As the Dark Hakyeon and Hyuk tried to make their way through the endless maze, Hakyeon started to tell the younger of stories from the past. At least, the ones he was able to see before he was sealed away into Limbo.

The more the younger heard about their previous lives, the more fascinated he was about the strangest of the world. He thought such things could only happen in stories or movies.

Never would he have imagined that he and the other members of VIXX have known each other for so long.

‘Do you still hate Hakyeon-hyung?’ Hyuk asked the Dark Hakyeon as they continued walking through the labyrinth.

‘If you asked me that a few decades ago, perhaps I do. But I know that your leader isn’t the same Hakyeon that I once shared the body with. Your Hakyeon has matured a lot since he became responsible for the group and he has you guys to support him.’

‘But… he still fell into this Dreamscape. Doesn’t it mean he wants to escape and not return to reality?’

‘He was heartbroken. I know how he feels to be rejected by someone he really loves. He’s insecure and dejected. On top of that, he had a lot of responsibilities as the oldest and leader of the group. The pressure he was in, was probably too much for him to handle all at once. But I know that the Cha Hakyeon I’ve been watching these few years is actually a really caring and loving leader. He just didn’t know what to do about being rejected suddenly like that especially because he really cared a lot about Taekwoon.’

‘I feel bad for Hakyeon-hyung. I wish I knew about it sooner and help him when he was in pain…’

‘I’m sure the rejection was just as hard on Hakyeon as it is for Taekwoon.’

‘Taekwoon-hyung?’

‘Mhmm. Though I’m not familiar with your Taekwoon, I can tell he was trying his best to change for your leader. It is hard to change someone’s personality and point of view on things suddenly. But for him to take the courage in doing so, proves that he actually does care about Hakyeon. He was being sincere and even your leader’s heart wavered a few times, which made it hard for us to even possess him.’

‘Then why…’

‘It is my fault for being afraid of the other Taekwoon. If only I didn’t send the USB to your Hakyeon… I’m such a coward.’ The Dark Hakyeon became saddened by his actions. ‘I haven’t changed one bit.’

‘Hyung…’

After wandering around the maze several times, the two were still trapped. It was as if there was no exit and only dead ends. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and the giant walls of the labyrinth started to close in on the two of them.

‘What’s going on?’ Hyuk panicked.

‘We have to hurry and get out of here. That Taekwoon must be behind all of this.’ The Dark Hakyeon pulled the younger by his wrist and led the way.

The two of them frantically raced through the maze as fast as they possibly could but the walls were approaching faster and faster. They were in grave danger.

Just then, they came upon another dead end but just as they were about to turn back, they realized it was already too late.

Out of instincts, Hyuk held tightly onto the Dark Hakyeon with his body.

‘What are you doing?’ The Dark Hakyeon was questioning the younger's action, surprised that he was being protected. ‘Let me go! You’ll get crushed!’

‘I don’t care! I’ll definitely protect you!’

As the two closed their eyes and ready to be crushed by the surrounding walls, the rumbling stopped. The walls started to vanish and a dark fog appeared out of no where. They opened their eyes again to see that they were no longer within the maze.

Their surrounding became dark and eerie. The silence grew louder.

Then, they heard footsteps slowly approaching them from ahead.

A silhouette appeared in front of them and started to applause.

‘To think you would actually be protected by someone who is supposed to hate you and afraid of you. I’m quite amazed at how skilful you are, Hakyeon-ah.’ A familiar voice said.

It was the Dark Taekwoon.

‘What are you doing here?!’ The Dark Hakyeon was alarmed and began to worry.

‘I was just wondering whether you would abandon the poor child in such a situation or that he might end up abandoning you instead. But I didn’t think he’d actually protect you.’

Hyuk pushed the Dark Hakyeon behind him, acting as a shield.

‘What are you doing?’ The Dark Hakyeon was surprised once more about the boy’s protective acts.

‘He’s dangerous. I can’t let him hurt you.’ Hyuk said determined.

‘Hahaha. You do realize that he isn’t the same Hakyeon-hyung right? He’s the same Dark Hakyeon that took your leader away.’ The Dark Taekwoon was trying to provoke the younger.

‘And? What’s your point? I’ll protect him as much as I want. I don’t need you to tell me what to do. I won’t let you hurt him anymore!’

Hyuk stood his grounds and was ready to give it his all to fight the Dark Taekwoon.

‘Stop, you’re no match for him-‘ Hakyeon tried to persuade Hyuk to step aside.

‘I can’t. You’ve already gone through so much and I can’t let him ruin your chance of reliving your life the way you should. Once we get Hakyeon-hyung back, Soo-ah even promised to give you your freedom as a separate body. I won’t let this fake Taekwoon get in the way.’

‘Sanghyuk-ah…’

‘You have always been such a naïve kid since the beginning, Han Sanghyuk. Nothing has ever changed about you since the beginning no matter what form you were in. You are the link that connected Cha Hakyeon and Jung Taekwoon together after all. I understand, if you want to protect this Hakyeon so much, I shall grant you your wish and end you once and for all.’ The Dark Taekwoon threatened.

Then, he casted a dark spell around him, emitting all the evil energy he could bring out. He was serious about killing Hyuk and immediately aimed the spell at the two of them.

Hyuk pushed the Dark Hakyeon to the side and tried to imagine a barrier to shield them both. But unlike before, his powers did not come out from within the dream. His body took the hit directly and flew backwards.

‘Hyuk!!’ The Dark Hakyeon cried and rushed to the boy’s side.

The amount of bloody that was coming from the younger’s body was terrifying. Hakyeon started to tremble in fear and worries as he tried to hold onto Hyuk’s body.

‘No… why did you protect me? You didn’t need to…’ Hakyeon’s tears began to fall. Seeing the younger in such a state broke his heart.

‘I told you didn’t I? I want you to feel freedom…’ Hyuk said in a weak voice before he lost his consciousness.

His body grew cold in the Dark Hakyeon’s arms.

Sad and angry, the Dark Hakyeon began to break down. He held tightly onto Hyuk’s body as tears kept falling from his eyes. He slowly placed the younger’s body onto the ground and stood up against the one who hurt the boy.

‘I won’t forgive you.’ Hakyeon said angrily.

‘And what are you going to do about that?’ The Dark Taekwoon said in a rather arrogant tone.

‘Even if it kills me, I will definitely defeat you!’

Hakyeon charged at Taekwoon with all he’s got. Unlike Hyuk who could not bring out his powers, the Dark Hakyeon have been inside of Dreamscape long enough for him to have powers of his own. Although his powers were not as great as the Dark Taekwoon, he did not give up. He was determined to kill the Dark Taekwoon and restore peace to the members of VIXX.

If only the two of them did not exist, this tragedy would have never happened in the first place.

~

‘You and I really are different from those other two.’ The Dark Taekwoon said. ‘Though Hakyeon and Taekwoon have always loved one another, you and I have never really seen anything eye to eye, have we?’

‘What are you trying to say here?’ Hakyeon could feel himself fall weak and tired. He used up a lot of his energy  and powers in order to fight the Dark Taekwoon at the same level. But it was obvious that he was still overpowered.

Taekwoon directed another hit at Hakyeon, bringing the latter to his knees. Hakyeon’s body was injured all over and blood was starting to fall. He was overwhelmed by the powers of the Dark Taekwoon.

Just how powerful is he? Even after so many centuries inside of Limbo... he's still so strong...

‘Then again, we have only been fighting one another since the beginning of time haven’t we? If we weren't inside this Dreamscape, you probably could have won the battle. That’s too bad isn’t it? I once saw you as a formidable opponent but to see you become such a weakling, sympathizing for others, I’m disappointed in you. The seat to the throne of the Underworld was never yours to begin with. Too bad you won’t be alive to see me sit on it personally.’ Taekwoon said as he brought out another spell within him.

The Dark Hakyeon had no energy to fight nor dodge the hits any longer. His body was all worn out.

This was the end.

Not only was he unable to bring back the leader to the real world, but he also caused the younger to get hurt in the process of being protected. Now, he will die in the hands of the evil one.

But just when Hakyeon thought he was about to be done for, something strange happened.

‘What the-?’ The Dark Taekwoon was surprised as he could not move his body all of a sudden.

Long red strings fell from the sky as well as the ground. Each strand entangled the Dark Taekwoon’s body and preventing his movement.

‘Where is this coming from?’ Taekwoon roared in anger.

He was struggling hard to get away but the strings were binding him tightly. The strands were so tight that it began to cut through his flesh, digging into his skin.

‘Urgh!!’ He was trying all his best to wiggle out of the strings but the pain was too much for him to fight back. He had to escape while he still could.

Taekwoon looked at Hakyeon one last time. Angry that he was unable to finish off the foolish Dark Hakyeon.

‘You got lucky this time.’ He said as he used the last bit of energy he could get and vanished into the shadows.

~

As soon as the Dark Taekwoon made his escape and everything returned to normal, the Dark Hakyeon walked weakly towards Hyuk’s body, still laying there cold on the ground.

‘Sanghyuk-ah…’ Hakyeon cried. He could not forgive himself for not being able to help the younger.

He caressed the boy’s cheeks in sadness but still, there was no response from Hyuk at all.

‘Please… wake up. I’m so sorry.’

He prayed hard but nothing happened. He could not stop his tears from falling as he watched the younger’s eyes remain close and the boy’s body remained still in his arms.

‘This is all my fault… if only I wasn’t so selfish and desperate, this would have never happened.’

‘It isn’t your fault.’ Someone suddenly said.

‘Who?’

A door emerged from the darkness in front of the Dark Hakyeon.

‘Bring Hyuk back to the real world before it’s too late. You’re also coming back with him.’

‘That voice… Lee Hongbin?’

‘Me and Soo-ah have been trying to get pass the Dark Taekwoon’s barriers since you guys fell into his trap. Luckily we made it just in time. It isn’t too late to bring Hyuk back alive.’

‘But-‘

‘I know what you’re thinking but now is not the time for that. You want to save Hyuk don’t you?’

‘Yes!’

‘Bring him back with you then. Back with us to the real world.’

‘But what about your leader Hakyeon?’

‘That Taekwoon’s powers are too much for us to handle at the moment. We need a better execution and plan before we engage in another fight with him. Until then, I need you to be on our side.’

‘… How can you trust me?’

‘Because Hyuk trusted you enough to protect you.’

Though the Dark Hakyeon was unsure of himself for a moment, he looked back at Hyuk’s pale face once more.

He carried the bigger boy with his body and despite his legs feeling weak, he was determined to bring the boy back to the real world. It was his turn to save Hyuk.

~

Where am I?

Hakyeon muttered to himself while still half conscious about his surroundings. As he woke up, he found himself trapped inside of a cage, dangling high above the ground. Every little move he made, the cage would wobble a bit.

Why can’t I remember anything? How did I get here? Last thing I remember was talking to Wonshik on the phone while making my way to the filming sight…

Hakyeon slowly got up from his spot, careful with every little move he made as he went to the edge of the cage. He peeks through the bars and looked to see what was below him.

He heard sounds coming from nearby.

But there was no one inside of the large empty room he was in though. The room itself was quiet and only a single chair sat below his cage.

Hakyeon listened carefully at where the voices were coming from and realized that they sounded awfully familiar.

They were the voices of s.

Then, he noticed a few mirrors on the seat of the throne. As Hakyeon squinted his eyes to get a better focus of the images on the mirrors, he became worried and frightened.

He saw s separated from one another.

Jaehwan and Wonshik was walking up a long staircase in the middle of nowhere.  

What are they doing there? Am I dreaming or something?

Hakyeon thought as he rubbed his eyes and pinched himself to make sure that the pain was there.

It hurts… so does that mean this isn’t a dream?

Then, he saw Hyuk reflected onto the mirror next to Jaehwan and Wonshik’s. Someone was walking beside the maknae. And strangely enough, the person that was with Hyuk was himself.

What? That’s… me…

Hakyeon could not understand what was going on. Who is that person? It can’t be him right? He doesn’t know why but he began to feel uneasy as he watched Hyuk and his doppelganger make their way through an never ending maze. He saw the walls closing in on the two of them and Hakyeon could feel his heart sink through worries and helplessness.

‘No!’ Hakyeon shouted aloud. He could feel his body become more and more tense as he watched the scene from above. He wanted to get out of the cage so badly and protect his beloved maknae.

But just as he saw the walls vanish and think everything was okay again, Hakyeon was surprised once more to see another familiar face.

He could see that not only was his doppelganger afraid but also the maknae as well. The other was Taekwoon. He was approaching the two who were just in a horrible situation and rather than helping them, it seemed as if he was about to hurt the two. Then, he saw Taekwoon suddenly attacking both Hyuk and his other self through the mirror.

‘No!’ Hakyeon screamed as he saw Hyuk’s body get hit by Taekwoon’s powers.

What is going on?! Why would Taekwoon… no, it can’t be! Please let this be a dream…

Hakyeon began to sob as he felt the pain from watching such a terrifying scene. His body felt weak and his heart shattered.

He didn’t know what was going on and why his lifelong friend would attack the younger at all. This was a nightmare.

As he tried to see what was happening again through his tears, he noticed a third mirror next to the others. But this mirror did not show any imagery like the other two did.

Instead, the mirror was already cracked and broken.

Not only that, but it was covered in blood… but whose blood could it be?