While Sehun had half his attention on Chanyeol, his other half was on his father. The same father that had intended to stab him in the back, literally, hadn't been for Chanyeol taking the blow in his stead. Sehun wasn't certain what would have happened to him. He was sure of one thing, his father needed his heart beating, but it didn't necessarily mean Sehun had to be alive. There were ways to keep his heart beating without him breathing. The bastard excuse of a father. Just like Seung-Wan. Sehun shouldn't waste his time feeling bitter about the fact both his father and sister wanted him dead. What he should focus on was on how to win this damned war. Because no matter how many opponents they disposed of, their numbers kept rising. The creatures were pouring out of a medallion that Seung-Wan had on her person, it was of smaller size than the one Blink had destroyed at this very place. It seemed to defy the law of physics by housing that much creatures. And the Griffs, well they seem to be coming from the other side, there were even soldiers riding battle tanks and some foot soldiers carrying guns but nonetheless they were all Griffs. He didn't know how to feel about fighting his own people– no the Griffs weren't his people, but those of Varal were. He vaguely wondered if both faction had decided to join hands to bring him down, because that would be the only explanation of how his father got access to so many Griffs, military included. "Good to see you son." The elder said sweetly. That had Sehun scoffing. There was nothing good about seeing his father. The only good that would come out of their encounter was to stop him for good in way he wouldn't torment Sehun or anyone in the future. Sehun needed to stop both this Griff and Seung-Wan. If only he got the ability more than what he already had. He couldn't fight them alone, and they were losing good people. At this point he dreaded reinforcement coming, considering what happened to the sea people. "I am no son of yours." Sehun snapped, cursing himself for letting his emotions show, but he couldn't help it."What father wants their child dead?" He pointed to where Chanyeol was laying dead behind him. "You killed my friend. You'll never be a father to me." He wanted to be close and mourn his friend. But was unable to to do so. Tears rolled down his cheeks which he furiously wiped away with his bloody hand. Everything was wrong, no matter how Sehun looked at it.  As if already expected his response, the elder Griff nodded with a smile that grated on Sehun's nerves. "No matter how you try, you cannot deny the fact I made you" He was suddenly in Sehun's personal space and when Sehun made attempt to step back, his hand was forcefully grabbed. "Thus I get to decide what to with you." Before Sehun's brain could properly understand what those last words meant, he was being yanked into another reality. Sehun felt like his head had been smashed tender to dough **** “Come on, kid,” Instructor Choi said. “You don’t need to see this.” But Baekhyun already had seen. “He’s gone, Baekhyun,” Siwon added, voice thick. “Come on.” He pulled Baekhyun, trying to get him away from the scene, and Baekhyun struggled in his grip. Hot tears stung his eyes and he couldn’t breathe. Impossible. It was impossible. His Chanyeol couldn't just die. “There’s nothing you can do,” Siwon said, shaking him now. “Get off of me.” Baekhyun's voice was steady and tight. Jumnyeon was there in an instant, blocking his view, pushing him back along with Siwon. “You don’t need to see this, Baek,” His friend said, his words echoing Siwon's, his voice softer than Baekhyun had ever heard it. Baekhyun pushed at them both, fighting, ready to swing at them. “Get the off of me!” No matter how hard he pushed at them, they were able to recover their grip, walking him back. Jimin was there too, sobbing hard while Mr. Byun held him in comfort. His mom– Mrs . Byun was kneeling, gazing at Chanyeol as if finding it hard to believe what she was seeing as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. She had loved Chanyeol as though he were her child. “Let him go.” It was Blink, her voice unnaturally calm. He watched as she approached them from the other side. She’d lost her outta robe somewhere along the line, just like Baekhyun had lost his armor and her gray dress showed big swaths of dark blood.“Let Baekhyun go to him,” she repeated, walking to help Mrs. Byun to her feet and his mom didn't argue, letting Blink pull her aside. Shaking their heads, the two men dropped his jacket and stepped away. Time didn’t make sense as Baekhyun approached Chanyeol's figure on the ground. It was like having a dream where he needed to run but found himself slogging through quicksand. Chanyeol looked so oddly small there, crumpled on the floor. Just a few paces away. And now he was– It couldn’t be. His mind couldn’t take the enormity of it. His mate couldn’t be gone. He’d prepared himself for the possibility that one of them could get hurt during the battle. Baekhyun had begun to steel himself for that. But not dead. He had so much to accomplish together after the war was over. Get married, complete their bond and adopt a couple of kids they'd their eyes on. How could life be so cruel as to take those dreams away from the two of them? They’d drifted in an inhospitable universe for so many years before finding each other. Their time together couldn’t possibly be over. Baekhyun couldn’t bear the weight of it in his heart. He couldn’t lose someone that he loved, not like this. As Baekhyun fell hard to his knees, he recognized that he did love Chanyeol. More than he’d ever loved another person, more than he even loved himself. He’d held himself back from it, telling himself that it had been too quick to know someone, to love them completely and was probably the bond not his genuine feelings. But as he felt hot blood seeping into his pants, as he surveyed the wrecked landscape of Chanyeol's chest, Baekhyun knew in that moment that he had come to love Chanyeol—unconditionally, utterly, exactly as he was. He hadn’t needed Chanyeol to change, hadn’t eagerly anticipated the transformation back to a faithful man. Baekhyun had fallen deeply in love with the person Chanyeol was. Baekhyun had dared to dream of a world where they could be together for the rest of their lives. He’d done the unthinkable and opened his heart up to someone in a way that he’d never done before, all of the vulnerable pieces of himself on display. How could such cruelty exist in the world, in the randomness and chaos? He wanted nothing more than to have one more moment with Chanyeol. Baekhyun had never told him. Chanyeol had died alone not knowing that he was loved. Baekhyun felt as if his world was ripping in two, as if his heart was being torn—the feeling acute and very real in his chest as he choked around tears. He lay his body over the top of Chanyeol's chest, knowing only that he needed to be closer. The man’s eyes were shut, his face calm as if he’d entered a peaceful sleep. Baekhyun leaned up, tucking a piece of Chanyeol's hair behind his ear. What did people do when the person they loved died? What did anyone do? Baekhyun didn’t feel like he needed to scream and lash out. He didn’t feel like he wanted to sob until his body was out of energy. He simply felt tremendously empty and lost in that moment. “I don’t want to live without you,” he said, silent tears streaming down his face as he embraced the big body that had once housed the soul that Baekhyun had cared for above all others. And for the last time, Baekhyun squeezed his arms around Chanyeol and pressed a kiss against his lips. “I love you, Chanyeol.”

  *** The transition away from the world of the living had been a smooth one, unexpectedly tranquil and lacking in fanfare. Chanyeol had simply gone away from himself. He’d been somewhere else. It was quiet there and peaceful, like a deep and dreamless sleep. Separated from his body, his consciousness, Chanyeol was no longer himself. He wasn’t a collection of hurts and mistakes, desires and passions. He was nothing and everything, returned to the same state of rest that he’d felt before he was born without ever knowing what he had been or would come to be. The nothingness was vast but not empty. It was neither bliss nor despair.There had been no time of regretting, no movie moment of his life flashing before his eyes as he drifted away from the living world. One moment he had been alive and then several moments later, he hadn’t been. He smelled, saw, heard nothing because nothing existed where he was. So when something pulled him back—yanking him abruptly and painfully, like a shepherd’s hook through his heart— Chanyeol was shocked. He existed again. His mind scrambled to piece itself together. Something existed. Words. He could hear them. I love you, Chanyeol. Love. He was loved. Chanyeol was loved so deeply he could feel it in everything around him! At first, Chanyeol was only a thought, existing in a space, existing only to know that he was loved. And then, suddenly, he was physical pain without a body attached. He was a thought and the searing wounds the claws had left in him. I am loved, i am loved deeply. The information pulsed through him like a heartbeat. It became his heartbeat.
And then he was present in a body again—a big and unwieldy body. Everything hurt, but a familiar sensation was present. His pierced organ was mending itself so fast that he could feel it, veins and arteries revived from nothing, being plumped with newborn blood cells, replacing old ones at a breakneck pace. He could feel his skin grow and his muscles patch together in a way he was used to, yet foreign. He was alive He could feel a body on top of his. The familiar weight and scent belonged to Baekhyun. Of course. He was the one who loved Chanyeol. Chanyeol opened his eyes, wanting to see this person who loved him and who he loved in turn. What he regretted the most while dying was not having the chance to tell Baekhyun how he felt. Upon seeing his eyes opened Baekhyun let out a sharp breath and the others all looked to see what had the fire hound suddenly astonished. "Hyung–" Jimin let out, disbelievingly, gazing at his brother with teary swollen eyes. Mr. Byun who was holding Jimin, spew a series of profanities that nearly had Chanyeol laughing out loud. "Oh mothers above!" Someone exclaimed. "How is this possible?" Chanyeol realized it was Kai that spoke. Chanyeol though wasn't sure, but he knew one thing that pulled him out was– "love." He said, pushing to into a sitting position. He felt great. As if he could conquer the world alone. He took a glance to see the battle was still in full swing and about a dozen people were surrounding them, fighting off anyone or anything that came close. Mrs. Byun rushed over, pushing her son to the side as she wrapped her arms around Chanyeol. He smiled, hugging the petite women. A moment, later she pulled Baekhyun back to his side as she happily joined their hands together before bouncing off to the battle as if nothing happened. They all gazed after her with open mouth. Heechul recovered first, as he began to speak."I've never thought i would see it with my eyes. It's the perk of being a Champion's mate. As long as the will of the champion is strong, the mother of death, AKA the fire goddess couldn't take away her Champion's mate when it wasn't due to natural causes. Though that reason played a role, but what made it worked was Baekhyun's true love for his mate, and the confession. I've heard in legends even though the love is strong, it had to be expressed. The magic isn't mainly just in the sincerity but in those three words as well." Heechul explained. Chanyeol never knew until now. Did that mean he got to have extra lives? As if seeing through him, Heechul grunted, jabbing at finger his way. "If you experiment with your life, it will unfortunately be your last. Even for the mother of death, cheating death can't be done several times." He leaned to flick Chanyeol's forehead. "Now that the trouble maker is well, lets go back to the saving our world." Saying so, Heechul grabbed his husband and they were gone too. "I am glad I you're okay Chanyeol." Kai pat his shoulder, nodding at Baekhyun before he rose to his feet. "If you need rest, you should –" "I don't need rest, I should continue fighting." Chanyeol quickly said, flexing his hand. Baekhyun gave him a hard look as if to say 'i didn't just confess to have you back so that you could throw your life away'. But the fire-hound nodded. Both knew Chanyeol's presence would help a great deal, especially now that he felt refreshed as if he'd just woken up from a good night sleep. "I am fine, truly." He assured his mate, pulling Baekhyun by the neck to kiss him and to Chanyeol's delight, the fire-hound let him. Well if not for the fact that there wouldn't be a repeat, Chanyeol might play with his life several times just to bring out this soft side of his mate. Ending the kiss, he lifted his head to ask. "Is Sehun okay?" He needed to know his sacrifice hadn't been in vain. And he hadn't seen the prince anywhere close, he hoped the prince was okay and the other person that had wanted to harm Sehun was taken care of. "He's fine–" Jimin began to say only to shut his mouth, as if suddenly realizing something while he abruptly gazed behind, the gesture almost frantic and Chanyeol followed his line of sight."Where's Sehun?" His brother was rubbing his chest fiercely as if searching for his heartbeat and Chanyeol frowned. "He was here moments ago I swear, but now I can't feel him like I used to." Jimin's eyes searched the other guardians. "The are you saying?" Kai asked, grabbing Jimin and shaking him and for a moment Chanyeol feared his brother would be shaken to unconsciousness. "He must be somewhere here." The emperor was frantically looking around, clearly in search of Sehun's whereabouts. "He has to be." Jimin shook off the emperor, turning to face Baekhyun."I don't know if it's just me but the connection I have with him that is like a light bulb, now is–" "Dimmed so low it's barely noticeable" Baekhyun concluded, and since the moment Chanyeol had met this tough man, this was the first he saw genuine fear in Baekhyun's eyes. He wouldn't be exaggerating if he said there was hardly anything that could faze the fire-hound. Chanyeol glanced at Jumnyeon when the water mage began to speak with a deep frown. "Earlier I felt something was off, but I associated it with Baekhyun and the shock of what happened to Chanyeol, and a minute or so, I felt something flickering in my chest." He gritted his teeth. "I should have payed attention." It had Chanyeol cringed in disbelief, and dread pooled in his stomach. A grown man like Sehun couldn't just go missing. The other three guardians, Minseok, Zitao and Luhan raced over to report the same issues. They concluded Sehun wasn't dead or the light would have been extinguished altogether. Well that was a good sign. He had feeling Sehun's disappearance had a great deal to do with that person. Just to be certain, Chanyeol used an eagle spirit to search all corners of the field and sure enough the er that tried to kill Sehun was gone too. The er most likely had kidnapped Sehun when they were distracted. However Sehun wasn't an easy tar