Spirit Wars: ch 15
Name: Spirit Wars
Chapter: 15/?
Fandom: SS501, Super Junior, TVXQ, EXO, U-KISS, others
Pairings: HyungJoon/KyuJong, HyunJoong/KyuJong, KyuHyun/SungMin, YooChun/JunSu, KiBum/Kevin, more to come
Rating: PG-16
Warnings: Angst, violence
Genre: Modern fantasy
Summary: KyuJong was little the first time he saw a spirit battle. Years later, he transfers to a university in Seoul and finds himself right in the middle of Korea's largest gathering of spirit beasts and their human Keepers. Intrigued by the battles only he could see, he is drawn into growing conflict as Keepers and Hunters pour into the city in the hopes of challenging their Spirit King and claiming the title of Asia's strongest Keeper. But this year is different...the stakes have changed, and there is far more to be lost than just a title. The Spirit Wars have begun.
“So…what you’re trying to say is that there’s a massive panther sitting in front of me right now.”
KyuJong watched with some amusement as HyungJoon squinted in Pantera’s direction, as if doing so would make him suddenly able to see her. It had taken about half an hour to wake up the older Kim brother, and an hour after that they were still trying to explain what Keepers and spirit beasts were. HyungJoon had looked ready to call them crazy again, before KiBum grabbed his brother’s hand and placed it on Pantera’s neck.
“Yes,” KiBum sighed, tired of repeating himself. “Do you…understand now? Neither of us are crazy.”
“But why can’t I see her then?” HyungJoon frowned.
“You’re not a Keeper and from what Pantera tells me, your spiritual energy is practically in the negatives, hyung. Only Keepers can see spirit beasts.”
“But then why can Kyu?” HyungJoon asked, blinking repeatedly. “You said he’s not a Keeper.”
“Kyu’s…” KiBum looked up at KyuJong hesitantly. “He’s special.”
KyuJong chewed on his lower lip, trying to figure out how to phrase this. “The spirit beasts call me the ‘Center’…I’m not entirely sure what that’s about yet, but I know that I can sync to Pantera same as KiBum can.”
“I can’t exactly ‘sync’ with her yet,” KiBum mumbled, tips of his ears red. “KyuJong and I were supposed to meet with SungMin later, I need to practice more.”
“SungMin? That blond guy who came by?” HyungJoon asked, and was answered by twin nods. “So he’s a Keeper too?”
“He is, and there’s several others we know,” KyuJong glanced at KiBum.
“And you’re going to meet him? …Can I come along?”
“Huh?” KyuJong looked at HyungJoon in confusion. “Why? It’s not like you can see the spirit beasts…”
“I know, but…this is important to you both, right?” HyungJoon rubbed the back of his head, glancing to the side. “If it’s important to you, it’s important to me too. I mean…my brother and best friend, I shouldn’t be so out of the loop when the whole world’s at stake right?” he chuckled quietly. His eyes were pleading as he looked at them.
KiBum and KyuJong exchanged another look. As far as they both knew, they’d be in a fair amount of trouble as it was for telling HyungJoon about the spirit beasts’ existence. Normal humans weren’t supposed to know, SungMin had emphasized that to them both often enough.
”It’s all right,” Pantera spoke then, washing one paw before looking up at them both. Her tail flicked lazily from side to side. ”He will keep the secret…he has a good heart.”
KiBum had heard Pantera too, because he nodded slightly before looking back at his brother. “Okay, you can come with us. It’ll be pretty boring, though. I mean, I’m still doing this meditating thing and that won’t be much fun to watch.”
“That’s fine,” HyungJoon grinned happily, though he looked at KyuJong again.
Realizing he was waiting for KyuJong’s approval, the older man smiled softly and nodded. “Okay.”
HyungJoon beamed happily. Seeing the bright smile, KyuJong felt his nerves relax. HyungJoon believed them, and he wasn’t angry. If anything, he seemed overjoyed to be included in this massive secret. KyuJong was relieved; he didn’t know what he’d do if HyungJoon had hated them for what they’d kept from him.
“…Okay, what’s he doing here?”
SungMin was waiting up on their usual rooftop when they arrived. Wrestling playfully with Yuetu for a piece of carrot, he looked up and seen HyungJoon instantly.
“Uh…” KiBum chewed his lower lip nervously. “Well…you see…he wanted to come along. He knows what we’re doing up here.”
“…What?” SungMin looked between the three of them, eyes narrowing slightly.
KiBum cringed back at the look he was given, but HyungJoon stepped forward, chin lifted. “They said it was okay if I came along. I can’t see spirit beasts or anything, but I still want to be here for this.”
SungMin blinked at the older Kim brother before groaning quietly, head in one hand. “Oh for… guys, you’re not supposed to go around telling humans about us. It could compromise everything. The outside world isn’t meant to know.”
“He won’t tell anyone,” KyuJong spoke up in HyungJoon’s defense, hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “And either way, it was Pantera who decided to let him know. She’s been around longer than any of us, I’m sure she wouldn’t have made that decision if it was a bad thing for him to know.”
SungMin was still frowning as he looked down at Pantera by KiBum’s feet. “…Okay,” he sighed after a long moment, standing. “If she thinks it’s okay, then I guess I can’t argue with a millennia-old guardian spirit. But you,” he pointed at HyungJoon, “don’t mention this to anyone.”
“I won’t,” HyungJoon nodded, smiling at KyuJong’s hand on his shoulder. “I think I’m out of the doghouse?” he murmured once SungMin had turned away.
“Don’t know about that,” KyuJong whispered. “Just try not to annoy him.” He’d seen SungMin kick a troublesome customer out of the coffee shop the other day. That was the last time he doubted KyuHyun when he said his boyfriend would put someone through a wall if they pissed him off enough.
“So what are we doing tonight?” KiBum asked, following SungMin towards the center of the roof.
“You’re doing what you did last time,” SungMin snorted, looking back at the new Keeper. “You’re going to sit down and work on your sync. If you didn’t even notice KyuJong synching with Pantera the other night, then there’s no way you’re going to be able to fight that Hunter when he comes after you.”
“Hunter? Who’s coming after KiBum?” HyungJoon bristled a little at that, his protective brother complex rising.
“…KyuJong, please do the honors of explaining,” SungMin gave a long-suffering sigh before turning to help KiBum.
KyuJong brought HyungJoon to sit down with him out of the way. “There’s a group of Chinese Hunters in town, Hunters are people who do challenges for fun. Remember, we talked about challenges.”
“Oh…right,” HyungJoon nodded, brow furrowed in worry. He obviously remembered the bit about defeated Keepers losing their memories. “So they’re people to be avoided.”
“…Yeah,” KyuJong nodded, though his mind went back to the night before. He’d been convinced the Hunters were just there to make their lives miserable and didn’t care about who they hurt in the process, but now he wondered. Zitao had literally dived to stop him from falling off the roof, risking his own life in the process. Minseok had helped. Zhou Mi, Henry and Yixing had teamed up with them against those bat spirits, and Zhou Mi had been visibly upset at the idea of Keepers being put into comas by an unknown wolf spirit.
The Hunters were obviously people to be avoided, if only for the fact Henry had declared KiBum his next target. SungMin, KyuHyun and DongHae had no lack of hate in their voices when talking about the Hunters. But were they really that evil?
“One of the Hunters said that when KiBum’s practiced more, he wants to challenge him,” KyuJong continued explaining. “But KiBum still has a long way to go.”
“Oh…” HyungJoon’s eyebrows were still furrowed in worry as he watched KiBum. The younger Kim brother was sitting crosslegged in the middle of the roof with Pantera beside him, breathing in and out slowly with closed eyes.
”Center!” KyuJong yelped in surprise when Yuetu jumped into his lap out of nowhere, making HyungJoon jump in turn.
“What? What?” HyungJoon looked at KyuJong with wide eyes.
“Oh, it’s- stop that,” KyuJong laughed, trying to fend off rabbit kisses. Yuetu was really affectionate tonight. “It’s Yuetu…SungMin’s spirit beast.” Remembering HyungJoon couldn’t see Yuetu, KyuJong grinned before scooping the rabbit up and depositing him in his friend’s lap.
HyungJoon let out a shriek of surprise at the sudden armful of invisible rabbit, and SungMin looked back at him with an annoyed expression. “Sorry, sorry,” HyungJoon shrank back before turning his attention to the spirit in his lap. “Uh…hi?”
”He’s so skittish,” Yuetu remarked as he climbed onto his hind legs and stuck his nose against HyungJoon’s chin, startling a twitch and a laugh out of him.
“Because he can’t exactly see you,” KyuJong chuckled, before grinning sheepishly at the weird look he was given. “Sorry…I was talking to him.”
“I figured that. What exactly am I holding?” HyungJoon asked.
“Yuetu’s a rabbit.”
“A rabbit?” HyungJoon’s smile widened and he cautiously petted Yuetu’s soft fur.
They stayed there talking for another half an hour before SungMin came over to see them. KiBum remained in the center of the roof, eyes closed. “Hey. Your turn, KyuJong.”
“…My turn?” KyuJong blinked, looking up at him.
“We’re going to try something.” SungMin’s grin was mischievous. “You can talk to Pantera the same way a Keeper can, right? Mentally?”
“Yeah…” KyuJong nodded.
“What happens if you try that with Yuetu?”
KyuJong blinked repeatedly before looking at the rabbit curled up in HyungJoon’s lap. Inhaling deeply, he tried to reach out with a quick thought, only to hit a wall. “…I can’t.”
“What happens?”
“It’s like something’s blocking me,” KyuJong frowned, looking at SungMin. “He can talk to me but, I can’t reach back the same way.”
“Okay.” SungMin nodded before sitting down in front of him. “Then sync to him.”
“…What?” the other man’s eyes widened slightly.
SungMin’s lips curled in amusement. “Sync to him. You were only able to talk to Pantera after the sync, which might be why you can’t speak to any other spirit but her. We’re going to see if this weird ability of yours works for more than one spirit beast. Go on, close your eyes and try.”
HyungJoon looked between them. “Uh…do I need to put Yuetu down?”
“No, just be quiet,” SungMin rolled his eyes.
KyuJong looked down at Yuetu, who was peering up at him from HyungJoon’s arms. After a moment he exhaled softly and closed his eyes. Nerves tugged at him; the first sync with Pantera had been by complete accident, he had no idea how he was supposed to do it again. And SungMin had a stronger sync with Yuetu than KiBum had with Pantera…what if it didn’t even work?
“Relax,” SungMin’s voice was a soft whisper. “You’re too tense. Just let yourself drift.”
Listening, KyuJong inhaled and exhaled to a count of seven, letting the tension ease out of his shoulders. It was a nice night, the sound of the cicadas a steady and comforting hum over the city. A gentle breeze blew through his hair, and he chuckled softly as he heard Yuetu’s giggles. The rabbit was tickling HyungJoon with his whiskers, testing the human’s commitment to stay quiet.
How KyuJong knew what Yuetu was up to when his eyes were closed didn’t really click until a few minutes later. His heart rate had changed, speeding up to match the quickened pace of a rabbit’s heart. Despite that and his quick breaths, he felt perfectly at ease and warm. There were strong arms wrapped around him, like a secure blanket.
”You can open your eyes now,” Yuetu’s voice echoed through his mind. Obeying, KyuJong slowly opened his eyes to see the material of a shirt in front of his nose. He sneezed and sniffled a little, peering up.
He was looking up at HyungJoon, who definitely should not be the size he was right now. KyuJong didn’t let the realization that he was no longer looking out of his own eyes scare him back into his own body this time, keeping his breathing steady. HyungJoon wasn’t looking down at him, his attention somewhere else. Following his gaze, KyuJong saw he was looking at himself, or rather his body sitting beside HyungJoon. His eyes were closed and his chest rising and falling slowly.
He would have thought it would feel weird to be in a body other than his own, but Yuetu was completely calm, and it influenced KyuJong’s own emotions. His eyes slowly closed again, listening to the steady thumping of HyungJoon’s heart and enjoying the hand that gently smoothed over his back.
KyuJong? Can you hear me?
It was SungMin’s voice in his head that finally startled KyuJong back into his own body, eyes snapping open. Instantly he was hit by dizziness and groaned quietly, head in his hands.
“Should I take that as a yes?” SungMin’s lips were curled in amusement even as he rubbed KyuJong’s shoulder reassuringly.
“What? What happened?” HyungJoon blinked at KyuJong worriedly. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah…just a little dizzy,” KyuJong winced, closing his eyes again.
“That’ll be normal for the first little while until you get used to the sync. It doesn’t help that the majority of Keepers usually take several shots to sync properly, and you can do it relatively quickly. So, did you hear me?” SungMin asked.
“Yeah…how, though?” KyuJong rubbed his forehead.
SungMin’s smile widened. “It was a theory I had. KiBum and Pantera’s sync is basically non-existent at this point, so it’s no wonder he wouldn’t notice you connecting with her. But I detected your presence the moment you synched with Yuetu. And since he and I can speak mentally…you can hear what I say too. Only while synched though, I doubt you can hear my thoughts right now.”
KyuJong concentrated before shaking his head. There was no trace of SungMin in his head anymore. “A warning could have been nice,” he pointed out.
“It also would have made your reaction less amusing,” SungMin grinned, before glancing over at KiBum and Pantera. “Why don’t you pop in over there and see if you can hear KiBum yet?”
KyuJong opened his eyes and sat up straight, blinking at SungMin. After a moment of debate, he decided he wasn’t going to pass out from energy loss anytime soon and closed his eyes again.
The sync with Pantera was effortless; he’d done it twice before. Within the space of three breaths, he knew he was no longer in his own body. Pantera?
”Hello Center,” she chuckled softly. ”I take it your practice with the moon rabbit has gone well.”
KyuJong felt himself smile. Yeah…did you and the other spirit beasts already know I could do this? Why didn’t you tell me?
”It wasn’t our place to tell, Center. The Four Beasts made it clear that when the Centers arrive, this is a journey they must take on their own.”
There were two things that struck KyuJong as odd in that sentence. The…Centers? There’s more than one?
Pantera shifted slightly, resting her head against KiBum’s knee. ”Currently, I believe there are three, located where they’re needed. The American Center has already awakened fully, and the European Center is but a small child at this moment.”
”Where we’re needed?” KyuJong put that in the back of his mind as he thought about his other question. ”The Four Beasts? Who are those?”
Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden feeling of absolute confusion that butted into the shared space of their minds. It didn’t seem to be coming from KyuJong or Pantera herself, a third presence that flickered in and out like a ghost.
“…Hello KiBum,” Pantera spoke, her voice amused.
The mental question mark turned into an exclamation point, and KiBum’s presence disappeared with a pop. Retreating back to his own body, KyuJong opened his eyes to see KiBum with his arms wrapped around Pantera excitedly. “I did it! I heard you! I think. I felt something.”
“Great!” SungMin grinned, turning towards them. “We’ve been here for almost two hours, so let’s call it quits for now. KiBum, you practice whenever you have a spare moment. Try to find that feeling again, it’ll get easier with time.”
“What do I do for practice?” KyuJong frowned, stretching out his legs with a wince. They were stiff from lack of movement.
SungMin turned his head to look at KyuJong with a thoughtful expression. “You’re synching with our spirits quickly, but still seem to be suffering aftereffects…same as KiBum, the more times you sync with these two, the better you’ll get. Reach out to them whenever you’re free. Also, I’ll see if I can borrow Anansi from KyuHyun. You can have a third sync to add to your collection.”
“Why do I need to sync with more spirits, though?” KyuJong blinked, looking up at him. “I mean…not that I’m complaining, because it’s cool…but why am I even here? Why do I have this ability?”
SungMin’s lips pursed in a frown, and he looked down at Yuetu still in HyungJoon’s lap. “…Let’s talk,” he said finally, holding his arms out. Yuetu scrambled out of HyungJoon’s lap and SungMin caught the rabbit mid-leap. “Kim brothers, you’re dismissed. Especially you, since you’re not supposed to even be here,” he gave HyungJoon a pointed look.
“…But Kyu,” HyungJoon protested.
“KyuJong is perfectly capable of finding his own way back home. I want to talk to him, and you’re not invited to stay. You might have Pantera’s trust, but you’re gonna have to work harder than that to earn mine,” SungMin’s voice was stern.
KiBum looked between them, then sighed. “Come on hyung, let’s go,” he said, heading towards the stairs. “Night Kyu, SungMin, Yuetu.”
HyungJoon frowned up at SungMin for a long moment before standing as well. “Okay, fine… See you in school Kyu,” he smiled tiredly at KyuJong before following his brother.
KyuJong waited for them to be gone before looking back up at SungMin. “Why couldn’t they stay?” he asked.
SungMin sat down next to KyuJong with a sigh. “KiBum already knows what I’m about to tell you, Pantera would have explained it to him in his first week. As for HyungJoon… It’s best to keep him uninvolved as much as possible.” The blond man’s eyes wandered before stopping on an adjacent roof. “Yah,” he called. “Are you coming over here or what?”
Following his gaze, KyuJong saw KyuHyun standing on the other roof. “I was waiting for them to be gone,” KyuHyun snorted, voice carrying over to them as he stepped over the edge of the roof. He didn’t drop to his death, supported by an invisible spider’s web as he made his way over and climbed onto their roof. “Did I miss anything?”
“No, I was just about to start,” SungMin smiled, before looking at KyuJong. “We actually planned to tell you about this tonight anyways…but we weren’t expecting HyungJoon to be here.”
KyuJong blinked at them, wondering if that was why KyuHyun had only made his presence known now, when HyungJoon was gone. It seemed very likely.
KyuHyun walked over and sat down with them. He had one hand lifted, watching as Anansi busied himself spinning webs between his fingers. “Don’t ask. He’s bored out of his mind.”
“I was wondering if he actually thought he was going to catch any dinner there,” SungMin snorted, before looking back at KyuJong. “Anyways…we’ve kept a lot from you KyuJong, but considering how well you’ve been doing, we guessed it’s time to tell you what exactly is going on with the spirit beasts. And why we think there’s a Center here in South Korea.”
“Daniel wanted to be here for this, but he’s been stuck in Emergency for a couple hours,” KyuHyun said. “There was a huge accident, he’s not getting out of work anytime soon.”
KyuJong nodded slowly to show he was listening, looking between them. Yuetu nibbled on the edge of SungMin’s shirt, pink eyes on KyuJong.
“Don’t get the wrong idea…we didn’t know Centers existed until you arrived and started asking about it,” SungMin continued. “Most of what the spirit beasts tell us is on a ‘need-to-know’ basis. There was no need for a Center in South Korea before now…so none of us knew about them, not even Daniel.”
“Then what changed?” KyuJong asked quietly. “Why the need for a Center now? I…saw a spirit beast when I was ten, that was years ago.”
“You’ve probably had the Center ability since you were born, since from our understanding it comes with an extremely high amount of spiritual energy,” KyuHyun answered. “Keepers are born naturally with high spiritual energy, it’s a prerequisite for being chosen by a spirit beast. Centers have more energy than even Twice-Blessed, or Thrice-Blessed for that matter.”
SungMin picked up where KyuHyun left off. “We don’t know why exactly you’re here, and our spirit beasts don’t either. From what Yuetu and Anansi have told us, the exact reason is known only by the Four Beasts.”
There were those Four Beasts again. KyuJong opened his mouth to ask, but SungMin was already continuing.
“But even if we don’t know the exact reason, we can guess. You see…spirit beasts have an enemy, of sorts. No one knows what that enemy looks like, or if it even has a physical form. Spirit beasts and Keepers just call it the Darkness.”
KyuJong felt a small chill run down his spine. “…What’s the Darkness?”
“Not much is known about it, even to spirit beasts,” KyuHyun looked down at Anansi who was swinging back and forth from his index finger. “But when we say spirit beasts hold the world stable, it’s because the Darkness is constantly trying to tear it apart. Daniel theorized that the Darkness is the spirit beast’s term for Chaos. Just like life and death are balanced, Chaos and Creation also balance each other.”
“Meaning that the spirit beasts are Creation,” KyuJong guessed, and SungMin nodded.
“Again this is Daniel’s theory on the whole thing. As Keepers, our main task is to strengthen the spirit beasts, not worry about what goes on behind the scenes. But thinking of them and the Darkness as synonyms for Creation and Chaos makes things easier to understand. The Darkness is always waiting for the right opportunity to strike.”
KyuJong nodded slowly at that. “…So how does that explain me?”
KyuHyun huffed a little. “We’re getting to that. You know you’re not the only Center around?” When KyuJong nodded, he continued. “Daniel reached out to some of his contacts in America, to find out exactly why this other Center over there was needed. The answer he got back was hazy, but it boiled down to this.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “The Darkness attacked and Keepers were disappearing. Dying. The Center fought the Darkness back and not only saved countless lives, but also stopped half the continent from slipping into the ocean.”
KyuJong’s eyes widened in shock. That was the job of the Center? “And…you think… that’ll happen here?”
“Something’s wrong,” SungMin replied, glancing across the rooftops. “With the Keepers in comas…it could be just some idiot Hunter, but it could also be the Darkness. You being here, the Center just awakening to his power, doesn’t bode well.”
Swallowing thickly, KyuJong looked down at his hands. That was a huge responsibility, the implication of what they expected from him terrifying. What if he wasn’t up to doing whatever the American Center had done? What if he failed? Wasn’t strong enough?
”Don’t think like that,” Yuetu butted into his head, protesting loudly.
”You’ll be fine, Center,” Pantera’s motherly voice joined the rabbit’s childish one. ”We have faith in you.”
KyuJong’s eyes shut; he wanted to believe them. But the idea he was here with the sole purpose of stopping a powerful, shapeless entity was too much to take. And he knew, right then, he wasn’t ready.
Chapter: 15/?
Fandom: SS501, Super Junior, TVXQ, EXO, U-KISS, others
Pairings: HyungJoon/KyuJong, HyunJoong/KyuJong, KyuHyun/SungMin, YooChun/JunSu, KiBum/Kevin, more to come
Rating: PG-16
Warnings: Angst, violence
Genre: Modern fantasy
Summary: KyuJong was little the first time he saw a spirit battle. Years later, he transfers to a university in Seoul and finds himself right in the middle of Korea's largest gathering of spirit beasts and their human Keepers. Intrigued by the battles only he could see, he is drawn into growing conflict as Keepers and Hunters pour into the city in the hopes of challenging their Spirit King and claiming the title of Asia's strongest Keeper. But this year is different...the stakes have changed, and there is far more to be lost than just a title. The Spirit Wars have begun.
“So…what you’re trying to say is that there’s a massive panther sitting in front of me right now.”
KyuJong watched with some amusement as HyungJoon squinted in Pantera’s direction, as if doing so would make him suddenly able to see her. It had taken about half an hour to wake up the older Kim brother, and an hour after that they were still trying to explain what Keepers and spirit beasts were. HyungJoon had looked ready to call them crazy again, before KiBum grabbed his brother’s hand and placed it on Pantera’s neck.
“Yes,” KiBum sighed, tired of repeating himself. “Do you…understand now? Neither of us are crazy.”
“But why can’t I see her then?” HyungJoon frowned.
“You’re not a Keeper and from what Pantera tells me, your spiritual energy is practically in the negatives, hyung. Only Keepers can see spirit beasts.”
“But then why can Kyu?” HyungJoon asked, blinking repeatedly. “You said he’s not a Keeper.”
“Kyu’s…” KiBum looked up at KyuJong hesitantly. “He’s special.”
KyuJong chewed on his lower lip, trying to figure out how to phrase this. “The spirit beasts call me the ‘Center’…I’m not entirely sure what that’s about yet, but I know that I can sync to Pantera same as KiBum can.”
“I can’t exactly ‘sync’ with her yet,” KiBum mumbled, tips of his ears red. “KyuJong and I were supposed to meet with SungMin later, I need to practice more.”
“SungMin? That blond guy who came by?” HyungJoon asked, and was answered by twin nods. “So he’s a Keeper too?”
“He is, and there’s several others we know,” KyuJong glanced at KiBum.
“And you’re going to meet him? …Can I come along?”
“Huh?” KyuJong looked at HyungJoon in confusion. “Why? It’s not like you can see the spirit beasts…”
“I know, but…this is important to you both, right?” HyungJoon rubbed the back of his head, glancing to the side. “If it’s important to you, it’s important to me too. I mean…my brother and best friend, I shouldn’t be so out of the loop when the whole world’s at stake right?” he chuckled quietly. His eyes were pleading as he looked at them.
KiBum and KyuJong exchanged another look. As far as they both knew, they’d be in a fair amount of trouble as it was for telling HyungJoon about the spirit beasts’ existence. Normal humans weren’t supposed to know, SungMin had emphasized that to them both often enough.
”It’s all right,” Pantera spoke then, washing one paw before looking up at them both. Her tail flicked lazily from side to side. ”He will keep the secret…he has a good heart.”
KiBum had heard Pantera too, because he nodded slightly before looking back at his brother. “Okay, you can come with us. It’ll be pretty boring, though. I mean, I’m still doing this meditating thing and that won’t be much fun to watch.”
“That’s fine,” HyungJoon grinned happily, though he looked at KyuJong again.
Realizing he was waiting for KyuJong’s approval, the older man smiled softly and nodded. “Okay.”
HyungJoon beamed happily. Seeing the bright smile, KyuJong felt his nerves relax. HyungJoon believed them, and he wasn’t angry. If anything, he seemed overjoyed to be included in this massive secret. KyuJong was relieved; he didn’t know what he’d do if HyungJoon had hated them for what they’d kept from him.
“…Okay, what’s he doing here?”
SungMin was waiting up on their usual rooftop when they arrived. Wrestling playfully with Yuetu for a piece of carrot, he looked up and seen HyungJoon instantly.
“Uh…” KiBum chewed his lower lip nervously. “Well…you see…he wanted to come along. He knows what we’re doing up here.”
“…What?” SungMin looked between the three of them, eyes narrowing slightly.
KiBum cringed back at the look he was given, but HyungJoon stepped forward, chin lifted. “They said it was okay if I came along. I can’t see spirit beasts or anything, but I still want to be here for this.”
SungMin blinked at the older Kim brother before groaning quietly, head in one hand. “Oh for… guys, you’re not supposed to go around telling humans about us. It could compromise everything. The outside world isn’t meant to know.”
“He won’t tell anyone,” KyuJong spoke up in HyungJoon’s defense, hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “And either way, it was Pantera who decided to let him know. She’s been around longer than any of us, I’m sure she wouldn’t have made that decision if it was a bad thing for him to know.”
SungMin was still frowning as he looked down at Pantera by KiBum’s feet. “…Okay,” he sighed after a long moment, standing. “If she thinks it’s okay, then I guess I can’t argue with a millennia-old guardian spirit. But you,” he pointed at HyungJoon, “don’t mention this to anyone.”
“I won’t,” HyungJoon nodded, smiling at KyuJong’s hand on his shoulder. “I think I’m out of the doghouse?” he murmured once SungMin had turned away.
“Don’t know about that,” KyuJong whispered. “Just try not to annoy him.” He’d seen SungMin kick a troublesome customer out of the coffee shop the other day. That was the last time he doubted KyuHyun when he said his boyfriend would put someone through a wall if they pissed him off enough.
“So what are we doing tonight?” KiBum asked, following SungMin towards the center of the roof.
“You’re doing what you did last time,” SungMin snorted, looking back at the new Keeper. “You’re going to sit down and work on your sync. If you didn’t even notice KyuJong synching with Pantera the other night, then there’s no way you’re going to be able to fight that Hunter when he comes after you.”
“Hunter? Who’s coming after KiBum?” HyungJoon bristled a little at that, his protective brother complex rising.
“…KyuJong, please do the honors of explaining,” SungMin gave a long-suffering sigh before turning to help KiBum.
KyuJong brought HyungJoon to sit down with him out of the way. “There’s a group of Chinese Hunters in town, Hunters are people who do challenges for fun. Remember, we talked about challenges.”
“Oh…right,” HyungJoon nodded, brow furrowed in worry. He obviously remembered the bit about defeated Keepers losing their memories. “So they’re people to be avoided.”
“…Yeah,” KyuJong nodded, though his mind went back to the night before. He’d been convinced the Hunters were just there to make their lives miserable and didn’t care about who they hurt in the process, but now he wondered. Zitao had literally dived to stop him from falling off the roof, risking his own life in the process. Minseok had helped. Zhou Mi, Henry and Yixing had teamed up with them against those bat spirits, and Zhou Mi had been visibly upset at the idea of Keepers being put into comas by an unknown wolf spirit.
The Hunters were obviously people to be avoided, if only for the fact Henry had declared KiBum his next target. SungMin, KyuHyun and DongHae had no lack of hate in their voices when talking about the Hunters. But were they really that evil?
“One of the Hunters said that when KiBum’s practiced more, he wants to challenge him,” KyuJong continued explaining. “But KiBum still has a long way to go.”
“Oh…” HyungJoon’s eyebrows were still furrowed in worry as he watched KiBum. The younger Kim brother was sitting crosslegged in the middle of the roof with Pantera beside him, breathing in and out slowly with closed eyes.
”Center!” KyuJong yelped in surprise when Yuetu jumped into his lap out of nowhere, making HyungJoon jump in turn.
“What? What?” HyungJoon looked at KyuJong with wide eyes.
“Oh, it’s- stop that,” KyuJong laughed, trying to fend off rabbit kisses. Yuetu was really affectionate tonight. “It’s Yuetu…SungMin’s spirit beast.” Remembering HyungJoon couldn’t see Yuetu, KyuJong grinned before scooping the rabbit up and depositing him in his friend’s lap.
HyungJoon let out a shriek of surprise at the sudden armful of invisible rabbit, and SungMin looked back at him with an annoyed expression. “Sorry, sorry,” HyungJoon shrank back before turning his attention to the spirit in his lap. “Uh…hi?”
”He’s so skittish,” Yuetu remarked as he climbed onto his hind legs and stuck his nose against HyungJoon’s chin, startling a twitch and a laugh out of him.
“Because he can’t exactly see you,” KyuJong chuckled, before grinning sheepishly at the weird look he was given. “Sorry…I was talking to him.”
“I figured that. What exactly am I holding?” HyungJoon asked.
“Yuetu’s a rabbit.”
“A rabbit?” HyungJoon’s smile widened and he cautiously petted Yuetu’s soft fur.
They stayed there talking for another half an hour before SungMin came over to see them. KiBum remained in the center of the roof, eyes closed. “Hey. Your turn, KyuJong.”
“…My turn?” KyuJong blinked, looking up at him.
“We’re going to try something.” SungMin’s grin was mischievous. “You can talk to Pantera the same way a Keeper can, right? Mentally?”
“Yeah…” KyuJong nodded.
“What happens if you try that with Yuetu?”
KyuJong blinked repeatedly before looking at the rabbit curled up in HyungJoon’s lap. Inhaling deeply, he tried to reach out with a quick thought, only to hit a wall. “…I can’t.”
“What happens?”
“It’s like something’s blocking me,” KyuJong frowned, looking at SungMin. “He can talk to me but, I can’t reach back the same way.”
“Okay.” SungMin nodded before sitting down in front of him. “Then sync to him.”
“…What?” the other man’s eyes widened slightly.
SungMin’s lips curled in amusement. “Sync to him. You were only able to talk to Pantera after the sync, which might be why you can’t speak to any other spirit but her. We’re going to see if this weird ability of yours works for more than one spirit beast. Go on, close your eyes and try.”
HyungJoon looked between them. “Uh…do I need to put Yuetu down?”
“No, just be quiet,” SungMin rolled his eyes.
KyuJong looked down at Yuetu, who was peering up at him from HyungJoon’s arms. After a moment he exhaled softly and closed his eyes. Nerves tugged at him; the first sync with Pantera had been by complete accident, he had no idea how he was supposed to do it again. And SungMin had a stronger sync with Yuetu than KiBum had with Pantera…what if it didn’t even work?
“Relax,” SungMin’s voice was a soft whisper. “You’re too tense. Just let yourself drift.”
Listening, KyuJong inhaled and exhaled to a count of seven, letting the tension ease out of his shoulders. It was a nice night, the sound of the cicadas a steady and comforting hum over the city. A gentle breeze blew through his hair, and he chuckled softly as he heard Yuetu’s giggles. The rabbit was tickling HyungJoon with his whiskers, testing the human’s commitment to stay quiet.
How KyuJong knew what Yuetu was up to when his eyes were closed didn’t really click until a few minutes later. His heart rate had changed, speeding up to match the quickened pace of a rabbit’s heart. Despite that and his quick breaths, he felt perfectly at ease and warm. There were strong arms wrapped around him, like a secure blanket.
”You can open your eyes now,” Yuetu’s voice echoed through his mind. Obeying, KyuJong slowly opened his eyes to see the material of a shirt in front of his nose. He sneezed and sniffled a little, peering up.
He was looking up at HyungJoon, who definitely should not be the size he was right now. KyuJong didn’t let the realization that he was no longer looking out of his own eyes scare him back into his own body this time, keeping his breathing steady. HyungJoon wasn’t looking down at him, his attention somewhere else. Following his gaze, KyuJong saw he was looking at himself, or rather his body sitting beside HyungJoon. His eyes were closed and his chest rising and falling slowly.
He would have thought it would feel weird to be in a body other than his own, but Yuetu was completely calm, and it influenced KyuJong’s own emotions. His eyes slowly closed again, listening to the steady thumping of HyungJoon’s heart and enjoying the hand that gently smoothed over his back.
KyuJong? Can you hear me?
It was SungMin’s voice in his head that finally startled KyuJong back into his own body, eyes snapping open. Instantly he was hit by dizziness and groaned quietly, head in his hands.
“Should I take that as a yes?” SungMin’s lips were curled in amusement even as he rubbed KyuJong’s shoulder reassuringly.
“What? What happened?” HyungJoon blinked at KyuJong worriedly. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah…just a little dizzy,” KyuJong winced, closing his eyes again.
“That’ll be normal for the first little while until you get used to the sync. It doesn’t help that the majority of Keepers usually take several shots to sync properly, and you can do it relatively quickly. So, did you hear me?” SungMin asked.
“Yeah…how, though?” KyuJong rubbed his forehead.
SungMin’s smile widened. “It was a theory I had. KiBum and Pantera’s sync is basically non-existent at this point, so it’s no wonder he wouldn’t notice you connecting with her. But I detected your presence the moment you synched with Yuetu. And since he and I can speak mentally…you can hear what I say too. Only while synched though, I doubt you can hear my thoughts right now.”
KyuJong concentrated before shaking his head. There was no trace of SungMin in his head anymore. “A warning could have been nice,” he pointed out.
“It also would have made your reaction less amusing,” SungMin grinned, before glancing over at KiBum and Pantera. “Why don’t you pop in over there and see if you can hear KiBum yet?”
KyuJong opened his eyes and sat up straight, blinking at SungMin. After a moment of debate, he decided he wasn’t going to pass out from energy loss anytime soon and closed his eyes again.
The sync with Pantera was effortless; he’d done it twice before. Within the space of three breaths, he knew he was no longer in his own body. Pantera?
”Hello Center,” she chuckled softly. ”I take it your practice with the moon rabbit has gone well.”
KyuJong felt himself smile. Yeah…did you and the other spirit beasts already know I could do this? Why didn’t you tell me?
”It wasn’t our place to tell, Center. The Four Beasts made it clear that when the Centers arrive, this is a journey they must take on their own.”
There were two things that struck KyuJong as odd in that sentence. The…Centers? There’s more than one?
Pantera shifted slightly, resting her head against KiBum’s knee. ”Currently, I believe there are three, located where they’re needed. The American Center has already awakened fully, and the European Center is but a small child at this moment.”
”Where we’re needed?” KyuJong put that in the back of his mind as he thought about his other question. ”The Four Beasts? Who are those?”
Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden feeling of absolute confusion that butted into the shared space of their minds. It didn’t seem to be coming from KyuJong or Pantera herself, a third presence that flickered in and out like a ghost.
“…Hello KiBum,” Pantera spoke, her voice amused.
The mental question mark turned into an exclamation point, and KiBum’s presence disappeared with a pop. Retreating back to his own body, KyuJong opened his eyes to see KiBum with his arms wrapped around Pantera excitedly. “I did it! I heard you! I think. I felt something.”
“Great!” SungMin grinned, turning towards them. “We’ve been here for almost two hours, so let’s call it quits for now. KiBum, you practice whenever you have a spare moment. Try to find that feeling again, it’ll get easier with time.”
“What do I do for practice?” KyuJong frowned, stretching out his legs with a wince. They were stiff from lack of movement.
SungMin turned his head to look at KyuJong with a thoughtful expression. “You’re synching with our spirits quickly, but still seem to be suffering aftereffects…same as KiBum, the more times you sync with these two, the better you’ll get. Reach out to them whenever you’re free. Also, I’ll see if I can borrow Anansi from KyuHyun. You can have a third sync to add to your collection.”
“Why do I need to sync with more spirits, though?” KyuJong blinked, looking up at him. “I mean…not that I’m complaining, because it’s cool…but why am I even here? Why do I have this ability?”
SungMin’s lips pursed in a frown, and he looked down at Yuetu still in HyungJoon’s lap. “…Let’s talk,” he said finally, holding his arms out. Yuetu scrambled out of HyungJoon’s lap and SungMin caught the rabbit mid-leap. “Kim brothers, you’re dismissed. Especially you, since you’re not supposed to even be here,” he gave HyungJoon a pointed look.
“…But Kyu,” HyungJoon protested.
“KyuJong is perfectly capable of finding his own way back home. I want to talk to him, and you’re not invited to stay. You might have Pantera’s trust, but you’re gonna have to work harder than that to earn mine,” SungMin’s voice was stern.
KiBum looked between them, then sighed. “Come on hyung, let’s go,” he said, heading towards the stairs. “Night Kyu, SungMin, Yuetu.”
HyungJoon frowned up at SungMin for a long moment before standing as well. “Okay, fine… See you in school Kyu,” he smiled tiredly at KyuJong before following his brother.
KyuJong waited for them to be gone before looking back up at SungMin. “Why couldn’t they stay?” he asked.
SungMin sat down next to KyuJong with a sigh. “KiBum already knows what I’m about to tell you, Pantera would have explained it to him in his first week. As for HyungJoon… It’s best to keep him uninvolved as much as possible.” The blond man’s eyes wandered before stopping on an adjacent roof. “Yah,” he called. “Are you coming over here or what?”
Following his gaze, KyuJong saw KyuHyun standing on the other roof. “I was waiting for them to be gone,” KyuHyun snorted, voice carrying over to them as he stepped over the edge of the roof. He didn’t drop to his death, supported by an invisible spider’s web as he made his way over and climbed onto their roof. “Did I miss anything?”
“No, I was just about to start,” SungMin smiled, before looking at KyuJong. “We actually planned to tell you about this tonight anyways…but we weren’t expecting HyungJoon to be here.”
KyuJong blinked at them, wondering if that was why KyuHyun had only made his presence known now, when HyungJoon was gone. It seemed very likely.
KyuHyun walked over and sat down with them. He had one hand lifted, watching as Anansi busied himself spinning webs between his fingers. “Don’t ask. He’s bored out of his mind.”
“I was wondering if he actually thought he was going to catch any dinner there,” SungMin snorted, before looking back at KyuJong. “Anyways…we’ve kept a lot from you KyuJong, but considering how well you’ve been doing, we guessed it’s time to tell you what exactly is going on with the spirit beasts. And why we think there’s a Center here in South Korea.”
“Daniel wanted to be here for this, but he’s been stuck in Emergency for a couple hours,” KyuHyun said. “There was a huge accident, he’s not getting out of work anytime soon.”
KyuJong nodded slowly to show he was listening, looking between them. Yuetu nibbled on the edge of SungMin’s shirt, pink eyes on KyuJong.
“Don’t get the wrong idea…we didn’t know Centers existed until you arrived and started asking about it,” SungMin continued. “Most of what the spirit beasts tell us is on a ‘need-to-know’ basis. There was no need for a Center in South Korea before now…so none of us knew about them, not even Daniel.”
“Then what changed?” KyuJong asked quietly. “Why the need for a Center now? I…saw a spirit beast when I was ten, that was years ago.”
“You’ve probably had the Center ability since you were born, since from our understanding it comes with an extremely high amount of spiritual energy,” KyuHyun answered. “Keepers are born naturally with high spiritual energy, it’s a prerequisite for being chosen by a spirit beast. Centers have more energy than even Twice-Blessed, or Thrice-Blessed for that matter.”
SungMin picked up where KyuHyun left off. “We don’t know why exactly you’re here, and our spirit beasts don’t either. From what Yuetu and Anansi have told us, the exact reason is known only by the Four Beasts.”
There were those Four Beasts again. KyuJong opened his mouth to ask, but SungMin was already continuing.
“But even if we don’t know the exact reason, we can guess. You see…spirit beasts have an enemy, of sorts. No one knows what that enemy looks like, or if it even has a physical form. Spirit beasts and Keepers just call it the Darkness.”
KyuJong felt a small chill run down his spine. “…What’s the Darkness?”
“Not much is known about it, even to spirit beasts,” KyuHyun looked down at Anansi who was swinging back and forth from his index finger. “But when we say spirit beasts hold the world stable, it’s because the Darkness is constantly trying to tear it apart. Daniel theorized that the Darkness is the spirit beast’s term for Chaos. Just like life and death are balanced, Chaos and Creation also balance each other.”
“Meaning that the spirit beasts are Creation,” KyuJong guessed, and SungMin nodded.
“Again this is Daniel’s theory on the whole thing. As Keepers, our main task is to strengthen the spirit beasts, not worry about what goes on behind the scenes. But thinking of them and the Darkness as synonyms for Creation and Chaos makes things easier to understand. The Darkness is always waiting for the right opportunity to strike.”
KyuJong nodded slowly at that. “…So how does that explain me?”
KyuHyun huffed a little. “We’re getting to that. You know you’re not the only Center around?” When KyuJong nodded, he continued. “Daniel reached out to some of his contacts in America, to find out exactly why this other Center over there was needed. The answer he got back was hazy, but it boiled down to this.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “The Darkness attacked and Keepers were disappearing. Dying. The Center fought the Darkness back and not only saved countless lives, but also stopped half the continent from slipping into the ocean.”
KyuJong’s eyes widened in shock. That was the job of the Center? “And…you think… that’ll happen here?”
“Something’s wrong,” SungMin replied, glancing across the rooftops. “With the Keepers in comas…it could be just some idiot Hunter, but it could also be the Darkness. You being here, the Center just awakening to his power, doesn’t bode well.”
Swallowing thickly, KyuJong looked down at his hands. That was a huge responsibility, the implication of what they expected from him terrifying. What if he wasn’t up to doing whatever the American Center had done? What if he failed? Wasn’t strong enough?
”Don’t think like that,” Yuetu butted into his head, protesting loudly.
”You’ll be fine, Center,” Pantera’s motherly voice joined the rabbit’s childish one. ”We have faith in you.”
KyuJong’s eyes shut; he wanted to believe them. But the idea he was here with the sole purpose of stopping a powerful, shapeless entity was too much to take. And he knew, right then, he wasn’t ready.