The two of them climbed down the ladder into the snake and they both could feel the tension in the atmosphere already. However, they knew that they had to investigate this place in order to have a chance in the battle. They needed a clue to who the enemy was and this was the only lead. They needed to force themselves to.

Hoon’s eyes widened as the place seemed so strikingly familiar. It was exactly thesame as in his dream, the same water, the same walls, even the air felt the same. Fear engulfed him once again.

His mum said that he was looking through someone’s eyes.
No, he didn’t want it to be Soohyun.
He closed his eyes, hoping that everything, with the exception of Soohyun, will go away. He took a deep breath.

“This place…” Hoon brought himself closer to the older man, seeking for skin contact to have a better sense of security.
There was a certain uncertainty in Hoon’s voice, which made Soohyun understand.
“It won’t happen. I promise.”

I will keep you safe. It’s the least I can do right now.

They navigated through the darkness and wetness, hands unconsciously linked tightly, mutually not wanting to let go of each other. They couldn’t see, of course. But they shone in each other’s hearts, trusting each other as they moved in the darkness. They didn’t need a light, because having each other was enough. They were the light for each other. With each other’s warmth, they comforted each other with no words said.

Underground, it was a weird place. Time seemed to have either stopped, or that it was passing too fast. There was no reception too. Nothing, including compass, handphone, iPods, watch works. These items were frozen when brought into the snake. There was no light at all, nothing could be seen. Also, everywhere was exactly the same. It was a complete maze as the sewage pipes seem to move to a different location or rotate, bringing them to different routes each time.

Sometimes they would take a break, after being positive that the place was safe, with no other living things detected. They would lean against the dirty walls of the sewage, legs still submerged in the unknown liquid. It was so dark; they couldn’t identify the liquid, nor see each other. But the presence of each other was enough. They would talk a little, trying to console each other.

“Soohyun hyung, do you think we can find anything here?”
“I don’t know. There seems to be nothing so far.”

They both had their backs touch the cold, wet wall. Both felt like they were talking to the air as it was just so dark. They hands were still linked, afraid of losing each other. Soohyun could hear Hoon’s breath, just as the other could hear his.

“Hoon, what if, you need to let go of these hands one day?” Soohyun asked, holding up their intertwined hands.
“I won’t ever let go.”
“But if you need to, let go, alright?”
“I won’t need to. We’ll be together, forever.”

Soohyun nodded and breathed.

If only I could, I will be with you, together with you, forever.
If only forever wasn’t delusional.

They decided to continue their search for something. After what seemed like hours, or days, they didn’t know, they slowly realised there wasn’t anything down there at all. They couldn’t sense anybody, any monsters, any form of living creatures at all. It was weird, since Eli was rarely wrong, according to Soohyun. It was as if they were only going in circles, only to be brought to the same place again. Just travelling around like that, was no way to find anything. But they couldn’t help it. What more could they do? They didn’t have anything that could help.

“Hyung, we aren’t going anywhere at all.”
“Yeah I know. I can’t even locate the entrance anymore.”

A cool breeze blew over them and they both looked to the direction at the same time.

“Follow that… I guess.” Hoon suggested, pointing at where the wind came from, even if Soohyun couldn’t see.

Soohyun nodded slowly, still a little unsure. He looked to the direction of the wind, hoping to see something. But no, there was nothing. The wind only came from the dark void. They didn’t know if it was enemy or ally. That was so far, the only thing out of normal, thus they had to follow it, in hopes to find something, or even to get out of this hell.

Without warning, the soft wind became a harsh, piercing cold one which hit the both of them continuously. It was almost like the one in Hoon’s dream, but only in a different surrounding.

“Hyung, maybe we shouldn’t…”
“I don’t want to force you, but we have to.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I have a bad feeling about it.”
“I know. But it might be the only way to something or even, the only way out of here.”

They could barely hear each other if they didn’t shout. It was even hard for them to move forward. However, they made sure they never release their grip on each other.

There might have been a roar heard, but both of them didn’t notice. They were too concentrated in moving forward, going against the wind, that everything else seemed oblivious to them.

The wind, which felt like thousands of knives piercing into the bare skin of a human being, came to an abrupt stop. The two heaved a sigh of relief, happy that they have finally got through the stupid wind, at least they thought so. They faced each other, imagining a smile on the other’s face as they couldn’t see, but they felt each other smile.

“After we get out of here, I’ll be looking at your face the whole day.” Soohyun chuckled.
Hoon laughed.

But they turned to the front, only to be welcomed by a large roar which produced another gust of bone piercing wind which finally broke the two apart. Hoon was blown back a few metres, crashing into the wall and the beast roared again.

“Hoon!” Soohyun screamed, “you alright?”

Hoon didn’t reply. When crashed onto the wall, his head had hit it, hard. He had lost conscious for a moment then. Soohyun was almost alone. The beast could see him, but he couldn’t see it. It was almost doom for him.

“.” He cursed under his breath as he drew out his dragon whips, trying to locate the beast. He could feel its movements, but it was hard to tell its exact location.

“Give it up, Soohyun. You know very well you can’t win right now.”  He heard an unfamiliar voice, as cold as the wind which just hit them.
“Dammit. Who’re you?”
“Kiseop. You know what I am. You have a choice, either to come with me, or he dies.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“It’s part of the battle. Either you die, or I perish.”

The last thing Soohyun wanted was Hoon to die. He was left with no choice, but to go with Kiseop. He knew that Kiseop was the enemy; he knew he wasn’t going to have a nice time with Kiseop, but deep inside, he knew that he didn’t want Hoon to be hurt, not even a little.

Hoon, I’m sorry. It’s the first time I broke a promise, and to you even. I need to leave, and you need to let go.

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Just as it was hell for Hoon and Soohyun, typing this chapter was hell for me too. x.x It was longggggggggg. Yeah, sorry if I confused you guys. D: