Episode 7. A Long Way to Find Durgan

When Junho unwrapped the last bandage, Chiru stretched both forepaws. The sting was gone, along with the ache that had returned whenever he moved. Moa raced once around Pori, while Shiru nudged Duri into a game. Only after watching all six pets run about did Minjeong close the first-aid box. The quiet forest almost made their fight seem unreal.

Namjeong stopped packing. Pebbles trembled under his boots, and a patch of ground a few steps away began to rise. As Junho drew his friends back, the soil broke open around a great horn. A rhinoceros in heavy stone armor heaved himself out of the hole.

DuriUncle Grakos!

Before Junho could stop him, Duri ran forward. Grakos pricked up his ears, shook the dust from his armor, and lowered himself to welcome the cub.

GrakosDuri! What a surprise to see you here!

Duri clung to his foreleg. Grakos carefully turned his horn aside and bent closer. He had been Durgan’s friend for years. To Duri, who had so often seen him at his father’s side, he had always been Uncle Grakos.

Duri’s excited chatter faltered. Now that he wanted to ask about his father, the words seemed caught in his throat. Grakos felt the little paws tighten around his leg and grew serious.

DuriUncle, have you seen my dad?

Duri told him that his father had vanished after Darkness came to the village. His voice dropped when he said that he had searched and searched, but Dad had never returned. Grakos did not promise that everything was fine. He had not seen Durgan either. After a moment, he lowered his gaze to meet Duri’s.

GrakosLord Dangun might know something.

The god of Earth Village could sense traces of power within the land. That was no promise of an answer, but at last Duri had someone to ask. When Junho looked around, Minjeong was already shouldering her bag. Namjeong moved beside Duri and nodded. They would go together.

Even the short walk to the nearby teleport was awkward with six pets weaving across one another’s paths. Namjeong stopped for Pori, who was following Moa; Duri looked back and bumped into Shiru. Junho laughed, but at every crossing he counted them again.

MinjeongHow about traveling in Pet Balls? We’ll let you out as soon as we arrive.

Duri nodded first, eager to reach Dangun. The others agreed, and the children took out the little balls that fit in their palms. Pale blue light shone from the round buttons between the red tops and white bottoms.

MoaSee you in Earth Village!

JunhoAll right. In order, nice and slowly.

Moa waved as he dissolved into the light. Pori, Duri, and Shiru followed in turn. Holding a ball in each hand, Junho let blue light reach toward Chiru and Ruby. Both relaxed into it, just like their friends. Chiru disappeared, and Ruby’s paws began to fade.

The other five pets were safely inside their quiet balls. Ruby seemed about to follow. Suddenly the glow around him scattered, as though something had pushed it back from within. Ruby bounced backward. Junho reached to catch him, but the fox had already landed on all four paws.

RubyI was trying to get in!

JunhoWhy won’t it work for you?

Junho checked the button and tried again. Ruby pressed his forepaws together and stayed perfectly still. The same thing happened. A different ball made no difference. His wounds were healed, his bandages were gone, and he was not resisting.

Grakos came closer and studied both the ball and the fox. He could not explain it either. Ruby glanced at his own belly and tail. Something the others had done so easily would not work for him. It was difficult to laugh that off.

Pets had to be inside Pet Balls to use the teleport. Leaving Ruby behind was out of the question. After a moment’s thought, Grakos bent his forelegs before Junho.

GrakosYou two can ride on my back. I’ll take you to Earth Village.

MinjeongThen we’ll go ahead and find Lord Dangun.

Junho checked the ball containing Chiru in his pocket. Minjeong and Namjeong secured the other four pets’ balls and stepped onto the teleport. Namjeong waved vigorously. Light spread through the patterns in the stone, and the siblings slowly disappeared.

Using the gaps in Grakos’s armor as footholds, Junho climbed onto his broad back. Ruby settled directly in front of him. Junho put an arm around the fox to steady him and said they were ready. Grakos rose, and the forest road opened out below their newly elevated view.

They had just grown used to Grakos’s rolling gait when a broken cry reached them through the sound of water. Ruby’s ears lifted first. Still on the rhinoceros’s back, Junho peered between the branches. Beneath a large tree by the stream, a brown wolf was shaking someone with his paws.

NeukguLulu, please open your eyes…!

JunhoNeukgu? What happened?

Grakos stopped at once, his face tightening with concern. Following his gaze, Junho saw Lulu. The chimpanzee who had stood protectively before Neukgu when they left for the forest now lay limp on the ground. His leafy bracelets were dusty. It was difficult to tell whether he was breathing.

Junho and Ruby were still riding Grakos when Neukgu looked up. Junho was already searching for a way down. Grakos lowered himself, and the boy climbed off, clutching his bag.

Neukgu tried to speak, then struggled for breath. They had met Jirrex on the forest path, he said. He did not know why it happened. They had said nothing to the wild pet, but the lizard had suddenly lunged at him, blue electricity flashing over its body.

NeukguLulu stood in front of me. He fought instead of me…

The scene was still painfully clear. While Lulu raised branches against the electricity, Neukgu had crouched behind a tree root. The more urgently he told himself to help, the harder his legs shook. He watched Lulu being driven back and could not take a single step.

LuluLeave Neukgu alone!

When the remembered cry faded, Neukgu looked down. The same paws that had refused to move were holding Lulu now.

NeukguI was scared. I couldn’t do anything.

Junho did not blame him. He opened his bag instead. Some of the Life Water recovered from Sero remained. At the clink of a bottle, Neukgu lifted his head.

Junho supported Lulu’s head and carefully let a little Life Water pass between his lips. Not long ago, the same water had brought all their friends back to their feet. Neukgu leaned close, afraid to miss the moment Lulu opened his eyes.

NeukguThis will make him better. Won’t it?

Junho could not answer. The light around Lulu soon faded, and his shallow breathing did not return. Junho called his name again. The closed eyelids stayed still. Grakos bowed his head. Even when the boy’s hand stopped moving, Neukgu kept trying to wake his friend.

NeukguLulu… get up. We should go now.

There was no answer. Lulu had died. Junho slowly lowered the bottle. Ruby started toward Neukgu, then stopped, unable to think of anything to say. Neukgu drew Lulu’s paw against his chest and repeated the same words, barely above a whisper.

After a while, Neukgu looked at Junho’s bag. As though he had suddenly remembered something, he rose and caught the boy’s sleeve.

NeukguYou still have a silver fruit, don’t you? Please give it to me.

JunhoThere was only one. The shark ate it. That was all I had.

Neukgu knew. He had dropped the fruit himself and watched the little shark swallow it. Yet now he felt certain there must be another in that bag. There had to be. If he stayed this weak, he could do nothing for Lulu.

NeukguLook again. Just one. I need to get stronger. I won’t let Jirrex get away with this.

Junho turned out even the small inner pocket, but Neukgu did not release his sleeve. The pleading dissolved into sobs. Ruby watched him clench his teeth and remembered the heat that had filled his own chest when Chiru fell. He had neither a fruit nor an answer to offer.

Grakos, who had listened in silence, finally spoke.

GrakosIf you want power that badly… seek Darkness. Darkness gives power to pets.

JunhoNo, Neukgu! It’s too dangerous!

Ruby stared up at Grakos in shock. This was the same Darkness that had ruined their village and attacked them. Junho crouched before Neukgu and urged him to find another way, but the wolf was no longer listening. Only one phrase kept repeating in his mind: gives power.

RubyNeukgu, wait! Let’s think about this together!

Neukgu stopped beside Lulu once more and briefly rested his forehead against his friend’s. When he turned away, tears still ran down his face, but his feet did not hesitate. He ran into the forest without answering Junho. Wind shook the leaves, and his brown tail vanished among them.

The others could not leave immediately. Grakos gently opened the soil beneath the tree, and Junho and Ruby laid Lulu to rest in a sunlit spot. Junho placed a leaf there. If Neukgu returned, he wanted him to be able to find his friend.

Long shadows lay across the stone walls when they reached Earth Village. People were repairing defenses and carrying food into storage. Junho climbed down from Grakos and walked up the broad stone steps with Ruby. Beside an altar beneath an ancient pine, Minjeong raised a hand.

MinjeongJunho! He’s already helping Duri.

The siblings had let Duri out of his ball and told Dangun what had happened. Wearing a plain white robe and a simple ceremonial crown, the long-bearded god knelt with one hand against the stone floor. Beside him, a broad-clawed mole was sorting carved tablets. On seeing Junho, he set down his records and made room.

GrantoI’m Granto, Lord Dangun’s secretary.

Junho bowed his head. The story of Lulu and Neukgu still caught in his throat. Grateful that Minjeong did not press him for it at once, he sat beside Duri. Grakos remained near the entrance, waiting for news of his old friend.

Pale golden light spread from Dangun’s fingertips through the grain of the stone. The shapes of mountains and valleys briefly appeared. Then a dark presence swallowed the trail. Duri gripped his necklace. Even after opening his eyes, Dangun studied the place where the light had stopped.

DangunI can sense Darkness. But I cannot be certain where Durgan is.

Duri waited for more. Dangun could not pretend to have found someone he had not located. Instead, he pointed beyond the mountain. Electric Village, farther north, was being threatened from Dark Village. People there might know where Darkness had been moving.

JunhoThen we’ll ask in Electric Village.

On the map Granto unfolded, an enormous mountain stood between the two villages. Going around it on foot could take more than a month. When they mentioned the teleport, Junho explained that Ruby could not enter a Pet Ball. The fox quietly curled his tail closer. Dangun looked at him, then returned his gaze to the mountain.

Dangun looked down at Duri beside him. He did not want to send the little bear away with nothing after he had come so far to find his father. Yet below the altar, hammers still sounded against damaged walls. Villagers were waiting to ask their protector how to prepare for Darkness.

DangunEarth Village has much to prepare before Darkness attacks. I’m sorry I cannot help you in person.

Duri’s ears drooped. Before he could lower his head, Dangun continued.

DangunBut I will open a way to Electric Village.

He touched the great mountain on the map. Cutting through it would do more than save a journey of over a month. The mountain had protected the village; once a passage existed, Darkness could use it too. Opening the route meant finding guards and preparing new defenses for its entrance.

DangunThis will place our village at greater risk. Even knowing that, I cannot leave you without a way forward.

Duri lowered the paws that had been gripping his necklace. He was beginning to understand what Dangun had agreed to risk. The god straightened his wooden staff and turned to the secretary waiting beside him.

DangunGranto, cut a passage through the mountain.

GrantoYes, Lord Dangun!

Granto bowed to acknowledge the command. He set aside his writing tablet and spread his powerful claws. Pale gold light appeared in the seams of his dark stone armor as he prepared to open their route with Deep Piercing. Duri bowed low in thanks, followed by Junho and the siblings.

At the foot of the mountain, the tidy distance on the map became a wall of stone. Even with their heads tilted back, they could not see the highest ridge. Granto directed everyone behind an outcrop before planting his broad claws against the rock. Golden light spread through the seams in his dark armor.

GrantoDeep Piercing!

Power gathered between his claws and shot forward in a narrow, blinding line. A roar followed it deep inside the mountain. Layer after layer of stone gave way, and a golden spiral drove through the dust into the depths. As the ground shook, Junho drew Ruby close. Minjeong caught Namjeong’s shoulder to steady him.

When the dust settled, a great opening stood before them. Granto took time to catch his breath, then tested the inside wall with a claw. There was a passage now, but no light at its far end. Duri watched the darkness, hoping that somewhere beyond it lay a way back to his father.

Dangun had to return and prepare defenses for the new passage. Granto stayed at the entrance to inspect the rock. Junho let Chiru out of his Pet Ball; Minjeong and Namjeong called out Moa, Pori, and Shiru. With Duri already beside them, all six friends were together again. This time, none raced ahead.

GrantoKeep away from the walls and stay together. You still have a long way to go.

Ruby took the lead. His small tail flame revealed the uneven floor: first a stone, then a crack, each appearing where there had been nothing but darkness. Junho followed the patches of ground it lit. Behind him, Namjeong looked back to check that Duri and Shiru were close.

JunhoStay close, everyone. Follow Ruby’s light.

RubyOkay. I’ll light the way.

The daylight at the entrance slipped from the children’s shoulders. Ruby glanced back and counted his friends’ faces, then lifted his tail a little higher. The small flame moved forward again. Step by step, as far as its light could reach, they entered the long darkness beneath the mountain.