"I hope you still have memories of the past, or if it's not, just use your instinct. Be careful, yet be effective."
"I still don't understand what you are talking about!" complaint Minseong.
"Let's go!"
When she raised up her morning star, the sand which are flying around them as if it was a barrier for them fall, then the scenery around them change: they seem like in some kind of grassland, but it's night time so it's quite dark, with the moon and stars shining brightly in the sky.Â
"What the hell is that?" Bonhwa screams as he points forward with his trident.
Myungwoo lost his words once again: there are many... too many for me to count, imps around them. He heard about imps in many places and he saw them in a game, but he never saw them in real life like this. Imp is a small mischievous sprite or devil. Its color is red, with long ears and horns, and a cow-like tail. So yeah, basically they are devils. They don't come with nothing in their hands: they have tridents as tall as their body.
"Kill them!" screams the young girl.
Myungwoo had no time to think, he just followed his instinct: he charged towards them while swinging his ax wildly. The ax is heavy, but thanks to his good habit of exercising, he still can control it with one hand. Beside Myungwoo, Bonhwa, Minseong and the young woman fighting fiercely too: Bonhwa easily crash the enemy with his trident (Myungwoo is a bit envious because the trident seems lighter than his ax); Minseong holding his ax with both hands and swing it powerfully; while the young woman looks very skillful with her morning star, she swing and charge with very fast speed. There are screams and groans everywhere, Myungwoo doesn't like the voice of the imp - it sounds sharp and somehow makes him feel creepy. Their blood isn't red but it's black, and some squirt to his shirt.
"DAMN IT, I'M DIRTY!" cursed Bonhwa, but it didn't stop him from killing more.
Myungwoo lost count about how long he has been fighting like this or how many imps he has killed, he just tries to stay safe and not hurt. Myungwoo charges towards Minseong to protect him: he has to fulfill his last word to his deceased parents. But he shouldn't be too worried because Minseong is fighting well. The young woman cut off the last imp's head as if it's nothing for her. The dead bodies of the imps are lying on the grassland, with their blood spilling everywhere. What a scary scene, thinks Myungwoo.
"Myungwoo, did you see that?"
Myungwoo doesn't even bother how this woman knows his name. She points with her morning star to a standing mirror, which Myungwoo knows is the same mirror they see in Ok grandmother's bedroom, with a bright string connecting it to a spot in the night sky.Â
"Only you can do it. Cut the string now, or she will die!"
Myungwoo is jumping, and he just realizes he is jumping so far as if his muscular body is really light, and with his instinct, he cuts off the string with his ax. The string got cut off and suddenly the mirror is broken. Myungwoo was standing in front of the crashed mirror with so many questions lingering in his mind. His appearance looks normal, if you can say that holding an ax with so many dark spots on his stylish suit can be called normal too. Bonhwa and Minseong also look messy, even Minseong's hair also has dark spots. And the blood smells bad.
"If you aren't in a hurry, I can invite you all to the castle to wash up, drink hot chocolate and listen to my explanation rather than to have a briefing here."
"We're just here for 15 minutes? I thought it's longer," said Myungwoo with a frown, as he stared at his watch.
"It is longer. The time here is twice as slow as your time in your world. You all can jump instead of run, so follow me. It's not far."
"But wait, do you know what will happen to Ok halmeoni?" asked Bonhwa.
"She is saved now. She is just sleeping. I'll also explain about that. So, will you follow me?"
Bonhwa exchanged glances with Myungwoo, just like how he always does when he needs advice from him. Myungwoo nods his head. So several minutes later, the three men are jumping in the dark, following the young woman to a place she called her castle.
IT IS a castle. The castle isn't really big but it has a lot of rooms and is made of stone, with a lot of windows too. If you ever see a castle in a picture or movie, it looks like one of those. It's hidden in the center of a dark forest, but it stands out so tall, so it will easily get spotted after some time jumping in the forest. Following what the young woman said, three of them enter a bedroom with a big sized bed inside and a rather small door across the room: a bathroom. Bonhwa is the first one who opens the bathroom door, and the bathroom is as amazing as the bedroom: it has a big bathtub after several steps of stairs. Minseong is opening an old-styled wardrobe and there are some white plain T-shirts and long pants there. He also pulled out several towels. Myungwoo looks outside from a big window there: this place is so strange, it looks like they are in a fantasy world, with no sign of the city out there. The castle is being lighted with candles - with various sizes, here and there.
"So, I'll wash up first."
Bonhwa enters the bathroom while Minseong is joining Myungwoo to enjoy the night scene through the window.
"It looks like a vampire's castle, doesn't it, hyeong?" asked Minseong then chuckled.
"It is. And my brain can't work well. I don't know what exactly is happening," Myungwoo sighed, "but do you feel something familiar deep inside you?"
"I do feel it, hyeong. It's so strange..." Minseong put his palm on his chest, "I hope we can get all of the answers soon."
After all of them are washed up, the young woman picks them up from their bedroom to a rather big living room, with a lot of brown colored sofas. They look old but cozy. Minseong is sitting on a single sofa, while Bonhwa and Myungwoo sit together, across from the young woman who is sitting alone on a sofa for three.
"Have the chocolate, it will calm you down and replenish your energy, even just a bit. You guys need to have proper sleep tonight."
Myungwoo takes a cup of hot chocolate which smells so good and feels warm on his palms. The young woman's eyes are staring sharply at each of them.
"Nobody is injured, right?"
They are nodding in silence while Minseong drinks the chocolate carefully.
"In order to have a good sleep, we demand an explanation," said Bonhwa in a low, careful tone.
The young woman is taking a deep breath, before she begins to talk.
"You all can call me Kim Sungmi. In human's age, I'm about the same age as Minseong, just slightly older. And I'm the owner of this castle, so people who know me usually will call me princess. From now on, everything that I'm going to tell you might sound silly, but I should tell you the truth."
Even the beginning is already quite silly, Myungwoo thought.
"Kim Myungwoo, Kim Minseong and Cho Bonhwa, you all are three of 17 Element Guardians. Like what you already see, you all got a stone with a different color depending on your element. Myungwoo is a light element guardian, Minseong is air, and Bonhwa is fire. You guys will ask me, why should you guys be the element guardian... the answer is, that is your past life."
"That's why... we somehow feel it's familiar?" asked Minseong.
"Yes. So in your past life, you aren't the human in the world you're living now, but you are living here, in this world. People who are living here are slightly different from the humans you know, we do have longer lifespan and we use magic and ability here. That's why you all have a weapon, that's also your weapon from your past life."
"So we were born as element guardians in our past life?" asked Myungwoo.
"You're right. So the element stone was inside your body when you were born. And your job is to guard this world from evil power."
"Did we all die because of... evil people?" asked Bonhwa, who doesn't like his own idea.
"That's not completely right but you all sacrificed your energy to lock the Darkness Lord. I'm the one who guards the lock now. Since you all sacrificed your energy, then you all died because of that. Then you guys reincarnate to how you are now. And I hope I will never see you again, or call you like this, to once again, awaken the energy inside you."
"Did something happen until you called us again?" asked Myungwoo.
Half of Myungwoo's brain is trying to understand the story she told, but he still can't completely trust everything. It sounds like a fairy tale, it doesn't make sense.
"The lock is weakened. I always have a bad feeling about it, but I keep ignoring it. But I think my assumption is true that one of our good side element guardians is betraying us. He or she might steal a bit of everyone's energy before you guys completely lock the Darkness Lord. And as the lock is weakened, he will call out his element guardian too."
"What do you mean by his element guardians? Do you say... a person like us, with the same energy as us, is going to be our enemy? They were our enemy too?" asked Minseong.
Myungwoo has a feeling that Minseong might be accepting the truth faster than him or Bonhwa. It might sound like a story in a game he played or something like that.
"You're just like what I remember about you, Minseong, you're smart. And that's right, he also has his element guardians, which we can say evil side element guardians. It's already been happening for the last four years in your world, or it means for the last eight years in this world, when the lock is getting weakened."
"For how long did we lock the Darkness Lord already?" asked Bonhwa.
"Six hundred years in this world, or three hundred years in your world. So you have been reincarnated for quite many times too in your world. So in the last eight years, I've been fighting with little evil things, but they are appearing more and sometimes in large groups, like the imps you were fighting with."
"And I'm sorry to ask you this... but are you always pale like this... princess?" asked Myungwoo, who trusts that she doesn't look healthy since the first time he saw her.
"And you always have sharp eyes, Myungwoo. No, actually... I've been losing my power trying to control the lock... and since I feel weakened, I have no choice but to call you guys once again. I'm very sorry about this."
"Okay let's say, you're awakened us for the sake of this world. Then does it have anything to do with the world we are living in? I remember you talked about Ok halmeoni and you asked me to cut the shining string."
"That's true. Those evil side Element Guardians found the way to weaken the lock and support their Lord with the power that they found in humans. The power of hatred and weakness of humans. Humans who store a lot of hatred inside their heart, or are currently being weak because of sickness are their target."
"So did you say they were about to... to... kill Ok halmeoni?" asked Minseong while widened his eyes.
"That's true, again. Normal humans will only see that as a natural death, but you three as guardians can see the string. And it will always be connected with the mirror, since the mirror is the gate to the world you're living in right now."
"There's too much information... even for my smart brain," sighed Bonhwa.
"I know you guys need time to understand the situation and you also have a lot of things to learn. So for now, I suggest you guys just go back and have proper rest. We can continue this next time."
"Next time? When is that next time?" asked Myungwoo, confused.
"You just need to remember the basic information. You can come to this world with any mirror near you when you're sleeping. So basically, you'll come here in the form of your spirit. Your body will stay sleeping. From now on, you have full control of your spirit whether you wanna sleep or wander with that spirit. And also, the size of the mirror can't be too small. It should be at least half of your body," explained Sungmi, "second, your body will be vulnerable during the time you're here, so make sure you're sleeping in a very safe place. Third, the time here is half time slower than the time in your world, and to keep the trace, you still can use your non-digital watch. Just leave all of your digital things because it won't work here."
"So we are gonna live without technology again..." mumbles Myungwoo.
"And one more important thing. The mirror you use to pass through from this world will be the same gate for the next time you come here. If three of you leave using this castle's mirror, then the next time you come here, even if you come from a different mirror from your world, you'll appear here."
"Is the mirror some kind of our... save spot? Like in the game?" asked Minseong loudly.
"Correct!" said Sungmi while smiling widely.
"Cool! I wanna come here every night!"
"I do want you to come often because you need to undergo a lot of training to sharpen your skills and abilities, but since the energy you use here will be the same with energy you use in your current world, you should be wise. By coming here in your sleep, it means you can't recharge your energy. Do you understand that?"
"So how often do you suggest us to come here?" asked Bonhwa.
"As much as you can if you aren't too tired. I can help with the hot chocolate... that's not an ordinary hot chocolate," she smiled, "since I have 'heal' ability, any hot chocolate I make can restore half of your energy. But sleep is still the best option of all."
"One more thing!" Myungwoo exclaimed, "when can we meet our Guardians friends? And who are they? Do they live in our world too, like us?"
"They are humans too. They will appear at the right time... and you will know who they are."
Bonhwa, Minseong and Myungwoo are looking at each other with a lot of questions still wandering inside their minds. They follow Sungmi as she walks closer to a big ancient-framed mirror in the corner of the living room.
"When you want to use the mirror as a gate, just simply touch it like this," she touched the side of the mirror.
Suddenly, the sides of the mirror were shining. Myungwoo can see what's inside the mirror: Ok halmeoni's room, and the sleeping Ok halmeoni on the bed. And also, their bodies on the floor. It feels so strange.
"I'll see you again soon, Guardians. Take care."
"You should take care of yourself too, Princess," said Myungwoo.
Myungwoo confidently stepped into the mirror. Suddenly, everything turns dark and as he opens his eyes, he knows he is still lying down. As he turns his body, he can see Bonhwa and Minseong are slowly waking up too. The last reflection in the mirror he sees is Sungmi waving to them while smiling. He hopes Sungmi will be okay. But will they be okay too? Now that he knows he has a new responsibility and it's not a simple responsibility, he should think carefully about everything from now on. The mirror turns normal again, as if nothing happened.
"So," Bonhwa cleared his throat as he slowly raised up, "I just realized I'm really hungry now."
"Let's eat before I go back to my dorm. Can you please take me back to my dorm later, hyeong?" asked Minseong to Bonhwa, as he raised up too.
"Sure. Myungwoo, let's go back, I'll order food for us."
Myungwoo nods his head while fixing his clothes, "I'll join after I call Eunbin noona."
He is glad to see Ok halmeoni is looking okay for now. But what will happen in the future? He feels uneasy yet excited about it.
