Areum POV

I sat, calm, huddled in a ball of thick blankets watching the sky change colour . They were warm, but were cold compared to Zian’s arms. As cliché as that may sound, it was true. He was from Xieye, the nation of flames and shadows. Red marks trailed down my face and edged my eyes, the only sign that I ever cried. It took me a while but I was calm now. My breaths came steady.

I remembered all of my first life, one of the few lives I ever lived and from what I remembered, the only important one. I hadn’t noticed this, but the memories I had before where hazy and I missed large chunks of my life. I met Yuki when I was merely a child, a toddler. I was alone, chasing a butterfly the colour of a rainbow in the forest surrounding the castle I called home, when I stumbled upon a pack of wolves their fur the colour of the moon with eyes as blue as the sky. They were of the Yang clan, the clan that worked for my mother, Shui. Yuki, the youngest of the Yang clan, played with me until the elders told her to return me to Shui. After that day, Yuki and I met almost every day. Yuki became my best friend.

I remembered Shui, whispering late at night when she thought I was asleep.

“You have Huo’s eyes and his passion, my dear. You won’t end up like him, there is too much good in you for the darkness to take you in. He always had the other side to him. I guess I should have known…that it would eventually take over. Yet where there is darkness there is light… There are always stars in a dark sky… And you, my Daiyu, are the brightest star in the sky.”

Shui told me, a year later, the night before my birthday that Huo wasn’t always a monster. I asked her, why, why did he change and how, how could someone so horrid ever be humane.

“Everyone has a flame burning inside them.”

“And, there are two sides to every flame, my child.”

“One side is alive, providing warmth to those who ask. The side that gives light to those shrouded in darkness. The other side is destructive. A wildfire, destroying whatever lay in its path. It is the merciless side that craves to see a world engulfed in flames.”

Surprisingly, I wasn’t shocked by this memory. It was understandable, Shui told me this when I was seven. It had only taken me a few minutes to accept that my father and brother were monsters, demons, and destroyers of nations. I have a habit of being related or associated with murderers, first Adela, who has basically my sister, and now I find out that my blood-related father and brother were far worse than Adela and the Orchid Revolution.

I remembered the day I met the Zhang’s and their son Yixing, Lay in his first life. Yixing was my only friend, apart from Yuki. He was practically my family, a brother. The war separated us. The last day I saw him, was the day I lost my mother.

I remembered meeting Yifan, who is now Kris, Chen, who was known as Jongdae or thief back then, Joonmyeon, the man Suho once was, Luhan, and Xiumin, who’s name then was Minseok. I remembered running through the town with them and laughing along with them. I remembered Yixing. He was bleeding from a wound on his hip. I remembered what happened the day I died, and how I died. I summoned the forces and I sacrificed my life to create Exo, the new guardians of this world. I am the creator of Exo.

The dream of me being burned alive was no dream. That was how I died. Huo, his son, Heian, and his daughter, Yinying, she looked so much like Yejin, set fire to me I front of his army, in front of Zian, the man from my dreams.

Zian, the man whose face remained blurred, that is until today. His face sharpened and finally, I could see the face of the man that haunted my dreams. The only man I’ve ever loved since I was born.

Zian had the face of Chanyeol.

Zian had the personality of Chanyeol.

Zian was Chanyeol.

And Chanyeol was Zian.

It made sense. Chanyeol had witnessed my death from the spot Zian stood. Chanyeol came from the scorch dynasty, which used to make up half of the Xieye nation. I felt the same feelings around Chanyeol as I did Zian. I…I think I’m in love with Park Chanyeol.

The sun rose slowly above the forested horizon. It was a sight to behold. The breeze was chilly, making my breath come out in white wisps of carbon dioxide. The blazing sun hid behind clouds, but its rays still shone on the island. It cast strange shadows across the forest. It made the island seem empty, abandoned, the mangle of plants and branches were untouched by the hands of humans and royals. The forest Lay had run into.

“They’ll be fine.” Yuki comforted, but her words brought no warmth, the warmth Chanyeol’s did.

“No, Lay won’t be fine. I hurt him badly, didn’t I?” I spoke to the fluffy white cat curled up on my shoulder. Yuki’s presence brought more comfort than her words did.

“He would find out sooner or later. He’ll get over it. He is after all, the Yixing you knew. Question is, will you be fine?” My reply was cut off by the creak of a door and a tender smile on a familiar face.

“We found Lay, he went through the awakening.” Chanyeol spoke gently in the peaceful silence. I tore my gaze away from him, before the memories attacked the wall that held me together. Grime was smudged across his face and clothes and his hair was a mess, yet his very being brought me an explosion of euphoria.

“He didn’t get hurt.”

“That’s good.”

“He’s downstairs.”

-++++++++++++++++++++-

Lay was different. He had dark blonde, wavy hair that he pulled off well. His eyes were the colour of a black pearl. Angelic, was the word that described him best. His appearance wasn’t the only thing that changed though. His eyes had lost their tenderness; they had lost all emotion and became blank and hollow. The air around him was sober, and dispassionate. Lay had become the embodiment of a fallen angel.

The ten other boys were gathered around him. Dirt and sweat splattered across their skin. I couldn’t bring myself to speak, to apologize aloud.

     I’m sorry Lay. I’m so very sorry. You are family to me. You are better than my blood family. We have been family since the day we met. We’ve been family since I was Daiyu and you were Yixing. I’m truly sorry for hurting you, Lay.

Luhan’s frown flickered to my own and for a split second I wondered if I had thought out loud. There was something in Luhan’s gaze that bothered me. He looked at me as if he knew my thoughts. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I readied myself to voice the apology when Lay sauntered up to me and spoke, his tone as steely cold as the Ice Mountains of the Ziyou nation.

“You were right, we aren’t family.”

-++++++++++++++++++++-

Training started today. The tension between Lay and I had yet to fade. We hadn’t spoken since that day. He still smiled but it wasn’t the same as before, there was a lingering darkness in his eyes. But he never smiled at me. Each time I came near him he shut down, reverting back to that blank look of his. Each time I tried to apologize he swift