The sunlight filtered through the blinds of the small cottage, making the dust motes suspended in the air shimmer like fairy dust. It illuminated the lanky, graceful figure of a young hunter sprawled on his side on a threadbare mattress, brow furrowed as he dreamt of unknowable things.

Taekwoon stirred slowly, stretching like an overgrown jungle cat. He could feel a dull, throbbing ache in his chest, and his skin felt cooler than normal, but none of this bothered him as much as the sudden flood of memories reminding him just what- or who- had entered his home the previous night.

Hakyeon set Taekwoon gently in front of his cottage, his fingers trailing gently along Taekwoon’s back. His midnight-hued wings had folded gracefully behind him as he entered the cottage. A flustered Taekwoon entered behind him, only to find that even without lighting any lanterns, he could see the interior of the whole cottage perfectly; he suddenly realized that the divine creature in his house was glowing with his own gentle light, as if someone had lit a candle of the purest flame inside of him.

 Hakyeon was looking around the poorly furnished cottage with a soft, wistful smile that widened to a cheeky grin as he turned to face Taekwoon and found him staring.

“Like what you see, Taekwoonie?”

Taekwoon choked on air and sputtered “No! No, I wasn’t…I...” but his voice died when Hakyeon stepped towards him, with a motion too fluid to be human and wrapped his arms around Taekwoon’s neck.

“Now, Taekwoonie…I want you to be a good boy and say my name. You can do that can’t you? Go on then. Say my name…” he whispered softly, his voice sending shivers down Taekwoon’s spine. It was like listening to the incarnation of sin, husky, honeyed and terrifyingly alluring. Taekwoon found himself unable to look away from Hakyeon’s golden eyes which seemed to be getting larger and more luminous with every passing moment. It felt like the space around them had started to shrink and turn to darkness, until it was just him, falling into an endless abyss of golden eyes and soft voices.

The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was the sight of Hakyeon placing a shining white jewel on his chest, followed by an intense, cold pain, like getting stabbed by an icicle.

Then everything went dark.

X----------X

The shrine of Argavia had been the home of the Oracle since the dawn of humanity. It was said that the Oracle who read the futures of both the gods and mankind was an immortal creature who did not conform to the rules of either the Heian Sith or those of mortal men. He stood alone above all others in the universe with the threads of the future tangled through his fingers. And the source of his incredible power came from a pair of magical objects as old as time itself.

The Eyes of Ko-or.

These mystical objects were said to be the eyes of the Great God Ko-or, the All-creator, who first gave birth to his children the Heian Sith and gave them dominion over different aspects of nature. He created mortal life on earth and gave the Heian Sith the power to rule over all of Earth’s creatures as well. His magical eyes were said to be able to see into the past, present and future of all living creatures, including his godly children and Ko-or himself. And when his eyes prophesied his death at the hands of some of his most ambitious and powerful progeny, Ko-or cut them out himself and entrusted them to the Oracle at Argavia for safekeeping, even though doing so would ensure his demise.

For it was said that if a god managed to claim both the eyes of Ko-or, they would not only be able to see the destinies of every creature, but would also be able to control it. They would have the power to change anyone’s past, present or future, erase their existence or even grant life to the dead. After the death of Ko-or, the gods who had conspired to kill him marched to the shrine of Argavia to kill the Oracle and claim the Eyes of Ko-or. The most powerful and ruthless being amongst all these gods was Tiriel, the god of darkness. He was the one who led the evil army to the steps of the shrine, and threatened to pull it apart brick by brick and water the land with the blood of the Oracle if the Eyes were not surrendered to him.

However before he could set foot on the sacred ground of the shrine, there was a thunderous noise, as bright white lightning suddenly erupted from the clear sky and struck Tiriel where he stood, turning his essence to dust. In the stunned silence that followed, the invaders saw the Oracle himself step out from the door of the innermost sanctum and address them with a voice that seemed to echo from everywhere.

 “Listen well, O servants of chaos. The Shrine of Argavia is under the protection of the All-creator’s power, through the Eyes that he has left in my keeping. As long as the Eyes reside within these four walls, Argavia shall not fall. And for your insolence, you are hereby banished to the Dark Realms to live in torment and await the day when the Lord of Darkness will arise again and call you to his aid. Begone!”

At these words, there was a great roaring sound as the Earth suddenly split open under the invaders’ feet and swallowed them as they screamed. When the earth closed over them, it was left blackened and infertile as a mark of their evil. And there they were doomed to stay…..

Until the day an unexpected event set into motion the prophecy that would allow them to walk the Earth again.

X-----------X

A/N: Please do comment guys! Constructive criticism is appreciated :D Also shoutout to Sarissa because she's AWESOME and she helped me find a plothole (by accident XD)