[CHAPTER 21]

"The Truth About Fate"

The truth.

Exactly what is this 'truth' behind Moirae's Edge?

Why has no one ever ask about the mysteries behind the Goddesses who determine human fate or of the facility itself?

In a dimension of the distant universe, far from mankind and out of reach from reality, is the facility called Moirae's Edge or previously known as...

'Fate's End' 

This was a place where all lives and fate took place. Each story of humankind was written and documented inside a large library of the facility. These stories were determined by the three Goddesses who guarded the facility, the ones who weaves the past, the present and the future of every book.

"So the two of you are our new recruits?" A stern old man sat in his chair, the chairman of the facility at the time.

The two boys, similar in height but completely different from one another glanced at one another, than nodded in response.

"My name is Park Hyoshin," one of the boy said with a pure and innocent smile. 

"You're the son of our current Supervisor of the Scholars, right?" the chairman asked.

"Yes. It's very nice to meet you finally, sir," the young Hyoshin said and bowed politely.

"And you?"

"My name is Seo InGuk," the other boy with tanner skin replied.

"InGuk... I see. You're the one who doesn't have any departments assigned yet right?"

InGuk nodded.

"Don't worry, you do have a department assigned to you but it is a new one so I'll be showing you to your quarters later."

"Thank you," the boy said without much care or intonation to his voice. 

* * * * * *

"I heard you're from the suburbs, what is it like there?" Hyoshin asked curiously.

InGuk glanced at the boy as the two were walking down the hallways together. 

"It's nothing special," InGuk gave a short response and picked up his pace. He didn't know the boy nor did he want to have anything to do with someone who came inside of the facility through connections. 

"Why did you come here? Did the chairman tell you what department yours is like?" Hyoshin picked up his pace as well to match with InGuk's while continuously asking questions to the other. "It's new right?"

"How should I know? Anyways, why are you following me?" InGuk lost his temper a bit with the other's annoying questions.

"I'm just curious," Hyoshin smiled. "Since we both got enrolled here at the same time, don't you think it's like some sort of fate? Let's be friends?"

"Fate?" InGuk snorted. "I don't believe in such things, so leave me alone."

"How can you say that? You're now working in Moirae's Edge, the center of fate," Hyoshin questioned. 

"So? I'm only here because it's the only thing there is for us to do. It doesn't mean that I believe in such stupidity. So, just stay away from me. I have no intention of making friends with anyone here."

"That's... won't you be lonely?"

Hyoshin looked at InGuk with a rather sympathetic gaze which annoyed InGuk a lot. 

"Even if you look at me like that, I have no intention of changing my mind about this place or you," InGuk said and walked away, leaving Hyoshin alone and behind.

What's with this whole thing about fate? Why is everyone so caught up with something we can't touch or see? InGuk thought to himself as he stomped towards his new department. A department which is unknown to him. 

It took him a long bit to find where he needed to be but finally, he arrived in the Library of Fates. 

He opened the twin doors of the entrance and went inside. In an instance, he was stunned by the numerous amounts of books that laid before him. It wasn't just a single floor of books but thousands, millions and even billions of books were towered above one another. Each floor of the library were filled with books. 

The books and stories of mankind. 

"I've heard about this before... but this is crazy," InGuk approached with caution. "Just what is this place?"

"A place you were chosen by the Goddesses to guard," the chairman appeared behind him.

"Chosen? Me?"

"Yes. This place have been unguarded for many milleniums, at first it was alright to let fate play its part but as humans evolve, we can no longer let this place run by itself. We've been searching near and far for a suitable candidate to watch over these stories but none qualified and each were rejected by the Goddesses themselves," the old man said as he stared at the statues of the three Goddesses at the center of the room. 

"I don't get it. Why me of all people?" 

"It's strange isn't it? You, a child without a care for fate, will be watching this place. A place of fate, guarded by the one who doesn't believe in it."

"How... do you know?" 

"I don't but the Goddesses do."

"They do? But how? Are you saying that they're alive? If they are, where are they?" InGuk couldn't help but question.

"They're alive but at the same time they are not. They're watching us and the many others within this universe, and these three statues are like their eyes. They're watching over every fate that they've created. They're powerful yet at the same time, they are not. It's true that they are the ones that write the stories of mankind and determine all of their outcomes. However, they're running out of power, they're losing control and they're terrified. Night by night, you can hear their cries and screams, thirsty for power and control."

InGuk gulped. Does that mean I'll be hearing them wail if I work in this library? he felt the chills down his spine as he glanced at the three statues of the room.

"But why me?" he still doesn't understand.

"Because your existence defies fate."

"What?"

"We are all born in this universe with the same objective in mind and that is, to serve the Goddesses of Fate. But once in a while, there will be at least one or two people born here without any intentions of serving them. For example, you. You defy the laws of fate and doesn't believe in the power of the Goddesses, and therefore, your existence is a threat to both the Goddesses and our universe. In the past, we would resort to cruel solutions of killing people like you as that was what the Goddesses wanted," the old man said in a rather scary tone.

Scared, InGuk backed away a bit, ready to escape if anything happens.

"But it's different now. Rather than the fear of death, you should be more scared about being tied down by the Goddesses instead. The only way in which they can remain in control is to be able to watch your actions and have you serve their beliefs, even if it's by force. If you rebel, you will only leave us no choice but to bind you to this place."

"What?! How can you even call this as something fair? Do I not have anything to say about this or what I want?!" InGuk grew furious. 

"Unfortunately, you don't because you would not have existed in the first place if it wasn't for the Goddesses. Didn't I mention it already? That we were born to serve 'fate' or you could say, we were created by the Goddesses themselves."

"W-what?" 

I don't exist? Then why am I here? Who am I?

* * * * * *

"Then... you're saying we don't exist as well?" Hongbin swallowed hard as he listened to InGuk's story. 

"Don't you ever wonder how strange it is being in Moirae's Edge?" InGuk asked as he stood up from his seat. "Don't you ever wonder why every human kind has a story of their own, yet where is ours? Where is our story?"

My... story... the words rung through Hongbin's mind.

"We don't have one. We have no story. We have no fate because our only role in life is to serve the Goddesses themselves. We're bound by their powers and their beliefs rather than our own. We're a bunch of puppets, played by their powers and thirst for control!" InGuk grew furious and slammed the table. 

It was the first time Hongbin saw his former Supervisor show any sort of emotions.

"Years and years, I have been tied down by those that create fate, unable to do anything because if I try to defy them, the only outcome for me will be death," the older shouted in distressed. "I want to defy them, but I'm powerless to do so, I don't know when my existence will be erased even if I'm not supposed to have any existence in the first place. We breathe, we eat and sleep like all those on Earth yet, here we are bound by the cruelty of fate's creator to serve them until we run out of usefulness."

"Then the reason why I was chosen to be a Keeper..."

"It's because you're different, just like me. You could care less about fate or working for Moirae's Edge. Even if you don't care, you're still seen as a threat to the three Goddesses. That's why you got baited into working inside the facilty, just so that they can watch your every action. And just like they feared, you broke the laws of fate. You entered a world that you shouldn't have and you met a person whose fate could not be decided. You and Jung Taekwoon changed the course of Hakyeon's story. If he didn't meet either of you, his life would still be in the hands of the Goddesses to decide. His outcome would be different but because of you two, it interrupted the course of fate and now, the Goddesses are terrified that there's a life that they can't control."

Those that were created by the Goddesses has no existence and has no fate. Neither do they have a story of their own to carry through. They're all too different from those whose stories were predetermined by the Goddesses of Fate. That's why, it was forbidden for anyone of Moirae's Edge to interact with those on Earth. They have no story, nor are they protagonists of any books within the Library of Fate. 

"But I don't get it, it was Wonshik that got me into the facility... I didn't have anything to do with it and he only did it for my sake," Hongbin said.

"It's true your friend tried to do what is best for you, but he is no different than another one of the Goddesses' puppets. Like I said, everyone who is created here in this universe has only one single belief and purpose, to believe in the Goddesses and serve the cruelty of fate. Kim Wonshik's actions were driven by his belief of the Goddesses while thinking that he was 'helping' you. He got played and so did you," InGuk said.

"If the Goddesses were watching us the entire time, why didn't they do something about me going into Hakyeon's book? They could've prevented it couldn't they? They could have killed me before I went near or prevent me from finding the book in the first place."

InGuk sighed, "did you not hear anything I said to you just now? Humans are becoming harder and harder to control. Especially when Jung Taekwoon suddenly stumbled upon Cha Hakyeon, that human's story gained powers of its own. His life was affected by meeting someone who shouldn't exist on Earth. His story took a different turn that even the Goddesses cannot predict. The reason why his book is so messed up and warping in so many differences is because of the unexpected encounter. Then he met you, someone who didn't care about fate and only care about yourself. You're selfish because of your curiosity but at the same time, it's opened up to even more possibilities of fighting the Goddesses."

"F-fight?" Hongbin stuttered and swallowed.

"You want to go back to seeing Cha Hakyeon don't you?" InGuk asked.

Hongbin nodded honestly.

"Then fight. Defy them. Become a story of your own."

"W-what?" 

A story... My story? Hongbin thought to himself. 

"But how?" the younger asked curiosly. "I have no powers to do so... there's no way..."

InGuk calmly walked away from his spot. He stared out the window towards the main facilty. 

"There's always a way. Even though the Goddesses didn't want anyone to be in contact with the humans back on Earth, you or should I say your friend Lee Jaehwan, discovered a way to enter to the other side. He found a way to enter the stories of humankind and you entered it. You entered Hakyeon's book and became a character within it. That was the first step to having powers of your own. The facility tried to erase your existence from Cha Hakyeon's story as a punishment and the characters within the book no longer remembers you, even Hakyeon."

"..." Hongbin grew rather depressed just thinking about it. He was forgotten.

"That's what you thought. That's what we all thought."

"Huh?"

"He remembers." InGuk turned around to face the younger once more. "Cha Hakyeon remembers. He remembers you and everything about you."

"R-really?" Hongbin almost couldn't believe in the man's words.

"And he's looking for you."

* * * * * *

Where are you? Hongbin-ah? Where have you gone? What happened to you... you're not just a dream are you?

"Hakyeon-ah." Minhyuk called out, "Cha Hakyeon?"

"H-huh? What is it?" Hakyeon snapped out.

"You're zoning out again. Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine..." he answered even though he was obviously not.

"You sure? You've been zoning out a lot more than usual lately," Minhyuk pointed out.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Hakyeon said again. "Hey Minhyuk-ah."

""Hmm?"

"Do you remember... someone named Lee Hongbin?"

"Hongbin? Who's that?" he asked back.

"... Nevermind," Hakyeon gave up.

No one remembers Hongbin just as Hakyeon had feared. Even Hakyeon had forgotten about Hongbin until recently. But he still doesn't know whether or not Lee Hongbin really existed. Why is it that no one knows about him? Was Hongbin just a dream? If so, how long have Hakyeon been dreaming for?

Hakyeon let out a sigh.

But Hakyeon was sure of it. Hongbin wasn't a dream. Even if everyone else has forgotten about him, Hakyeon knows that Hongbin is real. There are just too many memories of Hongbin that Hakyeon cannot forget anymore. They made so many precious memories together and Hongbin was the one who saved Hakyeon when he felt the most alone. 

Hakyeon sat under the tree to eat his lunch while remininscing about the past. This winter was exceptionally cold but despite the weather, Hakyeon continued to look up into the sky and think about the first snow in which he saw with Hongbin. He remembered how rude he thought the younger was at first and his first impression of Hongbin was definitely not the greatest. But even so, Hongbin was the only one who stayed by his side, made him feel relaxed and didn't question him about his past. Being with Hongbin really felt like a dream but Hakyeon knew that Hongbin wasn't a dream. They were definitely together for the past two years and suddenly, Hakyeon found himself forgetting about Hongbin completely. Everything was all too strange yet  Hakyeon had no answers as to why any of this was happening.

Every trace of Lee Hongbin was gone.

No one remembers him except Hakyeon now.

"Hyung," Sanghyuk saw Hakyeon sitting alone under the tree.

"Hmm?"

"Are you feeling okay?" the younger asked in worry.

"I'm fine. Sorry to keep worrying you guys," Hakyeon said. He knows that his current condition had worried all his friends and he felt guilty about it. "Sorry about the apartment by the way."

"Huh? That's okay. I'm not really in a rush to find a place to stay anyways. But hyung, why did you suddenly want to move? Isn't the new place just a room next to your apartment?" Sanghyuk asked.

"I just felt like changing rooms. That's all," Hakyeon said.

After Hakyeon's sudden breakdown in front of his apartment a few nights ago, the landlady got really worried for Hakyeon. Hakyeon wasn't able to move on from his emotions for several days until he calmed down back at home. He stared at his own room for awhile and eventually, in order to confirm whether or not Hongbin was real or not, Hakyeon asked the landlady if he would be able to change his apartment unit to the one next door instead. 

The landlady didn't quite understand why Hakyeon would want to move to a smaller unit than his own at the time but she agreed to let him do it. It really broke her heart when she saw how broken Hakyeon suddenly become. Whatever the reason could have been, she agreed to let Hakyeon move out. 

"Hongbin," Sanghyuk suddenly said.

"What? You remember? You remember Hongbin, Hyogi-ah?!" Hakyeon shot up from his spot.

"No. I don't know him. But Minhyuk-hyung told me that you've been asking about this person for days now. What is he to you?" the younger asked.

Hakyeon let out a sigh of disappointment.

"You... won't get it..."

"How can I get anything if you don't even tell me what's going on with you hyung? I thought it's been really weird lately. You've been zoning out a lot and you always isolate yourself during break times. I've seen you almost wanting to cry several times when people aren't looking. I'm worried about you Hakyeon-hyung. Why won't you tell me anything?" Sanghyuk's face was definitely full of concerns. 

"I... even if I tell you, you won't understand.'

"How can I if you don't tell me?"

"Even if I tell you, you won't remember anything."

"Remember? About what? What don't I remember?"

"You don't remember him."

"Huh? Are you talking about Taekwoon-hyung? Of course I remember Taekwoon-hyung. There's no way I can forget about him and how much his death have left a scar in your heart," Sanghyuk insisted.

"Not Taekwoon. someone else."

"Someone else?"

"Someone named Lee Hongbin."

"The one you keep asking Minhyuk-hyung about?"

Hakyeon nodded. "I don't know if you will believe me or not, but you have met him before. All of you have but for some reason, you have suddenly all forgotten about him. Even I forgot about Hongbin until recently... everything about him was suddenly gone as if he never existed or as if he wasn't real."

"Are you sure you're not just dreaming about it?"

"No! I'm positive that he was real. If he wasn't, how could I have ever move on from my memories of Taekwoon? Taekwoon's death really left a scar in my heart like you said. But it's because I met Hongbin that I was able to move forward. He was the reason why I was able to look into the future and accept having others in my life again. He gave me love and comfort when I felt the most isolated and most alone. I thought I would never move on, I thought I was simply a jynx that ruins other's lives but he made me feel differently. He made me feel... special," Hakyeon told the younger with tears forming slowly in his eyes. His memories are real, at least that's what his heart is telling him.

"Hyung..." Sanghyuk didn't know what to say but simply look at how helpless Hakyeon was at his current state.

"You don't have to believe me but I know it. I'm sure of it! Something must have happened to him. Something must have made him disappear and something must have changed to make you all forget about him."

"But what could it be?"

"I don't know... that's why I want to know. I want to know what made everything change and where he went to suddenly without a word..."

How could you leave me behind? What happened to you Lee Hongbin?" Hakyeon thought once more as he continued to look for Hongbin. Why won't anyone tell me what to do and where I can find you? If only there was someone... somebody... who can help me...

A/N: I hope the story is finally getting more interesting to you guys. I know updates have been slow but I hope I didn't lose you all in the readings. Work have been really busy lately for me to continue writing long chapters. I tried to write little at a time to complete one lengthy chapter but I also wanted to give you guys a really good one. I hope you guys enjoy readng about this chapter and learning about the truth behind Moirae's Edge or should I say 'Fate's End'.