The setting sun shone through the large windows of the library, its rays reflecting through the ancient glass. I sat at one of the tea tables, reading Maple Leaves, a novel by F. K. Winter. Below me sat Tan, all curled up under my feet on the rug. I smiled at the adorable creature, turning one page after another.
Out of everything in this big castle like house, this was my favourite part- the library. Here, I could be on my own, I could read all the books I ever saw, I could feel human. And now with Tan beside me, it felt for than just comfortable.
"So what's her story?" Came the familiar voice of Jonghyun. Lifting my head up, I smiled as I saw Jonghyun standing a few feet away from Tan, eyeing the tiger up and down.
"It's a he and you can come take a seat already, he doesn't bite, as long as I don't say." I replied with a chuckle, watching Jonghyun as he took slow steps forward, until he sat on the opposite arm chair from mine. Finally he looked at me, waiting for me to answer his question.
I closed the book, my eyes landing on Tan's sleeping figure. I ran my fingers through his soft white fur, the tiger purring in response.
"I guess you can say he's my avatar." I replied nonchalantly, Making Jonghyun's eyebrows furrowed.
"Avatar?" He questioned.
"He's me, in an animal version. Everything I know, everything I do, everything I have, is all in him as well. He will protect and love the people I love and protect. He will teach a lesson to the people that need a lesson to be thought. All in all, he is me."
I looked up at Jonghyun once I finished speaking, only to be greeted by Jonghyun's confused face. I chuckled, finding it quite amusing. I knew what he was thinking. How on earth did I know all this. Honestly, I had no idea myself. I just happened to know the moment I met Tan. I knew we were connected.
Seeing me chuckle, Jonghyun straightened his face, trying his best to take everything in.
"Okay, let's say that all of it is the truth. But, where on earth did you find him?"
My smile faded as soon as Jonghyun asked that.
I had no clue myself. He just showed up out of nowhere.
"He showed up just when the Hounds were about to take me. It seemed like the Hounds were really scared of him more than they were of me. Had it not been for him, I might now be a goner."
I shuddered, remembering my encounter with the Hounds.
Speaking of the hounds, it's been already a day since we talked about finding more guardians, but no one had made a move yet. I said I needed a little time to think things because it wasn't easy to digest the fact that the King of Hell was looking for me. Jonghyun said he would look for places the Guardians might be in.
So here we were, still minding our own businesses as if we didn't have a war coming up soon.
"But, he showed up out of nowhere right? Do you think you can trust him?" Jonghyun's voice brought me back to the present. I cleared my voice before replying, "Too late. I'm already trusting him."
Jonghyun shook his head as if in disapproval, but I knew he was just acting. After a long period of silence, Jonghyun spoke again.
"What does it mean then?"
I raised an eyebrow, completely confused with his question.
"What does what mean?"
"The tiger. Showing up out of nowhere- yeah I know you trust him but that's not what I'm asking. What I'm asking is, why show up now, like you died three years ago, why now and not then?"
I didn't answer the question. Because I had no answer. I had know idea myself as to why things were turning out to be this way.
"Is it because of..." Jonghyun trailed off.
No one said anything after that. I didn't want to think about all the possibilities as to why my avatar was sent to me now. As if the creator himself knew that this fight wasn't going to be an easy one.
The sun had already set, sending an eerie glow in the whole room. The book I was reading was completely bathed in darkness, no light reaching it.
Raising my hand up, the torches and candlesticks on the walls and tables ignited in flames, the whole room now bathed in fire lights.
"Jisoo!" Jonghyun shrieked, all startled.
I turned to look at him, only to find his face contorted in fear as if I had done something wrong.
"What? What did I do?"
"Your flames! They are the flames of Hell! What if they can track you?"
I didn't even have time to think about Jonghyun's words because just then, Tans head shot up, his ears perking this way and that as a low growl vibrated out of his mouth.
Tan slowly stood up, his eyes turning a dark shade of purple which I recognized all too quickly.
He was preparing his powers of telekinesis. That's the only power that can actually cause some harm to the hounds...
Oh no.
The flames in the torches and candlesticks snub out just as quickly as they had come. I gasped, feeling my heart thundering in my chest.
Then we heard it.
The howls.
The hairs behind my neck started to stand on edge, making chills appear all through my spine.
I hated it. I hated that howling. It was a reminder of the fate that had come to me.
"AAGGHH!!" I screamed, holding my head in my hands as that familiar headache coursed through my head, making my eyesight blurry from the tears stinging my eyes.
"Jisoo!" I heard Jonghyun's voice call my name, but everything seemed hazy. My ears had gone deaf to all the noices around, safe for the ringing in my head.
I gritted my teeth, the tears cascading down my cheeks freely.
It hurt so much. So badly.
Through my blurry vision, I watched as Tan jumped out of one of the large windows, followed by Jonghyun who was now in one of his 'moods'.
"No..." I croaked, unable to form anywords.
I wanted to help them. I wanted to go out there and fight alongside them. But the headache wasn't helping at all. It had grown worst, far worst than before, making me more scared than I already was.
I slumped on the armchair again, resting my head backwards as I felt the pain subside, not completely but slowly. I panted for breath, my head still throbbing a little as I stood up again, deciding to help my friends now.
Taking a deep breath, I staggered out of the window, searching for any familiar movements. However, what I did find, was the last thing on my mind. Sure I had a feeling about this, but all of this was just... scary!
Once again, atleast fifty or so number of hounds were there, all of them pushing there way inside a circle they had made. I didn't want to know what or who is inside that circle, although I had a feeling I already knew.
I gulped, feeling the itchy atmosphere around me as I stared at some of the dead hounds lying here and there. They were all mutilated very badly. Some of them had there flesh ripped off or bones broken, just like the way I had done before.
That was Tans doing. I could say that. But the others, the had countless number of cuts covering every single inch of there body, making it hard for me to search were the head started and where the tails ended. They were just lumps of meat, as if someone had diced them with a blade or blades...
Blades.
The itchy and almost stingy atmosphere.
Oh god.
I turned my head towards the huge pile of hounds, staring at the thick black fog that enveloped most of the hounds as the howls of pain echoed everywhere. I knew what it was. and I knew who was behind it.
Those were Jonghyun's powers, the one thing I hated most about him. In the first look, it would seem like some harmless black fog. But the slightest touch can cut open your skin.
That's right. The fog cuts. It's like millions of blades. Jonghyun never uses his powers. He says that he isn't supposed to, unless it's an emergency. Grim Reaper's are not supposed to get angry at spirits easily. Thats why they are not allowed to use this dangerous weapon all the time.
I had once asked Jonghyun to show me his abilities, but he had denied. After three days of silent treatment, he had finally given in, and that's when he showed me. I still have the scar on the tip of my middle three fingers of my left hand, when I tried to touch it. Just when I was about to touch it, only an inch separating me from the deadly fog, Jonghyun had pulled back, but not before I had already scarred myself.
I must say, it really stung a lot.
And now, I could feel that stinginess in the air I was breathing. Seeing the fog grow so much in every minute, I was starting to fear for Jonghyun's life. I was doubting if Tan was even alive anymore or not but I was sure Jonghyun wouldn't let anything happen to Tan. But I still couldn't help but feel the uneasiness.
"Hey!" I screamed, trying to catch the hound's attention. One by one, the heads turned as they emitted low hissing growls, making me gulp.
They wanted me, so here I am.
"I'm here! Come get me!" I screamed again and this time, the hound's had completely turned towards me, ready to break into a run.
"Oh boy..." I whispered, staring at the huge number of hound's charging towards me. I was wrong. There weren't just fifty of them. It was double, although some were already dead and getting in the way of the ones running.
Just when the first hound to reach charged at me, I jumped in the air, so high that when I looked down, all I could see was just tiny dots.
I dived down again, this time landing between Jonghyun and Tan, a few feet away from the hound's. This was not were I wanted to land, but somehow, I happened to end up here.
I turned to look at Jonghyun, gasping in surprise and horror at his face.
His eyes had turned pitch black, not to forget the surroundings of his eyes blended into black as if someone had smeared coal in his eyes.
He looked really scary, since the black socket thingy didn't at all help with his pale white skin. I could barely recognize him. He didn't look anything like the Jonghyun I knew.
In fact I had never seen Jonghyun like this. Ever. I guess this is the true nature of a Grim Reaper, hidden behind that black suit.
The black smoke still lingered around Jonghyun as if he was standing on alert, in case the hound's charged towards us. Then I noticed his hands. His nails actually. They had turned into ugly black claws.
Boy. I hated this version of Jonghyun.
Jonghyun turned towards me, and I couldn't help but flinch at the look he gave me. I really really couldn't recognize him.
I turned to Tan, whose eyes were still purple. Purple smoke escaped from Tans nostrils as his growled beside me.
I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on the matter at hand. My head still trobbed, but I didn't want to think about it. I had to get rid of this darn hound's.
When I opened my eyes, they were purple as well.
The hounds pounced, and so did we. Coming into a huge clash. My eyes landed on the closest hound, who stopped in mid track as his body got enveloped in purple fog. I turned my hands this way and that, unable to stop myself from hearing the cracking of bones as the hound fell to the ground, limp.
I looked at Tan who was doing the same, but was also using his fangs to tear them apart. Tan was really huge than the hounds.
Jonghyun had a good grip on them. Anything that came too close to him would get wounded in seconds, so I stayed as far away from him as possible, keeping Tan on my other side always.
Only then did I realize, I was the slowest. This whole time, I had only killed one. ONE. I couldn't defeat them like that. The hound's didn't seem to decrease. The more we killed, the more they came, making us get tired.
Indeed, we were already tired. I was tired. I had no idea how to defeat them all. Jonghyun was right. I could never do this alone. We needed more of us.
I inhaled a sharp breath, my lungs burning due to the lack of oxygen. It sucked to be human at times like this.
I hadn't even seen the hound coming at me when an arrow flew through the air and stabbed the hound, throwing it backwards. I stared in shock, confused at the same time. Turning around, I stared at Jina who levitated in the air, using a bow and arrows to shoot the hound's.
"You will get yourself killed at this rate!" Jina shrieked, but I smiled. I was glad she was here. We had another hand, and the arrows were really helpful.
"Oh thanks for finally deciding to get your ass here Deityof dear time! I thought you decided to finally prove how useless you are!" Jonghyun screamed sarcastically, but I could see the small smile in his scary face.
"In case you haven't realized, I was busy trying to find a way to defeat them. My arrows won't last forever, we are already losing our breath, and these guys seem to never end. Jisoo! Use your powers!" Jina said, shooting three arrows at ones. I had barely any time to register Jina's words, too busy saving Tan from almost getting bitten.
"Not my Tan you disgusting animal." I hissed.
"Jisoo!" Jina called, making me furiously turn towards her.
"What?!" I hissed, only to realize how rude I sounded. But Jina didnt seem to notice. too busy shooting her last few remaining arrows, she said, "Use your power Jisoo!"
Like I didn't try?
"What does it look like I'm doing then? And you know my fire doesn't work on them! They feed on it! AAGH!" I screamed as one of the hound's lunged at me, slashing with its enormous claws through my arm. I stumbled backwards, blood gushing out of the huge wound. It stung so bad, my eyes teared up.
I could not see a thing now, my eyesight blurry with the tears, but I knew the hound was right somewhere near me, because I could hear its growls and I knew it was getting ready to pounce. I rubbed my eyes, wiping the tears to see clearly. Just when I opened my eyes, the hound lunged at me.
Oh. Dear. God.
The wind around me turned colder than usual, and I must say it was really uncomfortable. Like I felt like I was in the wrong place. The atmosphere felt prickly and stingy, as if the wind itself was carried by blades.
Blades. Of course.
Jonghyun.
I opened my eyes only to be greeted by thick black fog coming towards me.
"Jisoo duck!" Jongyuns screamed. As quickly as possible, I made a cross with my hands over my face, creating an invisible forcefield, causing the fog to bounce back.
Once the fog cleared, all that remained was a lump of meat on the floor, which, thirty seconds ago was a giant monstrous dog. I covered my mouth with my palms, forcing myself not to throw out my lunch.
Calm down. You have seen worst than this.
But what's worst than seeing a living thing turned into a lump of meat right before your eyes, without the proper sacrificial procedure?
"You okay?" Jonghyun asked, pulling me back to my senses.
'Yeah I'm... I'm fine.' Replied I.
"Jisoo! use your light!" Jina screamed, making me turn towards her. Her arrows were all over, making her use her bow as a weapon to fight the hound's that tried to jump in the air.
"What light?" I screamed back, Jonghyun getting back to his position. "What are you talking about?" I pressed on.
"The light! The light of Heaven! They are scared of it! Do it Jisoo!"
The light of Heaven? I have the light of Heaven? Why didn't I know that before?
I dont think I ever used it. The only time I needed light and actually used it was while searching for Taehyung when he was kidnapped. That light, was that... the Light of Heaven?
I didn't know what to think. I have the powers of both Heaven and Hell. How much powerful does that make me? Looks like I am more dangerous than I thought.
I turned to look at the Hounds, who were now advancing towards us in full force. The four of us wouldn't be a match for them. I had to do it quickly.
"Jisoo? Any minute now!" Jonghyun said, taking slow steps backwards as he saw for himself what was happening.
The light of Heaven. They are scared of it. This has to work. It must.
"Step away." I said, my voice calm as I channeled my powers, the light that I wanted. Jina floated down behind me, while Jonghyun walked backwards until he was alongside Jina as well. Only Tan remained, standing beside me and channeling his light as well. I smiled down at him, before closing my eyes tight, and I knew Tan had done the same. The next time I opened, they were white as the light.
Tan roared, emitting light from his mouth, the louder, the stronger. The hounds started to fall backwards over eachother, trying to escape the light as it burned their fur, making them look like the first time I had seen them- furless.
I made a cross over my face, screaming as the light left my body in immense waves. This time the hound's screeched and whined as their bodies burnt, before they finally turned to ashes.
My voice was raspy and my lungs in need of oxygen when I finally stopped screaming, my hands falling uselessly by my sides. The first thing I did was fall to the ground on my knees and hug Tan tight. My precious little kitty. Who stood by me like the savior he is. I rubbed my face against Tans soft fur, bringing it closer to me.
Panting heavily for air, I finally looked up at my surroundings. Dead Hound's lay here and there, with a pile of ashes in one side, still smoking. on the other side, Jonghyun and Jina were on the ground on their knees, taking in huge gulps of air. Jonghyun had returned to normal, but his face had scars and his dress all torn. Jina's hairs were a mess, not to forget her blue dress all dirty with blood and mud. I must have been a sight as well. Perhaps worst than them.
We looked at each other, a knowing look crossing our faces before we started laughing. Not like the hysteric laughing but just the light laughing. Then we looked at each other again before laughing again.
Seriously, what were we doing?
"My dress is ruined." Jina said.
"I wanna take a shower." stated Jonghyun.
"Jina, please let me know if there is anyone from Heaven after me as well. I would really love a collaboration." I simply said, and then soon enough, we were laughing again.
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Today was my Death Anniversary, second one now. I had woken up to find a note by my bedside table. It was from Jina, she said that she and Jonghyun were outside for some work and that my breakfast was already in the kitchen. She said that they might be out late so I had the whole day to myself. And that I should enjoy myself.
I didn't buy any of it. I knew why they weren't home. It was my death day, so they wanted me to do whatever I wanted. They didn't want to bother me. They did the same the previous year as well. And I think they plan on doing it everytime. I didn't mind. I actually wanted to be alone with myself for a while.
So here I was, in my own grave, my heart skipping a beat as I stared at the person sitting across my gravestone.
That's right. This was the day that Kim Taehyung had come to visit me. The very day before I started my mission.
I didn't know what to do. It had become clear that he couldn't see me nor hear me. But he just knew I was there, just like the first time.
"Dear Guardian Angel. If you are there, please let me know of your presence." he said, making me laugh despite my over flowing tears.
"I know you are there. You told me that you would be the rain, the snow and the wind. You said you would come to me if I asked for you. Please, just let me know you are there."
Crouching in front of him, I blew in his face, making some of his hairs stick to his damp face while some just brushed by. Tae closed his eyes, letting the cool breeze feel his skin.
Standing up, we stood facing each other, but Tae didn't seem to see me. I, however, saw him all too well.
"Thank you chingu. Thanks for everything." He said, making me cry even more harder. Tae walked away, hands in his pockets. While I stared at the bouquet of flowers that he had placed under my gravestone, making me sob louder than before, my lungs burning because of the lack of oxygen.
It hurt so bad, every single part of me, that I was starting to feel numb all over. This was what I agreed with, but now I couldn't take it. I knew that I was being selfish, that many people don't even get the chance I had got, but yet I couldn't help but ask for more.
I wanted this, I wanted BTS. I wanted them to see me, to know me, to talk to me they way they used to. But I knew it was all in vein. That deep down, no matter how much I begged, this was the Creator's plan. Heck, he even has Lucifer after me now, what should I expect?
I just knew that right now, all I could do was go forth with the mission, find the five guardians, and lock Lucifer in Hell once and for all. That way, I could keep BTS safe as well.
I had to.
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So this is it for Part I. So sorry for the late update, I had things to do, so this one chapter took a whole week to finish. I hope you guys like it!
Anyways, five days later, that is 25th, is my Birthday!! Woohoo!! Advance Happy Birth Day to me!! <3 <3 <3
The story, Maple Leaves that is mentioned above in the story is written by FEARKnightFantasy. Check it out now!
And check out this awesome picture made by none other than @theseokside!! Isnt it just amazing!! Look at Tan! I really love it!! Thank you soooooo much to @theseoksidefor this beautiful picture <3<3<3<3
Anyways see you guys later! Now that I'm done with IF I LIVE, I will get back to The Wish We Made To The Stars! See you guys there!
Lets rock tomorrow with Dynamite!!!! WOOHHOOOOOOOOO!!!!