SHINHYE

I ran out of the manor into the forest, aimlessly speeding through the night to wherever my feet would take me. I read his thoughts. I wasn’t human. I knew it from the start, but still, I denied it. Everyone had been pointing it out to me, the nobles, the people I’ve met at the village…Jinhae. The tears I’ve been keeping at bay fell due to the hurt and frustration I’ve felt. I didn’t want to be in Elyxo and on top of that, I wanted to be able to speak to our father again. He was the one to blame and no one else. He was the root of all these problems that were plaguing me. He was a liar and he forced us into the lie that he believed was true. I hated him!

I ran and ran until I couldn’t take it anymore. My chest ached inside and I found it hard to breathe. Clutching at my chest, I sank down to the ground, releasing all my anger. I tried to calm down, taking deep breaths when I realized that I was in front of a lake. The waters glimmered under the pale moonlight, but the beautiful scenery sparked a new sense of anger in me. Father was the Lake Guardian and I hated everything that had anything to do with him.

The more I tried to push the ideas away, the more they were proving themselves true to me. Now I even doubt myself and there was just no way I would know what to believe anymore. I grabbed a big stone and hurled it in the air, throwing it at the lake.

“COME OUT!” I growled into the lake. “If you’re really the Lake Guardian, come out and face me, you blasted liar!”

I hurled another one of the stones, but then again, the lake just swallowed it as if nothing happened. Ripples cascaded and everything remained in silence. “Damn you, face me!”

I finally caved in. After weeks of trying to hold myself together, I finally found myself crashing down. Before, as much as I doubted our father, I’ve always tried to see the truth in his words, but after getting to Elyxo, I don’t think I would be able to take it. His memory was now tainted by the lies that he had told us.

“How could you?” I said weakly. “How could you lie and make us suffer the humiliation?!” I demanded and flung more stones into the water. It was futile. No matter how I shouted, he wouldn’t hear me. He was dead. I didn’t even have the comfort of having my sister with me. I didn’t know where she was. I don’t know where to start looking.

“Father!” I cried more. “Why?”

The moment I said that, harsh winds blew past me, tousling my hair. Its direction was towards the lake and I felt myself being pushed towards it so I took a step back from it, fearing the prospect of falling. Heaven knows what thrives inside the lakes of Korinthia.

Just then, the still water began moving in what seemed like whirlpools while it bubbled up with foam. My eyes widened when I saw what was emerging from the water. I couldn’t move and my legs felt numb as I witnessed a huge, transparent sphere come out from the depths of the lake, moving towards me.

The wind blew harder pushing me towards it, but I resisted. What the hell was happening? I stared at the bubble, panicked. My heart was racing inside its cage as it drew nearer and before I knew it, I was inside the bubble, floating just a foot above the lake. I realized that it was headed towards the miniature whirlpool where it came from.

“I’m gonna die!” I told myself, but my body hasn’t given up yet. I eyed the whirlpool. It was quite small, but the current was strong. It could drown a fully grown horse in seconds. I kicked around the sphere as it drifted, pushing it back, but nothing happened. It didn’t even burst at the force I was applying. It was as if it was made of Plexi-glass. Just like that, it slowly sank down into the whirlpool. I was expecting myself to drown, but the bubble remained intact, surrounding me and as it traveled to the bottom, it glowed.

I watched the surroundings, wide-eyed in awe and shock. It was technically impossible, but it was happening. The odd thing was that the fishes and the creatures didn’t seem to see the bubble as it was passing by. The lake was teaming with life and at a closer look, it was beautiful there. It travelled for a while and I sat inside, hugging my knees to myself. The glow of the bubble began to dim as it moved upwards. I could clearly see the moon shining above the water and soon, it resurfaced. I was expecting it pop the moment it reaches that point, but it held just like that, keeping me inside.

“What now?” I muttered. I thought of what Baekhyun had told me that night when he followed me to the forest and I couldn’t help but think if I was being held prisoner because of their claims. I was on the surface of the lake, probably its other side with mountains surrounding it and mist shrouded the whole place.

“Shinhye,” a familiar voice said.

I looked around me, but saw no one. “Who’s there?” I snarled.

“Over here,” the voice said, coming from one of the huge boulders. The mist cleared and I saw a man standing on it. His long, jet-bl