"Hi Sunggyu. Long time no see," Kai said, staring at the leader. Sunggyu looked at Kai in distaste when he realised Kai was standing there beside Kyungsoo. "Kai," he said, retracting his fangs slowly, "What are you doing here?" Raising his hands, Kai replied, "Talking to this guy." And he pointed to Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo glared at the boy. What the heck? All the vampires turned their attention to him. "You," Himchan said, glowering ever so slightly. "You were beside us in the canteen." He blinked his yellow luminous eyes. Kyungsoo tried not to freak out. Their eyes were creepy. He gave him a small smile. "Sorry... I couldn't help it," he muttered, looking at the grass on the ground.

The night air seemed to cling to their skin, Kyungsoo noticed, as if night itself was fond of them. They seemed to be stunned at his sentence. "Yes?" Kyungsoo asked, furrowing his eyebrows. What the heck was he supposed to do? Kneel down and say "I'm not worthy!" ? Sunggyu's lips curved into a crooked smile, his fangs showing a little. Kyungsoo gulped, and took a step backwards. Kai just stood there like a statue beside him.

"It's a first. The Powers don't apologise, easily." Sunggyu said, giving Kai a hard glare. Kai looked away, feigning ignorance. Powers? What Powers? Kyungsoo thought. Sunggyu's eyes seemed to bore into him. Then Kai suddenly looked back at Sunggyu. They locked eyes and something went between them. "Ah well... Okay," Sunggyu shrugged.

He took a step forward and offered his hand for a handshake, "I guess you know me. I'm the leader of Midnight." Kyungsoo hesitated, "You're not going to bite me and my blood right?" Himchan laughed, looking at him as though he were dumb. He said, "No. We only feed on animal blood now. Vampires have changed." Kyungsoo nodded at the new information. Oh really? That's cool. 

"What's your name?" a guy beside Himchan asked. This guy fit the more 'dangerous' image of a vampire. Kyungsoo was sort of afraid of him. "Kyungsoo. Do Kyungsoo. I just got here today." "Ah I see." the guy answered, nodding his head, "I'm Yongguk, the vice-leader, you would call it." 

A pale guy slipped up beside Kyungsoo and sniffed the air. Kyungsoo was so shocked, his feet stood rooted to the ground. Staring at the guy, he saw him extract a sharp knife-like claw from his index finger and he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder. Then Kyungsoo realised the guy had cut him. "Hey!" Kyungsoo protested. He looked around for help, but all the vampires seemed eager about what the boy was doing, even Kai was looking at him with slight interest.

The boy the blood off his claw, and tasted it for a while. Then he looked up at Kyungsoo. "I think he's the one." he said with certainty, before looking at his friends. "Like what Aron said," Kai said casually, walking up to Kyungsoo. And then looked at him closely. Kyungsoo took a step back. "He doesn't even look like he can fight." another boy said. He had dark hair, which grew over his eyes messily.

"Kyungsoo, this is Zelo, our... Let's just say he can tell about loyalties, in blood." Sunggyu explained, his eyes flitting from Kai to Kyungsoo. Then Kai added, "He's supposed to be Aron's cousin." Zelo narrowed his eyes and before Kyungsoo could even blink an eye, Zelo had pushed Kai down onto the floor and he held his claws, now all extended at Kai's throat. Snarling, he said, "I don't have anything to be related to that . Say that again I will kill you and all your precious blood dry."

Sunggyu shouted, his nostrils flaring, "Zelo! No fighting today. You'll scare Kyungsoo." With a warning growl, Zelo jumped off Kai. Kyungsoo was sure that he had a poker face on. Kai staggered onto his feet, a little shaken. "Lastly, this is Sungyeol." Sunggyu introduced, the boy who commented on his weak appearance. Sungyeol just nodded stiffly. 

"Is this your whole clan?" Kyungsoo asked. He wanted to know about that... Daehyun guy, and Hyunseung. Sunggyu shook his head and answered, "Actually, there are are seven more. Sungjong, Woohyun and L are at class. The rest are at the dorm-" He stopped abruptly. Kyungsoo noticed the uncomfortable and worried faces on the rest of their faces. Even Zelo was biting his lips anxiously. Kai frowned in worry, "Is it true? Daehyun..."

Sunggyu gave an almost unperceptable nod. Kai growled, "Those idiots!" Himchan agreed almost immediately. He stepped forward and asked Kai, "They hurt Sehun right?" Kai and Kyungsoo nodded. "Is he okay?" "I'm not sure," Kyungsoo admitted, "His wound was pretty bad." Yongguk just threw his hands into the air in frustration, "Just damn this whole world." And then he disappeared into the darkness of the garden.

All of them stared after the guy. Sunggyu ruffled his hair nervously. "If he continues to be like that, I don't know what will happen to us." he muttered self-consciously. "I'll go check on him," Zelo offered. "Me too," Sungyeol piped in. They looked at Sunggyu for permission. Sighing, he just waved his hands and the two boys ran away hurriedly.

After they were gone, Sunggyu sunk down to the stump of the tree and rubbed his face. "I'm so tired..." he muttered. Himchan sat down beside him and patted his shoulder comfortingly, "We'll get over this." Kai sat down at Sunggyu's other side and asked, "What did Hyunseung do?" Kyungsoo noticed that the leader's shoulder sagged tiredly when he heard the question.

"We were out for practice the other day, you know. Like normal. Daehyun was feeling a little unwell that day so his skipped training. When we came back, we just found Daehyun..." Kyungsoo felt really sorry for him. Sunggyu buried his face in his hands and muttered, "Oh gods..." Kai nodded in understanding, before asking while playing with a random grass he'd plucked from the ground, "How high is the damage?"

"He keeps rambling about a new world. Things like we all would die if we didn't join together. And he's scared all the time." Himchan explained, looking down cast. Sunggyu lifted his head and rested on the tree trunk, "I don't get it. The part about joining together. Who?" There was silence for a while. "I really need to ask one question," Kyungsoo said, breaking the silence. "Shoot," Sunggyu replied, his head still on the trunk.

"Have the Demi-gods always been this... terrible?" he asked. Kai's head jerked up and he looked at him. "Back before they thought they were still normal humans, they were. I don't know... It was afterwards. Must be the work of the proud blood of the Gods." "Oh." "I think we all should get a rest," Himchan said, giving the leader a slap on the back while standing up. "Might as well," Sunggyu sighed, following his friend. 

Just then, a figure popped out of the tree, tripping over all of them. Kyungsoo scrambled away heroically while the vampires whipped around and extended their claws, snarling. Kai just sat aside. The figure turned out to be a girl, judging by the long hair. She coughed a few times and looked up frantically, "Sunggyu! Himchan!"

Sunggyu's shoulders relaxed but the scowl was still permanent. He asked, "Sulli. What are you doing here?" The girl coughed again. Kyungsoo realised with a start that her ears were pointed at the end. "I needed to inform you!" she said hastily, looking up. Kyungsoo fell backwards. Her eyes shone a light shade of violet in the dark. "What are you?" Kyungsoo asked in shock. "A human! And a Nature spirit, servant of Gaea, the mother of-" Sulli said without hesitation but Sunggyu stopped her. 

"I think Kyungsoo got your point," he said flatly. Kyungsoo sure did. "What's your purpose of finding me?" "Your clan! Zelo! The werewolves!" Sulli cried. Kyungsoo found her quite animated. Himchan jumped to his feet. "What?! They're fighting?!" he shouted. Sulli nodded quickly. "And Daehyun-" "What happened?!" Sunggyu asked, instantly becoming wide awake. 

"He's the one that attacked Ravi. Then N just burst in with his group and voila! World War 3!" Sulli answered impatiently. "Oh gods!" Himchan yelled. "We have to go! Where are they?" "Outside the Spells Room. That big amphitheatre." Sunggyu and Himchan sprinted away in a hurry, leaving the three of them behind.

"Do they fight a lot?" Kyungsoo asked, turning to Kai. Kai nodded, "Since forever. The two are supposed to oppose each other. That was how the rules were written." Sulli snorted, "You should see how much damage they do to my sisters' plants-" "Sulli!" Kai hushed, glaring at the girl. "What?" she asked in annoyance, "It's true! Their fights are not healthy for the eco system." " So you can just pop out of trees?" Kyungsoo asked dumbly, joining them under the tree.

The wind seemed to blow even stronger than a few moments before. "Technically yes. Any form of Nature. Nature teleporting, a bit like Kai over here." She patted him on the back. "But you know," Sulli said, turning to Kyungsoo, her eyes as wide as saucer plates, "It gets annoying when you loose concentration and you get stuck in the tree." Kai rolled his eyes, saying, "Sulli, you don't need to tell everyone the same thing."

"The Hunters of Artemis don't really help," Sulli continued, ignoring Kai, "They keep using trees as their target practice. It's annoying! Do you like getting holes in your body?" She leaned towards Kyungsoo. Leaning back, Kyungsoo shook his head. "You'e going to scare him, Sul," Kai told her in a monotone voice, though he was glaring at her. Sulli sat back up straight, and said, "You have to stay away from Aphrodite's kids, boy." "I'm Kyungsoo." Sulli nodded and corrected, "Kyungsoo." She paused for a while, hooking her fringe behind her ear before continuing, "You're so innocent. And they'd love someone like you."

Kyungsoo thpugh and said, "It's not so bad-" "They make you fall in love with them and then break your heart into thousands of tiny pieces, so small, they can't be glued back together." Sulli interrupted, before looking at Kyungsoo. "Oh," he answered in a small voice. Suddenly he felt scared. Everyone here seemed to have a good defense weapon, except for him, so far...

"Oh don't worry," Sulli said kindly, "You'll know yours soon." Kyungsoo opened his eyes wide and looked at Sulli. Did she just read his mind? Kai spoke, "Sul, is he a Demi-god?" Sulli inhaled the air deeply. Kyungsoo stared at her. Her nose twitched and they held their breaths. "No, he's not." They all sighed in relief. "You're a Power, like Kai," Sulli told Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow. "That helps." Kai admitted. "Wai wait wait hold up. What's a Power?" he asked, giving the both of them questioning looks. Kai scratched his head, and answered, "It means you have a specific area of magic. Like Sehun and I." "Are there anymore?" Kyungsoo asked again. Sulli nodded, "There are. But the problem is..." She looked at Kai before continuing, "They don't talk to anyone. They're almost like ghosts."

"Umm... To add the reason, it's because the Powers tend to be the Demi-gods' first hand victim... Because we have the least magical value here..." Kai said sheepishly. "Huh? Really? That's not fair!" Kyungsoo exclaimed. He scanned Kai up and down, looking at him with a new perspective. Then he realised Kai had scars on his calf and an angry cut across his neck. "Oh my god..." Kyungsoo's jaw dropped. Kai muttered, "Sorry... I told you to run already. It's a black hole here, Kyungsoo. Run away while you still can." 

"Heh. I'm not like that. I like playing hide-and-seek. The problem is, I like 'seeking'," Kyungsoo said. The words sounded strangely confident on his tongue. Kai stared at him, "You sure know how to speak. I'm not going to force. Your choice." Sulli nodded in agreement. "So... Have you been um, bullied before?" Kyungsoo asked the Nature spirit. She blinked her hanuting violet eyes. Suddenly, her eyes turned into a deep shade of red. Kyungsoo got a shock. "Your eyes." he said. Sulli looked at him, a little sadness and anger mixed in her look. "They're red, aren't they?"

Kyungsoo and Kai nodded. "I've seen that on you before. But, why?" Kai asked. Sulli sighed and began telling them her experience with the Demi-gods. 

"When I first came to this school, everyone told me I had the most beautiful eyes in the world. Violet eyes are rare, you see. Then, one day, this extremely beautiful girl came towards us. She was Yoona, daughter of Aphrodite. I of course didn't know at that time. She smiled and told me my eyes were very beautiful. I only remember her touching my eyelids, then there a sharp pain. I screamed, then I wiped away what seemed to be tears, but it was blood. Yoona made my eyes turn red, from time to time, as a reminder that no one could ever become more beautiful than her." 

Sulli smiled bitterly after finishing. Kyungsoo whispered, "That's... Terrible." Her eyes faded back to purple. Kai kept opening his mouth open and close like a gold fish. Sulli sighed, "It's a long time ago, guys. Don't go bash Yoona up." Then she lied down on the grass, staring at the sky. "The stars... I can't see them..." she muttered sadly to herself.

Kyungsoo turned to Kai. "How long has she been here?" he asked. Kai scratched his chin and answered, "Three years. Same as me." "Tell me seriously, is this more of a training school for our... powers?" "Yeah. It is. Study is not as important here, we might get killed any moment. All of us." Kyungsoo looked at him. "Don't give me that look. I'm not joking." Kai countered, biting his lips worriedly at the end.

"Why? You sound pretty worried."

"You see, our magical barriers are weakening. I don't know why. It's been so serious, Miss Kwon had to go back to Olympus for a meeting."

"Woah woah woah. You're telling me Olympus is real?"

"Duh. But the Gods have kept themselves locked away. No one knows where Olympus is, except for Miss Kwon."

"Not even the Demi-gods?"

"No... But there is a rumour though, that Kris only knows."

"I see. But what does that have to do with us? I get about the survival part. Okay don't give me that look. First, what are the barriers?"

"Magical boundary around the school. Fifty meters out from the school gate and around it, anyone who doesn't have magic stuff in them can't pass."

"Oh... I didn't feel anything, or that barrier."

"Because you have powers. Don't ask stupid questions."

"Fine fine fine."

Kyungsoo looke at Sulli and asked, "Because Kai finds me annoying, I shall ask you instead." "Hey!" Kai protested, glaring at him. Sulli smiled and sat up. "What do the Gods have to do with us?" Kyungsoo asked, ignoring the boy. "Other than the Demi-gods, they are our patrons too. Each one of us have a patron god or goddess." Kai nodded.

"Mine's Hermes. God of travel." Kai added. Sulli said, "Mine's Gaea. Oh and yeah, she's not that Gaea you read in Percy Jackson. She's really nice, but when you do something wrong against her... Let's just say she can do whatever was written in Percy Jackson." Kyungsoo nodded quietly. "What time is it now?" Kai asked. Sulli took out an iPhone from a hidden pocket in her green dress. "4.15," she said, before putting it back.

Suddenly, everything turned quiet. Kyungsoo meant it. There was not a single noise. "What just happened?" he asked in surprise, looking at the trees in the surroundings, only lit up by a few lamp posts. Sulli stood up, her ears pointing up, alert. ". The power of werewolves. They are near!" "Not another supernatural meeting!" Kai groaned. "Wait. I think they're almost gone." Sulli said, sniffing the air.

Then a figure crashed into their view and collapsed onto the grass, coughing. When he lifted his head, Kyungsoo saw that it was Sungyeol. His claws were bloody, with some still dripping off them. "Sungyeol!" Sulli cried, scrambling over to him. "Oh my god! You're injured!" Then she screamed as two shadows leapt over her.

Kyungsoo almost screamed with her. They were wolves. Growling, they circled Sungyeol ad Sulli. Their fangs were tinged red with blood and their eyes glowed silver. Shouting filled the surroundings around them. Kai tensed his shoulders and said, "Don't tell me both full clans are here." Sunggyu fell into their view, grappling with a wolf. Kyungsoo watched in amzement and horror as Sunggyu snapped at the wolf's neck but it backed its head, also giving him a heavy slap/scratch with his claws.

Sunggyu made a noise that sounded between like a cat screeching and a human groaning. Then Kyungsoo yelled in utter shock when Sunggyu shot forward in a swift motion, sinking his fangs into the wolf's shoulder blade. The wolf changed into a human as it howled in pain and flung Sunggyu onto the ground like a sumo wrestler. Over at Sungyeol, a wolf leapt at him but he extended his claws and raked them across it's snout. Sulli looked absolutely terrified.

Kai shook his head and muttered, "This is not good. Not g-" "Kyungsoo!" Kai yelled, shock evident in his voice. Kyungsoo turned in time to see a thin boy leaping at him, his yellow eyes blazing and his claws reached out for Kyungsoo's neck, rasping, "Die! Chosen one!"