1 Month Later

Earth – Seoul

"Hyomin! Wake up!"

"Mm…"

"Hyomin!"

"…"

Eunjung pursed her lips at the still figure under the bed sheets. She leaned over the bed and smacked her hand over the figures backside.

"Hyomin-ah, wake up!" Eunjung called out again. When she received no response from her snoozing friend, she smacked at her backside a few more times. "Hyomin-aahhh!"

"Mmph… unnie…" Hyomin finally stirred from her sleep and brought her head up from under the sheets. Her hair was disheveled and her worn eyes only slightly open, she looked up at the elder girl. "What is it?"

"Do you know what time it is?" Eunjung asked, placing her hands over her hips.

Hyomin drowsily looked over to the bed side table and reached out an arm to turn her clock towards her. "It's 7:15," Hyomin yawned, placing the clock back. "I don't have classes until noon," she groaned, turning over in her bed and burying herself within her sheets again.

"Jiyeon’s class starts at 8," Eunjung said. Hyomin remained still but Eunjung waited patiently for a few seconds. Just as she expected, Hyomin abruptly sprung up and bounced over to the bed side table to observe the clock once more. Hyomin wailed as she threw her legs over the bed, entangling them with the sheets as she stood up.

"Careful!" Eunjung caught the girl before she tripped over her own feet.

"Why didn't you wake me up?!" Hyomin cried, kicking the sheets off her feet as she hastily hopped over to her closet across the room.

"I thought you set your alarm!"

"Jiyeon's going to kill me!" Hyomin whined as she quickly picked out some clothes and rushed out of her room to the bathroom. Hyomin had promised her young friend she would drive them to school this morning. However, because Hyomin was not the best of drivers, they trusted her to arrive early to avoid any delays that may be caused by her insufficient driving skills. Her promise had completely slipped her mind, otherwise she would've not stayed up late last night with her nose buried in her books.

After quickly changing out of her pajamas into a pair of jeans and shirt, Hyomin burst out of the bathroom with a tooth brush in and her hands pulling up her hair into a tie. She scurried across her apartment into the kitchen where she found her other roommate, Soyeon, at the kitchen table, holding up a set of keys.

"One scratch…" the girl spoke.

"I know, I know!" Hyomin said as she grabbed the keys to Soyeon’s car and stopped in front of the kitchen sink to quickly spit and rinse .

"Drive carefully, okay!" Soyeon advised Hyomin as she zipped past her. She quickly grabbed a pair of shoes and rushed out the door. Outside she took a moment to stop and place on her shoes. She hopped on her left leg as she closed the strap over her right shoe.

"Aren't you late?"

Hyomin looked up to find her neighbor and as well close friend from across the hall, Qri, sipping on a mug of coffee.

"I forgot to set my alarm," Hyomin explained as she switched to hopping on her right leg to strap her other shoe.

"Do you want me to drive you instead?"

"No, no, I can make it!" Hyomin assured as she stood up straight and sped down the corridor.

"If something happens, I'm claiming your wardrobe!" Qri shouted to Hyomin before she disappeared into the elevator.

Hyomin hopped on one foot from the other, impatiently waiting for the elevator to bring her to the underground parking lot. When the elevator came to a halt and sounded a ding, she did not even wait for the doors to completely open before rushing out. She ran through the parking lot and found Soyeon's car in its usual spot. Hyomin quickly unlocked the door and sat down in the car. Once she slammed the door shut, she took a moment to ease her racing heart.

'Okay… I cannot rush anymore. I have to do this right.'

Hyomin only not too long ago received her license. Passing the written test was no problem, the driving test though could've been much better. Hyomin felt the only reason she even remotely did well was because the instructor felt sorry for her. She miraculously passed, with a low score undoubtedly, but after that, her performance was lackluster. It seemed the driving test was the only time she ever drove well. As such she rarely got behind the wheel at all. She decided she enjoyed walking.

Hyomin inserted the keys into the ignition and started the car. She went over every detail in her head before actually executing them.  She put the car in reverse and pulled out from the parking spot. She then steadily made her way to the exit. Exiting the parking lot was the easy part. Once she made it out on the road, she slowed down her pace even though there was no other car on the road at the time.

Hyomin couldn't help her nerves. This was just the third time she was driving, without company, since she received her license. She came upon an intersection and stopped the car to lean forward and look down both ways of the road.

'I'll never make it in time like this.'

Hyomin leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath. She was likely to waste time at the speed she was going. She shook off her anxiety and put her feet down over the accelerator, determined to not waste any more time. Just as the car began to move, another car suddenly came speeding into her view from the corner of her eye and she immediately slammed her foot on the brakes as it whizzed past her, blaring its horn.

Hyomin released heavy breaths through her clenched teeth, her heart racing once again.

'Jiyeon won't need to kill me. I'm more likely to kill myself.'

-

Many galaxies away…

Kaia – Imperial City of Essinia

"Sunny is going to kill us, Jessica."

"It'll be an honorable death."

Tiffany placed a hand over to stifle her giggling as Jessica dipped a heap of cream from a small bowl over Sunny's hand.

Sunny slept peacefully, completely unaware of the two conniving girls kneeling by her bed side. She laid on her side with an arm outstretched over the bed, allowing Jessica to easily set her trap.

Jessica placed the bowl aside and looked over to Tiffany. "Do it," she whispered to the raven haired girl.

"No! You do it!" Tiffany said as she shoved a soft white feather towards Jessica.

Jessica silently giggled as she took the feather into her hand. She sat still, silently watching Sunny when the feather within her hands lifted itself in the air and levitated itself over Sunny's form. Jessica then eased the floating feather over Sunny's face and tickled the tip of her nose.

She immediately retracted the feather back when Sunny wiggled her nose. When there was no further reaction, Jessica lowered the feather over her face again and this time brushed the snoozing girl's nose a few times. Jessica moved the feather back again as Sunny wiggled her nose and this time brought her hand up to rub her face, but it was the uncontaminated hand. Jessica pouted at Sunny's undesired response as she settled back into her slumber. Tiffany watched with anticipation as Jessica once again lowered the feather and this time lightly brushed it all over Sunny's face. Sunny fidgeted and rubbed at her face again with her clean hand. Jessica groaned, tickling the feather over Sunny's ear now.

"Jessica, it's not working," Tiffany whispered.

"I know, just-"

Jessica trailed off when Sunny moaned in her sleep. Both Jessica and Tiffany reeled back when Sunny slightly opened her eyes. Jessica involuntarily flung the feather across the room in surprise.

They held their breaths as Sunny fidgeted for a moment before rolling over in her bed, moving her arm over as well. Tiffany and Jessica raised their heads over the bed to see what had become of Sunny's hand but immediately ducked their heads back down when Sunny lifted her head up from her pillow. They waited for a moment, unsure if she had awoken or of what she was doing. She then abruptly turned around to the two girls. Upon seeing her face, Jessica and Tiffany burst into laughter. Sunny had landed her hand by her face herself and cream now covered the side of her visage.

-

A young man strutted through the white corridors of the Imperial Palace. The confident air about him and his lavish attire gave off the sense of royalty but this man was not of royalty, he only served the Royal family.

With a delicate motion, he pushed back a strand of his black locks behind his ear. From the end of the corridor, two girls holding hands and laughing merrily appeared from around the corner and ran towards his direction. The young man lifted his head and smiled at the girls.

"Hello ladies," he greeted the girls with a bow of his head as they came closer.

"Hey Heechul!" Tiffany said, letting go of Jessica's hand as they ran past him before taking her hand again.

"Watch out for the midget!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Midget?" Heechul asked turning to the girls.

"YOU BRATS!"

Heechul flinched at the sudden shriek and turned back around. He smiled when he saw a short brunette in a long gown and bare feet run his way, her face covered in a white substance.

"Soonkyu," Heechul greeted the girl.

"Hey Heechul!" Sunny greeted in return as she ran past him.

Heechul shook his head at the mischievous girls before continuing on his way. What he had just witnessed was no out of the ordinary sight. Such occurrences were common when nine bright and playful girls lived within the Palace. No one held any complaints, as their charms brought amusement to everyone.

Heechul walked on till he reached his destination, the Palace's grand library. Dozens of tall shelves lined the room, books of over many topics and stories. It was like a maze in which one could easily lose themselves.

He spanned his eyes over the library when his ears picked up a faint sound of two people arguing. He walked forth through the seemingly endless rows of shelves, taking a couple of turns before eventually finding his way to the centre of the library where tables were set and the shelves came to a momentary stop. Heechul walked up to one of the tables upon which laid a mass of books and scrolls. He looked over to the left to find the source of the two arguing voices from earlier.

"No, no, Kyuhyun, the other one!" a young fellow shouted up to another atop of a long ladder that was leant over one of the shelves. Kyuhyun returned the book in his hand to its place and pulled out the one next to it. He turned the cover towards the young man below. "Yes, bring that one-no don't drop it!" Despite his protest, Kyuhyun dropped the book from his hand but the young man quickly stepped forward and caught it. He looked up at Kyuhyun with an admonishing expression. Kyuhyun only smiled in return.

"Ryewook!" Heechul called out to the young man whom, along with the other, belonged to the Ministry of Magic.

Ryewook turned to the voice that beckoned him. "Ah Heechul, you're back." He quickly made his way over to Heechul. Kyuhyun took a few steps down the ladder before jumping off and followed behind Ryewook.

"You two have been busy," Heechul said looking over the array of books on the table.

"I wanted to be absolutely sure of our findings, The King was adamant of it," Ryewook said as he placed the book in his hand amongst the rest on the table, "but first of all, what did you find out?"

Heechul reached into his coat and pulled out an old, worn scroll. "The old man's name was Xia Lin, one of the last few descendents of the Elders," Heechul unrolled the scroll over the table for Ryewook and Kyuhyun to see. The scroll contained a list of names from top to bottom.

"So he really was who they said he was," Ryewook reflected. The mysterious old man from Taewon Village, the very village that was massacred only a month ago, left behind a puzzling case. His identity had been unknown, but from what a few of the survivors had told and rumors from the neighboring village, his origin's along with the symbol that had adorned his chest had been brought to question. He was as well the only one to relay any sort of hint as to what had become of the demised village. The Ministry of Magic was at least able to confirm that the people of the village had been reduced to nothing but dust, as was suspected.

Kyuhyun looked over the scroll and trailed a finger over the list of names. "These names are the other descendents?"

"All of whom have died over the past hundreds of year. With Xia Lin's death…" Heechul pointed a finger to a name on the list, "Yung Su is the very last."

"The very last?" Ryewook asked surprised.

"The very last," Heechul reconfirmed.

"It's a good thing we found him in time. The squadron should be returning shortly with him from Roz'aan Village," Kyuhyun said.

When rumors were heard of Xia Lin's origin, they came to know of Yung Su who lived in Roz'aan Village, a small village similar to Taewon. If Xia Lin was truly who he was, Yung Su could prove helpful in determining the tragedy of Taewon Village.

"What about you two? Did you find out what we were looking for?" Heechul asked.

"We have actually," Ryewook said, his expression suddenly turning solemn. "We're about to head over to his Majesty and share our findings. Come with us and we'll tell everything," Ryewook said as he began picking up various books and scrolls. "Kyuhyun holds these," Ryewook said handing a few hefty books to the younger man. Kyuhyun grunted as their heavy weight landed on his arms. "Heechul, lend a hand," Ryewook said to the older male, holding up a large book to him. Heechul reached beyond the book and took a hold of his own scroll from Ryewook's arm, leaving the books to him.

"Let's be off then," Heechul said with a smirk as he made his way towards the exit. Ryewook rolled his eyes but followed behind along with Kyuhyun.

-

"She forgot about me," Jiyeon grunted, her arms crossed over chest. She stood in silence and in complete loneliness on the front of lawn of her home, dressed in her school uniforn with her bag slung over her shoulder. She had been waiting for a good 30 minutes and still no sign of Hyomin.

Jiyeon chuckled to herself. “No, she couldn’t have forgotten about me.”

Jiyeon looked down both ends of the road, expectantly waiting for a car to materialize any moment.

“She forgot about me,” Jiyeon concluded. She grunted and stamped her foot on the ground. At that moment, a light sound in the distance caught her attention and she looked down the road to see a car driving her way.

"Finally!" Jiyeon exclaimed once she saw Hyomin’s frantic face through the glass.

Hyomin brought the car to a stop in front of the young girls and quickly unlocked the door for her.

"You're late, unnie," Jiyeon grumpily said, not moving from her spot.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" Hyomin apologized. She waited for Jiyeon to take a seat in the car but she remained unmoving. "Come on Jiyeon, get in the car."

"Considering how late you are, you have to drive fast. If you drive fast, we are likely to get in an accident and die," Jiyeon said.

"I won't drive fast then!"

"Then we'll never make it in time."

Hyomin rolled her eyes and unbuckled her seatbelt. She climbed over the passenger seat and reached outside the window, grabbing Jiyeon's shirt and pulling her to the car. “Come on!”

Jiyeon swatted Hyomin's hand away and eventually opened the passenger seat door and seated herself into the car. They were on their way then, Hyomin making sure not to go too slow or too fast.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Jiyeon asked looking over to the elder girl.

"No, I just forgot to set my alarm!" Hyomin defended herself.

Jiyeon grumbled and turned her head to look out the window. Hyomin spared her several glances when she continued to avoid her gaze.

"I love you?” Hyomin said, attempting a meekly reconciliation.

"I don't love you," Jiyeon responded in a childlike manner.

"Well I was kidding, no one loves you anyways," Hyomin said sticking her tongue out at the younger girl. Jiyeon looked at Hyomin and responded by cutely pouting her lips.

“I’m kidding,” Hyomin giggled at the girls' antics and blew her a kiss.

"Eyes on the road!" Jiyeon yelled.

"Sorry, sorry!"

-

His Majesty, King Lee Soo Man, heaved a deep sigh as he looked over the Imperial City of Essinia from his window. The sun brightly shinned over the capital that was rich in all aspects, from its beauty to its innovation. The City of Essinia pioneered in the arts of magic but as well as machinery. It was the first city to introduce mechanical inventions many years ago, having come so far to now have massive airships fly over their skies. Despite all its magnificent achievement, the city still catered to the humble living of its inhabitants. The King sought to preserve traditional values but to as well establish modernization. King Lee Soo Man was credited to being a brilliant and devoted ruler. The ever amiable people of Essinia were most admiring of him. Nothing pleased the King more than prosperity of his empire and his people.

However, as of recent, the people were troubled. News of the tragedy of Taewon Village had spread. What had become of its population had left the people in sorrow and fear. The King had ordered an immediate investigation into the matter, all the while trying to put the people's worries to ease. However, word of the Palace's investigations and findings led people to become curious. Their curiosity led them to further qualms.

The King himself was very distressed. An entire population of men, women and children had practically been wiped out. The thought still brought an ache to his heart.

They were able to find some answers, but they were not what he expected. The answers they had found left him uneasy. He wanted to be absolutely sure, thus he ordered a further analysis.

"It's a beautiful morning," the King spoke somberly, looking up to the azure sky.

"It is your Majesty."

Standing by the King's side was a tall man in a suit of gold and black armor. This man was the young but accomplished General Yunho. They were accompanied by the presences of Colonel Leetuek and Commander Siwon as well.

"Any word from the fleet yet?" the King asked, turning to the General.

"No your Majesty, but we'll be hearing from Major Donghae soon," Yunho answered.

"Good, good," the King said, nodding his head. At the sound of the doors opening, the occupants of the room turned to see Heechul, Ryewook and Kyuhyun enter the room.

"Your Majesty," Ryewook greeted the King with a bow, as did the others.

"Heechul," Siwon said stepping forward, "what have you found out?"

"The old man's name was Xia Lin, over a hundred years old and just as the rumors told; he was indeed one of the remaining descendents of the Elders of Magic." Heechul explained, stepping forward to hand Siwon the scroll he had brought. Siwon unrolled the scroll in his hands, beholding the list of names. Towards the bottom he found Xia Lin's name.

"I really didn't think they were any descendants still living," Leetuek said stepping up beside Siwon to view the scroll for himself.

The Elders of Magic was as an assembly of sorcerers from over hundreds of years ago. They were said to have possessed immense wisdom and power of magic. Their cause varied from serving the royal leaders to even teaching the arts of magic. The assembly had grown over time, sorcerers of different calibers from different nations joining them. However, they would gradually dispatch as magic would become degraded and misused. It is said that magic today is no longer as potent as it once use to be.

After the Elders of Magic ceased to exist, the descendents of Elders would preserve their teachings and stories. The descendents were the only ones to know of the knowledge the Elders once possessed. Though, it was believed that all of the descendents had passed much long ago.

"It seems Yung Su is the very last," Siwon said, taking note of the very last name on the list, after Xia Lin's. Siwon looked up to Ryewook, "were you able to confirm anything Ryewook?"

"I did," Ryewook answered as he went over to a table by the center of the room and placed down the books in his arms, Kyuhyun doing so as well. "I have found the insignia was described to us," Ryewook spoke as he opened one of the books and began flipping through the pages. Once he landed on the desired page, he turned the book around for the others to see as well.

All stepped forward for a closer look at the book. The page potrayed the same devilish symbol Siwon had discovered weeks prior, one they had never witnessed the likes of before. The King however felt an eerie chill go down his spine at the sight of the familiar image.

"This is what you found upon Xia Lin's chest, Siwon?" the King asked his Commander.

"That is the very one," Siwon nodded his head.

"I checked various source to be sure before I could conclude its origins," Ryewook asserted.

"Go on," Siwon beckoned him. Ryewook closed the book and brought forth another one. The book was large in size and specks of dust could be seen over the cover. He opened the book, its pages tattered and yellow.

"There are many versions of the story of Wu Jin but after much cross referencing, I believe I have possibly found the closest to the original," Ryewook explained as he skipped through the pages of the old book. "Wu Jin's title was common in all the different stories though," Ryewook said as he stopped upon one page. He lifted up the book and turned it towards everyone to see. On the page, in large bold letters was a phrase though in an unfamiliar lettering to the others. What caught everyone's eye was the same insignia they had seen in the previous book.

"What does it say?" Yunho asked.

"Tyrant of War," Kyuhyun answered, "the title they had given Wu Jin."

"You believe Xia Lin was referring to the very same?" Leetuek asked uneasily.

"Only Yung Su can confirm this for us," Ryewook said.

Siwon took a deep breath. At the time, when the old man spoke the name of Wu Jin to him, it did not strike as familiar. However it did not take long after some deep thought. The other word Xia Lin spoke, tyrant, was the hint.

The legend of the Tyrant of War was not well known amongst common people. Scholars knew of the tale but even they believed it to be a myth. It was however believed amongst the preachers and monks to be true.

It was a tale that would've died with age had it not been for the recent occurrences.

Siwon himself was not completely familiar with the story, having only read few details in history books when he was younger. Not the books from the academies though, he had stumbled upon it in a library in a book of old fables from the past. All he knew was that the man named Wu Jin was a General of Armies from many hundred years ago and was known to be a malevolent brute. Siwon reckoned the King to be more familiar with the story as when he first revealed the hints left behind by the old man, he noted how the King's eyes dilated in fright. He however did not seem to want to speak further of it until they could confirm what truly had happened at Taewon Village.

At that moment, a figure burst through the large double doors, disrupting everyone's thoughts and ran into the room.

"Donghae," Yunho turned to the young man, surprised by his abrupt appearance.

Dongahe, with heaving breaths, bowed down to King. After standing up, he leaned forward again, resting his hands over his knees to catch his breath.

"What happened?" Leetuek questioned, stepping up to the exhausted man.

Donghae straightened his back and took a deep gulp. "The fleet we sent to Roz'aan Village…" he trailed off to release a heavy breath, "it was shot down from the skies."

"What?!" Siwon asked astonished, eyes widening in fright. The others in the room shared a stunned expression with each other.

"Witnesses claim it just… exploded in the sky. There was no sighting of any enemy airships," Donghae said, his breath finally leveling.

"Our men?" Yunho asked.

"We've already sent out troops to search for survivors," Donghae spoke sullenly. "There's more though."

"What?" Siwon asked, dreading whatever more Donghae had to tell them.

Donghae forehead creased, his eyes showing remorse. "Roz'aan Village has been wiped out."

The room filled with gasp and terror stricken eyes. Siwon lowered his gaze. Had another unfortunate village came under the same terror that had befallen Taewon Village? Along with the lives of their men, so many more innocent lives have been lost. How could they have allowed this to happen?

The King had remained silent up till now, his heart pounding furiously over the terrible new. Two humble villages destroyed and many of his men lost. He lifted up his head and turned to Ryewook.

"Reywook, find out every single thing you can about Wu Jin."