No.   It couldn’t be true. Hoya refused to believe it. He kept running, not caring when the strength left him, or when the thorns of nearby bushes scratched his skin into a bloody mess. His sole focus was to return to his wife and best friend.   How long had he been gone? He was supposed to find raw materials to repair Biah’s Adamas staff, but things happened and their return got delayed. It hadn’t even been two days.   “They’re dead.”   Jihye’s voice whispered in his head, echoing the one terror he feared the most. He was a knight, for Ephemerus’ sake. He lived to protect. No harm could fall upon the ones under his protection.   Hoya’s feet came to a halt, a smoke of dust fleeting in the rocky ground at the abrupt change of movement. His shoulder rose and fell with his heavy breathing. There was a moment of silence when he absorbed the sight before him.   The crown prince was on the floor. Idle. Motionless. Dead. The stones and pebbles around him was covered in red—the dried up remains of royal blood. Yoongi’s head was split open in half, showing visible cracks against his skull. His face deformed into an abnormal shape that was no longer human. He was missing one eyeball, which was found dangling not too far away from his body.   Hoya gasped, feeling the life being out of him. But when he averted his look to the other side, the wendigo might as well appear and rip his heart out of his chest.   Lee Biah laid spread across a huge rock. Her eyes were wide open and the look of terror and anger still reflected through it. Traces of dried up blood marked the side of her face, splattering against the rock. Someone had smashed her head against it. She was murdered.   “No…” Hoya’s energy depleted. He used his final steadiness to approach his wife. He let himself fall beside her on his knees, carefully cradling her upper body within his arms.   “No, no, no. I was only gone for a moment. No…”   He spoke useless words of comfort and regret, trying to atone his mistakes through the guilt chasing him. He wrapped his hand around her body, feeling the unfamiliar stiffness and coldness radiating from his beloved. In fact, her face looked paler than a patient’s skin. It was a grey color of decay, withering away when her last breath was taken.   Sounds of agony resonated during the sombre day. With trembling arms and a blurred out vision, Hoya brought his hand in front of her eyes and lightly swayed over it. She closed her eyelids, finding the final comfort only her husband could provide. She was gone forever.   He continued crying, even when the other three had caught up with him. Yeonji, Baekhyun, and Jihye were utterly helpless, not knowing what to do but to let him cry out over his loss. Even Bacon seemed to try and hide within Yeonji’s arm.   “Hoya,” Yeonji spoke, hesitating whether she should use her power to momentarily take his pain away. It would still be there, but at least she could provide a false illusion that things were alright. That Biah had died in the most beautiful way possible within his arms.   But Baekhyun grabbed her arm, shaking his head to stop her. He did not have to say it out loud, both knowing Hoya would rather cherish his final moments with Biah. And it was true.   As they watched in agonizing silence, Hoya’s torturous cries morphed into a tormented scream of fury. He was yelling on the top of his lungs, a decibel higher than they thought were possible. Then, for a second, his face seemed different. It was only for a moment, but his eyes glimmered a faint color that wasn’t his usual dark brown shade. Against the sunlight, it shimmered a rich gold.   Jihya was the first to notice, blinking her own golden eyes several times. She rubbed her sleeve against her face, wondering whether she was seeing things. His eyes were back to normal now.   “Who did this? Who killed them?” Hoya hissed, slowly laying Biah’s body down on the floor. He threw his gaze to Yoongi’s corpse, feeling the fury building up in him. It was uncontainable. He needed to release it.   “It must be the wendigos. Only they would opt to such cruel displays,” Yeonji spoke with no hesitation. She had no proof of her accusation and solely relied on her deep profound hatred towards the kind. Any murder could only be blamed at them.   Hoya easily believed her. It couldn't have been any of the other three, meaning it must’ve been the wendigos. Jangmun was lying. He was trying to trick them.   “We need to kill