The clouds and storm had given way to dawn by the time we reached the top of the mountain. Although we hadn't been walking for much longer after the fight, it still felt like hours. My body was drained and I didn't even want to think about how the others must have felt. I glanced at Sehun, noting the blood staining the back of his shirt. Suho wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, I knew, although the bleeding had slowed down greatly. 

Chanyeol's steps were unbalanced and I could tell that he was fighting to remain standing, with all the excitement of the battle bearing down on him in addition to his growing frailty. I knew that our time was running out, I just hoped that we would be able to make it before I ended up losing one or both of my friends. 

"Let's rest here, guys!" Luhan called out when we reached the peak. Without complaint, everyone collapsed to the ground, gasping and heaving in exhaustion. 

I wanted to rest too, but I still felt extremely anxious. "Luhan, how much longer?" I asked the taller guide.

Luhan didn't hear, however, or if he did, he didn't show it. He was helping Sehun move Suho under the shade of some trees before instructing the younger to go take a nap. Although he resisted at first, Sehun was knocked out within moments of hitting the ground. Chanyeol sat next to me, laying his head on my lap when I remained seated.

"You okay?" I asked, his voice soft and exhaustion-filled.

I nodded, biting my lip. The hair on the back of my neck tingled, and I felt extremely antsy. 

"What's wrong? You did a lot for us today, you should try and sleep." He placed a hand on my forearm before sitting up and moving to lie next to me, pulling me with him. Instead of lying on the ground, he nudged my head so it was pillowed on his chest. The position should have been relaxing, but I could hear his weakly pounding heart, only filling me with more trepidation. I was about to confess my unease to my best friend, when I heard his soft snoring. With a chuckle, I was about to close my eyes and attempt to fall asleep, until I heard shuffling next to me.

"That really was something huh?" I looked up to see D.O. make his way over and take a seat by my side. "Did it hurt? I could feel the electricity all the way from where I was standing and it was already a lot," He sighed.

"I didn't really feel it," I said with a shrug. Then I felt another wave of tingles shoot across my nerves. "Or I'm feeling it now."

D.O. laughed quietly. "You should rest then, I think you're way too tired." He stood, about to return to his place next to Kai, before pausing. "But when we were crossing that ocean, Suho mentioned feeling something like that too. He said it was just the cold, but..." He shrugged. "I don't know, I overheard him telling Sehun."

I nodded, mulling that over in my head. "Okay thanks, D.O." 

The big eyed boy nodded, before walking away and leaving me to my own thoughts. I wondered if Chanyeol, Kai and Sehun had experienced the same things while in this world; maybe it was a weird effect of the magic here? I closed my eyes and tried to empty my thoughts. I wasn't too happy with the idea of resting while our friend was bleeding to death, but I trusted Luhan enough to keep Suho alive until we could get help for him.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed but a weird buzz woke me up. It felt as if all the hairs on my body were standing up, but a quick look at myself told me otherwise. I didn't even have goosebumps. I sighed and looked towards the others, my eyes widening when I saw a body standing over Suho's.

It was a man, taller than me, and quite lanky in build, standing next to Luhan. They were both crouched over my injured friend, talking in hushed voices. The stranger placed a hand over Suho's wound, and the sleeping man let out a groan. My skin tingled again.

When the man stood to leave, I made a quick decision and stood with him. My movements drew Luhan's and his attention, and the man politely bowed in farewell to Luhan before quickly taking his leave. I chased after him, wanting to know who he was, assuming that Luhan wouldn't tell me. The man was keeping things from us, and I didn't like it.

"Baekhyun!" Luhan called out, reaching for my arm as I dashed past him but I avoided his outstretched hand. 

Fighting to keep the stranger in my sights, I chased him through trees and shrubs. "Wait!" I called out, panting and breathless. He was fast, but luckily not too fast for my not so athletic self. Finally, I found myself gaining on him. As I drew closer, I noticed that he was slowly becoming out of breath too, his movements becoming lethargic and sluggish.

"Please wait!" I shouted again and miraculously, he halted, about twenty feet in front of me.

I was about to go to him when he turned, catching my eye. "Don't come any closer. What do you want?"

He didn't sound hostile, I noticed, more like pleading.

"Who are you?"

"Yixing," He bit out tersely. "Now leave me alone."

"What did you do to Suho?" I was frozen in place, unwilling to move forward lest I chase him off. Especially now that I was finally getting some answers.

He locked his jaw, crossing his arms and cocking one hip to the side. It was such a teenage gesture, it almost made me laugh. "I helped him. Now be thankful and leave."

"Why?" I asked, "I won't hurt you."

"It's not you I'm worried about." Yixing replied ominously.

I frowned. "You're not allowed to be here," I guessed, a thought reaching my mind.

"You can say that."

"You're Kris' friend."

"Wufan, Kris, yes, I'm his friend."

I nodded slowly, so these were the people Luhan was talking about. "And you aren't allowed to help us, so why are you doing it?"

Yixing rolled his eyes and took a few steps towards me, shocking me. "Because we want to and Kris is just being a big baby," I saw him roll his eyes. "Besides, we can't let you guys get hurt, can we?" He cocked his head to the side, a teasing smile on his face. He has a dimple, I noticed. The great change from being fearful and anxious to confident and teasing threw me off, and I was suddenly starting to feel wary.

"Because of Chanyeol?" I felt the need to clarify.

"If you believe so," He shrugged.

I frowned. His wording confused me. "What do you mean?"

Before he could respond, I felt a strange shift in the air around us. Suddenly, it felt as if the woods were too silent. The uneasiness around us was thick. 

His expression changed again, becoming nervous and shifty once more. "I have to go. But Kris worries for you, he wants you to succeed. He's just afraid to admit it. He refuses to forgive Chanyeol for breaking his promise although he knows better." For some reason, I felt as if that last bit wasn't directed to me; Yixing was looking around now, eyes searching the trees. 

After a pause, he sighed. "I'll go but you must be careful. There are a lot of people who would like to see you fail. We cannot keep you safe for much longer."

I raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You're almost there," He continued. "Just hurry."

And with that, he took off, disappearing before I could find the strength to follow him. 

As I walked back silently, I felt the aura of the forest slowly returning to normal. The oppresive presence, whatever it was, was gone, and I felt drained and confused.

So Kris' friends were helping us, and against his will it seemed. But something seemed off, could there be more of a motive for them to help us than to reunite Kris and Chanyeol? Logically, if they only wanted those two together, they wouldn't be trying to protect and help the rest of us, however they could just be being nice, or perhaps Luhan convinced them to help all of us. I wasn't sure anymore. 

Kris' home was just over the mountain, Luhan had said, but Yixing's words made me think that our struggle wasn't over yet. 

Following a hunch, I began to wander, heading in the direction of the other side of the mountain. After a few moments, I found myself standing on a cliff, able to oversee the land beneath me. 

What I saw there, surpised me. 

Knowing that Kris was a god, I'd expected him to have a nice home. What I did not expect was the large castle, towers and walls erupting from the ground and covered in vines, surrounded by a vast field of green. It was huge, I noticed, but then again it seemed fitting. There were no other buildings around it, the castle and the land surrounding it standing out in stark contrast to the dirty and rocky plains. The building was magnificent, I had to admit, and very intimidating. 

I was able to count twelve towers all in all, the two in the middle being the tallest ones. It seemed to be made of rock at the very base, appearing to be molded out of the earth itself, but the rock smoothed away into clear stones as it rose. Large windows adorned the walls, and two grand wooden doors were in the middle of the building.

The grassy land around it was a bright and healthy green, speckled with dots of pink and purple, which I assumed to be flowers. The flora grew onto the castle itself, climbing stony walls as deep green vines. The castle looked to be a work of nature, moulded to make a home. 

I let out a sigh, scanning the rest of the view. Suddenly, I noticed something off to the far right. It was too distant for me to get a good look, but a large horde of black was creeping across the earth, heading towards the castle. I squinted in the sunlight, trying to make it out, but I couldn't get a good enough look. It worried me, though, and I decided that Luhan might be able to explain it to me.

I turned, ready to return to the group, and nearly had a heart attack when I came face to face with a familiar scowling blond with piercing eyes. 

"Kris!" I gripped my chest, trying to calm myself.

Kris didn't respond, staring deep into my eyes before walking past me, glancing out onto the ground. He too, saw the advancing black blob and I noticed the slightest twitch in his stony expression. 

He didn't say anything, remaining silent for a painstakingly long time, before he turned. "Leave."

"What?" I gasped, taken aback. Now that the man we were searching for was in front of me in the flesh, I felt as if my mind was broken. I just couldn't piece together his meaning.

"All of you. Go home," He said, turning and walking away.

I shook my head quickly, greatly confused. "But we came all this way to find you! Chanyeol is sick-"

"Chanyeol broke his promise, but I will keep mine. I won't be seeing him anymore-"

"Are you kidding me?!" A sudden rage filled me. I didn't care how scared I was of Kris, he was not going to do this after everything we'd worked for. "Chanyeol is dying. Are you going to just sit by and let that happen? And I thought you cared about him. And after everything we did to bring him to you. We crossed a river, an ocean, fought a bunch of guys and one of my friends would have died if Yixing didn't-"

"Yixing?" Kris raised an eyebrow. Suprise evident on his features.

I frowned. Hadn't Kris been the one who was eavesdropping on my conversation with Yixing? From the way he'd acted, I assumed Yixing had made the same assumption.

"Y-yes." All my courage had quickly fled, and I felt the presence returning.

Kris seemed to feel it too, and for the first time ever, fear was evident on his face. 

"I told you to leave. And take Chanyeol with you. It's too late." Kris turned and walked to the edge of the cliff. Before I could tell him to wait, a large gust of wind caused me to shut my eyes tightly. The leather flapping of wings was heard and by the time I'd opened my eyes again, Kris was gone. Did he jump off the cliff? I looked over the edge but there was no one to be seen.

I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable, and quickly took off towards the resting group.

Luhan was staring at me incredulously when I returned, still standing by Suho.

"Why were you gone for so long?" He asked, grabbing my wrist tightly. "I thought something might have happened to  you. And why would you chase him, Baekhyun, you need to stay with us-"

I cut off his lecture with a hushing noise, before proceeding to tell him everything that had happened since my departure.

"Kris came? But that must mean... Oh no." Luhan looked away, biting his lip as he was trying to piece together his own thoughts. "This is really not good, Baekhyun."

"So do you really think we should just leave?" I didn't like the fear on his face and hoped that he wouldn't come to the same conclusion as Kris.

"No, he needs Chanyeol now, more than ever and... You guys too." Luhan looked at me, eyes roaming over my face, before he let out a sigh. "Come on, we have to wake the others. We need to get to that castle and fast."

I nodded, turning to rouse the others as Luhan bent down to wake Suho. Through the rip in his shirt, I noticed that there was only smooth skin. The wound was completely gone. I would have Yixing to thank for that. Suddenly a thought hit me. "Wait, Luhan, is Yixing going to get in trouble? Kris didn't know he was helping..."

"Kris didn't know that anyone was helping," Luhan sighed. "As big and scary as he is, he isn't all seeing or all powerful. He may be a god but he has a limit to his abilities. He can be blind sometimes."

"Can he die?" I'd originally thought of the man as invincible, but the sight of fear clearly etched on his face was something that had been haunting me on my entire trip over here.

Luhan looked at me. "Baekhyun, I understand the concept of God that you have in your world but here on Exo... Anyone can die." He gave me a grave look before bending down, placing his hand on Suho's shoulder and shaking him gently.

I feel like I've changed the original idea completely. Good or bad? Either way, I guess I'll be changing the description accordingly. I hate it when I do these things. Thanks for reading, please comment!

And if you read this in the last fifteen minutes, I went back and added a bit on to the end.