Taemin found himself drowning in an endless sea of blackness, floating admist the abyss. He had his eyes closed, having a peaceful expression upon his face.

 

“Taemin.”

 

His eyes fluttered open, his sight blinded in the darkness as his brown eyes scanned the area. He woke up to the sound of someone calling his name, but no one was there. Taemin looked around, finding no escape out of this strange world.

 

“Hello?”

 

His voice echoed softly in this pseudo realm, but there was no answer.

 

“Stay away!”

 

His head turned to see a bright image, his reflection having an angered expression, holding something so close to him.

 

…Wait, he thought to himself, as he looked closer at the image in front of him from the distance, surrounded by the duskiness. That is not me.

 

He peered at the vision more thoroughly before gasping, realizing that it was the woman that looked precisely like him—Taeyeon.

 

Taeyeon growled as she crawled up against the snow, glaring up at the person in front of her, holding a sword. She clutched onto an object wrapped in cloth with one arm whilst her other arm wrapped around her waist, her hand pressing against her wound that bled crimson.

 

“I won’t let you! I am warning you! Stay away!”

 

A dark, masculine chuckle emerged from the person.

 

“What makes you think you can handle me, Taeyeon?”

 

The brown-haired woman glared at him. “I may have loved you then, but I will never forgive you if you take it away!”

 

It? Taemin pondered silently as his eyes focused on the vision that suddenly came out to him like this. What is this ‘it’?

 

“No!”

 

His attention reverted to the scene, only to see the man ripping her left eye out, robbing her of sight. Taemin gasped in horror, his hands flying up to his mouth as he saw the massacre.

 

“I shall keep this as a reward,” he chuckled as he looked at the gasping woman that held her bleeding eye, now empty in its socket. “And I should also take this as well,” he refered to the clothed thing in her arm, swiftly taking it out.

 

Taeyeon gasped and reached out for him, unable to do anything else since there were numerous pins stabbing at her heart.

 

Taemin did not see that happen. He must have missed that part while he was distracted. However, looking at it, it reminded him of the riddle he saw back in the study around the big tree.

 

With your hands, you robbed my left eye—

With a pin, you poked my heart until it popped.

 

Taemin now understood what the pin meant—that was the same pin that killed Taeyeon, both the Goddess’ and the Duke’s friend.

 

“I won’t forgive you for this…!”

 

The man was already walking away the minute she spoke up.

 

“I will come back,” whispered Taeyon in a weak tone as she placed her other hand on the pins that pierced her heart. They did pop her heart indeed. “Watch me…”

 

Then, abruptly, the image vanished. Taemin looked up at the sudden cracks in the abyss, the world crumbling into pieces. He did not have time to ask himself what happened when he felt himself falling, falling into the depths below.

 

Only when the entire realm burned white that he screamed, his eyes sweltering and blinded by the sharply bright color.

 

 

Taemin sat up from the bed, gasping profusely. Adam was on his lap, barking worriedly as he crawled up on him, as if asking him, “Are you okay?”

 

The angel did not answer him, as he was too lost in thought, sweat running down his neck.

 

What…was that?

 

Taemin was so lost in thought that he got startled when a bark snapped him out of his thoughts. He realized that Adam was still on his lap, barking away to gather his attention. The angel smiled, petting him as he nodded. “I’m fine now, Adam, thanks for worrying.”

 

Seeing the pet on his lap, his eyebrows furrowed. How was he here when he could not find him in the forest? He looked around his surroundings and realized that he was not even in the forest at all. He was in a room.

 

How did he get here?

 

The room looked excessively elegant for a normal bedroom. This almost looked like something a goddess would sleep in. This was much heavenly than the rooms back at the kingdom!

 

Taemin gently moved Adam aside on the surprisingly soft mattress as he swung his legs over. Now that he had moved, he noticed that he was no longer wearing his overly big clothing that used to keep him warm. He wore a thin, silky loose shirt, only with lacy shorts that clung to his thighs, along with a white cloak that pooled near his feet. He could not help but feel…embarrassed.

 

It had to be lace, has it?

 

Shaking the thought of his head, the boy looked around the area a bit, before he took a few steps forward. “Hello?” he called out as soon as he stuck his head out the open doorway, looking down the white, clean hallway.

 

It was so elegant, so majestic and yet so…

 

…Empty.

 

It only took him a bit of courage to continue walking, to admire the view around him. The hallway was pure white all around, glittering in golden dust. The transparent glass to his left showed him the towns below, sparkling brilliantly even amongst the gentle snow. The sky was grey, but very light in color.

 

It just seemed so perfect.

 

Taemin heard a clatter to his right, his head whipping around to the source. Cautiously, he walked further down the corridor, a door appearing in his sight. As he neared, his hand reached out to touch the bronze knob, the texture smooth and cool underneath his palm.

 

The door creaked open, the light beaming from the other side. A gentle scent of food hit his nose as he stepped inside the room with wide eyes.

 

In his view, he can see the back of a man who was currently cooking something.

 

The man turned to face the boy, a gentle smile on his face. “I see you’re awake,” he spoke. Then he nodded towards the table. “Come, I’m cooking lunch.”

 

 

Taemin eyed the food on his plate as he stared at them in awe before looking at the male who sat right across the table with a warm smile.

 

“Now,” he spoke as he placed his arms down on the table from resting his head on his hands, still giving him that warm smile. “Before we start eating, it would be wise to give me your name, don’t you think?”

 

The boy was a bit flustered at himself as he stammered over his words, his cheeks faintly red. “A-Ah, right!” He then bowed his head to make a greeting. “My name is Taemin.”

 

The latter hummed with a slight nod before giving him a smile. “Then my name is Suho. Pleased to meet you. You may eat.”

 

Taemin stared down at the food in front of him before cautiously looking at the man. He held his hands up to prove himself innocent with a bemused expression, “Nothing is poisoned, if you were wondering.”

 

The angel nodded at his answer before picking up the fork that laid next to his plate, stabbing the piece of meat of which claims to be beef. Once he took a bite of it, his eyes sparkled, impressed by the taste.

 

“Like it?”

 

Taemin nodded his head vigoriously as he scooted himself closer to the table, digging in for more. He is a good cook, if you ask me!

 

Suho laughed at his expression and leaned back into his chair, glad that he liked his food. “Any questions to ask me? Surely you would have tons of them in your head by now.”

 

That’s right! The angel froze, swallowing his bite before looking at the male. “How did you find me? I remember being in the snow and there was this weird ghost…”

 

“Ah, so you’ve met her?”

 

“You know about it?”

 

Suho nodded. “She’s the ghost of the Nymph.”

 

Taemin’s eyes widened at the fact. “The ghost of the Nymph? S-So does that mean she is dead?”

 

He shook his head.

 

“She’s not?” The angel was confused. Ghost would mean a death of a person, and he remembered that the woman in his dream—

 

He froze, now realizing it.

 

That woman…her voice…!

 

Suho smiled. “So you’ve finally realized it, Taemin?”

 

Taemin looked at him, astonished. His hand stopped halfway as he halted taking another bite of his food. He looked at him with doubtful eyes. “Tell me,” he spoke in a soft voice, “who is the Nymph, and where is she now if she’s not dead?”

 

The man stared at him for a while before sighing. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. However, I can tell you that her body is around somewhere, in another realm. It’s not time yet to join bodies with her ghost.”

 

The brunet stood silent before speaking up again, “I found out her name was Taeyeon.”

 

Suho nodded, “I’ve figured as much.”

 

“Why do you know everything?”

 

“Because she knows of it.”

 

Of course. Taemin slowly nodded his head. It all made sense now. The Nymph was the woman who wrote the Book, spoke in his head and showed him those memories of the past.

 

She was the one who controls Time.

 

“How do you know about this?”

 

Suho smiled at him, and at that moment, he seems loving, as if he was a mother. “I’ve always been her faithful messenger. She sends me forthcoming messages in places before I go to them. She knows what will happen next and will do anything to change it, even if she is stuck in the realm forever.”

 

Taemin stared at him for a while before asking him, “Why are you here, if you are her messenger?”

 

The man smiled at his question. “Being a messenger and being in an area has nothing to do with each other. A messenger is just a job, nothing more. Besides,” he paused and gestured around his area, “this is my home. I stay here, I sleep here, and I live here. Of course, it’s rather big and too elegant for three.”

 

“Three? There’s more of you here?” He was surprised. He was not expecting to know that two more people lived with him.

 

Suho chuckled with a small nod. He glanced at the angel for a bit before smiling again, “My apologies, but would you mind if I look at you a bit?”

 

Taemin blinked in confusion before shaking his head. The dark-haired male smiled at his approval before examining him closely. The young brunet shifted uncomfortably underneath his stare, flabbergasted at how quickly his eyes has gone from being warm to solemn in a mere second.

 

Suho narrowed his eyes at him before sighing, muttering “” underneath his breath. He held his forehead for moment, which made Taemin get worried about himself.

 

“S-Suho?”

 

The man did not respond to him for a while before looking at him with a serious look. It surprised him, seeing how much he had changed from being a warm mother to a stern general. “I think you better see him now. He’ll explain to you.”

 

“See him? Who’s him?”

 

Suho got up from his seat without warning, smoothing down his shirt. “Go outside and ask for a man named Sehun. He should be able to help.”

 

“Help me with what?” exclaimed Taemin, but he was gone the minute he stepped out of the doorway. The brunet quickly followed behind, leaving behind the cold food, but only saw the empty corridor.

 

What is it that made him become so tense?

 

Now it made him want to find out more. There is far too many secrets building up in this world.

 

Taemin sighed hopelessly before looking down the opposite way, the end seeming of which there is a corner. It could be a way outside, but who knows. Right now, all he could do is follow Suho’s order.

 

As he walked, he felt an uneasy, twisted feeling in the core of his soul. Something had shifted a bit. Taemin tilted his head, stopped dead in his tracks as he felt this strange burning.

 

Even his back started to tingle a bit.

 

Noticing the changes, he clamped his lips tight and hastily ran out, the door currently in his sight. He needs to find this Sehun person, and have him tell him what is wrong with him.

 

---

 

I am terribly sorry for not updating for a year, ohmygosh. Seriously, you know things are getting busy when you're in your last year of high school

Not only that, my parents is now restricting me from going online in order to study! Great! //sarcasm

SO. Yeah, updating will be twice as hard to do now OTL. At least I will be writing the chapters in my book (I just discovered I can easily write them out on paper pfft).

And...yeah. Sorry for the late notice everyone!

PS. Suho made a guest appearance and Sehun will be out later in the next chapter.