“If you survive in a battle,

it is with Odin’s grace,

and if you fall,

it is because he has betrayed you.”

Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology

 

 

Kvasir had always been considered as the wisest of all Gods and not to mention that he was the most prudent poet in his time. His life revolved around the deepest poems, most diplomatic sayings, and the vaguest riddles.

 

To say that Kim Ryeowook is the spitting image of his ancestor, Kvasir would be a total understatement. His words almost always contained the greatest knowledge and paramount information.

 

Ryeowook, the current God of Wisdom, had always thought that his knowledge is infinite. He had always believed that if there is one thing in this world that would not abandon him, it would be exactly that: his knowledge.

 

As he caught a glimpse of himself on the table mirror, Ryeowook’s forehead creased. Instead of seeing the usual dark brown shade of his eyes, he was seeing two bright lime green gems staring back at him. He had undergone an orb transformation without him being aware of it and Ryeowook was not the least bit pleased.

 

It had already been ten hours since he had started analyzing and deciphering the riddle that Hyukjae got from his locker but he had been unsuccessful so far. His powers were on full force but nothing seemed to be working.

 

There were two matters that he had yet to solve: the meaning of the riddle and the recipient of the letter. Since the insignia on the letter was pretty much impossible for him to decipher, he had decided to find answers regarding the vague riddle first.

 

Roses are red

Violets are blue

The untainted will meet his doom

And only the red can save the blue

 

The colors “blue” and “red” could pertain to thousands of things such as water and fire as well as heaven and hell. And what did the sender mean when he wrote the third line?

 

“The untainted will meet his doom...the untainted will meet...untainted? Purity?” Ryeowook wondered aloud, not even bothered if he accidentally woke up Kangin’s pet squirrel named Ratatosk. That stupid squirrel is as hot-tempered as his owner and it was a surprise that Ryeowook still hasn’t fry Ratatosk alive.

 

“Purity...pure...the pure will meet his doom...pure... Baldur...Donghae hyung?” The God of Wisdom’s heart was stammering against his chest as he took note of his discovery. The word “untainted” could only pertain to one thing (or person rather) in their academy and that was the God of Innocence and Purity himself, Lee Donghae.

 

Ryeowook slammed his fist against the wooden table as he glared at the piece of cloth that suddenly occupied his sight. That belonged to his Donghae hyung who had visited him last night and he had somehow forgotten about the cloth. The answer for the third line was just right before his eyes and he never felt so stupid.

 

“And only the red can save the blue,” he whispered, staring straight ahead at the blue cloth. He took it and played with it for a while as the last line of the riddle kept on repeating in his head. “Only the red can save the blue...blue...the color of Baldur.”

 

“If blue refers to sapphire blue which is the color of Baldur, then red must refer to a certain God as well.”

 

As Ryeowook gently folded the blue piece of cloth, numerous realizations struck his head like tidal waves all at the same time and he clutched his head as his poor attempt to ease the pain.

 

Only the red can save the blue...

Blue refers to sapphire and sapphire refers to Lee Donghae...

Only the red can save the blue...

Red...

Ruby...

Lee Hyukjae?

 

The God of Wisdom’s eyes abruptly fluttered open. Everything made sense to him now. The untainted will meet his doom must have pertained to the downfall of the God of Innocence which led to the death of Baldur and his following descendants. And only the red can save the blue meant that only Hyukjae, the God of Mischief bearing the ruby emblem could save Donghae, the God of Innocence bearing the sapphire emblem.

 

But why?

 

History dictates that mischief and innocence should never blend as more chaos might unfold. All descendants of Loki and all descendants of Baldur were known as sworn enemies that unknowingly torment one another. And it was history itself that dictated the inevitable death of the God of Innocence which was caused by the God of Mischief himself.

 

“Time to go, Ryeowook-ah!”

 

Ryeowook was shaken by the sudden intrusion of a voice. He looked up only to see his roommate, Kangin trying to catch a glimpse of what he was doing. “What are you doing anyway? I don’t recall having to submit a written report this week.”

 

The God of Wisdom immediately shoved the paper inside his bag as he grinned at his hyung. “Nothing, hyung. I’m just trying to solve a riddle I saw on one of my books.”

 

“Alright. Well, we better hurry before that damn elf decides to lock the door again. Psh. As if I can’t break down that door using my pinky finger.”

 

Ryeowook chuckled, “You should really stop making fun of Master Gun. He is still our instructor, you know.”

 

As he closed the door of their shared room, he once again caught sight of the blue cloth and was reminded of his inference.

 

Why would the red save the blue? Why would Hyukjae hyung save Donghae hyung when history says otherwise? And isn't it absurd to ask Hyukjae hyung himself to protect someone he is bound to kill?

 

But the question that mattered to him the most was:

 

Who sent the note to Hyukjae hyung? Is someone trying to rewrite history?

 

Donghae sneakily looked around the room and noticed that the others are still working on the healing potion that they have to recreate.

 

Healing and potion classes had always been his favorite classes since those years he was being home-schooled. He excelled so much in those fields that he could not help but feel a sense of pride in his chest. But of course, his two fathers taught him how not to let these accomplishments get over his head and so he remained as humble as ever.

 

“Do you need help, Hyukjae?” Donghae softly whispered when he noticed how his seatmate seemed to be struggling so much. The aforementioned God of Mischief looked at him with spite and Donghae unconsciously leaned back on his seat. Hyukjae’s glare appeared to be enough to kill someone and Donghae did not want to be that unfortunate victim.

 

“Back off!”

 

And the God returned to what he was doing. Donghae pouted. He just wanted to lend a helping hand since Hyukjae seemed to still be in the third step when the making of the potion requires ten.

 

If Hyukjae does not want my help then it’s fine. Maybe he wants to learn and accomplish the task on his own.

 

Donghae thought and went back to smiling when his eyes met Heechul’s who is in front of him. The older God looked like he was struggling as well but Donghae knew better than to reach out. It was already given in their friendship that Heechul would only ask for help if he needs it. Any help that would come his way in which he did not ask for would immediately be rejected. Donghae was saddened by that but that’s just how the God of Vengeance works. His Heechul hyung can be very prideful but Donghae loves him anyway.

 

“Good job, Donghae!”

 

An elf named Gun or famously known as Master Gun is their instructor in their healing class. Donghae became fond of the latter since the elf always showers him with compliments and constructive criticisms.

 

“Thank you, Master Gun! I did my best,” he answered when the elf stopped by and observed their table.

 

“Lee Hyukjae, what are you doing? You are mixing the wrong ingredients that’s why you can’t get the desired color.”

 

Donghae slightly peered over Hyukjae’s mixing bowl and indeed there were varieties of ingredients that shouldn’t be there in the first place. He noticed how Hyukjae’s ears turned red for a moment and he actually found it a bit cute. Hyukjae then glared at their instructor.

 

“Shut up, okay? I’m trying my best here. Go away and don’t bother me again!” Hyukjae snarled and fortunately, their elf instructor did not seem to be offended by his words. Hyukjae’s disrespectfulness towards their instructors was in fact, not a rare thing. Every one of them was used to the God of Mischief’s behavior but that didn’t mean Donghae was happy about it. Truthfully, Hyukjae’s overall attitude towards anyone and everyone troubled him to no end.

 

“Whatever you say, Hyukjae. Just make sure you finish the potion before the time runs out,” Master Gun smiled at the black-haired God before continuing his rounds.

 

 

 

Their class ended after another hour. Everyone managed to finish their potions before the due time and Donghae felt a bit proud of himself for that. Hyukjae grumpily accepted his offer of help sometime after the latter accidentally set their station on fire.

 

All of the other Special Gods were probably in the cafeteria already as he found himself the only one left in the room. Hyukjae probably forgot to clean the remnants of the fire and so even without someone telling him, he already volunteered to clean everything.

 

It did not take long for Donghae to clean the room without any more specks of dust and ashes and as he finished tidying up, he found a fountain pen on the floor. He picked it up and examined it, trying to find out the owner of the lone pen. The pen screamed luxury and royalty because of its gold-coatings but what caught his attention was the small crest on the pen’s cap.

 

Silver roof with gold pillars

 

It looked strangely familiar like he had seen the symbol many times before but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

 

“Donghae-yah, are you ready to go?”

 

The God of Innocence turned around and was met by Heechul. The vengeful God was leaning on the doorframe and Donghae smiled at him.

 

“Yes, hyung.”

 

The two of them walked in comfortable silence towards the direction of the cafeteria. Just as they were about to reach their destination, Donghae remembered something. He pulled out the pen he had found from his pocket and showed it to his hyung.

 

“Chul hyung, is this perhaps yours?”

 

The older God looked at what he was holding and Donghae didn’t expect the red-haired to roughly snatch it from his hold.

 

“Hyung...” He looked curiously at the older and the latter gave him an apologetic look.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just get it. Where did you find this anyway?” Heechul asked, opening the glass door of the cafeteria.

 

“You left it in the room and I found that on the floor. Is that pen yours, Heechul hyung?”

 

Heechul smiled at him, “You’re Hangeng hyung and the others are already waiting for us. Let’s go, Hae.”

 

And Donghae watched as Heechul hid the pen in his right pocket.

 

The pen must be Heechul hyung’s. Oh well!

 

 “So, you’re telling me that I basically have to protect that stupid God? This is a joke, right? I mean, what kind of bull is that, Kim Ryeowook?”

 

Hyukjae was livid. Not only did the letter which came from an unknown sender bothered and messed up his mind but now that the God of Wisdom managed to decipher the content, it made him feel even tier.

 

Ryeowook glared at him, “Can you tone down your voice, Hyukjae hyung? Do you want the whole world to know about this?”

 

The God of Mischief scoffed, snatching the paper back from the shorter God’s hand. He stared—glared, actually—at the poor paper. “How did you even come up with that bull?”

 

“The untainted will meet his doom. That refers to the death of Baldur, Hyukjae hyung. And only the red can save the blue means only you can save Donghae hyung. Is it really hard to understand?”

 

Hyukjae absolutely despised things, people, or Gods that messed up with his head. Death or excruciating pain and torture were his go-to punishments to whoever does something like that, and at the moment, all he really wished to do is to torment three people in particular: the raven-haired God of Wisdom in front of him, the stupid sender who started this mess, and the even more stupid God of Innocence, his stupidly pure and breathtaking smile, and his stupid self who needs goddamn protection.

 

“But why? Why do I have to protect his stupid self? He’s a God, Ryeowook, and a high-ranking God to top it all off. He can protect himself unless he’s brainless enough to not be able to do that. And do you think my ancestors would be happy about this?”

 

“Hyung, it isn’t me who had written this letter. Stop blaming me for everything,” Ryeowook rolled his eyes. “And you, of all Gods in our world, know better that Donghae hyung and all the other descendants of Baldur were capable of protecting themselves. However, it was your ancestors’ treachery that had caused these unfortunate deaths. And if the history would continue, Donghae hyung won’t even last for a long time in here and of course, you are aware of that, Hyukjae hyung. You, yourself, are the one responsible for his death.”

 

“I just could not understand why someone would want to rewrite the history. It’s his fate to die, just let it happen.” Hyukjae swallowed the lump that unknowingly formed in his throat. He saw how the raven-haired God’s expression morphed into something in between remorseful and disappointment. “Why change history? And why do it in our time?”

 

Ryeowook shook his head, eyes intentionally avoiding Hyukjae’s. “Do you want to know what Donghae hyung told me after he visited me last night?” The raven-haired chuckled. “He told me to stop being so harsh on you. He told me that even if Loki’s blood runs in your body, there is still some good in you and that we just have to open our eyes to see. And you know what else he had told me? That poor innocent God told me that he saw that. He saw something good in you, hyung...”

 

Hyukjae remained silent.

 

“...It’s just funny to me how he took his time to find something good in your cold-blooded self yet you are here, already accepting the fact that he would die in your own hands and deceitfulness. Maybe Donghae hyung is wrong. Maybe there really isn’t something good in you, Hyukjae hyung. If you won’t protect him, maybe I could. Maybe we all could. We will protect him from you, God of Mischief.”

 

And Ryeowook left the locker room, leaving Hyukjae behind with his shambled thoughts and a piece of paper in his hands.

 

Hyukjae slammed his fist on the table. He hated the feeling of defeat and surrender but at the moment, he is feeling all of that and more. He was about to call the shorter God back when he remembered something but Ryeowook’s currently angry with him.

 

The God of Mischief pulled out another black envelope with the same seal with silver roof and gold pillars from the pocket of his cloak. He found another letter on his locker earlier and he was about to ask help from Ryeowook again but their talk did not turn out well.

 

Upon unfolding the paper, he was greeted by the same bloody ink, the same cryptic handwriting, and the same feeling of dread.

 

Roses are red

Violets are blue

The poor soul had accepted his fate

Now the question is: have you?