“Seek victory and you will gain weakness, look for a weakness and you shall be granted victory.” The psychic’s words echoed ominously at the back of Taehyung’s mind when he had kicked Wonho on the right knee. He watched the bulky warrior stagger backwards, his agonized cry no doubt the result of years of prior damage to the area. Exhausted and desperate, Taehyung had charged towards Wonho with his attention so focused on winning that he had failed to adequately defend himself.

He had not anticipated Wonho’s quick recovery and he most certainly had not even considered losing. However, as soon as he absorbed Wonho’s forceful kick to his abdomen, his heart dropped in shock. He reeled backwards from the sheer impact of the blow before he could even fathom the prospect of death.

But he was so exhausted. Every single muscle in his body burned with overexertion and his clothes were beginning to garner more and more blood with every passing second. His vision was growing blurry and the world all around him spun as if he was trapped within an insane nightmare. He felt weak. All the voices in his mind along with every bone within his body begged him to give up – to allow himself to collapse into the unavoidable pit of death and put himself out of his misery. And as he began to lose his balance along the border between life and death, he may have listened to these voices.

But she would not allow such a thing. The last thing he saw before dropping off the cliff were a pair of terrified, dark-chocolate eyes staring at him. And that was all he needed to regain his strength.

Taehyung raised both his arms immediately, grasping onto a sturdy overhanging ledge and holding on tightly as several pieces of the rocky cliff broke off and collapsed to the ground. Clenching his teeth against the force of rocks that assaulted his body on their thousand-foot journey below, he remained completely still. It almost sounded as if an avalanche was occurring around him, the voices of the cheering crowd above just barely managing to drown out the sound of the chaos erupting all around him.

Not possessing the energy to waste anymore time, Taehyung used his feet to test the ragged rocks below his feet. He stepped on one, gasping when it immediately crumbled beneath his weight. After regaining a strong hold on two outfacing rocks, he tested another piece of rock, only shifting his weight to it when he was certain it was sturdy enough to hold him up. He tucked his other foot in between another, higher opening along the side of the cliff. Then, using all the strength remaining within his limbs and with the image of Chaeyoung’s heartbroken eyes tattooed in his mind, he began to climb up towards the cliff edge.

As soon as his hands met the grains of sand that dusted the top of the cliff, he flung himself over. The crowd ceased their cheers immediately, exchanging stunned gasps instead as Taehyung immediately lunged for his fallen dagger. Before Wonho could even turn around, he had flung it straight towards his right knee – his weakness, Taehyung’s victory.

Wonho sank to the ground instantly, releasing one of the loudest, most agonized screams Taehyung had ever heard in his life. The sound echoed throughout the town. A howl of wind whipped through the air, shaking the trees all around them as Taehyung staggered to his feet. He slowly walked to the corner of their makeshift arena, recollecting his blood-smeared sword while Wonho writhed on the ground.

Without another second of hesitation, Taehyung plunged the weapon deep within his opponent’s chest – ignoring the gush of blood and hushed whispers that followed.

Then, he heard the loud tolling of a bell signalling the long-awaited end to the bloody match. He had won.

~{❀}~

Chaeyoung clenched her jaw, her furious eyes a stark contrast to the gentleness she used to clean Taehyung’s wounds.

Immediately after the battle, she had dragged him to the nearest empty infirmary. Without speaking a single word, she had forced him to take a seat on a wooden stool as she aggressively soaked long pieces of cotton cloth in a mixture of warm water and alcohol. She was also muttering curses at him the entire time she did all this, though she doubted he could hear her considering the ghastly state he was in.

She could not believe what he had done. How easily he had not only disobeyed her orders but risked his life too. The agony that he had not only unleashed upon her but also upon himself was unforgivable. He had acted too rashly, and he had been careless. Words could not explain how furious she was with him.

“Take your shirt off,” she commanded, tearing more pieces of long cloth and setting them aside to use as bandages.

“Woah, this is all happening a bit too fast,” he joked, putting his hands up in front of himself protectively, “I am not sure I am ready for that yet.”

She crossed her arms, unimpressed and still not possessing the mental strength to properly look into his eyes, “if you don’t do it, I will.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?”

She groaned, hastily rising to her feet to stand before his chair. He tilted his head to look up at her with a half-apologetic, half-mischievous grin, but she avoided his gaze yet again. With no more patience remaining within her, she grasped the edges of his loose, dark-burgundy stained shirt and quickly rolled it up until he finally assisted her and pulled it off.

Chaeyoung’s anger was momentarily replaced with shock as her eyes scanned the numerous wounds scattered over his bronzed-golden skin. She inhaled sharply at the sight, wishing she could somehow bear the pain of them all on her own body instead. Her fingers brushed lightly along the still wet, fresh scar that ran from one end of his chest to the other, an unbearable ache spreading within her own chest. The only unharmed thing on his body was the flawless jade pendant around his neck.

She could feel his heated gaze on her the entire time she stood there, his warm breath tickling and his lips dangerously close to her skin. He raised his arms slowly, but before he could encase her within their warmth, she stepped away to grab one of the wet cloths.

“Chaeyoung,” he somehow managed to fill that one word – her name – with a plethora of emotions.

She grasped the cloth tightly and gently patted it along the smaller scars around his right shoulder.

He sighed, “Chaey.”

Chaeyoung kept her eyes locked on his lean, bruised body, actively refusing to speak to him. Because she knew as soon as she did, she would break down. Thus, she simply continued to clean his wounds as if her sole goal in life was to prevent him from acquiring an infection

“Sweetheart, look at me.”

He raised his hand to grasp her chin, tilting it up to finally meet his gaze just as she finished wiping the last of the blood away from his tortured body. And it was as Chaeyoung had feared. The emotions she had barely managed to contain beyond the cages of her eyes instantly broke free and began to flood her eyes in the form of tears. Gazing into those eyes that understood her like no other, that shined with the brightness of a thousand stars – the eyes that tormented her heart and calmed her soul all at once, the eyes that had come face to face with death, she could not help but become overwhelmed.

She looked up immediately towards the roof of the tent they were currently in, vigorously blinking back the tears and stepping out of his reach. But in that instant of eye contact she was certain he had witnessed her emotions and understood which depths of grief her anger had risen from.

In the silence that followed, she quickly took a long piece of cloth and hesitantly approached him again. With quick, sharp movements, she wrapped the bandage around his chest, leaning forward to reach all the way across his back, long strands of her braided hair brushing his bare shoulder in the process.

“I’m finished,” she muttered, beginning to turn away, “you should get some rest.”

But before she could leave, he grabbed her wrist and turned her back around immediately. With one sharp tug of his arm, he pulled her onto his lap. And she could no longer contain herself.

All the emotions she had effectively held back the entire day rushed back like a full force tsunami as he held her close to his warm, breathing, still very much alive body. She caved in and slung her arms around him, burying her damp face in his neck and sobbing uncontrollably.

She sniffled after several moments, “I almost lost you today.”

Her voice cracked, and more tears flooded her eyes at the mere thought. Images of the day’s events flashed through her mind and she was uncertain how she had survived such heartbreak.

He her hair softly and remained silent, allowing her to unleash her emotions for as long as she needed.

“How could you do such a thing?” she lifted her head to gaze at him with pained, questioning eyes.

Taehyung smiled, the simple action automatically restoring a piece of her broken heart, and then used the back of his long fingers to brush away her tears, “when will you realize that I would do anything for you?”

“When will you realize I can’t live without you?”

They stared at each other for a long second, their eyes exchanging an array of messages that could not be spoken, only felt. A conversation between the eyes that bled into their hearts and reached their very soul. A language that