A little illustration for the first chapter by Leni @Jambooty

Unspecified location

Kingdom of Dasnain

"Taehyung-ah," Namjoon's voice held trepidation. "Think again. It's not too late."

The tension in the atmosphere was so thick that one could cut it with a knife. "He has slept enough. The king is clearly suffering and he cannot protect our clan alone. From what you've said we need him now more than ever."

"Taehyung-ah, times have changed. His Highness might not be ready. Besides, his temperament is not something you want to mess with. We don't know what will be his condition when he wakes up," Seokjin, his elder brother, reasoned.

His already pale face looked even paler under the glow of the fire torch he carried. They were inside the deepest part of the underground cave, where their elders rested. A huge stone door with intricate patterns of flowers and a protective ward stood in front of them.

"I know why he had to go into hibernation," he said with an impassive expression.

"Taehyung-ah, he almost wiped out the entire witch clan." Seokjin's exasperation grew. "And almost exposed our race to the humans."

"Yeah, Umbra Noctis, I know." He scoffed. "Heard a lot about that shit."

"His Majesty isn't strong enough to send him into hibernation once more," Namjoon hissed. "There's no vampire stronger than him, Taehyung-ah. Even with all the elders combined, we won't be able to stop him if he went berserk again."

He inhaled the stale air, scrunching his nose in distaste. "The Kim clan had served the Park clan for centuries." Taehyung shifted the torch from one hand to the other. "It's our duty to protect every heir of the Park clan. He's the one they want. An ancient royal vampire with powers they can't even fathom. You know they won't stop until they kill every one of us and then what?"

"Taehyung-ah..." Namjoon called exasperatedly.

"The queen is dead, brother. The king is spiraling. How long do you think we have?" Taehyung hissed. "We need him. We need a king who could lead and guide us in the battle."

Seokjin exhaled louder, running a hand over his face. "His Highness has been asleep for three hundred years. You know nothing about him."

"You were a baby when he went into hibernation. Things might not work in the way you're expecting them to go. The battles aren't done the same way now. Humans don't know supernaturals exist in this world," Namjoon added. "His Highness might not understand the modern world."

"Then we teach him." Taehyung waved them off. "I was fifty when he went to hibernate and I know enough. I might have been young in vampire standards but that didn't meddle with my memory. I exactly remember what happened then," he growled. His brothers always worried about keeping everything intact and adhering to the rules of the ancient but failed to see the bigger picture. "Do you not realize it's only a matter of time before the witches find this place? We cannot protect him here."

The enemies were closing in on them and they had so little time. The Park clan was the biggest of all vampire covens with elders who had walked the earth for over a thousand years. And their next leader lay behind that closed door. The amount of power his blood held and the kind of hell the witches could raise on earth with that alone caused his body to shudder violently. However, his brothers were too afraid to go behind the ruling king.

Did they not remember The Heir Apparent Park Jimin was on his way to the coronation when everything went to hell? He would have been their king already if not for the witches and their plan to sabotage the entire Park clan.

"Wait, shouldn't we at least tell the others?" Seokjin asked. "What about the young princes and princesses?"

At that, Taehyung scoffed louder. "Three of them weren't even born when His Highness was there. The elder prince was a baby and didn't even know him. Besides, His Highness is still the Heir Apparent."

"That doesn't give us the right to override their authority and wake up His Highness," Namjoon reasoned. "We could get into trouble for this."

Prince Jimin was overcome with grief and the need for vengeance. They had killed his fiancée right in front of his eyes. With their wedding only a fortnight away, the princess of Etaevia had bled out on the floor of the throne room. It was much later that they learned, she was pregnant and was carrying the next heir to the throne when she died.

The Prince had every right to do what he did. He had lost control, went berserk. He hunted down the witches and killed anyone who dared to cross his path. They called him the Umbra Noctis, the Shadow of the Night. Years later, now it had become a legend that was passed down to generations as a bedtime story. The humans didn't know the Umbra Noctis was real. They didn't know he was still alive, sleeping in a stone coffin a few feet away.

Taehyung rolled his eyes. "I pledged my loyalty to His Highness just before his disrupted coronation ceremony. I took a solemn oath to stay loyal to him and put him above all the others. When he went into hibernation, I also vowed to be the one to wake him when the time is right," he said with finality. He produced a small scroll from his inner robes. "He signed an edict. The blood oath I signed to execute that shall be the proof."

Only the King could overrule such edict and Taehyung knew he was winning. The king was in no position to overrule given he was barely existing after his mate's sudden death. If the crown prince wasn't hibernating, he would have already become the king by default.

"He knew, brother," Taehyung continued. "His Highness wasn't out of control like everyone believed he was. He might have been unstable but he wasn't unreasonable. He agreed to go into hibernation because he was hurting. But he knew a time would come where we would need him again."

Namjoon clenched his jaw, the grip he held on the long, rusted key with ornamental handle tightening. His body shuddered. "Fine. But you're responsible for whatever happens from here."

Taehyung smirked. He didn't blame them because he could almost taste their fear on his tongue. One would be a fool if they didn't fear Park Jimin.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, brother."

***

The Hell/Underworld

High Demon's Lair

The young Prince's chamber

Loud chatters and laughter echoed the walls of the dark palace. In contrast to what one believed, hell wasn't just about the fire. This part of the palace especially was cold with black marbled floors and walls.

The credit went to the young prince Jungkook, Lucifer aka the Lord of the Underworld's youngest and most favorite son. He happened to fall in love with the mural in their grand library that depicted a winter morning on earth and grew obsessed with the stories his mother always read for him while he grew up.

Who was Lucifer to deny his youngest son's request when he demanded he wanted to winter in hell? No one said no to Jungkook. Especially when he rounded those large, doe-like eyes, pursed his lips, and spoke in that tiny voice that melted even the Dark lord's, volcanic heart. So, he brought winter to hell itself and Jungkook had been obsessed with it since then.

When Yoongi entered his chamber, the birthday boy was surrounded by his other siblings, telling him several tales from their times on earth.

"That's enough," he chided. "Off you go."

They all scattered as soon as they saw Yoongi. Of course, who wouldn't be afraid of the Crown Prince, the second most powerful demon in the world? The first was their father.

"Brother!" Jungkook beamed, his handsome face lighting up with a beautiful smile Yoongi adored. He rushed to him, engulfing him in a bone-crushing hug. "You're back!"

The crown prince returned the hug, his lips stretching involuntarily.

Yoongi could sense the envy and jealousy radiating off the others in waves as they exited his room. After all, who wouldn't be jealous? The crown prince wasn't chummy with everyone. He was the most feared after their father; some claimed he was worse than their father.

However, just like their father, there was one exception. Jungkook had their coldest, meanest, and most arrogant crown prince wrapped in his little finger.

Yoongi was a goner from the moment he slipped his index finger into Jungkook's tiny hand as a newborn baby. The little one had immediately wrapped his tiny fist around his finger, tugged at it and brought it to his mouth. When he stared curiously at him with those wide doe-eyes and giggled while sucking on his finger, Yoongi knew he would protect his little brother with everything he got.

The youngest was charming, but that wasn't all that was there for him. He was curious, hardworking, and trailed after Yoongi like a lost puppy. There was nothing Yoongi wouldn't do for Jungkook.

It was also the reason why he would be heading off to earth with Jungkook to conclude his coming-of-age ceremony. He would be living with Jungkook, where he'd learn all about humans and the sins of the world.

"Excited?" he asked, releasing his brother.

"Very." The youngest nodded enthusiastically.

Jungkook looked exceptionally handsome today, dressed in all black, his brand new wings flexing behind him. He caressed the soft feathers with a rich texture, admiring them. Only high demons had wings like this. He could tell Jungkook would become one hell of a demon and force to reckon with when he unlocked his full potential.

Even without wings, Jungkook was a force to reckon with. He was a skillful fighter and could easily beat any other sibling in a fair fight that didn't involve magic.

"Show me your fangs."

Jungkook immediately opened his mouth, flashing his fangs. Pride surged in his chest. While Jungkook's baby fangs were cute, this was deathly sharp. When Yoongi's gaze slid to the top of his head, Jungkook immediately popped his horns, eyes shining like the brightest star in the galaxy as he eagerly awaited his brother's approval.

"Marvelous," Yoongi said. "You'd make one fine demon."

Jungkook bounced on his feet, twirling around to show his wings to his brother. "I know right! Even dad and mom said the same." He looked around and then lowered his voice. "Others are super jealous after seeing my horns, you know?" He caressed his horns with a proud smile.

Horns and wings were the most important aspect of any demon. It was a testament to the powers they held inside them. Yoongi understood because with Jungkook coming to age on his two hundredth birthday, he had easily pushed past every other sibling and now had become the third most powerful demon in the realm. It was another reason their father wanted Yoongi to accompany Jungkook to earth.

There would be forces that worked against them and their father doubted Jungkook would be in constant danger.

Yoongi chuckled. "I know. But no one can harm you. Not if they want to keep their heads. Ready to go?"

Jungkook nodded immediately. "Yes. Can't wait. I told dad and mom to not come because mom wouldn't stop crying."

Yoongi laughed. "I know. Come on then. Let's start your adventure."

With a beaming smile, Jungkook clutched Yoongi's hand, closing his eyes as Yoongi snapped his fingers, teleporting them both, leaving only dust of smoke in their wake.