(A/N: Before we begin this chapter! Let me just say for those of you who may be expecting Lee Hyunjin to turn into one of those icy-cold protagonist with a dark history and trust issues... that's not going to happen. I have no intentions of turning him into that kind of MC... he's my cute son after all😤)
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Why was it that in his supposed last moments, he did not think of his life experiences, his memories didn't flash before his eyes nor did his mind blank out. He did not think of his regrets or even the joy of finally joining his family on the other side.
No, what Lee Hyunjin thought of was the suffocating feeling inside him. That strange feeling... he'd been having for a while now that had just been getting stronger and stronger to the point of being unbearable.
He felt like he finally understood it.
It wasn't unfamiliar, it was just one he didn't feel very often despite all the crap he'd been through, and even if he did feel it, it was always directed at himself.
Simply put, he was angry. Lee Hyunjin was really angry.
He was furious and for the first time in a long time he wasn't angry at himself.
He didn't like this, he didn't like constantly being separated from the people he loved, being bitten by dogs or having to make the kids feel sad.
He didn't like any of this at all!
Lee Hyunjin was the type of person that almost never got angry, from the moment his parents told him his brother wasn't coming back, he'd never truly gotten angry at another person ever again that part of him seemed to have shut down and what replaced it was self blame.
It was no wonder he couldn't understand the feeling inside him. But the moment he understood it the suffocating feeling in his chest changed and he felt as if something inside him was being wrenched open.
It was painful, terribly painful, more so than the jaws of the demon dogs that were attacking him. To the point that he failed to notice some of the dogs falling to the ground whilst frothing at the mouth.
But the moment it's all came to a halt there was an explosion of raw energy right there and then as if his body could no longer contain it.
A dense dark energy wrapped around Lee Hyunjin like a thick shadow, forcefully pushing back his attackers.
The sun was still up but the light couldn't pierce this shadow at all as if it was a physical entity. Slowly the shadow shifted and writhed around his body, hiding him whilst it began to take shape.
When the demon dogs looked at the writhing shadow, they could see that deep within it, somewhere at its centre was a bright burning golden, the other too dark to be seen.
Though it was golden like the sun the energy it emitted was cold and vicious. The demon dogs instinctively backed away, trembling in fear, save for those that had suddenly fallen to the ground as if poisoned.
The shadow that wrapped around Lee Hyunjin grew massively in size. It took on the form of a four-legged beast as black as night with a single golden eye on its right and a black one on its left.
If anyone looked closely they'd realise that the shadow that wrapped around Lee Hyunjin looked exactly like Eun but the aura coming from the shadow was eerie, it didn't match Eun at all and that weird combination terrified the demon dogs even more because the demon dogs recognised the aura... it was the aura that belonged to the king of Ifvnar —the python Rui.
(A/N: I guess about now would be the right time to play the song 🤔🤔 yeah.)
The shadow beast stood on its legs and roared powerfully. It shook the trees and scared away the lesser beasts.
The demons dogs growled at the beast, resting to attack.
At the depth of that roar, inside the origin of the Eun-like shadow was a small voice simply saying 'leave us alone'.
The shadow beast raised its claw and swiped at the demon dogs, slashing through one of them. The demon dogs howled in anger and the beast roared back.
Realising they were no match, the demon dogs grew scared and began to withdrew. The shadow beast roared again but didn't give chase.
When the demon dogs that were still alive fled, after a long while, the shadow dissipated and what remained was Lee Hyunjin cutting a sorry figure, on his knees with blood dripping from all his orfices and the various wounds that were caused by either his fall or the demon dogs.
His breaths were ragged and heavy, each one painful as he staggered to his feet.
Lee Hyunjin began walking in the direction the kids had gone in, supporting his broken arm with the other, he leaned heavily on one side of his body to avoid agitating his broken ribs.
"Hold on... I'm on my way," he muttered, he didn't know if he was saying it to the kids or to himself.
"I'll be there soon, just wait a little okay."
Lee Hyunjin kept walking, he walked for a long time with his tormented body. At some point his vision grew hazy, and finally he fell to the ground.
He could just about see a few metres ahead, there was a field but because blood had poured into his eyes from the wounds on his head all he could see was a field of red.
He reached out, trying to drag himself forward but he had no strength in his arms or body for that matter.
Lee Hyunjins eyes closed, he felt something soft press his cheek a couple times as if trying to wake him.
He heard an aggrieved whine and it sounded a lot like Minhee.
Lee Hyunjin smiled weakly, feeling completely relieved, "see... I didn't lie.... I found you," he said before giving into the lure of endless sleep.
~•~
Minhee pressed her small paws against Lee Hyunjins cheek. She tried her best to wake him up but after he mumbled a few words incoherently he fell silent.
Minhee did her absolute best to wake him up without hurting him but Lee Hyunjin showed no signs of waking.
Just a bit further, he only had to go just a few steps further and he'd reach the field on Eneri right in front of him, but he passed out.
Minhee bit down on the sleeve of his outstretched hand and tried to pull him forward. She pulled with all her strength but he was too heavy.
Minjae and Minho also came to help her. They tried their hardest to pull their oldest brother near the Eneri because he said he'd be fine if they found a lot of it. They didn't know that one had to be awake to absorb the Eneri themselves.
When they managed to pull him closer they all anxiously waited but nothing happened. Lee Hyunjin didn't wake up and his injuries didn't heal.
Minhee felt frustrated, she paced around in circles near his chest trying to think of ways to help but even if she was intelligent she was less than twelve months old... how could she know what to do?
Minhee cried, she tucked herself near his chest and cried. Minjae and Minho also cried. They didn't know what to do, they didn't know how to help their brother.
Minhee got up, she bit down on one of the stalks of Eneri and then tugged as hard as she could.
Lee Hyunjin had always plucked the leaves off and fed it to them, she didn't know the stalks were this hard but nonetheless she pulled and pulled.
Minhee failed to pull the plant out of the ground and instead ended up with a few of its leaves in her mouth, seeing that's all she could do, she walked back to Lee Hyunjin and then she put the leaves on his cheek, she didn't have hands so she couldn't feed them to him.
Minhee repeated the process, putting the Eneri leaves all over him hoping they'd somehow work, Minjae and Minho did so too but nothing happened, his injuries still weren't healing.
Minhee didn't want to give up she tried everything she could think of but nothing worked... once again she sat by his chest feeling helpless.
Night fell, neither her nor her brothers dared to move away from Lee Hyunjin. Minhee kept herself closest to his chest because there she could still hear his heartbeat, it was slow and faint but it was still there.
It meant he was still alive, Lee Hyunjin was still alive at this moment so she had to keep thinking till she found a way to save him.
Minhee was desperate to the point that she didn't notice what was going on around her.
Night had fallen and twas too dark to see a thing but slowly tiny specks of light began rising from the field of Eneri.
They were pure white and they shone like stars as they rose, lighting up the forest around them.
In the dead of night, these small balls of light drifted towards Minhee, one of them bounced off her nose, it was soft and ticklish like the brush of feathers.
Minhee was startled, she looked up to see the lights floating around all four of them. That's when she realised that Minjae and Minho seemed to have fallen asleep, when she called to them they didn't wake at all, just like Lee Hyunjin.
Minhee curiously watched the lights softly dance around and then she saws something descend from the clutter of leaves above as if the little lights had summoned them.
They were vines!
Minhee stood up, growling at the vines that were approaching. She was ready to bite down on them when she heard a gentle voice speak to her.
"You must be very worried, so small yet still so vigilant," the lights gathered to form a hand, pure white and glowing. The hand reached out and patted Minhee's head.
Minhee found that she instantly relaxed when the hand touched her head, feeling comfortable despite not knowing the origin of the hand.
"Calm down, I do not wish to hurt any of you...."
The lights gathered around the hand, coming together to form the rest of the body.
"I only want to help," the person made of nothing but pristine white light explained.
Minhee felt drowsy, the more this person spoke. She slowly drifted to sleep, failing to resist.
The tree vines came down after that, they gently picked up Minjae and Minho, then they also picked up Lee Hyunjin, not forgetting to take Minhee too, putting her down on Lee Hyunjins chest.
At the behest of the person who looked like the incarnation of pure white moonlight, the vines incased all four of them tightly in a perfect sphere.
"Rest in there for now, I will watch over you."
The lights swarmed around the sphere, glowing brighter and brighter each second.
The person made of light watched them and as they did a tear fell from their eyes, "I can't believe I found you. You truly are pitiful.... no matter where you go.. the chaos follows you, I pity you and yet still no matter where you go... you are loved..... I envy you, child of chaos."
"And as for you.... you are young but your desperation to save your loved one has moved me, I will lend you my power."
Lee Hyunjin and the children slept peacefully within the sphere, it was a long sleep... one filled with dreams.
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Let's have another vote!
Who do you think Lee Hyunjin will meet first?
1. Kim Jaehyun & Co
2. Eun and her master
3. Qin Yu & Minju
4. Zhang Jue and his kidnappers