hanyeol felt like screaming. He watched as Baekhyun wasted away his own life on the grounds below him. Why? Chanyeol didn’t understand why Baekhyun wasn’t dodging the weapons that came slashing at him. He gaped in horror as blade after blade made their mark on Baekhyun’s flawless skin.

If Baekhyun continued to let Chanyeol’s men stab at him, Baekhyun would fall before long. Chanyeol would not let Baekhyun fall. He would not stand to see Baekhyun die or hurt. Whoever dared to harm the man that was his would not live to see another dawn.

Chanyeol’s hand went to his quiver and he drew one of the many pale white arrows from the collection. Anyone who touched his Baekhyun would not live. The bow was strung. As usual, Chanyeol did not aim.

The arrow was sent flying through the air, creating a blur of white. In the next instant, it lodged itself deep within the chest of one of Chanyeol's own men. He had killed his own. Chanyeol had fallen to insanity. For a long moment he shivered and shook in pain.

His brothers. He had killed one of his own comrades.

He watched as Baekhyun, too, turned to him in bewilderment. Chanyeol ignored him. He had already decided that he would betray all; his soul, his humanity, his country, his men. All.

This was his one chance to save his love. This was his only chance to amend things. If one of them had to die today, then let it be him, for if Baekhyun died, Chanyeol would be unable to live regardless. Better to have one alive than both dead.

Chanyeol watched as yet another one of him men tried to attack Baekhyun, this time from behind. He struggled with himself, the two parts of his insides gripping with each other for control. No! You can’t kill another one of your men, the reasonable, human side of him argued. But the other side of him won.

Baekhyun would fall to the sword of his soldier if Chanyeol did nothing. Chanyeol would not allow Baekhyun to die.

Once again he strung his bow. Soldier after soldier he killed. With the murder of each of his comrades, Chanyeol felt his heart, already shattered, darkening into black and then disappearing into fine grained dust.

This was his form of bravery. Protecting his loved ones from the very beginning was his only goal. And he had done so: Baekhyun was kept safe from all. But still Chanyeol cried, tears leaking out of his eyes, for in exchange for protecting Baekhyun, he had chosen to betray all else.

Bravery was a wretched thing.

Alas, as Chanyeol knew now, there were different forms of bravery in the world, each unique and different in its circumstances and justifications. But all forms of bravery, in the end, were selfish. Bravery served only to accomplish already set goals, regardless of the consequences resulted when achieving them.

For Chanyeol, his goal was protecting Baekhyun. Bravery was the force that allowed his hand to murder his brothers; bravery was the force that allowed him to betray his emperor; bravery was the force that would allow him to face, ultimately, his own death.

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol whispered again and again, “I’m so sorry you trusted me. I have failed you all.”

Man after man, Chanyeol cleared Baekhyun’s path for him. The Bow of Courage was ever so tightly grasped in his hand; how wretchedly fitting.

He laughed to himself manically, soul already lost to hell, “So this is what Tao meant when he predicted this despair; I, the general who carries the Bow of Courage, would ultimately be using it to kill my own men. How courageous am I.”

Chanyeol wondered if his tears would ever stop falling. He was no longer sure what he was crying for. Perhaps he cried for the country he was betraying, perhaps for Tao who was still lying on the bed – dead to the world – in the hut, perhaps he cried for the Emperor Suho who would now have to deal with an impeding enemy force, perhaps he cried for his men who were falling at the hands of their own commander, perhaps he cried for Baekhyun who had forgotten how to smile.

But then Chanyeol realized, that most of all, he cried for himself. He cried for the corruption he had embraced and the hell he had allowed into his soul. Chanyeol glared up at the heavens, disgust evident in his tone, “This is the fate you have written for me, this is the fate you have written for them! Does it please you to torture us so?”

Anger boiled in his veins as he strung his bow once more, this time aiming it at the skies. The arrow flew high before once again falling. Chanyeol knew that it would do nothing. The heavens were untouchable. If it was not, then humans wouldn’t suffer on earth.

His eyes returned to Baekhyun who now stood in shock as the enemy forces fell before him. Chanyeol smiled as his hand once again reached towards his quiver.

“Let me do one last thing for you.”

But before Chanyeol could murder himself as well, the last threat to Baekhyun's conquest, something hit him on the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. His vision started to fade. Everything merged into darkness.

Before his eyes closed completely and his sense of consciousness escaped from him, Chanyeol heard a single voice.

“I’m sorry, hyung, but I could not watch you kill our brothers or yourself any longer. I could not watch you succumb to darkness any further. Perhaps it is not my place to mess with fate for I can clearly see it, but, hyung, I cannot bear to witness you ruining yourself.”

Chanyeol smiled when he realized that the speaker was Tao. He had never heard co-commander speak before, but he did not need to in order to identify the voice as his. That was the strength of the bond of friendship that connected them.

“Don’t hurt him, Tao,” he managed to whisper, before a last tear slipped from his eye and his world turned completely black.

♥

Baekhyun let out a silent scream as he saw Chanyeol fall. Already his heart had been hurt by the fact that Chanyeol was killing his own men for him. A million parts of him died as he witnessed Chanyeol melting into that same darkness Baekhyun could not wash from himself. But seeing Chanyeol fall destroyed him.

Baekhyun slashed out in fury, trying to find someone to release his stress on. That was when he realized there was no longer anyone left.

The entire field was littered with bodies and white arrows; arrows of his eternal guardian angel, Park Chanyeol.

Baekhyun fell to his knees, collapsing.

“Why?!” Baekhyun screamed to the skies, “Why am I so sinful that I must destroy him along with myself, why must you make me stain his glory? At least, at least if I had killed him myself, he would have died a hero…but you,” he pointed at the heavens, “you traitorous gods, caused him to become branded a demonic traitor. His entire life marred by my existence, his only dream betrayed for my safety…tell me, is that my punishment for the deaths I had dealt with this sword?”

Baekhyun drew the blade that lay fallen on the ground besides him. He wanted to end himself, so that he would no longer have to suffer the antagonizing pain that charred him alive.

He rose the sword. This was the sword from which he drew his strength, this was the sword that he had first killed with, now it would become the sword he died with. Baekhyun stabbed down.

But the sword did not touch his skin. It was stopped by the hand of a man; the single man on the field besides Baekhyun that was still alive.

The Seer.

“Let me die,” Baekhyun screamed.

But the Seer only shook his head, anger and regret flashing in quick succession through his eyes. “You aren’t allowed to. Chanyeol gave his life for you, gave his soul for you; dying would be too easy of an escape for you.”

Tao pulled the fallen general off of the ground, his voice stern when he addressed Baekhyun, “From this day forward, you live not only for yourself, but for him. Leave now, Baekhyun and never return.”

Zitao turned then and went back to the wall. Baekhyun watched as the Seer took Chanyeol’s knocked out body in his arms and retreated into Rosecreek. Baekhyun was left standing alone on the bloodied battlefield. Alone. Always alone.

“I messed up, horribly, didn’t I?” He whispered to himself.

If he had listened to the Seer that first night, things would have been different. Once again he had hurt Chanyeol, and this time, permanently.

The harsh, bitter wind slapped at him as he continued to stand stiff in the open, raw field. Cold was the agate around his neck as he wept, forever a reminder of his mistakes. He had messed up. In his last chances to make things right between him and Chanyeol, he had failed.

Now, forever, he would have to live with that failure.

He glanced down at the agate ring. Stained with dried blood and fresh blood as well. It was just like them. Stained and bloodied and unable to ever return to those first days. Never again would they be pure of heart and able to love freely. Baekhyun wondered if he would ever be able to smile again.

In the end, he had lost all.

Loyalty, love, bravery.

Nothing. He had nothing left.

So much suffering ;A;

One chapter left after this one guys, hope you guys are looking forward to it. Comment your thoughts below <3