FIREFALL, OR IN EXO WONDERLAND ▷ COMPLETE

The Pool of Tears Revisited

CHAPTER 28: THE POOL OF TEARS REVISITED

Being vis-á-vis with the famous visage haunting the posters gave Eun-soo a lance of peculiar sensations across her heart; a mix of fear and déjà vu added with a tinge of honour. She found herself staring at the same blazing dark eyes, stern but adorable face and thin rosy lips—minus the protective paternal look. The ruler standing before Kris was no protector, but a maniacal fanatic whose movements were driven by strong emotions and often too stiff. "Seven! Three! Drag the weak Xiumin-thing into my castle." the King ordered, his arms rigid, his mouth a dangerous curve. "The rest, erase the Resistance from existence!"

Most of the soldiers were frightened by the King's booming voice to a degree that they went berserk and ended up tumbling against each other. Cards were piled on each other without starting anything. But, two sober card soldiers obediently dragged the prostrated, not-so-conscious Xiumin away from the maddening crowd and drank from a clear bottle containing a purple liquid.

The drink took effect not only on the drinkers, but also on Xiumin who they were holding as well. The three of them shrunk to the same size as the small door. The shape-shifting process finished, the two soldiers continued to drag Xiumin past the door, leaving a cold watery trail that decreases in size as it got further. This sudden capture caused great horror to take hold of the remaining Resistance.

"Lu-ge," Kris whispered in Mandarin Chinese—in a worried tone—while flicking his gaze backwards. Now, no one spare some of the Resistance could understand him. A good way to communicate! "Things are getting dangerous. Please take Ace away from us. Take him away." he pleaded.

"Meí wèn tí! Okie-dokie!" was the reply. Luhan snapped his fingers, sending Ace gliding and swaying along the hallway over the card-soldier's empty heads. The alpaca, not used to fly unlike his experienced father, was squealing "MEEPMEEPMEEPMEEP~" the loudest he could during his second telekinesis-induced flight. A short time later, Ace landed in Kai's arms and so they both teleported out of the hallway.

"Wait, Kai! Don't leave me! I'm not a combatant; I'm an ex-Science student!" Lay wailed to the volatile grey cloud Kai had left behind. That lucky lad! With teleportation, everything is possible.

"Good gracious! Why won't he take Eun-soo along?" Tao smacked his palm to his face and dragged it down his chin. "We have another non-combatant, for Heaven's sake!"

"Who?" asked a too-focused-on-a-lost-opportunity-he-had-forsaken-the-present Lay.

"It's Eun-soo... I'm unsure about this, but I think I could protect her." Tao took his pledge and linked his arm around Eun-soo's shoulders. "And this, I vow."

Eun-soo craned her neck to look at Tao and the tension in his rough, toughened face. She knew that he was actually very young but he'd gone through too much to make him look more mature than he actually was (but Tao is almost an antithesis to the word 'mature', you see?). She wished that she could deliver her companions from all this pain, considering that she was the prophesised Key of Fire. But then, contrariwise, she was the one protected by her companions while she had contributed nothing to them. Not even an atom of contribution! She was neither a Pawn nor a Queen; she was becoming something lower in rank—a damsel in distress.

And she won't let that happen.

"Chunbidwaesso?" Are you ready? The King of Hearts circled around Kris with his lips warping into a diabolical smirk. "This battle will be waged between you and me: two worthy opponents. The inferior ones will only need some cards to perish while you have a life to cherish."

"Player One began his move!" Kris swayed his sword and aimed on the King's exposed neck. For the sake of irony, 'off with His Majesty's head' sounded nice. Nevertheless, the King was quick. A strong shield of fire blazed by his side, protecting him and stopping Kris's sword from getting into motion. Eun-soo couldn't help but to ask herself, how can a shield made of non-matter stop something consisting of moving mass? Dear Eun-soo, welcome to a world where the laws of Physics are turned askew.