One week prior 

Humidity. Burnt. Blood. 

That’s what Junmyeon smelled as he laid still on the ground, breathing heavily as a result of his past struggle to get the magic-nulling handcuffs off his hands. It had been futile, obviously, and the only thing he had gotten out of it was for the metal to dig further into the flesh of his wrists. 

He slumped his head backwards in frustration as it met with the wet ground, attempting one last time to call for his powers. 

Nothing. Not even the artifex. What was he expecting, really? 

Junmyeon thought back to the events of that day: the letter and the poster, Im Changkyun, Siwon and Yesung and the prince, who went out of his grasp as easily as he had come. 

The way Siwon and Yesung seemed so…unbothered, elevated almost at the prospect of him knowing about the Astrodome made Junmyeon severely uneasy. 

Even if we die, we’ll live forever. 

What had they meant by that? Was it something that held a deeper meaning, or rather a result of their madness in a moment of desperation? Junmyeon didn’t know, and chances were he would never know. 

And then there was the prince, and the people who protected him. The people who had pinned him down, to be precise. He had freed them. Junmyeon had saved their lives, and this was what he was repaid with? 

The train of his thoughts was cut off by the faint sound of distant voices calling out. 

Junmyeon’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration, as he tried to figure out what the voices were saying. 

”Is anybody there? Are there any survivors here?!” was what they said. 

He was quick to reply, ”I am here!” 

A minute passed before footsteps echoed around the broken walls, and the voices grew closer, until he could more or less make out two separate voices.

”Hey wait— it’s you!” one of them exclaimed before hurrying to crouch down at his level. 

They looked like they had a spare key to the handcuffs - which they must’ve taken during the chaos of it all, and soon enough freed him off them. 

A hiss of mixed relief and pain escaped his lips as soon as his gaze landed on the red, scarred flesh of his wrists. 

”You must get those wounds medicated,” one of them commented. 

”It’s okay,” he brushed them off, bringing himself to his feet. ”I must go now.” Who knew how far the prince had managed to get during the time he was stuck down there? 

”Oh, please sir, you must heal and rest for a while, we set up camp with some of the survivors and there should be natives from Cónglín who could help you. It’s the least we can do to repay what you did for us.” 

”Please, it’s Junmyeon, we are all equals after all. I am grateful for the offer, however there is something extremely important I have to take care of. Is Im Changkyun still on the ring?”

One of the males shook his head. ”Unfortunately, he disappeared amidst the chaos, though I doubt he went far with those wounds. For all we know, a fighter could have killed him on sight, or he made it out just to bleed to death. Either way, I wouldn’t be worried.” 

He nodded. ”Yeah, there’s nothing to bite for him without his empire.” 

”Please have some food and a night’s sleep, you could depart tomorrow morning. Let us show you our gratitude.”

Junmyeon went silent for a while, seriously considering the offer until his lips twitched at the sign of a smile, and he looked up to the males. 

”I might just need an hour or two of sleep.”

********

Junmyeon held the bowl of soup in his hand with caution, gazing intently at the liquid in thought. 

The two men that found him were apparently named Minhyung and Taeyeong, and had brought him to a common room along with other survivors that had more or less remained intact after his blow. 

”Did you grow up with Im Changkyun?” Minhyung suddenly asked. 

Junmyeon looked up from his food, nodding thoughtfully. ”I did. It was seventeen years ago, when I was twelve that Siwon and Yesung found and saved me from my death, while Changkyun was merely a four year old child, can you believe that?” he let out a small laugh.

Taeyeong looked down. ”Who knew such an innocent child could become a monster?” 

He nodded. ”I certainly didn’t. For most of my time with them, I merely thought of him as a younger brother. Siwon and Yesung were the ones who trained me, even after the grand fall, they kept going even harder, filling me with those ridiculous lies. But that's why I’m here. To make amends.” 

”Didn’t you already do that, technically? You brought down the astrodome in one night.” Minhyung asked. 

”Do you really think that the oppression against people of our kind will stop here? There are two more domes left in Navera and Montia, although they are considerably smaller and less impactful than the astrodome. Not only that, but as long as we keep affiliating with the first world, we will be chased down to the very last man, and who says that another crime ring won’t open soon after word about the fall of the astrodome? When the throne is left empty and unguarded, there will be those who take the opportunity. The only way to really find our peace is to close all of the bridges connecting the two worlds.”

”And what are these bridges?”

”The portals that keep people out of the second world, for instance - though I still have to figure out how to close them off and seal them. There must be some spell out there I could use. And then there would be a more clear target, which is my current mission, and that would be none other than the champion of the astrodome.” 

Taeyeong’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. ”You mean the summoner? Why?” 

Junmyeon frowned. They didn’t know?

”Well,” he started. ”He happens to be the only heir to the throne of Eriros. He must’ve survived the grand fall and lived in hiding ever since then, so nobody knows he is still alive.” 

Minhyung nodded to himself, understanding where Junmyeon was getting at. ”And if the prince is still alive, he could reclaim the throne.”

”And if he becomes king and builds up the first world to its previous glory, our people risk being exposed to even more danger.”

”Exactly,” he pressed. ”His own powers could spread the news of our existence among the people too. How would you think humans react if they know their king is a completely different being? Everything would pour onto us. I know he is of our kind, but we cannot know peace as long as he is alive. I have to kill him.” 

”Where is the prince now?” 

Junmyeon sighed. ”I don’t know. I managed to catch him right after I was done with Changkyun, but he had a bunch of people protecting him, so he managed to escape.” 

”Is that why you were tied up when we found you?” 

He nodded. ”It is also why I must hurry and look for him.”

”How do you even know where to sta