Lay took a deep breath, preparing himself for the lengthy explanation.

 

“What I was trying to say is that due to the fact that Suzerain Erebus has--”

 

“I see you’ve noticed the demon.”

 

Lay’s explanation was abruptly cut short as Chen made his way back down the stairs. He gave Chen a disapproving look.

 

"The closest thing to a demon here is you."

 

Chen took a step forward, prepared to lunge at Lay, but Kris stepped in before it escalated further.

 

"Both of you calm down, but Chen, if you're just going to cause trouble I suggest you go somewhere else. If you're going to help then fine, but don't try to cause problems."

 

Chen seemed displeased, but didn't say anything else. He instead chose to sit quietly in the corner of the room, just listening. He wouldn't help them, but he wouldn't hinder them either.

 

Seeing that Chen was done stirring up trouble Luhan turned his attention back to Lay.

 

"Continue."

 

Lay quickly nodded and began his explanation once again.

 

"As I was saying, it must be something extremely serious in order for Suzerain Erebus to be putting so much effort into finding you. Especially considering the fact that you have no idea what's going on. He's not someone who typically interferes with the things that take place throughout the realm. Therefore, we can assume that it is something serious. So serious that even the chance of you finding out what it is and actually doing it is threatening to him, no matter how unlikely it is. Ironically it was his desperation and fear that made us aware of the possibility of you changing the realm."

 

They all nodded in understanding, finally connecting all the dots. If Suzerain Erebus was getting involved then it was definitely serious.

 

"So what are we going to do about it?"

 

Luhan questioned.

 

"It's not like we can take on the entire realm."

 

They fell into a contemplative silence, broken a few minutes later by a derisive scoff resonating from the other side of the room.

 

"This is so ing painful. I can't believe I didn't realize how outrageously stupid you all are. I mean, I knew that she was dumb, but I thought the rest of you would have a little sense."

 

"Chen, if you're not going to say anything useful then shut the hell up."

 

Chen rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut none the less. Until almost ten minutes later when he really couldn't stand it anymore.

 

"This is ridiculous! As much as it pains me to help you all, it's ten times more painful to sit here while you all try hopelessly to figure something out. I mean really, it's so ing obvious!"

 

His exclamation was met with angry and confused stares, silently urging him to explain further.

 

"Don't you think one of the most important things to do would be to figure out what it is that she can do that is causing Suzerain Erebus to act this way? Once you figure out what he's freaking out about, you can decide what to do about it."

 

As the others thought about what he had said another question arose.

 

"How do we figure out what I can do though. It's not like you all can ask him. If you even act too curious about it he'll probably figure out what's going on."

 

"She has a point, how are we going to find out what she can do?"

 

Silence was the only response he received. It seemed as if every question they found an answer for simply brought up another question that was even harder to answer. At this rate they were never going to figure anything out.

 

They didn't know that Eve was keeping things from them. They weren't aware of the fact that she could travel between the realms. They didn't know that she was on the verge of an epiphany that would change everything for everyone. These things they knew nothing about, and that was why the series of events that would follow would shock them just as much as everyone else.

 

"I'm getting a headache, and clearly standing around just thinking about it isn't helping."

 

"Tao is right, this is getting us nowhere, let's just drop it for now. Who knows, maybe something will come to us later on."

 

With everyone in agreement the boys dispersed to do other things, leaving only Lay, Eve, and Chen in the room.

 

After almost fifteen minutes of uncomfortable silence Chen decided that now was the best time to speak his mind seeing as how Kris was no longer in hearing range.

 

“It's amazing you know.”

 

He waited until both Lay and Eve had turned their attention to him.

 

“How quickly you turned against me, how easy it was for you to betray me, how simple it was for you to abandon your so-called brother in favor of some girl from who knows where. Absolutely amazing. “

 

Before Lay could formulate a response, he started his rant once again with increased fervor.

 

“Think about it, how long have we known  each other? We've been protecting one another for years now, and you're willing to choose a girl you met less than a week ago over me? You could have at least made it seem like it was difficult for you to choose, could have acted like you weren't more than willing to stab me in the back and throw away our history! “

 

There was more, much, much more that he wanted to say, but Lay had heard enough.

 

“We have known each other for years, you're right, but half of that was spent fighting with each other and the other half fighting with other people! Plus, you're, the outlier, not me. Everyone else is trying to figure this out, you're the only one making a fuss about it! Think carefully Chen, are we betraying you, or are you betraying us?”

And with that Lay left, leaving behind a speechless Chen and a guilty Eve.

---

 

I'm not really happy with this chapter, but it's been forever so I figured I would put it up now. I might change it later though...