Agony.

Barbed wire. Tight. Cutting into skin.

Familiar. Terrifying.

No air, no way to breathe. Coughing, choking, suffocating.

A voice. "Mingyu, calm down. It's just the bond; take a deep breath."

More words. Unintelligible.

Calmdowncalmdowncalmdown. Or punishment.

Deep breath.

More air, less pain. Wire too tight.

"Can you hear me?"

Answer. Now.

"Yes."

"Is the ability still in effect?"

Answer. Now.

"Yes."

Mumbling. No orders.

New voice. "C-Can you fight it?"

Master. Answer! Now!

Answeransweransweranswer. Unsure.

"I don't know."

Meaningless.

Punishment? Fear.

"Fight it. I am y-your Wielder, listen to me."

Yes, Master!

Thorns. Searing hot pain. Tighter and tighter.

Chest burns. Fire.

Head hurts. Freezing cold.

Hurtshurtshurts. Agony again.

Hot against cold.

Heart against brain.

"Come on, Mingyu! Do it!"

Yes, Master!

No air, too tight. Crushing tightness.

Suffocating the cold. Smothering it. Smaller and smaller.

Less pain in my head. Even more pain in my chest.

The bond was too tight around me. It was cutting into me and it hurt so much.

Why did I have to go through this again? I didn't want to feel this way. But I couldn't stop it. I was helpless and at my Wielder's mercy.

But the numbness in my head had faded and for the first time in a while my senses were not detached from me anymore.

I looked around and four strangers stared back. Jisoo, Seokmin, Minghao, Chan - my brain knew, although I didn't remember. The bond burned even brighter when my gaze met Jisoo's. It was terrifying. He looked nothing like my former master, his eyes much warmer, but the forcebond didn't lie.

Wielders were all the same.

I jumped when he talked to me, his voice soft and melodic. "How are you feeling?"

If I would answer honestly, I would get punished. "Fine."

"Did you get rid of it completely?"

It? What did he mean? Cold sweat was accumulating at my hairline while he kept staring at me. I wished he would look away - his oddly warm gaze scared me for some reason. "I'm sorry, I don't understand the question, Master," I answered before I closed my eyes and bowed my head, awaiting my punishment. The bond tightened around me even more, stealing my breath and holding me in place.

"Call me Jisoo, please. I meant the ability of the Forcebearer called 'the Puppeteer'. I f-forcebonded you, so you'd be able to fight it." He sounded incredibly miserable and I dared to look up at his depressed tone. His posture was not unlike mine: head hung low and eyes downcast. The people surrounding him were obviously trying to comfort him; the small one pressed into his side, the red haired one kneeling behind him, arms loosely wrapped around his neck, and the tallest one to his left was running his fingers through my Wielder's hair.

What a weird group. I briefly wondered if they were lovers but I dismissed the thought before I focused back on the explanation of my Ma- Jisoo. I vaguely remembered meeting someone going by 'the Puppeteer' before but I had no clue what exactly had happened afterwards. Everything regarding the last two and a half years was foggy, apart from a short episode of clearness during the last few weeks - and I'd rather not recall that time. My heart jumped at the thought and I quickly banned it to the back of my mind. "I remember him. His real name is Seungri and he's one of my former Wielder's favourite Forcebearers. And yes, I think his influence is gone."

The whole group seemed to relax at my words and it was incredibly odd to see all those people in sync with each other. But whatever was going on between them; it was even stranger that Jisoo hadn't forced me to reveal my rank and ability yet - usually the first action any Wielder would take. Examining the people in front of me one more time, my eyes were drawn to the way the small one stared at my Wielder's face and how the corner of the lips of the tall one twitched into a smile when Jisoo patted his leg. The thought that they were lovers suddenly seemed much less unreasonable.

I flinched when my eyes met the dark glare of the redhead over my Wielder's shoulder and I quickly looked away. Better not stir up trouble with any more Wielders today, I already counted myself lucky that I hadn't gotten punished yet.

"I have some more questions but is it okay if I cancel the contract first? I really don't like it," Jisoo asked without any warning and I felt my jaw drop at the question.

What.

What was wrong with him? Why would he let me go? Did he not care about the prestige he would get with me by his side?

Maybe he was joking. I eyed the rest of the group and all of them seemed conflicted, some more than others.

"Are you sure he won't relapse once we get rid of it?" the small one asked, looking at the tallest male for an answer.

"It's also safer for us to have him forcebonded. I'm still not convinced that he's genuine," the redhead said and returned my stare, eyes filled with suspicion.

Of course. Wielders were all the same.

"It's cruel and unnatural." Jisoo had turned around at his words, facing away from me, and his voice had adopted a sharp tone that caused goosebumps to rise on my skin. I could feel the bond tighten around me once again, reacting to his disapproval. "How would you feel if I kept you in a forcebond?" Ha. As if Wielders could ever relate to us. "You should know best how it feels and why I'm so against it."

Apparently Jisoo wasn't the only one using forcebonds to tame his Forcebearers. Great.

But to my surprise, the redhead actually looked appropriately ashamed and mumbled something about safety measures before he stopped talking altogether and remained quiet behind my Wielder, who turned back towards me. The two males at Jisoo's sides grinned as if they had just witnessed something hilarious. "Anyway. Are you ready to cancel the contract?"

I got startled out of my thoughts when he addressed me directly and for a few beautiful seconds, hope blossomed in my chest.

I smothered it immediately. No way he would let me go just like that; it had to be some sort of cruel joke. But I still nodded, trying my hardest not to give him the satisfaction of seeing me affected by his words. Jisoo directed his warm smile at me and the bond constricted my chest, not quite painful this time but still uncomfortable. It was definitely a forcebond, no use denying that, but at least it hurt less than the last contract I had gotten caught in. However, its constant tightness gave me the feeling that it was trying its hardest to get inside of me, to bury itself somewhere beneath my skin. The thought made me shudder.

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