Hansol – Weeping Woodlands – Shadow Lands

"Yah, Hansol! King Hansol! The mighty Hansol of Sephon! Yah! Choi Hansol! Wake up!" Hansol abruptly opened his eyes as the insistent hand shaking his shoulder strengthen in intensity.

With a grunt, the nether then abruptly closed it from the blaring light directly hitting him.

"I know it was your turn to stay up last night," A brown eyed Wen Junhui cupped his face and was now gazing at him smugly.

"But we're here to gather some wood, not to take a nap. So get up, you can continue sleeping at the camp." The older man continued as he patted the cheeks of the nether and stuffed the remaining twigs on his make shift basket. It did not really shock Hansol when he finally realized that the Jun he was talking was a tad bit different. He reckons the moment he saw the slightly aged face full of stubble and brown eyes of the other man, that whatever he was seeing was probably a dream or another faded memory coming to life. 

"We got to take this back first, these twigs won't walk by themselves you know." Jun called out to him once again as Hansol started to scramble on his feet.

"Well, I can try and look for ways how to in my dreams " The younger replied jokingly, he doesn’t even know where the confidence or the answer came from. His body felt like it his and wasn't at the same time and replying to Junhui like that felt right.

Jun only chuckled at the answer, and continued to stuff the twigs in. They basked under the comforting silence for a little bit as if they've been through thick and thin until Jun started to rant. Though there was no hostility on his voice but pure tenderness.

"Well I would like to indulge you more with your dreams but unlike you sir, I still have some responsibilities to do." Jun was now on his feet, offering a hand to get the younger up so they can start their way back to camp.

"Responsibilities?" Again, Hansol in his consciousness didn't really want to pry on what responsibilities Junhui might have. For all he can remember from the short time he has spent with him and from what he has observed during important social gatherings, Junhui seems to be like a carefree guy.

The man might not be the biggest talker in their small group but Hansol has never seen him ran out of goofy smiles and Minghao has never stopped chiding him for it.

"Yeah, I promised Hao that I'll be the one to give our little boy a bath." Hansol only hummed to the olders reply like he understood what Jun was talking and finally stood up. He was curious but then again, he didn't feel like asking the older.

Brushing off the dried leaves clinging on his vest, he took the other basket full of twigs and hooked the knots that were tied on the sides of the basket on both of his shoulders. Both men then started to walk their way through the lush forest and once again was wrapped with comforting silence.

"Hansol?" Jun suddenly called in a hushed tone. They were walking for quite some time now and frankly, Hansol would have already fallen asleep from the peaceful stillness of the forest if not for the fact that they are moving.

"Hhmm?" The younger replied, not noticing the slightly somber tone of the older man.

"When everything's done, like you know. If we ever live to see the ending, where do you plan to go?" The question took the younger a moment to collect himself. For some reason he felt conflicted, like there are some hidden emotions that keeps him from answering.

"Well, it's not like there’s still a kingdom that I can get back to after what Lilith did." Hansol finally replied and in this moment the nether finally reached a realization about what he is currently experiencing. He is not dreaming, he is seeing a snippet of the past. A past that may also happen in the future.

"However, every time I close my eyes, I can still remember the hopeful faces of my people waiting for my return. So maybe the first thing I'll do is rebuild what was left of the ruins of our kingdom. Help the people get back on their feet." The younger added with conviction and after that paused for a little. 

"Then, maybe after that, I'll be able to fix myself as well." His past self continued, giving him ideas. Ideas that got him questioning himself, about his past, about his emotions. Ideas that maybe he has his own set of inner demons that he needs to fight off.

"That sounds like a plan." Junhui supplies with a small smile then continued to look forward.

"How about you hyung?" His past self queried, whilst glancing at the older man who was beside him.

With a huge grin marring his face the older answered. I might sound like a naive little boy, but wherever Hao chooses to go, I'll follow."  

It was now Jun who paused for a moment to ponder before adding to his earlier statement. "After all, you and I lived a similar kind of tale. However, my tribe has long perished before my eyes, and unlike you who still has people waiting for your return, there is none for me to go back."

Hansol did not reply, he feels rueful for the other but at the same time happy. He didn't know why but it made him feel good as well. Both of them remained silent after the short exchange and it left Hansol ample time to relax once more.

"Hyung's what took you so long!" The thin veil of stillness was once again interrupted by a familiar but slightly mature voice of a young man. Hansol's past self whipped his gaze to were the voice came from and was pleased to see a slightly older version of Chan. 

Unlike his current self, this Chan had black hair and although his wings were still brown his eyes were a deep shade of black. He looked older and a bit buffer. There were obvious scars running through his arms and he looked a bit gruffer, telltale signs that this Chan didn't also had it easy living life in the past. 

However, before Hansol can ponder more on the youngers appearance, Chan’s image began to distort. Hansol suddenly couldn't hear what the younger was talking as if he was deaf. 

Then things started to blur out and Hansol can only make out silhouettes of Jun and Chan. It was starting to get confusing and Hansol was clueless as to what to do. He can still barely see both Jun and Chan, however things got even more unsettling as he heard a number of people screaming, then a distinct voice of a young girl sobbing.

"No! stop, please! This is not what I meant. This is not what I wanted! Please! Oh heavens! I do not wish for forgiveness for I know I'm not worthy! But please oh mighty one! Please save them! I beg of you! Please!"

As the pleading continues, the remaining silhouettes of Jun and Chan started to fade and indigo light slowly covered him. Hansol bolted on a run as he tried to chase the fading images of his brothers. He couldn't help but feel tensed as the begging voice turned louder and louder as time ticks. A few moments ago, the nether was very sure that he was seeing a memory of his past. But now, he thinks he's stuck in a nightmare rather than looking through the past.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen. If I can just go back in time and make everything right. I would've never let this happened. I would've made the right choice. I'm so, so sorry." 

As the sobbing voice of the young girl apologized to whoever she was talking to, the purple light that was wrapping Hansol slowly receded. It then centered to a small glowing stone resting as a simple necklace on an unidentified young girls chest. 

Hansol tried to look at the young girls face but was never able to see it clearly. Her face and body looked hazy and before Hansol can look any further, things started to zoom out like he is being thrown up to the sky and the next thing the nether saw is a small town burning to ashes. Everything was destroyed and there were no signs of any human life except for the young girl.

Being high up in the clouds, the nether examined the location of the town, curious as to where it might be located. Beyond the small town high up to the north are three lush mountains. To its west and south are rows of trees that later leads to a large body of water and on its east is just a wide stretch of forest. 

The young nether was still looking around when the unmistakable wailing of the young girl ripped through the air. Hansol watched the indigo light once again brighten up the place enough for Hansol to close his eyes.

“Follow the light Hansol, you always tell me to follow the light.” The light was too bright that it was getting hard for the nether to keep his eyes open. However, as the indigo light covered him, he heard the familiar soft voice of Seungkwan calling to him, telling him to follow the light. 

Then the brightness from the stone became too bright for the nether to handle, he started to become dizzy and the soft voice of Seungkwan started to change in a more panicked tone.  

"Hansol! Hansol!" Hansol caught himself gasping for air as he woke up from his sleep. He was drenched with sweat and was probably as pale as an unwritten piece of parchment when he finally opened his eyes. In his head, he can still hear the voice of the young girl sobbing so painfully that it took him a moment to grasp his surroundings. 

“Hansol are you alright? How are you feeling?” Hansol was clutching his head when he finally let his gaze linger to the owner of the worried voice. In an instant, a wash of relief suddenly coursed through him as Seungkwan, with his blond hair and blue eyes looked at him with so much concern.

The nether wasn’t able to reply however when his older brother bursted in the brightly lit cave. “Hansol! Hansol how are you? Do you feel weird? Do you need anything? Oh, brother you got me so worried!”

“Hush Seungcheol!” Jisoo stopped the rumbling man from continuously babbling his mouth, and truthfully Hansol was very much thankful for it.

“If I were Hansol Ill probably have the worst headache after hearing you talk like a buzzing bee.” Jisoo continued to scold his brother as the nether watch the rest of his friends slowly gather around him. 

“How are you feeling kid?” Jisoo finally asked him as he took the seat Seungkwan was occupying before the older man came. 

“Tired, dizzy, I feel like my body is tied to a big boulder or something. My limbs feel too heavy.”

“Well, I really wouldn’t wonder why you feel very tired. After running an amok like that and losing such big amounts of energy I expected you to wake up at least after 10 days.” Jisoo replied nonchalantly as he placed a hand on the nethers head and started to check for his condition. Hansol, on the other hand was out of words, just what in the worlds did he do for Jisoo to expect him to be fast asleep for ten days?

“What amok? What did I do? Did I hurt someone?” the nether tried to ask.

“We will tell it all to you later, but first you need to get some sleep and rest. It will help you recover all the energy you lost.” The astral dismissed him quickly.

“B-but-“ 

“Not a word. Sleep first, then we will tell you all.” The astral strictly replied, not leaving any room for argument.

“Now all of you scoot out, that includes you Seungcheol. I know you want to take care of your brother, but trust me he will be better if you give him some time to shut his eyes and sleep.” Hansol can only watch as Seungcheol scowled. Yet, the older still stood up and walked out of the cave.

“Just call me if you need anything.” the older nether said before he completely walked out.

“That also includes you Seungkwan. You should also be resting, not ogling at Hansol. Go back to your bed. I will not leave unless I am sure you are both fast asleep.”

Facts about the Fic: 

• The glowing stone – the stone is an integral part of the thirteen heroes quest. In it are the shards of Lilith’s soul that they must find a way to destroy and also a figment of their past self. There is a common trait that every shard has. It may look like a normal crystal if not for the fact that’s glowing, it also has a golden chain incapsulated in the middle of the stone. The crystals color is based on the aura of whosevers past self is guarding the shard of Lilith’s soul. In the previous chapter, the color of the stone was green. This means that the aura Hansol emanates is colored green. 
• Green – this color means safety, reliability, stability and harmony. The abilities needed on a good king to serve his people and kingdom well.

A/N: Hi. So this is delayed. I know and I'm really sorry. Can we all just pretend it'still February? Please?

I was kinda busy and bitlife(it's a life simulator game, If y'all didn't know) updated so I just had to play it. I'm really sorry if this late and I hope y'all like it. Byeeeee ( imma go back to sleep because it's only 5 am in my country and I actually woke at 3 just to edit this lol.. my sleeping pattern is fuq beyond repair and so am I..