Kyuhyun wasn’t sure how far they had run, or for how long, but because the forest had become wetter the fire had begun to die out, no longer having enough fuel to feed their hungry mouths. They stopped just as they reached a stream, collapsing on the side, spent from having run so far and for so long.  

 

Sungmin wobbly pushed himself to his feet and began clearing the air and almost immediately Kyuhyun’s lungs seemed to clear, the harsh soot and smoke clearing itself from his throat. He dragged himself over to the river and scooped some up in his hands, bringing it to his mouth and drinking the delicious liquid.

 

Sungmin joined him and they both drank in silence for a few moments, gathering their remaining energy and clearing their lungs.

 

“Are you okay?” Kyuhyun asked as he wiped his mouth, breathing in the fresh air.

 

“I’m fine,” Sungmin replied with a small smile. “How about you?”

 

Kyuhyun just shook his head. The realization that they had left Leeteuk and Kangin, both injured and unable to run, in the flames crushed him. He felt like such a horrible person. He was still drowning in his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he jumped.

 

“There was nothing you could do,” Sungmin whispered, rubbing him comfortingly on the back. “It wasn’t your fault.”

 

Kyuhyun looked at him and Sungmin frowned. He could tell tell he was having a hard time with this and Sungmin didn’t like the sadness that was radiating off him. Having the urge to make him feel better, he racked his brain for something to do and stood up.

 

“I’ll be right back,” he mumbled as he started walking off into the forest. When he came back Kyuhyun was still staring blankly into space. “Hey, help me with this,” Sungmin said as he nudged Kyuhyun with his foot.

 

Kyuhyun glanced up at him, raising his eyebrows. “What’s that for?” He asked when he saw the large leaf he was holding.

 

Sungmin ignored him and held out his hand. “Bag,” he said. Kyuhyun dumbly handed him his bag and watched as he picked through his things. “This should work,” he mumbled as he pulled out a candle.

 

He then kneeled next to the river and motioned for Kyuhyun to come over as well.

 

When he walked over Sungmin placed the large leaf onto the water and then the candle in the middle of it. “Here,” he handed over a match.

 

Kyuhyun blinked before taking the match and lighting it. He then leaned over the edge and lit the candle. He sat back, watching the light dance across the leaves in the darkening night, transfixed.

 

Sungmin leaned forward next to him and placed two beautiful white carnations next to the candle. “White carnations, for we will always remember Leeteuk and Kangin.”

 

He then cupped his hands and blew gently at the floating leaf. It began to float away, the light casting beautiful shadows on the two flowers which looked anything but lonely. They had each other, and that was all that mattered as they floated down the river.

 

Kyuhyun watched until the two flowers disappeared. He glanced up and smiled at Sungmin. “Thanks.”

 

The two had had a short meal of whatever food they had left before they decided they needed to rest. Kyuhyun finished up a peach they had found while he watched Sungmin walking around them in a large circle.

 

“What are you doing?” Kyuhyun asked, feeling a lot better.

 

“I’m creating an air sensor,” Sungmin explained, sounding more exhausted than he had in days as he walked around in a circle as if tracing an imaginary wall. “So if anything comes I’ll be able to sense it.”

 

“Can you teach me?” Kyuhyun requested, giving him an encouraging smile.

 

Sungmin nodded and began explaining how to create a wall around them that was attached back to them and would alert them if anyone crossed it.

 

Kyuhyun had been paying attention, he really had, but his eyes began to close and exhaustion began to take over. Sungmin smiled and stopped talking, just watching as Kyuhyun collapsed into a heap and fell into slumber.

 

There was a loud crash and Kyuhyun’s eyes shot open. A similar crash sounded as he quickly sat up, looking around wildly. It was then that he noticed Sungmin was already up and slowly standing up, his hand reaching for the katana at his waist.

 

“What was that?” Kyuhyun asked groggily, still exhausted for it was in the middle of the night and they had only gotten a few hours of sleep.

 

“Kyuhyun, get up,” Sungmin ordered, his eyes observing the forest for any signs of movement. There was another crash, closer this time and Sungmin zeroed in on it, his grip tightening on the katana.

 

Kyuhyun tiredly picked himself up, wiping his eyes. “What’s going on?” He asked.

 

“I don’t know,” Sungmin said as he hesitantly moved closer to Kyuhyun, still searching the undergrowth. They stood stock still, waiting for any more crashes but the forest was silent.

 

Sungmin slowly released his grip on his weapon, glancing around, biting his lip.

 

“What WAS that?”  Kyuhyun asked, slightly more awake now as he rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up.

 

Sungmin sighed, rubbing his eyes also. Kyuhyun could see the dark circles under his eyes from the past few days. “I have no clue. The last time I was here I was only in the Forest of Death for a few hours, and nothing happened. Maybe it was the monsters that live here? I’m surprised we haven’t been attacked yet-Kyuhyun, move!”

 

There was a loud crash somewhere in the forest close to them and then the sound of a tree breaking. Sungmin grabbed Kyuhyun’s arm and threw them both to the left. Right where they had been only moments ago a large tree, broken at the trunk, now lay.

 

“Are you okay?” Sungmin gasped with his heart beating fast. “We need to get away from here, it’s too dangerous. We’ll find somewhere safer to stay…” His voice faded, his eyes wide as he looked somewhere behind Kyuhyun. He quickly fumbled for his arm again, grabbing on tight.

 

“Run,” he whispered before they were off again.

 

They raced through the trees, not even knowing which direction they were going in as loud crashes followed in their wake, sounding strangely like footsteps. “Don’t look back,” Sungmin had warned, but Kyuhyun felt himself slowly looking over his shoulder to see what was chasing them.

 

He shouldn’t have.

 

It was a tyrannosaurus rex.

 

Kyuhyun felt a scream rising in his throat but Sungmin gave a quick yank to his arm and pulled him in another direction, ducking behind a cluster of trees. The two held their breath as the dinosaur crashed through the forest past them.

 

Kyuhyun was still holding his breath when Sungmin poked him in the arm and pointed behind them. They had somehow run downhill and next to them was a mountain that curved dangerously upward, but was still climbable. What attracted his eye though was a rectangle shaped door made out of rock imbedded in the mountain side nearly fifty feet up.

 

“The gate,” Sungmin whispered, grabbing Kyuhyun’s arm again and pulling him toward the rocky slope. “It’s the gate to the second level. We need to go. Now.”

 

“You go first, hurry up,” Sungmin said as he pushed Kyuhyun forward. He unsteadily grabbed onto the slope and started climbing upward. He glanced down, nervous. Sungmin gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you,” he promised.

 

They were up a good fifteen feet when there was a loud crash behind them and the sound of something very large hitting the wall. Kyuhyun lost his grip on the wall, the harsh rock cutting through the skin on his hands, and just as he was about to fall backwards a strong gust of wind sent him flying up another five feet.

 

“Climb!” Sungmin yelled, his voice sounding strangely faraway.

 

Kyuhyun continued upward, gripping onto the wall for dear life. He glanced down and suddenly wished he hadn’t. He must be about forty feet up now and the tree tops looked particularly sharp if he happened to fall, and if he hit the ground he was sure he would die.

 

He snapped out of his frozen state when he saw Sungmin, much farther down than he should be, grabbing onto the rock side with one hand while he tried to slash at the dinosaur with his katana in his other hand.

 

“Sungmin!” Kyuhyun yelled, not knowing what to do. He tried calling up the wind or anything to help him but he had no clue how to use his Child of Air powers so he was completely useless. He even tried to get his bow out but it was impossible to climb a wall without hands.

 

“Keep climbing!” Sungmin yelled as he managed to land a blow, leaving a large cut on the dinosaur’s nose. The tyrannosaurus rex cried in pain as it backed up and Sungmin and Kyuhyun took the chance to climb up higher than before.

 

There was a flash of light and Kyuhyun pulled himself close to the wall, closing his eyes as the light became blinding. When the light had faded he blinked, trying to clear his vision and looked around. “Sungmin hyung?”

 

There was a loud crash as the dinosaur rammed hard against the wall, both of them too high up to be reached.

 

“Look out!” Kyuhyun looked behind him and was met with the sight of a short man with blonde and brown hair grinning at him.  Two large gray wings that sprouted out of his back were keeping him aloft. He waved.

 

“I am Jonghyun, the protector of the gate to Level two.” He held out his hand, a light forming in his palm. The light disappeared and in its place was a sword covered in feathers. The feathers then began to peel away to reveal a sharp silver blade underneath. Jonghyun smiled. “Let’s play.”

 

Kyuhyun dodged to the side as the blade slammed into the rock next to him, letting off a loud echoing clang. As Jonghyun struggled to pull the sword out of the rock Kyuhyun started climbing again, for the door was less than ten feet above him.

 

He let out a string of swear words as Jonghyun grabbed onto his leg, attempting to pull him off.

 

“Kyuhyun!” Kyuhyun heard Sungmin’s warning and pushed himself against the rocks again. Then there was a cry as a large gust of wind swept past him, almost making him lose his grip, and Jonghyun was thrown into the air.

 

Trusting Sungmin would save him if he slipped he started climbing again, desperate to get to the door. It didn’t even seem like a door, only just a door shape carved into the rock. When he finally made it he was at loss, how was he supposed to open it? Where a door knob should go there was a small indent that was the shape of a circle surrounded by runes carved into the stone.

 

Kyuhyun could hear the flap of Jonghyun’s wings as he came back at them. He grabbed onto the rock wall tighter when the dinosaur slammed itself into the wall again. “Sungmin, what do I do?” He yelled, clinging on harder as the dinosaur hit the wall again and again.

 

“You open it!” Sungmin yelled, sounding closer.

 

“I know THAT!” Kyuhyun yelled back indignantly. “But there’s no door knob! There’s just this little hole!”

 

“WHAT?” Kyuhyun could tell Sungmin had no clue of what to do either. What were they going to do now?

 

“Kyuhyun look out!” Sungmin was too late for when Kyuhyun turned around Jonghyun grabbed his collar and yanked him off of the stone wall, his hands grasping at air.

 

Kyuhyun froze, afraid that if he would move Jonghyun would lose his grip and he would fall. Jonghyun smiled at him, grinning. “I’m glad we had this fun, but I think it’s time for you to go,” he sneered.

 

It was only when Jonghyun shook Kyuhyun that he saw the glint of silver flash around his neck and his eyes widened. “Sungmin!” He yelled, lifting a hand up as he attempted to grab Jonghyun. “It’s his necklace! It’s the key!”

 

Sungmin watched in horror as Jonghyun glared at Kyuhyun, wrenched his hands off his clothing before throwing him through the air where he went crashing toward the treetops.

 

“Kyuhyun!”

 

It was as if Sungmin was watching in slow motion as he tried to call on his wind powers to save him. He sent a blast of air to cushion under Kyuhyun but before he could do anymore Jonghyun had him.

 

“Now it’s your turn,” Jonghyun said, amused as he turned to Sungmin and attacked. Out of thin air three feathers appeared in his hand and he flung them at Sungmin who quickly dropped a few feet, wincing when the three feathers cut through the stone and imbedded inside it.

 

“Bastard,” Sungmin hissed as he pushed off the stone. In midair he pulled out his katana and slashed at him. He cut through Jonghyun’s wing, blood splattering on his clothes. Then using the wind he pushed himself back to the wall. Before Jonghyun could attack he swung at him again, successfully landing another hit, cutting off a large part of Jonghyun’s other wing.

 

Before Sungmin could jump backwards Jonghyun raced forward and slammed Sungmin into the rock wall with so much force that they broke some of the stones. “Look what you did to my wing!” He screamed as a feather, about the size of a knife, appeared in his hands. Baring his incisor sharp teeth at him he brought the feather up and slashed downward, cutting through the layers of clothes he was wearing and through his chest.

 

Sungmin bit the inside of his mouth, tasting blood. He grabbed Jonghyun’s arm, trying to pull his other arm free. He could feel Jonghyun’s sharp nails digging into the soft skin of his arm.

 

 Jonghyun pressed him back into the rocks, the sharp broken pieces pressing into Sungmin’s back. With what looked like fangs Jonghyun tried to rip at his neck, coming dangerously close.

 

Sungmin leaned backward, trying to get out of the way of Jonghyun’s teeth before slamming his head forward, their foreheads connecting. Jonghyun howled in pain, blood falling from the new wound on his forehead as he let go, flying backwards.

 

Without anything holding him there Sungmin felt himself falling. Because of the blood loss in his chest and the head wound he was having a hard trouble clearing his thoughts and calling upon his power. Using the limited power he had left he threw himself toward the wall, grabbing on. He felt the sharp stone cut into his palms as he tried to stop his falling.

 

“You’ll pay for that!” Jonghyun screamed. Sungmin turned around, spotting Jonghyun flying down toward him, bloody wings extended. He pulled a knife out, holding it out in front of him as he tried to stay attached to the rocky wall.

 

Just as Jonghyun was only a foot away an arrow came out of nowhere and imbedded in Jonghyun’s wing, throwing the man, or whatever he was, against the rock wall. Another arrow flew up and shot in his arm, pinning him against the wall.

 

“Kyuhyun?” Sungmin whispered in relief when he recognized the arrows. Looking around he almost let go of the wall when he saw him.

 

He was flying.

 

“How are you DOING that?” Sungmin asked when he saw Kyuhyun flying, or what looked like walking, toward him, arrow knocked.

 

“I have no clue,” Kyuhyun said with the largest grin on his face that Sungmin had ever seen. “Now, we’ll take that,” he said as he leaned forward and plucked the silver necklace off of Jonghyun’s neck. At the end of the necklace was a key with a circular ball at the end.

 

Jonghyun howled in pain as he slashed out at Kyuhyun who merely stepped out of the way.

 

“Come on, hyung,” Kyuhyun said as he flew down to Sungmin, grabbing him under the arms and pulling him into the air. Sungmin just hoped he wasn’t too heavy. “You’re pretty heavy,” Kyuhyun muttered and Sungmin punched him.

 

As they passed Jonghyun who was swearing like crazy at them, Sungmin grinned and was unable to resist sticking his tongue out at him.

 

Kyuhyun brought them up to the door and he let go of Sungmin who attached himself to the wall. Sungmin motioned for him to do it when he tried to hand it in. Kyuhyun took a deep breath before inserting the key. As soon as it touched it disappeared. He was about to ask what was going on when a blinding light began to come from the cracks in the rock and Kyuhyun had to cover his eyes as the light got brighter.

 

When he opened his eyes he was standing in a completely white room on a white platform. The room seemed all too familiar and he remembered this was where he had been when he had almost died.

 

Wondering if somehow Jonghyun had somehow killed him before they opened the door he was about to say something when a fuzzy outline began to form before him. Watching curiously he waited until the outline formed a beautiful woman with flowing blue clothes. She was tall and thin with a very poised and royal aura and her long black hair flowed around her as if underwater. She was wearing something similar to a kimono except with a lot more ribbons all flowing around her.

 

“Congratulations, Archer Kyuhyun,” the woman said, her voice soft and flowing like the ocean. “My name is Seohyun, the Goddess of Water. You have successfully completed Level One.”

 

“Thank you, Seohyun-shii…” Kyuhyun then paused, looking around. “Where’s Sungmin?” He was worried because Sungmin had been badly injured when he had seen him so he hoped he was alright.

 

Seohyun smiled softly at him. “Your friend is alive and well. All of his wounds have healed.”

 

Kyuhyun bowed. “Thank you,” he said, relieved.

 

Seohyun nodded before she began to glow with a blue light and started to disappear. Soon only a blue light was in her place. Wondering what to do, Kyuhyun, moved forward to take it but suddenly the light slammed forward and flew straight through him.

 

It was as if he had a bucket of cold water splashed over him. After the shock all that remained was a pleasant feeling of cleanliness like all the bad thoughts in his mind had disappeared. In his mind he heard Seohyun with her soft voice though he wondered if he had imagined it. “You have a good heart, Archer Kyuhyun, Child of Air. You will do well.”

 

“Thank you,” Kyuhyun whispered again before his vision went fuzzy and he blanked out.

 

-----

 

A/N: Everyone, it is the end. -bows-

... Of level one! :DDD

Was it exciting? I hope so~ :) I hope everyone enjoyed reading!

Also, thank you all for being so supportive! I love my readers~ <333

I'm not sure when Level Two will begin. ^^; I want to write a bit more before I start updating, so either in a week or two weeks from now~ :)

Until next time! Love you guys~ <3

 

QUIZ~~~~

Who did Kyuhyun meet first? Sungmin, Leeteuk or Kangin?