CHAPTER ONE

"In that world, he is just a singer. Here? His potential and hidden power will blossom. The imagination of millions is much powerful than anyone could think. Here in this world, the lump of soil that they manage to make will grow into a very high mountain."

e)(o

He is sure that he died.

Deep somewhere in his mind when he is alive, he thinks that dying is a long process.

But no. His experience proves it wrong. In just a blink of his eye, he is dead...

Obviously he is not a saint and of course he is also not a great sinner, so where he ended up with he is not sure. He's not much of a religious person but he knows well that Heaven is a paradise, while hell is fiery. This place can't be described as paradise and also this place is the exact opposite of fiery. He is on hold until further notice, it seems. And now on a place where he guess is what some called as the purgatory... or the limbo, he lays.

In a middle of a raging blizzard, laying on his back, Kyungsoo found himself pitiful. His royal outfit is thick but he might as well wear nothing as it did not protect him from the harsh cold. He didn't know if someone dead can die again but if it is possible, this will be the cause of it.

He wanted to stay there and do nothing. Infact he tried to do that as he close his eyes wanting to see if he can sleep in afterlife or in the middle of the cold. But the stinging or burning on his back from the cold ground is quite persistent for him to ignore. So he let himself to sit up.

A much more colder wind blows at his direction causing him to huddle himself.

He really hates his life. Well, Not really. He just have a lot of things he finds annoying. Cold never bothered him before so he don't hate it. Now there's nothing he can hate more than this. Not even Chanyeol screaming his name repeatedly for no reason can even compare to it. Or Jongin's absence of socks, Baekhyun's loud voice when he is playing on his computer, Sehun's childishness or Jongdae's whining.

Those little idiots...

That's when he broke down. Suddenly the force of his death impacted on him. He's dead. He don't know how long has it been but he already misses those he left behind. He is crying. He don't usually cry, but he will give himself this chance to. It's a painful process, acknowledging that he is dead but he had to. He let those tears flow first, and when he can't provide anymore and those tears turned to ice, he finally accepted it.

He can miss them, he will miss them, but accepting the reality is a must and the most rational thing to do.

So he stands up, ignoring how his muscle aches for laying on the cold ground.

Dead as he may be, but he can't just do nothing about his situation. It may be a trial for soul like him. If he just lie there he will eventually end up in hell. That's what he thinks. So to avoid being an ice statue, he started to move forward. He needs to keep his blood running...

It took him a ten step when he realize something.

His heart is beating.

He places his hand over it. He can feel it. It should be impossible.But it is beating. He's dead but his heart is beating.

He wanted to destroy it immediately, but it grows faster than he wanted. The hope of him possibly being alive in the mortal world is already deeply rooted.

He's alive. And he needs to go back. He wants to go back.

He runs. Faster and longer than he ever manage before. He felt tired. But he needs to keep moving. He will not give up on going back.

No time to rest.

Damn the word rest. Damn his feet for aching. Damn his lungs for burning. Damn. He hates himself.

He trips and fall to the snow.

No time to rest.

He force himself to stand up and manage to take a step forward

His legs give up.

No time to rest.

He can't stand up anymore.

He crawls forward.

No time to rest.

Its just his legs that is tired. His body and hand can do the work for now.

No time to rest.

"Look."

That made him stop.

"A pathetic worm."

"Still a meal. If you don't want it maybe I can feast on your little brothers instead."

" off"

Kyungsoo looks around wanting to see where those voices come from. After a bit of effort, he finally see the silhouette of two tall man.

They come closer to him. One even crouch to his level. He gulps. They are very intimidating. They are both bald and have mean faces. But what is more prominent are those blood vessels that seems to pop any moment that are decorating their faces, or are those scars?. And with his rather limited knowledge about stories and movies, their outfit which compose of wools and ugly designed armor tells him that this men are uncivilized tribesmen.

Is this common thing here in between of LIfe and Death. Being confronted by tribesmen.

"Hmm. He is short. Good thing he have bit muscle"

Kyungsoo jerk his arms away when the man feels him up. And can't avoid to scrunch his nose . The man seems to have a very bad case of a bad breath.

In response for his sudden action, the man slaps his face.

Kyungsoo didn't realize what happened until he felt the stinging on his face. He fists his hands and aim at the man's face out of anger. But it was easily dodge and just earned him another slap.

"Stop foolling around and kill him already so we can go back to Thenn Valley." The one who is standing said.

"No, not now. This one have a spirit on him. I say we drag him back towards the camp and skin or roast him alive. I very much want to put that defieance away from his eyes and replace it with begging."

"Suit yourself. But do the dragging by yourself"The other man give in as he don't want to deal with his troublesome companion any further.

The other just grunted in agreement and proceeds to take the rope that the other is offering.

Kyungsoo, can understand english, he can even speak it. But his efficiency of it is definitely lower than those people who have it as their first or second language. He wanted to understand what they are talking about. But he is not sure if it is even an english language that they are using because of their heavy accent and the blizzard howling.

One thing is sure for him though. They are not there to help him.

His struggles are futile as the man is more stronger than him.

In the end he was tightly tied up and found himself being drag by the man.

He hates his current situation. He position himself to lie on his back as the man continue yanking the rope that's binding him, to avoid injuring his face.

He find himself glad that the whole place are covered with snow as it soften what should be a rough treatment.

He never experience being treated like this. It frustrated him.

Is this some sort of test in order for him to be able to go back. If this a purgatory or whatever place that holds souls like him, who have the chance to come back to mortal plane, then there's must be some kind of trials. This could be a part of it.

If this is a test, what is expected for him to do. Should he find a way to escape? Defeat this man? Reign his anger? Be a good boy?

He finds the latter two distasteful. Yes he is a kind person. But not overly where anyone can just abuse him and he still smile at them afterwards.

But still what is it?

"Who are you." He said in english. He wants to know who are these men and what they want from him.

The man turned at him. The man opened his mouth... and spits on his face.

The holler of laughter is booming around the empty area.

Kyungsoo is disgusted. He can feel the wetness in his face cascading down. Then with the cold it freezes there.

Out of spite and helplessness he wish or rather willed for the man to trip and land on his face. Somewhere rocky and spiky to kill the man.

Then a great exhaustion come over him and within a second he fall asleep.

e)(o

The man was still laughing not minding his step as he is sure that nothing can block his way not with the snow covering up all the stoney ground.

He didn't expect for a rock a size of a watermelon. So he trip over it.

e)(o

Finding the sudden lack of his companion's laughter strange, the man who is walking ahead looks back. And what he saw is a rather strange sight. There he saw the boastful and prideful man he ever manage to get to know face planted with long, sharp rocks. At his distance it looks like the man had trip over and ended up being speared by those rocks, which he is sure does not exist when he passed that area. The red blood seeps into the snow. Unlucky bastard. Serves him right for being rude at anyone. He smiles atleast the man is out of his hair now and can do anything without the man commenting on it, and no one would miss him anyway. He continued marvelling at the sight of his companion's death. He went closer to inspect it. It looks like the one that killed him is the spiky rock that goes through his eyes and end up sticking at the back of his head. He feel good seeing that.

Then his eyes fall over their catch.

He finds the boy strange. He is surely not anyone from the freefolk as no free folk dress the way the boy like that. So he is sure that this boy lives on the other side of the cursed wall where people are lazy as sloth and fat as a mammoth. And this one is no crow too as he wears a clothing almost coloured with white. If that Mance Rayder's words are to be believe in, this boy must be a son of a Noble as every inch of him scream rich and spoiled.

At first he wanted to kill the boy already to avoid any trouble when he wakes up. But he finds himself curious as to why a boy like him ended up here far from his home and far from the wall. So with a sigh, he carried the boy at his shoulder.

This boy smells good. Damn what a rich bastard. He thought. Seems like we ventured out too far and it would take two days to go back to the Settlement. Best start it then before another blizzard hit me. And so he left without caring for the body of the dead.

e)(o

Kyungsoo come to his senses with a groan escaping his mouth. His eyelids still heavy and wanting to close.

For a moment he entertained going back to sleep, but his rather odd and uncomfortable position forces him to wake up completely.

Its not the view that he first make out but its the stinky smell as his nose continue bumping to the source of it.

When he realize that he is in fact on the shoulder of someone, slung like a sack of potato, he struggles immediately but realizes that it is uselesss as he found himself still tightly bound by a rope. He wince as he felt the burns and scratches that the rope made on his skin.

"Quit it, before I realize that you are not worth being captured alive and just kill you now."

Kyungsoo knows what he heard are in english but because he is still a bit disoriented, he can only make out the word "Kill" but still it was enough for Kyungsoo to stop as he remembers the events before he fall asleep because of the sudden wave of exhaustion.

I'm alive or rather I have a chance to go back to my body. But this two men decided to kidnap me. Is this really a trial for me? Or they are doing this for another reason? If the latter is true... Why? I'm just a soul with a beating heart, why abduct me? What good I have for them. Surely there are lots of us that they can take instead. Kyungsoo wince at the last line of his thought, realizing that he just wish for others to have this misfortune instead of him.

The smell though proves to be more annoying now that his senses come back fully. "Do you know the word 'bath'?" He asked before he can stop himself.

He heard the big man grunt. some unintelligible words and words like "bath", "freezing","waste", "time" and "resources". Even with those words he make out he can't still comprehend what the man was trying to say. He tried to reposition himself to avoid his face contacting towards the dirty clothing and body. Like his previous action he can only do nothing.

"Why don't you just let me walk?"

To his suprise the man drop him nonchalantly. Kyungsoo curse in his language.

The man eyed him for a moment then proceed to yank the ropes that bind Kyungsoo.

After being able to stand that took an effort, he obediently followed the man closely behind as to not make the ropes taut and to avoid further irritation to his already bleeding wrist.

Silence reigns over the area.

He finally able to scan his surrounding as the blizzard seems to have stop already, and see the vast nothingness but layers of white snow.

Kyungsoo is not ignorant to snow as he lives on a country with four seasons, but seeing no distractions like high buildings, streetlights, cars and others and just plain snow that covers all his line of sight is rather breath taking and disorienting. He wonders if they are lost and they are just walking in circles. He sees the man who is very sure to his steps, so he thinks that they are going to the right direction towards... Now that he thinks about it, he is not sure if reaching their destination is a good thing for him.

Then Kyungsoo find something odd. As far as he can remember he was abducted by two men, so he finds himself questioning himself as to where the other went as he is not with them. Considering the much more "subdued" personality of the present company, the one who slap him twice and spat on his face is the one that is missing.

"Where did the other one go?" Kyungsoo frowned slightly as the word flew out of his mouth effortlessly despite not being good in english.

Kyungsoo thought that he is going to be ignored after a minute past without the man answering him back.

But the man suprises him as he grace him with response with the accent that much more soft than before so he was able to comprehend it, and that the noise of blizzard before and his earlier half awake state that prevented him to focusing to what he is hearing are gone now. "The bastard is dead. As it seems he tripped over and ended up with a stone spike running him through his eyes to the back of his head."

For some reason, that description is familiar. Kyungsoo just shrugged it off.

"You are lucky, you know. If that bastard is with us once we arrive at the Thenn Valley, he would really do what he said to you before. Skin or roast you alive. And eat you ofcourse. That bastard had a liking for human flesh. Well all Thenns do, but he really likes to eat human flesh daily. Some of us just do it if there's an event or raid or when the animals that we catch are limited."

Kyungsoo who was able to understand what the man said had a conflicting feelings. He wants to call bull to all what the man said but looking at him he figured that the man is serious. He paled at that, unsure for his future.

"What do you mean by human flesh?" Kyungsoo asked when he realized that something is not adding up.

The man or the thenn look at him weirdly. "You don't know human flesh? Where are you from that you can't even know what you are made up with."

"I know what human flesh is!" He answered back, pissed that this man thought of him as an idiot. " I'm just wondering why you use the word flesh, when in fact I'm nothing but a soul. I mean I died and ended up here. Surely you know that I am just one of those souls who usually find themselves here in the limbo."

The man eyed him as if he was crazy. "You seems alive to me.." The man took a step then stop to turn to him. The thenn scans him as if trying to find something. "You are not even a wight too. As far as I know wights don't talk. I say you are just crazy."

"And you are the one to talk, as if eating human is normal. I'm pretty sure I'm much normal than you and your dead companion." The thenn just snorted. "What's Ten and White anyway?" Kyungsoo is sure that he pronounced that wrong, he would never even get to set those words apart from the rest if he is not paying any attention. He still find it odd how he can easily understand the things that the man are trying to say when earlier their encounter he had trouble making sense what the heck was the man were saying. The accent is still there though.

"Thenns are people who live in Thenn Valley. Thenns is just another community here in this land." Kyungsoo senses that the man is getting annoyed with him. " While the wights are the deads that was brought back to life and being controlled by the ers that called White Walker..." The man become serious all of a sudden.

Kyungsoo can't help but still be suprise at that. He's dead but he spent a lifetime like Zombie are impossible let alone a creature that can control it. Kyungsoo at first thinks he can be classified as a wight here in this place but with the given description he knows that he is not.

"Then what am I?" He asked.

"Did you lose your memory? Anyway you are a breathing human who probably lives on the other side of the wall and a son of a lord there. Or just some rich merchant for all I care. One thing is sure, you are not a soul nor you are dead. If you can't take my words then maybe a blade running on your throat can prove it."

Kyungsoo back off from the man who fish a knife from his ugly clothing.

"Aren't you a scaredy cat." The thenn snickered. "Don't you want to test if you really are alive? Just a slice on that flesh of your neck would do. If you don't die then that means you are really dead and I would readily believe your claim. But if it did kill you then... shame you should have believe me. What you think." The rather sharp looking knife are being waved at his face.

Kyungsoo did not rise to the taunt. He want to, but reign it in. He is Do Kyungsoo afterall. And he should think things and analyze the things that he was able to learn. A composed guy like him should not go around without insights about his situation and any ideas how to deal with it.

"You are really a weird one." The thenn commented out of nowhere.

"And I find you more odd." He retorted and the man hide his knife under the fabric he is wearing.

"Can I asked where are we?" He asked as they started walking again.

"We are at the end of Frostfang. Two days of carrying you in that trek better be worth it." The thenn grumbled.

Kyungsoo choose not to put his suprise at the knowlede of him sleeping for two days verbally. And his thought don't dwell on it much longer too as he think about what the man supplied about their current where abouts. This is the first time that he heard about Frostfang. Confusing as it is for him, he is ready to trash the idea that he is in purgatory (or limbo). it just gives him more headache as he still can't make any sense at his current sense.

He is sure that he really died that night, but according to the clues that was given to him, such as the blood that coming from his wounded wrist and his beating heart, he is still alive. But if he really is, then why did he ended up here? This place seems to be not a place for souls who leave their mortal bodies either as surely the man who abducted him would be aware of it. Can't be in a dream either.

This is really the reality for him now. He manages to rub the tension that's building on his forehead and sighed. And for once in his life, he decided to go with the flow.

"We are nearing Thenn Valley. He should find you interesting at least." Kyungsoo thinks that the man said the last statement more to himself as if trying to convince himself that all of his trouble is not just for a waste.

"Who?"

"Styr, the Magnar of Thenn."

e)(o

If there's any doubt that his capturer is a tribesman, then It should be vanished by now.

Kyungsoo's eyes are wide open as he stares at the community before him. He can describe the place as a tent city as all he can see is a makeshift tents.

The citizen of the this place are mostly busy. He can't say that the place is over populated but the constant movement of the people made it look like one.

One thing is for sure though, he understand the man's atttitude now.

If he is to grow in this poor and harsh wheather with little source for food then he will surely grow hard too.

But that still didn't make the cold and harsh glare that he is receiving right now less uncomfortable.

He is sure that this people are trying too make him cower, and hell will reign soon before he do so.

Of course that didn't endear him to the thenns. If anything they seems to be readying themselves to skin him right there.

"Your not just a scaredy cat, it seems like you are also stupid."

Kyungsoo pointed his glare at the man. "Whatever you mean." He noticed that the man's attention are suddenly elsewhere. As if he is observing something.

He scan the area to see if there's something he can find that amiss, but because he is rather new to this place he can't really tell what it is. But he is sure that there is as he saw his capturer suddenly tensed.

A huge man with a flaming red hair walks towards their direction.

"Tormund." His companion greets. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, captured some crows. Also here to annouce to Styr that Mance is coming here."

"What does he want?"

"Old business."

Kyungsoo just stood there.

"I see that you got an interesting companion here." The red haired man commented.

Kyungsoo avoided looking at the man.

"I happened to stumble upon him. Now if that's all, I need to present him to the Magnar."

The giant man shrugged and gestured with his head that they are free to go.

"Might as well join you, I'm sure that you got an a worthy story to tell."

"Don't bet on it."

As they go deeper to the tent city, Kyungsoo felt that more and more people are glaring at him.

Keep it in. He said to himself. He stilled himself, willing for his discomfort to not show on his face. Everything will be alright.

Then he felt something hard hit the back of his head.

He turned around and saw children with stones on their heads. "Hey that's rude. You don't throw things at someone older that you!"

In his peripheral vision, he saw the two guys snickering.

Instead of being cowered by the abomination that he said, the children went ahead and throw more rocks at him.

"Hey stop!"

"That hurts!"

"ing hell."

"Ouch"

He shielded his face when he was hit on his eye.

He then lose his balance.

He heard laughters. Laughters that mocks him. Laughters that judge and belittles him.

Someone grab that back of his coat, and force him to stamd up. "Come on little weakling, You don't have time to sit there."

He glances at the red haired man. "As if I enjoy this, ypu ing cannibal!"

The man's laugh echoes around the area. "I'm Tormund. And I'm telling you I'm not cannibal."

"As if I care!" Kyungsoo snarled while nursing his bleeding eyelids.

He felt stones still being throw at him.

"I SAID ING STOP IT. YOU UNCIVILIZED, UNEDUCATED LITTLE OF A CHILDREN!"

He yelled which causes him to run out of breath.

Kyungsoo is a kind person, and it would take a lot of things to get him to say not so noce things to anyone. And its been a rollercoaster for him already.

Still he's nice.

"Oh... I'm sorry." He followed immediately after realizing what he said. He bowed 90 to the direction of the children one by one with "Forgive me."

Kyungsoo doesn't know it but all individuals who saw it was rather shock by his action. They was about to skin him right at his spot when he started yelling, but stop when he apologized immediately. Not an apologized because he knows that his life are on the line but real apologize that acknowledge that he offends them and just wishing for their fogiveness.

"Well that's something new." His bald companion said. He went and slaps Kyungsoo's back causing for him to wince. "Oi stand up straight already, I don't have time for this."

Kyungsoo complied. He scanned his surroundings. He saw one by one people went to their direction.

Tormund came at his side as they continue walking. "You are interesting boy."

Kyungsoo don't know what to think about that comment. "Thanks, I guess."

Tormund replied with a laugh. "I hope they don't eat you."

Kyungsoo just sighed.

Sooner than he likes they are in front of the largest tent.

He's sensing that hell will rain while inside that tent.

e)(o

Hey, I'm just here to say that this story have the elements from the show and the book, whatever fits the narrative.

You don't need to know about EXO or GoT to read this as I will Let Kyungsoo tell it himself.

ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE deal with it.

Comment. I'm er for it.