Donghae's being yelled at. He's moved. To his chambers. But they've followed him there. It's Ryeowook. Sungmin. Yesung.

"Tell me it's not true! Is it true?"

"I knew you were up to something insane!" Sungmin's raised his voice too. "I knew the moment you said you'll be busy!"

"Just what went wrong with you?!"

Donghae drops onto his couch. Lets them line up in front.

"I checked the whole time," Yesung informs. "Nothing was wrong with him."

"Then he is out of his mind!" Ryeowook shouts. "Donghae, how are you going to get out of that?!"

"She told him, with you, and he said, yes," Yesung says. Crosses his arms. Frowns down unhappily. "I tried to stop him."

"Great," Sungmin says. "Then he can't get out of it..."

"Ever since he went up with that boy," Yesung says. "He's been crazy."

Ryeowook stops his glaring. Only to shake his head. Groan. Move away. To pace. Sungmin also shakes his head. But sits beside Donghae.

"I can't believe you'd do something like that," he says. "Just... why? You don't need to be putting yourself through this, Donghae..."

"I said I can handle it," Donghae finally answers.

"How?!" Ryeowook snaps. Comes around. "I'd love to know! Because the only thing you seem to be good at is burning everything and you know what happens to you when you start killing demons--"

"I'm not going to kill her." Donghae rolls her eyes. "I give her what she wants. It's not a big deal."

Yesung mutters, "You out of all us should not be saying that..."

Donghae just looks away. "Whatever."

"I don't understand why it was necessary," Sungmin says. "Was this really the only way?"

"She wants the boy and his cousin, so yes."

They remain quiet. For a long moment.

"And... why couldn't you give her the boy and his cousin?"

Donghae glances up. Stares hard at Yesung.

"Because I promised him? What kind of king would I be, if I can't protect a poor, helpless boy?"

Yesung tilts his head. "Donghae... he's not your master--" He gasps. His eyes widen. "Wait... has he become your master again?"

"No, you idiot."

"Oh. Okay."

"Donghae." Ryeowook's voice is stern. "I have always thought this but I'd hoped you'd notice after the last mess you put yourself in. Your problem is that you get attached!"

"Oh, I'm not interested in Lust. Please don't make me barf fire all over you."

"Not her!" Ryeowook says. "The boy! You're doing this because you've started thinking of him as your responsibility -- he's not!"

"Why?" Donghae startles the other. Startles himself. It just comes out of him. But he sits up. Continues. "Why isn't he? And why's it a problem if I want to protect him from becoming a zombie like the rest of her followers?"

Ryeowook thins his lips. Exchanges a look with Yesung. Donghae curses under his breath. Gets up.

"You're all the same," he says. Quiet. Rage burns in his chest. "Lying to yourselves."

He moves to his windows. Yanks them open. Across the dry earth... there's his fire giant. It stomps in the distance. Slowly.

"This whole place. Demons. Proud of your endless and meaningless existence, terrified of being overpowered, of being annihilated, reduced to nothing. Forgotten. You all envy those who have a purpose... all the mortal humans above, weaker than you, but powerful enough to touch the lives of thousands around them, and millions after them. They live sixty, eighty, or if they're lucky, a hundred years, and they build and provide for what comes after them, not knowing what it may be, letting themselves live on in others. But us demons? We live like we're dead, and the boredom gets so difficult to bear that we seek any joy. Everyone on this realm is like that. The second they feel weak and insignificant, they end up going to humans to get a taste of life, and we do so mostly by using them, causing them suffering, not just to gain power from it, but to feel like we are something, to get our sense of worth and value, that we're not inconsequential -- our actions have massive effects, and that fuels our ego to then go cause more suffering, either here, or up there..."

He turns around. Looks at each one of them.

"You've all convinced yourselves you don't feel anything because of the millenia you've spent alive, searching for meaning and purpose, forcing yourselves to think you don't care about the emptiness eating away at you. Really, what are you all here for, anyway? Is it not because you're attached? Isn't it because you consider each other friends? I'm not forcing you to work together, or for me. You chose to do that, you chose to help me against her, I didn't ask you to or order you to -- and you know if you choose to walk out right now, I wouldn't stop you. If you don't like what I'm doing, go."

Ryeowook's biting his lip. Sungmin's brought his gaze to the floor. Yesung is blinking. Blankly.

"Where would I go?"

"I don't know, Yesung. There are other territories."

"They're not as powerful as you. They might give me boring duties, or ask me to start wars in the human world--"

"Why aren't you interested in that?"

"It's so pointless. What will we do if they all just die? Suffering happens if they're alive, not dead."

"Yesung," Sungmin sighs. "This is all beside the point, honestly."

"He's right," Ryeowook says. "Donghae, listen... I understand. I know what you're saying. But we've never gone this far for anyone. We don't choose to harm ourselves. And let's say we did, let's say we started to feel so strongly about something and w