blind star // txt taegyu

star's tale

Beomgyu looked around the purple-tinted world in confusion, doing an endless amount of turns in order to see his entire surroundings. The broken piece of land he stood upon seemed stable enough, so he began walking around - just in case anything could change.

"Stay where you are."

Beomgyu turned around, widening his eyes as he attempted to rush forward. "T-Taehyun...!"

"Stand still!" Taehyun exclaimed, his voice echoing slightly within the large yet somehow enclosed space. "You could fall, and it'll be a struggle to retrieve your body." Taehyun walked towards him, somehow walking across the empty spaces between the two pieces of rock they stood upon.

"What happened?" Beomgyu asked, having to resist every urge to run up to Taehyun and hug him. "You just... vanished. What's going on?"

Taehyun stopped just before him, and Beomgyu noticed how his eyes stayed a constant gold colour. Taehyun avoided his eyes before sighing. "I'm sorry for... implying that I wanted to kill you for your power. I wouldn't want to do that to you. The core got a little greedy, but I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."

"No, it's fine - as long as I get to see you."

Taehyun smiled, leaning forward into his arms. Beomgyu hugged him tightly, relief filling him from head to toe. Taehyun was safe. Taehyun was okay. It was enough to bring him to tears. Hearing Beomgyu sniffle caused Taehyun to pull away. "Are... are you crying? Wow, you loser."

"Stop, I thought you wouldn't come back!" Beomgyu exclaimed, quickly wiping his eyes. Taehyun laughed, gently nudging Beomgyu with his head to help him relax. "What was really going on? Could you explain it? And where are we?"

"This?" Taehyun hummed, looking around the lonely world he had created. "This... is my mind. The world I created for myself. It's supposed to be my safe space, but... I let you in to talk."

Beomgyu released him, his expression becoming more serious. "Talk about what?"

Taehyun's expression was heavy as he still avoided Beomgyu's eyes. "Look, we... uhm... I'm a dangerous person right now. My pursuit for power might interfere with our relationship. I don't want to hurt you - b-because I love you, and hurting you hurts me, and-"

"Hey, calm down." Beomgyu put his hands to Taehyun's cheeks, gently stroking with his thumb. "It's okay, we'll get through this together. I'm here, okay? We can talk this through."

Twehyun sighed heavily before nodding. "Okay. Uhm... I... I want to become the Herrscher of the End. To become it, I need to take the power of every Herrscher and fuse it with my own core. We could finally achieve a world of peace - a world that will never hurt you."

"Wait, what does that mean?"

"I can't create a perfect world - but I can destroy the parts that will ever hurt you."

"Taehyun, that-"

"You couldn't stop me, even if you tried," Taehyun said with a small chuckle. "You'll stay here while I forge the perfect world for us - where nothing could ever hurt you."

Beomgyu didn't know what to say for a moment. He stuttered over his words before grabbing Taehyun's wrist. "What does that mean?! Tae, are you going to kill p-?!"

"If murder is how I create a perfect world, then so be it," Taehyun told him. "This core is who I am now. Things are bigger than you think. Murder needs to happen if you want to survive. It will always bring death."

Beomgyu felt defeated - there was nothing he could do. As a last resort, he activated his Herrscher power, holding his hand in Taehyun's direction. He slowly began to drain his power, but it was futile. Taehyun stepped towards him, putting a hand on Beomgyu's cheek.

"You'll be safe here - so don't resist."

•

"We've lost tracking of the Pseudo Herrscher of Binding, Director."

"Useless, the whole lot of you! Get out my office. Defend the perimeter, and keep your eyes on the Eden Chambers containing the Pseudo Herrscher and Sixth Herrscher."

The men dressed in full gear prepared for battle left the room and Minseon clenched her fist before slamming it against the desk in frustration. She muttered a curse word to herself, choosing to stay in her office for a moment to gather her mental stability before she could have a breakdown.

"At least Soobin is in stasis," she muttered, picking herself up from her seat on her desk and walking out the office. The corridors were quiet - everyone had left to pay attention to the situation in the Chambers. She made her way downstairs, her expression remaining stern. "Dr Lee Hyori, explain the situation to me."

"Choi Soobin has been brought down to 40% power with the Vacity Cube, while Choi Yeonjun has failed to be resuscitated. We... have made a last resort and called the Herrscher of Mortality."

Minseon went stiff before nodding. "V-very well. If he doesn't agree to help us, the world as we know it could shatter completely."

"Yes, Director. If you'll excuse me."

Minseon bowed at the woman, turning to face Soobin's unconscious figure inside the Chamber. With a nervous bite of her lip, she made her way to the ICU. Beomgyu and Taehyun were the least of her worries - she knew that they were together somewhere. "Rundown."

"Yes, Director," another scientist said hurriedly, raising his clipboard. "The, uh, damage to his body was beyond fatal, and it would be difficult to revive him with our current equipment without at least 20 hours of surgery to stitch back together his body parts, including his heart, lungs and kidneys. It's best to wait for the Herrscher of Mortality's response. If not, we may have to take a fragment from another living Herrscher and... revive him on our own, the same way we did with Choi Beomgyu."

"Do what you must," Minseon confirmed. "We witnessed what Soobin can do. His power is fatal. Make sure he doesn't come near anyone once he has been revived. I'll keep in contact with the Herrscher of Mortality."

"Yes, Director."

Minseon thinned her eyes. Could they use a fragment of Taehyun's core? He probably wouldn't agree, due to the fragment being a part of his power he wouldn't give up. There was a slim possibility that he'd be willing to sacrifice fragment of his power to simply revive a Herrscher he had defeated.

Minseon sighed, lowering her head. "This is all so difficult..."