IX.

Sand.

Heaps of it shift underneath Hyukjae's still form as he lies face-down on the ground. Through the slits of his tired eyes, all he can make out is more. Waves gently lap against his legs, and his breathing comes as slowly as the tide, body still enough to nearly become one with the shore.

For a moment, Hyukjae thinks he's dead. The idea makes some combination of panic and twisted relief bloom in his chest. But the deep ache that goes down to his bones tells him otherwise, anchors him to the world of the living. He rolls his head to the side and finally sees the pastel pinks and blues that color the beach he's washed up on. Jungsoo had told him of this place, in clipped, worried sentences soon before Hyukjae had gone under.

Limbo.

The world below all levels of consciousness, the root of all memories and fears, the place of infinite possibilities. And most importantly, the one place in Hyukjae's mind from which there was no escape. He lies on the sand with resigned exhaustion, letting the waves hit him for a time. If this is going to be his prison, he'll have plenty of time to explore the rest of it when he can actually stand on his own two feet. Exploring...wasn't there something he was looking for? Or maybe not something, but some—

Donghae.

As quickly as the thought hits him, the faint sound of that achingly familiar voice calls his name from further up the shore.

"Hold on!" the voice calls again, and Hyukjae struggles to his knees, crawling toward the sound until his body collapses back onto the sand.

Donghae is there to catch him. Hyukjae's body has no resistance to offer as the other man collects him in his arms and holds him close. And while Hyukjae might be worse off than his body can physically register, he has never felt more complete than he does right now.

"Everything's going to be okay," Donghae tells him, cradling Hyukjae's head in his hands with a care that betrays just how worried he was. "Can I take you inland? I'll find us a place to rest and regroup."

Hyukjae can only give him the slightest nod, limbs heavy as lead. It feels like at any moment the muscles and tendons holding his body together will give out entirely. When Donghae picks him up, it's almost like he's carrying a doll. Hyukjae is sure his body is as lifeless and frail as it could be while he was still alive and breathing.

They journey away from the water's edge, and Hyukjae takes in the strange scenery of Limbo's shores: worn, run-down buildings dot the otherwise barren landscape, their mystery only amplified by the silence that hangs over them. It's hard to tell if that silence makes it more peaceful or threatening.

Jungsoo's shared knowledge of this place comes flooding back to Hyukjae at the sight of the ruins. The other man's research on the human mindscape wasn't complete, but he did know some things for certain: Limbo was the core of one’s imagination. During childhood, when that connection was the strongest, one could build in this place to their heart's desire, lose themselves for hours on end. But Hyukjae’s own spark of youthful innocence is long gone. The grand creations he had built here in Limbo have gone to ruin, shadows of their original splendor.

Donghae ends their search at a building far from the coast, one that still has a roof and most of its supports. The interior leaves something to be desired with its splintered wood and crumbling walls, but it's still shelter. Hyukjae feels a great wave of relief crash over him when Donghae lays him on the frayed remains of what used to be a mattress. Finally, he can give in.

"I'll watch over you," Donghae tells him. "Get some rest, for however long you need. Your body needs to recover."

Hyukjae thanks him in a whisper that only half leaves his lips before he’s out like a light, mind drifting somewhere on a different faraway shore.

~*~

Hyukjae sleeps for days straight, though the exact number escapes him. Brief flashes of consciousness show Donghae either sitting at his side or coming back from the outside world. Scouting, maybe, or else just satisfying his own curiosity. Hyukjae can't say. This dreamless state of sleep within his own mind is strange enough without worrying about what the other man has been up to. But it still heals him, nursing his broken body back to health better than any other cure. How long has he craved this freedom, to simply sleep?

On the final day, Hyukjae wakes up feeling...not perfect, but at least somewhat like himself again.

"Donghae..." he says softly, and the other man is at his side in an instant, pulling him into an embrace. Hyukjae rests his head in the crook of his neck, breathing him in as he finds his center again. The feeling of familiarity is an anchor in the midst of such a huge, terrifying unknown.

"Where were you?" Hyukjae asks when he pulls back. His curiosity gets the question out before he can stop it.

A look of tempered fear flashes on Donghae's face. "Nowhere pleasant," he says before his expression softens. "But that doesn't matter now. I found you. You found me. And no matter what happens next, at least we'll get through it together."

Hyukjae wants so badly to lose himself to the sentiment, but he's not blind. He has no illusions as to their situation.

"Donghae...we're in Limbo. There’s nothing to get through, because there's no way out."

"No known way. I'll search the area and see if I can find some clue to help us."

"I think we have to start facing that we're trapped here for—"

"For as long as it takes to get out. We'd better get started now."

At Hyukjae's mournful expression, Donghae places two firm hands on his shoulders. "I'm not giving up, Hyukjae," he says. "And neither are you. We agreed at the beginning of this whole thing that nothing would stand in our way. Limbo is just another obstacle to overcome. Alright?"

"...Alright." It's hard not to be drawn to Donghae's optimism, regardless of how genuine it actually is. "What's our plan?"

"I'm going to keep scouting out the town, while you make sure you're fully recovered. Next time, we can go searching together if you're up for it. You okay with staying here by yourself?"

"I think I'll manage," Hyukjae says with a sarcasm that masks his secret enjoyment of being taken care of.

This time, Donghae's smile reaches his eyes. "If you don't want to be babied, then stop making me worry about you." He plants a kiss on the other man's cheek before he can complain, out the door in another heartbeat.

"Come back safely!" Hyukjae calls, and the words of the reply he gets are lost to Limbo's timeless air.

The sound of Donghae's footsteps soon disappears into the distance. Despite what he'd been told, sitting around seems useless in comparison to exploring this new world, so Hyukjae takes it upon himself to do the same. He takes in the crumbling house, now eerily empty and silent.

Debris crunches underneath his feet as he walks around the small space, looking closer at torn curtains and rotting sections of the floor. There's nothing here so far that stands out. But Hyukjae can't help but be drawn further in, up the rickety stairs in the back.

A few steps in the middle creak violently, and for a fleeting moment Hyukjae thinks he might fall through. But they somehow hold together and grant him access to the second floor.

Visually, the upstairs is no different than the level below. Multiple rooms converge with ruined walls, and there's still no furniture to speak of. But the atmosphere has shifted, giving Hyukjae the feeling of standing on the edge of some unknown cliff. There must be something here that will give him the final push. It seems a fruitless search, up until he makes it to the furthest room and sees a full-length mirror hanging on the wall, in strangely pristine condition compared to the rest of the house.

Hyukjae runs his fingers around the edge, and they come away without dust. His reflection stares back at him with an expression that's equally as confused as he feels.

What is it about this mirror? Hyukjae wonders. It shouldn't feel so out of place, but..

His fingertips graze the surface of the glass, and the mirror suddenly goes black.

Hyukjae retracts his hand just as quickly as the darkness disappears, replaced with a gray fog that pulsates in its place. A figure slowly materializes from the fog, its silhouette revealing it to be a far cry from Hyukjae's own reflection.

"Impossible," Hyukjae breathes out.

The figure opens its eyes at the words, and Hyukjae resists the urge to jump back at seeing the same pair of familiar eyes that had left him just minutes ago.

"Hyukjae, is that you?" Donghae asks from behind the glass, looking shell-shocked. "You can see me?"

"Yes, I..." The words stick in Hyukjae's throat.

What is this? Did he get trapped here after leaving? Is it really even him?

"I don't know what's going on," Donghae admits. "I'm in some strange place, which I assumed was going to be Limbo, but you're not here. I looked for you, staying in this building between searches, and that's when I found the mirror." Donghae's voice falters. "I saw you, but you couldn't see me. Even when I yelled at you for hours, you never noticed. Until now."

"So, what? You're in some sort of parallel Limbo?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I don't see how I could end up anywhere else since we both fell into the collapse."

"But...that can't be it." Hyukjae's head spins. "I kept physical contact with you during the collapse. I've seen you, talked to you, watched you walk out the door. It's impossible for you to be two places in my mind at once."

A look of alarm flashes on Donghae's face. "And what has this 'other' me been talking to you about?"

"He's been off exploring, trying to help us find a way out of here and back to—"

"NO!"

Hyukjae flinches at the sudden sound, and Donghae looks apologetic.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. But didn't Jungsoo tell you before we left? If you leave Limbo without me, this part of my consciousness will stay trapped here. I'll be comatose in the real world until my body finally gives out."

"No? He never mentioned a way out of Limbo, much less the possibility of leaving you behind.”

"He must have," Donghae insists. "Or at least you must have realized by now that leaving by yourself through the world core would cause the same thing. Limbo's rule isn't any different."

Hyukjae is silent, gears turning in his head at an alarming speed.

"But Donghae would never..."

"Hyukjae, I'm Donghae. I don't know what sort of thing your mind conjured up to trick you, but you can't trust it. Please."

There are tears behind that plea, visibly pricking at the corners of the other man's eyes, and it punches Hyukjae in the gut just how critical this is for both of them. There is some stranger with him pretending to be Donghae, there is a very real chance he could end up leaving the real one trapped here forever by trying to save him. And Hyukjae has no idea how to proceed.

"Then what am I supposed to—"

A door closes downstairs, startling him silent, and Donghae's eyes fill with fear.

"He's back. Don't let on that you know who he is, and don't let him make you leave. I believe in you."

"What are you looking at?"

Hyukjae turns around so fast that he nearly falls over. He sees Donghae —in the flesh, not the glass— standing before him with one eyebrow raised in confusion, and he can't find the words to say.

"Umm, I just—"

Hyukjae turns to look at the mirror once more, but it shows only his reflection. There's no trace of the other Donghae that he'd spoken to just moments before.

"I was...just exploring the building," he says, finally regaining some of his bearings. "But all I found on this floor was the empty rooms and this mirror. Nothing that can help."

Donghae nods, eyes flickering around the room before he focuses in again on Hyukjae, eyebrows creasing together.

"Hey, are you okay? You look a little pale."

"Just tired," Hyukjae assures him. A blatant lie.

"Alright, as long as you're not feeling any worse." Donghae perks up. "At least I have exciting news for you: I think I found the road to the inner part of Limbo, more complex than the fringes we're on now. If there's any way to leave, that's where we'll find out about it."

Leaving...that's a very strong 'if', isn't it?

Hyukjae ignores the tiny voice in his head pointing out that this is exactly what the Donghae in the mirror had warned him about.

"Let's go back downstairs and you can tell me what you found," he says, nearly pushing the other man down the stairs.

Donghae concedes with a smile, and Hyukjae throws one last look over his shoulder at the mirror as they leave, a faint shiver running down his spine. His unfinished question from before still rings in his head.

What am I supposed to do now?

~*~

For the rest of the night, Hyukjae studies Donghae carefully, turning the words from before over and over in his head and feeling torn. He doesn't know what to think. The Donghae before him doesn't seem malicious, but...those words won't leave his head. They beat against his skull even as he lays down in the tattered mattress may-or-may-not-be Donghae has tried to patch up for them tonight. What is the truth? And how is Hyukjae supposed to go about figuring it out?

In the midst of that soul-searching, the daily exploration of Limbo continues. Donghae fans out further than Hyukjae does, and although Hyukjae does do some of the exploring the other man intends for him, he often finds himself skipping out on it to talk with the Donghae in the mirror, whose words make more and more sense. Still, it takes days for him to finally voice his concerns.

"You've been predicting his movements exactly," Hyukjae admits. "Where he wants to search, what he wants me to cover, even how he tries to keep me from feeling miserable about this whole situation. I think...I'm sure that he's not what he pretends to be. I'm sorry for doubting you."

"Thank you," Donghae tells him sincerely before his voice turns grave. "And have you gotten any closer to leaving?"

"I don't think so. There's not much here to go on as far as a way out. But this facade of me pretending not to know anything can only go on for so long. How am I supposed to get to you ?"

Donghae bites his lip, visibly unsure. "I don't want you to put yourself in danger."

"I'm willing to do anything," Hyukjae insists.

"Then hear me out. The only bridge we know between worlds is you, which only makes sense considering where we are. We're just missing a way to manipulate and cross that bridge. And the only times you've manipulated a world have been when..." He hesitates. "Whenever you used your powers."

"But you hate when I use my powers."

"You remember the first time you discovered them, don't you? You only wanted to down a tree to use as a path across that river, but ended up taking down half the forest and nearly killing me in the process. I don't have anything against your powers themselves, but that doesn't change that they're dangerous in their outcome and even more dangerous for you to use."

The memory stirs familiar sour feelings in Hyukjae's chest, strengthening the dread he's tried to suppress about the plan they'll be forced to come up with.

"And despite all that," he says, "you think it's the only way."

"I wouldn't bring it up if I thought there was another option. But your powers seem to be the only way to get between worlds."

"Maybe I could..." Hyukjae racks his brain for anything . "If I take the time to practice, maybe I could open up a portal between Limbos just like the ones used between other worlds. I could pull you through without him finding out, and then—"

"Hyukjae?"

The mirror returns to its regular sheen in a heartbeat, and Hyukjae turns to see Donghae standing in the doorway much like he had the first time, only much more confused.

"Who were you talking to?" Donghae asks him.

"Myself," Hyukjae lies, and he doesn't miss the flash of hurt on Donghae's face.

"Well, I still haven't found anything useful," Donghae says, switching topics. "But I'll keep looking. You?"

"Still nothing." Another lie.

Donghae looks like he wants to say something further, but Hyukjae isn't interested in avoiding more questions. He doesn't press the other man to speak.

They go to sleep that night in silence.

~*~

They move further into Limbo the next day, out of the old shelter and into a new one that's in the same state of ruin. Hyukjae is concerned about losing his only link to Donghae on the other side, but he needn't have worried. A replica of the mirror appears in the upstairs of this new abode. He can still reassure Donghae that his copy isn't going to force them to leave, not on his watch.

Hyukjae's practice with his powers goes better than expected. He finds that using them while in Limbo doesn't take as large a toll on him compared to other worlds, maybe because he's so far deep within his own consciousness. Excessive use will fatigue him, but he isn't having violent knee-jerk reactions like before. It's a good thing, too; he has to be ready. Every free moment needs to be spent honing his abilities if Hyukjae wants a shot at pulling his mission off successfully.

About a week in, he's nearly caught. Donghae finds him when he's using his mind to break off tree branches behind the house, and Hyukjae barely has enough time to drop them.

"What are you doing outside?"

"Sightseeing. Just needed a while to take it all in."

This time, Donghae clearly isn't having it. "Tell me why you don't trust me anymore," he demands. "We used to tell each other anything. Was it something I said? Something I did?"

You know what? Forget it. I'm sick of playing this game. What's the worst he can do?

"I can't trust you," Hyukjae admits. "Because I know what you are: an illusion. The real Donghae is trapped in another Limbo, only able to talk to me through mirrors. We watch you, we plan how I'm going to get him out, and we both know your secret. So don't talk to me about trust ."

Donghae doesn't try to mask the hurt on his face. "I can understand why you'd be confused, but...listen, ten years ago, we met after you broke your foot trying to climb the tree in my front yard. Four years later, you kissed me on the Ferris wheel at the carnival and told me you loved me. Your lips still tasted like cotton candy. When I teased you about it, you hit me, but we went back every summer until it closed down. Every memory we have together is still with me."

"I'm sorry." Hyukjae turns away, the memory hitting too close to home. "But we're inside my head. Of course you'd remember everything I do. This is exactly how he predicted you'd react if I ever told you."

"And have you considered," Donghae asks, voice struggling to remain steady, "that 'Donghae' only knows these things because you know me well enough to predict that? We are, as you said, in your head."

"Don't try to trick me!" Hyukjae snaps, but the words bother him, settling uncomfortably in his stomach.

"Hyukjae, please, let's talk this out. I'm not trying to trick you into anything; if you'd just—"

Hyukjae has stopped listening, turning his back entirely until the other man finally gives up. Donghae leaves him alone with the silence, louder now more than ever before.

The following day, Donghae moves them to a new shelter, one with a single floor and no mirrors in sight. He claims they needed to move closer to the middle of the ruined city, but Hyukjae has no illusions about his true intentions. Still, he plays along. He lays low for days, planning and practicing in secret, until he finally feels ready. When they retire for the day, drawing the curtains to block the endless sunlight, he evens out his breathing and pretends to drift off to sleep. Then he swings his feet off of the mattress and gingerly stands, seeing Donghae shift from the sudden disappearance of warmth.

Hyukjae hovers by their bedside, listening for any indication that he's been heard, but the only sound is Donghae's steady breathing.

It's time.

With silent footfalls, Hyukjae slips out of the building. He doesn't have a destination in mind, but he walks on until the abandoned house is no longer visible on the horizon. It won't do to be anywhere near that illusion of Donghae when he finally rescues the real one. The clearing up ahead seems an ideal place to break free from this game of cat and mouse.

If he can harness his powers correctly, Hyukjae should be able to rip through the veil to the Limbo on the other side. After all, that's all a portal is, isn't it? The chaos of the world tearing through that boundary just as he plans to. Either the portal should allow Donghae to jump through, or Hyukjae will go and bring him here himself. He doesn't have the luxury of failure.

Here goes nothing.

Hyukjae stands very still, closing his eyes to concentrate fully on the task ahead. His focus is razor-sharp, as concentrated as the power he gathers to rip through the void. It thrums through his body, ready to follow his every command.

This is Hyukjae's mind. Here, he is the master of all that transpires, and Limbo itself will bend to his will or fall apart resisting.

With a shout, he lets the energy loose upon the world. Hyukjae's powers aren't a shield this time; they're a weapon. The air shimmers with the sheer amount of power that he expels from his body.

But something isn't right.

Instead of a portal opening up, Hyukjae feels the energy overtake him. He falls to his knees as it slips from his control, whipping around him in a steadily growing hurricane.

The sun extinguishes itself without warning, plunging Limbo into darkness. It makes the chaos even more frightening, not being able to see what destruction the furious wind wreaks on the surrounding landscape. When the ground shudders and bucks underneath his feet, Hyukjae can't tell what direction he's stumbling. And yet power still flows from his mind with an unstoppable ferocity, plunging him deeper into the nightmare.

Hyukjae's cries are lost to the wind. A string of sensations hits him with brutish ferocity: the sound of cracking glass, temperatures dropping to arctic conditions, twisted laughter playing on repeat. And in front of his eyes, with a black void exuding from its center, stands the mirror that he's come to know by heart. There are no illusions surrounding its intentions.

A force far greater than Hyukjae's own will pulls him toward the void, him into some unknown Hell. And Hyukjae finally realizes his mistake.

The Donghae in the reflection was never real. There was never another Limbo. And his powers were never meant to be used like this, to destroy a world he himself had created. This corruption of their intentions pulls him into an insanity beyond Limbo, to an end worse than death. All because he couldn't tell the truth from the illusion.

Hyukjae curses his stupidity as fiercely as he struggles against the pull, fingers digging desperately into the dirt even when it amounts to naught. The distance between him and the void grows ever smaller.

I'm such an idiot. If I had just...oh, god, Donghae I'm so—

Suddenly there are arms locked around his waist, yanking him away.

"This isn't how it ends, Hyukjae!" Donghae shouts. "Not when we've come so far! Fight it!"

The words, coupled with the shock of the other man's appearance, ground some part Hyukjae back in Limbo's relative reality. He channels his focus on them, blocking out the surrounding chaos.

I'm still in control. These powers still stem from me, from my mind. I only need to pull up the roots.

Hyukjae grasps at the threads projecting from his influence. He feels along their surface to the source, yanks them back into that place inside himself that keeps them contained. The energy pushes back at him with a high-pitched screech. But Hyukjae refuses to let go, packs and compartmentalizes it down until it's once again the faintest spark of intention. Its connection to the outside world is severed in one great push.

All sound cuts out. The whirlwind disappears into the air. Limbo is back to an overcast early morning, sun shining as if nothing had disturbed its peace. And Donghae is still holding him, shielding Hyukjae from a fate that could have destroyed them both.

Donghae...

The thought is cut off by a shock that runs through his insides, and Hyukjae feels himself spasm in bursts of pain. He may have stopped himself from destroying his own mind, but his body won't forgive him so easily for the damage.

The arms around him lock even tighter in place. Hyukjae thinks only of their warmth as his spasms slowly fade into almost imperceptible shaking. Finally, he can breathe again.

"Are you okay?" Donghae asks him softly, and Hyukjae's heart breaks at the thought of ever mistrusting the words to come from those lips.

"I don't know," he says honestly. "If you hadn't gotten here in time..." His voice drops to a whisper, ashamed. "How did you know to come find me? Or where I was?"

"After everything you told me, after I'd seen how far the other me had gotten in your head, I had a feeling you'd be driven to do something rash. So I kept a careful eye on you, wanted to make sure you wouldn't put yourself in danger." Donghae holds onto him tighter still. "I'll always be here to protect you."

The words wrap Hyukjae in their warmth. He leans back into the embrace for a long moment, taking deep breaths and absorbing himself in the world that he almost inadvertently destroyed.

He's about to open his mouth to speak when a host of unprompted colors and sensations flash before his eyes. It's not violent, not like the crippling visions from before, but still makes him gasp and jerk back. Images mix together in a blend of confusing impressions, making no sense to Hyukjae's floundering senses. He searches for something in the flashes that he can grasp to understand. And when that image sticks, he finally pieces them together in one great epiphany.

"Oh," Hyukjae says simply. The implications of this newfound knowledge hit him like a brick.

With that one word, Limbo him back into its reality. He turns around in the embrace he's held in, facing the other man’s concerned face.

"Donghae," he says in wonder, "There is a way out. Trying to rip open the veil wasn't the answer, but it showed me something even Jungsoo didn’t know."

He grips Donghae's shoulders with new determination settling into his bones, speaking aloud the two sentences that change everything.

"The rules here might be different, but we're not entirely cut off from the rest of my mind. If I'm understanding my vision correctly...Limbo has a world core."

~*~

They set off immediately on their journey, Hyukjae insisting that getting to the core is far more important than letting him rest. His mistake nearly cost them both of their lives; it won't cost them valuable time now. A full understanding of his new revelation is still beyond him, but Hyukjae doesn't mind not knowing all the answers. He's more than happy to just have a way out.

That still doesn't stop the two of them from theorizing. He and Donghae throw ideas back and forth as they traverse Limbo's shifting landscape, if only to fill the air with something other than silence. Maybe they've been chasing the same world core this whole time, just not quickly enough to reach it each time. Maybe with Hyukjae's mind so weakened from before, the veil in Limbo keeping the core hidden and inaccessible is weak enough for them to reach it. Or maybe this is all just misguided speculation.

In any case, they should be able to get to it now without fear of a collapse...as long as they can reach the spot in Hyukjae's mind before he and this place are lost entirely. Hyukjae's earlier fatigue coupled with the strain of the hurricane has taken a toll. If they make good time, they'll be free. But they have to keep moving.

On the first day, they make it beyond all traces of old buildings. Limbo has a tendency to fade from one environment to another without warning, and this time isn't an exception. Their path gives way to rolling plains, smattered with meadows of green grass and prairie flowers. The eternal daylight keeps it beautiful up until the moment they close their eyes to rest. Limbo is still unthinkably vast, still walking that strange line between peaceful and vaguely threatening. Or maybe they've been running for too long to tell the difference.

On the third day, trekking through mountain valley cliffs, they come across a roaring waterfall, one that pours into a river sparkling with an almost supernatural reflection of the sunlight. The air is clear, the water is heavenly going down their throats, and they have to stop and stare at the sheer amount of beauty in front of them. It's a shared moment that doesn't leave Hyukjae's mind even for the rest of the journey.

On the sixth day, they reach a series of floating stone islands, suspended above the mountains with bridges of twisting vines binding them to each other. Clouds float beneath their feet as they carefully navigate along each bridge. Hyukjae is just glad they're there to block his view of the ground below, or else the sheer height of the drop would have paralyzed him.

At last, they reach journey's end. The realization comes on very suddenly. One moment, they're wandering in the general direction of Hyukjae's vision, and the next moment Hyukjae is hit with just how familiar the landscape is. The connections come together like fireworks, and it makes the mountain overlook all the more beautiful. But one problem overshadows that revelation.

There's no world core to speak of.

"Is...this the exact place you saw?" Donghae asks, and Hyukjae feels his heart sink down to his feet.

Calm down, there must be something more . The vision can't have led you wrong. Even if it did only happen because of...

"That's it. I have to use my powers to reveal the core. It's how I saw the path here in the first place, isn't it?"

"I don't think—" Donghae starts to protest, but when he sees Hyukjae's confidence, he relents. "If you're sure," he says seriously.

He is. Hyukjae clasps Donghae's hand one more time, and then he enters his element. He channels the energy inside himself much like before, fighting to rip open the veil against its steadfast resistance. Just as much focus goes into keeping those powers in check, preventing them ripping control from his hands. Hyukjae's body shakes from the effort. With one great heave, it gives out entirely.

Limbo destabilizes in an instant. The natural laws of the world don't seem to fit together any longer, both physical and otherwise. The ground shakes, mountains form and collapse, and the sheer scale of destruction eclipses anything Hyukjae has ever seen. But a portal has opened up off the edge of the newly-formed cliff where they're standing. This plan of theirs might have actually worked.

Hyukjae collapses, spent, but Donghae grabs him before he can hit the ground. He pulls Hyukjae close to his chest and keeps him standing on his own two feet. The plains below fall into the abyss; an avalanche of debris roars down the mountainside behind them. But those sounds of destruction fade into the background as Hyukjae focuses on Donghae's warmth.

"On three," Hyukjae says quietly, not even sure if the words reach the other man's ears. "One, two..."

They jump, holding on to each other for dear life, and somewhere along the fall disappear into the portal's light.

~*~

Hyukjae never hits the ground. When he opens his eyes, he finds himself still in Donghae's arms, surrounded by a blanket of darkness and silence. There seems to be no beginning or end to the void.

He gently releases himself from the other man's embrace, but doesn't fall like he expected. Hyukjae floats in place, the lack of forces allowing him to stay upright as he takes in more of their surroundings.

There's nothing here but absolute darkness. That holds true for nearly everywhere Hyukjae looks. But feet away, floating in the middle of that darkness, is the glowing world core. It reflects off of the two of them, making them glow just as brightly.

"We did it," Hyukjae says softly. He's almost afraid to break the spell with his words, but the world core remains floating in place with its strange gravity.

"I think I've had my share of adventure for a while."

There's exhaustion written into Donghae’s face behind that smile, telling a tale of harrowing trials and more courage than someone should ever have to demonstrate. The sheer impossibility of what they've managed to accomplish crashes down on Hyukjae shoulders. And to what end? Their original intentions float to the surface in the face of the approaching finale.

"I...this means I'm cured?"

"As soon as you take the core. Jungsoo had to separate your consciousness from your body to stop the infection, but once they're reunited, you'll be good as new."

"A second chance."

Emotion overwhelms Hyukjae's body in a sudden rush. Donghae lets him have a moment, lets him take hold of that tangle of emotions and feel it in its entirety. When Hyukjae lets it go, Donghae is waiting for him with infinite patience and understanding.

"Ready to wake up?" he asks.

His hand is outstretched, which Hyukjae gladly takes with his own before allowing himself one deep breath. He's seen enough of this artificial world; it's time to return to the real one.

"Let's go."

He reaches out for the world core, feeling his fingers come into contact with a rippling, indescribable surface.

And everything goes white.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

X.

The sound of rushing water fills Hyukjae's senses. It lulls him into a trance as the current carries him through a comforting sort of nothingness, ending at a light that's brighter than anything he's ever seen.

The sound cuts out. And Hyukjae opens his eyes.

A host of sensations travels from his head to the tip of his toes. All at once, Hyukjae can feel himself exist again, feel the urges of hunger and thirst without psychic powers threatening to burst out of his skull. It's as if he's been reborn.

Hyukjae slowly turns his head to the side, looking past the metal apparatus of the same chair that he remembers settling into what seems like lifetimes ago. Donghae is looking at him, their gazes drawn to each other like poles of a magnet. The soft smile resting on his face feels like coming home.

When Hyukjae sits up, the sound draws the attention of the man on the opposite side of the room: Jungsoo, who'd so unwillingly helped them start this madman's quest. Jungsoo's eyes go incredibly wide, and he rushes to Hyukjae's side. He hugs Hyukjae once, then Donghae, then wipes off the tears off his face when he thinks they aren't looking.

"Both of you..." Jungsoo's voice cracks. "I'd started to think you wouldn't make it. I was so scared that...Thank you for coming back. Is there anything you need? Anything I can do to help?"

Hyukjae shares another silent look with Donghae, who gives him a slight nod.

"Actually..." Hyukjae asks, "what time is it?"

~*~

There's a grassy overlook outside of Jungsoo's house, one with a clear view of the sky. Hyukjae and Donghae sit quietly side by side, leaning into each other with an understanding beyond words.

They don't have to wait long before the sun starts to go down, leaving splashes of bright pinks and yellows in its wake. The beams stop just behind a hill in the far distance, illuminating it with a glowing halo. This is truly the most beautiful thing Hyukjae has ever seen. There are no storms, no collapsing mountains, no enemies hiding in the shadows. Just them and the sunset.

Eyes still trained on the horizon, Hyukjae feels Donghae's fingers lightly tracing characters across his back. The are featherlight, but Hyukjae would recognize that three-syllable proclamation anywhere. He smiles.

"Me, too."

Fin