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【 Kris' POV】

"You don't have a core anymore!" Luhan exclaimed when he broke out of the trance after getting kissed by Beautiful. I don't blame him though, none of us expected her to kiss us at all. Wait! What did Luhan say? Beautiful doesn't have a core? How is that possible? Without a core, we can't survive! Without the core, we will die! Are we going to lose Beautiful for good this time?

"That's because Azarians were never meant to have a core. Having a core is like what Prince Charming has described me before; a massive ball of power trapped in a tiny glass box. Azarians were originally formless balls of pure, unadulterated energies made up of all the elements within the Void known as Khaos. When we chose to have life, we became full-bodied beings but our bodies are created using that energy." Beautiful explained and a movement beside me drew my attention to D.O and Chen who were scribbling furiously into their notebooks. Those two are the most studious among us even if Chen is a troll.

"An Azarian's power flows through their body, veins and blood. Azarians are shadows; we are everything and we are nothing. Having a core without giving up something would mean death of the Azarian. KyungKyung Oppa has it, I think. The first page of the codex; The Beginning. Think of it as sacrificing something in order to live a better life. In my case, a core was formed within me against my will." So that's why she was unstable... She was never meant to have a core because she never gave up anything.

"Moreover, none of you have a core either. A barrier, yes, but not a core. As Azarians, that barrier can only be taken down by the person who put it up. In Exo's case, it would be me. For Jo, Krys and Jess, Nuthang Crew. For the rest of you, the council members. But I can't do anything my abilities stabilizes. Nuthang and your parents can only take down the barrier when I'm stable. It has to work from the inside out. Just like how a body would heal." Inside out... So that means she has to heal... Us Exo is next... Who are those fourteen souls then?

"That would be us, Young Master Wu. Her bodyguards. They are originally fourteen of us. But out of the fourteen, only ten of us managed to survive. We lost the other four in The Ministry. The next thirty-nine are these young men and women who will be the high ranking officers in Milady's army. The final twenty-nine are the 13 Crowns Council Members, the 13 Crowns Council Advisors and the King and Queen." Soohyuk Hyung spoke up. Do I still call him hyung if he's even older than my grandparents are?

"Advisors Lee, Yang and Park are half a century younger than we are, Young Master Joonmyeon. Yes, we fully intend to train each and every one of you with no intention on going easy, Young Master Oh. It is as much your destiny to take over your parents' places on the council as it is for Milady to take her place as Queen. Advisors Lee, Yang and Park will open up a new class specially for this training an- Ow! That hurt, you little brat!" Top Hyung launched himself at Beautiful only to faceplant onto ground when she ran off cackling like a mad woman.

What the hell happened? "Milady may not be able to use her abilities but she's not fully unarmed. She still has her spellcasting, speed, strength and agility to fall back on. She's reached the level where she doesn't need to speak for her spells to work. She used a spell on Top Hyung to deliver a strong mental slap. You know... The books you see on display aren't the only books she has." GD Hyung explained. But what does he mean by his last sentence? All I saw last time was a tiny hidden library that stank of mold and old paper.

"I have an enchanted underground library where I keeps all my special books. Just in case crazy es and s decide to break into my house while I'm away. They'll never get to my books and even if they do find them, they'll never find their way out. The Living Maze spell is a really fun spell. It changes every second of every day. The paths will never be the same. I'm the only one who can get in and out without getting lost. Also, abilities are nullified until you reach the heart of the maze where my books are." Beautiful spoke up as she jumped onto my back.

That library of hers sounds like a good place to train ourselves in navigating, tracking and to build up on our physical skills. Maybe Beautiful would be willing to take us there for that. "Want to play in the maze? I created dangerous beasts in certain parts of the maze though. A girl's got to keep her most prized possessions safe, after all. But it's relatively fun to be able to only depend on only brain and brawn without the whole mumbo-jumbo crap." I couldn't help but choke out a surprised chuckle upon hearing Beautiful describe abilities as "mumbo-jumbo crap."

"I would suggest going now... But you'll get massacred... So Nuthang Crew will train you 'til you're strong enough. All of he girls; except for Jess, Jo and Krys, that is; most of Teen Top, some of Infinie, about a couple or so from U-Kiss and a couple from SHINee get either very emotional or they don't bother thinking. As for Exo... Jonginnie Oppa is one person who charges head-on. ChanChan Oppa is one person who lets anger take over. FanFan Gege is Mister Gloom and Doom all the time... I could go on all day." Sometimes, I wish someone would shut Beautiful up...

"So... What now?" Kai asked while eyeing Beautiful who was still clinging onto my back like a koala only to have her say, "I'm hungry... I'll go get me some food... The rest of you can go play outside with the rest of Nuthang. G Oppa and I need to talk about some stuff..." That made me wonder what was so important and secretive that Beautiful needed to talk to GD Hyung alone.

♥♣♦♠

【Jay/Yana's POV】

The moment the room cleared out, I went straight to the kitchen to hunt for something to eat with Jiyong Oppa trailing behind me. I didn't have to see his face to see that he was smiling softly as he watched me. It has always been like this. Whenever it was just me and him, he would drop that leader act and revert to being a little boy. What no one knew about Jiyong Oppa is that he and I are first cousins; we share the same paternal grandfather.

"Oppa... How come you never wanted to take the throne? You're as much a royalty as I am and you're more than capable of ruling a kingdom." I spoke up shortly before Jiyong Oppa wrapped his arms around my waist as he rested his chin on my shoulder. Did I ever mention that Jiyong Oppa is one hell of an affectionate person? No? Well... Now you know... He likes to say that he has a lot of love to give which is why he's very affectionate.

"I have no right to the throne, Sweetheart. Uncle Daeho is the eldest Prince and therefore the throne belongs rightfully to him. More importantly, Uncle Daeho married Aunt Vera who happens to be the Russian Crown Princess. My dad married a ranking officer in the army. You're more of a royal than I am, Sweetheart. I'll never take something that doesn't belong to me." Came the reply and I couldn't help but scoff at that even though I feel so warm and tingly inside.

"Never taking something that don't belong to you, eh? Pretty big talk for someone who was a professional thief and spy back in the day...." I teased as I found a platter of cookies sitting in the oven. Looks like the resident cooks have been making good use of my kitchen... Come to think of it... I don't even know how long I've been stuck in that personal little hell of mine.

"Sometimes there's no other choice, Sweetheart... ... Mmm... You were in a coma for three weeks after the bonds were fully restored and then another five months or so screaming in pure agony while your mates watched helplessly right beside you... Those boys... They