The members closed their eyes and cleared their minds until they have completely fallen asleep. They were drifting through dreams and reality as they made their way into a strange place. The route to Dreamscape was a rather pleasant and simple one. Being able to calm their heart and minds, the members fell into a deep slumber as they held onto one another’s hands. They felt safe as they knew they had one another by their side.

After a little while, Hyuk felt a strange breeze hit him as his eyes remained closed.

The youngest slowly opened his eyes to see what it was and as he did, the light blinded his sight. It wasn’t the light that came from the empty white ceilings of the hospital but rather, the light shining onto him from the sky. It was a strangely colored sky of purples and blue. It was as if the sky could change colors and the pinkish clouds layered neatly above.

‘Woah…’ Hyuk could not help but gasp at his sight. He got up from his spot and stood up to see what was around him. There wasn’t anything but barren lands but it felt almost, magical. The lust of colors felt too surreal. This is Hakyeon’s dream.

The younger was in awe with the strange environment and noticed that the other members were also lying next to him, still asleep.

‘Guys. Wake up!’ Hyuk shook Jaehwan and Wonshik up.

The two of them mumbled in their sleep and almost didn’t want to wake up from their pleasant nap. Everyone have been so tired lately that this moment they have right now was almost too relaxing for them.

Taekwoon also heard the youngest waking them up and opened his eyes. He was blinded as  well as he sat up to see where they were at.

‘This place…,’ Wonshik finally came to his senses. ‘Wow…’

The members were speechless. They didn’t know what to say except the place they were in right now was too mesmerizing. They didn’t think that entering someone else’s dream could be so fascinating nor did they even think it was possible until they saw it with their very own eyes.

‘Huh?’ Hyuk suddenly noticed something amiss and looked left and right. Someone was missing.

‘What’s wrong?’ Wonshik asked.

‘Where’s Hongbin-hyung?’

‘Huh? Wait, now that you mention it… he’s… not here!’ Wonshik panicked a bit realizing his same age friend was no where to be found. ‘Don’t tell me he got lost or something.’

The members gulped in fear.

‘Don’t worry, he’s fine here with me.’ A voice suddenly came out of no where.

‘Huh? Soo-ah?’ Wonshik asked but the girl wasn’t anywhere to be found.

‘Yes.’

‘Where are you?’ Jaehwan asked as he tried to search for Soo-ah through a barren land.’

‘I’m here in the real world still, along with Hongbin.’

‘With Kong? Why isn’t he here with us? What’s going on?’ Wonshik asked worryingly.

‘Sorry guys. I can’t go into Dreamscape with you all since I’m not a God or have anything to do with them. But don’t worry, we can see you guys from where I am right now. Soo-ah has this strange mirror that allows us to connect with you all.’ Hongbin finally said something. ‘So, that’s Hakyeon-hyung’s dream?’

‘Yes, it seems like it.’ Soo-ah said.

‘It’s so strange…’

‘Anyways, you boys shouldn’t waste too much time and find the real Hakyeon as soon as you can.’ Soo-ah commanded.

‘Right. Got it.’ Jaehwan said.

Though the four members were a bit sad that Hongbin wasn’t able to join them, they were just glad that the boy was safe and sound. Though Hongbin could not be there physically with them, he was still watching and helping to guide them along the way.

The four of the wandered around the endless Dreamscape but all they could find was nothing. There was no mountains, no trees, no river and not even a single living thing in sight. All they could see was the strangely painted sky and a land that led to nowhere. They continued to advance further out in hopes of finding even a small trace of a different scenery but…

‘Wait one second guys. I’m seriously tired.’ Jaehwan huffed. ‘Just how long have we been walking like this for?’

‘Feels like forever…’ Wonshik said tiredly. ‘It’s like there’s no end to this place.’

‘Actually, you guys have only been walking around for a few minutes in our time.’ Soo-ah told them.

‘What?!’

‘Depending on the happenings inside the dream, time can be warped throughout. Until you guys come across something significant or changing, you will just wander aimlessly and endlessly.’ Soo-ah said

‘Now you tell us…’ Wonshik was a bit annoyed.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ Jaehwan sighed as he wiped off the sweat dripping from his forehead.

‘But we’ve been walking around like this forever and nothing has happened. What are we doing wrong?’ Hyuk commented.

‘Hmm…’

~

The members stood there to brainstorm something together as they know that they can’t rely on Soo-ah all the time for an answer. As Taekwoon watched the members in a dilemma, he remembered something in which Soo-ah had told them before their journey.

He closed his eyes and started to stay still within his spot. He was thinking, imagining something and creating with his thoughts.

‘Hyung?’ Hyuk saw that Taekwoon was thinking deeply in a world of his own.

Suddenly, a gust of wind passed by and their surroundings began to warp. Their environment was changing and the nothingness that was in front of them was changing.

The three young members gulped as they saw grass growing from right beneath their feet and roots were coming out of the ground and growing into tall towering trees. They could even hear birds chirping from above the branches. They were no longer in the middle of nothingness but rather, within a mystical forest landscape.

‘Woah… what the…’ Jaehwan’s jaws dropped.

‘How?’ Wonshik questioned.

Taekwoon opened immediately and sighed a relief to see if his method had worked.

‘I just… imagined…’ the older said.

‘Imagine? You did this Taekwoon-hyung?’

Taekwoon nodded.

‘I see that only Taekwoon remembered what I told you guys before.’ Soo-ah commented as she watched from her side.

‘The other day? Oh!!’ Jaehwan finally remembered.

Before the members could go into Dreamscape, Soo-ah listed some of the precautions they must expect once they enter the dream. There was also another thing in which she told them, that the world they will be entering is a ‘dream’ and dreams have nothing unless you create something within it. It is a place of imagination and where fantasy can become a reality.

Taekwoon was testing whether or not what Soo-ah said about Dreamscape is true and so he tried to use his imagination and created this forest. He envisioned the tall trees, the lush greenery, the rustling leave sounds, the smell of grass and a touch of nature in his mind.

‘Talk about being mind blown.’ Jaehwan commented. ‘Is this what we do to bring our powers out as well?’

‘Yes. As you all remember, you are no longer Gods in this lifetime. But because you were all born from the Gods, you will be able to conjure those powers hidden from deep within you as long as you are in this dream. Within Dreamscape, the impossible can be made possible again. This is how you can become Gods once more, just as you were in your previous life.’ Soo-ah told them.

‘But what about me?’ Wonshik asked. ‘You said I lost my powers as a God when I abandoned it to master witchery. Something about me hating Gods and loving humans…’

‘Do you remember the notebook you showed me when you came back from your grandparents’ house?’

‘Yes. What about it?’

‘That notebook is filled with special magic and spells. Your powers as a witch was to create something from nothing and also being able to shield those who you love.’

‘But I don’t have it with me. It’s in my backpack back in the real world.’

‘You have looked through the entire notebook have you not?’

‘Huh? I have. Too many times but… wait, you don’t mean… ‘Wonshik took the hint from Soo-ah and tried to focus. He held both his hands out and a small light was shining above his palms. Seconds later, a book suddenly appeared and dropped onto his hands. ‘This is seriously wow. Just by thinking about it… it really appeared. But I can’t read the inscriptions though. It’s been so long ago that the ink is barely visible.’

‘Are you sure? Try opening the notebook and see for yourself.’ Soo-ah said.

As Wonshik carefully opened the old heirloom, the original scent of vintage and time was fading away. The words and ink were coming back onto the pages where they once belong.

‘This!’ Wonshik was shocked and so were the members who were watching around him.

‘Woah.’ Hyuk said in awe.

‘Can you read it? Looks complicated to me.’ Jaehwan asked.

‘I don’t really know how to say it but I can understand it. I shouldn’t really be able to since I have never seen something like this before but I can make sense of all these strange things…’ Wonshik didn’t know how to describe the feeling he had just flipping through the pages of the notebook itself.

‘That notebook once belonged to the you of your previous life. It is a powerful tool in which you created back when you were a powerful witch. You have spent so many centuries of research and experiments that eventually, that notebook defines the most powerful magic in the universe. In order for it to not fall into the wrong hands, you created a special coding system in which only you would be able to read it.’ Soo-ah told Wonshik.

Wonshik stared in the notebook on his hands and couldn’t help but smile a bit in amazement. He suddenly felt safer and strangely guided by his previous life.

~

‘Well then, it’s our turn next.’ Jaehwan said and looked at both Hyuk and Taekwoon.

The three of them closed their eyes to envision the powers in which Soo-ah told them they had back when they were once Gods.

Hyuk was able to bend the air around them and turn it into wind. Though it was more like a gentle breeze at the moment, the youngest was excited to see what he could do by just the imagery in his head. Eventually, as they improve and feel more comfortable with their powers, they will discover that a lot more.

Jaehwan took out his right hand and clenched a fist. Then, he imagined it. A sizzling sound was coming out from within his hands and little sparks of light danced around his fist. It was like electricity forming in the palm of his hands. It was small but shocking. Yet, rather than feeling scared from being shocked, he found it rather intriguing. Both Hyuk and Jaehwan looked at one another and couldn’t help but chuckled in delight as if they were kids receiving a new toy.

Taekwoon however, hesitated.

Though he was able to envision the changes of the scenery as he did with this forest, he was afraid of his powers. The powers in which Soo-ah told him about.

His powers as once the Ruler of the Underworld.

Darkness and evil.

The older was worried that he would accidently summon something he didn’t intend to and harm the other members.

‘What’s wrong Taekwoon-hyung?’ Wonshik noticed the older being alone and quiet.

‘I don’t want to hurt you guys.’ He said.

‘Huh?’

‘My powers… they’re dark. Soo-ah said I used to be the Ruler of the Underworld right? Isn’t that a bad thing? Doesn’t that mean that if I brought out my powers, that I would end up hurting people? I don’t want you guys to get hurt.’ Taekwoon said in concern.

‘Hyung…’ The younger ones were a bit touched that Taekwoon was worried for them.

‘You don’t need to fret about that. It’s true that you were once the Ruler of the Underworld, but you were also born from the light as well.’ Soo-ah said.

‘Huh?’

‘Remember, your father of your previous life was the Ruler of the Underworld but your mother however, was the Goddess of Harvest from the Heavens. That means, half of you was created from the light. As long as you wish and be careful with your powers, you won’t hurt anyone. Trust me. I’m sure you don’t want anyone to get hurt so as long as you keep that in mind and focus, you should be able to find your light.’

Taekwoon nodded and looked at the younger members as he closed his eyes to envision.

~

The members were his friends, family, and his light. Without them, Taekwoon would have never found his smile again. He was able to trust people one more time because s’ love and care for him was sincere and genuine. Though they a lot, it was because they felt close to the older even despite the age difference.

Never would Taekwoon ever think to want to hurt s. Instead, he wish to cherish and protect them with everything he’s got. He wants a power that could give s love and care, guidance and protection. A light that can bring them all together.

Then, specs of light started to swirl around Taekwoon’s body. A gentle warmth was emitting from his chest and the members could feel the comfort that was surrounding Taekwoon’s body.

This is Taekwoon’s power.

The light that can protect the people he loves the most.

* * * * * * A/N * * * * * *

Totally unrelated but anyone watched Hakyeon's appearance on King of Masked Singer? I cried... it was so beautiful and I'm so glad his vocals were recogniized.

P.S. Anyone watched Vapp Live with Hyukbin? Who let the maknae line in the kitchen LOL Where's mom and dad to watch over these kids? (also, Kong's confidence level surpasses that of Hakyeon's now xD)