It turned out that winning a battle against someone two ranks higher than your own, had many benefits. Well, benefits in the eyes of those who took profit. Seoyeon was partly by request of the public and partly by the analysis of her skills, moved directly to rank thersis, the highest one. This meant that she’d switch dorm and training facilities too. 

That’s how she found herself placing the little belongings she had in a bigger, more luxurious room. The sheets were soft and velvet-like under the touch, which was something Seoyeon hadn’t afforded to feel for a long time. She laid down on the mattress, letting herself relax for a few seconds. The burns on her arms were still fresh, and she was actually supposed to get them treated as soon as she moved quarters, but everything felt so oddly quiet and still that then and there, Seoyeon didn’t have the willpower to raise herself from the soft fabric of the bed. 

But the moment was short lived, and the girl had to suppress a string of curses when there was a knock at her door. 

”This better be good.” She muttered to herself grumpily, and opened the wooden frame, but blinked in surprise to find none other than Kyungsoo staring blankly back at her. 

”How did you find me?” Seoyeon grumbled. 

He raised an eyebrow. ”We share the same dorm, You’re the same rank as me now.”

”I thought you were the champion, don’t they have their own luxurious dorm, or whatever?” She asked half-heartedly and stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her. 

”I was offered one, but I refused.” The prince then paused, looking away hesitantly. ”You fought really well.” He said in a low voice. 

”Thanks—” She started, but the words died down in when the pair entered the common room. 

The Phoenix was standing right in front of her, seemingly having entered the cosy space at the same time as them. But his gaze wasn’t on her, rather on someone who soon enough raised herself from the chair she was sitting on, and crushed the man in a tight embrace. Her hair was the same bright red color as his was, and her skin just as lightly tanned. He responded by wrapping his arms around her as eagerly as she had done. 

”Seulgi, you disappeared for three days. Where the hell did they take you?” He asked, breaking apart. The girl—Seulgi was apparently her name—swallowed thickly. 

”I- I don’t know. I don’t remember anything. I just remember them taking me down to the dungeons the other day and the rest is just…fuzzy.” 

”You don’t know?” Another voice spoke up, and Seoyeon shifted her gaze to the source of the voice. It was a slim man, leaning by the fireplace. His eyes were droopy, though his gaze was unwavering. ”They must have forced a fighter to use some kind of memory altering spell to you. Whatever they’re doing down there, they don’t want us to know what it is.” 

Seulgi nodded, eyes scanning the room until they landed on hers, and both females stiffened. At that point, every other eye in the room (which weren’t that many given they were five in the room) turned to her, along with the ones of the man she fought. 

Seoyeon expected anything, really. She expected him to glare at her, cuss her out, anything. What she did not expect was for his eyes to light up. He throttled towards her direction, and once he was right in front of her, he stretched out a hand. 

”I’m Chanyeol.” He shot her a toothy smile. Taken aback, Seoyeon shook his hand awkwardly, trying not to wince at the obvious bruise on his nose: the one she had caused. ”Your fighting was out of this world!” He added excitedly. 

”I- Uh, thanks?” She tried, but he seemed unphased by her discomfort.

”I knew that you had the same power as Kyungsoo, but your fighting style is completely different. I mean, you just kept materialising weapons out of this laser texture from your hands, I was initially so shocked, all I could do was throw fire beams at you. It was by far one of the coolest fights of my life, you’re an exceptional fighter- what do I call you?” 

She straightened up, clearing . ”Seoyeon.” 

Chanyeol nodded eagerly. ”Nice to meet you, Seoyeon. I see you already met Kyungsoo?”

This time, it was Kyungsoo who answered the question. ”Actually, we do go back a bit farther in time. Why don’t we let her sit down?” 

All eyes were still on her when Seoyeon and Kyungsoo sat down on the couch. The prince turned to her. ”Maybe it’s good if I present them all to you. Seoyeon, meet Seulgi- '' He pointed at the red haired girl, who beamed and waved in her direction. ”Baekhyun,” His finger shifted towards the slim man by the fireplace, who nodded in her direction. ”And Chanyeol you have already met. We’re what’s left of rank thersis.” 

”What’s left?” She asked. 

”Well, you know how I ran away, right? Well, it was a unified attempt, all of us tried to escape, but only a few were lucky enough to make it out. I managed to escape, but got captured later on, while these here never made it out. We’re not that many left, which is probably why Im Changkyun was so adamant in moving you up two ranks as soon as he saw the chance to.”

Baekhyun shifted by the fireplace. ”How did you even get captured in the first place?” 

Seoyeon looked around uncomfortably, trying to find a way out of the conversation. ”It’s a long story.” 

But Kyungsoo seemed to yet again read through her like an open book, and soon started explaining. ”Same reason as to why I wanted to escape in the first place. She was headed to Eriros” 

”You mean that she has the same writing on her arm?” Chanyeol asked. The prince nodded. ”That’s sick.”