The Upper Council room was entirely silent as Lay and Tao entered, and while the rebel leader could feel all eyes trained on him, he tried not to pay attention to it as they walked to the only two available seats in the room. Surprisingly enough, the pair weren’t sat together, and instead, while Tao sat to the right of the Sun King, Lay found himself sitting to the left of the Moon King. He had figured that the man’s Head Guard or Head Advisor would be in that position instead, but chose not to say anything about it; it wasn’t like it’d affect them much now. It was only until the Council man who had let them in and who was now resealing the door returned to his place and sat down, did anyone speak.

            “We shall not waste time giving any explanations for formality’s sake,” Suho began, chin rested upon folded hands and elbows propped on the table in front of them.

            “Knowing all that has happened and what may occur, you are the ones we turn to guidance now,” Kris continued with a grave tone, as he turned his head to look out at everyone in the room, his eyes pausing slightly on Lay, before he looked away, to someone else. Lay followed his gaze, and what he saw at the end of Kris’s line of sight made his blood boil slightly.

            It was that man, the one from earlier—Council member Hankyung, as they called him. He was the one who senselessly attacked Tao, pushed the boy to near-death when all he had done was withhold a little information. Lay knew it was considered a high crime to commit perjury to the higher Councils, but what this man had done was simply unacceptable. Who gave him the right to treat a person, to treat a life with such disrespect?

            Lay jumped slightly in his seat when suddenly, his eyes met with Hankyung’s, as the older man stared back with an odd sort of intensity—not forceful, but more… coaxing. Still, he held his gaze, not willing to be swayed by this cruel man, and instead hardened his stare and crossed his arms in stubbornness. The Council member didn’t seem fazed though, staring back regularly, without dropping his look even once as he began to speak.

            “Let not your aura flare, young Interstellar,” Hankyung spoke with a calm sort of tone that Lay hadn’t expected. Was this the same angry man from before? “While we have had our spats, now is not the time for settling a score.”

            Lay’s eyes narrowed at his words. Of course he’d say that; he wanted to just evade responsibility for his actions, like all people in power. This ‘esteemed Council member’ was no different than the scumbags all politicians were. Hankyung sighed at the rebel leader’s stubbornness, but continued speaking anyway.

            “Do you not wish to learn of your powers?” Now that caught Lay’s attention. He let his eyes widen in surprise at the words. What would this man know of his ‘powers?’ Did he know of the mark? Did he knew what it was for, what he was expected to do with it? How?

            “Council member Hankyung bears the same mark as you do,” Suho spoke from besides him, and Lay snapped his head to the side to look at the Moon King in shock. No. Way. “In fact, he was one of the first few Interstellars to ever exist, and it was how he managed to join the Upper Council despite his unknown, far-off lineage.”

            “Though I must say, you really don’t seem like the typical Mark-bearer,” Hankyung commented, and Lay silently glared at him. The other raised his hands up as though giving a gesture of surrender, but continued speaking regardless. “And to see one after so many centuries… it’s entirely rare, really.”

            “Rare, but not unheard of,” a woman from far down the table spoke, and Hankyung nodded.

            “And for you to come now, of all times, means a change is coming to the world, one far greater than we could even begin to imagine.” Hankyung paused, looking Lay up and down.

            “One, perhaps, even greater than the War itself.”

----------

            The War.

            Suho knew it. Everyone knew it. The distrust, the confusion, the betrayal, the guilt, the sorrow, the violence, the pain, the destruction, the anarchy, the chaos that all happened from one greedy King had branded itself in Suho’s mind, as well as the minds of thousands, of millions, of billions across the galaxy. There was no one, man, woman, or child, speaking today that knew not of the War, yet for something far greater than it to be approaching them.... Could such a thing be possible?

            “How can that be true?” Kris spoke, and Taeyeon spoke up once more.

            “Even after countless discussions over the past three days… we are unsure,” she admitted, but there was more to all of this. Suho could tell.

            “But no matter what it is that is coming,” he began, “it is vital for the Interstellar to fulfill his roles, to follow the path laid by destiny itself and bring out his own road to self-discovery.” Hankyung turned his head to look back once more at Lay. “Bare your mark for me, young Interstellar.”

            Lay blinked for a minute, seemingly in a mix of confusion and surprise, before scrambling to pull his sleeve up and stretch his arm out across the table, to, at least partially, display itself to Hankyung. The man observed it quite intently, and Suho furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he tried to figure out what he was doing. Eventually, Hankyung nodded, humming slightly to himself, before looking up at Suho

            “You had expressed confusion earlier at the phrase, ‘union of hearts,’ yes?” he questioned, and Suho nodded hesitantly. At that, Hankyung, without another word, leaned back and stood up. The man walked around the table, to stand behind and in between Lay and Suho, all the while gesturing to Kris and the others to look over as well. Quickly, he set his right arm on the table, in the gap between the pair, and pulled up his own sleeve, showing his arm out in the open, where a mark like Lay’s mark was.

            “Tell me, what difference do you see between these two?” Hankyung asked, making sure his and Lay’s arms were lined up by each other’s. Suho intently studied the two marks side-by-side, trying to find the difference. They were both beautiful marks, practically oozing power from their curves and designs. From the intricate compass design within the center, to the graphic depictions of stars and planets, the marks seemed entirely identical. Except…

            Suho furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed that something was… off. On Hankyung’s arms, multiple symbols—12, to be exact, he realized after a minute—were circled around the mark as a whole, each different, yet no less intriguing, as they each seemed to be representative of something. On the other hand, Lay’s arm bore no sign of the 12 symbols, and instead, surrounding the main body of the mark was a simple, blank circle. He didn’t understand—was there a way to receive the marks? Had Lay done something wrong? Or was there something different about his role as an Interstellar?

            “I see you’ve figured it out,” Hankyung began, and Suho, along with the others, all turned to look at him as he explained. “The strength of a Mark-bearer draws not from their own physical strength and prowess, but instead from the bonds they form. Each one of these symbols,” he uses a finger from his other hand to tap to the 12 surrounding marks, “represents the magical signature of a unique magic wielder, including one for which the Mark-bearers themselves. It is only once all of the other 11 marks are obtained, does the Interstellar’s power truly reveal itself, through the form of the last and final mark—their own magical signature.”

            “So,” Suho started tentatively as he tried to digest all that the other had said. “How would he… obtain those marks, exactly?” Hankyung paid no mind to the boy’s hesitance, and answered quickly.

            “Union. To achieve each of the symbols of the magic wielders, the Interstellar must form a strong bond with that user, enough so that magic can be transferred, and magical signatures can be exchanged.” Hankyung turned to look at Lay. “The creation of the mark itself is a relatively simple process, but the formation of that link is what truly requires time. Bonds of that nature require great amounts of trust, not only from the other person, but from yourself as well.”

            “And, well, what happens if I—oh, I don’t know—don’t actually find these 11 other people, hm? I mean, it’s not necessarily easy for someone like me to just go out and explore, especially considering how I’m technically a prisoner here,” Lay shot back, and Suho resisted the urge to heave a sigh. Now really wasn’t the time to try and pick a fight. Luckily, Hankyung paid it no mind.

            “The task is never easy, but it must be done regardless,” he shot back smoothly, before continuing. “You know of a few of the needed wielders already, anyway, if that makes you feel any better.” Hankyung’s eyes flickered around, to the small crowd behind them. Lay frowned, but kept quiet. “Although, there’s one more thing that I should say…”

            “… Well