Warning before reading!!

The italic sentences or paragraphs are something that happening inside the mind realm. It might be something about the thoughts, the telepathy or dreams. And it will be written in present form. It will be applied for the rest of the story. And I won't describe much about EXO members as they might be familiar for the most of you.

 

~ ooOOOoo ~

 

It is quiet since I can’t hear anything around me.

 

But I can feel that my body is very light. I can also feel a comforting warmth around me. It feels like I am inside my mother’s womb once again. But I know that I’m not.

 

I open my eyes and lift my head. But it’s all dark around me. It is dark without a single ray of light and I am floating in the middle of it.

 

So I straighten my body and stretch out my hands as if I was waking up from a deep slumber. I yawn and exhale. It feels like I have been sleeping for a long time. Yet now, I feel like I am ready.

 

But for what?

 

For a while, I am stunned. I know that I am meant for something important.

 

But what is it?

 

The tip of my foot touch the surface. And I hear someone calling me from behind. So I turn and the darkness sinks, revealing a new view that I have never seen yet still feels nostalgic.

 

With my eyes, I see a vast blue sky. Right under, there is a single big tree which stands strong and steady at the top of the land formed, resembling a single mountain. Around the land, there is a vast sea where I stand above the surface. The tree branches into two main branches that are very much alike.

 

As I see the view, my heart is suddenly filled with the feeling of longing. Somewhere deep inside, I miss it. But as far as I can remember, I have never seen this view at all. And with this feeling, I move my feet toward the tree.

 

As I move nearer, I see a faint glow. I feel a sacred and glorious aura coming from it. It makes me feel wondrous yet curious. I know that it is supposed to scare me but I don’t feel scared. Instead, I feel safe and welcomed by it.

 

I stop under the tree and realized that it has a very big trunk. I look up to the main branches. They divide themselves into many smaller branches, creating a thick canopy of leaves. Somehow, I think that I’m familiar with the Tree as if I have known it for a long time.

 

I drop my gaze and look at the trunk in the front of me. I raise my hand and place my palm against the trunk, only to realize that it is beating, just like my heart. I quickly move backward, gasping and feeling surprised at the sensation.

 

The tree is alive!

 

But it doesn’t scare me.

 

So I place my palm back on the trunk, feeling the beating of the Tree's heart again. Somehow, it makes me happy. It seems that I have come back to where I belong.

 

 

A pair of keen eyes were suddenly opened wide as knocks were heard on the door. The owner was a handsome young man though his face looked stern. He was frowning and seemed to be bothered. Well, of course he would. He was sitting on the high chair in his room and resting when when the knocks came along. It was the last thing that he liked: to be bothered during his resting period. But the rapid pause between the knocks had told him that there was an urgent matter. So he couldn’t ignore it as he assumed that something important had happened. With that thought, Kris turned his gaze to the door.

 

“Yes, you may enter,” he called out, his tone slightly annoyed.

 

The door opened and a younger guy came in, followed by another one. The first guy was tall with dark brown hair covering his forehead. His face was slim with soft and calm eyes. His name was Lay. The other guy was of the same height but with bright brownish hair. He looked quiet and timid and his cute face was devoid of any expressions. He might look young but he was older than Lay. His name was Luhan. But both of the guys had the same distinct expression painted on their face. They seemed to be worried.

 

“Kris,” Lay stated. The tone of his voice marked the urgency of the matter. “Luhan said that her spirit is travelling again.”

 

The older guy turned his gaze to the second guy. Luhan just nodded his head, confirming Lay's words.

 

A worried look came across Kris’ face as he understood what would happen if they let her be. He quickly stood up and walked towards the door.

 

“Who found her?” Kris asked as he walked out of his room. Lay and Luhan joined him, walking beside him.

 

“I did,” Luhan answered. “I was checking up on her. I thought she’s sleeping but when I tried to call her, she didn’t answer me at all. I tried waking her up but she didn’t respond. At the same time, I could feel her presence getting further away.”

 

Kris didn’t say any words. He just turned his gaze toward the doors that they had almost reached. Kris approached the door, opening it and entering without a moment of hesitation.

 

Inside the room, there was a bed with a girl upon it. She was sleeping but her body was hovering above the bed with a dim light glowing around her. Kris stopped as he saw her. It was amazed him to see the event but it was also making him worried as he never saw this occur to her before.  He approached her slowly with frown on his face and stopped by the bed.

 

The girl was wearing a white long dress. Her small face was innocently beautiful with pink lips and rosy cheeks. Long and silky black hair was framing her face. Glorious aura radiated from her although she was sleeping soundly, chest rose constantly and steady as she breathed. It seemed that nothing happened to her. But Kris could also feel that her presence was starting to fade away slowly.

 

“She never floats before,” Kris stated, concerned at this peculiar sight. He was worried if something had happened to the girl.

 

Kris held out his arms and placed them under the girl. On the moment Kris' arms touched her, the power that made her float worn off. Her body fell  onto his arms. Carrying her carefully, Kris moved forward. He placed one of his knees on the bed and then lay her down on the bed gently. For a moment, Kris glanced at her, concern in his eyes.

 

“I’ll see where she’s going,” Luhan offered helpfully as the leader moved back. With that, Luhan stepped forward, approaching the girl.

 

 

I decide to walk around the Tree so I can watch it closely. From every angle, I feel that I have known the Tree for so long. It is my home. But somehow, I feel a hint of sadness.

 

Suddenly, something catches my eyes and makes me stop.

 

I see a young human male dressed in a black long coat and a pair of black trousers lying on one side beneath the tree, among the roots. His eyes are closed. Probably, he is sleeping or might be unconscious.

 

But to see him, I feel curious. The realm, the ground and the Tree feel very sacred. I have learned that sacred realm like this is forbidden for humans. Most of the times, humans or any living entities cannot come closer to a sacred ground as it’s protected. Yet a human has entered.

 

Somehow, I feel that he is not ordinary. And with my curiosity, I come closer. I stop in front of him and kneel to have a better view of him.

 

This young man… is young. Probably he’s in his early 20’s. I can’t figure out his real age. I’m sure that he is older than me, but probably younger than Kris.

 

His hair is dark. I can see slightly red-brownish color on his hair when the sunlight sneaks through the leaves and falls upon his hair. But his hair looks soft. I want to touch it. And his face…

 

I touch the strand of hair that falls to his face and move carefully to brush it away. Somehow, I feel in awe as I see the most beautiful man I have ever seen. His face is small and angelic. He is reminded me a lot of Luhan. But something is different from him. He has attracted me. And that something has made my heart thump.

 

But…

 

I gasp and fall backward as I feel a hand suddenly grabbing my wrist. I look and see a hand holding my wrist that I have stretched to touch the young man’s hair. I feel panicked as I see him opening his eyes. His eyes cause me to gasp in awe yet fear.

 

His eyes are beautiful. I can see both toughness and gentleness inside. I can't tear my gaze away from him. But he is looking at me in an unfriendly way.

 

Somehow, I sense danger as a part of me screams in fear and notifies me that I have to stay away from him. But a small part feels attracted to him and says that I can trust him as he feels familiar. I also notice that I catch a similar feeling between him and Kris. But something is different. It confuses me.

 

Who is he?

 

I see him rising his body and kneeling in front of me as he still holds my hand. I move my body backward slowly as I feel threatened by him. I feel my body tremble and I need to put my free hand on the ground to support me. He fears me yet I miss him. That is how I feel. I also notice that the hand holding mine is giving me the cool sensation… just like water.

 

“What are you?”

 

Before I answer the question, I feel another grab on my other hand. I want to turn to see who has done it. But I see a flash of lightning passing by my side. I turn back to the young man and see that the lightning has hit his hand. He releases his grab and sets me free. I quickly lean to the root behind me and close my eyes. As I do so, it feels like my body is invisible and going through the outer layer of the Tree. Then, I am dragged back into the darkness.

 

 

“Chunjie!”

 

Feeling a sudden jolt, the girl quickly opened her eyes. She heard someone calling out her name. When she opened her eyes, she gasped as she had barely managed to catch her breath. But as Chunjie's vision became clear, she saw the familiar face of a sweet and beautiful young guy with light brown hair. Worries were written on his face but he looked relieved to see her awake. She recognized him. Then, she felt warmth on her left temple. It was his fingers.

 

“Luhan?” she called out the guy’s name.

 

A smile broke on her face as he heard his name on her lips. “Welcome back,” he said as he lowered his hand.

 

She just smiled. Then, she felt a slight press on her right wrist. Chunjie turned her face and saw another young guy with short brown hair. His face was slim with distinct feature on his sharp jaws. She recognized him as Chen who has holding her wrist. She soon realized that it was him who cast the lightning that set her free as Luhan sent him to enter her mind realm.

 

Chen smiled in relief. “It’s good to have you back again, Gongzhu,” he said as he patted and cupped her hand with his.

 

Turning her gaze to Luhan, Chunjie caught sight of another guy. He was also a brunette and she recognized him as Lay. Worry was written on his face but it was soon replaced by relief as he saw her conscious again.

 

“Thank goodness that you’ve come back, Gongzhu.” Lay heaved a sigh of relief, taking a seat on the head of her bed. “How are you feeling right now?” he inquired gently, stretching his hand out and caressing the girl's soft hair.

 

As Lay moved his hand, Chunjie could feel the power of healing flowing within her body, restoring her energy and making her feel comfortable like before.

 

“Tired,” Chunjie answered with a small smile.

 

“No wonder,” Kris spoke, causing her to glance over to his direction. Approaching the younger, a rare smile appeared on Kris' sharp, handsome face. Seeing that he was approaching, Luhan hastily got to his feet, giving his seat up for the leader.

 

“You’ve traveled again.” Kris kneeled on the side of the bed so Chunjie didn’t need to look up too high for him. His gaze looked softer. “But I’m glad that we didn’t lose you.”

 

To hear that, Chunjie felt guilty as she knew that she had worried the leader. “Sorry. You must have worried,” she whispered, apologizing.

 

For a moment, Kris seemed to look as if he was restraining himself, probably not to scold her for using her power recklessly. He knew sometime she could accidentally unleash her power. He exhaled softly.

 

“It’s fine.” He held out his hand and caressed her hair. “Go back to sleep, okay. Have more rest.”

 

Chunjie just nodded.

 

Kris moved forward and planted a peck on her forehead then stood up. He looked at Lay. “Stay here with her,” he ordered.

 

“Alright,” Lay replied.

 

Kris looked back at her. “Good night, Chunjie. Rest well.” He brushed away the hair that fell to her forehead.

 

“Good night, Kris,” she replied.

 

Kris turned and walked to the door. Luhan and Chen said good night to her randomly before they came out from the room. Kris was waiting for them until they were all out. Then, he closed the door, leaving the two behind.

 

Lay looked back to Chunjie after the others left the two of them alone. “I guess you better rest now, Gongzhu,” he said as he placed his palm on her forehead.

 

Chunjie nodded and obeyed. She closed her eyes, trying to sleep. She could feel that Lay’s hand moved away from her forehead. She also could hear a chair being dragged. So, she could imagine that Lay dragged the chair to the side of her bed and sat there to look after her. She smiled slightly to imagine it.

 

“Why are you smiling?” Lay asked as he caught what she was doing. He was sitting on the chair beside the bed, facing her.

 

Chunjie chuckled to know that she had been caught. She opened her eyes and looked at Lay. “Nothing,” she said. “Just… thank you for looking after me.”

 

Lay smiled because of it. “Silly girl,” he said as he stretched his hand out to touch her nose. “You know that I will always be looking after you.”

 

She smiled.

 

“Now sleep,” Lay said.

 

She nodded. She turned to her side and closed her eyes as Lay drew back his hand. But the image of the young man that she met on her travel suddenly came to her mind. She opened her eyes again.

 

“Lay,” she called the guy’s name.

 

Lay turned his gaze to Chunjie.

 

“Have you ever met someone who terrifies and attracts you at the same time?”

 

He smiled at the question. “Why do you ask?”

 

Chunjie shrugged. “I just want to know.”

 

The innocent reply made him chuckle. “Gongzhu, if I meet someone who can do that, it will be you.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because we are meant to be with you,” he answered. “I was afraid when I first met you because I know what I will have to face in the future. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but to feel attracted to you.” He paused as he thought for a second. “And I’m sure the others have the same thought as I do.”

 

Chunjie just smiled to hear the answer. She stretched out her hand and held his. “Thank you, Lay.”

 

Lay patted her head with his free hand. “If you’re feeling grateful enough, then sleep. You need to rest, Gongzhu.”

 

“Alright.” She drew back her hand and obeyed. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. It didn’t take long for her to sleep as she still felt very tired.

 

Lay fixed the blanket and just smiled to see the younger girl going back to sleep.

 

Outside, Kris closed the door carefully and lowered his hands as he exhaled. He looked at the door for a while. Frown was formed on his face as if he was worried about something. Chunjie might not tell everything that she had experienced as her spirit traveled. But Kris had suspected what had happened.

 

“Kris.”

 

Kris turned as he heard Luhan calling him.

 

“Her left wrist. Did you see it?” Luhan asked, making Chen look at him.

 

Kris dropped his gaze. “Yes, I did,” he then turned and walked. “It was the water user. Might be the water legend, or might not. This world is filled with unknown magical entities. So we need to be careful.”

 

Chen frowned because of it. “But if it’s the water legend, there’s no basic elemental legend in this world. Xiumin is the only one who has elemental power besides me. But our powers are not basic elemental power,” he said.

 

Kris stopped and looked at him with his keen eyes. “How about in the other world?”

 

Chen went silent. He turned and exchanged gaze with Luhan before he dropped his gaze.

 

For a moment, they forgot that their world was actually formed from two worlds that seemed alike. They could see the different skies but stand on the same ground or they could stand on the different grounds but see the same sky.

 

It was a common knowledge for everyone in their world about the legend of the Tree of Life. It was said that their worlds were once formed from one big tree that they called Tree of Life. It possessed twelve forces that nurtured it. They called those twelve forces as the Legends. But one day the red force created evil that coveted the heart of the tree. The evil made the Heart dry. To save the Tree, the Legends split the tree into two parts and hid each of them. Thus, the world was recreated into two that seemed alike. The twelve forces were split into two and sent to each world.

 

Their world was called as K world. It was a normal world, no different from ours. In that world, Chen and his five friends who lived along with Chunjie were the ones who possessed six forces. Chen was possessed the force of Lightning as he could create lightning and use it as his weapon. He also could control the lightning.

 

Kris was the leader of them all and he possessed the force of flight. He could make himself float or fly. He also had the power to summon a fire dragon and had the control over the creature.

 

Luhan possessed the force of mind. He could do telepathy and move objects with his mind. He also possessed the power to sneak into someone’s mind and bring someone else into the mind by touching them.

 

Lay had the force of healing. He could heal everything. He could even bring a dying plant back to life. Most of the times, he used his power to restore his friends’ energy and bring their health back.

 

Xiumin possessed the force of frost. He could freeze everything by touching them whether it was liquid or solid. Like the power that he possessed, Xiumin was a cold person though he was a nice and warm person inside.

 

Tao was the youngest among them all and possessed the force of time. He had control over time. He could stop the time or make it slower. But he couldn’t reverse the time or travel to the future or the past.

 

Each of them knew that there was another world that seemed alike with theirs. They also knew that there were another six forces that lived in that world. But since the beginning of the two worlds, they had never met or encountered each other.

 

“But no one is able to walk between two worlds,” Chen said again. “Even we don’t have the power to travel between them.”

 

Kris scoffed cynically. “Don’t you remember that she’s different? Don’t think that she is the same like us.”

 

“But what if there’s a way?” Chen asked.

 

It seemed that Kris’ patience had run out as his voice turned firm. “If there is a way, please explain why we still can’t travel to the other world and meet the rest of the legends!”

 

Kris’ words seemed to scold the other guy. It made Chen silent again and drop his gaze. He knew that Kris was right. Chunjie was different from them.

 

Kris looked at the younger guy for a moment before he turned and walked again to his own room. Chen quickly raised his gaze and wanted to talk more.

 

“But…”

 

Luhan quickly took a step forward and turned to face Chen as he placed his palm on the guy’s chest. He had to stop the younger guy.

 

Chen stopped as he felt Luhan’s hand on his chest. He turned his gaze to Luhan, wondering why the older guy stopped him. But he soon realized that it was useless to be stubborn and go against Kris. Among them, it might be Kris who was worried the most about Chunjie.

 

“What happened?” Tao who just stepped out from his room asked as Kris passed his door. He heard Kris’ firm voice so he thought that someone had fought with the leader.

 

Kris stopped and looked at Tao. “It’s fine. Just go back to sleep. It’s already late,” he said to the youngest guy then walked back to his room.

 

Tao just looked at the leader until Kris entered his room and closed the door. Then, he turned his gaze to Chen and Luhan, hoping that the two older guys would give him an answer. But Chen just looked at him then dropped his gaze as if he didn’t want to explain while Luhan still stood with his back against Tao. Tao quickly understood that he wouldn’t get any answers. So he assumed that the matter had been settled. He just tilted his head and went back to his room.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, in the other world, a young man opened his eyes and moved to sit on his bed. He was called Suho although his parents gave him another name. And he was the Water Legend.

 

He was sleeping before and it seemed that he had dreamt about something important. But he remembered. He remembered about the entities that took the shape of a pure beauty and also the lightning bolt that hurt his hand as he caught the pure beauty.

 

Then, Suho realized that his right hand was throbbing.

 

He turned his gaze to his hand as he raised it. It was the hand that held the pure beauty’s hand and also the one that was hit by the lightning bolt. And now, he found a burning wound, right on the back of his palm. It seemed that he really was struck by a real lightning bolt.

 

Suho just exhaled. He raised his left hand and placed it above the back of his right palm. Soon, a shape of water formed on the space between the two hands. It touched the burn and cooled it down.

 

He was thinking that it was a shame that they didn’t have a healer among the forces who lived in his world. It could be useful if they had one. Or probably a frost legend to cool down his burning wound could do.

 

Suho smiled at his mind.

 

But furthermore, he was thinking about the pure beauty entity that he met. He could feel that it was a girl and she had a pure beauty beyond his imagination. Her hair was long, though he didn’t know what color her hair was since she was glowing. But she was filled with pure kindness and gentleness. It warmed his heart. He didn’t know who she was, yet he felt close to her. Probably, his feeling to her was closer than his feeling toward Hana.

 

Suddenly, the door on his room was opened, causing him to look up. Suho saw a pretty girl coming in. She was very beautiful with long straight hair and fair skin. But somehow, Suho felt that her beauty was scary. She was wearing a long dark dress that glimmered in a reddish color when the light fell upon it as she walked toward him. Worry was painted on her face. She stopped beside his bed and her gaze fell upon the guy’s hands. She looked as if she pitied something.

 

“Oh, Suho,” she said as she sat on the bed, facing the guy. She stretched out her hands and took his right hand. She frowned as if she was hurting too when she saw the burn. She looked up at him then smiled comfortingly. “Let me cure it.”

 

Suho didn’t answer. He just let her do whatever she wanted. So the girl dropped her gaze and closed her eyes to concentrate. He just looked at her.

 

Her name was Hana, the girl who lived with the six legends in his world. She claimed that she was the one that Suho and his five friends had been searching for. His friends trusted her. He had felt the same thing in the beginning. But he started to doubt her at one point. He didn’t know why he doubted Hana even though she often showed him that she had more superior power than the six legends.

 

Suho noticed that his wound had healed. He quickly drew back his hand, surprising the girl in the process. Hana looked at him in confusion. But he had learned for so long to ignore her. So he turned his gaze elsewhere.

 

“It’s fine now,” Suho said with cold tone in his voice. “You can leave.”

 

Hana seemed to be disappointed with his rejection.

 

“I need to rest,” he added as he lay himself back to his bed.

 

Hana just looked at Suho with a clear disappointment written on her face. Suho was gentle and nice to everyone except for her. He used to be nice to Hana. But now, he always acted cold and distant. It made her sad and disappointed. Somehow, she was hurting inside with Suho’s attitude.

 

But, she respected his request. So, she stood up from the bed. “I’m going now,” she said and waited for an answer. But it seemed that the guy wouldn’t reply. She exhaled. “Rest well then. Good night.”

 

Hana turned and walked toward the door. She came out and closed it gently.

 

Suho slowly exhaled after the door was closed. Somehow, he had a hard time trusting her.

 

~ ooOOOoo ~

 

Additional Note :

Chunjie = 纯洁 = Pure, clean & honest (in Chinese)

Gongzhu = 公主 = Princess (in Chinese)

Sunsu = 순수 = Pure, clean, clear, absolute, straight, true-born (in Korean), taken from the words Sunsuhan (순수한)

Hana = 하나 = One (in Korean)

 

Thank you for IcePrincess2299 and deedee48 for fixing the grammar and sentence structures and also expanding the vocabulary.

 

Author's note:

Sorry for the long chapter. I just want to introduce the life of EXO-M and a little about EXO-K (or at this point, Suho).

I hope I'm not giving too many spoilers on the first chapter.

If you want to tweet me or to leave comment for me outside AFF, feel free to visit my twitter @AFFalize_sakura

To all the readers, I hope you enjoy reading the fic. A comment or subscribed will do, if you're willingly :)