CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

The Voice

THE MOMENT HIS EYES opened, Yoongi found himself in the middle of a horrifying war zone.

Panic and dread started creeping up his whole being like a deadly snake as he took in the entirety of his chaotic surroundings. Despite the dark ominous clouds spread over the night sky like a gloomy blanket, sparks and explosions of powerful magic lit up the vast courtyard they were in.

It was a clash of light and dark magic.

An ear-splitting monstrous roar rang resounded over the tumult of the two opposing forces, shaking the ground and Yoongi instinctively looked up only to get a sight of a horrendous beast with its long and enormous limbs hovering over the trees. Yoongi didn’t know what to make out of the monster but one thing is for sure, he had never seen something as ghastly as the creature before. Disgusted shudder made his skin crawl and his heart almost stopped beating when another monster reared its ugly horned massive head out of the thick forest.

It was a terrible disaster as the monsters started attacking and the pure souls of the Light sorcerers who happened to be unfortunately within their reach. The fight escalated quickly and it was dangerously leaning towards the Tainted Ones’ side.

There were so many movements and cries of agony as the fight went on and Yoongi was stuck in the middle, trying hard to figure out why he was there.

A tall figure staggered in his direction and he immediately recognized the back profile of that person.

It was Chanyeol.

The Fire Guardian was fighting off another sorcerer who was using a lethal black magic. Yoongi was about to summon his own spirit to help Chanyeol but a sudden painful howl snatched his attention. His head snapped towards the source of the cry and saw Suho clutching on his right shoulder with his face contorted in pain. Yoongi realized that all of the Guardians along with the other unfamiliar Light sorcerers are absorbed on their own brutal fights with the Tainted Ones.

As his eyes swept the crowd, one warrior stood out among the rest.

It was his father.

His heart made a painful twist inside his chest and sudden longing slammed him like a ton of bricks.

“Dad!” he hollered desperately but the man didn’t seem to hear him.

Just as he was about to run towards his father, a spirit arrow suddenly came whizzing past his left cheek, narrowly missing him by just a few centimeters away. Yoongi whirled around and found himself face to face with a small young boy. He caught his breath as his eyes widened at those familiar piercing dark orbs.

It was him.

The young version of himself.

Young Yoongi’s eyes were looking past right through him and he didn’t have time to react when the young warrior ran straight to him armed with a spirit crossbow.

Yoongi’s surprised cry froze on his throat when the child passed right through his body as if he was not there at all.

Just like a ghost.

“Holy !” he blurted. “Am I—am I dead?!”

He looked up just in time to see his young self looking around in a frantic manner before rushing forward and towards the enormous double doors of the sinister castle towering over the courtyard. No one followed Young Yoongi or even noticed him and by some instinct, Yoongi’s feet pushed him to run after his young self, his body moving before his thoughts could even catch up at the happenings.

As soon as Yoongi stepped inside the dark castle, he was slammed with a brooding force so heavy that he almost staggered back. Every step that took him deeper into the place felt heavier than the last and the further he reached inside, the more suffocating it was, as if something awfully heavy was pressing down on his chest.

‘Just what is this place?’ he thought to himself as he continued to run after his young self despite every fiber of his being yelling at him to go back.

The whole place was cloaked in sinister darkness as baleful shadows moved against the walls that seemed to whisper tauntingly at him.

Ignoring the trickle of fear that travelled down his spine, he kept running until Young Yoongi halted and immediately darted behind a pillar.

They ended up in a grand hall that was illuminated by several large torches. Everything in the hall was as gloomy and foreboding as the whole castle though it wasn’t the structure itself but the aura surrounding it like a veil of evil and darkness.

Yoongi suppressed the urge to shiver as he absorbed the scene in front of him.

Two men, who seemed oblivious to his presence, were standing in the middle of the hall, both armed with swords and powerful auras. One was emitting a presence so dark that it evoked cold fear in Yoongi’s chest. In said man’s possession was a sharp double-edged sword whose blade the same shade as the darkest night. It glinted dangerously against the flickering flames surrounding them.

The other man was everything that was not the first. He’s got a white glow around him like a halo that made Yoongi realize that he was a Light sorcerer. His hard grave expression and icy blue eyes struck a familiar chord deep within Yoongi. There was something telling him that he knew the man but no matter how Yoongi dig deep in his memories, he can’t put a name on him. A magnificent sword was clutched in the man’s hand and its blade was glowing, casting a blinding white light. Staring hard at the weapon, his brain suddenly sparked with recognition.

It was the Sword of Light.

The same sword that Haeyoon had.

Yoongi snapped his eyes back at the man’s face and he recognized the icy blue eyes, too. Those pair of orbs got the same flecks of gold as Haeyoon’s.

The man got Haeyoon’s eyes and Yoongi was hit with realization.

The man was King Zardus.

Lucere’s king.

His king as Haeyoon was his princess.

But why can’t he recognize him? Why can’t he remember his face?

Yoongi was snapped out of his reverie when a clashing sound of metals bounced against the walls of the vast hall like a crackling thunder. He froze on his spot as the two warriors slashed and leaped fervently against each other. Their movements were blurred with speed and there were flashes of magic attack here and there.

A movement on the side of his eyes caught his attention and he saw Young Yoongi summoning a spirit sword instead of his crossbow. His eyes widened when the child crouched down like a cobra bracing himself for an attack.

‘No,’ Yoongi thought in panic, ‘You will only get hurt!’

He wanted to stop the child but he was glued on his spot, like lead was weighing down his feet. He can’t move at all.

‘What’s happening?’ he asked himself as he looked down his feet. There was a sudden deafening blast quickly followed by the quaking of the ground and when he brought his face up, he saw the horrified look that registered on Young Yoongi’s face. He quickly darted his eyes on the middle of the hall and he mirrored the expression of his young self.

Within the few moments that he took his eyes away from the fight, the dark sorcerer managed to oppress the king down to his knees. With a nasty sly smile the Dark sorcerer said something to King Zardus that caught the latter off guard. He can’t hear it but he was sure that Young Yoongi heard it because his small face morphed into utter confusion.

Suddenly, a piercing pain slashed through Yoongi’s head and he helplessly fell down on his knees. His hands flew to clutch onto his head because the barreling ache was almost enough to split his skull into halves. Amidst the intense pain, he heard his young self’s horrified scream and through his blurry, teary eyes, he saw that the black blade of the Dark sorcerer had been burrowed deep into King Zardus’ chest before being pulled back harshly.

The pain in his head didn’t ease up, if any, it grew worse. He can’t see anymore as he slipped in and out of consciousness while lying on the cold hard ground. It was as if the headache was preventing him from witnessing the scene any longer. He could only get glimpses of the Dark sorcerer bending down towards the king as if to say something and then there was Young Yoongi who revealed himself to the two men with his spirit crossbow.

The throbbing of his head made him squeeze his eyes shut as he caught bits and pieces of the Dark sorcerer’s words.

‘Certain’, ‘prince’ and ‘son’ were the few words that his brain managed to catalog.

Just a bit more, Yoongi. Endure just a bit more.

A familiar masculine voice cut through his pain.

Gritting his teeth, he fought to open his eyes and saw the Dark sorcerer throwing his head back in lunatic laughter after he said something to the dying king.

The pain was driving Yoongi insane and he wanted to die right there and then.

Come on, Yoongi, you can do it. Try to hear the words. Look at them. Focus.

It was the voice again and Yoongi wanted to curse who ever it was that speaking to him if he weren’t so busy writhing in pain.

Despite himself, Yoongi tried so hard to focus again on what they’re talking about and that’s when he saw King Zardus standing up weakly to summon his remaining strength to perform one last powerful spell. However, the more he watched, the more he suffered from the skull-splitting pain and before he could see and hear anything more, he out and fell into a pitch-black bliss.

* * *

“Is he okay?” Haeyoon asked worriedly as she looked at her brother’s face contorted in pain. She was kneeling on the side of his bed, wanting so much to grasp his hand but Luhan said not to or else it will disturb the mind-link. “What’s happening to him?”

She looked up at Luhan who was sitting on a chair on the other side of Yoongi’s bed with the palm of his right hand resting against the Gieldan’s forehead, his eyes closed in deep concentration and his hairline dotted with sweat-bullets. Luhan explained to them earlier that being in Lucere once again must’ve triggered Yoongi’s lost memories so he suggested conducting a mind-link to figure it out.

Suho came to kneel beside her and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. “He’ll be fine, Haeyoon. Luhan knows what he’s doing.”

Haeyoon bit her lip in worry as Yoongi started groaning in pain. After what seemed like forever, Luhan’s eyes fluttered open as he withdrew his hand from Yoongi’s forehead. The Guardian was slightly out of breath, the mind-link taking up quite a lot of his energy.

“His…memory was not lost but rather…sealed,” Luhan said in between breaths.

“What do you mean?” Kris, who was also there along with the other Guardians, questioned.

“I tried entering his memories of the last time he was in Lucere, during the last war, but it wasn’t easy,” he explained. “There was something preventing me from cracking his memories open. Yoongi witnessed it all, how King Zardus and Magos fought each other. I managed to guide him through but we didn’t finish it,” Luhan sounded so frustrated. “I didn’t even manage to hear what Magos said to the king. Something was preventing my powers and every time I try to dig deeper into Yoongi’s memories, he suffers in pain…It was a very strong seal…Whoever put it on him must be very powerful…and obviously didn’t want Yoongi to remember anything.”

“So, it’s either King Zardus or that bastard, right?” Chanyeol guessed, surveying his brothers’ solemn expressions.

“We’re not sure about that but…” Luhan looked thoughtful for a moment, “All I know is that Magos said something about the prince. I’m certain they were talking about the prince that time.”

“About what?” Xiumin prodded.

Luhan forlornly shook his head. “I don’t have any idea…yet.”

“Wait, are you telling me that you’re going to go through this again?” Haeyoon asked with wide eyes. “I mean, isn’t it hard enough for you and Yoongi?” she tried to suppress the panic rising up her chest, “Didn’t you say that…he’s suffering every time you try to enter his memories?”

Luhan looked conflicted as he said, “But, princess, we need to do this. This is the only way for Yoongi to regain his memories. We need to know why his memory was sealed and I have a feeling that something very important is hidden in his mind somewhere.”

The Telepathic Guardian got a point but Haeyoon was still torn. She looked over at her brother on the bed and grasped his hand in hers.

“It’s alright, my princess,” Yoongi’s soft, still husky from sleep voice said, eyes still closed. “I want to know, too.”

“Yoongi!” Haeyoon’s face lit up in relief before hugging her brother. “Oh god, you have no idea how scared I am. I’m so worried.”

“Aww,” Yoongi opened his eyes and grinned affectionately at the girl. “Hey, don’t cry, baby doll,” he said before gently pulling away to sit up and look at her face. “Shh, I’m fine now,” he calmed her down as he wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “Look, Haeyoonie, I want my childhood memories back, my memories of Lucere. If this is the only way, I would go through it, no matter how awful the experience is,” he grimaced as he remembered the head-splitting pain. He then turned to Luhan, “You must be the voice inside my head.”

Luhan nodded.

“Can you make it less painful?” Yoongi asked.

“I’m sorry but it’s the small price we have to pay if we want to break the seal,” Luhan replied. “The pain you felt was the seal’s way of resisting any outside force. You just have to endure it until we break the seal.”

“So there’s no other way of doing this?” he asked again.

Luhan regretfully shook his head.

“ my life,” Yoongi groaned.

* * *

Waist-deep in thoughts, Haeyoon sat on top of a three-foot boulder that overlooked the small lake on the north side of the camp. A cold breeze passed by and her arms wrapped themselves around her.

Moments later, she felt something warm and soft draped over her shoulders. She craned her neck and saw Mark gazing at her with an unreadable expression.

“What’re you doing out here?” Mark asked her. “It’s cold.”

“And you’re giving your jacket away,” Haeyoon pointed out as she scooted over to make space for the Hunter.

Mark just shrugged and smiled meaningfully at her before climbing up and sitting beside her.

“What?” she asked. “Why are you smiling?”

“Just because,” he answered vaguely.

It was silent for a moment until Mark broke it. “Want to talk about it?”

“No,” Haeyoon softly replied. She didn’t even know how and where to start.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I really…don’t know…” she sighed, “I’m just so…lost. I don’t know anything anymore…”

The afternoon sunlight passing through the crown of the trees shone down and them and Mark can’t help but be mesmerized at the way it kissed Haeyoon’s soft angelic features. But the sadness and fear in her eyes made his heart ache. He so desperately wanted to replace it with a genuine happy smile.

The whole situation is weighing her down and it was like a whirlwind that whisked her to places she didn’t even know. One moment she was just an ordinary high school girl then the next she was a princess of a world she never knew existed. Everything was overwhelming her and she felt like drowning.

“Things that aren’t lost can’t be found, Haeyoon,” Mark said.

Haeyoon gave her a quizzical look.

Mark gazed softly at her, “You need to get lost first before you get found like how you need to fall down first before you stand up.” He reached for her hands and tenderly laced their fingers together. “You need to see the darkness before you see the light and you need to feel sadness first so that you’ll know what happiness feels like.” He curled a few strands of her hair behind her ear. “What I’m saying here is, everything will be fine in the end, and if it’s not, then it’s not the ending yet.”

Haeyoon continued staring at Mark as she let his wise words sink in.

“Hey,” Mark lightly knocked his forehead against hers when she didn’t speak and just kept staring at him. “You’re can’t melt me through staring, you know,” he chuckled as he fought the blush creeping at his cheeks because of her unrelenting gaze.

“You’re right,” she said, her lips finally forming into a smile, “You’re right.”

That smile went straight to his heart and Mark just had to look away from her before he could even try kissing her.

Haeyoon returned her gaze at the lake glimmering under the beautiful late afternoon sunlight. She squeezed Mark’s hand tighter and said, “I know I promised myself that I’ll be brave but I tend to forget sometimes and let my fear get the best of me.”

“It’s not wrong to be afraid, as long as you fight through it,” he said.

“Thanks, Mark,” she gave him a sweet grateful smile that had his heart racing. “Thanks for reminding me.”

A couple of fake coughs interrupted their moment and they both turned to the source of the sound.

“Hey guys,” Haeyoon beamed at the sight of the other six Hunters.

“What’re you doing here,” Jackson asked with his narrowed eyes directed at Mark. “And why in the world are you holding babygirl’s hand?!” he exclaimed.

Jinyoung smiled secretly to himself.

“Haeyoonie, are you okay?” Bambam asked in concern. He was worried about Haeyoon and how she was coping up with all the happenings.

“I’m okay now,” she replied with a smile, “Thanks to Mark.”

“Okay!” Jackson stormed towards the boulder with a scowl. “That’s it! Stop making me jealous and come down from there now.”

Haeyoon just chuckled at his silliness and started climbing down the boulder. “Okay, okay.”

This caused her to let go of Mark’s hand and he wasn’t able to hide the disappointment that crossed his face. He was missing her soft hand already.

Jackson helped her get down by grabbing her waist and carefully guiding her.

“How’s the planning going?” she asked JB as she set foot on the ground.

“It’s almost done but we still need some back-up plan just to be sure,” he answered.

“Come on, dinner will be served in a few minutes,” Yugyeom informed them all.

“Alright!” Youngjae cheered, “I’m starving.”

“Says the one who did nothing in the planning,” Jinyoung jabbed playfully.

“Of course I did something!” Youngjae defended.

“What?” Jackson snorted, “Listen and nod?”

“At least that’s something!” Youngjae argued.

“Alright, that’s enough,” JB chided them laughingly. “Let’s go.”

“Immature kids,” Mark murmured from behind, making Haeyoon giggle as she heard it.

“Hey, we heard that!”

Mark chuckled to himself as he put his hands into his pockets.

As they were walking back towards the camp Haeyoon suddenly heard her name being called. She looked at the boys but no one seemed to hear it, too. She shook her head a little and assumed that it was just her imagination.

Haeyoon…

There was it again and this time she halted in her steps to listen carefully.

Haeyoon…

She realized that she was actually hearing the faint voice inside her mind.

Haeyoon…

The voice got louder and more defined and it was a voice that she will recognize everywhere like the back of her hand.

“Jungkook.”

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh gosh… I know, I know, this update is kinda lame. I’m sorry, forgive authornim. I’m just so lost right now just like Haeyoonie…I’m having a dilemma with this story. I'm goooiiinggggg crrraaazzzyyyyy!!!!!!