a/n: two identities will be revealed in this chapter. Monsieur and the alchemist on one of the flashbacks. to the one that guess it right, congratulations!

but let me ask you.. who’s the traitor?

;)

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

The alchemist had a bad feeling on how the prophet has been acting, it kept him up at nights and looked towards the starry sky— wondering if the prophet is also looking at it, thinking about him too.

He knew that something is wrong and the prophet can see it, only hiding it on him so he wouldn’t worry about the prophet too much. But what can he do aside from worrying?

The prophet was his everything. The one that’s been with him the entire time and makes him feel alive. He’s the reason why the alchemist is happy to face an another day, the reason for him to get up so he can meet him again and also the reason for him to continue living.

Worrying is already a part of him because he knew how dangerous being a prophet is. They’re the kingdom’s assets and a lot of people would be after them in order to ruin the kingdom, they’re the bearer of what lies ahead for the kingdom. The  royal family assures their safety but he knew that his prophet is a special case— someone that is selfless and would never hesitate to help someone.

He’s always been like that. Selfless and caring towards others.

The alchemist knows the pressure that he holds being their kingdom’s prophet, their safety lies on his hands. And now that he’s away from his beloved one, he can’t help but worry more for him. Unlike what the prophet requested him, he went back to the kingdom earlier than the prophet is expecting.

He felt like his heart shattered on the sight that welcomed him. It was the peaceful kingdom filled with lights.

Everything was in ruins. Menacingly black smokes are all over as the angry red flames consume anything that it can grasp.

The kingdom where he was born and lived most of his life is crumbling in front of him and he lets his own instinct do the trick. He ran inside as he saw a lot of warriors from an enemy’s kingdom wrecking the entire city.

He can only see red as he started attacking the men, seeing them get stabbed by the sharp rocks that he transmuted from the ground. Lots of it arrived and killed the soldiers from outside, he knew how to fight as he grabbed a metal pole and transmuted it into a sword, launching himself towards the others as he kept on transmuting the ground into something that could kill the outsiders.

“Die!” he screamed in fury, stabbing one of them with the sword before pulling out, making the blood splattered on his clothes and face yet he decided to ignore it and go to an another soldier.

He kept on killing the enemies that was blocking his way to the kingdom’s palace. Transmuting the ground and slashing the throats of the ones that dares to launch themselves towards his direction. He even snaps his fingers, turning a dozen of them in flames and some were trapped in diamonds before it disperse into particles along with the soldiers.

The soldiers are terrified. The alchemist didn’t even made any kind of catalyst yet he can transmute and use alchemy with all his might. He was just alone yet the number of people he killed is beyond their expectations, they haven’t even made a cut or two on his body.

“Monster!” one of them cried.

“It takes one to know one,” the alchemist replied in a cold tone,“Unfortunately, you’ve awakened a monster in deep slumber and all of you have to pay for it.”

“Slaughter him! Do whatever you can to slaughter him!” one of the soldiers said before all of them ran towards him.

“Get out of my way!” he growled.

He doesn’t even know how many have he killed. He just let himself get rid of anything that’s on his way until he saw some of their citizens that was attempting to fight the soldiers that is out for their blood while some of them are running away to a particilar route, the ones in the back were the ones that is blocking them on getting past it.

In just a snap, he burns them and the citizens looked at him in awe. Wooyoung immediately went to their direction, hoping that they have the prophet with them.

“Sire!”

“Where’s the prophet?” he asks.

“He’s in the palace! He helped us escape along with the royal family! He said that he’ll distract them.”

The alchemist paled “What?”

“He said that he’ll distract the soldiers as a decoy. But he promised that he’ll catch up! We didn’t want to leave him but he insisted.”

It was enough for him to dash through the palace, killing every single outsider that he sees mercilessly. He can hear some of them beg for their lives but he was too immersed on murdering them because all of them are in the palace and it means that they attempted to hurt his beloved one so ending their lives is the only redemption that they can offer to him.

Meanwhile, in the chapel of the palace. The prophet was holding a sword with both of his hands as he looked intently towards the commander of the knights that attacked them which laughed at how he held it.

“Look at you! Not even knowledgeable on holding a sword yet you still point that towards me?” the commander mocks.

“I don’t want to fight but if you will insist one then it’s better to die in a fight rather than letting you end my life,” the prophet stated, “It seems that you’re out for my blood too.”

“You need to die, prophet.”

“I won’t go down without a fight,” the prophet replied, gripping the sword tighter.

“You don’t stand a chance with me!”

The commander lunges forward and the prophet could only defend himself by dodging the slashes and retaliating
it, the clanking of the swords can be heard as the commander laughed before kicking him and he fell to the ground. He immediately stood up before the commander was able to stab him and the fight continues, he knew that he was at a disadvantage. He wasn’t trained to protect himself, he have been living a life that was filled with security because he was the prophet.

He thought that this time, he’ll be the one to protect them. They’ve done enough.

“You’re so bad at this! Are you even sure that you’ll be able to defeat me?” the commander asks.

“No.” the prophet hissed when the commander’s sword managed to make a cut on his shoulder, “But I’ll do my best to take most of your time so they can escape.”

“What?! Your people here? Even the king left you yet you’re still thinking about their safety? Even though they left you here to die, that’s stupidity!”

“It isn’t! I’m this country’s prophet! It’s my responsibility to ensure the kingdom’s safety and the royal family’s safety means that they can continue rebuilding our kingdom.” the prophet remarked, blocking the commander’s sword with his own “I'm nothing but a mere prophet. Someone that can be replaced by a clairvoyant. Their safety is my priority and that’s what I’m doing right now, sacrificing myself for their lives.”

“How amusing. I’ve never met someone like you,” the commander mused before letting out an amused laugh, “Someone as stupid as you! They literally betrayed you! Left you without hesitating! You should feel betrayed! Feel anger! Feel the agony!”

“If it’s for the kingdom’s safety, everything is worth it.” the prophet said casually, a gentle smile seen on his lips.

“Then die! Die for your stupid kingdom!”

The prophet is aware that he wouldn’t last long in a fight like this and before he even knows it, he felt a sharp pang when the commander’s sword stabbed him in the chest as his crimson red blood stained the white robe that he wore. The commander pulls his sword out and laughed at the prophet’s expression that he didn’t even realized that he was able to move his hand and his swords comes in contact with the commander’s throat, slitting it open.

“H-How?” the commander croaks out, falling to the ground with a thud.

The prophet smiled sadly, “You were too distracted by my agony that I took it as a chance to defeat you. I’m sorry for ending it up like this.”

“No.. I can’t be defeated by the likes of you.. No..” The commander tried talking more but he just kept on choking on his own blood until he doesn’t move.

The prophet looked at his hand as he saw crimson red blood dripping in it and he realized that it’s coming from his own mouth, he can’t prevent the overwhelming panic that’s taking over but he was distracted when he heard a voice. He looked at its direction and saw the alchemist looking at him with such fear in its eyes and he can’t help but smile apologetically at him. He wanted to assure him that he’ll be alright when his own body betrayed him, groaning in pain as he hit the ground.

“No!” the younger male ran towards his direction and kneeled beside him, “No way. Y-You said that you’ll catch up but why?”

“They wanted me so I decided to stop them..” he mutters, trying to calm the younger male by holding his hand, “They wanted to kill everyone along with me so I decided to let you all escape. They wanted me along with some collateral damages and I wouldn’t let them..”

“You said that you’ll catch up. I knew it!” the younger male squeezed his hand tight.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t weep such sad tears for me,” he said, trying to comfort the younger one from the pain, “Your tears.. I am not worthy of it. You don’t deserve to be sad just because of me.”

“Don’t even dare to say such things! I have been with you for years! I am willing to be in whatever part of this mad world with you!” the younger one exclaimed which surprised the dying male beneath him, “Heck! I would do everything just to be with you! That’s our pact, right?”

“If you fail then let's do that together and if you succeed then let’s still do that together.” the dying male muttered as he lets out a laugh, making him wince in pain “That hurts. Y-You still treasure that one?”

“Of course, I do!” the younger male stated, smiling sincerely at him “This is my own will.”

“But you knew what’s about to happen to me, you should’ve just left me. What if those evil people comes back for my corpse?” he asked, trying to scare the younger one so the alchemist would flee to safety.

“Then I’ll die here. Beside you.” the younger male stated in a firm tone, “Dying is painful but the mere fact that you’re beside me makes it comforting. At the very least, I was able to stick to my promise.”

“Y-You’re so silly..” he can’t prevent the smile on his face as he kept on staring at his companion, “Fate have already decided what’s about to happen to me and I accepted it. You, on the other hand, should've fled with the others and live the life that I wouldn’t be able to have. You wanted to be a well-known alchemist, right? Then achieve it. Reach the stars for me.”

“Achieving it without you on my side is worthless,” he stated in a firm tone again, gripping on his hand tighter and not even letting go of it “It’s like walking on a throne without any lights in it.”

“You’re so silly.” he stated to the younger one, shaking his head slightly in amusement.

He started to feel Death's grip on him as he kept on catching his breath, sight getting blurry every seconds that passed and the urge to close his eyes. But he couldn’t. Not now when his companion is in a despairful state, he wanted to apologize for making the alchemist feel like that. He doesn’t even deserve to be weep for someone that is meant to die in a miserable state like him. And it became more miserable to die in front of the person that cherished him the most, he wanted to continue his life with this person.

He wanted to continue his daily routines while this rascal would barge in and ask him to accompany the alchemist on his silly antics. The prophet wanted to witness how this rascal would achieve his dreams and that smile that he would let out once that the alchemist has his grip towards his success. He wanted to witness how this rascal would fall in love with someone and build a family in which he’ll take care of this rascal’s children. The prophet wanted to see him grow. He wanted to continue living with him just like what they promised.

He wanted to live.

But fate is against that. And he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it, he’ll die in this day-beside the person that he cherishes.

With his remaining strength, he muttered the rascal's name and tried to touch the younger male’s cheek using his free hand but he felt bad when he stained the pretty face of this rascal with his own blood, “Sorry.”

And with the memory of a person that accepted and loved his existence, he accepted Death’s grip on him. Slowly vanishing to the world of the living as the cries of someone became faint in his ears.

He couldn’t continue living but he’ll do everything to bring his beloved one back even if it costs him his sanity and his own life. He’ll do everything to make his promise come true and on the next time that they’ll meet, he won’t let his beloved one leave on his own.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

“Wooyoung..”

Hongjoong didn’t even hesitated to look for a valuable weapon and found a chainsaw lying beside the door, he held it and started the engine before running towards the blackened ones as he screamed in fury.

“Hongjoong-hyung!” Yunho cried before running after him to help him out.

“Wooyoung’s unconcious! We have to help him!” Hongjoong said, feeling the adrenaline and slashing the blackened ones into half.

“Damn it!” Yunho kept on hitting the blackened ones on their throats, decapitating them using the shovel.

The blackened ones growled at them and Yunho needs to make them feel intimidated so he took a lighter and showed them fire but they didn’t even budge at all. He threw the lighter towards the pile of wood which caused a fire yet they still didn’t looked scared at it. Their focus was on Hongjoong and Yunho, this made Yunho think about something. And as much as he wanted to discuss about it with Hongjoong, they need to get rid of the critters first.

Hongjoong was too immersed on saving Wooyoung that the moment they got rid of the blackened ones, he immediately carried the unconcious body of their friend out of the store house while Yunho brought both of their weapons before getting some useful ones such as a bunch of daggers with him.

“He's breathing. Thank goodness,” Hongjoong said as he lets out a relived sigh.

“Hyung, let's take him somewhere safe.” Yunho insisted yet they looked at Wooyoung when they saw his hand moved.

“Wooyoungie!”

Wooyoung opened his eyes as he looked around “Where am I?”

“You’re in the Kang manor. We found you unconscious on their store house,” Yunho replies.

“I.. don’t know,” Wooyoung muttered as he sat up, crutching his head “I can’t recall.”

“Did someone took you there or something?” Yunho asks.

Wooyoung shook his head, “I can’t recall.”

“Oh no.” Hongjoong can’t help but get worried, “Dear, where’s Yeosang and San?”

“San.. Yeosang..” In all of the sudden, Wooyoung jolted as his eyes widened in fear “I was with Yeosang and San let us run away from the lunatic. Where are they?!”

“You mean, the three of you got separated?! Even when I told all of you to stick together?!” Hongjoong exclaims.

“San insisted the idea so I played along with it,” Wooyoung stated, looking down at the ground.

“That's it. We have to find San and Yeosang!” Hongjoong stood and offered his hand to Wooyoung, “Can you stand?”

Wooyoung nods as he accepted Hongjoong’s hand, “Yes. Thank you, hyung.”

“We shouldn’t waste any of our time here,” Yunho said as he looked around, “We have to run away from this place for now.”

“Why?” Wooyoung asks.

“There are blackened ones heading our way,” Yunho stated casually before looking at Hongjoong, “They’re after us.”

“Ah, shit. Here we go again.” Hongjoong took a deep breath before he started dashing away from the place along with the two.

Yunho took one of the lighters that he got from the storehouse and throw a bottle with gasoline in it before throwing the lighter along with it, causing a huge amount of flames to scatter around the grassy and the blackened ones stopped in fear.

‘I fucking knew it.’ Yunho thoughts.

They kept on running until they’ve arrived near the huge yard of the Kang manor. Yunho wanted to curse the entire clan for having this huge land to themselves. Now, they have to run a lot just to get away from the blackened ones. But Yunho knew better, he knew why they were about to get near the yard that they should’ve been away from.

The nature is telling him to stop so he immediately held Hongjoong’s hand which made the redhead stop on his tracks. He let Hongjoong hold his chainsaw while Yunho was gripping on the shovel on his hand tightly, looking towards the male that was still running in front of them. Hongjoong was literally confused on the mint-haired male’s action but he lets out a scream when Yunho lunges forwards and attempted to hit Wooyoung with the shovel.

The shovel flew away as a shadowy hand from the ground appeared while Wooyoung halted on his action, not looking behind him at all. Yunho lets out a chuckle as he glared towards Wooyoung, all that he can see is red and his only goal is to kill the person in front of them.

“Yunho!” He felt a hand grasped his own and the moment that he looked at Hongjoong, all of the fury disappeared.

“Hyung, he’s against us.”

Hongjoong kept his composure before looking at the boy in front of them, “Wooyoung, is that true?”

“I’m already doing a great job,” Wooyoung stated before facing them with an irritated expression, “I should’ve gotten rid of you first.”

“Wooyoung! Why?!” Hongjoong cried, eyes widening at the revelation.

“Stop calling Wooyoung, Hongjoong-hyung.” Yunho's voice was an octave lower than the usual and the way that he held Hongjoong’s hand back shows that he needs their leader to calm him down, “That’s not Wooyoung at all.”

“Oh. You’ve noticed that too? Amusing!” Wooyoung laughed too much that he was holding his stomach and as his laughter died, a deranged smile appeared on his lips.

“Who are you?” Yunho asks.

“Who am I?” ‘Wooyoung’ asked back, pointing at himself, “Unfortunately, there's an another one in this vessel so who do you want to introduce? Me or the other one?”

“What are you doing? And why is Wooyoung like this?” Hongjoong asks.

“I’m doing the right thing! Saving him from all these bullshit!” Wooyoung replied, looking at them as if they’re nothing but a bunch of pests while keeping the deranged smile on his face “All of you are nothing but collateral damages. I’m going to get rid of everyone so I can get him out of here. He doesn’t deserve to die.”

“Yeosang doesn't want anyone to die because of him!”

“Who cares about what he wants?! It’s his safety that’s my priority! I don’t care how many of his friends should be sacrificed just for his safety!” ‘Wooyoung’ retaliated.

“Hongjoong, stop it. This is getting nowhere. You..” Yunho wanted to crush Wooyoung right now if it wasn’t for Hongjoong calming him down “Who are you? Wooyoung would never act like this. Why are you in Wooyoung’s body?”

“I am a mere nobody in this universe,” ‘Wooyoung’ stated before he suddenly gasped and looked at them with disdain “As much as I want to keep on talking to both of you, the other one wants a word with both of you. So I’ll be talking to Wooyoung for a while.”

Hongjoong and Yunho looked at each other as Wooyoung’s eyes turned into bright yellow, it reminds them of Jongho’s orbs and he felt Hongjoong tightened his grip on him in which Yunho retaliates. After a minute of silence, Wooyoung opened his mouth and they were surprised to hear such a deep voice coming from him.

“Hello, representatives of the seven sins. I’m terribly sorry for the chaos that these crackheads have caused,” Wooyoung said, smiling apologetically at them.

“Hyung, he used crackhead? Who are these fuckers? Possessing an another crackhead?” Yunho whined but Hongjoong shuts him up with a glare.

“I know that my pseudonym has been tainted by a bunch of tattletales,” Wooyoung said as he curtly bowed in front of them, “But as tainted as it can be, I guess that I don’t have a choice but to use him. Knowing my real name can make me submit to any creatures. Call me Monsieur for the meantime.”

“Monsieur?!” Hongjoong gasped and literally held Yunho on his ground as the younger male was so ready to end him, “Yunho, calm down!”

“How can I calm down if the one that ruined our lives is in front of us?!”

“I’m terribly sorry for this but I just want to tell both of you that even I am a victim of this,” Monsieur stated as he shows an expression filled with guilt.

“You? A victim? Fucking bullshit.” Yunho can feel his blood rushing throughout his entire body as the only thing on his mind is killing the man in front of them despite Monsieur using Wooyoung’s body as its host.

“I can understand the hatred but I’m here to tell you that this curse will end if we’ll be able to get rid of the village chief,” Monsieur stated, looking towards the yard “Unfortunately, the other being that Wooyoung accepted is against that. That man would burn the entire world just to get Yeosang out of this.”

“Isn’t getting rid of you the better idea?” Hongjoong asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Getting rid of me is also a good idea but the people of Arceana wouldn’t go down without a fight. The moment that they’ll know you've exorcised me, they’ll kill everyone including Yeosang without any hesitation. Souls like them are hard to banish,” Monsieur replies, “I can understand the doubt, knowing that we've never talked before. But I just want to inform you that I’m an acquaintance of your youngest friend, Jongho.”

“What?!”

“Of course, he was supposed to tell all of you but he was wary about it.” Monsieur lets out a sigh before looking around, “We need to talk for a long time as I’ll explain my side to both of you. We should leave before a blackened one sees you..”

“You’re not taking us anywhere,” Yunho said, gritting his teeth.

“How can we even trust you?”

“First of all, if I wanted to put you in trouble. I could've called a blackened one to bring you back to the prison,” Monsieur remarks, making Yunho look away as his lips curled upwards “And I will answer every single question that you will throw at me. I know it sounds weird for a demon but I need both of you to trust for this.”

“No wa—”

“Alright.” Yunho looked at Hongjoong in disbelief as the redhead shook his head, “One wrong move and we’re killing you.”

“You have my word,” Monsieur said before walking toward the manor once again, “Let’s talk somewhere else. I can sense someone lurking around here.”

♠♥♣♦

and yes! woosang as the alchemist and the prophet. i know it’s quite difficult to understand since i’ve left lots of clues on parts that ppl wouldn't even focus at. and also yes. monsieur is using wooyoung as a temporary host. it’ll be explained on the following chapter! and also a pov from san in the end of next chapter can explain it :>

thank you for reading this shitty fic. votes and comments are really appreciated! i don’t deserve ya’ll QwQ

p.s. if ya wanna read an angsty seongsang fic, mine is already published and just check it on my works! it’s ‘save you, save me’ and if ya wanna see a psychotic san in a yeosan fic, ‘dancing with the devil' is there! hope that you’ll be giving my fics lots of love just like what you've done here!~