Spawn ✦ Nomin

46

Reaching the end of the cobblestone road, Xiao notices something in the distance.

"There!" he exclaims, "Lets go, boys. The last trial awaits."

Though Xiao races towards the end of the road, Jisung and Jeno walk sluggishly behind. When they do manage to catch up, they find a massive mountain with a gaping entrance.

"The cave is enchanted. We can't go in unless our intentions are pure. Any darkness or sinister activity within your heart will get you incinerated instantly," Xiao explains, "I got about this far when your father intercepted me. I have no idea what it looks like inside the cave."

"Won't we all get incinerated?" Jeno inquires.

"You're doing this to save Jaemin, right?" Xiao asks.

"Yes," Jeno confirms.

"Then focus on that. Your need for the magic is to help save a life. That'll do," Xiao confirms.

"What about you guys?" Jeno questions.

"You'll have to go in without us. I most certainly won't pass, and Jisung is questionable at best," Xiao points out, "Now hurry up before I shove you in and see what happens."

Jeno faces towards the entrance to the cave and shuts his eyes. He takes in a deep breath and imagines Jaemin's face. Not the thin, distraught one he saw before he left, but the happy, healthy Jaemin. The one with a brilliant smile that lights up the room and eyes that hold galaxies within them.

A very soft smile forms on Jeno's face, and he proceeds to walk forward with caution. He continues imagining his beautiful, joyful face until a voice startles him out of his trance.

"Holy fuck! It worked!" Xiao gasps.

Jeno spins on his heel to find him and Jisung standing on the outside of the cave.

"Go on! Hurry up! The faster you get what you need, the faster you can get back to earth," Xiao rushes him.

As if a fire was suddenly ignited beneath his feet, Jeno turns on his heel and speeds off further into the cave.

At first, he just finds himself surrounded by rock and darkness. The minimal light cast into the tunnel-like area only comes from behind him. It isn't much, but it's just enough to see vaguely into the cave. He isn't quite sure what it is that he sees, but he pushes on until he reaches a more spacious area. Jeno takes a deep breath and treads slowly to the centre.

As he stands there in the middle of the darkness, his mind briefly wanders to Jaemin again. It wasn't really a thought, but just a quick remembrance of his name and the appearance of his face when he last saw him. He frowns deeply, a pang hitting his chest.

"Please..." he whispers, "I have to save him."

A small light shines from somewhere behind Jeno. He turns on his heel and finds a single crystal protruding from a rock. It glows a soft, pale blue which borderlines white. It appears perfectly cut despite clearly not having been touched.

Jeno cautiously approaches the crystal, reaching his hand out to touch it. The second his fingertips touch the smooth surface, it glows brighter than before and levitates from the place in which it had been resting. Jeno abruptly retracts his hand and watches the crystal raise into the air over his head.

"Use it wisely, Lee Jeno," a voice informs him in a whisper resembling a gust of wind, "Protect him."

The crystal then lowers slowly. Jeno outstretches his palms upward towards it, allowing the crystal to gently rest in his hands.

"Thank you," Jeno whispers with a bright smile before immediately taking off towards the entrance of the cave.

His feet pound hard against the solid ground as he focuses on the light at the end.

"Guys! Guys, I got it!" Jeno shouts happily as he reaches the end.

But the cheer and excitement doesn't last long. The second he sets foot outside, he's met with the sight of placidity.

Both boys were gone.

"Jeno!" a deep voice screams out from a short distance away, just beyond some trees.

With absolutely no hesitation, Jeno takes off at a faster pace than he'd gone previously. He follows the sound of pained screams until he finds Jisung lying on the forest floor with a bleeding head, grabbing at his left leg. Jeno looks at it to find it appears to be bent in an unnatural manner.

"Jeno!" Jisung wails.

"What the fuck happened? Where's Xiao?" Jeno asks in a panic as he looks around for any sign of the boy.

"Xiao attacked me! He left to go join your father! I think he's gonna tell him what we're up to!" Jisung cries out.

"Fuck!" Jeno hisses, "Jisung, we've gotta leave. We need to get back now and start doing what we can to help Jaemin and get this crystal turned into a necklace."

"You need to get to Jaemin before Xiao does," Jisung says as he reaches for Jeno's forearm and looks him deep in his eyes, "We need to leave now. God knows how much time has gone by already."

"What? What do you mean?" Jeno asks.

"Time goes by differently here. It's slower," Jisung explains before letting out a pained scream, "We've been here for half a day at most, but back on earth...it could be days, weeks, months even."

Jeno's stomach begins to twist into a billion knots at this information. He quickly shoved the crystal into his pocket and reaches out for Jisung to help him up.

"Come on, we need to make it home before Xiao."