Taemin sat on a chair, his eyes wandering around as he surveyed the interior, intrigued by the empty picture frames and broken bits of glass shattered near the windows.

 

He saw that the roof was slowly deteriorating, the wood started to crumble down into pieces. The little cottage house was coming down to ruins.

 

The angel noticed a picture near his chair, and bent down to pick it up, staring at the image. It was crushed and dirty but he could see the people in there.

 

The Nymph and Sehun. (No wonder he was surprised to see him at first.)

 

Taemin held the photo dearly, examining their faces. They looked so happy together, as if they were best friends by the way the Nymph wrapped her arms around his shoulders, a foolish grin on her face. Sehun’s face was red but he laughed with her then, the happiness evident on his face.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

The angel jolted in his seat, startled by the voice as he turned to see Sehun standing by the doorway, holding a tray consisting two cups of tea. He didn’t look so happy to see him holding a picture in his hands.

 

“Oh! I was just—” he started to start but then paused as he looked at the photo in his hands. “…This,” he got up and walked over to Sehun, placing the photo on the tray. “You and…Taeyeon, were friends, right?”

 

Sehun stared at him, his face holding no emotion before he sighed. In sync with that sigh, the trees bustled gently against the breeze. “Sit. I have many answers to your questions when we are finished with our job.”

 

Taemin tightened his lips as he slowly moved his head to form a nod, his feet already turning as he moved back to his seat, feeling Sehun’s cold eyes staring into the back of his head.

He’d burn two holes there if he stared too hard.

 

Sehun moved to the seat opposite of the angel, his eyes watching him with grave caution. To be honest, he was expecting a more ferocious behavior, knowing of his past. It surprised him to see a scared boy, his eyes wide with wonder yet terror and what with the way he was fidgeting clearly told him he was nervous around him.

 

The man frowned, taking this information in as his eyebrows formed a crease on his forehead. How has he not turned yet? He can tell that his hair did not that jet black color before, sensing a dark energy emitting out from it, yet he could still feel a bit of light.

 

Hope.

 

That light was hope, as if struggling to hold onto the boy for dear life, to make sure he doesn’t give in. Sehun was expecting the darker one to win. Yet, aside from the sickly glow in the angel’s chest, he had not experienced anything else.

 

Judging from the incomprehension that appeared on Taemin’s face, he assumed that he had no knowledge of this. He sighed, running his fingers through his rainbow hair. It had to be today out of all times to break this poor angel’s heart, is it?

 

“Um, are you—?”

 

Sehun put up a hand to silence him, the other holding the tray up as he closed his eyes in annoyance, nodding his head to signal that he’s coming. He glared at the angel who looked away, ashamed to have disrupted his thinking.

 

He can feel their energy within him in the air.

 

They both feel offensive and defensive at the same time, both protective and possessive of Taemin and the need of power.

 

That need of power is growing deadly.

 

Taemin watched as he set the tray onto the table, the sound of the chair screeching against the wooden floor, audible to his ears. He could now see him, avoiding eye contact with him unless necessary.

 

“Drink,” he merely said to the angel, pushing a small cup towards him, the hot liquid letting out a nice scent with a warm steam emitting out of it. “It’s green tea. It should help calm your nerves.”

 

Taemin almost scowled at his brusqueness, but thanked him for his kindness, for taking him in and helping out to find out what’s wrong with him. He smiled as Sehun shrugged it and looked away to drink his tea, but he could see a faint blush on his cheeks.

 

He could feel the warmth engulfing his hands as soon as he took hold of the cup, holding it near his lips. Just the fragrance of it was enough to calm him as he took a sip of the tea. Taemin could feel the soothing liquid warming up his insides, a healing aura running through his veins.

 

“Like it?”

 

Taemin looked up at him and nodded his head, a warm smile on his face. “It’s very nice! It has this relaxing aura to it.”

 

Sehun nodded wordlessly before he softly whispered to him, “That was Taeyeon’s favorite tea.”

 

After hearing that, the angel froze during his second sip of the tea, hearing the name of the Nymph who is no longer in the world they are in now but is living in another realm due to her powers.

 

Suddenly, he felt guilty.

 

“Anyway,” said Sehun, his tone nonchalant as he became ignorant of the angel’s feelings. “Hurry up. We have to start the process.”

 

Snapping out of his thoughts, the brunet stammered over his words, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment of ever thinking too deep of the Nymph. But as he set down the cup and glanced at the rainbow-haired male, he could see a glimpse of sorrow in the male’s eyes, despite his hardened face that stared back at him with annoyance.

 

“Are you done or what?” There was irritation in the male’s voice, even more annoyed when he saw that Taemin was daydreaming in front of him.

 

The angel blinked, his face full of embarrassment once again as he spluttered, “R-right! Sorry!” He cleared his throat, breathing in rhythmically to calm himself down before slowly nodding his head. “I’m ready,” he told him, his eyes round and serious as he stared at him, his clenched fists on his lap.

 

Sehun nodded his head, leaning back in his chair before ordering the boy, “Close your eyes. The tea was made for a reason—it is to calm your nerves so I can easily detect what’s happening to you.” Then he said, “It might feel a bit weird at first, but I want you to breathe it in, alright?”

 

Taemin nodded, giving him permission as he did as he was told, closing his eyes. Sehun stared at him for a while, taking in a deep breath before exhaling out softly. A small, visible puff came out gently from between the male’s lips, having a light blue color to it.

 

The angel could even smell it before he felt it splash on his face, the boy inhaling it. It was a strange feeling, because he thought he was lightweight, his insides feeling empty and his bones brittle. The way the air just swirled inside him was unusual yet strangely calming.

 

Then it stopped.

 

Taemin gagged, his hands abruptly thrown up to his throat as his eyes flew open in shock, stunned by the sudden attack inside his body as his lungs began to shrink, cutting off his air system. He coughed harshly, his body too weak to hold himself up as he fell, strangling himself.

 

“S-Sehun…!” The angel croaked out in fear, as if he was going to let him die like this. Did he hated him enough to trick him into this?

 

But just when he thought this, he felt hands on his arm. Taemin forced himself to look, his wide eyes staring at a calm Sehun as he gasped out for air.

 

“Breathe,” was all he said, his grip on his arm growing strong.

 

How could he breathe when he’s choking for air?

 

“Breathe,” he repeated again, and this time, he was a bit more firm than he was the first time.

 

Taemin clamped his mouth shut into a fine line, struggling for a moment before inhaling deeply through his nostrils, letting the clean air come into his body. He repeated this again, and again, with Sehun’s hand gently patting his arm for support. The brunet could feel his tears threatening to come out as he continued to gag, but still breathed in to calm himself down. It took a while, but he managed to stop choking from the spasm attack, the young angel now gasping silently on the floor.

 

“You okay?” asked Sehun, a worried tone in his voice.

 

Worried? Taemin scrunched up his eyebrows. He wasn’t like that before.

 

The rainbow-haired male stood up, holding out a hand towards the angel, whom he thankfully took as he stood up, rubbing his sore throat. “What was that?” Taemin asked him once Sehun sat in his seat across him. “That was worse than just weird!”

 

Sehun smiled a little before he frowned. “I…I just discovered something strange about you. I really hoped it wouldn’t come out like this but since you acted like that earlier, I suppose I have no choice,” he told him.

 

That made him nervous now. “What do you mean?”

 

“What I mean is, if you weren’t choking, then that is a sign that nothing is wrong with you. If you gagged slightly, that means you may have an issue, but that is something that is easily removed. However, your case is…abnormal.”

 

Taemin gulped, his eyes fixated on the male. Come to think of it, he remember that boy, ‘Taemin’ from the mirror before realizing the situation. “It can’t be,” he whispered to himself, his voice trembling at the end.

 

Sehun examined his wide eyes, his trembling lips before sighing, lowering his head. “Taemin,” he started, “you’re not an angel. Well, you were, until this came.”

 

No…

 

“But that’s impossible!” cried Taemin, standing up abruptly from his seat. “You can’t be possibly sure that—”

 

“Taemin, please,” demanded Sehun, his brown eyes glaring at him. Taemin could see the brown irises starting to faint into grey out of anger. “Sit down.”

 

Not wanting to get on his bad side, he quietly sat down on his seat. “…But how?” Taemin spoke again, but in a softer tone.

 

“You weren’t exactly born an Angel,” stated Sehun. Sensing the boy opening his mouth, he interrupted him quickly, “and you weren’t born a Demon either.”

 

“Then what am I? What is wrong with me?”

 

Sehun exhaled, leaning back into his seat with crossed arms. “You’re a Halfling.”

 

Taemin looked at him incredulously. “Halfling?” echoed the angel, “but they are—”

 

“—they are only few of them around that are Halflings and most are usually killed off? True. But you’re missing a fact,” he said as he looked at him with a blank look on his face, running his fingers through his colorful hair. “Not all Halflings manage to survive through something as serious as this.”

 

Taemin kept thinking of the ‘Taemin’ he met earlier before he asked him again to be more specific, “So…what is your point exactly?”

 

The male leaned forward, his feet sliding against the wooden floor as he came close to him. He stared at him dead in the eye, his lips thinned into a line. Just seeing him in this position made Taemin’s heart pound in anxiety, and he couldn’t let it sit out for too long or his heart would explode from the anticipation.

 

“You have someone inside of you. Someone waiting to take control of you,” he told him, “your other half.”

 

The news hit him harder than it should.

 

Sehun stared at the chest of the shaking angel before sighing heavily. “And it appears he has already started his game,” the male pointed out, directing his finger towards his chest. Taemin followed the finger’s direction, his eyes going down to himself before gasping at the sight.

 

He could see his own heart, the white glow still there, but held a sinister aura to it. His heart, was what shocked him the most.

 

He could see black spots all over his white heart.

 

“No…” Taemin uttered out softly, removing his eyes from himself before looking around in shock. He found himself staring back at Sehun, his eyes stern and serious. “So you’re saying I have two sides?”

 

“Hmm,” hummed the male as he shook his head. “I would say you have three sides, actually.”

 

“Three?”

 

How is that possible to have three sides?

 

“I did say I will explain everything to you, about this, about why is this related to Taeyeon.”

 

The name of the Nymph made him perk up.

 

“Do you ever wonder why you look exactly like Taeyeon?”

 

The question made him wonder a bit. Sure, he thought it was weird to find a doppelganger, but he assumed that he was a reincarnation of her. However, knowing that she is alive somewhere, he wasn’t sure.

 

“Taeyeon,” he spoke as carefully as he can, his bottom lip to ease his nervousness, “is your mother.”

 

The news hit him a lot harder than the first one. “Then,” Taemin began to speak up, his eyes staring at his palms, “that would mean…”

 

“Yes. Lucifer’s your father.”

 

And that would mean…

 

“I was the Angel of Death,” concluded the angel, looking at the male in fear, hoping that it wasn’t true.

 

But Sehun merely sighed, nodding his head.

 

Taemin stared in shock. “Please,” his voice cracked, his eyes growing watery in terror as he reached out to grab Sehun’s hands. “Please tell me that’s not true! I can’t be like this!”

 

Sehun only stared at the pitiful angel in guilt and shook his head, removing his hands from his grasp. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do for you to stop it, or him.”

 

The angel sobbed, his head lowering down before holding his hand, tears running down his cheeks.

 

No wonder why I acted on instinct to kill Kai… no wonder why I tried to kill Joon! No wonder…no wonder!

 

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up like this,” Sehun said, but jumped when he saw Taemin’s angered eyes, his eyes golden yellow as flame surrounded them.

 

“Don’t beat myself up over this? You just told me the ultimate nightmare that is about to come true! I am the Angel of Death that everyone fears, and that…that thing I met is the one corrupting me! And you are telling now that I shouldn’t ing worry about it?!” He was pissed off, furious even, that he would even say.

 

Sehun scowled. “If you keep being like that, then you will lose yourself and won’t be able to have control of yourself!” Taemin jumped at the sound of his hands slamming down on the table. “Tell me, Taemin! Would you rather stay sane and live with that curse inside of you or would you rather lose control of yourself and kill everyone in sight? Which would you prefer then?”

 

He doesn’t want to live with these things inside of him, but he doesn’t want to kill everyone in sight. He doesn’t want to kill the one he loved. Not Minho.

 

Just not Minho. Not him.

 

The thought of his lover’s face brought back his senses, calming him down for a moment as he took in Sehun’s question, tears in his eyes. He definitely didn’t want to live in a world where dead bodies were scattered around him. He doesn’t want to hold his dead best friend’s body in his arms or slay his own family that he loved.

 

That would be too much for him to handle.

 

After seeing that Taemin had calmed down, judging from the fire that had died out, he let out a deep sigh. “Would you please, let me explain? I didn’t say there isn’t a way to prevent it from happening.”

 

The brunet looked at him with large eyes for a moment before meekly shaking his head. Sehun sighed, almost exhausted to have argued with him once. It reminded him of Taeyeon once again, with her moments…

 

The thought of her made him sick, and it was even worse since Taemin bore the replica image of her, so he forced himself to forget about it to be able to tell Taemin all the information he need to know.

 

“You are not the Angel of Death. You were then, but not now,” began Sehun. “And here’s why this is so.”

 

Taemin shifted in his seat, a bit uncomfortable and trying to get used from the shock earlier, but he was willing to listen to him.

 

“As I said, you have three sides. Obviously, it would be the Demon, but you have another side as well. You have an Angel within you.”

 

Seeing Taemin’s face lit up a bit made him chuckle. “So that mean—”

 

“Yes, Taemin, there is still hope. Which is why you shouldn’t have been freaking out over me like that if you had just let me explain.”

 

Taemin blushed, his face red in embarrassment. Having Sehun laugh at him wasn’t helping him to be less embarrassed either.

 

“Then again, considering you never knew about it, I suppose it is understandable for you to have that kind of reaction,” Sehun chuckled, shaking his head.

 

The angel pouted, a bit annoyed with Sehun’s teasing before realizing something. “But wait, you said I have a Demon and an Angel within me, right? But that’s two sides! What is the third?”

 

Sehun looked at him for a while before smiling a little. “The third is Human.”

 

“Human? What’s that?”

 

The rainbow-haired male sighed, shaking his head. “Ah, right. I forget they don’t exist anymore since the Great War,” he muttered under his breath. He frowned. “Has it really been that long ago?”

 

Glancing at the perplexed angel, he decided to give him a little history lesson. “Forget about what you know in History. Back in my time, with Taeyeon, humans did exist. I’m not surprised your kind never put them in textbooks since the Great War. They have died out, after all.”

 

Taemin hummed in amazement, although he was saddened that they were killed. “What did they look like?”

 

“Exactly like you—no wings, no horns. They didn’t have any special features and they didn’t have powers either. They were completely normal.”

 

The angel frowned. “That didn’t sound very fun,” he told him.

 

Sehun chuckled. “No,” he agreed, “but that’s what made them so special to us.”

 

“How?”

 

The male stared at him with a warm smile. That surprised Taemin, considering he has only been seeing his frown all day. “They were kind. They were helpful, taught us things that we never knew before. They were special because they were like us. They both have good sides and evil sides. But they were fragile too, breakable,” he spoke as he clasped his hands on the table. “No matter how much we ignored them because they were plain, we couldn’t let them get hurt. They were still a part of us.”

 

Then he continued, looking at Taemin, “Your Human came from your mother, Taeyeon. She was a Halfling, like you. Half-human, half-Angel, hence the two sides from her and the extra from your father.”

 

Taemin scowled at the mention of his father, Lucifer.

 

Sensing this, he hastily apologized. “My apologies. I know it’s not easy knowing that the man, Lucifer is the one who, uh, took your mother,” he said, making a grimace. He could understand his feelings. Who would be happy to know that one’s father is Lucifer?

 

“I’ve always thought Taeyeon’s baby would never survive because she was coughing blood and couldn’t use her power. I never thought that baby was me!” Taemin paused for a moment before his eyebrows furrowed. “But wait, isn’t she a human? How did she get the power to control Time?”

 

The latter smiled, explaining this to him, “Halflings does have power, but usually only one, since they are born from a human and a Demon or Angel. But the chance of them having powers is low, hence is why we treat Halflings as deities because they rarely survive and have powers.”

 

That would explain why the Duke cared about Taeyeon so much. It even made sense as he remembered Joon’s story when he made the law forbidden since he found out that his friend was killed by the Angels.

 

It would make sense if that friend was Taeyeon.

 

However, what didn’t make sense was the killer part. If Lucifer was the one who killed her, then why did the Duke say that it was the Angels?

 

Unless there was a misunderstanding?

 

“I felt it, during the process,” Sehun’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, causing him to focus on his words. “The Demon and the Angel were very fond of you. Protective,” he said before frowning a little, “but possessive.”

 

Taemin and Sehun locked eyes for a moment before the colored-haired male spoke again, “And the Angel is losing out. It seems apparent that the Angel is your sanity while the Demon is your insanity, the one that is forcing you to become the Angel of Death, the ‘you years before today’. However,” Sehun’s eyebrows furrowed at this. “I didn’t think this would happen. I expected you to have turned already, but since that your Angel decided to appear now to fight back, the battle has been unpredictable.”

 

“So, what will happen then?” Taemin asked, his round eyes staring at him in wonder.

 

Sehun sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “I suppose it depends on your feelings, your emotions. Positive emotions can strengthen the Angel, but negative ones can strengthen the Demon. Even feeling lustful can make it stronger and the next thing we know is you being your complete Demon self.”

 

The boy gulped. He wasn’t sure whether he should call himself an angel now that he knows what he is. He doesn’t know which his real self, to be honest. “Is that why my hair color has changed?”

 

Sehun nodded. “Can you take out your wings for me? Just to be sure,” he requested. Taemin, confused by the request, nodded his head and did what he requested of him as he stretched out his wings.

 

The male stared at them before smiling a bit. “Your wings have gotten big. It appears you have been matured due to this,” he told him before frowning as he stared at his corrupted wing. “Unfortunately, that’s the Demon’s work.”

 

“What?”

 

Sehun stood up and walked up to the brunet, holding his shoulders as he guided him to the corner, where a mirror stood there. Taemin could see himself in the mirror, and gasped when he saw what happened to his wing.

 

The white feathers were almost gone, as he stared at his now black wing, the aura deadly and strong.

 

“I’m guessing you won’t be able to fly for a while, looking like this. Anyone would think a Demon had corrupted you or you have decided to join the Demons’ side, considering their situation now,” stated Sehun as he stared at his reflection, catching a glimpse of red in the boy’s eyes of the mirror image.

 

Taemin bit his lower lip as he stared at his reflection once Sehun’s hands vanished from his shoulders, knowing that he walked back to his seat.

 

Is this what Minho saw when he looked at my wings?

 

He frowned. Why didn’t he tell me?

 

Once he had enough of staring at himself, he turned away from the mirror and saw Sehun staring at the picture in his hand.

 

Seeing him looking so melancholic like that—he knew he had to ask him.

 

“Why do you hate Taeyeon so much?”

 

Sehun looked at him with indescribable eyes before looking back at the photo with a short chuckle. “She was my best friend and my love rival,” he told him. “I loved Lucifer, at the time.”

 

His eyes widened at the name. “You loved Lucifer?”

 

“It’s not what you think. I loved Lu, not Lucifer. I don’t love the man he is now, but Lu was kind and gentle before…before that happened,” he whispered, the wind outside rustling the leaves. “And I told her. She knew about it.”

 

Taemin stared at him for a while before he spoke, “Is that why she rejected him?”

 

Sehun tore his eyes away from the picture to look at the boy who stared at him with sympathy.  He smiled a little at this and said, “I’m assuming you found the journal she wrote.”

 

“I called it the Book, with a capital ‘B’, because I knew it was special and has something to do with the past and the mysteries of those around me.” Taemin looked down at his feet and kicked the dust. “I didn’t think it would be like this. I saw clues, but they were scattered all over.”

 

“It’s how it works. To prevent others from knowing too much about you, the past, and the truth,” he told him before resuming from where he left off. “Taeyeon was a good friend. And I was furious at Lu when I found out that he took her innocence. But,” he paused to sigh before continuing, “I was more furious at Taeyeon for falling for him after that gruesome incident. For falling in love with him after knowing that I loved him first.”

 

“I cursed her, screamed at her and all she did was stay calm. Then, she trapped me here in this place and left without a word.”

 

Taemin approached him as he neared the table, his attention on the male. “So you can’t leave here?”

 

Sehun shook his head. “I’m left with my powers. I can’t escape here even if I tried,” he told him, his voice suddenly small and soft.

 

The dark-haired male took pity on him, sorry that he has to live this way. “At least Suho is there for you. And those other two guys he mentioned.”

 

Sehun snorted. “Chanyeol and Baekhyun are the worst. They mostly come over here when they have nothing to do other than face and bickering.”

 

Taemin’s face went red at the information. “Oh. Well, uh, yeah,” he said, stammering over his word. “Yeah,” he said again after a moment of silence, a bit speechless from the direct approach.

 

The rainbow-haired male chuckled, amused by his reactions before looking out the window. “Taeyeon even tore off my wings to prevent me from flying.”

 

“Did she say anything about it?” asked Taemin, his eyes wide in shock at the fact that Taeyeon, his mother, had done such a thing.

 

“No. She only continued to visit me when in her pregnant years after that. She took care of herself and took care of me while I was loathing her. And I hated her for that,” he scowled. “Because she’s too nice. She’s too kind to have such a rude friend like me. I hated her for forgiving me for my rash actions towards me. She could have hated me! She doesn’t deserve me for attacking her like that…”

 

A pang hit the male’s heart as he saw pain inflicted on the latter’s face as he thought of his friend before fiddling with his fingers. “I’m sure she wanted to protect you. She must have had a reason to do all of this.”

 

Sehun sat silent for a moment, his eyes back on the smiling picture before nodding slightly. “She must have,” he agreed quietly. “She wouldn’t do this without a reason…”

 

The dark-haired male sat in his seat as he stared at the male, tucking his wings back into his skin. “I…I heard her once. Telling me to go to the abandoned castle to find out the past.”

 

He saw a frown from the latter. “Don’t. You don’t want to go there.”

 

“Why not?”

 

The male stared at the dark-haired boy for a moment before answering, “That’s where you came from. It’s also the source of where the monstrous beast during the Great War came from.”

 

Taemin flinched a little as he remembered that he was the Angel of Death. Of course, it made sense now. No wonder the abandoned castle seemed sinister and familiar now.

 

“How come I don’t remember anything about me being the Angel of Death? And how come Mother doesn’t know of this? Surely she would be shocked to have me as a legend who would try to wipe out the entire race.”

 

Sehun hummed. “Taeyeon must have used up her power to rewind Time. After the First Great War and the appearance of the Angel of Death, somehow she managed to rewind Time back to when you were born and sealed away that part of you before she…went away,” he told him. “That’s why the Goddess doesn’t know about it and how the Angel of Death has mysteriously became a ‘legend’.”

 

The seal.

 

So that was the sound of the cracking. His sides are coming out.

 

“That explains why I have so many powers,” huffed Taemin, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

Sehun chuckled. “Yes, because you are fused with a Demon and an Angel, so you are bound to have more powers than the average person. I find that unique, to be quite frank. It’s rare to see someone with that much power and control.”

 

“Well, I don’t like it! If this is what causing it, I fear what will happen to me if the seal is completely broken.” Taemin pouted at his teasing tone before staring at him. “Can I…Can I see your back?”

 

Sehun stared at him in shock, before examining his face. He could see the sincerity in his eyes before nodding slightly, standing up and ing his shirt before taking it off, revealing his bare, milky skin.

 

When he walked up to the male and turned around, Taemin couldn’t help but gasp at the image.

 

Two long scars were on his back, in place of where the wings used to be. He couldn’t help but reach out to touch them, feeling the scars underneath his fingertips. Taemin felt him shiver underneath his touch, but hardly said a thing against it.

 

“Since then, you were like this?” Taemin whispered to Sehun as he tried to make eye contact with him.

 

Sehun made a noise of agreement.

 

“Poor you…” he spoke as he traced his fingers along the scars, staring at them with mesmerized beauty. It looked so painful, so sad yet beautiful at the same time. It showed Sehun’s side, the Sehun he has never seen before.

 

The Sehun who is weak and pitiful.

 

Sehun shrugged off his hands as he went to put his shirt back on. “You should go. I’ve done all that I can.”

 

“One more question, before I go,” Taemin suddenly blurted out before he squeaked, “please?”

 

The rainbow-haired male snorted, but nodded nevertheless as he put his shirt on.

 

“Um, I have two friends, named Key and Minho. Key’s an Angel and Minho’s a Demon, yet both of them claim to have seen each other. They don’t remember anything from their past but they are linked somehow. Like, they feel like they fit together, you know? Do you know an incident that may have happened during that time?” He asked, his eyes full of curiosity.

 

Sehun pondered to think for a moment before shaking his head. “None that I know of. When was this?”

 

Taemin bit his lower lip. “I saw it in my dream, when Key was found by the Goddess and Minho was found by the Duke. This was after Mother found me,” he told him.

 

“Are they the ones that have different colored hearts?”

 

The dark-haired male looked at him in shock. “How do you know that?”

 

Sehun shrugged. “Taeyeon. Suho,” he simply told him.

 

That made sense. There was no other words to explain this.

 

“Well, I would love to know what happened to them, but unfortunately, I’m no know-it-all. I’ve just been really interested in History, is all,” he told him before frowning, “Sorry to disappoint you.”

 

Taemin shook his head, not minding it. “Thanks, for telling me and everything.”

 

“Not a problem,” the latter spoke as the boy stood up before guiding him to the door. Taemin was surprised to see Suho standing there when Sehun opened it, a warm smile on his face.

 

Suho smiled at the stunned boy before looking at Sehun. “I assume he took it rather well?”

 

Sehun snorted. “If you count screaming at me and nearly burning my cottage down as ‘taking it well’, then yes.”

 

“I will apologize for that,” murmured Taemin, his face red.

 

Suho chuckled, his laugh melodic before placing a hand on Taemin’s shoulder, gently escorting out. “I shall take you back to where you came from. Wouldn’t want to have your Kingdom crashing down at the news of you being missing.” Then he spoke, “Don’t worry. Chanyeol is out waiting for us with your pet, Adam at the moment. We should hurry though—he is quite an impatient man.”

 

Sehun nodded before looking at Taemin, “You shouldn’t worry about it too much. If you can control it, I’m sure you will prevent it from happening.”

 

Taemin nodded with a small sigh before looking at Suho with a smile. “I’m ready,” he told him.

 

They were about to leave when Sehun yelled out, causing them to stop in their tracks.

 

The dark-haired looked back to see Sehun looking at him with emotion in his eyes. “About those sides I told you,” he started, “they treasure the human you a lot. It is possible that you can persuade the Angel and the Demon to help you, but”—he trailed off a bit before resuming—”you can only last for long.”

 

Taemin nodded in understanding before Suho ushered him out of the area. The boy looked behind, seeing the trees retreat behind him as they began to cover up the pathway, and once they were out, the path he used to see was no longer there.

 

He wondered if he could ever see him again.

 

Suho, seeing his saddened face, smiled at him. “Don’t worry. We took care of him longer than you think. He will be fine, since he have us,” he reassured him.

 

Taemin bit his lower lip in thought before nodding. “I hope so. It pains me to imagine what it’s like to be alone in there,” he spoke, a bit sad to have left him so soon. “I could have been his friend if that’s what he wanted.”

 

The messenger smiled, patting the boy’s back. “Sehun’s strong. He’s young, but he’s still strong. He can handle it.”

 

Taemin nodded his head quietly as he followed him to the entrance of the cave, where they expect Chanyeol to be waiting with Adam.

 

All of these thoughts ran around his head, but he couldn’t help but think of their reaction if they knew this.

 

He was scared, scared that they will kill him once they knew what he is.

 

He’s scared that Minho will abandon him. He’s scared that Minho wouldn’t trust me if he knew he was digging into their past. Key wouldn’t like that either.

 

He’s scared of having the world turn against him if he turned.

 

Taemin sighed, a shudder in his breath.

 

The thought of being the villain haunted him. Because that would mean the end for them. Because it would be their nightmare coming true.

 

Because it would mean waking up to a world where nobody but him is alive.