China, 12th June

Luhan hurriedly walked past the school gates. He had finally finished detention.

Well, it's not like it's his fault anyway.

He was always bullied by the students at his school, not knowing who they are. No, not everyone. Other social outcasts never treat another one as a trash. That was some kind of unwritten rule. But they never befriended. There are many social outcasts out there. As same as him. Treated the same like him. Treated like trash.

He bumped to another student. He looked at him. Kim Minseok.

"Sorry." He murmured nervously. Luhan nodded his head faintly. They separated their ways. Luhan sped up his pace. Kim Minseok was a Korean Student. And he knows Korean students were not welcomed here. And he was short. He wore glasses. Not glasses to 'pimp himself up', but glasses that makes Minseok look like a nerd. A weakling. A teacher's pet.

It's that day. That abnormal day. He shook his head, amused at the world. Why was he tortured like this? He had enough burden to carry on his shoulder, not to mind his deepest secret. This day. Why not them? The bullies? They had enough sins to carry this. He's innocent.

Stop. Ranting. He gritted his teeth. His leg began to froze. Oh no, he groaned internally. Not this fast.

He quickened his pace, worrying that he might not make it. When he sighted his house, he sighed with relief. He rung the doorbell and barged right in. His mother was surprised to see him this quick at home. Luhan looked at her for a second. "I'm home!" He sang nervously while opening his shoes. His mother chuckled. He began running upstairs. "Luhan dear, dinner will be ready at-"

"Yes! Yes! I know!" He shouted back exasperatedly. Another step, another, opening the doorknob-

Slam.

He hurried to take off his bag and his socks. When he was done, he plopped himself to his bed. Tears begin falling down.

Freeze, freeze, freeze. Electrical jolt.

Luhan hardened his knuckles. Please, let this be short.

An image of a glorious tree. Laughing with 11 other men. Their black cloaks. Their mourn. The pitiful smile they exchanged with her. The blackened tree. The light-

Electric jolt.

He screamed internally. Ohgodpleaseletthisbequickpleaseplease-

Another freeze froze his body. He stiffened.  The chill crept to the back of his neck. He shuddered. It crept... It crept... it froze his brain.

Another image. Him sprawling, his legs and arms outstretched. The Guardians falling through the sky. They screamed in terror. Mother Nature looked at him, a tear slipping out. She scattered, scattered into the most beautiful butterflies any of them has ever seen. One of them approached him, landed on his fingers, and then, nothingness.

Luhan snapped back from the vision. He was sweating, rather hard. 

This, he thought nervously, is not real.

Minseok was walking as fast as he could to his flat. He felt hot air blowing to him, but everyone surrounding him was freezing cold. At first, he was glad that the warm air hit him, but then- the temperature increased. It was not warm, it was boiling.

He felt the ground shake. 

It was teeth-chattering. The ground seemed not to shake, but his bones are. He quickly ran to his flat, locked it, and then collapsed on his couch.

The wind was blurring his vision. He felt his lips dehydrated, his throat burning, and his eyes watering because of the heat. It was so unearthly, so strange. He felt as if he was being burned alive.

The ground shook even harder. He writhed in agony. He grabbed his pillow, and then screamed. The voice that came out was muffled. He was sweating, but the drips of water were cold. But the cold, it did nothing to the heat. He continued screaming and screaming, writhing in pain, moaned in misery, and groaned in agony. Heat was making him thinking even slower and slower, the mind not working properly.

Why, he thought painfully. Why? Why me? He groaned shakily. Tortured in pain, a mere hallucination, but it all felt so real, so vivid. Can't there be anything that can stop this? Why am I even experiencing this? Why?

A dull pain came to his stomach. He winced. The pain spread everywhere. He lay there, motionless, tears flowing free. The air restricted his breathing. He felt his mind being constricted, thoughts and memories knotted in a jumble of complicated ties.

R

       e

             m

                     e

                             m

                                     b

                                             e

                                                     r

Xiumin. Xiumin. Who are you? Kim Minseok? A nerd? A Guardian? Xiumin, are you there? Or is it only Kim Minseok? Is it the weakling, or is it the strong one? Who are you really? Why are you even experiencing this if you really are a human? Why is this voice talking to you? Minseok? Xiumin? Why are you not there, Xiumin? Why is your existence replaced? Why this Kim Minseok? Are you really giving up? Where is the Xiumin I know? Are you really Xiumin? Are you really Kim Minseok?

I don't know, Minseok replied, exhausted. I really don't know.

It was silent. The air was still choking him, and a mist was flowing inside his head. He felt words jumbled. He could only remember two things. Kim Minseok and Xiumin. Who are they, really? Why can he remember them, and not anyone else?

Who am I, really? Am I only a mere existence? Can't I have memories? Can't I be happy?

He continued asking himself those questions, only making his head more dizzy, until he finally can't hold it no more, and he was unconscious.

Unmoving.

Not there.

Yixing crept closer to the window. He needed the moonlight. The darkness was sure to envelop him. It was that time of the year, the reason why he was admitted to this Asylum. Other than those days, he acted like a normal human would do, eating, sleeping, and dreaming. The Physicists were a little bit flabbergasted by this, but they kept him in. He didn't know why. Probably his parents persuaded them with money, to not let him go forever.

He shuddered. Thinking about the darkness, those horrible, bloodied images and thoughts made him think that probably, maybe he was really insane.

Of course you are insane.

Yixing jolted awake, his eyes darting, everywhere. He felt the chills creeping on his body.

Must not. Let it. Control. Me.

Yixing slowly crept to the door. He heard muffled voices, shrieks of laughter, and his door being locked from outside. Perfect, He murmured in his head. Let me be the man, the reason my parents disgusted me.

Coward.

Darkness began swirling on his peripheral. He took deep, big gulps of breaths to calm himself. You can do this. You've been here for years. A man appeared out of nowhere, his face smirking. Finally admits that you're insane, huh? 

"I'm not," Yixing said, his voice croaking. "This is all a hallucination. Probably images of my past life."

The smirk turned to a smile. How can you figure that out? I myself haven't.

Don't listen to him, a voice said mockingly in his mind. He's nuts.

I'm not nuts! The boy scowled. He pointed at Yixing. He's nuts. And then he smirked again. You're not ready.

Out of the darkness, the boy disappeared, and then appeared again, holding a knife. He stabbed Yixing. Yixing groaned. There was no blood, no open wounds, only pain. He fell to the ground, wincing. The boy stood upon him, eyes glinting in anger. For years, none of you are ready. He held his knife high, and then crouched low, only stabbing Yixing again in the process. Yixing gritted his teeth. His body was shaking. Another stab. A yelp. Another. A scream. Another. A shriek.

Coward. A voice said coldly in his mind. Cowardcowardcowardcowardcoward-

Yixing only crouched there, helpless. If his past experienced this, he would already, probably killed himself before all of this happened.

Weakling.

Jongdae walked past the busy streets of Shanghai. His parents, of course, left him alone here, and then continued on their endless journeys circling the globe. He knows Mandarin, but he didn't bother using it. He felt hollow, empty. If the hallucination came and he collapsed in the streets, the more crowded it is, the better. He wanted to show to his parents that he needed them.

But it was getting harder and harder everyday. He knew that they needed to go the get work, and support him. But really, was money more precious than him? Their own son? They left longer. They stayed shorter. Most of his days were spent in schooling and idling along in his mansion full of butlers and maids. 

The maids and butlers, nor his parents, nor anyone knows about his little secret. The hallucination. He would probably locked up in an Asylum now if he blurted everything in front of everyone. 

He felt the water slowly forming all over him. He continued walking without thinking. The light that was starting to form. He pretended that he didn't notice that.

He walked onto a more crowded area. There was smoke billowing up into the air. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened it back. The area was already much more crowded before he blinked his eyes.

The water was nearing to him. The light was starting to blind his eyes. He huffed. 

No point in hiding it now, he thought darkly.

"Jongdae!"

He turned to the direction of the sound. It was Min. His childhood friend. It has been so long since he met her. Without bothering about the water, he smiled and went on hugging her.

"Hello Min!" Jongdae said sheepishly, ignoring the elements that surrounded him. The elements seemed to separate before he hugged her. 

"Hello Jongdae," She nodded curtly. "It has been a while, isn't it? You're so tall now." She laughed as he patted his head, tip-toeing.

"Yeah," He replied. "How's China for you?"

"Overall, good." She muttered rather darkly. Jongdae rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. Min smiled sadly at him. "Your parents went on their adventure, haven't they? Left you again here?"

"Yes-"

Jongdae shrieked. The water was boiling hot. It touched his skin, his whole body. He crouched to the ground. Min held his hand, another one dialing the hospital. She called for help. People were staring at them, some walked hurried and helped Jongdae lay on the ground.

The light was blinding him, the water was boiling him. He saw a tree, magnificent, glorious, but then it began to rot away, blackening, burned- and with another flash of light, he lost his consciousness.

Yi Fan sighed sadly.

It's that time. He felt as if the whole world's weight was on his shoulder. He had disappointed many people- including his parents, his sister, and even his friends. They thought that he was normal. But he was not. Those images- those torture- or whatever that is- is what makes him different from the rest of them. It's what makes him a freak.

He looked at the moon. It was brightening. His Asylum was damp. He himself applied here. Other than this day, he was never insane. He observed everything quietly, how the other patients was insane on a daily basis.

The clock stopped to tink.

It started, he thought miserably. He shuffled to the chair beside the window, and looked at the moon. The moonlight was rippling on the floor.

Flame began engulfing him. The furniture disappeared into the darkness. He ran. He ran. The flame followed him. It circled him, but he found an opening and ran. He ran, thinking that he is maybe insane.

He felt his speed slow. Stupid! He thought nervously. Stupid time-controlling hallucinations!

The flame never stopped for one second. It was getting nearer to him. Yi Fan breathed nervously. I- need- to- move-

He ran again. The flame prickled his skin. It felt hot. It felt like anger.

Why is this happening to me? Yi Fan thought as he ran through. Why not others? I'm sure I'm not that insane, I'm not insane as the other patients, I don't deserve to be locked up here, I'm not insane!

He felt his body stop. The flame tinkled it's way nearer. It spread like raging forest fire around Yi Fan's body, and it grew nearer, nearer, and nearer.

It finally touched his skin. He screamed, tried to thrash around, tried to escape from the hell of his own mind. Of course, time was stopped, and he couldn't get anywhere. He could only watch as he was being burned by this raging inferno-

He peeked a little. It was a habit he'd never forget. Kris looked as the others began to disappear. He opened his eyes widely and tried to escape. But it was no use- he was forever bounded to the other 11 of the Guardians- and then he felt light and disappeared too.

The flame disappeared, and the darkness disappeared too. He was laying face down on the floor, scorch marks on his legs. He winced in pain. He must've fell off the chair when the hallucinations started.

He began doubting that if it is really hallucinations or not.

Zitao was polishing his Wushu skills on his room. He knew it was that day. He needed fresh air.

He looked around, sighing. He decided fresh air would do best for him.

He looked around the park. The sky was beginning to darken, and the hordes of Koi on various ponds were swimming peacefully.

In front of him was the most beautiful butterfly he ever encountered.

He smiled. When he went out to touch it, it suddenly-

"Hello, can you hear me?"