SIXTEEN

Eight years ago

“Do you hear the news already?”

“Which one? What news?”

“Western Air Kingdom!”

“Oh Holy, you must be kidding me, that is not possible! I thought it is not right?”

“It is true, they are killed. Leaving the Prince alone, he is too young to be a King”

“But, isn’t it also happened in Southern Fire Kingdom? King Chanyeol just became a King two years ago, at the age of ten!”

“Oh, but it is different this time. King Chanyeol has been trained since he is born. The deceased Queen Sohee has predicted this would happen, but not with King Jinhwan, moreover Queen Semi. Western Air Kingdom is the most peaceful Kingdom within four Kingdoms. It is nonsense!”

“Ssh, the Prince is coming, lower your voice!”

            Suho tried to walk as calm as he could. It is not the first time he heard about the news anyway. In fact, he already got bunch of them talking about it behind them. It always started with fresh news of Western Air Kingdom rulers are killed to the curse.

            And it is indeed true. Once Suho left from the scene, he could hear the guards continued their conversation. The curse, which he didn’t really think about but later on lodge in his mind as he thought it might be true.

“Prince Suho is coming”

            The guard announced Suho’s arrival as two of them open the door to him. Then Suho bended down, greet the man on the robe in front of him who seems like to talk about serious matter before his arrival. He hid his frown, before step aside when he recognized the man his father has talked with and bended down to greet him.

“Greetings to King Sangwoo, the King of Northern Earth Kingdom”

“Oh, nice to see you Suho. Too bad I should leave already. Perhaps we could have small talk” the King smiled at him, patted his shoulder and turned around “That is all Joon. Thank you for your understanding, you know very well- you are my only last hope”

            Suho still bows when King Sangwoo left them. Then, King Joon, his father, cleared his throat, announced Suho that they are the only one in the room by now. He ordered the guards to leave them as they always had some kind of private conversation together. Therefore, Suho lifted his head and smile clearly is drawn on his face.

“I don’t like him” Suho frowned “He is too noisy and asked you so many favors”

Joon laughs at his son’s innocent and said “In some parts, I agree with you” he agreed and added “But you couldn’t do that Suho. You are a grown man already. Act at your own age”

“I know” Suho rolled his eyes “But I just don’t like him, dad. He only comes here to ask for your help. When he is not, he just asked his guards. It is kind of annoying” before his father gets mad, he added “-but I do like his grandchild! Prince Kyungsoo is adorable! I hope they switch character dad, seriously. Prince Kyungsoo should smile more often”

At that, the King is laughing out loud “Oh trust me, King Sangwoo didn’t show his emotion often before. He is changed because he feels so much pain-” the King pointed at his heart and continued “-deep down in his heart” Suho knows what the King is trying to say, it must be about Kyungsoo’s parents who died in the war not long after Kyungsoo is born, “Everyone changed, it is their rights”

“Fine” Suho certainly didn’t want to continue the topic as he grin playfully “So, which favors? Is it about Kyungsoo? I am so happy to meet him again!”

“Oh, it isn’t about him. And sadly, you couldn’t interfere this time” the King warned him

Then, as if click Suho’s mind, he whispered “Is it about Western Air Kingdom?”

The King stops for a moment, oh the guards must be talked about that, he thought so he nodded “It is not that serious”

            If that is not that serious, then the rulers of Western Air Kingdom wouldn’t be dead. But Suho knows that he shouldn’t buy it. As the King started to ask about his daily routine, Suho immediately took a seat beside him and told him everything. Ever since his mom dead, the King has always been there for him, be a good King and at the same time a good dad. If there is one thing, he feels proud about being a Prince, it definitely is his dad.

            King Joon is the best dad everyone could have.

            It is the night, when the moon shone too brightly and Suho feels upset in his stomach thus he woke up abruptly from bed. His head is spinning badly from the sudden wake up. He could feel his heartbeat is abnormally faster than usual.

He frowned. He is not usually like that. He took a note to visit a healer later in the morning, it is still too early to wake people up and clearly, he wouldn’t do that. Especially not to the good-looking healer named Yixing, he needs his beauty sleep to stay beauty.

At the thought, Suho smiled, couldn’t help not to think about tomorrow and another reason to visit his crush. He is just a hormonal teenager with passionate feeling to be loved. And when he feels his stomach turned inside, he groaned immediately.

            Oh, it is not about the love. He has stomachache and needs the restroom. Suho, with stupid smile on his face, get up from his bed and strolled around the castle.

            He is just done with his business in the restroom when he looks outside and saw the brightest moon he has ever seen. The moon looks stunning, shining and captivating. He isn’t aware as he pressed his hands on the window glass, eyes widened open and mouth slight gasped.

            What a sight.

“Bring her here, hurry!”

“Why so harsh? She is just a kid”

“This kid brought harm to the Kingdom of Western Air. Just do your job well before I cut your down”

            Suho jolted up from his position and immediately hid behind the pillars. Which girl? Bring harm to the Kingdom of Western Air? Then why she is here?!

            Then the guards walked past him, unaware of Suho who is hiding behind the pillar. From his position, he could saw the girl’s face clearly. It is just a girl, younger than him, having such a beautiful face with long black hair, plump lips screaming for help, and puppy eyes filling with sadness. All the anger suddenly turned to the guards as he saw how rude the guards treat her. He wants to yell at the guards, but he knows he better not.

            When the girl’s eyes met him, Suho feels something twisted on his heart. The girl looks through inside his, filled with painful and innocent. Her eyes are pleading for a help. But what Suho could do is just standing there, hiding like a coward. Suho just saw it, as the girl being pulled harshly by the guards into the prison in the basement and left him alone.

            It is the first time Suho thought that perhaps, his dad is not the best man in the world.

            The morning comes too soon. Suho opens his eyes tiredly, is half hoping that yesterday-night is just a dream. But the girl’s screaming, the girl’s voice, the girl’s face-

            It is not just a dream and he knew it. The King, his dad, just imprisoned an innocent girl in the dark-terrifying basement. Suho snapped his eyes opens when he feels someone touch him.

“I am sorry, did I wake Prince Suho?”

            It is the cute, adorable healer Zhang’s son, named Yixing.

“N-nuh- I”

“Prince Suho is nervous” Yixing mumbled under his mouth, thinking that Suho couldn’t hear him, but he could, and he did “I could feel it”

“I am not. It is just a morning” Suho lied then added “Why you are here in the morning? Where is healer Zhang?”

“Prince Suho didn’t like me come to prince’s room?”

            Suho surprised when he saw how Yixing nearly want to cry. He bit his lips and blinked in confused, brain is thinking hard how to soothe the other in the room. However, the door suddenly opens and Suho sighs in relief, knowing that healer Zhang is here to find his son.

“Zhang Yixing, how many times I have told you not to come to Prince’s room uninvited?”

            Oh, wrong choice of words.

            Suho widened his eyes when he saw Yixing surprised and tears started to form at the corner of his eyes.

“Y-yixing is uninvited-“

“N-nuh, n-no. Yixing is invited!” Suho immediately said, stared at the older man for help when the man just sighed and approached his son

He sighed “You are spoiling him too much” but instead of running to his father, Yixing wrapped his fingers on Suho’s back, the old man added “This is why he becomes spoiled kid”

            Oh really, Suho didn’t mind at all.

“Prince Suho is not feeling well. I come here to heal” Yixing said between his sobbing “See, his stomach is not good. Bad sickness should go”

            And just like that, he feels warm on his stomach. He neither felt stomachache nor the headache anymore. He just knows that Yixing has healed him magically. It didn’t make his heart beats normal though. But soon Suho smiled, has already forgotten what he saw yesterday-night.

            As long as Yixing is there, he didn’t feel bad at all.

            -or not.

            At the day, Suho would glance at the door through the basement, but soon he forgot once Yixing called his name. However, at night, when Yixing is not around, Suho would remember the screaming on his ears. He covered his ears with the pillows, is not that much helpful because he knows the screaming is not real. It is not coming from the basement, but ghosted on his mind, torturing him slowly.

            On the second months lacking-of good sleep, that night, he has enough. Suho got up from his safe chamber, to the basement. He is hesitated for a bit. Deep down in his heart he hopes that the guards would see him and ask him to go to bed, but that night, although the night sky is clear, nobody saw him open the door slowly and entered the basement.

            There is a long path to the dungeon, those people called a prison. Suho gulped nervously, but the door behind him clearly isn’t where he wants to go. Taking the torch that hung on the brick wall, Suho walked further into the darkness.

            He could hear shrieking and clacking, kicking and punching, laughing and giggling. He could smell mud, stink, and bloods. It is all kind of hostile things collected in one place.

            As Suho lifted his torch, one man is widened his eyes and laughing at him hysterically, making him slipped on the damp floor and cried. Everyone started to point at him, laughing at the only show they could have on in a million.

            Suho wants to run away, back to his safe chamber, away from this disaster.

            But then his eyes caught a glimpse of a girl at the end of the cells. Man up, Suho closed his eyes tightly, away from the insane men in the cell and walked directly to the girl. The cell is dark, no lights at all thus Suho needs to lift his torch to see the girl clearer.

            The girl squatted at the corner of the room, presumably crying. Suho didn’t know how to open the cell so he just put the torch on there, getting the girl’s attention as the girl looked up at him slowly. Suho feels really wrong inside, he squatted down to equalize the eye level.

“I- I am sorry” is the only words Suho could think about to make him feel better

The girl didn’t reply at first, not even moving at all thus Suho continued “B-but, why are you here? Wh-why they capture you?”

            The silence kills Suho slowly. The louds, insane men have already lost their attention.

“I look for my brother. He is not there. He is not here. They all left me” is what Suho could catch “I just want to be loved”

            The way the girl answered him, it feels like someone stabbed Suho in the heart. He didn’t know why but he could feel the pain the girl has been gone through. He grabs the cell, his knuckles started to grow white. He looks the girl in the eyes, promising to his self.

“I will help you. Let me help you”

***

Present time

            The castle is ruined. All the magnificent artifacts, luxurious glasses, great pillars, are destroyed into ruins and ashes. The rising smoke blocked the scene from the vision, the result of having lunatic flames and destructive air as enemies. Worse, they step on nothing but formless ground. Burning skeletons filled their noses as they fight for their life.

            Kyungsoo couldn’t see anyone as he focuses on protecting Suho and Yixing. In the sake of being a good brother, he is. To pay all the things Suho has ever done to him back in the past. He only remembers how Suho always treats him like a brother, a family, instead of his supposed to be family. Moreover, he has confidence with his guardians. All of them would survive from this battlefield.

            It is never been a good sign though, once he saw the moon shining so bright despite the fact it isn’t evening yet. Kyungsoo shouted loudly stretching his hands to make more formless grounds, those slowly turn into balls of soil, sharpened in the end and dangerously dash to the other direction. Successfully attack more skeletons on their way, breaking them into pieces, but not with the men standing proudly in front of them.

            There, Chanyeol with smirk on his face is at the contrary with Sehun who isn’t having much expression at all. Both are surrounded by their powers, winds on Sehun’s side and fire on Chanyeol’s side. Both are not shaken, still on their position, playing with their emotion with just standing there, proudly and fine.

“Both are controlled by that jerk” Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes and pointed at the silhouette behind them once Jongdae is near their conversation range

Kris landed right beside him, rolling his eyes “You are aware you are still underage, right?”

“Whatever Kris, nobody cares” Tao turned his weapon, stabbed the skeleton which approach them “I didn’t see Luhan. The smoke blocks my vision. Is everyone okay?”

            Kris, got it as a code, fly a bit higher to scan the surrounding. His eyes sparked in galaxy as he focusses on below him. Everyone is still in safe area. Yixing is still with Suho, ensuring him not to wake up anytime soon. Jongin might not be in good state, Kyungsoo prohibit him to open the portal as they didn’t want to either teleport more enemies on their side or lose Jongin due to his unstable power. Anyway, Minseok is with them, everyone should be okay by now.

Oh, except one man.

“Baekhyun is nowhere to be seen” Kris reported “Probably approaching Ilsik. Oh, and Luhan is guarding Ilsik by the way. Is that good news?”

Kyungsoo couldn’t believe what he heard as he couldn’t help not to feel annoyed “He knows pretty well that he can’t fight, right?”

Jongdae sigh “The urge of having a pure heart. Let me handle it”

            After Jongdae said that, he disappeared into the fog, leaving them with the skeletons to fight and the mind-controlled Kings. Kris, Kyungsoo, and Tao tried their best to bring down Chanyeol and Sehun. But both Kings are stable, not even getting scratches. Minseok and Jongin, almost powerless, use any random weapon they saw to protect both Yixing and Suho who obviously couldn’t fight at the moment.

            It is only nice in the beginning. Once Chanyeol has enough with his game, he approached them. More burning skeletons could be seen, Chanyeol didn’t even care which are on his side. He is just walking to them, eyes on Kyungsoo.

“Done with playing?” he asked, choked Kyungsoo who widened his eyes for help

            Tao, hurriedly stabbed Chanyeol with his weapon on the back. But it didn’t help, just like ice which protects Minseok, the fire protects Chanyeol. Tao threw his weapon as it started to feel hot by the fire surrounding the King.

“I am not playing with you” Kyungsoo said in struggling, he grabs Chanyeol’s hands which is burning just like his surrounding, shouting in the middle, yet keep talking “You should get your mind right. We are not your enemies- Ilsik is-“

“Oh, but I heard someone badly want to kill me, the King of Southern Fire Kingdom?” Chanyeol smirked, tightened his grip, choking Kyungsoo and burning his hands at the same time

“OMG, KRIS HELP ME!” Tao desperately shouted from the back, using his weapon to bother Chanyeol but really, it is useless

Kris, from unknown to be seen, just shouted back “I couldn’t, S-Sehun is attacking me!”

            Thus, left only Kyungsoo and Tao, are struggling with Chanyeol who by now glance at Tao. He whispered “it is just a bug” to Tao before lifted his free hand and burn Tao. Kyungsoo widened his eyes. Tao is burning in front of his eyes, yet he couldn’t do anything.

            He desperately lifted his hand to form any protection for Tao. But it is futile. He couldn’t even breaths properly. He nearly cried as his vision gets blurry. Chanyeol force him to look at him only.

“N-no- No!” Kyungsoo coughs once Chanyeol tightened his grip on his neck again

“On me Kyungsoo-ah. Eyes on me” Chanyeol hissed and the fire started to play on his other free hand “Now, let me think. Should I burn you alive just like your people or should I burn you slowly just like what you want me to die?”

            Of course, Kyungsoo couldn’t say anything, not even moving his eyes. He closed his eyes. His hands have weakened on his side. He didn’t want this to be his end but witnessing how Tao is burning in front of him. It feels like déjà vu.

“Jongin-“ he whispered weakly

“He is dead” Chanyeol hissed

“Oh, I am not”

            Kyungsoo is surprised when he didn’t feel any grip on his neck anymore. He opens his eyes in shock, trying to get any air possible. Jongin is holding him tight, are far enough from Chanyeol. He could feel a warm touch on his neck, and he looks up to see Yixing heals him. Minseok is in front of them, blocking Chanyeol with any ice possible.

“Just let Yixing heal you” Tao said

Kyungsoo immediately turn aside “You are alive!”

“Of course, I am. These guys come in the right time. Who said that they couldn’t fight, seriously?” Tao protested, looking at how Minseok maintained his ice really well “We need help him though, are you done?” he asked Yixing who nodded his head

“You help Minseok, please. We will check on Kris. Tao should help him” Yixing explained, pulled Jongin who is ready to open the portal

Kyungsoo is surprised to see he is fine “B-but where is Suho?”

“I knocked him down. Probably would fainted for one or two hours, I don’t know. But let him be” Yixing said as if he didn’t just say that he makes his King fainted “You said the only one who is allowed to die is Ilsik, right? I am not going to let you all die. Not on my watch” as Yixing said with smile on his face as he disappeared on the portal Jongin just made

Tao winked at Kyungsoo and said “It such a sight to see you all surprised, King. But Yixing is right. Let do this right, this time. Ilsik is our priority”

As Jongin closed the portal, he said “Keep your mind right, King. None of us are dead, we are still alive”

            Kyungsoo smiled, proud to be a King for the first time. He saw how Minseok is struggle with the ice on his hand as Chanyeol force to come. Thus, he stood up and looks around.

“Are you done? Can we fight? I mean, can you help me, please?” Minseok asked, glanced behind to make sure Kyungsoo is still there “-or any idea to make him stop without killing him?”

“I have” Kyungsoo stood up, clicked his neck as he could feel it is fine, he has enough choking today “the fire would protect him, right? Do you know how the game is cooked in our Kingdom?”

            Minseok didn’t respond, more like couldn’t, as he waits for Kyungsoo to keep talking. But instead of continuing his speech, Kyungsoo stretched his hands, making the ground around Chanyeol lifted. Each end is meeting on the upside while Minseok keep producing his ice. By now the ices also protect Kyungsoo by the possible fire Chanyeol attacked them. The fire burned the soil, but it keeps coming. However, Kyungsoo has Minseok as his shield. He focused on trapping Chanyeol with the soil, hard ground.

“They roasted it in the soil” Kyungsoo continued

            And once each end meets each other, Minseok took steps back by instinct. With one, swift moves, Kyungsoo pushed the hard ground below him to Chanyeol’s direction, successfully trapped the Fire with Chanyeol inside. Kyungsoo glanced at Minseok, sweat started to form from his temples.

“But we didn’t want to burn him alive, did we?” he aske