Tao had guided them to the mountains. There, he set up a fire, and everyone gathered around it. He laid each object from each girl on a rock. Taeyeon's necklace from her husband, Chanmi's teddy bear from her father, Hye Mi's first dress that she had designed and was so proud of (Kris said that it was a feat just to get access to her closet, Taemin chimed in, stating that he stole it when no one was looking. They all had a laugh at that.) And last were the marigold flowers for the missing Tiffany Hwang. 

Tao sat down in his designated spot. He had a piece of paper in his hand. That was what he was going to read. It was a partial letter, partial prayer of sorts. Before he began, he looked at each of them, making direct eye contact.  

"This might fail. And we all might die. This could be a partial success, with some of us surviving. Or it could be a full sucess, with all of us making it out of here alive. But one thing is garuanteed, and that tonight is going to be our worst nightmare."

He smoothed out the paper. He cleared his throat. "And now we'll begin." He started reading. After the first word, the earth began to shake and rumble again, like it had the first time Hani had met Tao. She looked at Tao, with uncertainty. She felt fingers nudge her hand. It was Tao's hand sliding into hers. She held his hand. He was probably as frightened as she was. She thought about the twelve innocent Chinese people who had been killed. Surely, there had been others that had remained silent like Tao. She looked at him.

But he's trying right now right? 

Tao finished the first sentence, and the earth ripped open around them. The second sentence triggered the earth to open in a perfect circle around them, and causing the rest of the earth to fall away and then they were in an island of their own.

The third sentence caused a black hideous hand to climb out of the earth. 

Hani wanted to scream STOP! but this was bound to happen sooner or later. Sooyoung fainted after seeing the hand. Taehyung caught her, and wished that his brain would shut down like hers. But it didn't, and he witnessed the monster slowly climbing out of the earth.

They all watched with dread as the head of the monster peeked out. Tao's last words from the paper were "And may the Gods help us again." 

 The monster stealthily climbed out of the earth. They saw it raise it's face up to them. Red vile eyes that made their hearts and stomachs repulse. Death loomed over the mountain peeks, and suddenly they were sure that someone else was going to be gone.

The monster finally showed it's full face. It jeered at them and it's hand reached for them.

"Say it again!" Jin screamed. "Let's all say the last few words together!"

"And may the Gods help us again?" Tao said. "Yes those words!"

Tao took a deep breath. Taehyung shook Sooyoung until she was conscious again, but barely. 

"Sooyoung please wake up, we need you here with us!" He said frantically. The monster's hand was right above their heads.

"Sooyoung!"

"And may the Gods help us again," she said faintly. "Again Sooyoung!" Taehyung was crying now. 

"And may the Gods help us again," they said as one. Their little island shot up into the sky, disconnecting itself from the earth, disobeying gravity. Taehyung saw a hand swipe at the monster and push it back into the earth.

"Let's end this once and for all!" Tao shouted at the sky. "So we won't have to sacrifice anyone ever again, for as long as humanity exists!"

A flash of lightening answered Tao. A huge hand held by an even bigger sword descended and slashed the head off of the monster. It was attacked with such force, it's blood splashed and coloured the remaining earth beneath them. 

"Now what do we do?" Lee Hi asked. 

"We wait and pray to give them strength," Jin said. "We've reignited a war between the Ancient Ones and the Gods. Let's hope the Gods win."

They watched the Gods and The Ancient Ones clash. The sounds of war were terrorizing and deafening. Arrows rained down, as well as upwards, and blood curdling screams were heard from both sides.  They witnessed a monster slash the neck of a female goddess, her head grotesquely snapping off and rolling off into hell.

Jin watched another female goddess take her place. He looked at her face carefully, recalling that he had seen her in his father's old history books. She had been depicted as a gorgeous and soft looking goddess,someone who hated warfare, but here she was, her teeth around the neck of a monster, chomping onto him vicously, draining it's life out at an alarming speed.

Everyone had their eyes on the war, but Kris was looking back down on earth, to the city of Yeong Ju. The people had surely evacuated, everyone,he hoped. The city of Yeong Ju began to collapse before his eyes, as if a little angry kid was destroying a toy city. Homes, work places, historical buildings, all were going to be ash. 

Memories were being destroyed.