Chapter XIV "House of the Phoenix Land"   

"You shine in this pitch darkness that is the butterfly effect." ~ Bangtan Boys 'Butterfly'   

  “What is the plan exactly?” Sehun asked, his voice roaring slightly from the kitchen. There were three bags stacked up in the corner as all Jungkook saw was a bright and blinding light out of a door. He noticed that Minyoung and Junhoe both paced all throughout the apartment, collecting things.

“The emergency meeting is in two days. Jungkook will have a secret and silent trial tonight, no exceptions,” Junhoe spoke, his voice soft as he begun to rattle through a cabinet in the kitchen.

“Tell me why my trial isn’t an emergency?” Jungkook asked, his voice getting lost in the room as he softly, sat down in the couch.

“Oh it is, but there’s more than one emergency trial at the moment. The Japanese Coalition is a bigger problem. If either one of them knew about you and are dark beings, we could be in a huge problem,” Minyoung spoke, her voice full of confidence and worry.

“So, what now?” He asked, feeling small as the room was filled with rustling and all he could do was sit there.

“Put this on. Sehun, do you ever stop eating?” She jumped from one command to an annoyed question super quick. Sehun popped up, sauce covering his lips as he shamefully whipped it off.

Jungkook grabbed the hat and sunglasses. They seem to have been ready, especially when Sehun finally left the fridge and meet them in the couch.

“Now, let’s go,” Junhoe spoke as he signaled Minyoung to take the lead. Then, as she stepped forwards, Jungkook was encouraged to go next. “Take in a deep breath, you’re in for a treat,” he spoke, the warm and assuring voice of Junhoe finally settled the little bits of nerves that Jungkook felt.

And he did. He let his lungs fill with the fresh air of the room before taking a step forward. His instincts telling him not to go into the light, like many people say, but part of him felt so eager to walk to it. As if he was a little kid chasing ice cream.

He closed his eyes, the light pricking his pupils slightly, making him feel this discomfort in them. He felt a warm hand yanking him. His heart jumped slightly, but then fell at ease as he realized that it was just Minyoung.

His entire body froze when he saw it. There was a grassy field that wasn’t green, but it was a very fluorescent purple that seemed to shimmer under the moonlight. There was a bright moon that seem to make the smallest thing glow. The air was so cool and refreshing, it had a warmness too it that was beyond comfortable.

There was this little spec of shimmer coming out of the grass, as if a visible energy was being omitted. He saw the silhouette of the trees and was amazed to see the green leaves shining slightly green-blue as a beautiful bird was flying into his nest.

“It’s all so beautiful and unrealistic,” he whispered in amazement, it looked like a glowing nocturne night. He giggled at the sight of the bird, the ends of his feathers looked like they were dipped in neon orange paint. They glowed so vividly and warmly and it was beyond mesmerizing.

“Welcome to the Phoenix land. The Breaking Dawn Academy is right down there,” Minyoung spoke, her voice soft and gentle. She was so happy that Jungkook liked the surroundings. She was glad that he was completely in awe and that he would not regret his decision to come here.

They all walked through the purple toned grass. Jungkook looking all around as there was nothing that wasn’t catching his attention. There were moths and butterflies with neon green and pink patterns tinting their wings and illuminating the field. The night was alive, and many birds with the tips of their feathers tinted were out flying and singing a tune. Even the large school that he spotted at the bottom of the hill called out for him.

It was just like how it was drawn in Minyoung’s sketchbook. The building extended across the length of the large maze it had as a backyard. The maze looking exactly the way it had in his constant nightmares, only brighter. The building was a nice shade of almond brown with a black rooftop, it mostly looked like an extended mansion.

“The academy has students of all different species that want to be light warriors. In every reincarnation of our lives, we tend to forget a lot. We forget what we are, and that there are other creatures and monsters. We remember how to fight, and who we met, even who we loved in our past lives but we have no big knowledge of it,” Minyoung spoke, her voice getting lost in the air as Jungkook looked at the building in awe.

“It was created to help us remember who we were, what we are and everything that surrounds us. But mainly, to train all the new kids that the Masters have and the new recruits,” Junhoe spoke, his voice echoing behind him as Jungkook felt his heart at ease as the moon warmly embraced everything it touched.

“Come on, we have a lot to talk about. Especially since you just said you’ve seen this in a nightmare.” Jungkook was pulled forward. His words getting caught in his throat as he forgot they had access to his thoughts as long as they are shielding him.

“I dreamed of if since Jin saved me in the fire. There was always this snake type creature out to kill me and telling me that the ice should not sleep. It wasn’t the first weird dream through,” he spoke. He simply wanted to brush it off as if it was nothing, because to him, it didn’t mean anything anymore.

But that didn’t seem to be the case since Minyoung and Junhoe stopped walking and pulled him back. Their eyes looked distant and deep in thought, Sehun was the only one who seemed to not really pay attention, he was busy staring at the bright moon.

“What other dreams did you have and were they all of ice?” Junhoe asked, his voice a little speculative as if he was already catching onto something. Jungkook wondered if he should even feed their curiosity, they were just dreams that didn’t mean anything.

“The first time you helped me, I dreamed of these set of turquoise eyes that peered at me. And I’m assuming the talk about vampire children I overheard was correct,” he paused, feeling the rich moisture of the air turning slightly cold as Minyoung and Junhoe shared this look that didn’t look good.

“That was me,” Sehun spoke, his hand scratching the back of his neck as he chuckled softly, “Sorry, I thought you were darkness and I kind of scratched you too.” His eyes creased softly as an apologetic laugh creeped out of his mouth.

 Jungkook had almost forgot about that, Yugyeom said he looked like he was scratched by a cat or something. His hands softly brushed where he remembered it was. Right under his jaw, not quite visible on his neck. It was hardly seen and it never bothered him. The scar he remembered was no longer there and he didn’t really think about it too much.

“Aside that, what else Jungkook,” Minyoung spoke. He noticed her snake begun to peak out of her sleeve as it looked directly at him. Just like the snake in the maze, but not quite.

“When I was kidnapped, I dreamt of this boy. He had hair as white as snow and pale icy skin. His eyes were like cracked ice and he was screaming, as if he was in pain. The next day, I dreamt of that same boy and you two were there, as if you three were battling together. You called him Jin, and I assumed you knew him,” he spoke, his voice getting softer and more lost in thought as he saw their eyes scrunch up in confusion.

“Jungkook, what if we were to tell you we know exactly who Jin is and everything you want to know about him.” The air stiffens around him, his body no longer felt warm and refreshed, but bitten by bitter sweet wind and embraced by coldness.

“I’ve been dreaming about Jin?” he spoke, his voice dropping a tone lower as he looked at the grass. The energy omitted by the purple grass was surrounding his feet, as if he was attracting it. It now felt different, as if it was a physical cotton ball of energy. It looked like they were little critters that liked his presence, and oddly enough, he begun to feel warm again.

“Tell me, I’d rather go into my trial knowing everything,” he spoke, his hand moving forward to cup the little balls of energy. They were soft and warm and they seemed to tickle his skin.

“Master Blaze is the Master of the Ice. He was a close friend of us before he became a Phoenix. He was known as simply Blaze the Raven, he was always fond of bird, but it was the Ice Phoenix who gave him the name, hopping to ignite fear in whoever pushed him down,” Minyoung spoke, feeling the snake on her arm getting impatient and suddenly unhooking the creature from her arm and setting it down on the bright purple grass.

“Blaze the Raven was a powerful being, but he was a very warm hearted one too. Due to being ice, a lot of people feared he was going to turn to the dark side but he never had anything dark in him. No hunger for power, or desire for revenge or even anger. He saw good in everyone and was always a lover of music, and his singing voice was the cheery on top. We meet in a new life, they were training us three together and we just founded a friendship,” Junhoe spoke as a light nostalgic chuckle escaped his lips.

Jungkook felt his heart ache slightly, hearing their description of Jin was very heart grabbing. Mostly because it felt like they were right, he meet the real Jin and he only lied about his name and his background, not about who he was.

“Yeah, sure, friendship,” Sehun spoke, amusement and pure sarcasm staining his words as Jungkook raised his brows. Junhoe’s face flushed red, and all Minyoung did was kneeled down, playing with her charcoal snake.

Sehun kneeled down, cupping what looked like a little squirrel. Its tail was bushy and very puffy, it nibbled on Sehun’s thumb as the boy giggled and picked it up. They looked so carefree and calm, as if they were genuinely a group of high school friends.

“Um, what?” Jungkook asked, confusion tinting his lips as the balls of light begun to dim slowly as they approached his face. He almost didn’t even speak up about what Sehun meant because he was in such deep thought about their carefree attitudes. 

“Junhoe married Blaze, the kid can know,” Sehun shouted, running away as Junhoe sent him this glare, warning him to stay quiet. Sehun simply laughed as the little squirrel in his palm begun to climb up his arm and held tightly to his shoulder.

“You what?” He asked, disbelief not being the correct word anymore. Junhoe cleared his throat as he sent daggers through his eyes at Minyoung who was laughing softly.

“Hey, you’re the one who dated him before. How the hell did you handle him?” Junhoe’s attempt at taking away all the attention wasn’t working. It only made Jungkook stand there, frozen in the spot as he peered at them. Sehun simply shrugged from a distance, as if the same question couldn’t be answered by him.

“Thanks man, throwing me under the bus like that. The better question is, how I survived an entire lifetime married to you,” she spoke playfully, her body regaining its full seize as she pushed him aside softly and with laughter.

“Excuse me, confused kid right here,” Jungkook let the little balls of light falls, as he begun to walk away. He wanted to ask questions but he didn’t know what he didn’t understand anymore. How can Minyoung be married to Junhoe and have dated Sehun and the three are friends as if nothing happened? Better yet, why is a married woman dating his best friend?

“Okay, listen. Every new life, when we reincarnate, its literally a new life. Human reincarnate and they aren’t held back to what they did in their past lives, right?” She asked, her voice echoing behind him as he nodded, understanding where she was coming from.

“The only trick is; we remember some of the things we did in the past lives. Last life, I lived in Chicago, I was studying to be a surgeon and I meet a human, Danielle who was my best friend. But it was my old life, I don’t get held back from what I did in that life.” Minyoung caught up to him, two balls of light in her grasp as she began to explain to him in a different way.

“As beings, we don’t have soul mates like a humans do, instead, the stars align two souls to love each other.” She placed one of the light balls onto the other, and it was as if they were working with her to tell the story, they had suddenly untied into a bigger fuzzy ball of light. “In one life time, Junhoe and Blaze were aligned as lovers and so they got married. But when they reincarnate, the bond, the love and everything that goes with it, disappears.” She placed her free hand on top of the ball of light, and Jungkook gasped when the light went out.

“And you guys don’t have feelings for each other anymore?” He asked, hoping it was that easy to have gotten over Sooyoung when she was with her boyfriend. His heart fell at ease as he saw that the little balls of light were back to being bright and shining when Minyoung released them.

“Yeah, but it’s not like we don’t love each other, just not to that extend. More of a, ‘I really care for you and I don’t want you to die’ kind of love. Like the one you have for Yugyeom.” He stopped himself from taking another step.

Right, that type of brotherly and friendly love that has him in this words. If he didn’t love Yugyeom, he would not be here trying to keep him protected. That made sense.

“It’s very confusing, but wait,” he paused after taking a step. He could hear Sehun laughing as Junhoe was playing rough with the boy. They looked like normal high school students. “Junhoe and Blaze are both guys,” he spoke, the words getting caught in the air.

He knew this much so far, Blaze is Jin and Jin was a guy. He was told Jin had a full romantic love for him, but why is it so normal to talk about it like that?

“Your point being?” She asked, not understanding where such a statement came from, “you humans seriously need to fully accept the ways of love don’t you,” she spoke, taking as step in front of him. Her eyes glimmering brightly under the moonlight as he felt this need to look away before he begun to think about them more.

“In this world, it doesn’t matter. So what if they are both guys, love is a force that unites two souls, not two genders. Love isn’t meant to be stopped, trust me, I know that first hand,” she spoke, a smile that was pressed into a thin line stared at him. He simply nodded, understanding as she turned around and begun to walk.

Jungkook tried to not think about it, mostly because he knew she could look into his thoughts if she wanted to. But he swore that she meant it, and he had a feeling that mark on her torso had something to do with it. He had this feeling by the simple way she quickly rubbed that tattoo and brushed it off as if it was truly nothing.

“We’re entering through the side of the building. See that dome, that’s the council hall.”  Minyoung pointed to the side of the building. A dome, it was an opaque shade of gray that seemed to glimmer different lights as different creatures flew over it.

He felt his heart in his mouth, the time was almost near. The time to tell everyone that he existed and it was all Jin’ fault.

“There are twenty members of the council, five Master Phoenixes, five heads of the different cities in this world and ten beings. Minyoung and I are part of those ten, there is one male and one female from every element. So, we will have to leave when verdict time comes,” Junhoe explained. His voice, oddly sounding more distant and quiet as Jungkook approached the building.

It felt grander than from far away. It looked like a palace and he was purely a peasant that didn’t deserve to even be this close. There were people roaming around, his heart jumped every time he heard a laugh or a voice.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you until verdict is finished. Just know this, you can’t talk to Jin until after the trial, and I’m going to be assigned to make sure of that,” Sehun spoke, his little friend jumping off his shoulder and landing on Jungkook’s arm.

The boy flinched, caught off guard that the little animal was so friendly in this world. He smiled when the squirrel brushed its bushy tail against his neck, as if comforting him, before running in the bright purple field that was the floor of this dark neon fire.

“What else do I need to do?” He asked, his heart dropping to the floor that he almost stepped on it. Minyoung reached the door, and she bit down onto her thumb, drawing what looked like a blue substance. She let it drop into a little grid and suddenly the door clicked open.

“You enter with Junhoe and Sehun. You will say your name and that you thought you were human until you encountered Master Blaze. Then, that will be it, we will take care of everything okay?” She asked, she needed him to reassure her that this is what he wanted.

He wanted to slap himself because of how much his heart fell at ease when she picked up his hands and squeezed it. Her warmth suddenly felt like it was consuming him as he felt this need for more. He took a deep breath and nodded, he let go of her hand and reminded himself of something. She only made him feel like that because he is still human and it’s her nature, she loves Yugyeom and Yugyeom loves her.  

He found himself staring at a large metal door, it was black and oddly, didn’t help keep noise in. He could hear Minyoung speaking and he could hear a crowd talking at her every word. He took a deep breath and let Junhoe and Sehun place their hands on each side of his shoulder, he needed this reassurance. He fixed the sunglasses and just waited.

“I have a crime I need to report and the main victim is outside,” Minyoung spoke, her voice was firm and confident.  The door swung open.

The hinges creaking a bit as they echoed in the large hall. It looked like a court room. In a very high section straight up front were five people. And bellow, spiraling around the circle hall were a group of people who just looked like college students, with really bright hair colors.

He looked at the main five people, his sunglasses keeping him from seeing their every detail but they looked like there was some element swimming under their translucent skin. It looked very fascinating.

His breath hitched the moment he saw him, his hair was white as snow and his eyes were like cracked ice. A bird rested on his wrist and he could just see the way he carefully pets the bid. Jin was always a lover of birds, and even if Jungkook felt his legs shake and cave in, Junhoe held him up. He was alive, he was there.

“Very well, Lieutenant Mikey, who is the criminal?” A voice roared, the woman with aquatic sea green eyes spoke. Her skin translucent and vibrating a bluish green. Minyoung looked back at Jungkook, and he released a shaky deep breath.

“I call Master Blaze to the stand.” An instant uproar erupted as the room filled with the council members stared at the boy. The only one who didn’t seem to ask what was wrong and why was a Master Phoenix being called as a criminal, was that same boy.