The Sirens are immortal and do not believe in Heaven nor Hell. Instead they have Yongheng, an eternity for wandering souls, lost without a shell.

-Pain and Power: the Empire of the Sirens by Park Chanyeol

The garden was where Yixing always went when he needed refuge from reality; he could find peace within the various bonsais and exotic plants. But recently, even this place failed him. He stared at his reflection in the pond, warped from the movements of the fish caught inside.

He liked to think of himself as a good person -- better and more kind-hearted than his family and peers. But watching the fish, he couldn't help but realize he was the same, just on a smaller level. There was an entire sea, and yet the fish could only look at it from behind the barrier of magic, struggling against the magic for the entirety of their short and miserable lives. He had trapped them there so he could watch them, so they could entertain him. He thought he was more noble, but he was even more pathetic.

It was laughable. It truly was.

But what could he do? He wasn't as strong and courageous as his brother, he didn't care for his power. He just wished to be with the one he loved, but Yifan was dead. Disposed of by Yixing's father like the lowly human he was. Yixing should've learned then, but he didn't and he didn't care.

Sighing heavily, he wondered if he should expand the pond and give the fish some more space to live out their caged lives. But then he heard footsteps and the thought dispelled.

“Luhan?” he asked, not turning around.

“My dear son, Yixing.”

His eyes widened and fear immediately rose in him until he was sure his entire aura was clouded by the emotion. The Emperor never stepped out from his palace and this . . .

But before he could spin around and bow, his father was beside him. “What a lovely pond.”

“Y-yes,” Yixing stammered. “Thank you, Father.”

The Emperor shifted, devouring the space between father and son and Yixing was so scared. “Does that one have a name?” Suho questioned, gesturing at the gold koi fish.

“Yes, Father. Her name is Mae.” This conversation -- this visit -- was so out of the ordinary and, in the Siren Empire where nothing changed for centuries, it gave Yixing the sense of impending doom.

“Dear, do not be so scared,” the Emperor murmured, placing a hand on Yixing's shoulder. A shock of coldness spread throughout his body and Yixing shuddered involuntarily. “If I had wanted to punish you for your offenses, I would not do it personally. I merely wish to-”

But then there was a deafening noise.

And a blinding light.

And blinding pain.

And darkness.

~ ~ ~

Xiumin didn't hear the key turn and didn't hear the door open, but there Luhan was, shaking.

“Are- are you okay?” he asked, taking in Luhan's state. The halo of light flickered madly, flashing on and off, illuminating the Prince's haggard face one second and casting it into shadows the next.

“Yixing. He died.”

Those words meant nothing to Xiumin, who never truly knew the late Prince, but coupled with Luhan's impossible brokenness, he felt his heart break too.

“What?” Xiumin stood up, reaching for the Prince, but Luhan pushed him down and fell onto the stone slab instead. “How?”

“He killed Yixing,” Luhan forced out, not caring to conceal his anger. His eyes glimmered with unshed tears, but the pure anger managed to shine through, piercing into Xiumin's heart. He awkwardly pulled Luhan into a hug, trying to imitate the way he was always held.

“You can cry,” he murmured, ignoring the horrible irony of his statement.

“No. I can't cry,” Luhan said defiantly even as he put all his weight onto Xiumin, using the other as support. “I can't let Yixing die in vain.”

“You won't,” Xiumin reassured. “We won't.”

The ghost of a smile appeared on the Siren's face. “You will stand by my side, right? Do you promise to help me?”

“I promise I'll do whatever I can to help you.”

The smile grew a little bigger. “Thank you, Xiumin.”

“What will I have to do?”

The small smile that tugged at Xiumin's heartstrings faltered slightly. “I can't tell you until I'm certain it will work.”

Xiumin dared to kiss the other softly and vowed to do whatever he could to end the Emperor's cruelty.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Like most mansions, the Kim house had a basement full of stuff. There was a mini noraebang and theater with an amazing sound system, some saunas, a pool and a pool table. Jongin loved that part of the house. He knew that if he was a typical teenager, he could easily become the most popular guy in school just by hosting a party there.

But as it was, he wasn't a typical teenager, he didn't really have friends, and the room that he loved the most was the training room. Mannequins and targets were scattered throughout that room and various weapons adorned the four walls -- daggers, swords, arrows, darts, guns. Being in the basement, there were no windows, only being lit by the dim fluorescent lights in the ceiling.

It didn't bother Jongin though, because he liked the dark. He found refuge in the dark and it gave him peace. It let him rest his eyes and empty his thoughts and made him feel as if he was in his own world. But recently, his own world was depressing as hell. The beautiful deadly things shimmering on the wall, as if trying to entice him, begging him to wrap his hands around the hilts and take revenge and let blood shed, made everything worse.

He walked around, hand brushing the hilt of an ornamental sword, before heading towards the exercise machines. He stepped onto the treadmill, turning the speed up until he was sprinting to keep up. He could almost feel wind against his face, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't shake away those thoughts, couldn't leave behind the past, couldn't escape this life. Even with the dim lights, it was too dark and the room was a black hole, him into an abyss of depression.

Suddenly, his phone -- thrown carelessly on the ledge and forgotten there -- rang and Jongin stabbed at the button of the treadmill until it was at a more manageable speed.

“Hello?” he gasped out.

“Are you okay?”

Kyungsoo.

“Y-yeah. I'm just working out,” Jongin said between breaths, and it wasn't a lie for once. The beat of silence that followed allowed him to wonder why the other was calling him. Kyungsoo usually wasn't the proactive one.

“Uh . . . I got tickets to a ballet,” Kyungsoo said awkwardly. “For us. For tonight.”

“Really?” Jongin exclaimed, feeling a bit excited.

"So, uh . . . see you then?"

"Yes!"

a lot of fluff in the coming chapters~