The night had felt like an eternity to Jaehee after waking up. She hadn’t been sure what time of the day it was because of the darkness of the room, but having to fight with her own limbs to finally get them moving had taken all night. Every part of her had been stiff and sore when she woke up and by the time she managed to get up and try to walk away from the stone podium, her legs had given out and she had fallen on the floor face first.

The dark energy in the room continued to shine on her body, and while it had healed and revitalize her powers, it didn’t provide the sustenance that food and liquids provided her body as well. The Shadow knew she was dehydrated from her dry mouth and lips. Jaehee’s stomach rumbled as well begging for some kind of food to fill her up. Luckily for her, one of the priestess that would always check on her in the morning happened to open the door and gasp at the sight of the woman lying on her side on the ground.

Hyemi took off running to find Kyurhee and let her know Jaehee had finally woken up. Luckily for the young priestess, Kyurhee had made her way to the temple early that morning. It had been difficult for the rogue to sleep well in the past days and the night before had been no different. Every morning she would come to the temple hoping her sister had finally woken up.

“Princess Kyurhee!” Hyemi shouted out as she ran up to the rogue. “Princess Jaehee…”

Kyurhee stopped in her tracks in front of the main doors to the temple. Hyemi was panting heavily and blocking the entrance to the temple. “What about Jaehee?!”

“She’s woken up! Please come with me. She needs our help.” The young priestess told the older woman and turned back around and ran off in the direction of the infirmary.

Kyurhee’s eyes went wide and she took off behind the priestess. Past the infirmary was the dark room where Jaehee was and the breath of relief Kyurhee in when she saw her sister trying to push herself off the floor spoke more than any words. The rogue and the priestess helped the death knight get up and led her out to the infirmary.

“Please lay on the bed Princess. I need to prepare the IV drop for you. You’re most likely dehydrated and this will take care of that.” Hyemi instructed Jaehee, who nodded slightly.

Kyurhee helped her sister onto the bed and made her as comfortable as she could while Hyemi worked diligently to finish the last part of Jaehee’s road to recovery. Jaehee tried to speak but she couldn’t find her voice.

“It’s fine sis, take it easy. Just because the dark energy healed you doesn’t mean you’re at completely one hundred percent. But I am glad that you’re finally awake. I’m so relieved.” Kyurhee told her sister and squeezed Jaehee’s hand. The younger woman closed her eyes and gave her older sister a slight smile.





Morning time for the Guardians consisted of everyone gathering in the main warehouse for breakfast. Jiyeon and Eunjung had grabbed their trays and headed for the table where the rest of the Elite Six were except for Soyeon. Jiyeon frowned as she sat down and noticing that the high priestess chair was empty.

“Where is Soyeon unni?” The young human girl asked.

“I have no idea. She’s usually the first one here.” Qri replied. The rest of the Guardians nodded in agreement to Qri’s reply but they didn’t say anything. Perhaps Soyeon had decided to finally sleep in one morning, who knows.

The silence during breakfast bothered Jiyeon as usually everyone would chat about something. Some minutes into their silent breakfast, Soyeon finally walked into the warehouse and headed towards the table where everyone was.

“There you are…” Qri trailed off as she took a good look at the high priestess. “You look pale. Are you alright?”

Soyeon turned to look at Qri and then everyone else. “I’m fine.”

The high priestess’s reply did not fool the mage. “You sure? Because you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Also, you had Jiyeon worried.”

“Yes, I was wondering where you were unni. You’re usually here before any of us.” Jiyeon added.

“I’m fine. I just went out for a walk is all.” Soyeon replied and took her seat. Qri eyed Soyeon suspiciously. While the others didn’t question Soyeon’s reasoning, Qri knew the high priestess was hiding something but she would leave it alone for now.





Sangchu was extremely worried. Junseop had never gone out at night and not returned home or not called Sangchu to letting him know where he was. They had a relationship built on honesty and good communication so for the warrior to wake up this morning and not find his husband next to him on the bed had him worried. Of course he had gotten up thinking the shorter man was in the bathroom or in the kitchen but when he saw the house was empty except for himself, Sangchu begin to worry.

Junseop had texted him the night before, telling Sangchu to head home and that he would get there later. Sangchu remembered that one of the texts mentioned something about going to pick up Gyuri, but Junseop should had returned home by now. The warrior had called his husband’s phone multiple times already but all he had gotten was the voicemail message. After sending a few texts and not getting any replies, Sangchu had finally decided the best course of action was to go to the temple.

He was hoping to find Junseop in the priests' training area but when the other priests had informed Sangchu that neither Junseop or Hyori had made it in this morning, the warrior ran off to the main temple. He needed to find Kyurhee or anyone else who might let him know about the two priests going to pick up Gyuri.


“Kyurhee!” Sangchu yelled out as he ran up the steps and into the temple.

Seunghyun was a few steps behind Sangchu when he heard the man calling out for the rogue after running into the temple. Seunghyun quickened his steps and called out the older man. "Sangchu hyun!”

“Seunghyun! Have you seen Junseop this morning?” Sangchu asked after turning around to face the younger man.

“No, why? Did something happen?” Seunghyun questioned.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. It is so unlike Junseop to not come home at night.” Sangchu explained with a tone of worry in his voice.

“Sangchu…? I think I heard you calling me?” Kyurhee questioned as she walked into the temple. The infirmary where she had been with Jaehee wasn’t too far from the temple and Sangchu had been yelling out her name pretty loudly.

“Kyurhee! Did Junseop and Hyori make it back with Gyuri?” Sangchu asked letting out a sigh of relief after seeing the rogue walking towards him and Seunghyun.

Kyurhee frowned at Sangchu’s question. What did he mean about Junseop and Hyori making it back with Gyuri. Jaehee had just woken up and there was no way she would have made that order. Her sister’s girlfriend had been left in the care of the Guardians and had no reason to be at the temple at the moment.

“What are you talking about Sangchu? Gyuri is not here and neither is Junseop or Hyori. I don’t know what’s going on, but the important thing right now is that Jaehee has woken up.” Kyurhee told both men and smiled slightly.

Both warriors’ eyes widened and jaws dropped. This was the best news any Shadow could receive at this moment. For a second, Sangchu had forgotten about his husband.

“When did she wake up?” Seunghyun asked and smiled widely.

“This morning.” Kyurhee smiled and turned to Sangchu. “You were saying Sangchu oppa?”

“Jaehee’s awake…” he smiled for a second but then looked at the older princess seriously, “Last night Junseop texted me something about going to pick up Gyuri. Um…here, let me pull up the text.”

“Sangchu, I will be getting home late tonight. Hyori and I are going to go pick up Gyuri to help out Jaehee.”Sangchu read out loud the text Junseop had sent him.

Both Seunghyun and Kyurhee frowned at the text message Sangchu had just read. Why in the world would they do that without Jaehee’s direct order and why weren’t they at the temple yet. It’s not like it took all night to go from one side of the city to the other.

“Why would they…? Sangchu, Gyuri is not here…this explains why Hyemi couldn’t find Hyori…” Kyurhee trailed off as her thoughts were running through her head.





Something had to obviously have gone wrong if none of them were at the temple. The other thing was the no one here knew where the Guardians’ headquarters were. No one except Tablo and that’s what lead the three Shadows to go look for the rogue. Kyurhee did not want to worry her sister about this at the moment as the younger woman was finishing up her recuperation.

Tablo had been talking to some rogues when they found him. Kyurhee wasted no time in asking the fellow rogue if he had talked to either Junseop or Hyori about the Guardians’ location. The rogue explained that Hyori had come looking for him to ask about the location and when she explained her plan he thought it was a good idea so he gave her the directions. He was just trying to help Jaehee even though she had asked him to never reveal that location.

Once they knew this information, Kyurhee sent out Sangchu and Seunghyun to look for the two priests and call her back when they had found anything. She would remain by her sister’s side while the two men went out to look for answers.






Tablo had given the two warriors the directions on how to get to the Guardians’ location so they had headed towards it. They were hoping to ask the Guardians if they two priests had ever made it to them and if they had any idea of what had happened to them. On their way to the Guardians, Seunghyun noticed tire tracks heading off the highway onto a dirt road that was located in between some trees.

As they passed it, both warriors sensed a weak Shadow aura. Sangchu got off the highway and made a u-turn at the next light in order to come around to the dirt path again. This time while heading in the same direction, Sangchu made the right turn into the dirt path. There was only one set of tire tracks in the slight muddy trail and it didn’t take them long to finally spot a black car parked at an angle in the middle of the road.

“That looks like Hyori’s car.” Seunghyun mentioned when they stopped behind the black car. The two back doors of the car were wide open and part of the car was covered with splashes of mud.

The two warriors got out of the car and walked towards the black car and then around it to see what was in front of it. The scene they saw before them stopped them completely. Their eyes went wide and both of them let out a loud gasp. Before them were the four bodies they were looking for lying unconscious.

Sangchu ran towards Junseop and crouched down to try and shake his husband awake. Sangchu noticed the dry blood on the back of Junseop’s head and after inspecting it, Sangchu knew someone had knocked the priest unconscious. He turned the priest around and let out of a sigh of relief when he saw that Junseop was still alive.

Seunghyun looked for a pulse on Hyori and was relieved to see the priestess was alive although she had been beat badly. Sangchu was now checking Hyori’s driver and let Seunghyun know that the man was alive as well, although banged up like Hyori was. The two of them then moved over to check on Gyuri; but before either of them could lean down to check for the girl’s pulse, they saw the blood that covered the human’s midsection.

The cut of a blade piercing the human girl's midsection was unmistakable. Gyuri’s pale skin and lifeless eyes made it clear to both warriors that she was dead. Seunghyun felt a knot in his throat as tears rolled down his face. He couldn’t even stand and just fell back, landing on his behind, as he let out a strangled cry. Sangchu couldn’t hold back his tears either as he leaned down a bit to support Seunghyun.

Both knew how much this girl meant to Jaehee; the girl who Sangchu had seen grow up into a young woman and the best friend that Seunghyun had shared everything with. How could this have happened and how would they give her the news. There were no words or movement from both men, just the heartbreaking ache in their hearts.





Kyurhee had been pacing back and forth for a while now. It had been more than an hour since Sangchu and Seunghyun had left to go find out what happened to Junseop and Hyori. Jaehee had taken a nap after Hyemi had given her some food, which looked like baby food but it was the only thing that wouldn’t make the younger woman throw up. The IV drip had also been hydrating Jaehee and she was looking much healthier now.

Kyurhee didn’t want to worry her sister so she was glad the younger woman was asleep so she wouldn’t see the worry and anxiousness in the rogue’s face and mannerisms. The older woman was trying her hardest not to grab her phone and call either one of them. She had to be patient and let either Sangchu or Seunghyun call her with the news they found.

Jaehee stirred awake from her nap and turned to look at her sister who was biting a nail and pacing back and forth. The light was bright in the infirmary so Jaehee rubbed her eyes to let them adjust better and turned to look at her sister again who continued with her nail biting and pacing.

Her voice was really raspy and deeper than usual, but Jaehee finally managed to let some words out. “Kyurhee…what’s wrong?”

Kyurhee jumped and turned to face her sister. Hearing her sister's voice surprised Kyurhee and didn’t relieve any of her anxiousness. Obviously Jaehee was going to ask why she was doing what she was doing. The rogue didn’t want to tell Jaehee about what the two priests had done without her permission, really both of their permissions, but Kyurhee knew Jaehee was going to ask anyways.

I don’t want to lie to her but…but…argh… Kyurhee placed her hands in her pockets and looked down at her younger sister. “Jaehee…I’m really happy you’re awake. I’ve missed you.”

Jaehee smiled and nodded, but she wasn’t going to let her sister hide whatever else was bothering her. “There is…something…else isn’t there?”

Kyurhee let out a sigh. Even in her state, Jaehee already knew something was up. “Jaehee…last night, Hyori and Junseop went to go pick up Gyuri to bring her to see you hoping you would wake up by hearing her voice. The thing is, none of them ever made it back to the temple. Sangchu and Seunghyun have gone out to look for them.”

Jaehee sat up and turned to let her legs hang off the side of the bed. “What?”

Kyurhee closed her eyes and nodded. “I know…”




Behind Sangchu and Seunghyun, Hyori and her driver begin to stir awake. Their bodies had been banged up by their own allies in order to keep up their façade. They were sore and it hurt to move, but they gave it their all. The two warriors heard the groans behind them and turned to see the priestess and her driver trying to sit up. They wiped the tears off their faces and moved over to help the two injured Shadows.

"Hyori, what happened?!” Seunghyun asked the priestess as he helped her sit up.

Hyori moved her right hand to touch the side of her head since the headache she had was painful. “We were attacked by the same Shadows that attacked Jaehee…”

“They appeared out of nowhere. I was trying to get away from them…” Hyori’s driver mentioned as Sangchu helped him sit up.

There was another groan and this time it came from Junseop who finally stirred awake. Sangchu ran off towards his husband and gently helped the smaller man sit up. “Junseop, I was so worried about you.”

Sangchu kissed his huband on the cheek and held him close. Junseop was very groggy but hearing Sangchu’s voice made him feel a tiny bit better.

Hyori had her eyes closed and was holding onto her head when she suddenly dropped her hands down to her lap and shot her eyes open. “Gyuri! Seunghyun where’s Gyuri!?”

The warrior looked down at Hyori as she looked up at him and noticed the tears running down the warrior’s eyes. Hyori turned around and let out a gasp in shock. Her driver turned to look in the direction Hyori was looking and his reaction was the same. Needless to say, they knew what had happened to human girl, but these two fools did not need to know that. Their acting was outstanding.






Jaehee had finally managed to stand up, although she was leaning on the infirmary bed, contemplating exactly what the two priests had done. She understood their reasoning as to why they wanted to bring Gyuri over, but the fact was that she had given Eunjung instructions about taking care of Gyuri until she could got pick her up. Hopefully the Guardian still had her girlfriend under her care.

Kyurhee’s phone ringing took the sisters out of their thoughts. “Seunghyun! Did you find anything? Tell me!”

Jaehee motioned for her sister to move closer to her so she could hear what Seunghyun had to say. Kyurhee put her phone on speaker and finally Seunghyun spoke up.

“We found them Kyurhee, but…but…”

“But what? Just say it Seunghyun!” Kyurhee shouted out.

“It’s just…I don’t know how to…”

“Seunghyun…just tell us…what happened…” Jaehee said; her voice still deep and raspy.

“Jaehee…I think it’s best if you came here.”

Jaehee and Kyurhee turned to look at each other and then down at Kyurhee’s phone. Seunghyun told them exactly where he and Sangchu had found their friends before hanging up. Kyurhee called him back but Seunghyun’s phone sent her straight to voicemail.

“Damn it! What the hell Seunghyun!” Kyurhee yelled at her phone.

“Let’s just go Kyurhee…” Jaehee told her and moved to stand up straight.

“You’re still in no condition to go out there. I’ll go.” Kyurhee told Jaehee and try to push her sister down onto the bed.

“No! I’m going…” Jaehee let out and pulled the needle from the IV drip out of her arm. She begin walking towards the door, although she was wobbling but she managed to make it out of the room. Kyurhee sighed and walked over to help her sister make it out to Kyurhee’s car.






In less time than it took Sangchu and Seunghyun to find their friends, Kyurhee and Jaehee had made it to the location Seunghyun had told them about on the phone. The two warriors had applied the little bit of first aid they knew to the three injured Shadows while they waited. It would help their injuries a little, but all three needed the same dark energy Jaehee had needed in order to heal.

With Kyurhee’s support, both she and Jaehee walked around Sangchu’s car and the black car to spot their friends. When Seunghyun heard the two women walking towards them, he moved so that his body would hopefully block Gyuri from view for just a bit. He feared what his friend’s reaction would be when she saw her girlfriend lying dead on the ground behind them.

Kyurhee and Jaehee were shocked at the sight of the two priests and Hyori’s driver barely sitting up. They had bruises all over their face and probably bodies. Junseop seemed to have suffered a head injury. Seunghyun looked over at Jaehee and noticed that she had not even put on proper clothing to come and see what had happened.

The death knight looked over at her friend noticing the tears beginning to roll down his handsome face once again. Her eyes questioned Seunghyun’s and the man just put his head down before moving out of the way. The next sight Jaehee would see made her lose all her balance.

A silent gasp escaped her lips as her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. The knot in and the feeling of her heartbreaking into pieces felt like a knife had passed right through it. Jaehee fell to her knees, but as quickly as she fell, she ran off to the body of her girlfriend. The blood covering Gyuri’s midsection had dried but the one near the entrance of the killing blow was still wet, although cold when Jaehee touched it.

The blood quickly covered Jaehee’s right hand as her left ran down the side of Gyuri’s face. The girl’s eyes were open and lifeless. Jaehee closed Gyuri’s eyes and looked at the woman she loved. Even in death, Gyuri was still beautiful. The death knight’s eyes roamed over to her right hand and stared at the blood that covered her hand completely. She balled up her right hand into a fist and brought both fists near her heart.

Jaehee got into a fetal position while sitting and in air as the tears rolled down her eyes. The pain she felt now couldn’t even compare to the pain she felt before she out while fighting against the Shadows at the school not too long ago. It was a pain that really had no description. No words could explain it.

Her true form suddenly appeared and a dark aura started coming off of Jaehee’s body as she rocked back and forth. Everyone’s eyes remained glued to the mourning Shadow. Unable to hold it back anymore, Jaehee sat straight up and opened her arms, letting out a strangled cry. It was loud and filled with unbearable pain.

Kyurhee couldn’t hold back her tears as she saw her sister suffering before her. She wanted to hold Jaehee, tell her it would be ok, but that would not help. Not right now and perhaps not for a long time. Sangchu was letting out tears too as he held onto Junseop who was also crying. Seunghyun wiped his eyes as he kept his head down.

Hyori had her head down as well and eyed her driver as best as she could and saw that the man had his head down as well. Behind her, Jaehee let out another cry and Hyori smirked evilly. Lord Kwangsoo’s and Jinyoung’s plan had worked. They had finally broken Jaehee. There would be no stopping their plans now.