Aera's legs seemed to have a mind of their own as she kept walking forward briskly. From time to time, she had to remind herself to slow down her pace and align it with Yoongi's, who for some reason had started slightly limping.

Her mind was practically a disaster zone. Not only was she not dead, but she had also ended up in Abaddon. In her mind, this had always been some abstract notion and not an actual place. Surely that wasn't her dream destination.

On top of that, she had found herself there with Yoongi of all people. While a part of her was relieved not to be completely alone, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.

It had been some very tense minutes of walking in silence since he had dropped the bomb on her that it had been him who had saved her. It was mind-spinning; Min Yoongi actually had a soul? He was capable of selfless deeds?

Aera had to pinch herself multiple times to be sure that this wasn't some sort of nightmare. She shuddered, reminiscing of how he simply stared at her as she writhed on the ground in pain, a victim of Jiah's curse. How cold and unforgiving his eyes were as he watched her cry and scream in torment.

So flabbergasted at his confession, Aera was at a loss for words and simply spun on her heel, marching in whichever direction her eyes saw first. In her shock she forgot to even thank him. He ended up following her wordlessly, and now there they were, a sulky stomping girl brought back from the dead and her limping wreck of an ex-boyfriend, together in the woods.

"Can we stop for a moment?" Yoongi asked from behind her all of a sudden.

When Aera came to a halt, she finally took a look around her. They were standing in front of one of the giant cliffs over the surging river. She lifted her eyes to the sky when she felt a couple raindrops land on her cheek.

Her gaze cast over one of the many caves snug in between cold brown rocks. As if on cue, the both of them ventured into the rocky entrance.

Once inside, Yoongi rested his hand on the cave's wall and hunched over, breathing heavily. Aera glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Does your leg hurt?"

"I'm fine."

In the gloom, his face seemed even paler. Aera installed herself on one of the more oval rocks, and rested her elbows over her knees. If she was stuck here with him, she figured they might as well talk, and in reality she had a lot of questions for him.

"So you didn't tell me how you ended up here." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you die?" the words fumbled out of her mouth as if she was talking for the first time. For some reason, the thought of someone causing harm to Yoongi didn't exactly sit well with her. No matter how much resentment she held for the guy, she never wanted him dead.

"I didn't die." He uttered, still not turning his face to her.

"Then what?"

"It happened accidentally," he explained dryly. "I was trying to help-" his words halted and his face twisted in a grimace, as if he couldn't bring himself up to say the name. "That dirtbag, your friend."

"You-" Aera's voice disappeared as she struggled to digest this unexpected piece of information.

"I was just about to give up fighting back when he came to my rescue. While his back was turned, one of Hyukjae's men shoved him straight into the portal. I tried to grab him, but we ended up both being sucked in."

"Holy crap." Aera breathed out. She couldn't determine what was more shocking – Taehyung coming to Yoongi's rescue, or Yoongi trying to save Taehyung. Eventually, she decided it was the latter. "You actually went out of your way to try and pull him out?"

"What do you take me for, some kind of monster?" he snapped suddenly, finally turning around to face her. His dark eyes were glaring, drilling holes through her. It made her flinch. "You think I'm incapable of good deeds, is that it?"

"No, I just..." she stammered but closed her mouth as Yoongi started taking unsteady steps towards her.

"Is this who I am in your mind, just some despicable villain? You know, Aera, for someone so bright, sometimes you're incredibly dense. Not everything is black and white, you know that? People are more nuanced than that." he grumbled, dark onyx hues seething with anger and indignation for the first time in so long.

"Oh, as if you're making it soo easy for me to see right through you!" Aera snapped back, throwing her hands in the air in a frustrated manner. "What, am I supposed to know what goes on in your head at all times? Stop talking with stupid riddles and be honest with me for once in your life!"

"I have been! I have been honest with you so many times, but you've made a conscious choice of seeing me in this awful light, like I'm some repulsive cockroach with no human qualities whatsoever! You've completely dehumanized me in your mind!" at this point, Yoongi's voice was so high in volume he was practically yelling.

Red in the face, Aera's eyes turned rigid and hard as she balled her hands into fists.

"What am I supposed to do? I never know what to think of you!" she fumed, standing up abruptly so that she could be on the same eye level as him. "You make me question everything, even myself! I'm a constantly perplexed disaster around you! What are you doing to me?"

"What am I doing to you?" Yoongi pointed at his chest, raising his brows incredulously. "What are you doing to me, Aera? Why do I feel this urge to constantly be around you? Why couldn't I let you go, ever? After all these years, why is it that I can't stay away?"

"If you ever find out the answer to this question, please tell me because I've been wondering the same damn thing, Yoongi!" Aera cried out, her emotions pouring through her. "Why is it that you insist so much of always being a part of my life even when you know how much I want to move on from you?"

"You're always in the back of my mind no matter how much I try to erase you!" Yoongi's chest heaved with the violent swirl of emotions deep within.

"Then try harder!" Aera's face creased in despair. "Try harder, Yoongi, let me go! Please, set me free because I can't stand being the target of your twisted affections anymore! This is torture!"

"That's not what you want," he hissed, taking a step closer. The close proximity of their bodies caused a warm wave to wash over Aera's body. "I can practically feel the turmoil of emotions boiling up in your veins whenever I'm near you."

"Yes, because I'm mad at you!" she whimpered, angry and bothered. "And your stupid games!"

"It's not just that and you know it!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the dark cave. "Stop lying to yourself!"

"Says the liar!" Aera shot back. "You just want what you can't have!"

"You think I can't have you?" he yelled as his hand darted to grip at Aera's wrist. Within a flash, he brought it up next to her face and drew so close that their noses were inches apart.

"You can literally have any girl in the world," her lower lip buckled upwards. "Why me?"

"Because no other girl in the world compares to you!" he said, voice breathy and trembling with intense emotion. "Even in death, I still wouldn't let you go! That's how much control you have over me!"

"But I don't want that! Let me go!"

"Fine! Go your own way!"

"Fine!"

"And stop fucking shouting!"

"You started the shouting!!"

Aera gasped and stumbled backwards, feeling light-headed. Even though they were all the way over in another dimension, standing in a cold dark cave with no help in sight whatsoever, it seemed like they had relapsed into one of their usual fights. Nothing had changed, apart from the level of the tension which now seemed to have increased.

Yoongi panted heavily, peering deeply into her eyes. His intoxicating gaze subdued what little rationality she had left. However, Aera hadn't completely forgotten her wits. She yanked her arm off from his grip and recoiled away.

"We can't do this now." She turned away, pressing her head to the cold wall and letting out a sniffle. Her throat was sore and scratchy from the yelling.

"We need to figure out what we're going to do now." He said in a low voice, back to his calculated demeanor.

"Wait a second," Aera gasped. "You said that you got here while trying to help Taehyung. This means he has to be around here somewhere too, right?" her heart filled with fear as a wave of panic overwhelmed her. What if right now Taehyung was captured by whatever that creature that chased her in the woods was? What if he was in danger, and they were wasting their time quarreling instead of running out to look for him?

"I guess so," Yoongi agreed darkly. "If we think logically, he should have gotten here before us."

"We need to go out," Aera whispered, quivering brown orbs darting at him. "We need to find him."

The image of Taehyung panting and running, terrified and scared for his life in a place he didn't know, surfaced in the back of her mind. She harbored a great deal of guilt about the fact that Taehyung had ended up in this mess because of her.

For the first time, Aera felt grateful that Yoongi had found her. At least they had each other to rely on in this foreign land they knew nothing about. At least she wasn't completely alone.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Yoongi scoffed, much to her disdain, cutting her train of appreciating thoughts. "No way we're moving an inch from here now. There's a raging storm outside, and I can barely walk, let alone fight and protect you from whatever danger lurks out there."

The last words tugged slightly at Aera's heartstrings. She shook her head in an unconscious impulse to shove her initial thoughts away.

"I don't need protection," she protested cooly, sounding way more confident than she actually was. "And you can stay here if you want to, but I'm leaving to find Taehyung." The little rocks clinking underneath her shoes, she started stomping past him briskly.

He straightened up and immediately stood in front of her, cutting her way off.

"You're not going anywhere." He uttered in a demanding voice as Aera came to a halt just a couple inches away from him. His disheveled black bangs fell in front of his midnight black orbs, contrasting with the paleness of his hardened face.

Aera's heart dropped in her shoes but she kept a calm exterior nonetheless.

"You can't tell me what to do. One of my best friends is out there, probably freaking out, and I have to-"

"Aera," Yoongi cut her off in a gruff voice, a subtle warning laced in his tone. "Don't make me influence your will."

This seemingly unleashed a cluster bomb of raw emotions deep within Aera. The predominant one, as usual when it came to Yoongi, was unfiltered anger.

"Of course, because it's so much more easier to manipulate and make people surrender to your will with your stupid Powers, instead of actually dealing with them!" she snapped furiously. "You can't just keep controlling people's minds unscrupulously! That's not how this works!"

"I will go to any lengths to keep you safe." Yoongi stated coldly.

"Pffft, as if!" she exclaimed heatedly. "You've put my life in danger numerous times, do you expect me to sit and listen to you now? If you haven't noticed, Min Yoongi, I have a free will and the fact that you don't seem to respect that is why this, you and I teaming up together," she gestured between the two of them. "Is never going to work!" She thundered.

There was a brief pause of silence as Aera tried to catch her breath. For a moment, Yoongi merely stared at her. Then, a subtle smirk started playing on his lips, the same one he wore anytime he taunted her.

"Too bad, because it seems like you're stuck with me." he said nonchalantly, setting Aera's insides ablaze. She was filled with powerlessness and frustration.

"Min Yoongi, you're the worst!" she fumed, swatting her fists against his chest. "You're a sleazy, shady, insufferable-"

The sound of footsteps coming from the entrance of the cave caught her attention and cut her mid-sentence. Aera caught how Yoongi's eyes slightly enlarged as the both of them swung their heads in the direction of the sound almost simultaneously. Someone's voice resonated in the darkness of the cave.

"Holy moly! Is that you, Yoongi?"