CHAPTER 36
He was gently wiping the sweat from his brother's brow, eyes sharp with quiet concern.
"I'll take over,"
Muwon said, walking to the other side of the bed.
"You should rest."
Yuhyun's head turned quickly, brows furrowed.
"No. I'm not leaving him."
A brief silence fell, broken only by the shallow, uneven breaths of the sleeping sorcerer. Then, as if stirred by their voices, Sihyun's eyes fluttered open—glowing brighter now, burning gold-red like fire trapped behind glass.
"Sihyun?"
Muwon leaned closer, his voice tender.
"Can you hear me?"
Yuhyun called softly too,
"Sihyun… are you awake?"
But Sihyun only blinked, staring through them both with a dazed expression—eyes wide, unfocused. His lips parted slightly, as if about to speak, but then he slowly exhaled… and closed his eyes again, slipping back into sleep.
Yuhyun stiffened. Muwon didn't say anything, but his hand reached to adjust the blanket over Sihyun's shoulders, more gently than he intended.
Then the door creaked open.
The presence that stepped in made both of them turn sharply. The king.
His robes flowed around him like shadows, and his eyes swept the scene—the flushed sorcerer lying between the prince and the servant, the glow of magic undeniable, burning under Sihyun's skin.
"So,"
the king finally said, tone unreadable.
"The sorcerer truly burns like a star before his power awakens."
Muwon stood up but didn't bow. Yuhyun did.
"What brings you here, Father?"
Muwon asked, his voice steady.
"I came to see if the rumors held truth,"
the king said, walking closer.
"And to witness… what kind of hold this creature has on you."
Muwon's jaw clenched, but he didn't respond.
The king stared at Sihyun for a moment longer, then turned to leave, pausing by the doorway.
"Remember, Muwon. The brighter the flame burns… the faster it consumes."
And with that cryptic warning, he walked out, robes trailing silently behind him.
Muwon glanced back at Sihyun, whose breathing had slowed, skin still glowing faintly with golden-red light.
As the king's footsteps faded down the corridor, silence once again settled over the room.
Muwon sat back down at Sihyun's side, eyes tracing the lines of sweat glistening on his pale face. Sihyun stirred slightly in his sleep, breath still shallow, skin burning under the fever.
Yuhyun remained on the opposite side, clutching the cloth in his hand a little tighter, his shoulders visibly tense.
"I'm scared,"
he suddenly said, voice barely above a whisper.
Muwon turned to him, brows drawing together.
"I've seen him like this before,"
Yuhyun continued, eyes fixed on his brother.
"Every time he manifests a tattoo, he becomes like this—feverish, disoriented, too weak to defend himself. But this time… this time feels different. Stronger. I feel like something… something's coming."
His voice cracked slightly at the end, and he blinked fast.
Muwon's gaze softened, and without hesitation, he said,
"Nothing will happen to him."
Yuhyun looked up, uncertainty written across his face.
"I mean it,"
Muwon said firmly.
"He's under my protection now. No one will touch him—not while I still breathe."
Yuhyun searched the prince's expression, then slowly nodded, though his worry didn't leave his eyes.
Outside, the sky began to lighten slightly, soft shades of blue creeping past the window.
Inside the room, Sihyun remained still, burning with the power of his 19th tattoo slowly marking its way into existence—unseen, but not unfelt.
Far beyond the palace walls, deep within the quiet of his cave, Vanyul sat cross-legged, his eyes closed, palms open to the sky.
His two allies stood nearby, silent and still, sensing something was… off.
Suddenly, Vanyul's eyes snapped open—glowing faintly red, a thin frown cutting across his usually playful features.
"…He's weakened."
He rose to his feet in one smooth motion, cloak fluttering behind him as he stepped toward the edge of the cave, eyes fixed on the distant mountain line that veiled the palace.
"I can feel his pain through the bond,"
he muttered.
"The boy?"
the female shapeshifter asked carefully, but she already knew the answer.
"He's manifesting again,"
Vanyul said, a darker tone slipping into his voice.
"But this time it's stronger than before. It's… burning through him."
The male ally shifted uneasily.
"Should we do something?"
Vanyul didn't answer right away. He simply stared out toward the horizon, a low hum vibrating from his chest—something between longing and rage.
"I hate when he's vulnerable like this… and I'm not there,"
he finally said.
"They don't understand him. They never will."
Then, with a sharp glance back, he added,
"Prepare the runes. If they push him too far, I'll come get him myself."
His voice was calm, but the air around him cracked with raw, red magic.
Midnight cloaked the palace in heavy silence.
The wind barely stirred, the only sound within Muwon's quarters was Yuhyun's soft breathing as he dozed off beside the bed—exhausted from tending to his brother.
Then, without warning, Sihyun's glowing eyes fluttered open, no trace of confusion or sleep in them. Slowly, like a puppet drawn by unseen threads, he sat upright, gaze blank and distant.
The golden glow in his irises pulsed once—then dimmed.
He turned to glance at Yuhyun. A pause. No movement.
Quietly, with a silence that felt unnatural, Sihyun slid off the bed. Barefoot and shirtless, he padded toward the window.
Each step scorched the floor mat beneath him, and when he leapt down into the palace garden, the soft grass beneath his feet withered and blackened, curling into ash where he passed.
A red mist clung faintly to his skin—his body burning too hot, his power leaking uncontrollably.
But Sihyun didn't feel it.
He didn't feel anything at all.
Eyes still glowing, his body moved toward the woods, toward the one person whose presence was calling him with every fevered heartbeat.
Vanyul.
Deep in the woods, the red mist curled around the jagged rocks outside the mouth of the cave. Vanyul stood at its edge, staring into the distance—his expression unreadable but his posture alert.