[CHAPTER 26]

"Savior and Destruction"

Never has he felt such frustration before. He's done everything he was told, he's left Moirae's Edge once before in order to find the results the facility wished for. Fate is a mystery and everyone involved with the facility's higher ranks, questions about it. There's are so many things unanswered about humankind and those residing within the facility grew in fear.

"You must go to Earth. It'll be a field-study and there, you will report back everything you know about humanity," one of the man from the council directed him.

"Yes sir," Taekwoon nodded.

"Humans are evolving and the Goddesses are terrified. The more they evolve, the less control the Goddesses will have. We must keep the universe in order and we must watch over humanity's fate."

"What should I do after I arrive on the other side?" 

"Study them. You will have access to all the resources to human kinds. We're mainly concern with humans with a strange fate. We want to know everything there is about them all and anything you can find unusual about their kind will be of use to our facility."

But there's so many of them on Earth... where do I start? Taekwoon wondered.

"We have already assigned a particular human for your encounter, is that right Hyoshin?" the old man turned to face the other who sat at the front of everyone else within the council.

"Yes," Hyoshin answered as he brought out a book and slid it across the table towards Taekwoon. "This is the human you are allowed to encounter."

Taekwoon took the book and inspected it on all sides.

"Cha Hakyeon?" he read the title of the story.

"His book was selected by the Goddesses and you have been granted the permission to meet him. However, you may not tell him anything about your mission or about us. You cannot allow him to question about fate or of our existence. You are also required to report back to us as soon as you find something strange."

"How will I know what to do though?" Taekwoon asks.

"You don't. None of us does. But that's exactly what we want you to do. Just do as you feel right without forgetting your true purpose of being on Earth. When the time comes, you will be summoned back here as a result."

"I see..."

And that was exactly what Taekwoon did. He met a man named Cha Hakyeon and made the other fall in love with him. He knew that he shouldn't be so invested in their relationship because for Taekwoon, it was all for the sake of the facility and protecting the Goddesses' powers from human evolution. His encounter with Hakyeon was simply a manipulation for the facility's research. They wanted to know what happens to humanity when they encounter someone they were never supposed to, for example, someone of Moirae's Edge. Taekwoon's 'death' was supposed to end everything as well as Hakyeon's life, so why? Why is Cha Hakyeon still alive? And why did he fall for Lee Hongbin?

"Tsk," he clicked his teeth as he rushed towards the main facility to find the two who stole his book.

I knew I should have been more cautious about those two. They're friends with Lee Hongbin after all. Dammit, I can't believe the moment I let my guard down that they would steal Hakyeon's book from me, the more he thought about it, the more furious he got. He regret not paying extra attention to Wonshik as the other was entering in and out of his office for routine checks. Taekwoon didn't think that anyone would betray the facility for something as foolish as 'friendship'. After all, everyone else within the facility would follow the practices of the Goddesses and believe in them only.

He finally reached InGuk's office with the purpose of finding Jaehwan and Wonshik. He must acquire Hakyeon's book back at all cost, that is current his mission. 

"Where is Lee Jaehwan and Kim Wonshik?" Taekwoon asked as soon as he stormed into the man's office.

InGuk sat in his chair nonchantedly about the intruder. He stared at Taekwoon without a word as if he didn't see Taekwoon at all.

"Answer me!" Taekwoon was agitated at the man's attitude and confronted InGuk.

InGuk sighed.

"What makes you think I would know where they are? They're not my student," InGuk finally said.

"Don't act dumb with me. They're Lee Hongbin's friends," Taekwoon continued.

"And?"

"You've been planning on revolting against the facility since the day you were announced a Keeper. The Goddesses and the council have their eyes on you since the day you stepped foot into the facility. I've been warned to keep an eye on you as well since I've become a Supervisor so don't you think you can put on an act and fool me," Taekwoon said. "Now tell me where they are and where they're hiding Hakyeon's book!"

"So you've known. Well if you're so smart, than you shouldn't have let them take the book away from you in the first place."

"What!?" 

Taekwoon was growing furious as the older pointed out his mistake. 

"Just like everyone else, you're just a puppet of fate. Don't you even have a mind of your own to think about what to do for yourself instead of someone you've never met before? What makes you so sure that these so-called Goddesses of Fate even exist?" InGuk asked.

"They exist and I won't let anyone hinder their methods. Now tell me where those two are?!"

"What makes you think I'll tell you?"

Taekwoon grabbed InGuk's collar in frustration. His hands were shaking from the irritation and anger he felt inside.

"Answer me!"

"Stop Taekwoon-ah!" Hyoshin said as he followed Taekwoon.

"Shut up!" Taekwoon refused.

"Calm down and let InGuk go," Hyoshin asked. 

Hyoshin wasn't going to follow Taekwoon at first but after giving it some thought, he knew he had to. He couldn't just let Taekwoon out of his sight and the younger's actions were starting to worry him.

"How can you side with him? With them?! You're the Chairman of this facility, you're supposed to be protecting this place!" Taekwoon reminded him.

"I am protecting it. I'm doing the best that I can, so calm down and let go of InGuk."

Hyoshin grabbed Taekwoon's arms and grasped the younger tightly. He was serious. 

"Let go," he said once more in a much more stern and commanding tone.

Taekwoon swung his hands away from InGuk's collar. 

"Taekwoon-ah, there's no use being frustrated about the situation. What's done is done so calm down," Hyoshin tried to tell him once more.

"Heh. Calm? I've been very calm! I did everything you and those old geezers told me to since the beginning. You promised me that once Hakyeon's story ends that everything will go back to normal and that we'll all be at peace. I did it for you guys and for our sake. Now you tell me to calm down? Aren't you even worried that Hakyeon's story have come back to life?!" Taekwoon demanded to know.

"Even that's a shock for me but there's no point on fighting about what's been done."

"Don't you know what might happen if Cha Hakyeon was to find out about this facility or about fate? He was supposed to have died once yet he's alive again! Why? Aren't you curious about it even just one bit? Aren't you afraid that his life means putting us all in danger?" 

"..."

Hyoshin was speechless. Taekwoon had a point.

Ever since the day the Goddesses have assigned Hakyeon's book to be studied upon, Hyoshin as well as all those within the council have been questioning about this certain human's purpose and story. He was no where near to being special in the beginning and his fate was undecided at first until Taekwoon accepted his mission. They wrote Taekwoon's name inside Hakyeon's book making their encounter with one another uncoincidential.

There is no such thing as coincidence.

Taekwoon felt used.

He's done all he was instructed to do and just when he thought it was finally the end, and that his hard work finally paid off, someone named Lee Hongbin got in the way.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got as well. 

"If you won't tell me, I'll find Lee Hongbin to tell me himself," Taekwoon threatened.

He stormed down to exit the office but was immediately held back by Seo InGuk who stood in front of the doorway.

"Step aside," Taekwoon said with a menacing glare.

"Even if you find Hongbin, he won't be able to tell you anything. He doesn't have anything to do with Hakyeon's book nor does he know about what those other two are planning. I'm the only one who knows and you're not going anywhere without getting through to me first," InGuk glared back seriously. 

Taekwoon clenched his fist, ready to throw it across but he knew that he was also no match for the older if it comes down to a physical match. 

He was fuming inside. 

"Every single one of you... getting in my way time after time. Using me when you wanted and now this..." he murmured continuously. "I won't forget this."

He flung InGuk aside and stormed back to his own office. There was no point in finding Lee Hongbin if he really doesn't know the whereabouts of his two friends or the book of Cha Hakyeon. But he had to find out. InGuk was standing in his way and now even Park Hyoshin. It felt as if the world was against him all at once and the agitation he felt was tremendous. 

~

"What are you planning?" InGuk turned his attention to Hyoshin as soon as Taekwoon left the office.

"Helping you," the other said.

"Hah! Help me? If you were helping me, this would never have happened in the first place! Now out with it, what are you up to? You're the one who assigned Jung Taekwoon to research on Hakyeon's story and now you're saying you want to help us? Don't screw with me."

"You're right. I took part in giving Taekwoon his assignment. That boy needed a place to go and a reason to continue believing so we gave him an important mission."

"Mission?"

"Me nor the council were aware of the exceptions within humanity. We all believed that everyone would fall into the hands of fate and how the Goddesses decide their story to be. But we were wrong. The Goddesses was never able to find a definite ending when it came to Cha Hakyeon's story. Half of his timeline remained a mystery and eventually, we had to make an exception ourselves. We decided to send Taekwoon onto Earth and approach Cha Hakyeon alone."

"So the ones breaking the laws were you guys. And here, only Lee Hongbin got punished," InGuk snorted at how ridiculous everything was sounding to him.

"You're right. We're in no position to be pointing our fingers at anyone especially Hongbin. We were the ones who started it all but they needed a scapegoat."

"Sc- are you ing with me?! Scapegoat? After everything you guys did?" InGuk was getting angry for Hongbin's sake.

"What we did was unforgiveable and I apologize for it. That's why I want to change. I want this facility to change."

"What are you saying?"

"This place... I want to give it freedom. All of us bound here by fate and by our beliefs... it's time we become free from it."

"Free..." the words lingered in InGuk's mind. It was the only thing he's been craving for the entire time he's been in the facility. 

The word of freedom never felt so tempting before. InGuk have been fighting for it for a long time since he's been bound to the facility but he had no idea where to start to begin his revolt. He wasn't able to attempt it before while he was alone and he was hoping to begin somewhere by slowly gathering people to his side. But now, even the Chairman of Moirae's Edge, stands in front of him and possibly by his side.

"How can I trust you?" InGuk was wary.

Hyoshin knew that words would mean nothing if it comes to someone like InGuk. He took reached for his pocket and took out a small golden box.

"What is that?"

The box was strangely similar to the many golden engravings around the facility. There were threads wrapped around it and intricate details were carved at every inch of the box. It was as if it was almost too delicate to hold.

"I know my words are meaningless to you so this is the only way I can persuade you that I'm serious about wanting to help you," Hyoshin said as he handed the book to InGuk.

InGuk took the box with care and examined it for himself.

On the side of the box were engravings of the three Goddesses - the past, the present and the future. As he held onto the box, he couldn't help but feel an unexplanation emotion from it. It's as if all answers were within this tiny box held within his palms. He opened it carefully to see what was hidden inside. It was a golden fountain pen. 

But unlike any ordinary pens, this one was just as intricate as the box that protected it. A glistening golden nib and body with threads that wrapped around it. The grip was covered with a narrow black band and at the end of the pen was a feather made of gold.

"You know about the pen that allows for us to enter the otherside easily right?" Hyoshin asked.

InGuk responded with a nod.

"That pen allows us to become a character inside of someone else's story. It allows us to see what we would never have been able to within the facility. We exist in another's story and we've been using that method to gather information. But this pen here, it's different and much more powerful."

"What do you mean?" InGuk asked as even he has never seen such a thing before.

"That pen allows us to exist in another's story, it gives us existence within another's book. But this pen here... it... It gives us existence," Hyoshin said. 

"Our... existence."

~

"What do you mean that this pen gives us existence?" Hongbin asked as he looked at the pen sitting in front of him in which InGuk brought to show him.

"It's just as it sounds. With this pen, we're allowed to exist," InGuk said.

"Huh?"

"You know how you were able to write your name and enter Hakyeon's story right?"

Hongbin nodded.

"That method only allows us to exist within someone else's story. But in reality, we don't exist. We were only inside of their memories temporarily until we become erased again. That's why it was so easy to erase your name and everything about you when the council decided to punish you. Humans all have a book titled by their names and their own story. But as I told you before, we don't truly exist in Moirae's Edge. Our existence revolves around being the creations of the Goddesses of Fate and so our beliefs, our attitudes and everything revolves around what they want. We don't have a consciousness of our own or story of our own. We don't have a book or a story like humans do."

And InGuk is right.

If all humans had a story about them, how about those that were born on Moirae's Edge. Where's their book? Do they even have one? They've spent so many centuries or even millenniums trying to follow human fate like puppets yet they never questioned why they, themselves, don't have a story about who they are or what their future might look like. Everything was a mystery until now where people are starting to question it.

"What does this pen do then?" Hongbin asked curiously.

"We can write our own story. A book of our own. A story that only belongs to us."

"H-how?"

"Cha Hakyeon."

"What?"

"He is the key to our existence. He is the answer in which we've been looking for all along. He is the threat to the Goddesses because he is the one to give us freedom from their grasp."

He was his savior yet he was also their destruction. Piece by piece, little by little, everything was falling into place. Now, there was only one thing to do and that is, to bring Cha Hakyeon to their side so that they will finally gain the freedom that they've been longing for.

A/N: Are you guys enjoying the complexity of this story or is it really too confusing xD Be confused, as questions will be answered little by little.