WARNING: This chapter may contain some themes that will make you feel uncomfortable, including some graphic death details. We have marked very clearly where the graphic content starts and where it ends in red so that you can enjoy the rest of the chapter.

“When Baekhyun met you… I don’t think he expected to fall in love. I don’t think he expected very much, to be honest. Let alone chasing you through your next fifty lives. When you came into his life he had already been infected for maybe 500 years, give or take. He met you before he even met me. I wasn’t even born then. Or, maybe I was… Either way, Baekhyun has known you for longer than he’s known anyone. At least, he gets to know you in each of your lives. Not much changes about you from life to life. You’re always the same person. You look the same, your personality is the same… The only thing that’s different is how you choose to live your life.

“The choice you made in that first life Baekhyun met you really struck a chord in him. His heart attached to yours very quickly. He fell in love harder than he ever had before. He told me all about it. Told me why it is that he chases after you.That is the story I would like to tell you. I don’t know what your name was then, but you were a prince, so I was told…”

“Your highness,” a man bowed lowly and Minseok turned his eyes towards him uninterested and detached.

“Yes?”

“We have found someone… Who says that he can heal your heart.”

Minseok’s eyes shifted from the man and he gazed out the window with a long sigh passing through his lips. He could care less for the man come to see him. Everyone tried to heal his heart, but it was all hopeless - a waste of efforts. He was dying, he knew it. He was too far gone for help.

He rested inside of his throne comfortably, legs pulled up to his chest, and frowned as he watched the sun dip below the mountains. The dark purples and blues painted the sky and tiny silver stars dotted the blackening canvas soon after that. He watched, lost deep in thoughts. He wondered how many of his ancestors rested among those stars. He wondered if he would be among the stars after he passed away. He wondered if he would leave this world as peacefully as the sun did each night. He wondered if maybe he would have another chance at life before becoming stardust...

“Why did we have to wait for nightfall before I could meet this man?” Minseok asked in slight annoyance, but his voice just came out sad and lonely.

“He… He doesn’t work during the day, your highness. He sleeps then.”

“How unusual.” he huffed, “Alright, send him in whenever he’s ready.” the young prince turned his eyes out the window and he stared at the silky black sky, white clouds passing over the shining quarter moon.

“Good evening,” the voice came, low and mysterious… It sounded so pleasant, so different…

Minseok’s eyes turned from the window and their eyes met for the very first time…

Dark, mysterious orbs that stared at Minseok’s chocolate brown irises. Both were completely fascinated by one another, completely lost in each other…

The candles flickered and the dim glow of the moon shone across the stranger’s face. The young prince’s lips parted slowly as if he wanted to say something, but his breath was taken away by the sight of this man before him beneath the cold glow of the distant moon. The milky white skin, the delicate, long fingers, the beautiful eyes that stared into his soul, the flawless complexion… This man was absolute perfection. Minseok’s heart skipped a beat and fluttered in his chest… Something within him felt drawn to this stranger. He wanted to know him, wanted to touch him, wanted to have him… Minseok shook his head embarrassed by his own thoughts.

The stranger felt his heart squeeze tightly in his chest and felt his body tense. Suddenly, he was filled with a great anxiety and nervousness he hadn’t felt before. This boy before him… He had seen that look in the eyes of so many others that he had encountered. Absent, empty, forlorn, hopeless… They were the eyes of someone who had given up on his life. And yet the man did not feel sorry for the boy in the slightest. He hurt inside. The innocence in this handsome prince’s face… He was too charming, too young, too small for these worries he carried with him. He had given up on his life all too soon and Baekhyun wanted to heal him. Really heal him. This was so much more than a physical case. This was the first time he had ever felt like he had to protect someone.

“You two were destined together from the beginning of time,” Chanyeol leaned back in his chair, a small smile on his lips, “Destined to be in love. Isn’t it a beautiful thing? You two connected in that moment. The stars aligned perfectly for you both, the cosmos fallen into place… Fate is so very lovely and so very wonderful.” the king sighed blissfully, “I wish you could remember what it was like in that second. What it was like to meet your soulmate.”

“Please, Chanyeol,” Minseok urged, “Continue the story…”

“You’re here to heal my heart?” Minseok asked, distancing his voice from his emotions, “You can save me? What’s your name?”

“My name is Byun Baekhyun and I can save anybody. For a price.”

Minseok sighed and slumped back into his throne, “There’s no point. Thank you for coming, but… No one can help me. I’m dying. I know I am. I’ve already accepted my fate.”

“Who says that’s your fate?”

Minseok was surprised, none of them had ever talked back to him like that, but he recomposed himself quickly, “I don’t know. God maybe?”

“Maybe I’m your fate.” The words slipped out of the stranger’s mouth and he felt himself perplexed by his own words. ‘Byun Baekhyun, did you really just say that?’

Minseok blushed and became flustered, but he tried to push his emotionless demeanour all the same, “Don’t say stupid things like that.”

Baekhyun took one step towards the boy who flinched in his throne, “Let me save your heart and then let me give you a reason to live. That is the price you will pay.”

The young prince blinked in absolute shock at the words he was hearing. This stranger was so unlike all of the men and women who had come to him with promises of saving his life. This stranger… Byun Baekhyun, this man was different. This man had Minseok unexpectedly falling in love.

“Coffee?” Yixing asked as he entered the room.

Chanyeol grinned and gestured to the table, “Thank you, Yixing~ah!”

Yixing bowed and left the room swiftly after whispering something against Chanyeol’s ear (who simply shrugged and waved him off). Minseok couldn’t help, but think that he looked really nervous as he left for some reason.

“Now, where was I…?” Chanyeol thought aloud.

“Is this okay?” Minseok asked, he was feeling shy, “Can we really do this?”

Baekhyun nodded and gently brushed his thumb over the boy’s neck, “Only if it’s okay with you. I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to. But I already told you, this is how I can heal your heart.” his voice was gentle as he spoke to the boy, hoping that this would relax him.

Minseok blushed, “Go ahead….”

There was a moment of hesitation. Absolute silence surrounded the both of them and the tension in the air grew heavy. Minseok’s heart pounded against his chest and Baekhyun could feel the pulse of the boy as he gently pressed his lips against the smoothness of his neck. Minseok’s breath hitched as he felt the two cold fangs poking against his skin, a restlessness filled his insides and he almost wanted to scream for him to just do it already.

As if he’d read his thoughts, Baekhyun sunk his teeth into the soft surface. The pain welled inside of Minseok, his eyes filled with tears and a scream tore through his lips. He grabbed at Baekhyun’s arms, crying out in pain until the man began to slowly the blood he had drawn. The discomfort slowly turned to euphoria and Minseok got lost in the feeling of it all.

Baekhyun was careful. He knew this was the first time Minseok had been bitten by a vampire. Vampires were rare and most humans didn’t know of their existence. Those who did killed them. However, this was the only way Baekhyun knew how to save his heart. He the poison up and tried to focus, but the more he drank and the more he felt the boy sigh in bliss underneath him, the more he fell astray. It didn’t bother him though, for in that moment he realized he could spend his entire life lost in Minseok.

“Don’t ever leave me,” Minseok whispered.

“I will always be with you.” Baekhyun smiled and caressed the boy’s face gingerly.

“He really saved my life like that?” Minseok asked, stunned by the story.

Chanyeol nodded, “He saved a lot of people like that. But, the story doesn’t exactly end there, Minseok. It gets a bit…” he thought for a moment, searching for the right word, “It gets darker than this. A lot darker.”

Hushed rumours filled the castle and it was talked about amongst the staff quarters in secret. It started with the butlers and the maids who caught glimpses of the two together, the doctor and the prince too close for their liking. They noticed the strange behaviour, the two of them up late into the night. Through the cracks in the locked doors, the household soon discovered the secret. That one of them was inhuman… That one of them drank blood to survive. Neither knew which exactly, both of their character seemingly suspicious. Those whisperings soon made their way into the village...

“Did you hear the rumors from the castle?”

“One of the maids says that they drink blood…”

“What?!”

“Who?”

“Either the prince or the stranger, no one knows…”

“How can we find out?”

“Maybe we should ambush them. Take them by surprise.”

“How do we get rid of it?”

“The blood-drinking demon? I don’t know.”

“I heard you treat them like you’d treat witches.”

“Burning them at the stake?”

“And piercing their hearts.”

It was late in the night when it happened. Minseok was laying in bed, Baekhyun beside him. They smiled at each other, fingers laced together. There was nothing more in life that they wanted than this. This was all Baekhyun had needed. To be absolutely and completely in love, to have someone that meant more to him than his own life. If he could, he would give it all to the boy. Everything. All of him. For now, all he had were parts of himself. He wanted to give more. He wanted to ask the boy if maybe he would like to become-

“What’s that sound?” Minseok asked sitting up in his bed, “It sounds like people…”

“Lay with me, Minseok…” Baekhyun smiled in a trance as if under a love spell, “I’m sure it’s nothing…”

Minseok smiled, but before he could rest once more, the doors to the room burst open and the two lovers felt everything fall apart in the next instant. The blood drained from Minseok’s face and everything ran cold inside of him. The mob outside the door wasted no time in grabbing ahold of the two and dragging them outside into the moonlight.  They were bound tight by ropes that burned their skin as they struggled against the restraints. Gags shoved into their mouths and fear filled their hearts.

Baekhyun’s eyes were stuck on Minseok. He felt his heart growing heavier as the sky began to turn cool shades of blue, a sign that the sun would be up soon. His only concern in that moment was that he would turn to dust and have to leave Minseok behind. Silent screams left his mouth as he struggled and tried to tell Minseok that he loved him, just one last time… Just one last time…

Minseok was beyond terrified. He wanted to rush to Baekhyun’s side and hold him in his arms. He wanted to protect him from these monsters… Wanted to do anything for the man who saved his heart and then stole it. Tears streaked down his face and he couldn’t stop himself from sobbing as hard as he tried to. Baekhyun was the love of his life… Baekhyun was his everything… He couldn’t face the rest of this life without him.

One man stepped out from amongst the crowds of people, “We’ve heard the whisperings of the castle! We want to know which one of you is the devil in disguise! Which one is it that drinks the blood of innocents?!”

The bitter words dug into Baekhyun’s soul, they referred to him so brutally. It hurt him on the inside. He knew what he had to do… He stumbled forward to reveal himself as the one… The one that deserved to die. However, he was hauled back almost immediately. He looked up in confusion only to see that Minseok had already thrown himself on his knees before the man.

‘No… Minseok no… Don’t do this…’

The gag was pulled harshly from the young prince’s mouth. He spit and coughed as he took in a deep breath, “It’s me!” he croaked.

The crowd gasped in shock and then quickly began chanting to tie him up. Baekhyun fought hard against the people holding him back, he couldn’t let this happen… Not to his other half… He couldn’t stand to live the rest of eternity knowing that the only person who had ever given him any real reason to breathe was taken from him like this.

‘Minseok, please… Stop, please… Let me save you...’

There was no stopping it.

/WARNING: Mildly Graphic Death Details/

Minseok was tied to a large wooden stake that protruded from the ground and Baekhyun’s heart shattered at the sight of the boy; terrified, crying and helpless against the crowd. The beasts were screaming at him to burn in Hell, to feel the wrath of those that had suffered because of him. Minseok took their words bravely, but Baekhyun could see it in his eyes… The sheer horror. One man stepped forward with a torch and set fire to the pile of wood beneath the boy and a shriek left the young prince’s lips as the flames ate at his feet, the pain was unbearable and it hurt him so bad…

‘Monsters… How could you?!’ Baekhyun sobbed, trying to spit out the gag and struggling harder to get to the boy, to save him… To protect him… The ropes dug into his wrists and two burly men strengthened their hold on him rendering it impossible for him to move in the slightest.

Minseok’s eyes searched the crowd wildly, his screams were lifting above the awful faces that twisted behind the smoke stinging his eyes. His cries for help and the crowds excited chants filled the silence of the night. Minseok found who he was looking for and gulped, trying to bite back his screams as he stared into the eyes of his beloved. His heart pounded against his chest and the tears wouldn’t stop, even with the heat eating away at him. The flames began to burn his legs, making him crumble, too weak to let his own body hold up his weight anymore.

The bright embers flicked into his face, the heat drying up the tears in his eyes as it crept higher and higher, burning his flesh and suffocating him slowly. Skin charring, changing from hot red to sickly black as he was consumed. None of that mattered as he saw Baekhyun kneeling there, because he was safe… He managed a sad smile before another scream ripped through him, the flames chewing away at his arms. Skin blistered, clothing scorched, the pain numbing his body almost entirely.

A group of six men gathered around the flaming mound all at once and blocked Baekhyun’s view. He wanted to yell for them to move, he wanted to see his precious love if only once more before he left this world. But mostly he wanted to yell at them to stop what they were doing. ‘You have the wrong person! It’s me! Leave him alone!’ but the gag choked him, the words only said with pleading eyes and in his mind. The six men held long wooden sticks that were sharpened at the tip and Baekhyun knew all too well what they would be used for. There was sickly feeling in his stomach and he felt liquid coming up into his throat as his stomach churned. He swallowed it back down hard. The stakes suddenly directed towards the boy who was screaming for Baekhyun, screaming for the pain to stop... One man started the countdown…

Three!

Baekhyun, I’m so sorry…

Two!

Minseok, please, please, please… NO!

One!

“Find me in my next life!” Minseok shrieked out the words for Baekhyun before each wooden stake pierced him, the boy falling into silence as they sliced through his fragile body. There was a convulsing and a slight twitch before he finally became still.

Baekhyun was cut loose, the gag and blood spilling from his mouth followed by ragged coughs and gasps for air. Before he could even catch his breath, he pushed past the crowd, stumbling helplessly to get a look at the young prince still bound to the wooden post. The flames engulfed him mercilessly. His face was barely recognizable, his body ruined and limp and destroyed… Blackened by the fire. The spears ripped deep into his small frame, tearing the hardened flesh, blood dripping onto what was left of him. One stake pierced through his abdomen, another two dug into his chest deeply, one through his right arm that splintered, another jabbed at his leg and cracked off in the flames and the last piercing right through the heart Baekhyun had saved…

No…

NO.

“You vile creatures!” Baekhyun’s voice tore through the murmurings of the crowd and they became quiet, the only thing that could be heard was the wood crackling beneath the heat of the fire, “What have you monsters done?! Look at what you have done!”

The singed rope bindings slowly gave way and Minseok’s body slumped from the post. He fell forward, the stakes that lunged into him hit the ground hard and propped up his body. They cracked beneath the weight and he slowly slipped further down the stakes so that he was now impaled. His blood thick and smeared against the shattering wood. Baekhyun could just barely make out the terror on his young face, his mouth fallen open in a permanent silent cry, behind the savage flames that continuously devoured his remains.

The man who had first accused them as devils, the one who had started the fire and the riots stood in front of Baekhyun and glared at him angrily, “What do you care? We’ve rid this town of a devil! We should be celebrating!”

Baekhyun felt an immense hatred possess him at the words of this disgusting man. He reached out, grabbing him by his neck, digging his long fingers into the flesh until it broke open under the pressure, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you…” he whispered wickedly before sinking his teeth into the cuts.

/WARNING END/

“Baekhyun destroyed all of them,” Chanyeol shivered and rubbed his arms in terror at the thought, “The pain of losing you was too much. He couldn’t handle it. They way they killed you so brutally…” he gulped and tried to keep the visions out of his head, “But more than taking his revenge on them, he promised himself to find you… Again and again… No matter how long it took. No one had ever sacrificed themselves like that for him before. He was determined to make you his again. It was almost thirty years before he saw your face once more… He didn’t stop after you passed away then either… He just kept coming after you. He’s madly and deeply in love even if he won’t admit it. Every time he finds you he falls for you even harder than before. I think that scares him the most. The fact that there’s no escape from you. The fact that he’s so vulnerable without you.”

Minseok was in shock… He couldn’t believe that this… This was his past... It was so much information to process and his entire being was shaking in shock. He wasn’t sure how to feel… Wasn’t sure how to believe in such a tale… Tears were spilling over his eyes and slipping down his cheeks as he silently cried. He his dry lips and reached for his now cold coffee with an unsteady hand hoping to try and wet his parched throat. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what… What could he say? He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the door of Chanyeol’s office slamming hard against the wall. Both Minseok and Chanyeol turned immediately in surprise towards the entrance.

A figure stood there looming, enraged... It didn't take long for Minseok to recognize who it was when he shouted angrily, “What the Hell, Chanyeol?!”

"Baekhyun..."

Silver: Hey guys! A quick update! We really hope you enjoyed the chapter! I, personally, won't be able to write for the next couple of days so I hope your guys give Tasha lots of support and love while I'm away! Thank you to all who read, subscribed, upvoted and/or commented! You guys rock! :-)

Tasha: First and foremost, I feel the need to apologize for the intensity of this chapter. Believe it or not, we did some very heavy editing and got rid of a lot of the graphic content that was originally written... So, I hope you don't find it too hard to read. Whenever we have any sort of graphic content, we promise to mark it for you guys. I don't want you feeling uncomfortable ;~; That being said, we hope you liked this chapter nonetheless! And thank you so much for the support, it really keeps us going! ^^ xo