Sungmin could sense the mild orange light behind his closed eyelids, but he felt so weak that he didn’t even know if there was any strength left in him to open his eyes. He drew a deep breath, ears concentrating on the murmurings and footsteps that were muffled by what he supposed were the walls of the room he was kept in.

He didn’t know where exactly he was, but he knew it wasn’t home, and he probably was no longer in the Land of Esprit – he remembered what happened.

Sungmin was passing by a village with his little brother, Ryeowook, when they found themselves caught in an invasion by the Macabres. They were planning to collect some plants and soil – Ryeowook controlled the earth and plants –, but the common bell warning signal rung out in the village, informing the brothers of the presence of the Macabres. As Ordinaries rushed away from the invasion into their homes to hide, the brothers headed towards the attacking direction with a mere exchange of glances to help out. They were princes, and princes do not simply leave their people in trouble.

When they had reached the scene, Sungmin realized they were severely outnumbered. The few Marked of the village, along with a few well-built Ordinaries, were trying to fight against an army of Macabres, and already a few were injured. Immediately locating those he sensed life leaving their bodies, Sungmin healed them to the extent that he was sure their lives were out of danger. He was yet onto healing another villager when he heard a familiar voice crying in anguish, and Sungmin snapped his head up to see Ryeowook with an arrow through his leg metres away.

Considering that Ryeowook could hold back the enemy a little longer with his tree roots, Sungmin distractedly attempted to heal the villager lying before his knees. However, he caught sight of another archer releasing an arrow towards Ryeowook’s back, prompting him to drop his task for leaping to his brother’s rescue.

Willing his telekinesis as he ran, he managed to bring the arrow to a stop, but only when it was embedded an inch into his right chest. He could feel his brother’s hands on his shoulders as he fell to one knee, followed by the frantic hovering of hands near his wound as Ryeowook fretted over it. Sungmin grabbed his brother’s hands, making use of the short relief provided by the roots barrier surrounding them that his brother had set up. He convinced his brother that he was fine – a mere inch wouldn’t endanger his life –, drawing his brother’s attention towards the other villagers. In the chaos, his brother gave in to his words, limping towards another direction to protect the others with his roots barriers.

As the barrier drew down around Sungmin, he deflected the arrows towards him telepathically. Pulling out the arrow in his chest mentally with a hand over his mouth to muffle his cry, he repositioned the weapon, sending it towards a man fighting against an Esprit Marked. It wasn’t sent to kill, only to injure, because Sungmin never found the courage to take any life when he was given the powers to prevent death as far as possible. However, before the arrow could accomplish the task, another Macabre blocked it off with a sword for his ally, eyes locking with Sungmin’s in an instant. The next thing Sungmin knew was the agonizing pain in his head as he dropped to both knees, hands reaching up to clutch his head. There was only one word that came into his mind before he collapsed and lost consciousness – Afflicter.

With his eyes still closed, Sungmin attempted to move his left arm that was awkwardly placed above his head. The clinking of metal against metal that reached his ears explained the awkward position, and the coldness that seeped into his arm as his skin came into contact with the chain confirmed his speculation – the Macabres took him.

“He’s awake, Your Highness,” He heard a voice, possibly a guard, reporting outside the door.

“Let’s go see him, Kyuhyun.”

The heavy metal door was dragged open, the sound of footsteps turning louder in volume. Sungmin attempted to concentrate, drawing upon his telekinesis to break the metal chain, but all that came to him was emptiness. Was he too weak?

“Open your eyes,” A low voice ordered.

Sungmin forced his heavy eyelids open, not to follow the order, but to catch a glance at his captors.

The pair of eyes that instantly caught his gaze when he opened his eyes was too familiar. It was the same dark irises that regarded him with much caution, mixed with a little of what Sungmin thought was hatred, before he had collapsed at the village. The Afflicter.

As Sungmin’s eyes slowly took in the other facial features, he realized it wasn’t just the eyes that were familiar. He recognized the face that was hovering above him – Prince Kyuhyun of Macabre, second prince but birth son of royal descent. The realization hit him – He wasn’t just captured by any afflicter, but Prince Kyuhyun, who was known to be one of the strongest afflicters in the Land of Macabre.

A cry escaped Sungmin when pain erupted in his right chest from a push, and the bandages around his topless chest were tugged away in careless movements.

“So your wound stops healing when you no longer have your powers,” The prince said, throwing the half-bloodied bandages to the ground. “It managed to heal to some extent though. Unfortunately, you won’t die.”

“My powers…?” Sungmin’s brows furrowed.

Kyuhyun smirked, pulling away from the hard wooden bed he was lying on. Sungmin’s eyes followed the movements of the prince, eventually landing on the glass cylinder in the hands of the other room occupant – Prince Hyukjae, adopted first Prince of Macabre. He had met both princes in a massive confrontation meeting at the borders before, but the anxiety rising in him wasn’t due to the recognition of the two princes. It was because of the light purple glow pulsing with golden sparkles hitting the sides of the cylinder.

“See something that belongs to you?” Prince Hyukjae shook the cylinder, his wide grin exposing his gums.

“W-What…” Sungmin shook his head in disbelief. He attempted to call upon his telekinesis again to break the cuff around his left wrist, but all that happened was the purple glow in the cylinder pulsing faster than ever.

“Don’t exert yourself too much. You barely recovered,” Hyukjae said in an amused tone, passing the cylinder to Kyuhyun.

“I was expecting a golden glow because you were known to be a healer, Prince Sungmin of Esprit.” Kyuhyun strode back, stopping by his bed. “But I saw that arrow you manipulated at my friend a