrumming in symphony with Minhyung's.
"I doubt they could have taken that," Minhyung snorted. He seemed to interpret Minseok's movement as a strategic condition check, and Minseok didn't bother clarifying. "Minseok-ie, your plan?"
Minseok looked back up at him. There was nothing but blind trust in Minhyung's eyes. Even if Minseok's plan was to jump off a cliff, Minhyung wouldn't have thought twice about following him.
It burned Minseok from inside out, how encompassing Minhyung's trust was.
"Let’s go get back our items," Minseok mumbled, ducking his head. It did nothing to cover the redness of his ears, but at least Minseok didn't have to maintain eye contact. His hands patted the back of his right shoulder, letting out an annoyed huff when he realized that unlike their rose pins, his Vision did get taken. "How did they remember to take our Visions but left you with a knife?"
"I was prepared and had it hidden," Minhyung boasted.
Minseok just looked at him pointedly.
"Fine, Hyeonjun taught me," Minhyung caved immediately. He pouted. "You didn't believe me?"
That’s because you're a horrible liar, Minseok didn't say. Minhyung wore his heart on his sleeve and Minseok would guard it for him fiercely. Instead, he replied with, "That's a useful trick, you should teach me sometime."
Minhyung seemed to light up at the praise.
"It might be his trick at first but I improved it," Minhyung whispered, like it was something conspiratorial. "I’ll teach you the better version."
Minseok snickered. Hyeonjun and Minhyung undeniably had each other's back, but they also love taking shots at each other. He patted Minhyung’s arm in agreement, before moving to the cave exit. A quick look showed him that the path was empty, with faint sounds of people at the distance. "Looks like the coast is clear. Let’s go."
A hand slipped into his.
Minhyung squeezed his fingers, the familiar gesture shooting warmth up Minseok’s spine. He didn’t have to turn around to know that the smile on Minhyung’s face was brilliant and warm.
Minseok squeezed back, then stepped forward.
◆◆◆
"This way!"
Minseok darted after Minhyung. The two of them paused around the corner of a building for a moment, Minhyung peeking out to make sure the coast was clear. Then the two of them were off again, running unseen through the corridors.
They stopped at another corner but this time, Minhyung got overexcited and dashed out without checking. It was only by a stroke of luck that Minseok caught movement at the corner of his eyes, his hand shooting out and yanking Minhyung back. It sent them both tumbling backwards, Minseok quickly raising a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. Both of them held their breath as they heard footsteps walking past them, before it faded away.
"...That was too close," Minseok groaned. He sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. His heart was beating like a rabbit’s. "Be more aware, would you?"
"You saved me again." Minhyung said, instead. He smiled at him, his apology instead in the way he reached out and held Minseok's hands. "Thank you, Minseok-ie."
Minseok rolled his eyes but he smiled back. He wasn't that mad at him—a little exasperated maybe, but it was difficult to be truly angry at Minhyung.
"I’ll be careful this time," Minhyung continued, voice taking on a serious tone. He stood up with their hands still clasped together. "Let's go?"
Minseok squeezed Minhyung's hands back in agreement.
◆◆◆
"Gentlemen," Minhyung said, cheerfully, "We'll be taking our items back and you'll leave us alone. We can forget this ever happened at all. Deal?"
Minseok snorted.
"That was terribly corny," he told Minhyung. "Which book is that from?"
"I can't remember the title," Minhyung admitted with a laugh.
Between them, the Treasure Hoarders groaned from the cave floor. They had not expected Minseok to come barrelling out of the shadows and snatching his Dendro Vision, before he had manifested his cane and marked all of them in a sweep. Another swing and they were all hit at once, his marks sharing the hurt across everyone already within Minseok's calculations.
Carefully, Minseok released the man he was holding onto the ground after making sure he wouldn't do anything else. His eyes swept across the cavern they were in.
If Minseok had thought that the cave they had woken up in had a foreboding amount of cracks with an eerie purple glow, it was even more ominous here. The cracks were even larger, enough that it looked like it could split the ground they were on into two.
And just slightly beyond the group, the ground dropped off sharply. The edge of the cave became a cliff to a gaping void, the darkness below making it impossible to see all the way to the bottom.
Just seeing it made Minseok's heartbeat sound louder in his ears. He took a step back, accidentally kicking a piece of rubble past the cliff. The delayed echo of pebbles hitting the bottom only compounded the uneasy feeling running through Minseok.
He pushed it aside, watching Minhyung walk over to a pile of items and fished their bags out. They didn't carry much to begin with since they travelled light, but Minseok was grateful all the same when Minhyung handed his stuff over and nothing was missing.
"That was a lovely dive, Minseok-ie," Minhyung gushed, all warm and adoring. "Are those all your items?"
Minseok looked away. His slightly red ears was the only acknowledgement he would give to Minhyung's praise. Instead he just nodded quickly, while his hands fastened his own Vision on himself. "Seems like it."
"Then let's go."
As though the universe had something against them specifically, that was when the ground shook.
"What was that?" Minhyung asked, his smile dropping for the first time throughout this entire ordeal. His eyes narrowed. Behind him the Treasure Hoarders froze, eyes widening.
Then, the walls exploded.
Minseok felt himself getting tackled to the ground. Somewhere above him, a gruesome roar filled the cavern, every stone and rock trembling. When the dust settled, what was revealed made Minseok's blood run cold.
The sandworm-like monster that burst out of the ground was humongous and monstrous, with three heads that all had too many teeth and deep purple scales. It was so huge that the rest of its body was still buried beneath the ground, its frontal claws gouging the earth deeply. For a second, Minseok thought of the stories that locals had spoken about, of a huge predator in the desert—the Setekh Wenut.
("No," something whispered in his head. "That's not the Setekh Wenut. That's the Baron Nashor.")
...What?
Minseok's thoughts were interrupted by panicked screaming and cursing from the Treasure Hoarders, all scrambling to run for their lives. Like it was some kind of cue, the Baron's tail pierced from the ground and slammed the earth, sending another ripple of earthquake throughout the cave.
Minseok struggled to stand. There was a hand on his arm; a reassuring, firm grip. He looked aside to see Minhyung with a grim look on his face.
"We need to get out of here." Minhyung tipped his head to the side; all the Treasure Hoarders were running towards one direction and of course, Minseok thought, they would know where the exit was.
"Quick, quick," Minseok urged, dashing forward and pulling Minhyung's hand. Behind them, the Baron roared again.
Then, it happened.
From the corner of his eyes, Minseok saw the moment the Baron raised its tail again. This time it was higher and when it came back down, it cracked the cavern floor into two. The tail slam was so strong that every rock and pebble within the vicinity flew into the air. For a moment, Minseok lost his footing.
He wasn't the only one.
A Treasure Hoarder flew past him, screaming. Whether he had tripped like Minseok or pushed away by the others was anybody's guess, but he tumbled roughly past them and off the side of the cliff.
Behind him, Minseok felt Minhyung pull away.
"What—!?"
Minseok turned his head and his heart stopped for a beat.
"I got him!" Minhyung yelled. Then, he threw himself off the edge of the cliff and a few seconds later, the unlucky Treasure Hoarder from before was flung upwards, body enveloped in the blue glow of Minhyung's elemental power.
The man landed on the ground with a yelp, before scrambling up and making a run for it. He stopped for a split second to catch Minseok's eyes, gratitude painted all over his face. Minseok didn't have time for him though, running past the man and stopping himself just before the drop.
"Lee Minhyung!" he screamed at the void, voice filled with rage. His partner was nowhere to be seen. "You idiot!"
There was no answer, which was the worst thing. Behind him, the Baron roared again. By now all the Treasure Hoarders were all gone, so it snapped its attention to the only remaining human within its range.
Minseok looked at the Baron, then at the gaping darkness.
("Take care of him, would you?")
Minseok took a deep breath, then flung himself into the void after Minhyung.
◆◆◆
"He's not here yet," Hyeonjun said.
"Huh," Minseok said, intelligently. He sat down underneath the tree that Hyeonjun had chosen to rest under, beside the other boy.
Minseok met Hyeonjun not long after making friends with Minhyung. "A close friend of mine," Minhyung had said, but Hyeonjun instead went with, "Someone used to taking care of his sorry ass." They immediately shoved at each other and both of them toppled to the ground.
Apparently Hyeonjun had been away from Gyeongbokgung’s grounds on a training mission, which was also the cause of Minhyung's boredom that ended up with Minseok catching him in the armoury.
(Hyeonjun had snorted and not question the story even a little, lending credibility to Minseok's theory that Minhyung could be an absolute idiot at times)
"Hey, Minseok?"
In their first meeting, Hyeonjun had quickly shook his hand and challenged him to a training spar. It ended with both of them on the ground, panting, and Minseok went from Minseok-ssi to Minseok-ie in the span of an afternoon.
Now though, Hyeonjun couldn’t meet Minseok’s eyes. He opened his mouth then closed it, before repeating it for another one, two times.
Minseok waited for all of one second before kicking him.
"Ow!? Dude, I was thinking!" Hyeonjun scowled but Minseok's action had worked, because he finally stopped waffling and continued with, "Did you know? About Minhyung?"
"You'll need to be more specific." Minseok gave him a deadpan look. He did have an inkling to what Hyeonjun might be asking about. "About what? About how good he is in archery? About how he ate the snacks you hid? Or about how Minhyung is part of the nobility?"
"Ye—wait, he ate my snacks—wait, no, what!? You knew?" Hyeonjun turned his head so quickly he might have given himself a whiplash. "He told you?"
"No." But Minseok wasn't Hyukkyu-hyung's star pupil for nothing. By their second meet up, he had already concluded that Minhyung was part of the nobility. It was in the way he carried himself, in the way he spoke carefully even though he slipped sometimes when he got excited. "I figured it out."
Hyeonjun still looked somewhat baffled. "What else did you figure?"
Minseok mulled over the question. It wasn't like Minhyung went out of his way to hide his status; the topic just never came up. Besides, in the time they knew each other, Minhyung had brought him to areas of the palace that Minseok was certain was barred from anyone other than nobility.
Yet even though he was noble, Minhyung didn't seem to mind hanging out with Minseok. He treated anyone they met equally, every bit polite and helpful to anyone they came across. Case in point, Hyeonjoon himself wasn't a noble either but he and Minhyung were close friends.
"He's sweet and gentle," Minseok answered, slowly. "And he's nice, but he can be kinda silly."
Minseok remembered a day when Minhyung had come to get him for their usual meet up and Hyukkyu-hyung was around. Minhyung had frozen then, eyes going wide. Hyukkyu-hyung had looked just as stunned but only for a moment, before he had shook his head and laughed softly.
"Go have fun, you two," he had said, then let Minseok have the rest of the day free.
"Hyukkyu-hyung trusted him," Minseok said out loud. Hyukkyu-hyung had looked at both of them with such fondness that Minseok still thought about it from time to time. "I trust hyung's judgment." He eyed Hyeonjun. "Is that enough for your best friend shovel talk?"
Hyeonjun coughed.
"It's not a best friend shovel talk," he muttered, crossing his arms. When Minseok raised an eyebrow at him, Hyeonjun folded like wet paper; that was something he and Minhyung had in common it seemed. "...Fine, it was kinda a shovel talk, but also not really. For real."
"Uh huh," Minseok scoffed.
"It's just—he's kind of stupid, you know?" Hyeonjun grumbled. "Gotta look out for him, that's all."
Minseok thought about how he had caught Minhyung in the armoury. "...You have a point."
"Duh." Hyeonjun snorted. Then he paused, looking like he was contemplating if he should even say anything else, but he soldiered on. "Minseok-ie?"
"Hmm?"
Hyeonjun wasn't looking at him anymore. His gaze was at a distance, over the courtyard. Minseok followed his eyesight and could barely make out the silhouette of a figure making his way to them.
"Minseok-ie," Hyeonjun repeated, firmly. He seemed to have made up his mind. "Take care of him, would you?"
The figure was coming closer. When Minhyung was close enough, he grinned at them with all the brilliance of the sun.
Minseok couldn't help breaking into a smile of his own.
"Of course."
◆◆◆
Minseok landed in Minhyung’s arms.
"Gotcha!" Minhyung exclaimed, bright and happy. Minseok whacked his arm with his cane. "Ow!"
"That's for doing something so stupid! Why would you do that? What if you—what if he—why would you even—!"
Minhyung let him down, rubbing his arm sheepishly. He was still grinning, but Minseok was livid.
"I figured I could save him," Minhyung explained simply. His expression was a cross between sheepish and embarrassed, but there was no regret. "He made it out alright?"
"They robbed us," Minseok pointed out. He wanted to say more, but a loud roar reverberated throughout the cave. His eyes narrowed. "He's fine, but you are not. We'll talk about this later. Get ready!"
Minseok's timing couldn't have been better.
There was another earth shattering roar, sending shockwave throughout the bottom of the cave they were in. The Baron burst out of the ground right in front of them, all three heads with their jaws open. In the bigger and deeper cavern, Minseok could now see the entirety of it, all its extra legs and dangerous spiky tail.
Beside him, Minhyung manifested his weapon—a gorgeous bow in royal red-black-gold colours, bursting into existence with a splash of his Hydro powers. Multiple blue gems were embedded on the bow’s body, with a singular, deep red one at the very top. Several intricate black and red feathers—from their beloved Pyro Kkachi, Ati's—hung off the bow by gold chains, each feather glinting with power.
Minseok held up his own cane. Like Minhyung's, his cane was also in royal red-black-gold colours. Unlike Minhyung's however, the multiple smaller gems decorating his weapon and the one at the bottom were red instead. A single green gem hung off the cane on a gold chain.
Both of them caught each other's eye and nodded.
Minseok jumped in first, immediately sweeping his cane in an arc. A glow appeared on the Baron—Minseok's mark, the outline of a moon. He followed it up with a strong whack to the Baron's body before bouncing off and landing back on his feet.
("Just keep attacking it! We need to get it low enough for when Hyeonjun gets here!")
Minseok looked up, shaking off the brief voice in his head. His hit hadn’t seemed to hurt the Baron at all. Instead, it looked like it made the huge monster angrier. The Baron let out a roar, all its attention now focused on Minseok—
A large Hydro arrow smashed right onto the Baron’s head.
The Baron’s angry roar turned into a pained screech. Someone tackled Minseok then, both of them stumbling to the back of a rock and into a small crevice, temporarily hidden from the Baron’s sight.
"Thoughts?" Minhyung huffed.
Many things ran through Minseok’s head all at once. He didn't have a chance to survey their battleground but from what he did know, they have a decent amount of solid ground to work with. The Baron also wasn't immune to pain if its pained screech was anything to go by. He would need more info to work off with, whether an escape was needed or—
("Lower its health! Hyeonjun is almost here!")
"We can take it down." The words were flying out of Minseok before he could even think about it. "We just need more damage, because—"
"Hyeonjun isn't here," Minhyung finished, a trance-like quality to his voice.
Minseok stared at him.
Minhyung stared back.
They were a duo for a reason, Minseok knew. One of the best pairs in their nation easily, but as much as Minhyung loved to boast he could read Minseok's every move, that was just outright mind-reading…unless Minhyung was also hearing the same voices.
"We're also going to talk about this later," Minseok decided. In the background, the Baron Nashor roared, smashing something in the cave and sending chunks of rocks flying. One of the rocks smashed into the wall just to their side.
They were running out of time.
The Vision on Minhyung's shoulder glowed softly, enveloping the man in a blue outline. His eyes had darkened and his look was intense, the smile on his lips unconsciously slipping into something sterner, more serious.
Minseok held up his cane. "How soon?"
"I'll have it ready for you in about 5, " Minhyung replied.
Minseok nodded. He could—no, he would—get Minhyung that 5 minutes. "In 1, 2—"
"3!" came in the form of Minseok leaping out and instantly breaking into a run. He swept his cane once more, refreshing his moon mark on the Baron. Immediately, Minseok could feel the vague presence of the Baron within his mind brightened again, a variable ready to be re-calculated.
Two Hydro arrows flew past him, hitting the Baron once in the face and another in its belly, disorientating the large monster. Minseok took the chance to launch himself up in the air, his Vision glowing—
—but the Baron Nashor turned and spit something at him.
Minseok changed his course of action on pure reflex, slashing at the incoming projectile with his cane. It destroyed what was coming at him mostly, but some of the liquid still splashed on him. The projectile momentum had thrown Minseok out of the air and he landed on his feet.
Immediately, a large Hydro arrow hit the Baron again, taking its attention. Minseok took that moment to duck behind a rock and reassess his situation.
He held up his arm, where he had felt some of the leftover liquid landed on him. Whenever he fought, Minseok had always covered himself in a light green sheen of his elemental powers. The liquid that had splashed on him had eaten through his defences, with whatever that managed to touch his clothes leaving burnt patches.
Acid, Minseok realized, horrified. The Baron Nashor could spit acid. What else could this thing do?
(Spikes. Lightning. Beneath them was shallow waters, the Baron was roaring, there was the sound of someone from the jungle—)
The sound of a louder, less dream-like roar followed by the familiar sounds of Hydro arrows soaring through the air snapped Minseok out of his thoughts.
Right, he still needed to buy time.
Fighting up close seemed a lot more dangerous now that acid spit had been added to the equation. Minseok gripped his cane, his Vision glowing with power. Light-green light swirled around him before it manifested into several small, bunny-like creatures floating by his shoulders. They made soft, chime-like noises at him.
"Alright," Minseok murmured under his breath. "Let's get those remaining minutes."
He dashed out from his hiding place, his elemental summons floating by his side. Minseok could see Minhyung—the archer was carefully maintaining his distance while shooting large Hydro arrows every so often. There was the shimmer of a light blue, sphere-shield around his partner; clearly Minhyung had seen the acid spit and had taken precautions.
Minseok rejoined the fight with a swing of his cane, refreshing his moon mark on the Baron. Then, he landed a hit as hard as he could on the Baron's visible body.
Like before, it barely did anything to the Baron, only successfully taking the heat off Minhyung. Unlike before, this time that wasn't all from Minseok.
From his shoulders, his little bunny-shaped creatures shot out Dendro energy at the Baron. Minseok took that moment to jump backwards to avoid any incoming acid; his creatures was intangible, but he wasn't.
"Minseok-ie!"
Minhyung was looking at him, his bow at full draw. Even with the distance Minseok recognized the look on his face—eyes lit up with fires as bright as their Archon's power, determination gleaming from deep within.
("We're the best duo, you and I.")
Minhyung let loose the charged Hydro arrow on the bow. Like before, it flew straight and true, hitting the Baron again on its heads.
But just like Minseok, that wasn't all. Another mark appeared side-by-side Minseok's own in light-blue lines—the shape of a sun.
Minseok grinned. Minhyung made it even earlier than he thought.
He didn't waste any time, dashing in immediately. Rather than the large, charged Hydro arrows that Minhyung had been firing all battle, he had changed to quick, smaller ones. These flew past Minseok's side as he swung his cane for another hit. His elemental summons all shot their share of magic in quick succession with the arrows.
Minseok landed a few more hits before he dashed back, taking in the situation. What he saw made him grin even wider—scattered across the cavern floor were a growing amount of Dendro Cores, all glowing beautifully.
And when Minhyung's arrows landed on the Baron, the Dendro Cores exploded.
Those explosions rocked the cave. Minseok could see Minhyung’s and his marks glow with their respective powers—Minhyung's sun mark allowing for his arrows to explode the Cores as Minseok's moon mark amplified the damage the explosion would cause to the monster in front of them.
Perfect.
They were perfect.
The explosions washed over him and Minhyung harmlessly, their respective shields and defences made especially for this. Minseok could feel him before he could see him—Minhyung had made his way to his side, never stopping his barrage of arrows.
Each shot exploded, recreated, and re-explode the Dendro Cores. The Baron Nashor's screech was loud, pained and confused.
One more big explosion. They were close.
The Baron seemed to realize this, too. With great anger and desperation, it let out a furious scream, swinging its tail up, up, up—it was ready for one final grand slam.
For a moment, Minseok readied himself to dash away but beside him, Minhyung instead lowered his bow. He slid an arm around Minseok's waist, pulling him into Minhyung's personal space and into his light-blue shield.
Their eyes met.
There was a thin streak of blood at the corner of Minhyung's mouth. His eyes were less tense than before, and his grin looked like victory.
The Baron’s tail struck.
A huge explosion rocked the cave.
◆◆◆
"This isn't going to work."
Instead of despairing together, Minhyung just laughed. Minseok immediately glared at him because this was an extremely serious issue, goddammit.
The glare worked because Minhyung stopped laughing. He was still smiling though.
"It's not like we have no synergy at all," Minhyung said, consoling. "I have Hydro powers. You have Dendro ones. It's not like we're entirely incompatible."
Well, Minhyung was right, but he was also putting too much confidence in their synergy. Minseok drew his knees up to his chin and looked over the training grounds glumly, where multiple Dendro Cores from their afternoon brainstorming session still glowed prettily in the sunlight.
Minhyung was right—Hydro and Dendro were compatible reactions. When both elements interacted, they created beautiful Dendro Cores and when those explode, they did decent damage.
The problem was that Hydro and Dendro weren't exactly the most offensive of combinations. Making Dendro Cores and waiting for them to explode was so incredibly slow, especially when there are more offensive combinations like Hydro and Pyro, or Dendro and Electro. Not for the first time, Minseok wondered what it would be like if Minhyung had chosen to partner with anyone else.
Minseok picked up a Dendro Core near him. It was one that had formed just before they stopped to rest, so there was still some time before it burst.
"We could make it explode faster," Minhyung suggested. He poked the Dendro Core in Minseok's hand, the power of Hydro swirling to the tip of his finger. Minhyung's eyes narrowed in concentration and he funnelled more Hydro energy into the Core until eventually—
Pop!
Both Minhyung and Minseok flinched slightly as a tingle of pain washed over their hands. It wasn't a particularly strong Core, but it was still a tiny explosion of energy.
That was the other problem with relying on Dendro Cores as their offensive weapon—it was a double-edged sword. When they explode, Dendro Cores didn't discriminate who they hit with their explosions. They get hurt alongside their opponents too, albeit a lot less as it was their energy.
But still.
"If the Cores explode faster, our window of dodging them gets smaller."
"So does the opponents'!" Minhyung grinned. "I think it could work."
Minseok eyed their hands. His was still up from holding the exploded Core just minutes ago, skin pink from the damage. Beside him was Minhyung's outstretched finger, his fingertip cut open, bleeding freely.
When they explode, Dendro Cores released a burst of energy. While it was their energy, it was ultimately Dendro energy. As a Dendro Vision user, he had a natural level of resistance against the element.
Minhyung wasn't a Dendro Vision user.
In the creation of Dendro Cores, Dendro was the greedier element between the two of them. It took Hydro energy to flourish, and it took even more to explode. Now Minhyung was proposing to give even more of himself to make it explode faster…
The Gods were unto something when they bestowed him a Dendro Vision, Minseok thought. His laughter, his companionship, his love. Minseok couldn't seem to stop asking for more from Minhyung.
"You are the Crown Prince of Koryo," Minseok said, slowly and firmly. He turned to Minhyung and hoped he managed to convey just how serious this was. "You need to be careful."
Minhyung's grin turned soft. "Is that an order from the official succeeding Head Advisor?"
Even though Minhyung was just stating a fact, Minseok flushed pink from pleasure at hearing the title. He only got appointed about a week ago, and sometimes it still felt like a dream to be their Archon's head advisor.
"Don't be dumb," he muttered. Minhyung was good at distracting him. "Don't change the subject."
"Yes sir," Minhyung said, letting out a burst of laughter when Minseok started hitting him on the shoulder. "Ouch, okay, Minseok-ie, I get the message, oh—!"
Oh.
Around them, several Dendro elemental summons have popped up. Minseok knew what they were, of course, because they were his. They were rather formless right now, looking something like moving chimes, because Minseok hadn't decided on a proper shape yet.
Nor could he control when they appear. It wasn't the first time they popped out when he got overly emotional.
"No," Minseok groaned. To his mortification, several of his chimes floated over to Minhyung's hand, patting his fingertip injury with worry and patting the back of his hand for comfort. Goddammit, his chimes were too honest!
"Cute," Minhyung had the nerve to smirk at him.
Minseok struggled to say something, only to make a betrayed noise when one of his chimes outright snuggled into Minhyung's palm. Embarrassing! His hand shot out to catch that one, only for said chime to make a bell-like squeak and dodged. Minseok ended up grabbing Minhyung's hand.
Minhyung raised an eyebrow in amusement.
'Maybe I should have gotten a Geo Vision,' Minseok thought despairingly, because he could really do with the earth swallowing him whole right about now. He fully expected Minhyung to say something cheesy because that was pretty typical of him.
Instead, a more thoughtful look settled on Minhyung's face. He turned both of their hands and caressed the back of Minseok's with his thumb.
"We'll make it work," Minhyung said, softly and steadily. "I believe it."
Minseok's breath was caught in his throat.
"Yeah," he found himself agreeing, because that was the kind of voice that could defy fate itself. Like just because Minhyung believed in them, they could would work. "Yeah, we will."
Minhyung smiled.
◆◆◆
The Baron’s body dissolved away, leaving behind only a shell.
◆◆◆
"We're out!"
Minseok flopped dramatically on his back onto the desert sands. Above him, the stars splashed across the dark sky, glittering like jewels. He had half expected to exit the caverns into daylight, but Minseok supposed their adventure had taken up the entire day. They were just gonna have to camp for the night then.
Beside him, Minhyung threw his head back and laughed. He was also on the ground, but he wasn’t sprawled across the sands like Minseok was. There was a jar in his hands with a wilted Clusterleaf of Cultivation inside.
Minseok glanced over at it, somewhat still in disbelief.
After the Baron had completely disappeared and left behind their spoils of war, they had wondered how to escape from the deep underground. A thought occurred to Minseok, then.
When Minhyung had jumped in to save the man earlier, he had done so full of confidence…too much confidence. While Minhyung could be reckless at times, he was also trained by the best in the art of combat. His partner was the type to take calculated risks.
"When you jumped after the guy," Minseok had asked sharply, "How did you plan to escape this place after?"
Minhyung had paused. Then he had reached for his bag, taking out a small jar.
Minseok had recognized it, of course. It was a jar they had bought off a travelling merchant they had met on the road. Inside had been a small, fresh Clusterleaf of Cultivation, a plant that could spew out four-leaf sigils. When they had first entered Sumeru and experienced using a four-leaf sigil to hook and travel, they had wanted to bring a sample back home. Buying it had been a no-brainer.
Creating four-leaf sigils would have allowed Minhyung to latch onto them and climb out of the pit. It was kinda genius, but—
"You need Dendro power to activate these." Minseok had stared at Minhyung, then pointedly at his Hydro Vision.
"Well," Minhyung had smiled serenely. "You were right behind me."
Minseok had instantly turned red.
"How reckless," he had grumbled. Then they had used the plant, created the sigils, and had gotten themselves out.
Now they were here, sprawled out on the sand.
"I hope we find someone who sells another one of these," Minhyung said, holding up the jar morosely. "It would have been cool to bring one back. Everyone would have loved to study it, especially hyung."
Minseok hummed. "The jar still has the preservation spell on it, right?" The merchant had boasted hard about how it was a special jar blessed by the Dendro Archon herself, thus able to maintain a fresh, Clusterleaf of Cultivation. "We could just pluck a plant on our way back through the rainforest?"
"That's why they call you a genius," Minhyung said, adoringly. "Yeah, we can do that."
"Let's set up camp," Minseok grumbled. His ears felt hot at the praise. Stupid Minhyung-ie, ever the sweet talker. His eyes caught a flash of red—oh, Minhyung's rose pin.
The pin itself wasn't very bulky or big, but its petals were intricately carved. It was more obvious than ever that magic—powerful magic— played a huge part in its creation, because the rose curved in an almost impossible manner towards a direction.
Home.
"He's calling us," Minseok breathed out.
Minhyung's eyes were already looking far off in the distance, towards the direction the rose was pointing to—across Sumeru, across the Dark Sea.
"Yeah," he murmured. "Winter is coming."
◆◆◆
"Your Highness, a delivery."
Quietly, the Pyro Archon put his pen down. He dismissed the messenger, before walking over to the items that had been placed on the nearby table.
A letter and a package.
He picked the letter up and turned it around, a soft smile gracing his lips when he saw the two signatures gracing the paper's back. Before he could open it, there was a knock on his door.
Even before he had said anything, the person slipped into the room. If it had been anyone else, he would have thrown them out but since it was him, the God merely flicked one of his fox ears as an acknowledgement.
"Sanghyeok," Hyukkyu greeted. He tilted his head. "Is that Minseok's?"
"And Minhyung's," Sanghyeok said mildly, eyes darting over the words on the paper. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "From a nation named Sumeru."
The Pyro Archon folded the paper in his hands, before flicking it towards the direction of his bookshelf. His power carried the folded paper into a box where a pile of letters were already neatly piled, kept safe and sound. Satisfied that the letter was put away properly, Sanghyeok turned his attention to the package.
Opening it revealed an ominous, purple shell carapace. The magic that pulsed off it was strange and alien.
Hyukkyu frowned, eyes narrowing. "That's not native to this world."
"You're right," Sanghyeok confirmed. He stared at it just a little bit longer, golden eyes gleaming, then waved his hand over it. Fire surrounded the purple shell before flickering away to reveal a translucent bubble sealing the object within it.
Sanghyeok moved the magically-sealed shell onto another bookcase shelf. It was something to be studied later.
His eyes drifted to the full moon outside the window.
There was a time when the continent of Runeterra didn't exist.
A time when Sanghyeok wasn't the Pyro Archon of Koryo, one of the many nations in Runeterra, across Tevyat over the Dark Sea. A time when Gyeongbokgung wasn't his home, nor was it the home to his loved ones and closest friends.
His eyes shifted from the full moon to Hyukkyu, whose eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. That was the thing about their memories—Sanghyeok remembered in full clarity but to Hyukkyu, it was always in bits and pieces. He didn't know who else remembered—he did have his suspicions— but they weren't always like this, wasn't always people that could wield real magic.
(Once, they had sat in front of a computer and played—)
"They'll be back soon?" Hyukkyu asked, suddenly. "Autumn is ending."
Something landed with a clumsy thud on the windowsill. A Pyro Kkachi, one of Koryo's native magical birds, chirped at him. This one was young and familiar—Ati, who Minhyung saved last Summer and was in training to be one of Gyeongbokgung's official messengers.
"Of course," Sanghyeok answered. His gaze moved from Ati to a rose in a vase by the window. The flower, its petals fully unfurled and in full bloom, faced towards the direction of the Dark Sea. Sanghyeok knew where it was looking towards; he had personally charmed it to always face the people he was thinking about, but only if they wore his roses. "They are already on their way."
A quiet nod; felt, more than seen.
Then, the door closed behind him, and Sanghyeok was left with Ati.
"Of course they'll return," the Pyro Archon murmured, reaching out to gently scratch Ati's head. The juvenile Kkachi fluffed up her cheeks. "Winter is coming."
And with Winter, the annual continental championship approached.
Outside, the first snowflake fell.