Fractured • Choi Yeonjun

Chapter 9

Dark Magic~

Three days of going through the forest and Taehyun was finally starting to feel the dark magic that still stained the earth.

His old village would often wander off a bit from the village to perform bigger sacrifices.

And even though he was still a few miles away, he could feel the darkness they had left behind.

The earth had healed well from their abuse to it a long time ago, but the earth never fully forgets what was done to it.

The earth still held the dark magic in to replace the natural magic that had been stolen from it.

Taehyun stopped for a moment by a tree that looked as if it had been here for a long time. It was probably nothing more than a seed or sapling when he had lived here. Either way, he felt the dark magic that lingered in its wood.

He grabbed his bag and set it down on the ground. Unzipping the new zipper he had put on before he left, he reaches into the middle pocket and brings out a small leather bag.

Taehyun reaches up with his other hand and placed it  on the base of its trunk and closed his eyes.

Slowly he pulls the dark magic out and carefully puts it into the leather bag. Breathing out a sealing spell he places the small pouch back in his bag and zips it up.

He then stands while slinging the bag over his shoulder. He turns back to the tree again and puts the same amount of natural magic back in to replace the dark magic he had taken.

He wanted to have a bit of his coven's dark magic just in case he may need it at some point.

He did this a few more times as he continued on. Most of the dark magic he got was out of the ground, he only found a few other trees that had traces of black magic in them.

Even though the pouch was sealed with magic, Taehyun could still feel the dark magic radiating from it.

It made his head ache a bit as he continued walking.

Another stop to get water and look at the map once more, he was getting really close to the edge of where the village used to be.

Even though he really didn't need the map to confirm it. He knew.

The landscape may have changed some since he had left, but he just knew where he was, he felt it.

He was just north of the village. He would always wander around the village looking for small animals for his mother when she needed a little boost of power until the next time she could kill something bigger. A human more than likely.

The memories slowly came back to him as he kept going.

He could see flashes of him and Alse running around the village, just being kids. Both of them trying to forget what they were born into.

~
Once again Taehyun and Alse were at the river, this time right as night was falling.

"I thought you said your mother was fine with you not having powers?"

Taehyun sat there frozen, lost in thoughts that were filled with panic.

"Tae?" Alse stepped over to him, wanting him to say something to her. "You're worrying me..."

Taehyun felt his heart squeeze as he heard the same panic he was feeling in her voice.

"What do I do? I can't let them force dark magic on me... I don't know what it will do to my real magic."

"We have to run," Alse said as she wiped her hair from her clammy forehead. She was freaking out on the outside while Taehyun freaked out on the inside.

"Maybe I can just show her my real magic-"

"No! They will kill you!" Alse screamed a little too loudly. She realized what she did and slapped her hand over her mouth. "Please, don't. You promised you would keep it hidden."

"I don't want to lose the magic I was born with," Taehyun said a little sternly. He didn't want to hurt his only friend, but he didn't want to lose his magic either.

He never knew he would have to face such a big decision at such a young age.

He gripped at his hair and took in a shaky breath.

Alse's eyes watered as she watched her friend break down.

She didn't want to lose him, but she also knew how much his natural magic meant to him.

She had made him promise to do something that must be so hard for him. She knew if she had natural magic like him, she would hate to hide it as well. Their coven was just too selfish for him to be allowed to live with magic like his.

"Why is she making you do this now though?" They had talked about this about a month ago, and then suddenly, his mom wanted to try and pull the magic out of him. Why?

"I think it's her husband... he wants to make a fool of me in front of the coven elders so my mother will banish me..." Their coven already didn't like the thought of a non-magic user in their village.

Alse shook her head, she knew how Taehyun's stepfather was to him. He was a cruel, nasty man.

~

Taehyun stood just outside of the village border, bracing himself for the worst when he went to cross the line.

He could feel the dark magic that oozed out of the village.

His eyes scanned the area, there really wasn't much left at all.

Only a few buildings had a few walls still standing, walls that were covered in vines, moss, and ferns.

Nature had reclaimed what was once its own. It had almost taken any trace of the old village down.

With a deep breath, Taehyun crossed the line in one quick motion.

Nothing happened, allowing him to let out the breath he was holding.