Hello there, are you still coming to my House? I'm glad. I am old (or possibly quite young, I forget I suppose) and am lonely at times. I hear stories of everyone and  every version of them, but I cannot meet them. They are simply words and items, coming to me out of the infinite amount of starlight and tears. Chanyeol has left. He goes where I cannot follow. I don't even know where he vanishes too. That is how it is, was, and always shall be. Dear reader, do you suppose that I shall one day vanish? I think I might, for while the  House and the Edge remains constant, I fear that I shall change. I will drift and turn, perhaps even falling from the Edge of the World and into the Great Beyond. Shall Chanyeol cry when he returns and I am gone? I know not. Niether does he. For he is an idiot. However, this next tale I have to tell is like that. One went and the other was left behind. A scattered tale as it has not ended yet, but still one that whispers itself to me in the night for fear that it shall never end. Sit down, dear reader, this is a tale of stars. 

   The end began when the largest star died, caving into a black hole. It started the collapse of the galaxy, dragging the stars into itself. Everyone knew then that there wasn't anything they could do. So one after the other the other inhabitents followed it to death. Some burned, screaming as their hearts were lit ablaze. Others were dragged into the flames of the others, weeping as they were torn apart. Xiumin cried the hardest. He was the youngest, the smallest star, burning at the very edge of the small galaxy. He watched in horror as his brothers and sisters died one by one. He watched as the moons shattered and the planets ripped apart....and then realized he was left alone. 

    Xiumin didn't cry then, he didn't have time. His light was dying, burning too hot and too fast to control. He screamed as he died, died like everything else. There was nothing to do. Nothing to stop his fate. But oh how he fought! He struggled to stay alive, to do anything to survive. But the end drew near and he couldn't stop it. He didn't even know the difference between dying and living anymore. The darkness called him, telling him to come.

     Xiumin almost gave in. Let his lights fade. Almost died. 

     Then Chen came. 

      Xiumin opened his eyes, pulling himself away from the memories. That was a lifetime ago. Several lifetimes. Don't think about dying.....it's too close. He shivered. It was cold at the edge of space. Or, he thought it was the edge. There was nothing here. No stars, planets, or nebulas. Everything was black and numbing. Life didn't exist here, only death. 

     When he first saw it, he thought he'd died. 

     Not dead, the Others had said, leaving one by one. Alive for now, but do not worry. You will die soon enough and we will forget. 

     Then the last one left and Xiumin was alone. At first he cried, helpless like he had been. Then he screamed, just to see if there was anything out there in the shadows. Nothing came, and eventually Xiumin stopped screaming. Xiumin realized that no one could hear him. Then as thousands of years passed, he realized that the Others had been right. What Chen had stopped, began again. Xiumin was dying now exactly like the Others had said. Here, at the edge of nothing, there was no life. The shadows ate away at him, telling him soon he'd be nothing more than part of the nothingness. 

     A new wave of iciness washed over him. Xiumin shuddered, looking around. The blackness shimmered slightly. It signaled the appearence of an Other. in a breath, Xiumin waited for it appear fully. The Others still came by every so often, less and less as time passed. None really did anything other than stare. A few made threats, while the rest seemed to come to see if he was dead yet. As the Other materailized, Xiumin recognized it. This one came by more often than the rest. Xiumin didn't know for sure, but he thought maybe this one had a personal grudge to fulfil by coming to mock. It appeared fully, drawing near at once. 

    It's been over 5,00 years, it whispered, carrasing his flames. Why are you not dead? Are you not tired of being alone?

    Xiumin didn't answer. He stared at the Other, fighting to stay still. To not tremble and show fear. It was hard. The Other laughed, flitting away slightly. I can sense your fear. Your fear of me....your fear of dying here alone. You have always been afraid of being alone haven't you?

    Xiumin didn't know if the Other knew it, but it was right. Scaringly so. When Xiumin was the only one left, he had been afraid. So afraid that at the end of his life he hadn't wanted to live. He had wanted to let go and follow his siblings to whatever fate they had. He had closed his eyes and let the darkness come. 

      Then Chen appeared. 

     Don't go, he whispered, pulling Xiumin back into the light. You are not alone. 

     Xiumin cried then, cried as the destruction of his home finished. He stared out at the space. The black holes were silent, there were no flames, no more stars. Just him, staring into emptiness. He turned, seeing Chen who watched him with a concerned look on his face. He glided forward, taking Xiumin into his arms. Xiumin was so sure that he wasn't real. That he made him up out of insanity. Someone to keep him going because he didn't want to die alone. He said that, sobbing. Chen told him it was a lie, he was real. 

     You're never going to be alone again. I promise you that. 

     Promises were made to be broken. 

    The Other stared at him, eyes slanted and calculating. It waited for Xiumin to respond. Finally, he found his voice. "Chen's coming," he whispered. "He'll find me."

    It roared, laughing loudly and mockingly. It darted close, grasping at Xiumin. He trembled, unable to stop himself. Sparks shook off of him, drifting away into the darkness. The Other stopped laughing, watching the tiny flickers go. He is not coming. He has not been created to love. None of us were. It is only a matter of time before he forgets it, before we all forget. Millions of stars day every single day, what is one star to one such as us?

     "If you have to ask," Xiumin said, trying to make his voice come out strong. He failed as it slipped out scared and broken. "If you have to ask," he repeated. "You wouldn't understand it." He pulled back from the Other, trying to put distance in between the two of them. "Chen hasn't forgotten me....he's coming."

    Of course he has forgotten. Even if we had not seperated you two, he would forgotten eventually. 

     "Then why drag me here in the first place?" Xiumin asked bitterly, tears springing to his eys. "If I'm going to die, why make me do it here alone in the dark?"

     It laughed again. Xiumin forgot his fear, crying out. "Why make me come here?"'  

    It didn't answer, as if it knew the silence would scare Xiumin more. 

     Xuimin wouldn't tell this to the Other, but the day they come for him was the most horrifying day of his life. The only Other he had met was Chen, and he knew Chen was different. Xiumin, as every star, had heard legends about the Others. That they were angels, created to keep the galaxies safe. But something happened. And they were thrown from their roles and into darkness. Xiumin didn't know if that was true. Chen never really told him, prefering to talk cryptically about them. 

      '"Want to know a secret?" he had said, speaking about the Others for the first and last time. "The truth is everyone hates living forever. We call it our curse, our punishment  for a crime commited before anyone can remember. The Universe is huge, but it isn't big enough for us to run from ourselves. We hate ourselves for it, and we hate each other because all we see is ourselves staring back at us."

       Maybe it was because they hated each other that they dragged Xiumin away. That day was the first time in eons that the Others gathered together. Hundreds of the beings and it still almost wasn't enough to hold Chen back. They used enough energy to kill and create a million stars. Lightning cracked across the heavens, storms screaming as they clashed together in war. But Xiumin didn't remember that until later. He hadn't been looking at the crashing of lights and bodies. He had been staring at Chen, scarred by his screams as he vanished into darkness. 

      Sometimes Xiumin wondered if Chen cried after he was gone. 

      The Other lunged forward, snapping Xiumin out of his thoughts. It grasped his heart, gripping it with an iron fist. Xiumin yelled in pain, feeling his heart being squeezed in two. The Other grasped tighter, knocking Xiumin's breath out. He whimpered, pleading with it silently. It laughed, amused at his pain. We took you, it whispered into his ear. Because we could. Because Chen had broken our laws and must be made to suffer for it. He has, and now he has forgotten. No rescue is coming, you are done. 

      Xiumin let his tears fall. His mouth was hanging open, but nothing would come out. His words were trapped inside, refusing to be spoken. His heart was being torn into two, sending pain coursing through him. It kept talking, holding him tightly. We are watching you die, alone and without hope. It has been 5,000 years. Why continue to live when there is nothing for you?

       It gave one last wrench and tossed Xiumin away. Xiumin spun into the darkness, struggling to regain control. He coughed, trying to breath again. His lights flickered, rapidly losing their strength. Finally, he stopped spinning and floated in the sky, whimpering softly. It snarled at him, angry. So brave, so foolish. It does not matter I suppose. Your light is spreading out over the Universe, soon none of it will be left. Do die, and know he will never come. 

     It left, leaving Xiumin alone in the nothingness. He breathed slowly, feeling the stabbing pain subside. He didn't want to admit it, but It was right. Right like it had been every time it had come and taunted him. He was dying and there wasn nothing he could do about it. His fire, his life, was breaking off of him and floating off into the skies. Soon his core would run out of life, bursting into flames and ending his life. Eventually he wouldn't be anything more than a lonely flicker of light drifting through space. A shard of him, of what he had used to be. 

     Holding back a sob, Xiumin hugged himself tightly. I'm holding on Chen....but it's so hard and it's just getting harder. I'm scared. Please, please, please....Chen don't leave me here alone. 

      Then the star cried. 

    It was raining fire tonight. The skies shook and trembled with flames roaring across them. Chen shook his head, trying to find a path through the blazing heavens. Where do I - A burst of fire erupted right next to him. He threw himself back, narrowly avoiding being burned. He could feel the flames pressing in on him, set on tearing him out of the sky and into a nearby planet. Chen took a deep breath. It was rare to see fire like this, usually the galaxies were calm, silent.

    But then usually the Others weren't hell-bent on killing him either.

    Chen turned his attention from the flames, ignoring the blazing heat. He focused on moving through it, on making it beyond the burning stars. Once he had moved away from the nearest flame, Chen hurriedly began to search for what had brought him there in the firt place. He couldn't see - There! A tiny flicker, barely noticable, hovered just beyond the raging flames. That was why he was here. The sight sped up his heart, pounding in his chest. Quickly, Chen took his physical form (a rarity for his kind) and sped through the devastation.

    A shriek tore through the galaxy, unearthly and furious. The stars cried in response and the fires raced towards him. Chen heard them coming and flew through space, desperately trying to keep his eyes on the flicker. He needed to catch it before the flames tore him out of the sky. Chen looked behind, checking for any of the Others. There were none, and he returned his gaze to the small light.

    He gasped, his stomach twisting. The flicker was fading. Chen in a deep breath, the tiny light was weakening, dying.

    Such an ugly word, dying. As a being that was thousands and thousands of years old, Chen had seen whole galaxies form and crumble away. He had never cared, accepting it all as the cycle of the universe. Life began, it lived, and then it died. Blowing back into the dust it had been made of. It was life and Chen didn't bother himself with it, with any of it. He was above it.

    But that had changed with one star.

    He'd been beautiful. A small star floating in a dying galaxy on the fringes of the Univerese. Chen had watched Xuimin, observing and tending to him. The star had grown, despite all odds, gathering strength and refusing to die out like the stars around him. Somehow watching Xuimin struggle to survive had stirred something in Chen that hadn't moved in eons. Something, quiet, warm and dangerous.

    Dangerous. It was the word the Others had used, the Others like Chen. God-like beings existing from the beginning of time, observing the Univerese with emtionless, invisible eyes. Tradition dictated they didn't interfer with another and meetins were short and sporadic.

   But they, who saw everything, saw the feelings stirring inside of Chen. They reacted in horror, flying from everywhere. "It's not love," they said. "It's a lie, the star isn't anything to you. You are above the pathetic dependance of lesser beings. It's all lies. Turn away."

     Chen hadn't turned away. He'd gone back to Xuimin, back to the small galaxy that was on the brink of death. "It's fine," he said, holding him tightly. "Everything's fine."

     He'd lied to Xuimin. Xuimin had believed him. Believed in him.

     Chen had believed himself.

    The light flickered again, this time almost vanishing. Chen's heart screamed. He abandoned all thoughts of safety, flinging himself through the fire. Fear coursed through him, freezing in his viens and burning in his chest. Chen needed to reach the light before it went out. A flame burst out, swirling around him and scorching his body. Chen cried out, reeling off course. He reached out, trying to right himself and go back on track. He kept spinning and spinning. He narrowly avoided another star and pulled himself upright and towards the light. Ignoring the stabbing pain, Chen gave one last cry and raced out of the flames.

    Panting and in pain, Chen shook his head, and turned towards the flicker of light. Trembling, he reached for it. It quivered, almost vanishing. He moved closer and carefully cupped it in his hands. He stared at it, smiling softly. It had been over 5,000 years since he had held a piece of Xuimin. 5,000 years since Chen had had any evidence that the Other's hadn't killed him. That  Xuimin had survived them carving out his heart and dragging him away while Chen screamed in agony.

     Chen's heart began to stir, feeling like it would burst with happiness. He held the light, the tiny piece of star, close to his chest. If this light had survived, then so had Xuimin. He was out there somewhere. hidden among the stars. For the first time in eons, Chen had hope.

     "Please," Chen begged. "Let him know I'm coming for him. That I won't stop until he's with me. Please let him know wherever he is, whoever has him, that I will find him."

      Chen turned to face the flames behind him. He could feel the anger there, The Other's weren't happy he'd made it through. Their rage was almost plyable, coursing through the sky. Chen's eyes narrowed, and he shifted into his true form. Handling the light carefully, Chen moved away from the fire. He didn't have time to fight with them. His time of searching was almost over. Now he had a piece of Xuimin, and it was now only a matter of time before it lead Chen to Xuimin. Chen would find him, and when he did he'd never let Xuimin be ripped away from him again. They'd flee together, away from the Others, away from the dying galaxies, away from skies that rained fire.

    I wonder, dear reader, if Chen shall ever find Xiumin. I do not know, as it hasn't ended yet. Stars are ancient things and the Others are even more ancient than they. They are curious things, the Others, beings that traverse the Universe and bend it at will. They come and they go, but they are not touched by time nor petty things. Sometimes they visit me, but not for long. I deal with stories and they deal with power and their own egos. I hope that Chen finds Xiumin, I say that without malice. It would be a tragic thing indeed to love someone with every fiber of one's being and to think that one person would never come.