Kai tried to drown out the guilt that cruised through the veins of his body, his hands shaking as he got back on his feet. He couldn’t save Changbin, he couldn’t keep his promise – he wished he could somehow cheat his way through and rescue the other, but he blamed his clumsy and careless character constantly.

“…” He glanced up, shutting his eyes as a few drops of rain fell onto his cheeks. He wished he could sit under the warmth of the sun, his feet drenched and soaked, the cool drops of rain soothing him – but he knew better. It was not ordinary rain; he soon began to feel the tinge of pain and irritation on his skin as the mysterious liquid continuously grazed down his face.

He looked at his hands, gulping down a lump in his throat, unsure of how he would face the others. Saving the stressful thought for later, he turned around and began to head back towards where everyone must be – the edge of the barrier. He let his eyes linger on the enormous machine for a few moments, the massively sophisticated structure just a few metres to his side, destroying and wearing away the road and the paved paths all the way from the labelled right-hand side of the barrier to the left. He kept the mental image of Taehyun’s map in his mind as he swiftly ran through the visible alleys between the buildings and stores that weren’t eradicated just yet.

Crossing a little patch of grass, he spotted a large crowd of people; he let out a sigh of relief at the sight of familiar faces, and noted to himself that it wasn’t raining over this area.

“Kai!” Taehyun sprinted towards the younger, engulfing the latter in a tight hug. “Are you okay? The slimes are gone, yeah?”

Kai refused to respond and let his head drop low, the guilt and pain within him far too dominant over his pitiful words. He closed his fists at his sides, biting his lips to suppress a cry. He didn’t like any of this; he wished to be in class or in his dorm room, racking his brain for a few tests and assignments; he didn’t want to be physically and mentally assessed, he didn’t want his friends’ lives on the line.

“Kai? W-Where’s Changbin?” Wooyoung stepped forward, a troubled look on his face.

At that, Kai lifted his head to look at the others who seemed so desperate for answers. He saw not only the ones who were trapped in the creatures, now cleaner than before, but also the ones he left behind – the nurses, Yeonjun’s driver and butler, and the rest of the team.

“He… I’m sorry… I tried, I really did, I could harvest a fire within my hands b-but the creatures began to crawl back into the river and I just- I am really sorry, I really am! It began to rain and my skin began to itch and I had to return and…”

“Kai… We trusted you…”, Felix whispered as his lips curved down. He let out a heavy sigh, hunching over with sorrow. He shook his head repeatedly, sheer disbelief written over his face. The strange occurrence with the rain didn’t seem to startle him at all.

“H-Hey, it’s not his fault. He did his best, okay?”, Taehyun added in a firm voice. He didn’t want any of them to argue or fight over something so trivial, yet he began to question whether it was trivial at all. After all, Changbin’s life was at stake. “He’s alive though, right? We can get him back, yeah?”

Kai nodded profusely, “We can. I was stuck inside one of the slimes on that day for about twelve hours or so, yeah? The bridge collapsed in the evening, and I got out of there the next afternoon. So, we do have time. We can wait till the rain stops in that region, and we can go back and get him out of there. I… I’m going to keep my promise, Felix-hyung.”

“Okay, but how?”, Soyeon asked as she continued reassuring a little boy by her side. She gestured the child to go back to his family, before turning her full attention to Kai. “Jungeun and you are the only ones who have these powers or whatever, and on top of that, it’s not easily controllable, is it?”

“Except they’re not really the only ones with the tattoos…”, one of the nurses said as she approached the others. She looked at Kai for a moment, checking for any injuries that she could treat, suddenly feeling so useless as the others had their wounds healed like a miracle. Shaking away the thought, she pointed towards Yuqi and Jisu’s wrist. “I should’ve mentioned it earlier, but you both have tattoos too. I caught a quick glimpse a while ago.”

Yuqi and Jisu shared a glance before they looked at their wrists with utter hope, frowning at the lack of change. “There’s nothing though?”

The nurse tilted her head and furrowed her brows, so sure that she saw something, but with all that was happening, she wondered if it was just her imagination. “But I swear I-”

“There!”, Yeji exclaimed as she pulled Jisu’s wrist excitedly, ignoring the way the latter shivered. “The tattoo! A snowflake?” She squinted her eyes and examined the other’s wrist closely, thankful for the sunlight.

“Wait… Whoever’s been in the slime, step aside. I think we all have these tattoos but… I suppose we need to acknowledge it first to allow the pattern to actually show up!”, Yeonjun suggested as he began to roll up Soobin’s sleeves. “Acknowledge it, you little , oh my God, if you actually have a power now, I will truly call you my knight!”

Soobin let out a soft chuckle, waiting to see a certain shape to form on his skin, just below his palm and at the centre of his wrist. Suddenly, he felt a pang in his chest, before he felt an uncomfortable adjustment within his body, almost as if his organs shifted inside. He hissed as he continued staring at his wrist, widening his eyes at the sight. “A bent spoon within two hands? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Umm, telekinesis, I guess? Well, mine’s as clear as day! Ice. Just ice. That explains why I’ve been feeling really cold ever since I came out of that slime.”, Jisu explained as she stared at her snowflake tattoo.

“Everyone, reveal your wrists and explain what you’re feeling inside. I think it only shows up when you truly accept the strange feeling within you, although I don’t know how you managed to see a bit of mine and Yuqi-unnie’s tattoos…” She looked at the nurse with a curious look, unexpectedly feeling so suspicious of the latter. Hesitantly, she moved closer to Kai, relaxing slightly at the sudden warmth, praying that the younger would understand.

“Okay, well, I feel like there’s a little breeze inside of me. It’s not exactly cold or hot, but kind of like the feeling of wind on your face on an obviously windy day. Oh, wind, of course!” Yuqi kept her gaze fixed on her wrist with anticipation, sighing heavily as three curving lines appeared, representing wind. She wasn’t surprised at all.

One after another, the tattoos began to adorn the wrists of those who were swallowed and captured by the monsters temporarily, starting off as a fade outline, before the shapes transformed into a distinct picture in a few seconds.

Soon after Yeosang finally admitted the ringing and echoing sounds that troubled him ever since his escape, he waited patiently, staring at his wrist in disbelief – a small tattoo of variously sized, thin vertical lines formed on his skin. “Of course, sound powers.”

“Hah! You’re the one with sound manipulation?!? Talk about irony!”, Wooyoung remarked as he let out a giggle, aware of the fact that Yeosang was usually quiet and reserved no matter the situation. He stiffened his shoulders as San restrained him from acting out, forcing him to comprehend the gravity of the situation.

While the others continued rambling on about their new strengths and the mystery behind their healed wounds, it was easy to miss Beomgyu coughing out repeatedly, his groans being clouded by the distant machine and the panicked talks of the distraught civilians.

“!”, Beomgyu screamed as he crouched down and pressed his arms against his abdomen. He wasn’t bothered by the fact that his feet were covered in water, his socks wet and his clothes stinking from before. He held in the urge to throw up, wondering if it was even possible for him retch on an almost empty stomach – none of them had an appetite anyway.

“Gyu?” Taehyun bent over and wrapped an arm around the other’s shoulder, leaning close. “W-What the hell?!? You’re as red as a ing tomato! Look at me!” He quickly yet gently placed his han