Hyukjae stepped inside his house with heavy steps, his eyes looking around his empty surrounding. It was silent, except for the faint sound of the crickets. He slowly turned around as he dropped his bag on the floor, and his eyes landed on Kyuhyun standing at the doorway.

“You’re kidding right?”

“Get some rest, Hyukjae. Sungmin’s getting some food, he’ll be back soon.”

Hyukjae grabbed one of the books on the table and threw it at Kyuhyun, though it missed him only inches away. “Don’t give me that."

“Donghae is just trying to protect you.”

“Protect me from what exactly?!” Hyukjae snapped.

When he woke up this morning, he was alone. There was no sign of Donghae. He wanted to believe that the latter didn’t leave him without saying a word, but this was what happened. They had a good time last night, and he didn’t get any of this.

“Everything will be fine, Hyukjae. Trust me.”

“Take me to Eosforos.”

“What?”

“Donghae is there, isn’t he? Take me to where he is.”

Kyuhyun sighed. He slowly walked inside and stopped in front of Hyukjae, his hand ruffling his hair. He looked a little tired and Hyukjae somehow felt bad for yelling at him, but he was too frustrated. He didn’t like the idea of being left in the dark.

“Tonight is the Night of Celebration in our world,” Kyuhyun said, “If you go there, you’re a dead barbecued meat, Hyukjae.”

Hyukjae swallowed. “What am I supposed to do then? Wait here like an idiot until something happens to Donghae?”

Kyuhyun didn’t answer right away. He took a seat on the couch and grabbed a bottle of water on the table, before gulping it down in one go. “You do know we devils have powers right?”

Hyukjae nodded as he sat down across the latter, watching him intently.

“While our abilities are almost the same, we do have some different types of powers. And Donghae has one of the rarest types among all of us.”

“Which is?”

“When he kills a devil, he will automatically absorb their power and make it his own. In other words, everytime he kills a devil, his power will get stronger.”

“Is that a bad thing or a good thing?” Hyukjae nervously asked.

“Depends on his ability to control his power,” Kyuhyun said, “Every noble lord has a way to seal their power. But in Donghae’s case, I’m not so sure. His power is getting stronger each day, and there’s a huge possibility the seal can’t hold it any longer.”

“What...what will happen if he...”

“Nothing good will happen if he loses control.”

Hyukjae inhaled deeply, somehow regretting that he couldn’t see this sooner. He should’ve known that Donghae was suffering, but he was too stupid to realize. Donghae had been keeping everything to himself, and he did nothing to make him feel better.

“Take me with you to Eosforos,” Hyukjae insisted, “Please.”

“Hyukjae, you know you can’t-“

“I know. I’m not going to do anything stupid. I just want to be there for him when he gets back. He’s done a lot of things for me, at least let me do this.”

Kyuhyun sighed loudly. “Alright, I get it. But at least wait until the Night of Celebration is over. If you want to stay alive, that is. Get some sleep or something, you look like a walking zombie.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that,” Hyukjae glared at the latter before going upstairs, purposely stomping his feet on the floor to let him know he was annoyed.

When he entered his room, the silence around the house was even more obvious, and it bothered him, more than he thought. He was used to have Donghae with him all the time, that he even forgot how it felt to be alone like this.

“Calm down, Hyukjae, calm down,” he told himself, “Everything’s going to befine.”

He threw his bag on the bed and was about to turn around, when he noticed something dropping out of his bag. It was a small white box, though he was sure enough he hadn’t seen it before.

Picking the small box from the floor, he opened it, only to frown deeper when he saw a beautiful silver bracelet inside, along with a small piece of paper. But his questions were soon answered the moment he read what was written on the cream-coloured paper.

A gift for my most beautiful light, Lee Hyukjae. Thank you for being a part of my life.

A drop of tear fell down Hyukjae’s cheek before he realized it. He took out the bracelet and brought it to his chest, holding it tightly.

“I hate you,” he whispered, “I hate you so much.”

____________

The strong wind and the thick mist didn’t stop Donghae from stepping forward. The full moon was shining bright above him, and he knew the king was out of his dwelling place. He could smell the faint scent of fresh human corpses from afar, and he knew then, the celebration was finally starting.

He stopped in his track when he saw a figure standing in front of him, red eyes shining in the dark.

"How nice of you to greet me, Your Highest Majesty,” Donghae mocked.

A second later, a boy who looked like he was around 14 years old came out of the mist, his red eyes glancing at Donghae’s blood-stained sword. Donghae knew it wasn’t the king’s true form. The devil kings would sometimes disguise themselves in other forms, but this current king appeared to be even more wicked than the previous ones. He chose the form of an innocent little boy, because he knew, the humans would fall for it.

“I don’t remember inviting a noble lord to my place,” the king said. “You killed my servant.”

“I did.”

“Your true form is showing itself now.”

Donghae frowned. He glanced briefly into the puddle on the ground, and he saw his reflection. Fierce eyes, and two black wings on his back were starting to form. He didn’t want Hyukjae to see this.

“You’re losing yourself,” the king sneered as he pointed at the triquetra- shaped mark on Donghae’s arm. “That’s your seal, isn’t it? It’s weakening.”

“I know that myself,” Donghae held his sword tighter and stepped closer, staring right into the king’s red eyes. “And I know exactly why you refused to meet me before, king.”

The mist was slowly clearing, but the temperature was gradually falling and ice started to form on the barren ground beneath their feet.

“You fear my powers,” Donghae’s eyes dangerously narrowed, “You fear me.”

“How dare you,” the king growled, “How dare you make fun of me?”

“Making fun of you? No,” Donghae chuckled darkly. “I’m here to crush you.”

___________

The sound of thunder roaring in the distance startled Hyukjae, and he quickly threw a look out the window. He’d been staying in Donghae’s mansion for more than two hours now, but there was still no sign of Donghae. Even Kyuhyun was nowhere to be seen.

Kris was still here with him, and he knew there were two large hellhounds guarding outside the mansion. The storm was slowly calming down, but it was still cold that he was sure he’d freeze to death if he took a step outside. He turned to look at Kris standing across the room, his sword never left his hand.

“Is the celebration over?” Hyukjae asked.

Kris nodded. “But you still can’t leave this place. His Majesty had casted the strongest barrier around here, so you’re safe.”

“What about Donghae?”

“He’s going to be fine.”

They were once again startled by the sound of the hellhounds growling down there, and Kris immediately ran to the window, taking a peek outside.

“W-what is it?” Hyukjae was anxious, he couldn’t even pretend to stay calm.

“It’s Lord Kyuhyun,” Kris let out a relieved sigh. “I’ll bring him inside. Stay where you are, I’ll be right back.”

Hyukjae stood still as he watched Kris left to get the door. Now that he was alone, he felt even colder than before, and even the heat from the fireplace wasn’t helping. He rubbed his palms together and blew his breath on his freezing hands, but the cold wasn’t going down.

Hyukjae.

Hyukjae stiffened.

Oh no. It was that voice. The voice that kept haunting him in his dream.

Hyukjae, come here. Come.

Hyukjae looked around in panic, desperately hoping that Kris would be back soon. He took a few steps back and wrapped his arms around himself, his eyes glancing around the empty mansion.

Come to me. Come!

Hyukjae fell on his trembling knees, his breathing was getting heavier as he tried to fight the cold. What was happening?

“Hyukjae!”

He heard someone called him, but he couldn’t tell who it was.

“Damn it, Hyukjae, don’t answer him.”

Answer what? He felt someone pulling him on his feet, holding his freezing body tightly to keep him still.

Come to me, precious soul. Your soul is mine.

Hyukjae’s eyes widened. His lips parted, but his voice wouldn’t come out.

“Hyukjae, don’t answer! Look at me, look here!”

With all the strength he had, he looked up, and he could see Kyuhyun’s frowning face staring down at him.

“Hey, listen,” Kyuhyun said, “The devil king is trying to get you to him. So don’t answer. Stay focus on me, okay?”

Hyukjae weakly nodded his head. But right when he was starting to calm down, the ground shook hard as if there was an earthquake, and the thunder roared loudly, to the point that they could feel the sound ringing in their ears. It felt like the whole world was shaking, and Hyukjae nearly crashed into the wall, but Kyuhyun held him tight against him.

“What the-“ Hyukjae took a look around him, his eyes wide. “What the hell is happening?”

“It’s starting!” Kris was half yelling, his hand holding tightly onto a pillar, trying not to fall as the ground continued to shake. “Damn, he’s out of his mind!”

“That bastard,” Kyuhyun gritted his teeth, “He’s losing it.”

Hyukjae had a feeling they were talking about Donghae, but he was too scared to ask. After about 10 minutes, everything went back to normal and the ground finally stopped shaking. But the mansion was in a mess, everything was scattered on the floor, and there were broken glasses everywhere.

Hyukjae slumped down onto the couch with a loud sigh, his heart wouldn’t stop thumping hard after what had just happened. “What happened to Donghae?” he decided to ask in the end, he couldn’t wait any longer. He needed to know.

“He’s...he’s fine, the servants of the dark are helping him,” Kris replied, but he was obviously trying to avoid Hyukjae’s eyes.

“Take me to where he is now,” Hyukjae said. He knew it was stupid, but there was no way he could sit here and do nothing while Donghae was suffering.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kyuhyun said, “Unless you want to die, you can try going out there.”

“I know it’s not safe for me in this world, that’s why I’m asking you two to take me to him,” Hyukjae’s voice was firm. He wasn’t going to back down now.

“Lord Hyukjae,” Kris ruffled his hair in frustration, trying