the truth is out there | ks + ar
tw/cw: mention of blood, death, and trauma
memory-erasing wasn’t illegal, but it simply wasn’t healthy either. kwangshik would give anything in the world to forget that horrific night. he wanted to forget how his body had been slammed painfully against the ground with enough force to wind him, the werewolf’s hot breath snarling against his cheek moments before his rescue. if he could no longer see the bloodied, torn body of his mother’s familiar, recall the weight that crushed him until he couldn’t breathe anymore, he’d give absolutely everything. lugging the dead familiar back home and finding his mother perished on the floor with his grandparents bewildered and grief-stricken expressions burned into his mind for the nightmares to follow. it had been over half a year since kwangshik had made the executive decision to develop a potion that would take the pain away. he didn’t know what he would replace that memory with, but he’d figure it out when he got there.
this complicated process needed help. not only was it so potent that kwangshik decided to move out into the wilderness to mix the potion so he wasn’t constantly inhaling the toxic fumes, the herbs needed weren’t exactly known. there was no set or agreed upon list, from what the jaeseung grimoires told him. the witch knew just who to go to for such complexity. as talented as he was on his own, it needed someone with more expertise along the field. given the nature of it, it was a long shot. he was nearly a hundred percent sure he’d get chewed out on the idea, but he had to try. it brought him to scrape along the grassless ground with a crystal, in the shape of a rune perfect for evocation. after digging around his backpack to fish out his grandmother’s grimoire, her most personal possession as a witch, he placed it gently onto the center of the sloppily-drawn rune. with the crystal placed firmly against his lips, words in latin began to flow as if second-nature. what started out as a light breeze picked up to strong gusts of wind, howling and drowning out the sound of his own voice.
summoning a spirit from the dead was no easy feat. it took the caster a decent amount of energy, especially with how long it took to summon said spirit. one must maintain a steady connection and flow of energy even after years of practice. being naturally gifted, it only must’ve been a mere couple of minutes before his grandmother’s spirit appeared in front of him with her grimoire resting on her lap.
“hi, grandma.” kwangshik greets the older spirit with a fond smile, scooting a tad bit closer. the spirit returned the greeting, but was automatically suspicious of his intent.
“choi kwangshik, what are you planning?” she sighs, reaching forward to affectionally tap the head of her grandson. “tell me you’re not getting into any trouble.” at this, he can only offer a nervous grin.
“i just… had a question about a memory potion.”
“kwangshik.” she replied sternly.
an animated argument begun that would startle any passerby. unlike himself, the witch gave little regard for his surroundings. debating with a spirit of all people, about magic of all things. despite being deep into the forest, it didn’t change the fact that it was a public area. anyone had the ability to stumble upon them and witness a spirit scolding her grandson while he stood next to pots of bubbling potent concoctions.
“i love you, kwangshik. i hate seeing you do this to yourself. let it go and let it rest.” with that, the witch simply ran out of energy to keep the apparition tethered to the earth plane, watching it disintegrate into the air, he collapsed onto his bottom with bated breath. he blinks away the tears prickling along the rim of his eyes, an exasperated sigh breaking the silence once the spirit returned to her resting place. dicussing his deceased mother and her familiar never failed to drain the life out of him. the discussion got absolutely no where. although he half-expected his grandma would attempt to put the brakes on his experiments, it still left him unsatisfied and still without answers.
a rustle in the bushes caused the witch’s eyes to snap forward, narrowing to get a better glimpse of what made the sound. kwangshik stood slowly, dusting off his jeans before moving forward.
“is someone there?” he called out cautiously, suddenly nervous. if a human had been watching the whole time, it would spell trouble. without a way to erase anyone’s memories, he was screwed.
@areumfey
