Erlebnisse | NCT

Chapter 4: The Witching Hour (part 2)

"I want to learn a dark magic spell. Specifically the one that ties me to my brother."

Minsun took a moment to take in her surroundings, realizing that they were still in the cottage, the old lady in front of her. This time though, she noted that the old lady was wearing a different dress.

What is this?

"Black magic is dangerous." The old lady told her and that's when Minsun realized where she was. A flashback. "It takes a large amount of strength and if used for the wrong intentions, true evil can be released."

"You're not saying no." She replied, staring deeply into the eyes of the old lady.

"Because your mind is already set." The old lady said. She took a deep breath before taking her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Are you sure that you want to do this? It's more than just your life now."

This is before she died. When she was learning how to exchange lives with dad.

"Mark will be upset but he'll understand." She told her. She's not wrong about the upset part. Many years later and he still can't get over it.

"I'm not talking about Mark." The old lady said, eyes dropping. It took a moment for Minsun to figure out where she was looking, until she looked down herself. Why is she staring at my stomach? "If you exchange your life with Mark's, both lives will fade. You might be alright with that but will Jungwoo?"

She felt her face change, a frown instantly appearing. "Jungwoo is dead."

"But his spirit still lives." The lady told her. "Inside of you."

She felt herself place a hand over her stomach, which had slowly been growing. "What should I do then?"

The woman let out a deep sigh, giving her hand one more squeeze before adjusting her position.

"If you so desire to meet your lover again, there is one thing I can do to save your child."

...

Minsun wasn't expecting to be pulled out of the memory so quickly, the world around her fading back into present time. She felt Xun's hand resting on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Minsun reassured him, the old lady standing up from her seat.

"You two are connected, alright." The lady sighed, shaking her head. "It's worse than I thought."

Minsun couldn't help but think back to the memory, only one question on her mind. "What happened to her child, though? Does that mean that the child died with her too?"

"I don't know." The old lady admitted. "I gave Grace the tools to keep it alive, but ultimately, the decision was up to her. The spell was also no joke, both the one she used to bring Mark back to life and the one to keep her child safe. I wouldn't be surprised if she could only choose one."

"Wait, hold up. I'm really confused right now." Xun said, reminding them that he wasn't able to see the flashback with them.

"I'll explain when we get back." Minsun whispered to him, gently placing a hand on his knee to reassure him. He looked like he was going to argue but decided to ask something else instead.

"You said that Grace's vare shouldn't be used again and that if it was, it's a bad sign. Why?" Xun inquired as the old lady moved to the shelves, pulling out what looked like a map.

"It means that the two dimensions have been connected." The old lady said, her voice showing how uneasy she was.

"What two dimensions?"

"The dimensions between life and death." The lady said, eyes darkening as she returned to their side. "The door between them has been opened."

"What in the world are you saying?" Minsun heard Xun curse under his breath and tried her best not to laugh. If she heard him, the lady didn't show it, spreading out the map in front of them instead.

"Back in the olden days, black magic was used all the time, where people lived as immortals." The old lady began to explain. She lifted her hands, using her powers to show them the visions that portrayed her words. "They were immortal due to their ability to enter and exit through the door separating life and death, the one separting our world from the world where the dead go to."

"What happened to that?" Minsun asked, her and Xun listening carefully to the old lady's words.

"There came a problem where those with tainted souls could not be expelled." The old lady informed them. "If they died, they could come back, and walk the world again. So, the rulers of the eight realms came upon a decision to close the door, ridding Orenda of dark magic."

"What about you?" Xun pointed out. "It's clearly not fully gone."

"I am protected by the Ombra royal family, as dark magic can be used for good when needed." The old lady said, clearly offended by Xun's question. "As seen with the bond between the Lee siblings."

"Let her finish." Minsun hissed, knowing that Xun's questions wouldn't end and they might never hear the end of the story.

"Anyways, in order to close the door, there are eight keys, one from each of the realms. To close the door, the eight keys must be brought together to the door, located on the outskirts of Dealain, the final realm." The lady said. "After the rulers closed the door, they each took their own key, hiding it in their own realm. The journey to find them is long and tiring, and the knowledge of the keys might not even be passed on as no one ever expected the door to open again."

"Why is the door open now then, out of all time?" Xun blurted out, unable to hold in his questions any longer.

This time though, the old lady didn't seem to mind. "It has been a very long time since I used black magic. The bond with the Lee siblings was one instance, but before Grace died, she used it as well. The use of black magic must have allowed the door to slip open, probably only wide enough for the smallest souls to appear. However, the more it is used, the wider it gets."

"So we should probably close the door then." Minsun said, eyeing the map. "Is that what you're telling us?"

"I mean, I would appreciate it." The old lady said, handing Minsun the map. On it were the eight realms, along with the drawings of each of the keys for each one. "I'm sure you two will be able to get more help than I will."

"What happens if we don't close the door then?" Xun asked, leading to the answer that all of them feared.

"Then the dead and banned creatures will continue to seep into Orenda, and after all these years, trust me, there are some nasty spirits there."

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I hope this updates because im out and service and wifi here is trash