MJ: Kai, did you think of something?

I thought he would give me the cold shoulder, giving me a piece of my own medicine, but on the contrary, he nodded. HaeRi then held Lia’s right hand, making signs in her petite palm; HaeRi asked the younger is she could tell the way using the wind. I had forgotten how Lia used the wind currents to locate herself in the maze; maybe this time she could do the same. Sadly, the response Lia gave wasn’t the one we wanted. She explained how the wind was the same in both directions; the same scenario was applied to temperature and smell, so in this case she couldn’t be of much help.

MJ: Don’t worry Lia, we’ll think off another way. At least Kai remembered those awesome superpowers you’ve got! Haha! Soon we’ll put them to use again.

I tried to ease the stress that was building up in the atmosphere. The first –and what seemed the only – solution to the problem wasn’t exactly very effective. Kai seemed frustrated, and everyone else was starting to panic… There had to be some kind of trick behind this little trap. I walked back to the division, staring at both directions with scrutinizing eyes. I had to take a decision and soon; we didn’t know where neither of these roads leads, meaning we could be surprised by the morning Sun rays. I continued looking at both corridors, taking in every little aspect they had to offer: same width, same height, same unknown depth, same colo…

…

I couldn’t tell if the colors were the same because… one of the corridors was covered by its own shadow… The Moon was shining in an angle that produced a darker shade over the right path making certain aspects like color, ground texture, and wall design imperceptible… And a conclusion was made…

MJ: Everyone, we need to go right…. The shadows… they’ll lead us to the end!

XiuMin, being the pessimist in the group, wasn’t so assured about the decision. He thought it might be a trap to set us on the wrong road. And he wasn’t completely wrong; there were millions of reasons for the right-shadowy path to be a trick, but one flashback counterattacked them all…

“MJ: Yes, I’m going to play…But no tricky business!! …

KS: We follow the loyal, firm, and strict rules of our Sacred Book: the Exoteucus. Exotics were known back then for their loyal words and actions, besides their tactful warriors; we will not break any of these commandments. You have our word; it would be like soiling the good name of Dr. Lee…”

MJ: I know what you saying MinSeok, but just trust me; I have a feeling this is the way. Besides, it’s better to take the risk than do nothing at all. So guys, let’s go! But first, we need to make some adjustments in our formation. Kai, you lead the group now; I’ll be last to keep watch, so I can warn everyone in case of attack.

I went back to my group, mounting the horse once again, while JunMyun pulled on me. The changes were made and we continued down the right path, slowly intruding into the darker shadows that covered us in duskiness.  My heart began to beat fast; this was the first time we had encountered shadows within shadows… It had to be a sign, telling us that things were going to get more complicated from now till the end. We had to be more malicious, slyer, so nothing could get by us. Now, more than ever, we had to see beyond appearances and find the hidden meanings behind every little aspect… Was that what Kris meant by having two pair of eyes?..

In the middle of complete darkness, only being guided by the moon above us, another cold gush of wind came across, sending chills down my spine, making my heart rate increase even more… Something was definitely waiting for us at the end… I could feel it in the atmosphere. But somehow, even though I was confident about winning, I sensed that something bad was going to happen…something that would break my heart… Nature had become one of my best allies along the game, and right now, Nature wasn’t at peace…

SuHo noticed how my mood had drastically changed again. I felt how he patted my back in a sweet manner, and without looking at him I knew there had to be a smile drawn on his graceful mien. Even though I was trying to keep some distance from him, he was still my savior. He had exposed himself many times for me… something a complete stranger wouldn’t do for anyone, yet he did it… He had feelings for me from the very moment we met… Strange, but true… Sadly, I didn’t feel the same way towards him, even if at some point I doubted myself. He’s just so beautiful that all my emotions get mixed up just by looking at him, but lately I’ve been able to distinguish them well. I even dreamt about him, even though the dream made no sense whatsoever; still, he had managed to penetrate into my unconscious… SuHo was a mysterious man, but I couldn’t throw him aside because of that. He was a player, a prisoner, and a friend; I had to help him… I wanted to help him. This time, instead of escaping from him I simply complied with his brotherly gesture.

MJ: Thanks Oppa…

Still, his touch gave me an uneasy feeling; probably because I was worried Kai would turn around and see us or maybe Lay would act like earlier… My heart kept beating fast, until eventually I placed my right hand over my chest, convincing myself I was alright. On top of my skin I found the cold golden necklace the Bacon lord had left behind. I grabbed it tightly, remembering that painful day when I ended his life… BaekHyun, you showed me what was really happening with the Exotics. You told me what I had to do… You made the difference by speaking the truth… Now, it’s my turn to make the difference! I will avenge you! I will make sure this never happens again… I promised it, right?

And to think! So many lives have been destroyed by that wretched Dr. Lee. I had forgotten all about that bag until a little while ago. It’s hard to believe so many years have gone by and that old man’s legacy is still doing its malevolent deeds. But now that I think about it… Kris’ version of the story doesn’t have much meaning when you compare it with BaekHyun’s. What does “Tradition and Vengeance” have to do with “Survival and Beauty”? There can’t be two stories, right? Did one of them lie? Or did the other simply broke the rules?...  Either way, it wasn’t time to be thinking about the past, but only on how to fix the present for a better future.

 With so many thoughts one after the other, I had momentarily forgotten about JongIn’s situation. It seemed he wasn’t so upset with me after all; I felt as that awful weight was being lifted from my chest. Now I knew that I could approach him so we could settle things once and for all! But right now it wasn’t the moment; we were far away from each other, and each one of us had once again an important task to fulfill in order to maintain a strong and united group. I wanted to look at him even more than last time. I tried to look for him in between the shadows that surrounded us, and to my own amazement, I could devise his back from afar… He was glowing; no one else had that bright areole, it was only him. He was shining like a shooting star amidst the dark sky; I could only see him, ignoring everything else around me. I was slowly falling into a trance, where all I felt was peace and happiness by just glancing at the young man’s beautiful back. Time for me stopped; hence I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. I snapped out of it when the faithful boy stopped his horse and turned his head around, facing the rest of the group and me. It was then when I reacted, trying to hide my recent hallucination.

MJ: What’s wrong up front?

I screamed from behind, receiving as a response a waving Kai. He was telling me to go forth quickly. I was still in a daze, thus couldn’t react as fast as he wanted me to. I saw how he dismounted his beast and ran back towards me, grabbing me by my waist and pulling me down from my own animal. I was taken by surprise by Kai’s need for speed, and his actions. He grabbed my right hand and dragged me towards the front. I was practically tumbling over my feet, but I managed to keep a pace after JongIn. He ran past everyone else, even his horse. A few feet up front the walls had narrowed drastically; only a slender aperture was available to go on. It was evident the horse’s journey ended here.

MJ: Well, I guess this is where we continue on foot. Everyone, it’s time to dismou–

I had turned around to face the group and communicate what the problem was, but Kai didn’t let me finish. He grabbed my face in between his rough hands, directing it towards the thin canyon tunnel. He signaled something inside the path, but I couldn’t see very well, since the small opening had some curves inside as well. I looked at JongIn with a confused expression, still having my face crumbled into his grip.

MJ: Am I supposed to see something?

Kai was excited about something, and whatever it was I couldn’t relate to it. Seeing his reaction, everyone else started coming off of the animals, and slowly walking towards us. JongIn nervously made me look inside the passage once more, rearranging his hands now over my shoulders, positioning himself behind me. He was moving me sideways, inch by inch, until he had me in the direction he wanted. He passed his right hand exactly next to me face, pointing deep within the dusky tunnel. I concentrated all my vision on the direction the boy told me, yet still, I couldn’t make out anything. The only thing I could see was the moon light at the end of the path…

Wait! This path was full of shadows, and now there was light at the end of this small opening? I narrowed my eyes, and finally saw it… There was a structure bathed in the nightlight; I could only see a small part of it peeking in between the tight space.

MJ: OMO OMO!! KAI! WHAT IS THAT?!

My own excitement had built up! I felt how everyone fastened their pace towards us, ready to take a peek at the new discovery. But before anyone could get to us, Kai grabbed me once again by the hand, submerging himself in the small path and dragging me along with him. He was hastily evading rocks in the way, and making drastic turns in the few curves the path had. I was having difficulty keeping up with him, yet he never let go of me. In less than a minute we were out of the suffocating canal, witnessing what lay before us…

My eyes became teary at the sight of such spectacular building, if that’s what it could be called. It was a sort of Greek structure engraved in the Canyon wall. A triangular roof with columns connecting it to the ground; hieroglyphics surrounded the tall and majestic structure in its original terracotta color. This sort of palace was located across the narrow path; a circular plaza was formed in front of the carved wall…

MJ:.. we made it Kai…

I heard as the others were coming through the canal, surrendering themselves to the beauty that confined us all. The atmosphere was ever so peaceful and tense at the same time…

MJ: … we reached The Temple…

I felt as JongIn tighten his grip around my hand; excitement and fright ran through both our bodies…