CHAPTER 46
Sihyun thrashed violently, his voice echoing like a wounded beast through the blood-soaked corridor.
"Let me go!!!"
His hoarse cries cracked as he fought against the chains digging deep into his skin, the guards straining just to hold him down. Every pull only sent more blood spilling from his wound, yet Sihyun never stopped resisting.
Yuhyun's whole body trembled. His nails dug into his own palms until they drew blood, his lips trembling with the urge to scream. I have to help him… I can't just watch him like this! But Taejin's steady grip on his arm held him back, his eyes begging Yuhyun not to move.
Muwon stood rigid, his chest heavy, his face unreadable. Every cry from Sihyun stabbed into him, yet he said nothing. Not even when Sihyun's desperate gaze met his—eyes wet with pain and betrayal.
Elder Baekjin stepped closer, his presence looming like a serpent coiling around its prey. He watched Muwon carefully, searching his silence, then finally spoke.
"Your Majesty…"
His tone was soft, respectful, but beneath it lay a sly current.
"You see now. This is what he truly is. No matter how calm he pretends, the demon blood inside him will always rise. He cannot be trusted."
Muwon's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
Baekjin's lips curled into a faint, knowing smile.
"I will handle this matter for you. The palace—and the people—must not see weakness from their future king."
He lifted his hand with deliberate calm and flicked his wrist.
At once, the guards tightened their grip and began to drag Sihyun away.
"NO! MUWON!"
Sihyun's screams shattered into raw, guttural cries as his heels scraped against the ground, chains clattering with each pull. His body twisted, his eyes desperate, but the guards were merciless.
The hall fell into tense silence, broken only by Sihyun's ragged screams fading as he was dragged deeper into the palace dungeons.
Baekjin folded his hands neatly behind his back, leaning closer to Muwon so only he could hear.
"Think carefully, Your Majesty. Before the people begin to demand his execution… act swiftly. A ruler who hesitates loses not only his crown… but also what he cherishes most."
Morning sunlight streamed through the tall windows of the throne room, casting pale gold across the polished floor.
Muwon sat on the throne, expression unreadable, while the five elders stood before him in heated debate.
"Sihyun should be executed before he caused another massacre."
Elder Baekjin argued coldly
"His Majesty should exile both Sihyun and Yuhyun from the palace, far enough that they could never return."
General Gunho countered,
"Confinement under strict watch, I insist no child should be raised near someone so unstable."
Lady Miran suggested
"Sihyun should be strip of any protection entirely, leaving him at the mercy of the people's judgment."
Elder Jaesuk added
"Sihyun's existence is against the will of the heavens, and no good could come of sparing him."
High Priest Sangwook pressed.
Their voices overlapped, each one trying to out-shout the other, but Muwon wasn't listening. His dark eyes were fixed on the floor ahead of him, his mind replaying the image of Sihyun drenched in blood, laughing madly, then crying as the chains bound him.
He clenched the armrest of the throne until his knuckles went white.
Suddenly—
The heavy doors of the throne room opened with a bang. A guard stumbled in, dropping to one knee and bowing deeply.
"Forgive my intrusion, Your Majesty,"
he said, breathless,
"but an old man waits at the gates. He claims to be a guardian… a guardian to the demon sorcerers. He says he has helped their kind for generations—especially those who reach the twentieth mark. He insists he can help Lord Sihyun."
The throne room fell into stunned silence.
The elders' faces hardened immediately, lips curling in disgust. Elder Baekjin's eyes narrowed with sharp suspicion. Lady Miran's fan trembled in her grip. The High Priest muttered something under his breath about heresy.
But Muwon's head snapped up instantly, his thoughts cleared as if struck by lightning. He rose from his throne in one swift motion.
"Let him in,"
Muwon commanded.
The guard bowed again and hurried out.
The five elders exchanged sour looks, each realizing that their carefully laid plans might collapse before their eyes.
The throne room doors opened again, and the guard led in an old man. His steps were slow, his back bent with age, but his presence was commanding. His long gray beard touched his chest, and his pale eyes seemed to look past everyone in the hall as though he saw things no one else could.
He stopped at the center of the chamber and bowed low, his voice rasping yet calm.
"I am Woljin,"
he said.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty, for coming too late. I felt the stirrings of the twentieth mark, and it pulled me across mountains and rivers. For days, I walked with the winds to reach this place."
Muwon's gaze sharpened.
"The twentieth mark?"
Woljin's lips curled into something between a smile and a grimace.
"The demon sorcerer's curse and gift. Power enough to break kingdoms… or to destroy the one who bears it. I have tended to his kind, Your Majesty, for longer than most dynasties remember. And now—"
his cloudy eyes flickered as if he could see Sihyun chained somewhere in the depths of the palace,
"—the last surviving demon sorcerer stands at its edge."
Gasps rippled through the throne room.
The five elders scowled instantly, exchanging suspicious glances. Elder Baekjin sneered, stepping forward.
"Your Majesty, this charlatan should not be entertained. Demon sorcerers have no future—only death. The kingdom must not be swayed by wandering tongues."
But Muwon raised his hand, silencing him. His voice was firm.
"Leave us."
The elders' faces darkened, but they dared not defy him. One by one, they bowed stiffly, frowns deepening as they turned and exited the throne room, their robes dragging angrily across the polished floor.
When the doors closed behind them, the air felt lighter.
Muwon's eyes stayed on Woljin.
"If you claim you can help him… then prove it. How?"
Woljin tilted his head, speaking slowly as if weaving a riddle.
"To tame the twentieth mark is to teach fire not to burn. The boy bleeds with rage, with grief, with loneliness. Chains will not save him—chains will only sharpen the flames. But I… I can guide him. He may yet learn to master the storm within, if he does not break first."
Silence lingered.
Finally, Muwon gave an order.
"Summon Yuhyun, Dohyun, and Taejin. They will hear this with me."
The guard bowed and hurried out.
Muwon stepped down from the throne, walking closer to the old man. His voice was low, edged with both hope and suspicion.
"If what you say is true, then you may be Sihyun's only chance."
Woljin's cloudy eyes flickered with something unreadable.
"No, Your Majesty. He is his own only chance. I am but the lantern that lights a road… whether he walks it or not, is his choice."
The heavy doors opened again, and the guard announced the three names. Yuhyun, Taejin, and Dohyun walked in, their steps uncertain, eyes immediately catching the strange old man standing in the throne room.
Taejin frowned first.
"Your Majesty… why have we been summoned?"
Muwon, seated on the throne again, leaned forward slightly.
"Because there may be a way to help Sihyun."
He gestured toward the old man.
"This is Woljin. He claims he can guide Sihyun, keep him from losing himself completely."
Yuhyun's face instantly lit up, his eyes wide with sudden hope. He stepped forward, voice trembling with eagerness.
"Truly? You can help my brother?"
Woljin turned his pale, cloudy gaze on him and studied him for a long moment before smiling faintly.
"Ah… you must be the twin. The human who carries the same face but not the curse."
He bowed his head slightly, his tone both respectful and cryptic.
"It is an honor to meet the last surviving demon sorcerer's brother."
Yuhyun's chest tightened at those words — last surviving. He already knew it, but hearing it aloud sent a shiver through him.
Woljin's voice lowered, growing heavy with meaning.
"I have seen one before. Ryu Vanyul. I guided him once, when his twentieth mark began to awaken. I taught him restraint, showed him the paths to balance… but in the end, he turned away. He chose to embrace the flame instead of mastering it. And so, he fell into darkness."
The chamber grew tense. Taejin and Dohyun exchanged sharp looks — both of them had heard whispers of Vanyul before, but never this directly.
Finally, Woljin added, his cloudy eyes narrowing.
"Demon sorcerers are born with the power to bend others, to twist words, to manipulate. It is in their blood. Lord Sihyun is no exception. His love, his anger, his pain — all of it can drive him to chain the hearts of those around him. If he does not learn control… then destruction is all that awaits him."
Yuhyun flinched as though Woljin had struck him. His hands clenched tightly.
"My brother is not like that,"
he whispered, almost desperate.
"He's… he's not—"
Woljin tilted his head, his ancient voice like gravel.
"Not yet."
The words echoed in the chamber, leaving behind an unsettling silence.