Author's Note: Sorry for not uploading more often...So I present you with the longest chapter so far! Something very suprising (I hope) is revealed about the devil in this chapter, so I hope you like it! Don't hesitate to leave comments!

Revelation

7:42 pm, Jan 21^st, Ottawa

          With an unnoticeable tremor in her hand, Sora quickly shut the door to her apartment and let her body fall silently against it. Her breath was uncontrollably jagged, as if someone had been chasing after her.

          There might as well have been.

          After a hurried explanation about not feeling well, she had rushed out of the library, unable to stay under the public eye for any longer. Although every one of her senses confirmed that she was not being followed, she had ran home feeling exposed and hunted. Her deeply buried memories threatened to break through her mental walls with every step she took.

          Now that she was away from scrutinizing eyes, she could no longer stop those walls from being destroyed. Her body slid down the door as her knees buckled from the heavy onslaught of jumbled memories and emotions. Snippets of her former life stormed into her head one after another, rapidly drowning her in an ocean of fear and despair.

          Why? Why now? She screamed in her head as moisture started to gather around the rims of her eyes.

          Why was the devil looking for her when she had just started to find some resemblance of peace in her life? Why now, when she thought that she could finally put her past behind her and move on? She had been constantly on the move and tried her best to blend in with the crowd whenever she made a temporary stop. She had even put the distance of an ocean between them! Was that not enough? Was she a fool for believing that as long as she tried to forget the devil, the devil would allow her to be forgotten?

          “We belong together.” The powerful voice of the devil echoed in Sora’s mind, reminding her of his demanding nature as numerous other memories surfaced, weaving around her as if to trap her inside a cold web.

          How could she possibly forget? She knew all too well that the devil would always get whatever he desired, and never let go once it was in his possession. If fact, she was likely the first one to have gotten away.

          And now, the devil had abducted an innocent, just for the purpose of forcing her back under his control. The news article and the distraught face of the young man flashed through Sora’s mind and made her feel sick to her stomach, knowing that someone was suffering in this instant because of her. Guilt sat heavily on her heart, eating away at her conscious, especially since she was painfully aware why that boy had been chosen.

          Although her emotions were in a disarray, she had figured out why the idol looked familiar by the time she had left the library. She knew that boy, Kim Taehyung. She could recall their last encounter with clarity, though the boy most likely did not have recollections of it.

          The devil must have took notice of her moment of weakness that day, Sora decided, or how else did the devil realize that Taehyung was someone of importance for her? But because of her mistake, the devil was now holding Taehyung hostage, threatening to destroy his world the same way that hers was crushed, if she failed to show up in 48 hours.

          Although her heart shivered in fear at the mere aspect of being in proximity of the devil, Sora knew that she had to go back. There was no way that she would allow another person, especially Taehyung, to endure the same endless torture that she had gone through, just for the idea of lengthening her freedom. Because if she was being honest, she had known deep inside that the devil had never stopped looking for her; her efforts at staying hidden had only delayed the inevitable.

          Two days, she was only given two days before she was expected to turn herself in for the life of a controlled possession. Or was she supposed to feel thankful for even having the two days? Sora thought bitterly as her head automatically started to calculate the number of remaining hours that she would be free.

          The tweet was posted in the evening in Korea so that meant —

          She felt her body go stiff as she was hit by the realization that half a day has already passed since the devil had made his announcement. Panic started to swell up in her chest as she hastily got up from the floor.

          She only had roughly 30 hours left!

          She immediately sprang into action and dashed around her small apartment, quickly gathering all the essentials in a blur before stuffing them into her backpack. She tried to push her anxiety aside as she hurriedly prepared for her departure. She would have to catch a plane right away if she wanted to arrive on time!

          She took a last glance around her most recent hiding place as she went through her mental checklist. There was only one thing left. She headed into her bedroom and removed one of the floor boards before retrieving a plain looking wooden box.

          Gingerly, she lifted the lid off the box and inspected its contents. A gem laid peacefully inside, illuminated by the cold moonlight. Its brilliancy was reflected in scattered patterns on Sora’s anxious face. She stared at the jewelry for a few long seconds as she silently willed herself to be stronger.

          She had to go back. He was waiting for her. They were waiting for her.

          The reflected light that had lit up Sora’s dark eyes seemed to warm and solidify as she strengthened her resolve. The fright in her eyes was gradually being replaced by determination.

          She would not, and could not allow any else to get hurt because of her. She was going to try her best to save Taehyung and everyone else from a bleak future, even if the price was her own dooming fate.

          It was the least that she could do.

Jan 22^nd, Korea

          A weak sigh could be heard from the direction of the bed, filling the silent room for a split second before it too was absorbed by the quietness.

          V sat slumped against the foot of the bed, his unfocused eyes stared unseeingly at the floor. The fact that he was no longer confined to the bed did little to help him regain even a sliver of hope.

          Sure, he had roamed around the room, pulling on the doors and knocking on the walls as he searched for a possible way out. But unsurprisingly, his efforts had soon been proved to be futile. The tiny bathroom that was attached to this room had no windows either, and there weren’t any tools that could be used in his defense.

          Truthfully, never mind that he was physically unable to, simply the threats that were made against his family and friends were enough to stop him from even actively attempting an escape.

          So he did the only thing that he could. He waited. Although he wasn’t sure what exactly was he waiting for.

          For someone to come rescue him? That seemed as farfetched as him escaping on his own, and the thought was almost laughable.

          For the man to return? He had been left by himself for quite some time now, and V dreaded the man’s reappearance. Instinctively, he knew that only worse news would be brought with the next encounter. It could be more threats, or perhaps he would be facing his own death this time?

          ‘Click’

          V had been so accustomed to the silence that the quiet turn of the lock almost made him jump. His heartbeat automatically started to pick up at the sound as his trepidation peaked.

          What could it be this time? He wondered as he tentatively turned towards the opening door, expecting to see the darkly clothed figure in the door way.

          That was not what he saw.

          In fact, before the door had fully come into his line of vision, a large cloth was clamped tightly over his nose and mouth, obscuring his sight and forcing him to breathe in the overly sweet scent as he instinctively struggled.

          His frantic movements didn’t last long as he soon lost consciousness, once again surrendering himself to the familiar darkness.

*Landside: The waiting area in the airport before one goes through the security.

Early Morning, Jan 22^nd, Ottawa

          A lone figure sat hunched in a deserted corner of the brightly lit airport, barely noticed by the few employees that walked by. The landside* looked wide and empty, especially without the usual crowd at the check-ins and the constant announcements that called for passengers to board.

          Sora sat with her head down, her long hair obscuring her utter frustration from any onlookers.

          She had been too late.

          When she had finally arrived and rushed up to an available desk, she had been informed that there were no more available flights that she could take due to the late hours. She would just have to catch the earliest flight tomorrow, they said.

          But she couldn’t afford to wait for another few hours! She wanted to shout in their faces. It had taken great effort on her part to avoid taking the workers by their shoulders and demanding them for another solution.

          Sora slightly lifted her head to glance at the time. There was nothing that she could do now, except to wish for the morning to arrive faster.

          Opposite of her desire, the hands of the clock seemed to be moving in an agonizingly slow fashion. Tick, tock, each tick of a second sounding like a hammer, hitting Sora’s already pained mind.

          Why hadn’t she come sooner? She berated herself as guilt washed over her. She would have made it on time if she came an hour earlier!

          If only she didn’t isolate herself as much, she thought in regret, if only she paid more attention to the news.

          If only, she wasn’t in a different continent.

          It would take her at least 24 hours to reach Seoul, and by then the 48 hour limit would be up, meaning that the devil would have already started his horrendous and irreversible actions.

          But that would only be the beginning. Sora knew from experience that the devil had numerous plans up his sleeves, waiting to bring endless torture upon his victims.

          Sora felt her heart twist and ache from the thought of Taehyung helplessly suffering at the devil’s hand.

          No, Sora argued against herself, she would not allow that to happen.

          It had taken her an extensive amount of time and effort before she had finally became accepting of her existence. But even though she had found peace, the initial fear and hatred that she felt towards both the devil and herself would forever remain vivid in her memories.

          She was going to rescue Taehyung, and save him from having to go through the same destructive experience as she did. She would protect him from as much pain as possible, even if she might be too late to prevent him from becoming like her.

          Or more precisely, becoming something like her.

Late Evening, Jan 22^nd, Korea

          V found himself laid down when consciousness was once again returned to him. He squeezed his eyelids as he stirred a little. His whole body ached as if he had been lying on a hard surface for too long.

          He opened his eyes and discovered that it wasn’t far from the truth. He had been discarded on the cold cement floor in the corner of another dimly lit room. From his point of view, he could only see the dirty floors and empty walls splashed with paint.

          Tentatively, he shifted himself into a sitting position although his achy bones protested his movements. He slowly pulled himself over to the closest wall and leaned wearily against it as he surveyed the room.

          This new room was similar to the last room in that it had no windows and had only one lamp that acted as the light source. However, that lamp was the only furniture that occupied the bare room, filling the majority of the space with light and leaving the far corners in darkness.

          At first glance, it seemed that he was the only person present, but that did little to soothe V’s nerves.

          Why was he brought here? Was he deemed unworthy of the previous room? Or had the time of his death arrived? V pondered as he arranged himself into a more comfortable position, the remnants of the chains that were still lingering on his wrists screeched loudly when they were dragged against the floor.

          But silence did not take over this time once the harsh noises stopped. In its place were faint whimpers that could barely be heard before they faded.

          V’s breath hitched as he frantically scanned the room, searching for the source of the sound that had hardly reached his ears.

          Was there someone else in the room?

          After a few seconds, his gaze stopped in the direction of the dark corner. It had to have come from there. V squinted his eyes and could finally make out the outlines of a bundle that sat in the dark.

          Just then, the bundle shifted a tiny amount before it stilled.

          V could feel his heart speeding as he stared into the corner. Was that the man? Had he failed to notice his entrance again?

          Although fear still coursed through his veins, V instinctively felt that this was not the man. The attacker had always held himself with confidence and superiority, not to mention the chill that V had never failed to feel in his suffocating presence.

          This was not the man. This figure had not moved since V had set his eyes on it, and had an air of vulnerability that surrounded it. Was this another victim? Another kidnapped person?

          “Who…who are you?” Unable to hold in his concern, V asked quietly in his hoarse voice.

          The only response was another weak whimper before the figure started to lightly tremble.

          Feeling certain that this was definitely another scared innocent like himself, V cleared before he tried again.

          “Um, hi? Are you okay?”

          Only more shivers answered him. V immediately regretted asking the stupid question. Of course they wouldn’t be okay. Who would be okay after being taken captive by the man? He hesitated on what to say next.

          “I’m Taehyung, what’s your name?” He asked gently, trying to make his voice as comforting as possible.

          The figure did not respond, but seemed to be calming down as the shivers slowly disappeared.

          Feeling encouraged, V carefully got up on his feet, intending to go closer to the figure that was now completely still. However, as he rose, he had unintentionally brought his hands close enough for the chains to clash against each other, resulting in a large clank that resonated in the room.

          The figure had immediately pressed itself closer to the wall, the trembling starting at an even higher intensity, coupled with a few dry sobs.

          “Sorry! I’m so sorry!” V apologized as he hastily grabbed onto the chains to stop them from creating any more noise, “I promise I won’t hurt you. I just want to talk to you, okay?”

          V waited for a while, gauging the reaction from the huddled figure. Luckily, his words seemed to have gotten through, since the figure gradually relaxed as silence was restored.

           “I’m going to come closer now, alright?”

          When no signs of resistance were given, V slowly inched closer, careful not to scare the already frightened person any further.

          It didn’t take too long before V was a few steps away from the figure, finally able to distinguish clear features of the person.

          Although her face was buried in the two arms that hugged her legs tightly to her chest, V believed that she was a young girl based on her long hair and petite form.

          She seemed to have been treated even worse than V had. Her clothes looked soiled, torn at a few edges, while her hair appeared matted and greasy, indicating her poor living conditions.

          Uncertain how to proceed from here, V hesitated before quietly lowering himself onto the ground, kneeling an arm’s length away from the frozen girl.

          V was hit with an enormous amount of sorrow for the poor girl and even greater anger towards the man who had probably kidnapped her. Why did he abduct an innocent girl? What could he have possibly done to make her so afraid of everything?

          Just when V was about to have another attempt at conversing with the girl, she shifted, as if finally acknowledging V’s presence in front of her. Slowly, inch by inch, the girl lifted her head, like a snail that was scared of the danger outside its safe shell.

          The girl finally raised her head high enough for V to take a glimpse at her face, and he could only let out a soft gasp as more sadness impaired his heart.

          The girl didn’t look to be over 16 years old, her youth pronounced by her round face and large eyes. However, the innocence that should have filled her countenance was absent, replaced by an uncontainable amount of fear that poured from her doe-like eyes. Her desperate emotions shown by the tear tracks that had washed through the dark stains that marked her cheeks.

          As V stared back with his own helpless gaze, he saw that confusion and disbelief that temporarily colored the girl’s cautious eyes before realization flashed through them.

          “V…V oppa?” The girl uttered softly from her chapped lips.

          “You know me?” V was genuinely surprised, “Have we met before?”

          The girl only stared intently at him with her lips slightly parted, as if she wasn’t sure whether this was her imagination or the reality.

          “It’s really you? You are really here?” The girl questioned, her voice gradually raising as despair and panic could be seen building in her dark eyes. “I thought he was lying! I thought he had to be lying!”

          “What do you mean? What did he say?” V was startled to see the girl getting more agitated the more he spoke. “Calm down first okay?”

          But the girl was not listening, she was shaking her head like she wanted to deny the fact that V was right in front of her. Her breathing was getting faster as she clutched her arms even tighter around her body.

          V was at a loss of what to do. The girl was now shaking violently, her eyes unfocused as if she was reliving a nightmare. V desperately wanted to reach out and comfort her, but what if his touch only made the matter worse?

          Abruptly, the girl stilled her motions, her eyes refocused as she turned to V and let out an urgent cry.

          “We have to leave here!” Her voice was bordering on hysterical as she repeated her desperate request, “We need to get out now!”

          “We will, we will.” V tried to assure her, “please calm down, I will try my best to find a way out for us. Just —”

          The girl suddenly reached out and clutched V’s sleeve in a tight grasp and continued on before he could finish talking.

          “You don’t understand!” The girl was full on yelling now, “He’s a monster, he’s a devil! He’s going to kill me! He’s going to kill you!”

          V was stunned into silence at the girl’s outburst. The girl had broken into heavy sobs when she finished her sentence, tears streaming down her face as she released his sleeve. She retrieved her arm and quickly covered one of her wrists with the other hand.

          She was not fast enough, for V was able to make out what looked like marks and bruises coloring the inside of her wrist even under the dim light.

          “What happened to your hand?” Without thinking, V reached out and tugged slightly on her arm. Surprisingly, she gave in without much fight, allowing V to take a closer look at the damaged wrist.

          A half-moon shaped wound covered the pale skin of the inside of her wrist with dark stains spreading over her hand and forearm. V turned it slightly towards the light, and was shocked and confused to find that the wound seemed to have been created by numerous sharp objects that simultaneously punctured holes in the skin.

          “Did he do this?” V felt disgusted by the cruel ministrations that the man had done to this young girl, and he couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of instrument would leave this kind of a mark.

          “We need to leave,” The girl insisted through her sobs, her voice now lacking any energy, “He’s a monster, a devil.”

          “What do you mean by that?” V was puzzled by the girl’s choice of words.

          “He’s… he’s…” The girl was interrupted by her own uneven breathes. She took a long breath in and out before turning her head to the side, as if she couldn’t bear to look at V when she revealed the truth.

          “He’s not human.”

          V sat in bewilderment. He must have heard her wrong. What she said could not be real, and he told her so.

          “That’s not possible,” perhaps the girl was so scared that she was hallucinating, “He’s just some crazy guy.”

          The girl turned back to look at him almost in pity, as if looking at an innocent child that had never been revealed to the horrors of the real world. The look that conveyed pained experiences seemed to have made the girl at least decades older.

           “He took my blood,” the girl stated in a trembling voice, “He said he was hungry.”

          V wanted to laugh. What the girl was trying to imply was simply ridiculous! They were not in a fictional world! No matter how scary the man seemed, how could he be anything but human!

          V really wanted to brush this off as a young kid’s horrified imagination, but somehow he just couldn’t. Was it because of the girl’s eyes that seemed to be telling him to grow up and accept the truth? Or was it because the wound seemed too strange to pass as common violence?

          Feeling confused by his own thoughts, V took another look at the girl’s wrist. He tentatively reached out with a finger, as if touching the wound could help him decide the viability of the girl’s crazy idea.

          As his hand moved forward, his mind was shifting through memories of his past encounters with the mysterious man, trying to find proof. To prove the girl right or prove the girl wrong? He wasn’t even sure himself.

          Gently, his finger landed on the girl’s damaged skin, finding the wound very much real. He swiped at the stains that surrounded the wound, only to discover with horrification that they seemed to have originated from the broken skin. 

          With a tremor in his hand, V brought his finger under the light, and found that it had been colored with vivid red. His heart started jumping wildly in his chest as he realized what the dark stains that had covered the girl’s arms, the girl’s face, and splashed across the walls were.

          It was blood. Dark red human blood.

          And with this realization, a few specific details that he had neglected before jumped into his mind, making him gasp with horror.

          He remembered. How the man had moved across the room within a second; how the man had been strong enough to break metal chains with bare hands; how the man had seemed feral when he had first revealed his face.

          It couldn’t be! He battled against the insane idea, but was quickly being defeated as the truth was forced in front of his eyes.

          V turned his shaken gaze towards the girl, as if begging her to tell him that this was a joke, tell him that his conclusion was very far from the truth. Because his brain was trying to tell him, that the man was, he was—

          “He’s a vampire.”