Warning: There is mention of death in this chapter and also a slight panic attack. I'm not sure if I needed to put a disclaimer for this but better safe than sorry!
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A cold breeze passed through the air, waving softly through Eunha's silky locks. Her cheeks and nose had coloured a rosy pink and with every exhale you could see her breath escaping her plump lips. She was a shivering mess. The night had been chilly to begin with, but it seemed that the temperature had dropped even lower once they'd entered the huge cave.
Jungkook was smoothly paddling them closer to the center, swerving in between the lumpy rocks that disturbed the calm surface of the inky black water, with ease. He'd done it more often, so often that he could probably do it in his sleep. Though this time the purpose was different.
They were here to call on some souls instead of send them away.
Eunha watched her surroundings with big eyes, quickly stating that the left side of the cave was far more pleasant to look at than the right side. The stone of the walls on the left side seemed to have crystals hidden inside of them. As the boat moved, the bright light from the magical lantern illuminated these crystals, creating an elegant trail of colourful shimmering. Then there were also these huge wall paintings that decorated the rough surface of stone. The paintings were passages from stories, all having to do with goodness, love and purity.
Though Eunha couldn't keep her eyes from all the beauty on her left, she didn't dare to turn her back to the right side either. Those walls seemed to have a charcoal-coloured stone that glowed a dangerous red in the light of the lantern, almost as if on fire. The paintings were themed a lot more sinister; images of distress, war, wrath and of course death.
It was a totally different aesthetic and though it had its own beauty as well, it was more of a toxic kind of beauty.
The girl quickly rubbed her button nose as it had become runny because of the freezing cold. She wondered if the others were as bothered by the low temperature as she was. She threw a quick glance behind her noticing how Jimin was shivering just as badly. He had slid his way closer to the middle, tightly hugging Jin's arm for warmth, though the hold looked more like a cobra suffocating its food. Jin had tried to get the boy to stop hugging him, but he was stubborn. As the prince didn't manage to succeed he eventually just lend the younger his arm.
Hearing the constant sniffing and teeth-chattering coming from Eunha, Hoseok carefully moved his wings, draping them around her like a blanket to protect her from the wind as well as provide her with some warmth. A content sigh left her lips the moment she felt those soft, fluffy things encircle her freezing body and the girl couldn't help but snuggle a bit closer. It was just so nice.
A chuckle sounded in the air as the angel watched her in amusement, though a shiver ran through his body as he felt Eunha's small hands caress his sensitive wings. She didn't seem to notice as she kept patting the soft feathers, eyes closed as her body slowly regained a normal temperature.
Jimin watched with envy as the girl had the personal heater sitting next to her. He as well wanted that, because he was absolutely freezing and Jin's arm didn't help much. His eyes landed on the man in front of him, on the other set of wings that could lessen his shivering.
Deciding that his body temperature was more important than his pride in that moment, Jimin kicked the bottom of the bench with the point of his shoe, getting the man's attention.
Taehyung raised his eyebrows as he turned around, meeting the elf's intense stare. It looked far less intimidating with those rosy cheeks and pink nose. "What?"
Jimin hesitated for a second but then pointed at the angel warming Eunha with his wings.
"I'm cold, so lend me your wings, Birdy." The two stared at each other for a bit before Taehyung lazily shrugged his shoulders in apology, "I'm a demon, not an angel. My wings will feel cold to you, so it won't do anything."
A disappointed pout made its way on Jimin's face as another shiver ran through him. He closed his eyes, leaning his head against Jin's arm. He would have to live with the cold a bit longer.
Just as he had accepted the icy chill, something heavy fell on his lap. It slowly curled around his body, the soft material brushing his freezing cheek. Startled Jimin opened his eyes noticing how he was now surrounded by a wall of black feathers. Warm black feathers.
"I was joking, scaredy-cat. Of course my wings are warm, they're perfect." The demon didn't look at Jimin as he spoke, his dark orbs observing the lurid wall paintings instead.
They had just passed a huge one showing the seven sins in monstrous ways.
The elf rolled his eyes at the smug tone the demon had spoken with, but didn't say anything. He leaned closer into the wings' embrace ever so slightly as his body finally started to warm up.
Hoseok glanced over his shoulder at Yoongi, "Aren't you cold?"
"I'm a doll. Temperature doesn't affect me." Hoseok hummed in understanding, showing the mint-haired man a little smile. The latter stared back at him with a blank expression, his dark orbs observing the way the man had lifted the corners of his mouth merely a centimeter and still managed to look that bright. He wondered if he could do that.
Quickly licking his lips to wet the dry skin, Yoongi's stare remained on the angel's mouth, then very slowly he imitated the pull of muscles, showing off a cute smile of his own.
Hoseok's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected reaction, unconsciously widening his own smile to the point where he was presenting his pearly white teeth. Yoongi gulped in surprise, quickly diverting his gaze elsewhere and acting as if the interaction hadn't happened, though the faintest blush that crept on his pale cheeks betrayed him.
The boat entered another room where Jungkook paddled to the middle of the oval shaped space. There was a slight opening in the stone ceiling, some beams of moonlight falling through the narrow space and landing exactly where their boat had stopped.
"This is where we normally decide if souls are good or bad before we send them along." Jungkook pointed to both their left and right where the water moved towards a large gate, his voice echoing beautifully in between the walls of the building. The iron gates looked identical, though remembering the earlier wall paintings Eunha guessed that they lead to opposite destinations.
"We soul-keepers mainly use our voice to control souls and let them do whatever we want, kind of like hypnosis I guess. Our voice is irresistible to them to the point where they listen to us without any doubt. I will locate your mother through them, so don't be scared if the room suddenly fills with souls. What is your mother's full name?"
"Kang Jiyoo."
Nodding his head, Jungkook closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again his glance lingered on Eunha for a few seconds before settling on the vampire sitting in front of her. Judging Namjoon's reaction, the younger man was contacting him through his telepathy skill. Namjoon nodded in response, his gaze meeting Eunha's before her leaned closer, stretching his arms in front of him to carefully cup her ears with his big hands. He made sure that she couldn't hear anything.
Eunha moved around in confusion, her first reaction being that she tried to remove the vampire's hands, but the look in his eyes stopped her. She furrowed her eyebrows trying to think of a reason for the sudden action. Why would they block her hearing?
A wave of energy touched her skin, slowly sipping into her where it flowed through her entire body in the rhythm of a steady heartbeat. It interrupted her thinking but that's also when she understood what was happening. Jungkook had started singing, a mesmerizing tune filling the air as his beautifully enchanting voice called on the souls.
Eunha's back was turned to him but she could still feel it.
Compared to supernatural creatures, humans were so closely connected to their souls that their actual self was the soul, the body merely being a mechanism to live properly. If Eunha were to listen to Jungkook's voice that influenced souls so strongly, it would mean that he would control her as well. They didn't want that to happen.
Feeling the strange pull on her body, almost like a magnet that forced her towards Jungkook, Eunha desperately grabbed onto Namjoon's hands to make sure she wouldn't hear the soul-keeper's alluring voice. She squeezed her eyes shut, leaning forwards to hide her face against his chest, her forehead resting against the crook of the vampire's neck. On any other occasion this wouldn't have seemed like a smart thing to do, but in that moment he was the one keeping her from giving in. Her link to reality.
With all of her might she resisted the urge that impelled her to turn around and listen to Jungkook's lullaby, her whole body tense as a soft whimper escaped her lips. Hoseok's wings had abandoned her body leaving the freezing air to freely attack her skin but the girl didn't even feel it as she was too focused on the inner battle.
Jin softly lay his hand on the girl's back, rubbing calming circles to let her know that all would be okay, though his eyes were more interested in what was going on around them.
The moment the first word had left Jungkook's mouth in such a melodic way that even the prince's breath hitched in amazement, a field of energy seemed to set free that lured a thousands of different presences to them. The souls that appeared in the form of icy blue fireflies were drawn to Jungkook like moths drawn to a flame. The group of passed souls circled around the boat in some kind of dance, all moving in same steady rhythm like a heartbeat.
Jungkook was staring at the space in front of him, his wide eyes filled with so many different emotions that he almost seemed fragile though that wasn't the case. Judging the proud stance and slight wiggle of fingers as he confidently let his voice echo through the room, the whole interaction thrilled him. Controlling so many souls gave him more power.
Then as the soul-keeper seemed to have found what he wanted, he changed the song, forcing all the souls to disappear again. When they were gone he stopped singing, leaving the room awfully quiet all of a sudden.
Namjoon slowly let go of Eunha, his hands swiftly running through her hair before resting them on his knees. The girl let out a relieved breath, glad that the torture was over, and took her time to retreat from the vampire's firm, and surprisingly comfortable, chest to turn around in her seat and look at Jungkook.
"I'm sorry, I probably should have warned you beforehand." His with emotion filled face had been replaced for the blank one as he looked down at Eunha. She tiredly waved her hand to dismiss him, not feeling like speaking. Jungkook nodded his head, taking the hint.
"Well, your mother is still alive and I know where she is."
Eunha's chest grew warm with hope, a breathtaking smile spreading on her face, though that smile crumbled at his next words. "The only people who recently passed away in your family are a man called Jeonho and his daughter Miyeong."
"What?" Disbelieve, uncertainty, sadness, anger, confusion. Eunha didn't know what to feel and how could she? The soul-keeper had stated that her mother was still alive, that should have been it. This heart-tearing news shouldn't be there, it couldn't be real. Her crumple loving father and cute little sister couldn't be dead. They were safe at home, right where she left them.
"I'm sorry to bring you this news, but I didn't want to keep it from you." Jungkook shook his head in apology, eyes momentarily glued to his shoes before he let out a soft sigh, crouching down so he could look at Eunha better. "It was a tragedy, but it was supposed to happen so we couldn't do anything to stop it. Jeonho poisoned the food, purposely taking both his and Miyeong's life. I don't know the actual reason, I would tell you if I did..." His voice trailed of, dark eyes searching hers for a reaction. Though she couldn't provide him with a fitting one.
She had just learned that her father had committed suicide, taking her little sister with him on purpose. They were both gone. Even though her breathing quickened and eyes widened at the message she didn't feel sad, because she couldn't yet comprehend the meaning of his words.
"A-A-Are t-they," Eunha cleared her throat to get rid of the tremble in her voice, "Are they in a good place?" Jimin leaned forwards to tightly hold her hands in his, interlacing their fingers together and resting them on her thigh.
"They are in different places. Your sister is absolutely fine, she is surrounded by love, warmth and comfort. She will get another chance at life. Your father needs a bit of education before he can return which might take a couple of centuries."
Eunha vaguely nodded her head, not really grasping the situation, though she was glad to hear that her sister was in a good place and for a father...He had been judged by a soul-keeper so she believed that wherever he had ended up was where he needed to be.
"For your mother, she's been held captive somewhere on an island far south. The might-eater that has kidnapped her.." Jungkook hesitated, eyes observing Eunha before deciding to just spit out the truth, "It's kang Jaehyun, your brother Jaehyun."
Eunha's blood turned cold as soon as she heard the name. The name that she had cried out so many times, wishing to see him again, wishing he could help her, give her strength, come back.
Until now she had never expected it to actually happen, because you couldn't bring the dead back to life.
Eunha's breathing quickened until she was left gasping for air, desperately trying to fill her longs with with oxygen. Her heartbeat picked up speed and a wave of dizziness washed over her body.
Her brother, the one she had believed to die years ago, was alive. He was alive and had somehow gained god-like powers that he used for evil, one of those things being kidnapping his mother. Her father and little sister that she had left at home with the idea that they would be safer there had passed away. The tables had turned, hope being overpowered by distress.
That's when Eunha fainted.
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Hello loves! Thank you so much for reading this chapter!
I struggled so much while writing it and I haven't had that in a while. I had it all planned out in my mind with so much detail that I saw everything happening as if watching a film, but I just couldn't find the words to describe it properly.
Don't forget to leave a comment or a vote if you want to and I wish everyone a great day/night! <3