Bright light.

Is he dead?

Kyungsoo's pretty confident that whatever might be presented to him is nothing other than the afterlife.

He would have expected the light covering his sight to be as white as the one that engulfed him before, but... It's warm. It's yellow... It's gentle. It feels natural.

Very very slowly, while very very disoriented, Kyungsoo's vision starts returning to him. He can't see anything more than blurs of colors though.

At first, he feels the ache in his head and body from the effort of trying to move his eyes and head around, but he is generally comfortable in his position. His eyes land on a blur of a familiar reddish brown blob that appears to be right beside him.

In his mind, he knows he's trying to move his hand in order to touch what he is certain to be the fluff of hair on top of Chanyeol's head. It can't be anything else. But his hand is immobile. Something is holding onto it and preventing it from moving.

Warm and gentle... Big... Rough... It's a hand grabbing onto his own.

Kyungsoo's heart speeds up just a little bit from the relief and happiness of knowing that wherever he is, whatever state he is, Chanyeol is there with him.

But does it mean he's alive? Or perhaps the both of them died?

He's aware that the achey mass controlled by his mind is his body, but... He feels different. The afterlife wasn't supposed to include pain... So he's starting to suspect he didn't die. But his own flesh feels so foreign to him that he doesn't know if he's quite alive either.

Somehow he's managed to turn his head again, to the direction opposite of Chanyeol's. He couldn't see any clear details, but he did realize that the warm and pleasant natural light he was met with when first being aware of himself again, came from a bright square shape in the wall.

It must be day light. It feels like day light. Not quite hot as being directly under the sun, but Kyungsoo spent enough time indoors on the fire island to recognize what light spreads around during the day through the windows.

That means he must be on the fire island again. The only place where the sun shines.

A strange mixture of relief and concern start filling him from the inside. Something just doesn't feel right.

Shortly after, he began hearing speedy yet stable steps going down some hallway. Familiar steps of heavy leather boots slamming down onto the surface... But they weren't making the knock of hitting against metal.

Oh... He can't deal with it right now.

His vision scatters some more, and he falls back into a slumber of nothingness.

Bright light once more, but this time censored by the thin skin of his own eyelids.

He's awake and aware again, as much as a stump as he felt, as much as everything was just a mess of chaotic confusion, he heard voices he recognized talking above him. Over him. Soothing voices... He knows those.

One was gentle and soft like a small streamlet of water on top of smooth little rocks. And the other was like looking up at the sky at night and spotting the brightest star of them all.

Those were Junmyeon and Baekhyun's voices. 

He must be alive then.

Now being certain that he isn't dreaming things up by hearing the two of them, Kyungsoo spent longer with his eyes shut in an attempt to possibly have better luck at seeing anything at all when he will choose to open them.

Maybe with the dimness of his eyelids he'd be able to let his eyes focus a little better before exposing them straight to the whole deal of seeing.

While lying like this, with his eyes shut but still awake, Kyungsoo slowly began feeling his own body again. Remaining motionless like this didn't cause him any pain at all. In fact, the weird sensation he had of being a stranger in his own skin the previous time he woke up was now gone.

He was reconnected with his own nerves, although they felt extremely numb.

The warmth of Chanyeol's hand was still wrapped around his own, and when he realized that, he immediately opened his eyes as well. He wants to see Chanyeol. He missed Chanyeol. He wants to know what's going on.

When his eyes opened his vision was still slightly blurry, but he could still recognize the faces of Junmyeon, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol all turning to look directly at him in an instant. After blinking a few times to hopefully clear his sight, he could make out a little more detail. To the level of noticing all three of them seemed to be incredibly surprised.

"Kyungsoo! You're awake!"

Baekhyun was the first to respond, but Chanyeol had already squeezed Kyungsoo's hand in reassurance, a small smile stretched over his lips.

It took Kyungsoo a little while longer to finally regain the full scope of his own vision. But when it came to, he examined the three of them.

They were sitting around the bed he himself was lying in. Chanyeol's arm was bandaged, Junmyeon's hands were in wraps, and Baekhyun had his leg raised up, resting on the corner of Kyungsoo's own bed, ankle also wrapped in cloths. And his eyes... Baekhyun's eyes were different.

All of them are injured to one degree or another, and Kyungsoo wondered what was his own bodily state if he was the only one still lying in the bed barely able to move a muscle. How long has he been asleep for his body to feel this heavy and exhausted?

"Whoa... So you weren't kidding when you said his eyes changed."

Junmyeon said, sounding impressed, before turning to nod at Baekhyun. Meanwhile Chanyeol carefully assisted Kyungsoo up into a sitting position in the bed. Placing the pillow behind his back and making sure he leans back without hitting his head against the wall.

As numb as Kyungsoo's body felt, he did sense a little bit of a warm and happy tingle pass through him from the attention and affection being expressed by Chanyeol putting him in order in the bed. Moving even this much made his body ache, but it was fine, because now he felt a little more normal.

"I told you! I've never seen this before."

Baekhyun replied to Junmyeon with a curious excitement, then the two turned back to focus on Kyungsoo once more.

"Hey, how are you feeling buddy?" Baekhyun asked with a growing smile.

Kyungsoo felt... Strange. Mostly. He felt unwell, but also too well at the same time. Like his physical body was not up to par with the amount of wellness coming from inside.

He looked directly at Baekhyun's face, focusing as hard as he can on his eyes. Something has changed about them. They are no longer the cyan color they used to be... But rather... A very light grey. Almost white.

What does that mean? Why did they change like that? Well, he will have enough time to figure it out later.

He took time to think of an answer, considering what would be the best word to describe it. He felt like something sprouted in him. Something that had already belonged to him, was already a part of him, but suddenly grew and took over the way his blood was streaming through his veins.

"Good."

Was what he decided to reply. His voice hoarse and throat dry.

While Baekhyun burst into laughter, and Junmyeon smiled in amusement, Chanyeol, without letting go even once from his hand, handed Kyungsoo a glass of water from the cabinet located a little further away.

Kyungsoo willed his free hand to raise and grab the glass, and when he did, he examined it curiously. It was... Completely fine. There weren't any bruises, cuts, marks, or even any dirt under his nails.

He clearly remembers he had to claw his way into the stones and rocks that separated the two gems from physically touching one another... He remembers touching them with his bare hands, and yet... He had not a scratch to hint at any of that even happening at all.

He gulped the whole glass down quickly, wondering if all of his memeories from that event were just some strange fever dream.

As the four of them, though mostly Junmyeon and Baekhyun, continued talking, Kyungsoo found out how each one of them got injured.

Baekhyun explained how the time spent with the children of the fire island during the operation was like. How he, and a few more Teachers, were carefully guiding the children through relaxation exercises all through the noise and chaos that was going on outside.

Apparently, when things started getting out of hand, and the island began to rumble too strong, angle sideways a little too much, and the empire soldiers who tried to get in were banging on the boarded windows a little too hard, they decided to leave the little classroom structure and make a run for the supply shack across.

However, right as they managed to create an opening for themselves to exit in secret and rush to the other side of the village, a huge boom was heard, and they saw a giant white blast speeding their way.

Baekhyun was the one holding the passage open for the children and Teachers to pass, but when it was finally his own turn to cross the barricaded threshold, the blast caught up with him. The large sacks of sand got thrown in the air, and one of them pushed against the wooden plank he had to hold when passing... It clasped right at his ankle.

The way he told the story was so immersive and terrifying that Kyungsoo felt like he had just been through that experience himself. But even after telling such a scary tale, Baekhyun smiled widely.

It must have hurt a lot. Kyungsoo was very glad that he seemed to be this cheerful despite that happening to him.

Junmyeon was the next one to explain the reason his hands are wrapped.

He began by proudly stating that he is completely fine, and that these are still on his hands just for protective measures, rather than actual recovery needs. Which instantly made Kyungsoo a little relieved to hear.

Then he proceeded to give his own version of the reunion of the gems event.

With just as much enthusiasm as Baekhyun, Junmyeon began explaining the way he used his powers to create an opening for the island to pass through the thick layer of stom clouds that protects the empire's territory. Kyungsoo remembered seeing that happen and being very impressed by the amount of energy it must have taken.

Then he started making a lot of hand gestures around him, pointing to his sides, up and down, while stretching his bandanged fingers out like finger guns.

He demonstrated how he used his powers to prevent the endless stream of inexperienced soldiers from successfully landing on the island and jumpin into actions. How he shot at the engines of their tiny solo flying vehicles, how he managed to destroy many engines, causing the soldiers to crash and knock themselves out.

And although it was a serious explanation, it was hard to feel any sincerity towards it when he kept acting it out in such an amusing manner.

His face then loosened, and turned into a small smile, as he looked down at his own hands for a little while in silence.

"And the reason I have those is... Because of Jongdae."

Everyone stared at him in confusion.

"Yeah, I know, sounds weird. Haha." He chuckled lightly. "It wasn't his fault though. While he was summoning a thunder I accidentally shot water directly into it, and it electrocuted my hands."

Baekhyun sighed, clicking his tongue and shaking his head pretending to be disappointed.

"Hey don't give me that look. It was an accident. It hurt, but I think it's really funny. And I'm sad that it made Jongdae apologize to me. He really hasn't done it on purpose." 

Junmyeon lowered his eyes with a small pained smile, but concluded his words by stating how much better he feels, and how glad he is that Kyungsoo has returned to them and woke up.

And then it was Chanyeol's turn... And well, Kyungsoo doesn't need to hear it. He already knows. He remembers exactly what happened because he saw it right in front of his eyes. Chanyeol got shot.

It's as vividly scary to have that memory flash in his mind as it was to experience it first hand when it happened.

Kyungsoo was visibly struggling to keep his emotions in check when Chanyeol began describing everything from start to finish.

He explained the way Kyungsoo awoke him from his fear, how they ran through the village, rushed through the crossfire... How Kyungsoo just, leaped from the edge of the island down to the gem and began clearing the gap, how Chanyeol remained up on the surface and made sure to keep every soldier away from even approaching anywhere near Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol spoke with a smile all through what he said. Even when he mentioned getting shot... Even when he had to explain how terrifying it was to see Kyungsoo touch the gems and soak up their powers in a state of a strange trance.

But he finished with a chuckle when stating how the blast hasn't done anything to him at all, and instead, he rushed down to grab Kyungsoo's unconscious body from falling down from between the two gems.

Both Junmyeon and Baekhyun were in total silence after Chanyeol finished speaking. They didn't seem shocked from the story itself, but rather in such a turmoil of emotions towards it that they didn't have any reaction to display.

"Damn. I'm just glad you're still with us, Kyungja."

Baekhyun broke the silence, gently placing his hand on Kyungsoo's shoulder and squeezing in affirmation.

"I didn't expect to be. But... I'm also glad." Kyungsoo replied, allowing his lips to curve upwards in a gentle small smile.

Junmyeon and Baekhyun's tension vanished when they saw it, and they both immediately shot back happy smiles filled with intention and warmth.

Kyungsoo doesn't know how, or why... But he's made it. Apparently.

He managed to stay around despite grabbing onto death with his own two hands.

But more than anything, he's felt insanely lucky to still have Chanyeol sitting beside him. To have Chanyeol hold his hand and fix his pillow and give him water. He really doesn't need anything else anymore.

Kyungsoo's initial recovery took several more days. All of them were spent mostly in bed except for the toilet trips from time to time.

Slowly but surely, he regained the ability to control his own limbs, to stretch, to apply pressure against other items. Although his senses were still pretty numb, he aknowledged and accepted that his own body will take control of the situation.

All of his friends came to visit him at least two times during his bed ridden stay. Even Taemin came by to see how he's doing. Those visits, and the encouragements he received from his friends, gave him new hope and confidence to push through his weakened state.

Eventually, he was even able to stand up and walk around again. First, only within the confines of his room. All of that while having Chanyeol at his side always. His presence might have just been the exact push he needed in order to succeed.

Once an empire military uniform wearing Life Carrier doctor had him checked, he was released from the medical ward's hold and free to go.

Then, on the way out of the strange structure built out of materials that are a mix of metal, stone, wood, glass and cloth, Chanyeol and him had passed by a mirror.

At first Kyungsoo spotted nothing special.

Chanyeol was the same. Tall, handsome, golden skin shimmering in the light. Then he looked at himself. His hair was longer than he remembered it to be, and his cheeks a little sunken from being unable to do normal daily activities.

The luscious honey tan he had received after spending more than two months in the sun was still present, although a little faded from being inside for a stretched period of time.

One major thing was different though.

His eyes.

His whole life, Kyungsoo was able to pretend that he is an Air Carrier thanks to his lucky genes which gave him bright green eyes just like those of the Air Carriers. He could never use those powers, of course, but it provided him a net of security in the empire.

But now... His eyes are no longer green.

He stepped forward and leaned his face close to the reflection of himself, staring deep into his own eyes in awe and concern.

They were violet. Bright, pigmented, lightly glowing purple. Why did they change their color? Why are they glowing? Don't Carrier eyes glow only when they are actively using their powers? Is he using powers? Does he even have any?

Luckily, while he was having an internal existensial crisis about the meaning of his new set of eyes, Chanyeol reminded him of Baekhyun's offer several days ago.

Right... He invited the two of them to visit the structure located right outside of this medical ward. Kyungsoo managed to calm down thanks to that, but still wondered when did the empire even have time to build all of this on the fire island.

Only when they finally stepped outside, Kyungsoo realized that they weren't anywhere near the fire island at all. They were, in fact, on the smallest empire island out of the eight. And yet... Something was different.

The sun was shining down directly on him. Which was an impossible predicament in the empire islands the way he remembered them. Always surrounded by a thick layer of dark clouds in every direction.

Looking around him on the island, he realized there were a bunch of new structures on the surface. They all looked fairly nicely designed, built, similar to the medical ward he was at, from metal, stone, wood, glass, and cloth. In a weird mishmash of materials that combine the aesthetic of the sandy fire island with the empiric sharp metal.

Beyond the area directly around him, which still has a few structures under constructions, the large jungle towering over anything that was built looked gorgeous with the sun shining utop it.

Seeing into it, even from afar, with light, was stunning. He saw so many new details he could never make out about the jungle's greenery before. There were different types of leaves and vines and twines, the ground itself was so thick with growth that even with the new light he couldn't see it.

Beside the jungle stood the large piece of mountain that is a similar symbol of each of the empire islands. The mountains on these islands are far more intimidating than the hill-like jump of earth on the fire island.

They're massive in height and size, made out of dirt, stones and scattered greenery. The top of the mountains would normally be hidden by the clouds, but with the sun shining straight down, Kyungsoo saw the mountaintops were covered in snow... Like a soft shiny blanket of pure white.

And then... He looked to the view surrounding the island, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Sure, he immediately spotted the other seven empire islands, but right beside the largest one that they had collided with, the fire island still stood. Now the surface was not underneath the empire island, but at the same height, like there is active passage happening between them.

It was definitely a unique and new experience to be able to see the empire under the sunlight. The colors look completely differet than they used to be in Kyungsoo's mind.

He remembered the empire as a clump of grey and melancholy. But seeing the bright greenery of the jungles, the actual brown of the dirt and earth, the white of snow at the top of the gigantic mountains, and more activity happening on the surface of the islands, was beautiful.

He enjoyed letting his eyes bask in the view, and Chanyeol was patiently and calmly standing beside him with no rush at all. This view must be even more shocking for Chanyeol than it is for Kyungsoo, who has seen this general scene before during his whole life.

What was even more surprising, is the fact that underneath each of the floating islands, no longer a pink unstable and energy sparking gem was peeking, but rather a gently pulsing crystal that seems to be changing its colors constantly.

It was beating like a heart, glowing beautifully in an iridescent array of colors.

The cyan of the Ice gem, the blue of the Water gem, lime green of Life... And a new color, white. White for which gem...? After the white came the yellow of the Electricity... And the red of the fire. Then another new color... Purple. A purple identical to the new pigment of Kyungsoo's eyes. Green afterwards for the Air, and black for the Teleportation gem.

So on one hand, Kyungsoo knew they indeed succeeded in reuniting the gems back into their balanced state of peace. But on the other hand... What are these new colors? No Carriers have white eyes like tha---

Baekhyun.

Baekhyun's eyes turned to be this color. What does it mean? Is Baekhyun also a Carrier? And if he saw the purple light emitted from the gem... Does it mean Kyungsoo too, is a Carrier? But what are their powers?

He was thrown into a loop of confusion for a little bit, but shoved the thoughts to the side of his mind to view the rest of what's in front of him.

The empire, although different, was still exactly the same in a way.

However... Now without the clouds surrounding the entirety of the territory, Kyungsoo's eyes were able to wander over to the skies and away from the islands themselves.

Not upwards, but down.

He realized that beneath each of the gems was a magical sparkly trail of light, shining in the same iridescent colors of the gem, leading down like a string towards...

The core gem?

Kyungsoo had to rub his eyes for a second to make sure he's not imagining things.

There was no earth around the large core gem that used to be sitting at the center of it. How...? Where did all of the land go...?

In another fit of confusion, Kyungsoo kept focusing his eyes all around to find a clue, and indeed, moments later, he spotted the answer he was looking for.

The earth wasn't gone at all. Instead, just like the fire island was broken out from the surface, causing the explosion that brought the empire islands up in the air, the earth shattered into countless pieces of other islands. Some bigger, some smaller, but all of them surrounded the core of the earth similar to the the way the already floating islands did until now.

Each island had a piece of the same stable, beautiful color changing gem at its bottom core, and a sparkling trail of light and energy was stretched back down to the larger gem core that was hidden at the center of the earth. A pillar of magical dust-like matter.

It almost looked like the giant core gem was a head, and each of the millions of islands created by the earth's shattering was a strand of hair sticking from it... Maybe more like a circular magical gem garden, yet the flowers blooming were pieces of lands that were once the earth itself.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Chanyeol asked with a smile, gently Kyungsoo's shoulder while wrapping his healthy arm around him.

"You've done it." Chanyeol added again, leaning and planting a kiss on the top of Kyungsoo's head.

For a while, Kyungsoo couldn't move. He couldn't do anything but look at the new state of... The world? In awe.

He's never seen anything like that. Probably nobody has. This is a whole new way of existing. There is no more an earth, but rather a world that's made out of a million floating islands, all connected by the magical ropes of light attaching them to the core gem.

The world really did change.

"Wow..." Was all Kyungsoo could mutter, tightening the grip he held onto Chanyeol's hand.

This is real.

The two of them spent the time just absorbing the new reality that's surrounding them. Completely different from what both of them thought they knew the world to be like.

And then, just like Baekhyun offered, they made their way into the new structure located right in front of the medical ward.

When they opened the wooden door and stepped inside, they found that the entire house with tall ceiling, was dedicated to keeping a storage of books. Thousands of piles of books were covering every bit of available space on top of any available surface.

Towers of piled books that reached all the way up to the ceiling, packages of books tied with ropes and cloths, lots and lots of papers and empty bottles of ink were strewn around. And although the walls of books covered most of the windows, it wasn't dark inside at all.

In fact, the light was so pleasant and warm, just like the sunlight from the outside. Except, when Kyungsoo turned to look around to find the source of it, he... Didn't see anything. It's not like the little fire balls that he is familiar with from the way Chanyeol lit up dark places.

It was a different sort of magical light that didn't have to be emitted from anything specific.

Turning around a few piles, wading their way in narrows paths of books, the two of them reached the center of the room. Spotting two familiar faces sitting there.

Baekhyun himself, sitting on top of a large pillow that looked unexpectedly soft, with his bandaged leg spread to the side on top of a low pile of books, was looking with interest at the paper being scribbled on, on top of a wooden table.

The one scribbling was none other than Yixing. Sitting on a chair with a pile of papers, both empty and full, and a bunch of ink bottles, and focusing as hard as he can on the careful lines his hand danced on the paper.

Kyungsoo would feel bad to distract them at the moment, and felt like if he were to interrupt, it might surprise Yixing and shake him out of the careful state of focus.

He didn't have to worry for long, though, because right behind him Chanyeol accidentally knocked over an empty pot of ink, causing it to roll loudly over the thin wooden boards of the structure's floor.

Surprisingly, Yixing hasn't even moved to react to it at all, but it was Baekhyun who quickly turned his head to see them. A large smile instantly spread on his face, and weirdly, the lighting in the room grew a little bit brighter.

Chanyeol exhaled a small apologetic giggle from behind.

"Yooo! So good to see you up and about Kyungja!"

He called out in excitement and waved his hand quickly, gesturing for the two of them to enter and come closer.

"Look at this!" When Kyungsoo arrived to stand beside Baekhyun, he pointed at the paper Yixing was carefully sketching on.

It took him a second, but Kyungsoo quickly recognized what's being drawn. It was a vague sketch of a figure, supposed to represent himself, holding onto two giant sketched gems. Oh... Kyungsoo felt a little weird about it, a strange sort of shyness.

"Whoa!! Yixing this looks so cool!"

Chanyeol called out after leaning in to see the sketch as well. Stating Yixing's name must have awoken him from the state of focus, as he raised his head up and seemed surprised to see both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo standing in front of his table.

"Oh! Whoa, I didn't realize you came... How long have you been here?" He asked, carefully placing his ink pen aside to make sure it wouldn't drip onto the paper.

"Only a minute or so. You didn't miss anything."

Baekhyun responded with a grin. Both his arms resting on the side of the table and his chin on top of them while looking at Yixing happily.

Yixing exhaled in relief and leaned down, pecking Baekhyun's forehead before smiling up at the pair of visitors.

"I'm sorry about that. I was just in the midst of sketching a piece of the brand new history book that'll be added to the records library at the capitol island." He explained while standing up from the table. Kyungsoo's actions are going to be a part of a history book...? He didn't know how to feel about it.

"Please take a seat--- Err, wherever you find."

Yixing gestured towards the little bit of space around the table and quickly turned around, disappearing behind a few books, and returning with a decorated pot and four mugs. After pouring an equal amount from the pot into each of the mugs, he handed them out to the guests, to Baekhyun, and finally to himself before sitting down on a pile of books himself.

Staring down at his given mug, Kyungsoo was immediately calmed from the pleasant scent. It wasn't hot, nor cold, rather neutral temeprature sort of tea.

Beside him, Chanyeol was cheerfully sipping on it and making noises of joy, so Kyungsoo too gave it a try. He was not disappointed at all. It was sweet and refreshing with every sip.

"Kyungsoo, your eyes... Whoa, they're really something!" Yixing spoke once more, breaking the immersion Kyungsoo had finally developed thanks to the delicious drink.

"Oh, yes, they uh... Changed."

He started feeling a little worried, but he could understand why everyone would be pointing it out.

"Hey, don't worry, mine did too! It's pretty great." Baekhyun smiled, petting Kyungsoo's knee gently to comfort him. Baekhyun knows him so well, he was even able to tell Kyungsoo started feeling strange, so he tried to make him feel better already.

Ah... Kyuneoo's really glad that Baekhyun made it out of the chaos in one piece.

Yixing reassured Kyungsoo that there was nothing wrong about it, and proceeded to explain further to let Kyungsoo know why it even happened.

The explosion caused by the reunion was huge, except, the major blast didn't come from Kyungsoo himself, or either of the islands involved. Rather from the core gem of the earth once the energy had reached it.

It broke apart into the islands Kyungsoo have seen outside, yet reconnected everything at the same time.

By combining the gems back together, everything had been brought back to life.

There is no longer an earth, but instead all of the islands are connected via their individual core gems to the larger one, and by inserting the fire back into it, everything returned to the balance that must have been the origin of this earth over a thousand years ago.

Many people died in the aftermath of what happened. But surprisingly... None were caused by being involved in the actual conflict that occured between the islands. Which was unexpected.

Apparently, the people who died were absolutely random. All over the empire islands and even the fire island, random people were seen having their eyes roll back, glow in white, and then simply fall down to the ground lifeless. No matter whether they were Carriers, Wonder Souls, or even Teachers with no powers.

Kyungsoo didn't know what to make of this... He tried to find ways that tie him to any reason that could cause such sudden unexpected death to random people, but couldn't. Which means he wasn't directly involved in them... So he shouldn't start feeling guilty.

Yixing continued explaining how Kyungsoo is, as far as everyone within their nine islands knows, the only person in existence who currently has violet eyes.

Then he finally revealed the truth about Kyungsoo's suspicion.

Kyungsoo is no longer Lightless. He is currently the only person that possesses the power of the earth itself. The power of the core of earth, the power of the ninth gem. The mixture of all the gem's powers together into something that isn't quite any of them.

Yixing described it as being a Force Carrier. And reassured Kyungsoo that the constant glow of his eyes does not mean that he is using his powers, it just means that this new energy that's pulsing through him still needs time to adjust to being contained in his body.

Just like in the history recorded from before the banishment of the fire gem and people, on top of that ninth gem coming back into existence, another gem was able to re-awaken as well. The gem of light. 

Yixing's research over the days after the blast or the reunion, found that apparently, all of the people who thought they had no powers, just like Baekhyun who was Lightless, and the Teachers on the fire island who could not control fire, had powers after all.

These powers were simply hidden inside them. Hibernating in their bodies because their gem wasn't able to exist in a stable manner.

He chuckled lightly when mentioning the irony of the empire calling those born without powers 'Lightless', because all of them instead, are actually Light Carriers.

"Yeah, how'd you think this place is so bright even with the windows covered?"

Baekhyun into Yixing's words with a grin, and pointed upwards at the ceiling. There was nothing there. There was nothing anywhere. No source of light.

"It's me! I'm doing it!" He laughed at Kyungsoo's confusion, and when receiving a smile from Yixing, his eyes began glowing in a gentle white.

Small sparks of white energy started appearing out of thin air. They had no shape or form, just little bubbles of light that began dancing in a line, traveling in front of Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, then behind Yixing's neck, and back to the center between them, before vanishing and leaving behind them little white sparkles.

"It's so pretty..." Chanyeol hummed, then raised his own hand a little. "I can only do this."

He popped three tiny balls of gentle flames between them all and made them swirl in a circle before flickering off out of existence.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol both laughed, pretty satisfied with their little creations, and when they finished, Yixing smiled at Kyungsoo once again.

All of the gems are now back in balance, and along with granting those who didn't have any, powers, there was one more good thing that Kyungsoo should know happened thanks to this reunion.

"We're not going anywhere." Yixing stated with a smile.

Is Kyungsoo supposed to be glad about that? He didn't quite understand what Yixing meant by that statement. So questioningly, he turned to glance at Baekhyun for further information. But Baekhyun just chuckled and tapped Yixing's arm lightly.

"O-oh, I mean. We're not going anywhere, because we aren't going to die at the age of thirty. Not any more."

Now Kyungsoo's eyes widened. He turned his head towards Chanyeol immediately, who didn't seem surprised at all, and instead laughed gently and began the back of Kyungsoo's head affectionately.

"...R...Really?" Kyungsoo mumbled in shock, feeling the beating of his heart speed up quickly. His chest felt stuck and his throat began tightening.

Yixing simply nodded with his usual soft, dimply grin.

Before he knew what to say or how to feel about the news, Kyungsoo's vision turned into a wet blur, and he felt almost immediately how two warm streams began trickling down his cheeks towards the chin.

"Awww Kyungjaaaa!"

Baekhyun cooed at him while pouting his own lips out to try and emphasize with the sudden rise of emotions.

This is... Everything Kyungsoo wanted.

The amount of relief and happiness that beat along with his heart was so great it simply burst out of him in the form of tears. He shakingly reached his hands in Chanyeol's direction, and was met with two large arms that pulled him into a tight protective embrace.

He didn't mean to make Chanyeol's top wet, but he couldn't help it. 

Chanyeol is staying... Chanyeol is going to be here... He's not going anywhere. Kyungsoo still has time to make up for the years they've spent apart. They will be able to do so much without worrying about an approaching end for either of them.

He felt Chanyeol's lips repeatedly press on his head, and heard Baekhyun and Yixing mumbling cutely to one another.

After a few minutes of a small emotional breakdown that washed over Kyungsoo's whole body, he calmed back down and settled into a renewed stable breathing pattern that only involved a little sniffle once in a while.

The four of them spent the rest of the day sitting and chatting in the new makeshift library, or book collection. Yixing explained some more details about each of the subjects he had mentioned before, givng Kyungsoo a more in depth and knowledgable look into each of them.

And eventually when the sun began setting, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo left the structure.

They wandered to the edge of the island and sat down on the grassy ground. The view of the entire area spread ahead of them.

Without saying anything, they just sat there and watched the sun set in the distance. They watched how the sky turned from blue to pink, from pink to orange and yellow, then to a red, and at last, to the dark purple of the night sky.

Kyungsoo would have expected darkness to follow, but instead... Everything was simply glowing.

The stars in the sky were bright and clear, the core gem's pulsing colorful light didn't cease, so did the pillars of energy and the gems at the bottom of each of the islands in their vision.

He's never seen anything look as magical as this scenery... Except maybe the Fire Dragon Passing ceremony.

But even more beautiful than all of the stars in the sky, all of the glowing gems connecting together, was the reflection of all of them shining in Chanyeol's eyes.

Kyungsoo slid his hand ahead and placed it on top of Chanyeol's. Gently his thumb over the long fingers.

He doesn't want to ever let go. Chanyeol is more than just a Wonder Soul. He is Kyungsoo's wonderous being that reached deep into his soul. He wants to spend a hundred more nights staring at the sky together. A thousand, a million more.

Chanyeol turned towards Kyungsoo and smiled. And even though it was a smile Kyungsoo has seen countless times before, his breath was still snatched away at its sight. Chanyeol never stopped surprising Kyungsoo. He never stopped proving that his heart is bigger than anything Kyungsoo ever had to face.

"I love you."

Kyungsoo wasn't even sure when he said those words, but he heard his own voice state them, and couldn't have agreed more. Especially when Chanyeol's smile grew further, and the little crinkles at the corners of his eyes became visible with his happiness. His dimple too, finally appeared.

"And I do you."

He responded in his deep airy voice that sent tingles down Kyungsoo's spine.

Chanyeol's hand reached out and carefully landed on the side of Kyungsoo's neck, sliding upwards and further in to gently rest on the back of his head, and with a very light tug, he pulled Kyungsoo into a kiss.

He felt like a rag doll. Kyungsoo's whole body loosened into a pile of goo. Chanyeol's lips were so soft... The kiss was so light, airy, barely anything beyond an affectionate peck, and yet Kyungsoo's whole body was submerged under the heat of his uncontrollable emotions of pure love towards the man kissing him.

They spent several long minutes torturing each other with light kisses. Both of them careful and cautious not to exhaust, hurt, or pressure the other into anything more.

And it was the best.

"Should we return home for now? You still need to recover."

Chanyeol asked calmly once the two of them started feeling the weariness of the day, standing up and helping Kyungsoo back on his feet gently.

"You do too." Kyungsoo stated, giving a glance at his bandaged arm.

Chanyeol laughed lightly, and led the two of them to one of the decks on the island. Places like these would normally bring Kyungsoo bad memories back, but instead of a strict and cold approach, the soldier at the station kindly directed them into a small aircraft at the edge.

After several minutes of sitting inside and waiting, another empire citizen entered and sat down as well. A young lady carrying a few leather scrolls in her arms, wearing the simple clothing of the people, rather than the soldiers of the empire.

The little aircraft departed, and minutes later, stopped and opened its metalic stairs contraption down onto the soft sand of the... Well, previous fire island. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo both got off, and headed through the familiar night time village into the bedding house. 

They spotted Jongin and Taemin on the way, sitting and playing with a few children on the sand. Most of the kids were of the island's origin, but a few of them who were standing a little further aside, wore clothes resembling of the empire, and clearly stood out due to their unhealthily pale skin tone.

The whole area was lit beautifully by little floating flames and some white light bubbles.

When they walked by, both Jongin and Taemin shot them happy waves, and by the time they made it to the entrance of the bedding house, they could see a bunch of local island children trying to get some of the empire kids to join in their game.

It made Kyungsoo realize something.

He doesn't know what to do now. How is he supposed to continue his life from here? Where will he go? What will happen to the military? To the empire as a whole? What will happen to the people?

The fact that the territory is no longer surrounded by a huge block of stormy clouds means that the approach of the empire towards newcomers has changed... right?

What will happen with all of the previously Lightless people who were unfairly sent down to the surface of the earth? They're on the islands now... One the many islands the earth had scattered to.

How will everyone's lives intertwine after all that had happened? After all of the differences that still remain between the different people and their different approaches to life as a whole?

Up the stairs, to room sixty one, and into the bed that was pushed together for the two of them to share.

All of those questions will have to be answered another day.

There is still so much to solve, so much to do and fix in order to make this new state of a world exist in peace.

But until then, Kyungsoo had learned that he is not being selfish for putting it aside. It's not selfish of him to take a break from the worries and just... Exist.

Just breathe. Just be.

And that is exactly what he is going to do until he returns to his usual self... Until he recovers. Until the numbness of his senses is gone, and the powers... The Force powers within him manages to stabilize in his body.

They lie down in the simple bed, mattress made of cloths and hay, blanket thin but large enough, and Kyungsoo shuts his eyes. He nuzzles himself into Chanyeol's body with a loving and affectionate clinginess, then lets his mind sink into the pillow below.

And then... With his senses dimmed due to the comfort, he is able to feel something new.

The sound of Chanyeol's heart beat was the most soothing rhythm for his mind to slowly drift away to.

But there was another beat.

The beat of something big... Something magical, something so exciting, so wonderful, that it filled his whole body with calm joy.

It was the beat of the earth's core, the pulse of the ninth gem.

The beautiful violet glow

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I KNOW!!
I know the ending isn't as full as what my stories usually provide, but really, it'd be impossible to wrap such dense lore and intense plot easily haha.
This ending leaves much for you to decide!
(And also a possibility for me to create a sequal.)

It was a unique experience to write something so far outside of my realism comfort zone. But hopefully I'll get brave enough to proceed with some more 'wild' ideas of this sort haha.
Come say hello on Twitter!

Thank you very much for reading and sticking with this till the end! I hope you felt the magic haha.
Please let me know what you thought of the story!!

- Choi Jinri, you are amazing and I am proud of you. Thank you for all you've done. I am sorry for all you've suffered. Rest in peace.

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