"What?!!!"
Their voices echoed so loudly through the study that a few books on the shelves actually trembled. Hawoon didn't even blink.
"Yes," he said calmly, leaning back in his chair as if he had only announced the weather. "Night Thorn Forest."
Hajun looked like he had forgotten how to breathe. Suho looked like he wished he had.
"You mean, that Night Thorn?" Hajun asked, voice cracking. "The forest with… with those things that drag people into their own nightmares? That Night Thorn?"
Hawoon lifted a brow. "Is there another one?"
Suho stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? People don't train there, people die there."
"That isn't fair," Hawoon said mildly. "They don't die. They just never come back."
"That's the same thing!" Suho snapped.
"Not literally."
"WHAT—"
Hawoon raised a hand. Silence fell instantly.
"This is why I asked you earlier what you expected from your training," he said, voice deepening. "Because this—" he gestured around the room slowly, heavily, "—is not a child's play. You two need to understand, especially you, Suho. You are not ordinary children. You will not be trained like them."
Like normal children your age.
Suho swallowed. Hajun's hands trembled in his lap. Hawoon leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.
"Suho, the moment you accepted my offer… the moment you chose to become my son… your life, your choices, your future—none of it belongs to you alone anymore. The world you are walking toward will not be gentle. Your magic is not gentle. So the place that shapes you…" his eyes darkened, "…cannot be gentle either."
Suho clenched the armlet. It felt heavier now. Too heavy. Like a sentence.
"But… Night Thorn… that forest is dangerous," Hajun whispered. "It's alive. It… it feeds on people."
"Yes. It feeds on weakness." Hawoon's gaze sharpened, piercing them. "And that is exactly why you're going there."
"If you somehow thought your life would be filled with flowers," Hawoon sneered, triggering a spark of anger in Suho, "that you would succeed without losing anything—" he clicked his tongue, "—I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"The life you are stepping into, Suho…"Hawoon's voice dipped into a deeper, colder tone."…is filled with thorns. Every step will decide your fate."
He stood. His shadow stretched across the floor like a living thing.
"And before you panic further…" he added, turning toward the window, "let me tell you something else."
Both boys tensed.
"You won't actually train inside the forest."
Hajun blinked. "Then… where?"
"Alternate realism."
"…Huh?" Hajun and Suho both stared blankly.
"You won't be alone in that forest," Hawoon continued.
Suho's heart stuttered. Not alone? Someone else is joining? A team? A knight?
Hajun frowned. "What do you mean?"
Hawoon turned toward them, eyes gleaming with a strange, heavy light. "You'll have a mentor."
Suho and Hajun exchanged a terrified, confused look. Mentors were usually knights, elite warriors, arcane mages.
But something about Hawoon's tone felt wrong.
"Who?" Suho asked, voice tight.
Hawoon's lips curved into a faint, humorless smile.
"Lee Eunji."
The room froze. Even the air felt still. They didn't know who that was. Hawoon noticed their confusion.
"Hajun," he said, "you should know her. She's the principal of EMS."
Hajun blinked, then his eyes widened. "Oh—her?"
"Yes."
"But she's the principal. How would she—?"
"She's not only the principal," Hawoon said.
"She is a member of the Elite Officers' First Division. Arcanus Messor."
"…"
The name alone felt heavy. The First Division was nearly mythical. Arcanus Messor—someone whose gender was never confirmed, whose existence was half rumor, half terror.
The only known fact about her was that her magic twisted reality. Hallucinations that became real. Dreams, nightmares, illusions, turned into living, killing truth.
A magic so lethal it could destroy kingdoms… and no one knew how it truly worked. But Suho and Hajun weren't afraid. They were excited.
Being trained by someone like that? A First Division officer? That was insane and incredible.
Hawoon continued. "Let me explain her power properly," he said.
Both boys leaned forward instinctively.
"Arcanus Messor creates spaces," Hawoon said slowly." Separate from reality, yet following the same rules of the world."
Suho blinked. "Spaces?"
"Yes. A different realm within a certain range, close to the size of the real forest, but slightly smaller. Everything inside that space behaves like the real world. Mana beasts, terrain, danger, they keep their original abilities and strength."
Hawoon lifted a finger.
"But she can modify them."
Hajun shivered. "Modify… how?"
"She can change things," Hawoon explained. "Make mana beasts more poisonous. Larger. Faster. Hungrier. She can alter the environment, make illusions that feel real, turn nightmares into physical creatures."
Suho's heart dropped to his shoes.
"And if someone dies in that space…?" he asked quietly.
"That depends on her." Hawoon's eyes sharpened. "If she chooses to let them die—they die. If she chooses to reverse the outcome, she can restore the wound, undo the moment, rewrite the result."
"…Rewrite reality?" Hajun whispered.
"To an extent," Hawoon said. "Only those with powerful mental strength can resist her magic."
Suho swallowed hard. "That's… insane."
"Her power also manifests through her sword," Hawoon continued, "but in that form, her ability is limited. She can only use a portion of her strength that way."
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"For your training, she will create a similar space, hidden inside Night Thorn Forest. No one will know about your training except a very small number of people."
Suho and Hajun stiffened.
"The training will gradually become harsher and more dangerous," Hawoon said. "As I told you, the first phase is physical training, without magic."
He paused.
"Arcanus Messor will use mana beasts for your training. But the beasts will match your current strength. So you don't need to worry about… accidents."
Suho wasn't convinced. At all.
"You will also study the normal academic curriculum," Hawoon added. "Knowledge is a powerful weapon. It shapes your mana. It helps you forge your magic to its supreme form."
He finally allowed the slightest smile.
"Your diet, rest, mental health, and recovery phases will be monitored closely. You two won't need to worry about anything except training itself."
Hawoon tapped the armlet in Suho's hand.
"The training will not be a problem," he said. "Unless you convince yourselves that it is."
His voice deepened, a warning more than comfort.
"If you get scared… that fear will drag you down. And in the world you're stepping into—falling means dying."
Suho and Hajun both fell quiet, breath unsteady.
The room felt heavier now. The air thicker. The shadows longer.
Hawoon studied them carefully.
"Now," he said.
"Do you still want to continue?"
"..." Both stayed silent for a moment thinking about it but no was never the option.
"Yes!"