𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫

1.1 || Third Beginning

Seungmin didn't know that he closed his eyes until he opened them, staring absentmindedly at nothing. Everything was hazy and the boy felt strangely disoriented as if he were in some fever dream or underwater. People were running around and shouting in muffled voices.

Nothing seemed real.

Or was it?

Still half-conscious, the sixteen-year-old didn't think much of anything until he felt a surge of searing pain in his head, causing him to groan.

"The Prince is awake!" someone gasped. More people began shouting instructions here and there, but Seungmin couldn't make out any words because of the continuous ringing in his ears. Why did his head hurt so much? His throat felt parched –where was the water? Why couldn't he move his body?

A gray-bearded man dressed in a black, gold-laced robe barged into the room. He immediately began examining the sick boy laying on the bed, squinting his eyes in concentration as he scanned the body. Everyone in the room hushed and waited for the results. The atmosphere was heavy with anticipation.

The old man exhaled in relief.

"He may be in pain, but that just shows that his mana is flowing properly once again," he announced as he nodded his head in affirmation. "I will put him to sleep to ensure he rests comfortably."

And with that, Seungmin saw a palm reach out and close his eyelids. He didn't have the energy to fight back—much less to move—and all he could think of was the throbbing in his head.

"I wish you good rest," the elder murmured.

A warm light emitted from the stranger's hand, and before Seungmin could even comprehend what was going on, he found himself losing consciousness. His heavy-lidded eyes felt cold as the stranger pulled away.

Everything went dark again.

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Seungmin didn't wake up again until another week passed—though it felt like a second to him—this time with fewer people and fewer noises.

"Prince Sion! Are you feeling better? Does it hurt anywhere?" a girl asked from the foot of the bed, rushing up to the side to change the wet piece of cloth laying on the boy's forehead. Her dirty-blonde hair was up in a messy bun, and her blue eyes were full of worry.

"Prince Sion? Who's she talking about?" thought Seungmin, slowly looking around and realizing he didn't know where he was. Now, with no agony to take his undivided attention, the boy finally took in the view in front of him, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity yet nostalgia in it.

He shot up from the bed and widened his eyes at the sight.

The room was bigger than the size of his one-room apartment and more lavish with small, golden statues; a white, marbled fireplace; sofas; and, not to mention, a doorway leading to a private bathroom and a doorway to the balcony. With no one in the room other than the girl and himself, the place looked even more pristine and spacious.

But Seungmin wasn't paying attention to all the extravagance.

This wasn't his room.

This wasn't anywhere he's ever been to, for that matter.

"Um, Prince Sion? Are you alright?" the girl questioned hesitantly. She was sure that the Prince would complain about whatever came to his mind first but instead saw the usually irritable boy glancing around the bedroom with shock. Was he unsatisfied with his room now? Or did he somehow see a speck of dust somewhere she neglected? Or was he sicker than she thought?