I got some good sleep in, so now we only have ten more hours left until we get to our destination.
Suko insisted on sleeping with me, because she felt that I had already been through too much to sleep alone.
I ended up waking up before her, and went to go check on everyone to see how they were doing. Everyone was asleep except for Johnny, Taeil, and Vexxen.
They were very determined to get us where we needed to be. Vexxen is actually a very nice guy. He's way different from how he was before.
He was never the go-getter type of person. He's always been laid back, and only hung around people in order to assist them.
Being controlled by Xander altered his personality completely, turning him psychotic.
Johnny told me that Chenle was the one who weakened Vexxen enough for them to destroy the mask. Chenle, however, doesn't remember it one bit.
After they recapped most of what happened earlier for me, I went to go check on Jeno.
Taeil created a really huge blanket and pillow for him, so he wouldn't be too uncomfortable.
Occasionally he'll whimper or groan from the pain he's in, so I play with his hair to try and comfort him.
I just wish this wouldn't have happened to him. He didn't deserve any of this, and neither did Jaemin or Jisung. I wish we could've helped him before Xander did this to him...
"I wish we could've helped him too"
I jumped as Jisung suddenly walked in.
I motioned him to over, and he sat down next to me. He looked very troubled.
"What's wrong Jisung?"
"...I should've tried harder to stop Chenle from going with Syndell. This wouldn't have happened if I had just tried harder. Then, maybe Jeno-hyung and Jaemin-hyung wouldn't have gone either..."
He pouted.
"But it worked out. You guys are alright now"
"But what about Jeno-hyung...? He's on the verge of death and look at the condition his body is in. I...wish I could've done something..."
"Don't be so hard on yourself"
Chenle suddenly walked in with Jaemin.
"Jeno-hyung..."
Jaemin knelt down by Jeno's head and gently caressed his cheek.
"...It's my fault that this happened to him. I should've listened to you Jisung. You wouldn't have said anything if it wasn't a serious matter. I see that now. I'm sorry... I've been such a terrible brother to you-"
"Don't say that! I was an asshole to call you gullible. I just wanted to keep you safe, but I couldn't even do that! What kind of brother was I to be so mean to you...?"
"But I was the one who called you selfish! I never should've said that... I didn't even pay attention to how unhappy you were for an entire week! How could I have not noticed that?! I was the one being selfish..."
"But... none of us would've been captured or hurt if I would've done better..."
"But none of you would've been captured or hurt if I had just listened to you..."
"That's enough, both of you"
Mark suddenly walked in with Hyuck clinging onto his arm.
"None of us can or should be blamed for any of this. Jisung, you did your best to try to warn Chenle about Syndell. Chenle, you may not have heeded Jisung's warning, but you saved Jaemin, as well as Vexxen, all by yourself. Hyuckie did his best to help Levi fight Jeno when I was too far out of the battle zone. Injun not only helped save Jisung, but he helped save Jeno too, despite how worn out he was. And even though both Hyuckie and Levi got hurt, I did my best to try and save Jeno. We all did what we could and that's all that matters. Neither of you should be calling yourselves terrible brothers, because you're not. You deeply care for each other. You wouldn't care for each other so much if you were terrible brothers"
Mark scolded, earning small nods from them both.
"How about we just stop blaming ourselves for things that were out of our control"
I smiled, and they all nodded.
We suddenly heard a knock on the door. We looked and saw that it was Taeyong standing there.
He looked a bit shy and kinda scared.
"...I'm sorry"
"About what hyung???"
I questioned, looking a bit confused.
"I know all of you got a chance to see what I really am. Before I became a god of fortune, I used to be a terrifying god of war. That was the form I took whenever I got too angry. And every time, I always went too far..."
"What do you mean hyung??"
Chenle asked, hugging Jisung tightly.
"...One particular thing happened a lot, especially when Injunie's parents grew ill. I killed a lot of people trying to protect them. But before I met them, I was even worse..."
We all stayed silent to listen to his story.
"...I was consumed by too many negative emotions at once after Eunji and our parents died. I..., went on a rampage. I wanted to pay everyone back for forgetting about them. I've killed so many people because of how much I lost myself, and I've been in regret from what I've done ever since. I wanted to hide myself from you for those reasons. If someone ever hurt you and I lost control again, that would've been the form that all of you would've seen. I knew that you'd all be scared of me and wouldn't trust me anymore if that happened, so I hid my identity and begged Johnny-hyung to fight any battles I came across for me. I just couldn't deal with anymore heartbreak....."
"But you really didn't have to do that Yong"
It seems that Johnny had been eavesdropping with Eunji, coincidentally.
"Hyung..., I-"
"Listen Taeyong. You may have just wanted to be loved by them, but hiding yourself wasn't the best option at all. They didn't completely know or understand you, until the day you had no choice but to reveal yourself. You put on such a huge facade, and because of that, they could never truly love you all those years, nor could they fully trust you. How can you truly love or trust someone who hides their identity completely and acts so cold and self centered?"
"......"
"...Look, you may have tried your best to seem so innocent and practical, but you ended up letting Seifer get under your skin, and as a result, you lost control and revealed that side of you. I know it might seem bad to you, and you feel like you've lost their trust, but you haven't. They still trust you, and they still love you the same way they did before. They aren't scared of you either. Not even Eunji is scared of you"
Johnny smiled.
"R-Really~?!"
Taeyong looked really happy, as he looked to all of us for confirmation.
"I would never be scared of you hyung, and I know Jeno wouldn't be either...~"
Jaemin smiled.
"I've always trusted you hyung. You were the only one there to take care of us"
Mark softly smiled.
"You wanted me when nobody else did! How could I not love you hyung~?!"
Hyuck exclaimed.
"My father put my life in your hands, and I had no reason to hate you. So, of course I trusted you since the day you took me in"
Jisung happily mumbled, with an embarrassed blush and smile on his face.
"You saved me when no one else came! Even though I was very scared and shy that day, I loved you because you cared about me~!"
Chenle cheered.
"You were all that I had since day one. I had no one except you. I could never hate you just because you had something you wanted to hide. I wanted to do my best for you, because I loved you"
I happily confessed.
"I couldn't remember what kind of god you were after I was resurrected, but when I saw your full potential, I was amazed. I thought you were cool before, but I think you're even cooler now~!"
Eunji cheered, hugging Taeyong tightly.
"Even everyone else that hasn't seen that side of you before has said something along the lines of what you just heard. They still love and trust you, and don't think of you any differently. If anything, they admire your strength even more"
He pet Taeyong's head.
"As for me, you're my best friend. I'll always be there for you, no matter what the cost may be. I may not say this or show it enough, but I really do love you Yongie, more than you can imagine~"
Johnny kissed his forehead, and Taeyong giggled and smiled widely.
But while we're on the topic of gods...
"I just remembered. A few things happened to us that we need to talk about"
I stated.
"Like what Injunie??"
Taeyong questioned.
"We each showed progression in our abilities, but Jaehyun-hyung's progression stood out the most to me"
"Oh yeah! If I recall, Chenle, Renjun, Mark, Jaehyun, Jisung, Eunji, and Zuho all showed signs of their improvement~"
Johnny happily acknowledged.
"How did I improve again...?"
Chenle questioned.
"Kun informed us that what happened in your fight with Jaemin also happened while he was still training you. You crystallized your whole body, and expelled a volley of powerful shards from your body. Not only that, but you transformed into an extremely rare and powerful celestial being, a Winged Crystal Caracal Tiger. You used the new power of your Holy Claws to expell the darkness within Jaemin, as well as Vexxen"
Johnny explained.
"T-That really happened?!"
"It did"
Johnny smiled.
"I'm so proud of you Chenleeee~~~! You did so weeeell~~!"
Jaemin smothered Chenle with praises and love.
"When it came to Mark, he unlocked the full potential of his cyrokinesis, all because he was trying to protect Donghyuck and Levi the best way he could"
"So that's why you transformed so suddenly like that hyung~?"
Hyuck cheerfully asked Mark, after hearing Johnny's statement.
"Of course Hyuckie~. I couldn't just sit around and watch you two get hurt..."
"Thank you hyung~~~!"
Hyuck suddenly jumped into Mark's arms, and Mark happily spun him around, fusing with him in the process.
"Welcome back Fluorite~"
I greeted, and he shyly smiled.
"Jisung didn't really go through a transformation, but he learned how to change the properties of the water he uses, and even managed to create shark phantoms. I'm astonished that he was able to make those phantoms so well"
"They were very powerful too!"
Taeyong followed after Johnny's statement.
"I do remember that he used multiple hand signs that spelt out 'Shark Frenzy'. He must've unintentionally created his own jutsu, just like Jeno and Levi"
I theorized.
"...Did I really do that?"
Jisung seemed guilty about using his jutsu against us.
"Don't worry about it Jisungie. You didn't mean to use it against us, and we admire your newfound strength"
I pet him on the head.
"I wanna see that jutsu one day! I bet it's really cool~~!"
Chenle exclaimed, making Jisung smile.
"Eunji finally remembered who she was, as well as her powers, but only after Renjun said the key word around her"
"Oh yeah! It was because I said the word 'captive' that you remembered that you're a god of captivity right~?"
I asked, and she enthusiastically nodded.
"Now Jaehyun. He might be the most surprising and unexpected. He went through an interesting transformation, just like Renjun with his Zircon Mode. Just how Renjun showed traits of a super saiyan, Jaehyun showed traits of a super saiyan god, especially with the power he used. I looked into it and found out that it's a power called God Bind. I read that after transforming and channeling some of that power through the his hands, he could use the energy generated to stop an opponent in their tracks. He used it to stop Jeno in his tracks to protect Renjun. However, that bind can be broken, just as Jeno broke it"
"He really surprised me when he did that. No wonder his aura so different... I couldn't even get a good reading on how powerful he was... But does that mean hyung became a god just like that???"
I questioned.
"He probably did. I don't see any other reasonable explanation. But either way, he's only tapped in to how much power he can generate as a god. That simple power up was nothing compared to what he might be capable of down the line"
Johnny explained, and we nodded with understanding.
"Zuho's change is pretty simple to explain. He's regained his close bond with Yoonho after these past few years, and hearing that he got captured just set him off. He felt enraged that he lost him just like that. They were rooting for you together before Yoonho left the ship, and for him to just disappear like that makes him feel guilty for not being able to do anything to save him"
"And because of that anger and guilt, he went full demon..."
Johnny nodded.
"But if that could happen to Zuho, shouldn't Yoonho be able to go full angel??"
"We'll most likely find out when we find him"
"But you've changed a lot too Injunie~"
Taeyong suddenly exclaimed.
"Indeed he has. He was able to master his angelic powers, as well as his demonic powers. And the way I see it, he's mastered his plant manipulation too, seeing that he can regenerate his limbs with the properties of plants. Not only that, he's unlocked another power called Super Sonic, which lets him run at incredible high speeds and increases his mobility and agility"
"...I hadn't realized that I progressed so much~"
I blushed.
"You've come so far Renjun. I can't wait to see what happens when you use both powers at their full potential"
Johnny smiled.
"Hey guys. Just a heads up, we'll be there in nine more hours. Vexxen recommended that we should get some more rest"
Jaehyun announced, peeping into the room.
One by one, we each left the room. I was about to leave with Fluorite, since he likes to wait on me, but then I noticed that Jaemin was still in the room.
"Nana, you coming?"
I questioned, but he didn't answer.
He just continued to softly play with Jeno's hair.
I went over a sat down next to him, and Fluorite stood beside me.
"You should come to bed with us Nana. Jeno wouldn't want you to be tired because you stayed awake for so long worrying about him"
I softly pet his head.
"I really miss him hyung..."
"I miss him too, but we're gonna get him the help he needs. You can see that happening right?"
"...Yes"
"Then it'll be fine. Jeno will be alright, and we can all hang out with him once he wakes up"
I smiled at him, and he eventually got up with me.
Fluorite and I took him to get some coffee to make him feel better, and he eventually fell asleep.
I let Fluorite sleep with me since he usually doesn't like sleeping alone. I fell asleep after a while, still trying to figure out why I'm so important to Xander.
Why am I so special?
What effect could I possibly have on him that I would be that important of an asset...?