Mir closed the door to the small motel bathroom and sat down on the bed.

“Those roadside burritos… were just, awful” he said, laying back

“I’m sorry we couldn’t eat human flesh, I’m sure that’s what you would’ve preferred,” I replied, trying not to stare at his mesmerizing glowing hair.  He rolled his eyes.

“Is that what you think? First off, I’m only half demon… I’m not one of those sick monsters.  Frankly, you shouldn’t be so proud of being human,” he said. I could hear the hurt in his voice.

“And why is that?”

“Humans may be the dominant species on the planet, but honestly, you’re pretenders to the throne. You clawed your way to the top by stealing, lying, and killing… yet you somehow believe you’re above the creatures you share the planet with,”

“At least we don’t kill innocent people for the twisted thrill!” I yelled.

“Really? You don’t? Then why are your prisons filled with psychopaths, rapists and murderers… Face it Joon, humans and demons are more alike than you think,”

I was stunned by his words… and the strange truth in them.

“I… I’m sorry Mir. I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge you.  But you’ve got it all wrong; humans aren’t all bad. Sure, there are those of us who so horrible things, but there are also those of us who fight for a better future,” I said softly.

“Like you and your brother, the heroes?” he raised a curious eyebrow.

“We aren’t heroes… we never were.  We’re simply two people who are willing to stand up for the people who can’t stand up for themselves,”

Mir simply nodded and flipped on the TV.

I laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a while and eventually I fell asleep.  When I opened my eyes again, the sun was up and the room was quiet.  I glanced over to the other bed and for a second… I saw Rain instead of Mir.  I shook my head; I had to get my brother back before it was too late.  Mir and I weren’t far from the location of the Mystic Elder that Seungho told us about.  We were staying in Transylville, only about thirty miles from Ridgeview.  I walked over to Mir’s bed and shook him.

“Mir, wake up. It’s time to go,”

He sat up and nodded.  I took a quick shower and waited for Mir to finish getting ready. A few minutes later we were on the road.  Mir gasped and it startled me.

“What’s wrong?” I wondered.

“Pull over… now,” he ordered.  I was confused, but I did as he said.  He got out and looked up at the sky. I got out and looked, but I didn’t see anything. 

“What is it?”

“Look at the cars on the road,” he said. They were all completely still; even the smoke from the exhaust was frozen in place.

“The hell…” I mumbled. Mir couldn’t even respond before something shot down from the clouds and landed in front of us in a huge cloud of smoke and dust.  When the air cleared, a tall, beautiful woman stood before us.  In her hand was a golden apple.

“It really is you… I figured it must be if you stopped time,” Mir said.  She smiled.

“Hello Mir, hello Joon… I am Sooyoung, goddess of chaos and discord. Formerly known as Eris, but let’s be honest… that name is so last century,” she said.  My jaw dropped.

“A goddess... What do you want with us?” I asked through trembling lips.

“We seem to have a common enemy. As many people know, I have recently turned over a new leaf. Since the death of my sister, Harmonia, I’ve felt compelled to rid the world of chaos instead of spreading it.  It seems the demon Gackt has a plan that will directly foil my goal,” she replied, wiping off her apple on her pants.

“What is his plan?” I eagerly asked. Maybe I would finally know why Gackt wanted Rain in the first place.

“He’s planning to combine his essence with a human soul, this will make all weapons fail against him. Human weapons won’t be able to kill him, and neither will holy water or demonblades,” she explained.  Some answers… but I still didn’t know why he wanted Rain specifically.

“What do you want us to do?” Mir asked.

“Exactly what you were planning to do… I just need to inform you that this task cannot end in failure; if it does, then say goodbye to humanity,” she said. With a snap of her fingers, she disappeared and time resumed. 

“No pressure,” I said to myself.