The substance was a thick syrup, catching on his dry throat as it went down. The discomfort choked him and he wondered how long it had been since his last drink. He sprang upright, tears in his eyes, his throat now raw from the coughing fit that strangled him. Luhan beat on his back, offering him a glass of water for relief. He took the glass, coughing into it as he forced the liquid down.

“How are you feeling?” Luhan asked, his voice soft.

Sehun shook his head, wiping his arm on his lips. “I could be better.”

Lay chuckled faintly, putting a hand on Suho’s shoulder. “Was that all the root you found? He’ll be needing more of it later, I’m afraid.”

“What was that stuff?” Sehun’s face was wrinkled, his lips stretched into a strange frown. “That could wake the dead.”

A weak laugh erupted from Kris. “It may as well have. Glow root sap, baby bro.” His smile failed to reach his eyes. When Sehun’s gaze met his, he looked down at the folds in the bedding. He couldn’t look at him.

“I only have one other root. I’ll go dive for more tomorrow if you need it,” Suho answered between the others conversing.

“Grab as much as you can without killing yourself. I don’t know how long the sap will work. Hopefully his body doesn’t become immune to it,” Lay was washing out the dishes he used to make the medicine, eyes on Sehun. “He’ll be lucky if it stays effective for a week, let alone any longer. But look at him; he still has the discoloration.”

Back by the staircase, Tao listened, keeping his distance. He didn’t know, but part of him was certain the sap couldn’t do anything for Sehun other than treat the fever and the pain. The Red Force was a living entity, much more than a virus. It would claim Sehun’s heart and he wouldn’t feel a thing. At least it would be a painless death.

He went down the stairs and into the darkness of the kitchen. The moonlight pouring in from the window was all he needed. It was easier to think this way. What could they do to slay an evil like the Red Force? Something dark and alien? Exo had never seen a monstrosity like this before. It was totally foreign, completely beyond their realm of knowledge. Tao would need to go back to the day it first came, and for that he would need Kai. Chen, too, wherever he was.

A light came down the stairs, pulling Tao out of his concentration. Sehun was coming down the stairs, a lantern in hand and knees shaking. There wasn’t a reason for him to be walking around, but he was so stubborn. He would do whatever he wanted, even if his body was against it.

Sehun came to the table at the center of the kitchen were Tao was sitting, taking a seat on the other side and setting the lantern down between them. “You’re still in one piece, right?”

“Don’t ever do something so stupid again.”

Sehun scoffed, amused. “A simple ‘thank you’ will do.”

Cat-like eyes saw right through him, stabbing his frail body. “You aren’t very smart.”  

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that you’re a damn idiot. Don’t ever put yourself in the line of fire for someone else ever again. Especially in your pathetic condition.”

“If I hadn’t done that, you’d be dead right now.” Sehun’s lips had turned upwards into a snarl. He never handled criticism well.

Tao’s brows raised. “Is that so? You know this for a fact now? Look at you, you can barely get down a flight of stairs and you look like a corpse. You’re holding your brothers back with your acts of ‘heroism.’ Stop giving them a reason to stress over you.” He stood, heading outside to be alone again.

Sehun sat by the lantern-light, staring at the cracks in the table. He replayed Tao’s words over and over again. At the top of the stairs, Luhan called down: “Hey, Sehun, are you alright?”

His voice was stern. “I’m fine.”

~  ~

Kai found him exactly where he’d expected to see him. He was shivering in the cold midnight breeze, cape ripped and unable to serve its purpose. It still smelled of ash and death. Everything here smelled like horror. His eyes focused on the smoke that still rose from the glowing embers; the fire was burning yet.

“Chen…” Kai called, the wind carrying his voice away. He called again. “Chen, what are you doing here?”

But he knew. He knew why he always came back to this place. He knew why he couldn’t look anyone in the eye. Knew why he barely spoke.

Taking a seat beside him in the ruins and decay, Chen finally spoke out of the silence. “I don’t have any right to be a Legend.”

Kai didn’t have anything to say. He would’ve liked to give him some hope, some encouragement, anything to light a spark in him again. Yet the words didn’t come. The ocean washed all his thoughts away before he could grasp them.

“I couldn’t even protect four girls, Kai.” The corners of his lips, once shaped in a permanent smile, now quivered with grief. “They couldn’t even get laid to rest properly, we had to burn their bodies. Condemned them to a coffin of fire and here I am trying to put it out with tears—how pathetic am I?”

“You can’t keep blaming yourself for what happened. They were capable—our equals. It wasn’t your job to protect them, Chen, stop putting that burden on yourself. The guilt is just gonna kill you.” He put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly through the faint vibrations of electrical current.

Chen took a deep breath, swallowing back his sadness. “How are the others? Is Sehun still standing?”

Kai nodded, though he knew Chen couldn’t see it. “When I left, Lay was making him a remedy from glow root sap. Not sure if it worked or not, but knowing Lay, I’m sure it’ll do for now. You need to come back, we can’t keep fighting without you. To be honest, you’re much more useful than I am.”

“It just gets so hard sometimes; fighting that horrible feeling that keeps coming back. You weren’t there to see Li’s face when it came for her. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. She’d never lost control of her body from her powers before. I should have known this tragedy was coming but I just… I just assumed everything would be okay.” His voice became a whisper. “I was so wrong.”

Kai looked into the remains of the pyre, sighing. “Well, you’ll probably think about it all the time, for the rest of your life. But it’s not okay to let it eat you alive and get you and the rest of us killed. Do you really want the girls, the Elder Legends, the Masters, all to have died for nothing? At the very least we can try and beat this… thing, whatever the hell it is. All’s my power is good for is running away, but I’m not going to.”

Rain began to fall on their heads, making craters in the white ashes. Chen smiled weakly, the cold of the rainwater stinging as it hit his skin between the tears in his clothes. “It’ll finally stop burning.” He stood, smile ear to ear, lips trembling. “Take me back, I’m ready to go.”

~  ~

“Kris told me an interesting story about you the other day,” Sydney started out of nowhere, pulling Sehun out of his trance. He caught her smiling brightly at him, eyes suggesting this was something he should know about.

He smiled awkwardly. “And what was that?”

She sat upright, taking her weight off her forearms. “You had this little quirk about you as a child, before you could totally control your power.”

“Oh, that.” He closed his book, leaning into it on his lap. “I don’t really get what’s so fascinating about it.”

“It’s just cute, is all.” Sydney smiled at him again, staring.

“What?”

“I bet you still do it all the time, don’t you?”

He shook his head, his eyes smiling despite his bashful behavior. “No, I don’t ever—”

“Oh, stop lying, Sehun! I know you better than that. You think you’re some big tough, serious guy, but I can see right through it. Besides, you don’t have to be embarrassed of it. Loosen up a little.”

He didn’t return eye contact, laughing under his breath. She was right, he didn’t need to be embarrassed of it, but he was for whatever reason.

Sydney continued. “I can just picture it: a little baby Sehun giggling in the street surrounded by leaves swirling ‘round and ‘round in tiny whirlwinds. I wish I had a video of it, it sounds absolutely adorable.”

“Shut up, Syd,” he laughed, his hands coming up towards his face as he laughed.

“The wind has always reflected your emotions, hasn’t it?” she asked as their laughter began to fade.

He nodded. “Yeah. Well, just strong emotions. The whirlwind thing… it doesn’t happen as often now that I’m older.”

“He was a really happy baby, though.” Luhan had appeared from behind the purple leaves of the bushes lining the pathway. “He laughed at everything, honestly. Mom got so frustrated with me and Kris. We’d always make him laugh until he’d run off to the bathroom and the house would be in shambles by the time we were done,” he and Sehun chuckled together, the latter’s ears turning red.

Luhan sat next to them at the bottom of the stone steps. “Luckily, your power wasn’t anything too destructive as a child. I’ve heard some horror stories. I’d tell you about them, but I think it’d be too personal for me to share.”

“I don’t really want to imagine the horrors Chanyeol probably went through,” Sydney thought aloud, leaning her weight into the steps behind her again.

“A lot of us are lucky to have funny stories. Like Baekhyun, for instance, who thought he was a fairy for the longest time. You know his skin glows, right?” Luhan grinned, his voice light.

Sehun burst out laughing. “A fairy? He’s more like a poltergeist if anything.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely got the devil in his eyes,” Sydney agreed. “So what, he glows in the dark?”

The blonde nodded his head. “Yup. It’s nothing super bright. Just a faint glow, but it’s much more noticeable in the dark. There is one person who’s had a really bad experience, but he won’t tell anyone what happened. And we only know because a Legend told us.”

“Told who? About who?” Sydney was leaning towards Luhan now, voice low.

“Me and Lay. Jonghyun told us. Whatever it was, I’m sure that’s why he is the way he is. It was Tao. I can only imagine what happened.” Luhan’s voice trailed off, eyes squinting in the sunlight.

“I always just thought he was an ,” Sehun said after a short silence. It was so blunt, they couldn’t help but laugh at it.

Luhan got back on his feet, stretching his arms. “Don’t be like that, Sehun. There’s usually a reason why people are bitter. His power is Time. I have no idea what kind of things he can do with it, but whatever it was, Jonghyun said it was horrible. He was just a child and he saw or did something so bad it made him that way. Don’t judge him so harshly, alright?” His smile was warm before he waved his arms and headed on his way, leaving them with their curiosity and unanswered questions.

~  ~

Cold rainwater had drenched him, his hair clinging to his face and his fists clenched to fight off the shivers. Every nerve in his body begged him to go inside where it was warm, but he was too stubborn. He didn’t want to go back inside. He didn’t want to be around those people, didn’t want them talking to him, asking him questions, worrying about him, yelling at him, whatever it was they wanted. He refused to go back inside if he could help it. He’d rather freeze.

Snap. Kai and Chen were suddenly standing before him, a faint puff of smoke whisping by in their wake. They were just as drenched as Tao was, clothes hanging off of them, heavy. It was as though they knew he was waiting for them.

“Why are you standing in the rain?” Chen asked.

Tao didn’t even acknowledge his question. “I need you two to come with me.”

“Where?”

“We need to go to the Tree. I need to see something.”

“Why do you need us for that?” Kai asked, body trembling in the cold.

“I’ll need you to get us there. I don’t have time for all the traveling by foot. And I need Chen to open the gates; the electricity’s still out. Feel free to leave me as soon as I get in, but I need you to get that far.”

Chen and Kai looked at each other, Tao staring at the two of them and fully aware of what it was he was asking.

“You know that’s a death wish, right?” Chen told him more than asked.

Tao nodded. “Yes, I know. That’s why I said you could leave me as soon as I got past the gates. I wouldn’t ask you if I could do it alone.”

Kai sighed. “We’ll take you and we’re not gonna leave you. It’s the most violent place right now. But what are you even looking for?”

He was silent for a moment. People kept asking him questions he didn’t have answers for. “I really don’t know. An answer? You can’t study something from afar, the Masters should have taught you that much.”

“You’re not allowed to die.” Chen’s voice was stern. It was a command more than anything, maybe a plea at the very least.

He didn’t respond. Didn’t even budge an inch. Tao remained still as stone, jaw clenched to stop the chattering of teeth. The cold was getting unbearable.

“When do we leave?” Kai asked, walking towards the door.

“First thing in the morning. As soon as the sun is up. We don’t have time to waste, right?” The two nodded, heading inside where it was warm and bright. But Tao stayed out in the rain. He was stubborn, and refused to go back inside to face the rest of them. He’d rather freeze.

~  ~

During training, Chanyeol had started visiting the glow trees all alone. It wasn’t that he didn’t have friends—he was close with all the others. He just appreciated the silent company of the trees. They had an understanding and a wisdom that seemed to resonate deep inside of him. He just felt their consciousness, and that was enough for him.

He sat in its embrace. The thing about glow trees was that they were warm. They were very much a conscious entity. They could even move a bit if they wanted to.

“I probably shouldn’t be sitting here with you, huh? Wouldn’t want to set you on fire or anything. That’d be awful,” Chanyeol began rambling, growing more comfortable in its arms. He could feel the tree begin to stir a bit. “I didn’t wake you, did I? I’m sorry, buddy. I wouldn’t have come if I would have known. Aah, now I feel pretty bad.” He scratched his head, standing to his feet.

But the glow tree extended a branch out to him, gently wrapping around his wrist and bringing him back down to his seat.

“I guess it’s alright then?” he asked, getting comfortable again. The tips of its branches glowed bright as if to answer him.

Chanyeol laughed. “You’re so cool, Glow Tree. It’s pretty awesome of you to always have time for me. You’re probably pretty lonely, not being able to walk and go talk to people whenever you want, huh? I’ll come visit even more often.”

He trailed off. There was something he wanted to talk to the tree about, but he was too shy to say the words out loud. Almost like he thought the tree was going to laugh at him, somehow.

The glow tree’s trunk rumbled, urging him to say it. The tree knew him so well, it could always tell when Chanyeol had something he needed to say, to confess, to vent. Chanyeol considered the tree a close friend, by now. Someone precious to him, even.

“I feel weird saying this but… I’m actually kind of scared. You know, of being a Legend. I know I probably shouldn’t, things have always been good here, right? Bad things don’t happen on Exo. Hell, I probably won’t even become a Legend, especially if I can’t stop setting things on fire. But I just… I keep getting this really bad feeling, you know? Like,” his eyes squinted as he thought hard, “like, I can’t imagine what my future is gonna be like. I can’t picture my life in two years. I feel like it’ll never happen. Is that normal?”

The trees branches swayed and the tips of its branches glowed bright for him.

“So it is normal? To feel that way?” He sat back down, cozy in the trunk of the tree. “That’s kind of nice to hear. I’m still kind of scared, though. I don’t wanna die in a million years,” he grinned. “Maybe I’ll stop trying to be a Legend and I’ll just become a tree.”

The glow tree shook its leaves and it sounded like laughter.

Chanyeol laughed, too. “Pretty good idea, right? I’d make a good tree, don’t you think? I think so.” He looked up at the sky, the tails of falling stars shining in his eyes. “I could get used to the view, too. And the breeze is nice. You have it good, Glow Tree. A really peaceful existence.”

His eyes grew heavy as his body grew warmer. The glow tree became dim, its lights almost going out. Chanyeol yawned, the fatigue taking over his body, and he and the glow tree fell asleep together.