" Do not make me repeat myself. I said, does it hurt? " TOP slowly inched closer till both their foreheads were almost touching. 

" Y-yes. " Ara's lips trembled slightly as she forced out the word. The blade was still plunged into her thigh and she could feel her scarred flesh screaming in protest.

" Good girl. " The man nodded once in approval as he drew back from the shivering girl.

-

" Ara's not in her room! " Chen spat out as he skidded to a stop in the kitchen. 

Kai stood up at once, making the chair topple and fall to the ground. " What do you mean? "

Everyone at the table fell silent at once as they regarded Chen with anxious eyes.

" I wanted to wake her up but her room's empty. What's more, her bed didn't look like it had been slept in for the whole night. " Chen exhaled as he tried to remain composed.

Kris stared at Kai as their eyes met. Both men immediately rushed out as their heavy footsteps were heard up the stairs. One by one, the boys hurried out of the kitchen as everyone prayed that what they had feared wasn't happening.

" She's gone. They must have took her. " Kris clenched his fist tightly as he shook slightly at the panic and anger.

" Those damn shadows again?! " Tao shouted as he narrowed his eyes dangerously.

" Not the Shadows. Them. " Both Kai and Kris muttered monotonously in complete unison.

A hiss escaped Sehun's throat as his eyes flared. Ara was in trouble, and this time, even being captured by the Shadows meant nothing compared to the danger she was in right now.

A deathly chill filled the room as everyone stared at one another. What they had been worried about right from the start had finally took place. Kai trembled in rage as he punched the wall. Droplets of blood splattered across the fading wall as the man slammed his fist violently against the surface.

" Kai " Lay murmured worriedly. 

" She's in danger. They will hurt her, I know it! " Kai whispered in agony as he met Kris's blazing eyes. " She will get hurt..... "

Kris's face remained composed as he remained silent. His face showed no traces of responsiveness but everyone in the room could tell that an emotional turmoil was going on right now in the leader's mind. When Kris behaved like that in a situation, it almost always meant that a storm was about to break.

" We took appropriate measures to make sure that any sign of an intruder would be detected. How the were they able to reach Ara? " Sehun growled as he turned away from everyone. " It doesn't make any ing sense. "

" So what do we do now? How can we get her back? " D.O questioned as he looked at all the pale faces surrounding him.

" We're no match for them... " Chanyeol whispered as he looked at the raindrops pelting heavily against the glass window.

" We have to try! " Kai snapped venomously as he turned his back on the wall. " Do we just let them toy with her until they get the answer they want? "

" They won't get the answer they want. " 

Everyone turned to look at the leader who had finally spoken.

" Because Ara doesn't know the story behind the prophecy. No one knows. " Kris continued in a voice completely devoid of emotion. " And what do you think they will do when they realizes that the answer they want will never be discovered? "

" They will get rid of her. " Tao murmured as he picked up on his leader's thoughts.

" No. NO! " Kai yelled in fury as he overturned the wooden table in one move. " I won't let them! "

" Nor will I " Kris muttered as he held Kai's gaze. " They will never take Ara away from us. " Away from me

-

" So, how's life with the Guardians? " 

Ara flinched as his dark eyes penetrated deeply into her warm hazel ones. 

The girl yelped in pure agony as a bloody slash on her arm was made.

" What did I say about answering my questions? " TOP shook his head softly as he glanced down at the whimpering girl. " Listen to what I say and I won't have to make you hurt. It pains me to see you this way Ara. "

Ara hated the way he said her name. She hated his guts and practically everything about him. As much as she wanted to defy his orders, the fear of additional pain took over her as she quickly answered his question. " I-It's o-okay. "

Her teeth rattled so hard that she had difficulty pronouncing her words. It was mouth-biting cold as the wind rushing through the slightly ajar window nipped at Ara's fair skin.

TOP slowly shrugged off his cloak and placed it around the petite girl. He carefully draped it over her shoulders, making sure that she was well protected from the winter frost. Underneath the cloak, the man was dressed in an ordinary outfit just as any young adult his age would. A casual white collared shirt over a pair of denim jeans tailored to fit his masculine body to perfection. 

This act of chivalry would have melted any woman's heart, considering the looks that man possessed. No one would have ever believed that a man like him would have killed so many innocent people for the sake of dominance.

" Feeling better? " TOP smiled at Ara as he looked at the girl straight in the eye.

Ara hastily nodded in fear of getting slashed yet again. She was filled with so much loathing that it showed up clearly in her expression as the man smirked. 

" You hate me already. That's a little too fast for my liking. " He chuckled lightly before turning to nod at one of the cloaked figures standing in the darkness who had muttered a single word. " I heard you, Seungri. "

Turning to wink at the Ara, TOP strolled out of the room with the rest of the figures in his wake. " I'll see you later, my baby girl. "

-

Ara shuddered as she looked around. The space she was in right now was completely empty. The walls were painted in burgundy as the only light source came from the window. Silence hung in the air and it was so deafening that the girl could hear her own terrified heart beating in her chest. She couldn't help wondering if the rest of the Guardians had noticed her absence. Would Naeyong realize that Ara was being taken away? Would she inform Kris? Were the rest of them on their way to save her right now? Thousands of doubts swarm in her head as she tried to ignore the piercing pain from all the wounds that he had caused. The area in her thigh where the blade still remained had already gone numb. Ara noticed that her leg was starting to turn a sickly purplish color around the inserted weapon. The panic which she had struggled so hard to keep down started rising again. Was she going to survive this?

Hours seemed to pass as the girl slowly lost conscious. Her head was aching from the pain as she felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. The sudden splash of ice cold water brought the girl back to her senses.

" I'm back. " His cold voice startled the girl as she immediately started trembling violently from the cold. Droplets of water fell from her drenched hair to her shoulders as she almost bit her tongue while chattering.

" Just so you know, you're not allowed to fall asleep without my permission. " TOP smirked as he pressed his palm against her soft cheeks. Even though his skin was at a temperature much lower than normal beings, his touch still felt warm to the girl. This was how low Ara's body temperature was dropping as she continued to tremble in the howling wind.

" Tell me how are you, a mere girl, the key to making the dark and light sides align as one? " He whispered close to her ear.

Ara blinked weakly as she struggled to force the words through her teeth. " I ... I really don't know. "

He brought up his hand slowly and just when Ara thought that he was going to carcass her again, TOP threw his fist into a punch so hard that Ara tasted a metallic copper taste in . Spitting out blood between her lips, the girl met the man's frosty stare in utter fear.

" I'm not satisfied with your answer. Try again. "

Time ticked by with the girl repeatedly saying that she didn't know while the man threw punches which landed on her face, neck, arms and even her stomach. Finally, TOP straightened his shirt as he gently patted Ara's hair. " I have all day to play this game. That is, if you can even pull through this. "

Ara didn't even bother looking at him. Her badly bruised face was swollen and pain shot through every muscle in her frail body. The girl couldn't even summon her powers even if she wanted to. They had ensured that not a single drop of water was found in the premises where Ara was being kept hostage.

-

" Ara? Look who's here to join in the fun. " TOP bent down to murmur to the weak girl. 

" Ara! " 

At the sound of the voice, the girl gasped as she lifted up her head with all her strength. 

" Don't you dare touch her again with your filthy hands! " Kris spat as he felt his heart constrict tightly at the sight of the broken girl in front of him.

TOP smirked as he turned to face the tall man. " You're in no position to talk, did you realize? " 

It was then when Ara noticed the ropes wrapped tightly around Kris.

-

" I'm going too. No one can stop me! " Kai shouted as his eyes blazed. Chanyeol and Xiumin were desperately clinging on to the man preventing him from teleporting. Kai struggled against their firm grasp as he continued cursing loudly in their face.

" Kris let his heart take over his mind. He went there for Ara even though he knew that him alone going against them was useless. Kai, don't do it. " Sehun growled as he tried to control his own escalating worry. " We'll find a way. "

Kai went limp as he understood where his brother was coming from. Ara, and now Kris too. He had to remain calm.

Thanks to those who upvoted my story so far! <333333333 Love you guyssss