~Chapter 44~

Celestial Beast Cores

Joon’s POV~

             I Onew’s hair as he lays on my lap. His fluffy strands tickle the tips of my fingers and swirl around in the light breeze. The gentle sunrays shine on his hair, making it even lighter in color. He sings quietly, making me feel at ease. We haven’t spent alone time in a while and the war aftermath has been keeping me quite busy. Thanks to his singing and company, I feel much more at peace. I bend down and peck the top of his hair. His singing stops as he freezes, looking at me straight in the eyes. His brown orbs shine quite beautifully and his charming face temps me even more. I once again bend down and kiss his forehead. A light blush forms on his cheeks as his mouth spreads to a bright smile. “You promised me that when the banquet is over, you’d let me kiss you whenever I want~” I say and rub his cheek with the back of my hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to ask for permission. I won’t ever force you to do anything you don’t want.” I smile at him warmly and he leans his cheek closer to my hand.

            “Does it ever frustrate you? You always ask for permission. Even when you want to do the smallest things. You’re a powerful general and monster. If you wanted to force anything on me, I probably won’t be able to stop you.”

            “Which is the exact reason why I have to ask you. I can never force anything on you. Besides,” I mischievously smile, “you’re too nice to say ‘no’ anyway~” Onew playfully punches my abs and whines as he hides his face in my clothes. My heart stirs at his cuteness and I hug him. “May I kiss you…for real this time?” I whisper in his ear with my husky voice. He squirms a bit as my warm breath tickles his ear. Again, a slight blush creeps on his cheeks as he shyly nods. “Thank you,” I reply and gently turn his face to look at mine.

            My thumb touches his plump bottom lip and I bend down, pressing my lips against his slowly. My heartbeat speeds up as I feel something stir inside me. I peck his lips again…then again…then I pull him to sit up and we lean in for a deeper kiss. Onew wraps his arms around the back of my neck and pulls himself closer to me. As his soft lips press again mine, I can’t help but want to kiss him even more. My hand travels down to his waist and I press his body against mine.

            I let out a sigh as I hear footsteps approaching us. Onew probably caught on as well and we both regrettably pull away. Uh…should I come back another time? Mir tells me through my mind. I look at Onew who is avoiding all eye contact, embarrassed. I growl as its obviously too late to continue.

            Just come in, you jerk. I reply. Next time if you don’t catch on faster, I’ll give you a beating.

            Y-yes, hyung. Mir comes in carrying loads and loads of arrows. I forgot that I sent Mir and Thunder out to gather the arrows that were shot during the battle. Since it takes so much effort for Onew to make the blessed arrows, I wanted to gather some to save him from making more. If only I told them later…I wouldn’t have had to cut my kiss with Onew short. I wave my hand to dismiss them and I fake a cough to change up the air. Onew gets up and walks over to the table full of arrows. Mir and Thunder did a good job cleaning them as not even a speck of blood has tainted them.

            “Thank you,” Onew says after a while. “I still need to make more though. Regular arrows are not powerful enough to shoot down monsters. We need as many as possible in case.”

            “Are you planning to make more arrows? I’m sure we can all help,” I offer. It hurts me seeing him working so hard on them to the point where his hands would get blisters and cut up.

            “I guess we can have arrow makers supply the arrow shaft while those trained in making blessed weapons can make the arrowheads. That way, we can produce them at a faster rate.”

            “We just need to give the arrowhead a bit of our spiritual powers to make it a blessed weapon, so any monster or fighter with a strong pure energy source can do that. Although making the arrows while supplying energy to it like you do will make the arrows more powerful, it takes too much time and energy. Let’s just make some that are weaker, and you can keep the ones you make. When there is a real threat, you can use your arrows to make the final blow.”

            “It doesn’t make me feel good giving low quality monster-killing arrows to others…” Onew slightly frowns.

            “But think about it…you can’t always be around making arrows. Our weapons are blessed since we killed a lot of monsters with them. If they collect the arrows each time and reuse them, they will eventually become powerful weapons like ours.”

            “I guess that’s true,” Onew nods.

            “Besides, once we leave, we can’t expect the youngsters to come to us and ask us to make them weapons all the time,” I shrug.

            “When we leave?” Onew looks at me in confusion.

            “You see…” I sit down next to him and place a hand on top of his. “We can’t always stay around and take care of other peoples’ problems. We need to prepare them enough so one day, we can leave and start a life of our own. You don’t expect me to keep you around here where there’s always something to deal with, do you? I want you to live a peaceful life with me and our friends. Don’t you want that as well?”

            “I do!” Onew says. “The things is…Jonghyun and I do not belong in this time period. I’m afraid that one day we will be forced to return. Heechul hyung was supposed to help out with our charms, but he disappeared. We have no idea how our charms can help us out and I don’t know when our potential deadline will be. Going back in time is our only chance to save you from becoming a demon and dying for all eternity.”

            “Well, I’m sure retiring early and living a peaceful life with you will ensure that I will not die in vain, don’t you think?”

            “I know but…”

            “Let’s make the best of what we have. Since you and Jonghyun have no idea if you will time travel again, let’s just make our current life as lovely as possible. Then, even if we have to go through lifetimes and lifetimes of obstacles, the happy memories will be enough to purify our souls. As long as you are with me, I know I will never die in vain and taint my soul. Your charms still remain a mystery, but they are full of energy. You told me the charms contain the angels’ past lives and their sins and the angels died when the charms were destroyed. The thing is, they were crushed during that war, yet you still have them in your reincarnated life and were able to bring them with you while time traveling. That means that even the charms themselves can survive in a different lifetime, why can’t I?”

            “Aigoo, it’s because when you died, you turned into a demon. Then, you were killed as a demon and your soul dissolved into nothingness. One the other hand, the angels’ forms were killed, and we converted into humans again when our charms released our sins. The point of going back in time is to save you from becoming a demon.”

            “But nothing dangerous has happened to me. If anything, all the misfortune is targeting you and your brothers. Are you sure that your going back in time is to save me and not anyone else?”

            “If you’re not who we are saving, then what are we here for?”

            “Quite possibly…it’s to find out the truth.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “I think…the point of you all time traveling is to see where it all began. This lifetime is where it all began. How did you turn into angels and why did you get burdened with the task of saving the world in the treacherous cycle of reincarnations? Don’t you think this is odd? Not everyone that died with pure souls turn into warrior angels and get reincarnated over and over again. Also, what are the odds that the charms that were destroyed come back and help you time travel? You all believe that some things were fated to happen, yet you don’t see that your time traveling is also predestined? Also…why is that when Taemin died, he also died in the present time? Didn’t Jonghyun explain that a cut on his current body formed on his unconscious in the future? That means only your souls time traveled, yet everything that happens here links to the present? To me…I feel like this all is part of the cycle itself. If not, why is it that this lifetime connects so directly to the future lifetime?”

            “This is giving me a headache,” Onew sighs. “If only God can just show up and give us answers.”

            “If only it’s that simple…” I sigh as well.

Key’s POV~

            Jonghyun hyung and I quickly get up to greet Naeun who for the first time in months have exited her bedchamber. She looks exhausted and so lost in her thoughts. It wasn’t until she bumped into Jonghyun hyung that she noticed us. She quickly blurts out a greeting and tries to avoid us, but Jonghyun hyung’s cheerful attitude won’t let her go just yet. He starts bombarding her with questions and I can tell that she realized that she won’t be let go until she at least answers some. “I’m sorry for dressing up as a male and hung around at Heroes’ Rebellion and even followed you all on monster-hunting trips. I have been keeping Her Majesty company this entire time.”

            “The queen?! Oh my gosh I was actually afraid she wasn’t in the palace and we were just assigned to watch over an empty hall. How is she by the way? Never wants to go out for some fresh air? The king hasn’t even visited her this whole time…” Jonghyun hyung continues to ramble.

            “Haha don’t worry, you’re not guarding an empty location. Now I need to go. Bye!” Naeun quickly runs off without a second thought. Why is she in such a hurry? She used to like hanging out with us and even back then, she and I would have long conversations over tea. Now that we are back, she hasn’t even looked at me straight in the face…is she trying to hide something and is afraid I’d catch on?

            “Key, don’t you think it’s odd that the queen never shows herself and even the king doesn’t come to visit? I heard that he was madly in love with her at some point. What’s with the cold shoulder? Oh, and Naeun! She usually is very fun and mischievous, yet she has been trapped indoor for months. So out of character…”

            “Yeah…” I reply and continue thinking to myself. What are they trying to hide?

Taemin’s POV~

            After explaining the situation to Mr. Dragon, he sits us down and the baby dragons climb all over us as he talks. “As long as a monster takes its bead out by itself and not by a forced removal, the energy connection will last, and a bond will be created when the monster shares its life with the person. With the monster in charge of the bead sharing, the monster can survive. In your case, Kai’s bead was given to Taemin, but Taemin’s half bead was being absorbed by his dying body, while Kai’s half bead was dissolved due to the poison Jiyeon fed him. When Taemin died due to the poison, the ties got severed and Kai was left with the remanence of his bead that was left behind, making it impossible for him to continue to have a completed bead. When he takes monsters’ beads to replenish his own, they are basically temporary fixes. Since the monsters did not give him their bead by their own will, the monsters die, and the bead will eventually be used up. If the bead was given to him and the monster later dies, this wouldn’t be the case since his body would still harness the bead.”

            “So basically, Kai’s bead was absorbed by my body and the ties got severed when I died. Kai’s bead was destroyed by Jiyeon and him taking beads from monsters cannot save him since the beads will fail?” I summarize what he says.

            “Correct,” Mr. Dragon nods.

            “But I can still sense him when he is around me,” Kai says. “He can sense me as well.”

            “Although the ties severed then, Taemin came back to life and essence of the bead that was absorbed by him still remains.”

            “Can we save him?” I ask.

            “The only way for him to be saved is to have a monster willingly give their bead to him. The thing is, when a monster shares its bead, it is much weaker and the one its linked with must survive for it to continue to live. The one always at the loss will be the monster that is giving away its bead. This means that Kai would need someone to donate their bead to him and if Kai dies, the monster that gave him the bead will die as well.”

            “No one would be willing to make such a sacrifice…” Kai sighs.

            “There’s no way for him to create a new bead with the stolen ones?” I ask.

            “Yes, but the bead would be tainted due to the unnatural bead-stealing. Usually when you steal a bead, the bead fails because it’s much too corrupted and weak. If you harvest enough stolen beads, it will create a tainted bead which makes you into a powerful yet bloodthirsty monster,” Mr. Dragon explains.

            “Which is why there are powerful monsters that cannot turn into celestial beasts?” I ask.

            “Exactly. The monsters that do not kill and are not bloodthirsty will eventually have strong enough beads to become magical creatures. Monsters that steal beads throughout the years and kill unjustly will have a tainted bead, making them powerful but can never transform into celestial beasts.” I think hard and can’t help but wonder how a monster can turn into an angel or demon.

            If we all end up having beads, how can one become an angel or demon and not just a celestial beast? Wait…are angels and demons considered celestial beasts? If angels are celestial beings…doesn’t it mean that if monsters live long enough and are good enough, they can become angels? If Onew hyung, Jonghyun hyung, and I came here to stop them from becoming demons, can’t we just do that by making sure they don’t have tainted beads so that one day they can become angels? Does that line up to our original theory that as long as they don’t die in vain, they can move onto become angels? I pat myself on the back. I’m so smart, I praise myself. “Kai, I figured it out! Remember how we thought you all turned into demons because you died in vain?”

            “Yes,” Kai nods.

            “Well, I think that having tainted beads is also part of the problem! You see, angels are celestial beings that work for God and you explained to me that celestial beasts can serve deities. Guess what?! Deities are also gods! This means that everything is linked, they are just called different things and are slightly different in explanations.”

            “So, do you think that if I die without having an evil monster bead, I can become an angel too and stay in the cycle when I die? Joon hyung as well?”

            “Yeah!” I exclaim. “Now the only thing I don’t understand is how much of the future are we changing? If we all die with pure monster beads, will I awaken in my present time or will we restart the cycle and become angels again? Also, how much of our theory is right?” I feel my charm heating up and I quickly pull it out. Mr. Dragon examines the shining object and gasps.

            “You had a bead this whole time?”

            “Wait what?”

            “Your charm is actually a beast core. Once monsters lived for at least one thousand and five hundred years, they form a beast core that makes them into celestial beings. The change from animal to monster after five hundred years, gain a human form at one thousand years, and become celestial beasts after at least fifteen hundred years. Why do you have one? When I asked you to save my wife and kids, I knew you had superhuman energy, but I didn’t know it was partly because of the bead you have.”

            “My charm is a beast core?!”

Jimin’s POV~

            Thinking back at how gloomy Taemin hyung’s face was, I can’t help but feel guilty. I wonder if he is already making his way to find Minho hyung. “What’s with the long face?” Taehyung asks as he sips another cup of tea.

            “No reason,” I reply, not wanting to get Taehyung involved with my personal choices. We all know that the king is watching him and if my decision will harm him, I’d rather he doesn’t know. After the time he broke out crying about being afraid of the throne and wanting to return it to Minho hyung, I can’t help but want to help him ease all his worries. After we went out and helped save the villagers from poison, I thought he would’ve seen the purpose of needing to become a good ruler. At that moment, he seemed touched, but the stress of being controlled by the bloodlust of the throne must have shaken him up a lot.

            The emperor may seem like a kind ruler, but we know he has been scheming terrible things and setting up any deathtraps for people. If I’m not mistaken, Minho hyung’s brother— the original crown prince— shouldn’t have died in battle that year but died due to an underlying power. Does it make sense that monster hunters were only created thanks to Heroes’ Rebellion? The king obviously had other plans and didn’t send his troops to save the people for a reason we don’t know about. The queen hasn’t showed up once ever since Minho hyung’s death sentence back then and the king has been keeping quiet about it. I feel like the king is turning a blind eye on a lot of issues for unknown reasons. Harming the innocent civilians…is that the right way to rule?

            Taehyung-ah, I say in my head. Obviously, the crown prince cannot actually hear me, but it feels right to at least say my true feelings in my mind. I hope that one day you can become a wise ruler that will put the safety of his people first. I’m afraid that in the current king’s hands…this country will end in a bloodbath. Of course, no one will believe what I say because the king puts on a kind face in front of others, but something just doesn’t seem right. If he is kind, Taehyung wouldn’t be so scared of him…I see the way he is around the emperor. His body would shake and at times he would even stutter. It takes him a lot of strength to even speak up when not addressed to do so. Why is Taehyung so scared of him? I’ve served him for so many years and people have even rumored that the emperor pours in all his love for his crown prince…maybe…maybe Taehyung is hiding something from me.

~Comments are loved~

Back in college but I will try to continue to update! Hopefully a chapter every 1-2 weeks.