Yang Yang was running towards them once they got outside. He came to a halt as he raked his eyes to Jeno and Haechan. Joonyoung turned to Youngjae after looking around.
"Where's Chanhee?" He asked.
Youngjae hesitated for a moment making Joonyoung quirk his brow.
"He's.... fine." Youngjae replied.
Joonyoung sighed. At least he still feels that Chanhee's alive, he thought, palming his chest. Taeyong sat down beside him on the stone ground. Joonyoung glanced down at him, tilting his head when he spotted tears running down his face.
Youngjae sniffed, averting eye contact and that made Joonyoung frown. He knelt down on one knee beside Taeyong, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"Taeyong, what is it?" He asked in a soothing tone.
Taeyong continued to cry quietly, hands trembling, he covered up his face and let out a scream. Jeno was also crying making Haechan confused. Haechan had half of a mind to comfort Jeno but remembered he was tied up. The thought just flew away.
"Doyoung hyung...." Jeno started, "I can't feel hyung anymore."
Haechan's eyes widened at the news while Yang Yang shut his eyes and sighed. Joonyoung gasped. Then with no hesitation, he pulled in Taeyong for a hug.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you till the end, Doyoung." Taeyong cried.
Because Joonyoung knew what it felt like.
What a broken bond felt like.
Renjun and Yuta ran at full speed with Hyungseo jumping from building to building. Yet they couldn't catch up with Sunwoo, a mere human.
Sunwoo, a mere human with desperate worriedness filling up to the brim making him feel nothing but anxiousness.
Renjun and Yuta had felt Doyoung's bond breaking off. Doyoung had gone to Kun and Chanhee. If Doyoung's bond was breaking off, then what was happening?
The main question circling around in Sunwoo's mind was whether Chanhee was ok.
He needed to be ok.
Sunwoo got to the place, panting and sweating profusely. His legs were wobbly with how much he had ran and fought. His heart was beating thunderously with nervousness and adrenaline mixed up all together. His throat was dry with doubts of what if.
He sighed. A tear drop escaped out. Then he sighed.
"Sunwoo...." Chanhee called, voice trembling.
Sunwoo ran to him, sitting down beside Chanhee and immediately pulling him into a hug. Chanhee couldn't hold it in any longer and he cried. He cried out as much as he's been holding back. As much as he had been feeling scared and restless.
Sunwoo hugged him tightly, whispering sweet nothings into his ear. He rocked Chanhee in his embrace, trying to calm him down. He glanced down at Chanhee's bloody hands, then at Doyoung's body.
He flinched in disgust as he saw the open crater wound in Doyoung's body. Then, he glanced at the messed up body of Kun.
He didn't know what happened here or how it happened. But whatever it was, Chanhee had to go through it all alone.
Sunwoo wasn't there for him. He should've been there for him.
"I'm sorry." Sunwoo breathed out.
Chanhee didn't say anything. Instead, he buried his face into Sunwoo's chest and hugged him back tighter. His bloodied hand dirtying Sunwoo's clothes but Sunwoo didn't mind at all.
"Hyung.... hyung...." Renjun shook Doyoung's dead body helplessly. A sad pout on his lips and teary eyes red and bulgy. He sniffed hard, turning up to Yuta who seemed lifeless.
"Yuta hyung.... please help Doyoung hyung... you can save him, can't you? Please?" Renjun begged.
Even though he knew it wasn't possible.....
Yuta looked at Doyoung's soulless body, taking a deep breath. How did it escalate to this stage? He glanced at Chanhee who was crying profusely in Sunwoo's arms.
At least someone was still alive.
"Yuta, I'm so sorry. I should've died instead." Chanhee sputtered out, still sobbing.
Yuta shook his head.
"Doyoung wouldn't have just died in vain. It's not your fault." He said.
Chanhee still felt guilty. After all, after Doyoung had been weakened down and stabbed, he had been forced to take away Doyoung' fox marble.
Doyoung had told Chanhee to use his marble since he was going to die. It had been a pain for Chanhee to rip out the marble from Doyoung's body. But he had not let it gone to waste since he defeated Kun.
Hyungseo jumped down to the ground, looking back and forth. He let out a sigh. Renjun and Yuta stayed in silence beside Doyoung.
The five of them mourned in silence for a while. Sunwoo opened his eyes again and looked at Doyoung. The 'what if' feeling creeping up his heart again.
He tightened his grip around Chanhee even more.
Haechan stood still, glancing at Jeno who was trying his best not to sob. He took a deep breath but decided.
He pried the ropes off his wrists and pulled out his sword. He grabbed onto Joonyoung and placed his sword at his throat, taking cover behind him. Joonyoung's breath hitched as he felt the coldness of the blade.
Strange enough, he wasn't nervous.
"Haechan." Taeyong said in a stern tone.
Youngjae stood by cautiously, eyeing the sword pressed on his brother's throat. Jeno stayed calm.
"Haechan, are you sure you want to do this?" Jeno asked.
Haechan's eyes flickered to him, emotions wavering for a moment but immediately replacing it back with a cold look.
"It's not my choice." He replied.
"Are you still going to follow in Kun's steps even when you know he's in the wrong? Is that truly where your loyalty lies?"
"You don't know anything about Kun hyung! About us ! How we had worked so hard to get here! I don't care shit about anyone." Haechan growled.
"But you're on your own now." Youngjae intervened.
Haechan turned to him in confusion but rage was still evident.
"What?" He asked.
"He has been defeated. Why do you think Doyoung died? He died while fighting Kun and Chanhee hyung finished him with a final blow. You're on your own now. So tell me, what are you going to choose?" Youngjae said.
Joonyoung let out a smile at how mature Youngjae was handling the situation. He had grown up a long way.
Haechan seemed taken aback at the news. Kun had fallen? Then what about Jungwoo? Him?
While Haechan was lost in thought, his grip loosened up a bit. Joonyoung took this opportunity to break lose and twisted Haechan's arms around. But Haechan reacted fast and pushed Joonyoung away before he could take away his weapon.
Just when Joonyoung spun around to face Haechan, he thrusted his sword at Joonyoung. But the blade didn't reach Joonyoung.
Haechan gasped, his grip trembling on the hilt of the sword. His mouth opening and closing, silent words unheard. He let out a yell.
"YAHHHHHH LEE JENO!" He cried out, breathing heavily.
Jeno gripped onto the blade with his bare hands, coloring them red. The sharp iron was puncturing deep into his chest, blood dripping out.. He looked up at Haechan, gulping hard. He exhaled in deeply.
"Will you stop when everyone is left hurt and miserable? Will you stop then?" Jeno spoke, pulling the blade into him slowly.
Haechan panicked and tried to pull it back but Jeno dug the blade into his palms harder. Haehcan's eyes flickered to and from the sword. He turned to Taeyong who was looking by.
"Taeyong, why aren't you stopping him!" He yelled.
Taeyong didn't look at him but at Jeno. Jeno looked back at Taeyong as if asking for permission. Taeyong stayed still until he gave a small nod. Jeno smiled back.
"Haechan, I hope you don't regret." He said.
Then, he pushed in the blade into his chest, burying it deep into his heart. Haechan screamed out as if he was the one getting stabbed. Yang Yang quickly caught Haechan before he fell over. The boy was trembling all over, tears staining his cheek.
Taeyong shut his eyes, another tear escaping through his lashes. He was crying a lot today. Then, he heard hurried footsteps and turned around to see Yuta and Renjun running to him.
Hyungseo was close behind. He jogged to Youngjae and Joonyoung, assessing the situation. He scrunched up his face in frustration.
"When did it all go wrong..." He spoke to himself.
Renjun skidded beside Jeno, bruising his knees but he didn't care. He carried Jeno in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. His hands were busy, dabbing at the bloody spots and drying Jeno's tears. He sobbed harder when Jeno grabbed his hands.
"Doyoung hyung will be with me." He smiled.
Slowly, his body dispersed leaving Renjun with nothing but dust in his hands. Renjun grabbed at the dust to no avail. Yuta fell down to his knees, defeated.
Haechan couldn't feel his tears streaming down. He felt numb. Yang Yang stood up to cover him when Renjun stomped over to Haechan, rage evident in his eyes.
"Is this what you want! For everything to be ruined for everyone! Is this what you and your Kun hyung wants! For what!? Just.... for what..."
Renjun broke down bit by bit. Joonyoung and Youngjae couldn't hold back their tears either. Cause they knew how much a broken bond hurt.
It hurt like someone ripped out part of your heart and was pulling at the heart strings one by one until none was left.
Renjun glared at Haechan with a cold look. He stepped forward but Yang Yang was still blocking his view. Just when he just needed three more steps, an arrow shot down right in front of his feet on the ground.
Renjun looked up and scoffed. Jaemin jumped down from the roof and ran forwards, stopping in front of him. Renjun glared at him fiercely.
"Junnie..."
"Don't 'Junnie' me now! What? Are you going to protect that bitch?" Renjun hissed. He was angry and mad.
"Renjun..." Jaemin couldn't continue his words. He didn't know how.
"Get out of the way." Renjun gritted his words.
Jaemin stared at him for a while then, backed off. He let go of his bow, making them clatter down the ground. Yang Yang was still covering Haechan. Renjun glared at him.
"Yang Yang, it's fine." Haechan said from behind, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Haechan. I don't care if you die but I won't allow you to die right now." Yang Yang said, not looking back.
"Yang Yang."
Finally, Yang Yang turned back, his eyes softening at Haechan's state. He nodded and moved back, giving way to Renjun.
"Lee Haechan." Renjun said, disgust dripping on every syllable of his name.
"I didn't mean to." Haechan whispered, "I'm sorry."
He was cut off by a hard punch from Renjun. Yang Yang tried to step forward but Jaemin held him back. Haechan didn't retaliate. He deserved it anyway.
"I hope you never forget till the last of your breath." Renjun muttered.
He turned around and came face to face with Jaemin. He looked hesitant and concerned but Renjun didn't care. What was the use now?
With a sharp glare, Renjun pushed into Jaemin's shoulder and walked back to Yuta and Taeyong. He immediately hugged Taeyong and sobbed uncontrollably. Taeyong patted him, trying to calm him down while Yuta seemed like his tears were all out. A tired expression filled his face along with an exhausted sigh.
The others went ahead first while Sunwoo and Chanhee followed slowly. Chanhee was leaning on Sunwoo as they walked.
He was extremely weakened after the fight with Kun. What was worse is that he had consumed Doyoung's marble. It took a while for the marble to fuse with his original one and settle into the new body. Overall, he was feeling miserable and it hurt a lot.
On the way, they came face to face with Jungwoo. Sunwoo scowled at him. Jungwoo looked at the two up and down with a blank expression.
"What are you up to again?" Chanhee snapped. Even speaking took a lot of effort. Sunwoo could feel Chanhee tremble, making his grip tighter.
"Doing my part." Jungwoo replied.
Then he ran at the two, pulling out his sword. Sunwoo panicked and pushed Chanhee away to the side. He managed to block Jungwoo's sword with his unsheathed sword. Clenching his mouth tight, he mustered up strength to resist Jungwoo's push.
Chanhee fell down with a thud. He supported himself against the wall weakly. His whole body felt like it was on fire, numb and burning up. Barely retaining conscious, he glanced over at Sunwoo.
"Sun.... you should get away..." Words only he heard.
Sunwoo pushed back Jungwoo and pulled out his sword, pointing it at him. Sword fights were not his forte. But it didn't matter now.
With a yell, the two clashed swords, weaving and twirling around. Jungwoo obviously had the upper hand with his experience and strength. But Sunwoo had something even deathlier.
Desperation.
That drove him to fight harder, not caring if he got hurt or not. It dared him to take risks.
Because he couldn't fall down. Especially not now.
He took a glance at Chanhee, then turned back to Jungwoo with determined eyes. He had to win.
Jungwoo was relentless, swinging down his sword again and again. As if he was trying to relieve a burden of his. As if something kept bothering him and he wanted to take it out on this fight.
Sunwoo dodged every thrust and retaliated. He somersaulted over Jungwoo and managed to cut down Jungwoo's shoulder just as he was turning back. Jungwoo responded with a back kick and swung his sword at Sunwoo.
The fight seemed like it would never end. But everything had an ending. And that's why we continue on fighting even if we're tired because it will be over eventually.
An ending would come.
Whether it is or not the one we wish for.
"SUNWOO!"
Chanhee could only cry out as Jungwoo thrusted his sword deep into his lover's body. His breath hitched when he saw that Sunwoo also had his sword stabbed into Jungwoo. Sunwoo had a fiery glare, clenching his teeth with blood trickling down the corner of his lips.
Just as Jungwoo was about to start chuckling, his body jutted forward. He coughed out blood. His eyes travelled down to his chest where another sword tip was pointing out.
Sunwoo smirked at him with bloody lips. Jungwoo stumbled backwards and fell down on his knees. Someone walked up from behind him. Jungwoo saw a pair of boots and looked up. He let out a dry chuckle.
Younghoon stared down at him, hands trembling and teary eyes. Sunwoo walked beside Younghoon, putting a hand on his shoulder to support himself. The two looked down at Jungwoo.
Jungwoo started laughing. He continued laughing hysterically as he looked at his hands starting to disperse. Finally, he looked up at the sky and smiled.
"I'm finally coming, Sungchan-ah."
Sunwoo and Younghoon watched as Jungwoo's body slowly disappeared. The dust flew away with the wind, leaving no trace.
Sunwoo coughed making Younghoon realize he was hurt. He glanced back to see Chanhee was struggling to stand up and walk to them.
"Sunwoo? Lay down for a while, ok?" Younghoon said. Sunwoo nodded.
Chanhee sat down beside him, reaching for his hands and clasping it tightly. Chanhee was crying silently as he watched Sunwoo suffer. Sunwoo groaned painfully, squeezing Chanhee's hands.
The sword didn't take effect immediately since it wasn't thrusted straight at the heart. But it still emitted a green glow making it dangerous.
Younghoon took off Sunwoo's clothes and examined the wound. Younghoon pressed around the wound, trying to figure out the fatality. Then pausing, he looked up at Chanhee with sad eyes and shook his head.
Chanhee didn't question Younghoon. He looked back at Sunwoo who had his eyes squeezed shut due to pain. He let out a silent sigh.
What was he to do now?
*Pit-a-pat*
All of them looked up. The sky was gloomy and clouds floated over covering up the clear void. The stars no longer shone, hidden away by the dark clouds.
The lunar eclipse set to occur this night was seen nowhere. Instead, a bright full moon shone down upon them accompanied by huge droplets of rain.
The door opened to reveal the Lee brothers who stepped out after they finished up their business with their Father.
Sangyeon ran besides Joonyoung, holding his hands right away. Joonyoung turned to Sangyeon, letting out a smile. He held back tighter.
Juyeon jogged to Hyungseo. The two stared at each other in silence for a long while. Until Hyungseo broke it.
"I'm glad you're ok." He said.
"I'm glad, too. That you're ok and that you're worried about me." Juyeon replied.
The two chuckled at the awkwardness, not minding the heavy cold rain pouring down on them.
Youngjae turned around, avoiding the scene. He set his gaze down the ground when he saw a pair of boots come into view. Looking up, he saw Hyunjae staring up at the sky. Youngjae followed.
*Pit-a-Pat*