Four
Reborn: Tale of a concubine.
Please Subscribe to read the full chapter
,
The flight of stairs that didn't seem to have an end, finally brought them to a door. Baekhyun in the lead attempted to open it. Predictively it didn't budge, the Fire-Hound had to break it down with one good kick. A man mixing some sort of chemicals, with an earbud on, jerked around to face them. His eyes widening the next moment, what sort of idiot was he that didn't feel the whole tower shook? That should have been his cue to find a hiding place, not now when they were upon him. His attempt to flee didn't work of course, not with seven powerful being in his presence. Minseok was on him before he took the next step. "Keep him alive." Junmyeon ordered before he asked them to follow him further into the building. It brought them to a larger room, where a group of six people were. Seven, Sehun counted plus the first one. Two of them were trying and failing to open a portal. Of course it wouldn't open, not with Minseok's foxfire wrapped around the tower. Knowing the fools wouldn't be going anywhere, Sehun allowed himself to scan around, and his breath got caught up in his chest despite having seen this through the Raven's eyes. This place was the kind you read in books. Where crazy magical/scientific experiments were conducted. People's organs, body parts were kept inside glass containers, arranged in a row on a shelf. On the upper part of the shelf were several bottles of strange substance in different shades , glowing and it didn't take Sehun long to figure out what it was. People's life force. Bellow the shelves were people strapped to cots, some where visible enough for Sehun to make out their genders and races. Most were humans though, two fae, and one skin walker. The reports had said only the common folk, which didn't seem to be the case. Connected to their veins was a long transparent tube, with a bottle attached to its end. It was unnerving to see a person's life force leaving them, while they slowly fade away. Sehun wasn't sure they could save a lot of them, even if they disconnected the damned tube. They had already faded, to the point of no return. Not the humans at least. The other races seem to be holding on a bit longer. But that wasn't even the worse. What had his blood boiling, were the two children not more than five to six years of age amongst the others. Fortunately they were as visible as a living healthy person should be. But that didn't quell the anger in him. Oh mothers. Sehun darted toward the kids, and tried to unstrap them. Damnit, the straps were probably spelled, though he did manage to break it. He was able to get one out and yank the tube attached to the girl, before something slammed into him from behind hard, sending him bending over, barely managing to keep from crushing the scared little girl. Sehun protected kid with his body and bit back a groan when pain sliced through him. The child in his arms whimpered, clutching his robe tight. "You're safe." Sehun told the girl. "My friends and I are here to save you." Sehun wasn't sure the child understood him, because most regions spoke a different language, however there was a universal language of the capital, that was compulsory to learn, even if they were not native to Lexn. A battle was happening behind him and from the sound of it, it was intense. Holding the child with an arm, he drew his sword and turned to face the thing that had slammed into him."You got to be ing kidding me." He swore at the sight of more than twenty chupacabras, unleashed on his teammates. The one that had slammed into him was a corpse flung his way– definitely by Baekhyun to snap him to attention– and its claw caught his back. Sehun would get back to his friend later. Now he needed to be focused. Chupacabras were nasty creatures, that came to exist due to blood magic. It made sense those people had some at their beck and call. All the magic in here was dark. He lowered the child on the bed so that he could have both hands to handle the threats. But the girl didn't want to leg go. "I won't leave you behind." He promised her. "I need to help my teammates." Her brown eyes searched his for a long time, after a moment she nodded and slowly released him. Sehun smiled at her, unable to resist dropping a kiss to her head, that earned him a small smile in return. he was a goner for cute things. Turning around he allowed himself a moment to make sure the others were okay. Jimin was crawling on the wall like a spider, chasing after a parculiar looking chupacabra, hovering over Jimin was a huge spider spirit. Baekhyun and Chan in hounds from were tearing into them with their deadly claws and teeth. Before he could blink, a knife whizzed through the air toward his face. He caught it with millimeters to spare, sending it back the way it came without needing to look and a pain groaned followed. It had hit it target. Zitao had taken a strange animal shape– probably native to his region– using his large hands and equally large claws to rip off their heads as well as keep them from the people tied to the cots. Luhan was beside him, floating, his beautiful green wings flapping madly, as he swung his sword, hacking with practiced precision. Junmyeon and Minseok were battling the bad mages, each paladin had their own unique way of fighting. It would be easier to kill the bad guys, but they were given orders to bring in the person responsible for questioning. Sehun flung himself in the fray. He slashed in different angles, taking off limbs and heads and enjoying every damn second of it. Not to be a narcissist or something, but Sehun knew he looked freaking cool right now. So yeah sue him. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed one of the ers brandishing a dangerous artifact lethal to all magic races, similar to a paladin's weapon only on a more darker side. It had some fancy name that Sehun didn't bother to memorize during weaponry class. The er was aiming for Minseok's neck that had his attention on the two people he was battling with. Sehun cursed under his breath. Using the speed tied to him, he blurred to put himself between the dark mage and the kitsune, just as the spear like weapon met with his chest. Allowing his beast forward, Sehun lifted his eyes to gaze at the man with a wicked grin full of fangs and the er trembled in fair. Good. Usually, once stabbed by the deadly weapon the person would first lose mobility, then an unbearable pain would follow that would ignite you from the inside out, until you go poof. However nothing happened to Sehun. The idiot didn't know Sehun was null to such things. "How..." the er began to asked, but Sehun didn't let him finish that question. With a speed of light, he pulled out the spear and stabbed the male in the chest before the er could blink. "How does that feel?" Sehun growled the words. The effect was immediate. The man stiffen, then fell like a sack of potatoes, not even twitching before he imploded. Sehun grimaced at the gruesome sight. Gross. Drawn by the sound, Minseok turned to face Sehun. His eyes going back and forth the dead man's chest– or what was remain of it– and Sehun's face, like he was trying to figure out what the just happened. "We needed him alive." The kitsune huffed. You wouldn't be alive if I had put that thought to use. Sehun shrugged and turn away, a little disappointed the battle was ending. He didn't even get to show off his awesome skills properly. The chupacabras had been taken care of, three of the ers were laying unconscious, that made five including the one Sehun had killed and the lab guy. The other two were still engaged in a battle with Junmyeon and Jimin, one had gone down, Jimin hitting the back of her head for good measure, to make sure she reminded unconscious, and he quickly used the ropes to secure her hands and stop the flow of magic. Ropes mainly for binding criminals. Junmyeon kicked at the other mage, sending him down and Jimin finished the job by binding him as well. Luhan and Chan were going around helping the people– with chance of surviving– out of the tubes. Proud and relieved everything had been taken care of, Sehun relaxed. And that had been a mistake. He had let his guard down too soon. He saw it before he felt it. One of the dark mages laying on the ground– hadn't been out like they thought– had move to the center of the room. In his hand was an apparatus that looked like a mystery box, he opened it reveling an egg like object hidden inside. That look on his face had Sehun filled with dread. That was a look of someone willing to do things even if it meant implicating himself in the process, because he got nothing to lose. Warning alert began going off in his head just as all his companions groaned, dropping to their knees. Not just them, all the magical users, good or bad were writhing in pain. The horror doubled when he caught sight of wisps of energy leaving them, that was quickly absorbed by the egg. Instantly the two tied fae and skinwalker sagged, nothing but empty shells. Dead, they were dead just like that. No! Unimaginable fear tore through Sehun. His teammates were losing their powers and life force and they too would become nothing but shells soon if he didn't do something. Sehun dashed, yanking the apparatus from the sorcerer's bony hands, that had long since stilled, clearly dead or close to doing so. He smashed it to the concrete floor hard, intending to break it. Nothing. It only bounced off and righted itself. Most importantly his teammates were still the same. Gazing around frantically, Sehun tried to find something to use, and he caught the sight of the little girl and the Raven perched next to her watching them. The kid had hugged herself, tears on her face. "What do I do?" Sehun sobbed, helpless. Blink cocked her head, her eyes looking at his chest. She was trying to tell him something. "I don't understand." He flinched when a faint whimper escaped Zitao. Oh mothers! The raven spread her wings, making a complicated gesture. She blew air and flapped her wings rapidly. Oh! He understood what she meant. "Lead them out." He told the raven. She bobbed her head intelligently and flew over the cots. "Follow her. Quickly" Sehun shouted. The people seem to understand some was about to go down and hurriedly out of the cot, to follow the raven that lead them deep into the building. Sehun raised a shield barrier around room, hoping it would minimize the impact of his powers. There was no time for second thoughts, it was now or never. Closing his eyes he allowed his desired form. Like most of the other shifters, Sehun didn’t have to worry about finding clothes. What set him aside from the others was the nature of his shift being magical. His shift was more of a step between worlds. In one, he was human. In the other, he was something else. Like now a bird. A very huge one. Falcon like that stood at fifteen feet, with a crest, rich plumage that glowed with a red, and gold light. Even once removed, the feathers incessantly glimmered. Gazing at the room through his crystal orange haze vision, Sehun understood what he needed to do. He fanned out his wings, as red magical glow from his body spread out. He commanded it and it obeyed. The moment the elites were covered in his fiery glow, they sagged against the floor letting out harsh breathes. The glow continued, until the whole room was shrouded in it. As the glow reached the apparatus, it made a sound, shook on its own, before shattering to pieces. The magic it had taken from his friends rushed back inside them accordingly, and the rest that didn't have a body to return to evaporated into the air. Not fully convinced the glow was enough, he pushed out the fire tied to his bird. It blazed brightly for a moment, engulfing the whole room before it dimmed, the glow as well as fire settling back inside him. With his job done, he chanced a glance at his teammates. They were alive, safe, and trembling... Shocked. "By the goddesses!" Jimin was first to speak, scrambling to a sitting position, disbelieving eyes on Sehun "You're a firebird?" He sounded uncertain. Duh. Sehun wanted to roll his eyes– wait . Pulling his bird back inside himself, he took human form as panic set in. !!! He had been so scared for his friends that he didn't wait to think how things would turn out after. Sehun had revealed a part of himself, something no one other than his family knew about. He had protected this secret in the past life, pushing away the other being whenever it wanted to come fort and protect him. Sehun had been scared to be an outcast. Because in the whole of Varal, he was the only one of his kind. Now that they knew what he was, his friends would probably keep away from him. They had seen he was different. His heart ached at that. But Sehun wouldn't force his friendship or love onto them, if they wish to end things with him, he would understand. Maybe they probably consider him a comrade, not a friend. And that was probably due to them being his guardians. "What's a firebird?" Luhan asked staring at Sehun with an expression that was either awe or horror. It was hard to tell. "A magical glowing or burning bird from a faraway land, which is both a blessing and a harbinger of doom. That's what the prophecy say " Jimin explained, sounding excited, his gaze never straying from Sehun. A misconception. But Sehun wouldn't pop his bubble. He was no blessing, and sure as hell he wasn't a harbinger. "I thought he's a phoenix." Chan said, gazing wide eyes at Sehun. "No idiot not a phoenix." Zitao said. "Is it my eyes or does it only looks like roaring flames. But not actual flames?" "Uhm, yes there's the flames and the glow." "Then how is he not a phoenix if there's flames?" Chan insisted. Jimin rolled his eyes."Yes, they look alike, and have been conflated over the years. But the phoenix dies and resurrects itself in a blaze of glory every 500 years, and if you tried to catch one, fwoof. You’re now the first pile of ashes to ever receive a Darwin Award. I bet we–" The voice drown out in Sehun's head as he tried to wrap his head around the situation. Why aren't they panicking or staying several feet away from him? People tend to that when they're met with something they didn't understand. Sehun dared to look at them all. Each one had a different expression on their faces, but none wore anything Sehun had expected. "You're the curse breaker." Junmyeon breathed out. Sehun flinched, the words unexpected. He swallowed hard, his panic easing and the ache in his chest lightening."No I am not." He shook his head. He couldn't be. The curse breaker was the pearl or some . "But the book of prophecy says the curse breaker will be born a firebird." Jimin mumbled. "I remember what the second priest teaches." Which assured Sehun it wasn't him. Because he wasn't just a firebird. More accurately he hadn't always been a firebird, not when he was born at least. It happened later, after their death. It had been nearly sixteen years since he lost his mom and s
Thank you for the comments. I was so excited to see a lot of you are into this story. Though I wasn't able to respond to your comments, I truly appreciate them.
***
The flight of stairs that didn't seem to have an end, finally brought them to a door. Baekhyun in the lead attempted to open it. Predictively it didn't budge, the Fire-Hound had to break it down with one good kick. A man mixing some sort of chemicals, with an earbud on, jerked around to face them. His eyes widening the next moment, what sort of idiot was he that didn't feel the whole tower shook? That should have been his cue to find a hiding place, not now when they were upon him. His attempt to flee didn't work of course, not with seven powerful being in his presence. Minseok was on him before he took the next step. "Keep him alive." Junmyeon ordered before he asked them to follow him further into the building. It brought them to a larger room, where a group of six people were. Seven, Sehun counted plus the first one. Two of them were trying and failing to open a portal. Of course it wouldn't open, not with Minseok's foxfire wrapped around the tower. Knowing the fools wouldn't be going anywhere, Sehun allowed himself to scan around, and his breath got caught up in his chest despite having seen this through the Raven's eyes. This place was the kind you read in books. Where crazy magical/scientific experiments were conducted. People's organs, body parts were kept inside glass containers, arranged in a row on a shelf. On the upper part of the shelf were several bottles of strange substance in different shades , glowing and it didn't take Sehun long to figure out what it was. People's life force. Bellow the shelves were people strapped to cots, some where visible enough for Sehun to make out their genders and races. Most were humans though, two fae, and one skin walker. The reports had said only the common folk, which didn't seem to be the case. Connected to their veins was a long transparent tube, with a bottle attached to its end. It was unnerving to see a person's life force leaving them, while they slowly fade away. Sehun wasn't sure they could save a lot of them, even if they disconnected the damned tube. They had already faded, to the point of no return. Not the humans at least. The other races seem to be holding on a bit longer. But that wasn't even the worse. What had his blood boiling, were the two children not more than five to six years of age amongst the others. Fortunately they were as visible as a living healthy person should be. But that didn't quell the anger in him. Oh mothers. Sehun darted toward the kids, and tried to unstrap them. Damnit, the straps were probably spelled, though he did manage to break it. He was able to get one out and yank the tube attached to the girl, before something slammed into him from behind hard, sending him bending over, barely managing to keep from crushing the scared little girl. Sehun protected kid with his body and bit back a groan when pain sliced through him. The child in his arms whimpered, clutching his robe tight. "You're safe." Sehun told the girl. "My friends and I are here to save you." Sehun wasn't sure the child understood him, because most regions spoke a different language, however there was a universal language of the capital, that was compulsory to learn, even if they were not native to Lexn. A battle was happening behind him and from the sound of it, it was intense. Holding the child with an arm, he drew his sword and turned to face the thing that had slammed into him."You got to be ing kidding me." He swore at the sight of more than twenty chupacabras, unleashed on his teammates. The one that had slammed into him was a corpse flung his way– definitely by Baekhyun to snap him to attention– and its claw caught his back. Sehun would get back to his friend later. Now he needed to be focused. Chupacabras were nasty creatures, that came to exist due to blood magic. It made sense those people had some at their beck and call. All the magic in here was dark. He lowered the child on the bed so that he could have both hands to handle the threats. But the girl didn't want to leg go. "I won't leave you behind." He promised her. "I need to help my teammates." Her brown eyes searched his for a long time, after a moment she nodded and slowly released him. Sehun smiled at her, unable to resist dropping a kiss to her head, that earned him a small smile in return. he was a goner for cute things. Turning around he allowed himself a moment to make sure the others were okay. Jimin was crawling on the wall like a spider, chasing after a parculiar looking chupacabra, hovering over Jimin was a huge spider spirit. Baekhyun and Chan in hounds from were tearing into them with their deadly claws and teeth. Before he could blink, a knife whizzed through the air toward his face. He caught it with millimeters to spare, sending it back the way it came without needing to look and a pain groaned followed. It had hit it target. Zitao had taken a strange animal shape– probably native to his region– using his large hands and equally large claws to rip off their heads as well as keep them from the people tied to the cots. Luhan was beside him, floating, his beautiful green wings flapping madly, as he swung his sword, hacking with practiced precision. Junmyeon and Minseok were battling the bad mages, each paladin had their own unique way of fighting. It would be easier to kill the bad guys, but they were given orders to bring in the person responsible for questioning. Sehun flung himself in the fray. He slashed in different angles, taking off limbs and heads and enjoying every damn second of it. Not to be a narcissist or something, but Sehun knew he looked freaking cool right now. So yeah sue him. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed one of the ers brandishing a dangerous artifact lethal to all magic races, similar to a paladin's weapon only on a more darker side. It had some fancy name that Sehun didn't bother to memorize during weaponry class. The er was aiming for Minseok's neck that had his attention on the two people he was battling with. Sehun cursed under his breath. Using the speed tied to him, he blurred to put himself between the dark mage and the kitsune, just as the spear like weapon met with his chest. Allowing his beast forward, Sehun lifted his eyes to gaze at the man with a wicked grin full of fangs and the er trembled in fair. Good. Usually, once stabbed by the deadly weapon the person would first lose mobility, then an unbearable pain would follow that would ignite you from the inside out, until you go poof. However nothing happened to Sehun. The idiot didn't know Sehun was null to such things. "How..." the er began to asked, but Sehun didn't let him finish that question. With a speed of light, he pulled out the spear and stabbed the male in the chest before the er could blink. "How does that feel?" Sehun growled the words. The effect was immediate. The man stiffen, then fell like a sack of potatoes, not even twitching before he imploded. Sehun grimaced at the gruesome sight. Gross. Drawn by the sound, Minseok turned to face Sehun. His eyes going back and forth the dead man's chest– or what was remain of it– and Sehun's face, like he was trying to figure out what the just happened. "We needed him alive." The kitsune huffed. You wouldn't be alive if I had put that thought to use. Sehun shrugged and turn away, a little disappointed the battle was ending. He didn't even get to show off his awesome skills properly. The chupacabras had been taken care of, three of the ers were laying unconscious, that made five including the one Sehun had killed and the lab guy. The other two were still engaged in a battle with Junmyeon and Jimin, one had gone down, Jimin hitting the back of her head for good measure, to make sure she reminded unconscious, and he quickly used the ropes to secure her hands and stop the flow of magic. Ropes mainly for binding criminals. Junmyeon kicked at the other mage, sending him down and Jimin finished the job by binding him as well. Luhan and Chan were going around helping the people– with chance of surviving– out of the tubes. Proud and relieved everything had been taken care of, Sehun relaxed. And that had been a mistake. He had let his guard down too soon. He saw it before he felt it. One of the dark mages laying on the ground– hadn't been out like they thought– had move to the center of the room. In his hand was an apparatus that looked like a mystery box, he opened it reveling an egg like object hidden inside. That look on his face had Sehun filled with dread. That was a look of someone willing to do things even if it meant implicating himself in the process, because he got nothing to lose. Warning alert began going off in his head just as all his companions groaned, dropping to their knees. Not just them, all the magical users, good or bad were writhing in pain. The horror doubled when he caught sight of wisps of energy leaving them, that was quickly absorbed by the egg. Instantly the two tied fae and skinwalker sagged, nothing but empty shells. Dead, they were dead just like that. No! Unimaginable fear tore through Sehun. His teammates were losing their powers and life force and they too would become nothing but shells soon if he didn't do something. Sehun dashed, yanking the apparatus from the sorcerer's bony hands, that had long since stilled, clearly dead or close to doing so. He smashed it to the concrete floor hard, intending to break it. Nothing. It only bounced off and righted itself. Most importantly his teammates were still the same. Gazing around frantically, Sehun tried to find something to use, and he caught the sight of the little girl and the Raven perched next to her watching them. The kid had hugged herself, tears on her face. "What do I do?" Sehun sobbed, helpless. Blink cocked her head, her eyes looking at his chest. She was trying to tell him something. "I don't understand." He flinched when a faint whimper escaped Zitao. Oh mothers! The raven spread her wings, making a complicated gesture. She blew air and flapped her wings rapidly. Oh! He understood what she meant. "Lead them out." He told the raven. She bobbed her head intelligently and flew over the cots. "Follow her. Quickly" Sehun shouted. The people seem to understand some was about to go down and hurriedly out of the cot, to follow the raven that lead them deep into the building. Sehun raised a shield barrier around room, hoping it would minimize the impact of his powers. There was no time for second thoughts, it was now or never. Closing his eyes he allowed his desired form. Like most of the other shifters, Sehun didn’t have to worry about finding clothes. What set him aside from the others was the nature of his shift being magical. His shift was more of a step between worlds. In one, he was human. In the other, he was something else. Like now a bird. A very huge one. Falcon like that stood at fifteen feet, with a crest, rich plumage that glowed with a red, and gold light. Even once removed, the feathers incessantly glimmered. Gazing at the room through his crystal orange haze vision, Sehun understood what he needed to do. He fanned out his wings, as red magical glow from his body spread out. He commanded it and it obeyed. The moment the elites were covered in his fiery glow, they sagged against the floor letting out harsh breathes. The glow continued, until the whole room was shrouded in it. As the glow reached the apparatus, it made a sound, shook on its own, before shattering to pieces. The magic it had taken from his friends rushed back inside them accordingly, and the rest that didn't have a body to return to evaporated into the air. Not fully convinced the glow was enough, he pushed out the fire tied to his bird. It blazed brightly for a moment, engulfing the whole room before it dimmed, the glow as well as fire settling back inside him. With his job done, he chanced a glance at his teammates. They were alive, safe, and trembling... Shocked. "By the goddesses!" Jimin was first to speak, scrambling to a sitting position, disbelieving eyes on Sehun "You're a firebird?" He sounded uncertain. Duh. Sehun wanted to roll his eyes– wait . Pulling his bird back inside himself, he took human form as panic set in. !!! He had been so scared for his friends that he didn't wait to think how things would turn out after. Sehun had revealed a part of himself, something no one other than his family knew about. He had protected this secret in the past life, pushing away the other being whenever it wanted to come fort and protect him. Sehun had been scared to be an outcast. Because in the whole of Varal, he was the only one of his kind. Now that they knew what he was, his friends would probably keep away from him. They had seen he was different. His heart ached at that. But Sehun wouldn't force his friendship or love onto them, if they wish to end things with him, he would understand. Maybe they probably consider him a comrade, not a friend. And that was probably due to them being his guardians. "What's a firebird?" Luhan asked staring at Sehun with an expression that was either awe or horror. It was hard to tell. "A magical glowing or burning bird from a faraway land, which is both a blessing and a harbinger of doom. That's what the prophecy say " Jimin explained, sounding excited, his gaze never straying from Sehun. A misconception. But Sehun wouldn't pop his bubble. He was no blessing, and sure as hell he wasn't a harbinger. "I thought he's a phoenix." Chan said, gazing wide eyes at Sehun. "No idiot not a phoenix." Zitao said. "Is it my eyes or does it only looks like roaring flames. But not actual flames?" "Uhm, yes there's the flames and the glow." "Then how is he not a phoenix if there's flames?" Chan insisted. Jimin rolled his eyes."Yes, they look alike, and have been conflated over the years. But the phoenix dies and resurrects itself in a blaze of glory every 500 years, and if you tried to catch one, fwoof. You’re now the first pile of ashes to ever receive a Darwin Award. I bet we–" The voice drown out in Sehun's head as he tried to wrap his head around the situation. Why aren't they panicking or staying several feet away from him? People tend to that when they're met with something they didn't understand. Sehun dared to look at them all. Each one had a different expression on their faces, but none wore anything Sehun had expected. "You're the curse breaker." Junmyeon breathed out. Sehun flinched, the words unexpected. He swallowed hard, his panic easing and the ache in his chest lightening."No I am not." He shook his head. He couldn't be. The curse breaker was the pearl or some . "But the book of prophecy says the curse breaker will be born a firebird." Jimin mumbled. "I remember what the second priest teaches." Which assured Sehun it wasn't him. Because he wasn't just a firebird. More accurately he hadn't always been a firebird, not when he was born at least. It happened later, after their death. It had been nearly sixteen years since he lost his mom and s
Please Subscribe to read the full chapter
Comments