Chapter 11: Death and the Masked Boy
The Light in the Dark (r)
No One's P.O.V
'I...don't...understand'
*drip*
*dugeun* *dugeun*
'Why...would they...do...that?'
*drip*
She watched in horror as blood made it's way to the girl's dry lips as her left cheek gradually turned red before it slowly turned bluish with a mix of purple as the bruise stood out due to the girl's already pale complexion.
'How...could they?'
*dugeun* *dugeun* *dugeun* *dugeun*
"Aagh!" One of the girls suddenly yelled before she fell to the floor on her knees as she grabbed her head with both of her palms trying to ease the excruciating pain as she hang her head low before her head is now against her thighs as her whole body started shaking and trembling. Beads of sweats were already dripping down from her forehead before some if dripped down her chin towards her thighs before it was absorbed by there uniforms.
"Su-Sunny unnie?" Seohyun exclaimed bewildered at the sudden yelling of her unnie who was previously standing quietly. They stared worriedly at her while Taeyeon was just standing staring at the glass window with shock written all over her face while the scientists inside seemed oblivious to what was happening outside.
"Do-don't-ughh! don't come any clo-closer!" Sunny suddenly yelled as she tried to look at Seohyun but failed as the pain continuously coursed inside of her. Her breathing turned ragged as she spoke through gritted teeth while her left hand let go of her head and placed on the floor beneath her for balance while her other hand was still pressed on her hand. Her nails were deeply buried into her scalp and with every painful tug she felt inside of her, her nails keeps digging deeper until a thin trail of blood flowed out of her head towards her hand heading to her arm before it dripped down to the floor.
"Unnie! You're bleeding!" Without any hesitation, Seohyun went towards her unnie despite being forbid to do so.
"Se-Seo no-ughh!-NO!"
*THUMP*
"Un...nie" Seohyun's eyes went wide before her eyelids slowly drop down while her eyes roll to the back of her head. Her footsteps gradually turned slow until it turned heavy and then it halted before her body fell tothe floor with a loud thump!
The loud sound seemed to snap Taeyeon out of her daze as she slowly turned her body, her hand sliding through the glass with the same expression,shock before it turned to fear. She watched in horror as she saw her precious maknae unconscious to the floor.
'What's going on? What's happening?'
*thump*
"Gi-Girls!Clo-close yo-your minds! It-It's-mmph!-it's going to affect-ughh!-you if you don't stop connecting right now!" She finished the last part of her sentence before grunting as the pain never disappeared nor lessen at all.
But before Sunny can finish it,they were already affected as what happened to Seohyun also happened to them as there eyes also rolled back inside of there heads before falling into the floor as there bodies turned into a pile.
*dugeun* *dugeun*
Taeyeon felt so hopeless, so useless, so stupid for not being able to do anything. She was suppose to protect them like there promise but here she is staring at them looking like a complete idiot. She maybe cold but she still has a heart that only beats for her sisters but right now, she was sure it stopped. Her body dropped to the floor as her knees buckled as she just stared with wide eyes and a gaping mouth while her hands started to shake and her body started to tremble.
'What...am I doing?'
"Ta-Taengoo" She heard Sunny's voice as the girl was laying down on the floor,panting with her chest rising and falling fast indicating she was trying to catch up to her breath. Her arms and legs laid unmove on the floor as her whole body was sprawled to the floor. She was tired,pained,exhausted and spent after all the struggling she did. She could feel everything spinning before her shutting eyes as if the world was spinning widely into it's own orbit making everyone inside it feel it's violent movement.
Taeyeon slowly crawled to the weak girl before she lift her upper body up as she laid her body on her lap and look at her with tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry" Taeyeon doesn't know why but she felt the need to cry and the strong sense of fear made itself more clear after she took hold of the girl's pale hand. She felt as if the girl was dying and it scared her to the core. She couldn't shake off the feeling as it just grew stronger and stronger and it terrified her more. They encountered more dangerous and life threatening situations than this but at that time she felt nothing but a sense of responsibility to protect her sisters who were in need of her help in which she was able to do but right now, she know she failed to do so as it striked her cold heart.
*dugeun* *dugeun*
"Tae-Taengoo..." Sunny just repeated the girl's name who was holding her body as her bloody hand made contact with the girl's wet cheeks. Blood continued to drip out of , her nose and her ears as she coughed trying to breathe. Due to it, she started to cough out some blood as Taeyeon stared ,horrified.
"Taengoo..." Sunny called again.
"Wh-What is it bu-bunny?" Taeyeon's voice quivered just like her trembling body and her shaking heart.
"I'm...scared" Sunny slowly murmured followed by a low groanas if talking is now considered as a hard task for her due to her current situation.
"Shh, stop talking for now bunny. You should rest." Taeyeon whispered to the already semiconscious girl as she dreadfully watched with her tear striken eyes how Sunny's own eyes closed as she felt how her hand slowly lost it's energy before it fell limp on Taeyeon's hold. Taeyeon gripped the lifeless hand before she started to sob and hold the hand closer to her as her tears continuously fell.
Miserable and pain are the only two things that occupied Taeyeon. She was puzzled and her mind was boggled as she felt the deep loneliness inside of her chest slowly her unbeating heart. Never has she seen her sisters in this kind of state for she never allowed it. She promised to never let something like this to happen once again but now, her girls, her precious sisters are on the floor with Sunny on her arms that seemed to slowly pass away just because of a simple headache. She doesn't understand, why are this things happening? Why can't she go for help? Why is she sitting there doing nothing? Why is she even crying when she could just call the paramedics to help the girl? But no, she just stayed beside her sisters side, afraid that more bad things will happen as she felt the strong sense to stay by there side as if it was there final moments and the thought made Taeyeon cry once again.
"So you actually have a heart." A voice suddenly spoke breaking the silence inside the laboratory that was occupied only by the sound of Taeyeon's continuous sobbing. In a daze, Taeyeon slowly look up only to see a figure standing not far away from her along with the previous scientist dead on the floor as they bathe on there own blood. The figure was wearing a black and red organic-looking bodysuit and a silver helmet covered with dark glass, hiding his face from her view. Judging from the figure's voice and the muscular build, Taeyeon easily identified that it was a boy.
*thump*
Taeyeon felt how her heart seemed to clench tightly in her chest up to the point that it became painful at the first sight of the boy and it made her slowly let go of Sunny's hand before placing it at the girl's side before she grit her teeth and bawled her fist as she can feel her own nails digging on her own skin but she held it in. She was too exhausted and quite terrified after witnessing such a scene. Just how intelligent and skillful she is at her tasks, she is as sensitive and emotional to her sisters and due to it, it made her turn into someone who is weak,frail and fragile.
"Who are you?" Her tone contained curiosity instead of her usual incredulous one that showed nothing but pure irritation and sometimes playfulness.
"Shouldn't you be asking why I'm here?" The boy mused followed by a chuckle.
"Why are you here?" She asked soon after. She watched how the masked boy reached into his back pocket and retrieve something before he threw it to her. Even though her eyes were filled with tears, it wasn't enough to cover her senses as her senses are still as sharp as ever and because of that, she easily caught the object between her index finger and middle finger as she was greeted by a mark that was surrounded by the color white.
She eyed the mark curiously before she wiped her tears as she turned the card over using her thumb as she now held it between her thumb and her index finger.
The card showed a diagram of something similar to a bar graph but this time it was moving as it changed and changed. Beside those moving bars were names paired with pictures that only showed the person's head.
*thump* *thump*
"tch" Taeyeon suddenly hissed when she felt her heart suddenly pulsate causing for the air in her lungs to disappear making her pant for air.Still she tried to study what the card is.
Seohyun 65% 50% 35%
Jessica 63% 51% 33%
Yuri 50% 47% 38%
Sooyoung 57% 48% 32%
Yoona 52% 40% 29%
Taeyeon 80% 79% 78%
Sunny 33% 28% 11%
- 15% 12% 10%
Taeyeon stared and stared at the card, horrified at what she saw as at that very moment,she wanted to believe that she was only being deceived by her two own eyes but she knew that was impossible. She only kept quiet, not uttering a single word nor any sound until her hand started to shake once again but tears never made it's way to her eyes.
"You're all dying" The masked boy said noticing the quiet behavior of the girl. Taeyeon recognized the tone of the boy's voice as his tone sounded so mischievous and delighted as if what he said was a good news.
'Is that how we sound whenever we use that tone?' She wanted to asked herself but her mind instead was too occupied on what he said, not on his tone.
"But you, you're a tough nut to crack" He mused one again but he just received a string of silence once again as she just looked blankly at him.
"I guess I just have to crank it up" Taeyeon can see him smirking just behind that glass mask and it irked her.
*beep!*
Seohyun 65% 50% 35% 23%
Jessica 63% 51% 33% 25%
Yuri 50% 47% 38% 29%
Sooyoung 57% 48% 32% 26%
Yoona 52% 40% 29% 25%
Taeyeon 80% 79% 78% 75%
Sunny 33% 28% 11% 9%
- 15% 12% 10% 7%
She looked at the card and saw it change again and she was once again turned terrified at the change. She quickly looked beside her to see Sunny turning more pale than usual as she saw blood was continuously coming out not from just the girl but for the rest of them that were unconscious as a small pool of blood was starting to form.
She heard a chuckle behind her which made her snap her head towards him. Her grip on the card turned tighter and tighter as she revert back into gritting her teeth and bawling her fist.
*thump* *thump*
"What...the hell...did you DO?" She yelled the last word as she threw back the card towards the masked boy as he dodge it giving her an entrance as she punched him straight to his jaw through his mask throwing him back as he toppled on the floor due to her punch. She stood there panting as the adrenaline that rushed through her as she surged forward worn her body out but the anger in her never diminished.
"What the hell did you do?" She asked again but it only came out as a whisper but the anger in them never disappeared. Her grip turned tighter and tighter until her own blood slowly seeped out of her palms due to her nails digging in her both of her palm as her teeth also started to ache due to how she grit and clenched her jaw.
"Simple, they detected a threat inside this laboratory so they sent me to take care of it and guess what, that threat were you girls so I just let out some virus that feeds on any kind of life force and magic and that is what occuring inside your sisters body including yours and the girl inside that chamber. The card that I gave you earlier shows how much life the person that was infected with the virus has left as the bars on that graph will continuously change until those numbers reached zero."
"..."
"As you can see, your sisters health are slowly deteoriating and just what is happening to Sunny, her percentage will soon reach zero but unlike them,you're different. It seems that the virus is having some problem killing you."
"Who told you to eliminate us?" She asked through her gritted teeth.
"Why would I tell you?"
"I said TELL ME!" She yelled again before she started to run towards him trying to land another punch on him but he was faster than her already worn out body as he also had anticipated her actions. He dodge her right fist and immediately grabbed it before she can launch anymore attacks on him as he was successful on stopping her.
"Tsk.tsk. You really have some temper."
*beep!* *beep!*
"There goes the alarm once again and when that reached the third alarm, it means that...they are all dead." He told her with the same mischievous tone in his voice but Taeyeon heard none of it. Her mind was just too occupied about the girls.
'...they are all dead'
'no'
*thump*
'...they are all dead'
'no please'
*thump*
"Unnie!"
*thump*
"Taeng unnie!"
'no...anything...please!'
"Tae!"
'...they are all dead'
'Taengoo!'
*THUMP!*
'NO!'
Just like that, her whole body started to tremble for the nth time in that day as he can feel the fist in the grasp of his hand shaking. Her head was hung low so he wasn't able to get a glimpse of her face until that is he saw something drip down from her hidden face as her hood has fallen down ever since she witness her sisters fall.
*drip*
It was a reddish liquid but it wasn't blood at all, it was rather Taeyeon's tears as the masked boy stared at Taeyeon's red eyes, those maddening red eyes that bore holes into his mask as her gaze never wavered.
"What...the...?" He muttered before he felt an ominous sensation on his surroundings. Slowly, air started to surround her petite body as the air pooled around her feet until it slowly rose and covered the rest of her body as the tips of her hair slowly rose as if the wind was carrying them. At first it was only air until that is the boy saw something appear. The transparent air slowly gained color,bloody red as he let her go and moved away to gain some distance as he watched. Taeyeon's fist fell to her side before her fingers slowly uncurled themselves as her whole body is now engulfed by dark, bloody aura that strongly resembled scorching flames under the hot sun.
Her nails grew longer while her teeth grew sharper before her fangs revealed themselves as the deep cuts on her palms slowly closed as if her palm was never wounded. Suddenly the cloth around her neck slowly turned into ripped pieces before it turned into a hole as something glowed inside that hole. Taeyeon slowly rose her head and the masked boy swore he had never saw someone look so terrifying in his whole life as his body shuddered under her unwavering gaze. Her gaze actually looked daze and distant yet deadly at the same time.
"Who...are...you?"
*THUMP!*
In a flash, she was already in front of him as he sharply took in his breath before he felt himself being thrown in the air until he grunted as his back hit the wall and he was sure there's a huge crater just behind him but before he can look at it, Taeyeon was once again already in front of him not giving him time to recover or attack back as he felt her grab hold of his neck.
"How dare you lay a finger on them?" She spoke as her voice was calm unlike earlier where you can hear her anger but now, it was calm with an underlying tone of malevolence.
"aagh!" He yelled in immense pain as he felt her hand went through and through his stomach and back as he can also feel his own blood flowing out to her hand.
"Eliminate us? I will kill you first before you can kill any of us." She quickly retrieve her buried hand from his stomach causing him to let out another painful howl but Taeyeon gave no heed before she slammed him down to the floor making him let out another painful grunt. He can't believe it, he can feel himself getting weaker just from a single damage from her.
'How was she able to do this?' He asked himself. It was too quick for him to process but he was sure he was losing.
"Did you know how much pain you brought to them?"
"nngh!" She grabbed hold of his neck once again before she raise him up to the air until his whole body is now suspended from the ground as his feet dangled while blood continued to drip out of him.
"Do you know how much torture you brought them as they writhe in pure pain?" He couldn't let out another growl or howl due to the fact that Taeyeon was holding tightly into his neck while her extremely sharp nails digging through her skin. One more move from her and she can easily rip his throat. Suddenly she reached at her back before she brought out her covered sword as she positioned it just above his chest where his heart can be located. The covered blade may not be able to pierce his heart but with Taeyeon's given strength, even a straw can be considered a deadly weapon when it comes to her so without any moment's hesitation, she drove her sword deep into his chest while he let out an agonizing cry as the sword, like her hand, went through his chest and straight out of his back side but before she can do anymore damage, black enigma suddenly covered his whole body before it him in as he disappeared.
Taeyeon's sword ,which is now soaked in blood, hanged in mid-air along with her left hand before they fell to her side. The bloody aura around her soon settled down before it completely disappeared as her nails and fangs reverted back to normal and her red eyes slowly regained there brown color as the object that was shining where the hole made from the cloth around her neck slowly stopped shining before it completely disappeared.
*dugeun*
Taeyeon's body soon fell to the floor as her knees fell first followed by the rest of her body as her sword emitted out a loud clank! as it made contact with the cemented floor.
Silence engulfed the now destroyed laboratory with craters and cracks covering the walls and floor with bodies sprawled out as a pool of blood has been formed as it slowly covered the white floor. Some were breathing and some were not.A worn out body also sprawled into the floor as blood started to seep out of ,ears, and nose like the others while her breathing grew ragger and shorter until nothing can be heard from her anymore.
*beep!* *beep!* *beeeeeep!*
The thin sound came strong and loud due to the silence in the atmosphere but no one gave heed to it as seemingly unable to do so as they slowly drown into the darkness that had come and fetch them, in the name of death. Connection was cut, blood made it's way out and life was slayed.
*beep!* *beep!* *beeeeeep!* *beeeeee-*
The alarm went on until it slowly shut down as red marks covered the names that was listed on it's surface.
Seohyun 65% 50% 35% 23% 0%
Jessica 63% 51% 33% 25% 0%
Yuri 50% 47% 38% 29% 0%
Sooyoung 57% 48% 32% 26% 0%
Yoona 52% 40% 29% 25% 0%
Taeyeon 80% 79% 78% 75% 0%
Sunny 33% 28% 11% 9% 0%
- 15% 12% 10% 7% 0%
Soon darkness covered the entire room as the scientists on the floor and the ones that are inside the chamber were soon in, never to be seen again while the girls were slowly being covered as if the darkness was a blanket to cover there lifeless bodies until black liquid can be seen seeping out of the chamber before it slowly made it's way to the girls as it ran through there skins and once again covered there bodies and gain hold of it as they were raised into the air as the black liquid surged inside of there bodies filling them inside until those black liquids disappear inside of them as they slowly laid down on the floor.
The whole floor was covered by darkness making it look like a bottomless pit with bodies on it's surface as they slowly succumb to it.
"tsk.tsk. I have never knew that it will turn out like this. Well,we can never anticipate destiny and fate correctly especially life itself" Another figure mumbled to itself as he walked on the dark surface with both of his arms behind his back as he observed the lifeless girls until he rose his left hand as the chamber slowly burst into pieces killing those that are remained but he knew, she wouldn't be killed.
There she was on the same dark surface covered by the same dark sphere that made this dark surface in which where he is now standing. Slowly the dark ball of sphere disappeared showing the unconscious girl, unhurt. He chuckled to himself before he rose his same hand once again as slowly the girl's body rose into the air before he motioned for her to come closer in which the girl's body followed as it slowly laid itself in front of him. He crouched down before her.
"Why is the darkness still protecting you even at your death?" He asked but no answer came from the lifeless girl. He then laid out his right hand to his side until a dark glow appeared as an object slowly materialize in his grasp.
He stood up and placed the blade on top of the girl's chest aiming for her heart.
"Through this, I shall shatter your heart and put you in an eternal slumber as you sleep into the darkest abyss and I shall reclaim what was rightfully mine!" He held his sword before he plunged it to her chest but before he can do so,something clashed between his sword with another weapon. Frustrated, he looked to his side to see another figure with short brown hair with it's bangs covering it's face but judging from it's clothes, it was a girl. He looked down just where there weapons meet and his frustration turned into delight.
"Even though you're dead, you still haven't forgotten about your duty." He chuckeld to the girl before he swung his sword making the girl let go of his sword and back away, careful of getting hurt but she remained near the unconscious girl.
"I actually pity the both of you. The other is already dead and yet the darkness within her never disappears while the other still serves and protect even though the one she is protecting is already dead while herself has also passed away. Quite a pitiful life, you two are living."
"..."
"You are just like a puppet. Only acting when your strings are pulled. You have always made it known to others that no one controls you, that you follow no one but yourself but in the end, she has been the one who has been controlling you all along!" He laughed but the girl didn't respond nor do anything. She just stood there with her sword in her hand.
"Let me ask you, Why are you still protecting her when you know she is already dead?"
"I don't want her to be hurt again." This time he just laughed at her answer but the girl gave no heed, instead of replying she just surged forward and attacked. She swung her sword towards the man as the man blocked his attack. Seeing he was preoccupied with her sword, she kicked him straight into his stomach making him grunt and back away before she lunged again but he was quick enough to cover her attack.
"hurt? I already told you, she is already dead!"He pushed her back by his sword once again as the girl backed away as this time, she is now beside the unconscious girl while the man was near to the place where the chamber used to be. The darkness that was on the surface on where they are standing soon creeped up into the wall and ceiling until the whole place is now covered in darkness. She lowered her sword as she looked at the other girl on the floor before looking back to look at the other girls who were also dead.
"She's not dead" She looked at the girl then at the group fo girls that were laying on the ground.
"They're not dead."
"That's preposterous! You know how there life force changed and drained to Zero due to the virus inside of them!" He yelled to the girl trying to put some sense on her.
"Zero, zero has always been treated lowly by many.Many have always defined zero as the lowest possible amount or level that is also often describe to be nothing at all. They have viewed zero as something that is worthless but zero is not just that."
"Then tell me, what is zero?" They were no longer fighting but there guard was up.
"Zero is an entity where everything and anything starts. Zero is the number that goes before anything. Without zero, there will be no one nor two nor three. Zero is where things form and gains a value even though zero itself has none. That card,even though there life force were drained to zero, that doesn't mean that they are dead. There zero life force will just make a way as soon as possible for that zero to gain value, to become one then two and so on and so forth. Zero may be considered as nothing but zero is where everything starts."
"oh, just like darkness." He then disappeared in a flash leaving the girl alone before she got swallowed by the darkness that was pooling on her feet. The room is now covered by the darkness as silence once again covered the atmosphere until the darkness inside of the said room started to get absorbed by none other than the girl inside the chamber as slowly the white color of the room reverted back.
Seohyun 65% 50% 35% 23% 0% 0%
Jessica 63% 51% 33% 25% 0% 0%
Yuri 50% 47% 38% 29% 0% 0%
Sooyoung 57% 48% 32% 26% 0% 0%
Yoona 52% 40% 29% 25% 0% 0%
Taeyeon 80% 79% 78% 75% 0% 0%
Sunny 33% 28% 11% 9% 0% 0%
Tiffany 15% 12% 10% 7% 0% 1%
------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 11-------------------------------------------------------
"Hey tell me..." The latter trailed off looking at the figure after it closed the book.
"Tell you what?" The figure asked to the latter as it put the book on the nightstand made out of wood as they both laid down in there bed. They had stopped reading inside the old room of the figure and started to read inside the new room of the latter and the figure. It was actually requested by the latter to the figure and of course, how can the figure refuse such an innocent request? It actually started when the latter got sick as it always request to the figure to read the book to it while the latter lays in bed, resting in which the figure followed. Due to that, it has been there daily routine.Even though days has passed since the latter got sick, it's condition seemed to stay the same. High fever, head ache, pain in almost every part of it's body, weak state. The latter can't even raise it's own hand anymore and the figure got worried in each passing day. Everyday, when the figure is not reading to the latter, it will always find a way to cure the latter but so far it's success has reached zero.
"About darkness." The latter breathe out as the figure has noted that the latter has also having some problems to speak and it saddened the latter.
"Darkness huh." The figure chuckled to itself.
"..."
"Darkness is a wide entity feared by many. Many had believed that darkness is wrong, darkness is evil, and that darkness is zero. Many had also believed that Light is there savior from the darkness but..."
"but?"
"but they didn't know Light came from the darkness. Just like in the story, everything starts with zero as they gain there own value as time pass by. It's the same with darkness, everything started in the darkness, not in light. Even us, we are made from the darkness as we bear some parts that containes the darkness itself."
"Like...what?" The latter started coughing as the figure rubbed it's back trying to soothe the pain away.
"Like our eyes, our body and especially our heart."
"why?"
"Whenever we close our eyes, all we can see is the darkness but we don't grow afraid to it, do we?"
"...yeah."
"Instead of running away from it, we instead go on a peaceful slumber where dreams take part. As for our bodies, whenever light shines upon us, it traces the outline of our bodies creating shadows that are reflected in the pavement."
"...What...about...our hearts?"
"Our hearts...our hearts has always contained the darkness.No matter how much we deny that fact, it will never change and in the end we just have to accept it. The reason why some are called 'pure' because they had filled there hearts with happy memories that they had gained from there friends and love ones as that darkness becomes filled and slowly turns into light. Many may run away from it, forget about it, and even push the darkness away but in the end, wherever they go and whoever they are, they still carry the darkness inside of them, inside of there hearts. You don't need to fear the darkness, you just have to embrace it and understand it. Darkness is like the Light, without Darkness then there will be light and without Light then there is the darkness."
"What about you then?"
"What about me?"
"Aren't you...afraid of the darkness inside of your heart?"
"...No...I'm not afraid."
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Hey guys! Looooong chapter! The pictures that you all shown are not mine at all ^-^ So the latter and the figure are back. I told you they will return. I explained some things in here regarding zero and darkness as an appearance was made by a man and a masked boy and a girl. Hope you guys had enjoyed reading this and to the new subscribers, hello ^-^ and I hope you enjoy reading this and thank you so much for the new upvote, I truly appreciate it :) Misaio out~
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