The only sound that followed was the dripping water from the cave's ceiling. Her vision obscured by the engulfing darkness, Aera strained her eyes to see better. The silhouetted figure stood amidst the impenetrable blackness of the cave, still as a store mannequin.

She began to panic. She clearly remembered that the voice had called out Yoongi's name just some seconds ago. Why would a creepy silhouette know his name? What if this was the same creature that chased her in the woods, only it had taken another shape, and was now there to terrorize them again?

Unwittingly, Aera took a step backwards. Next thing she knew, Yoongi had glided to the side and was now standing right in front of her. Now the only thing she could do was peek over his shoulder as the unmoving figure just stood there, observing them wordlessly.

"Stay calm." Yoongi whispered, heaving a long, controlled exhale.

It was easier said than done. Aera was terrified, flashbacks from that dreadful chase running through her mind. Hearing Jimin's voice say those words to her, his eyes filled with nothing but hatred... Seemed like it was true what Yoongi said about Abaddon playing with people's minds, targeting their weaknesses, because the experience had managed to devastate her.

It had been some very tense seconds before the silhouette started taking steps towards them. Aera's breath hitched. The small stones littering the floor were clacking searingly, the sharp sound penetrating her ears.

The unreasonable impulse to shut her eyes shot through her, like a child watching a scary movie, trusting that the danger would go away if she wasn't able to see it. However, her eyes remained wide open, fixating on every fluid movement the swaying figure made.

Yoongi wrapped one arm around her while taking on some sort of a combat stance, his legs spread apart and upper body slightly lowered like a black panther about to pounce and attack. A low growl reverberated through his chest.

"It really is you!" the voice exclaimed happily all of a sudden. It was full of excitement and astonishment, resonating throughout the cave.

As the figure approached, Aera easily determined it was that of a male, probably around the same height as Yoongi. Its movement were smooth and fluid, but still resembled those of a normal person, in contrast to the swaying, floating motion the creature from the woods moved in.

From the shadows emerged a young man. Just as Aera had noticed, he was slightly shorter than Yoongi. He had the same thick crow black hair, cascading down his forehead like an inky avalanche. His milky complexion, along with his thin frame and sunken cheekbones, gave his exterior some sort of a ghostly, haunting vibe.

Yet, his eyes were truly the one thing that stood out the most about him. They were the most stunning pools of turquoise Aera had ever seen, glowing even in the gloom of the cave. She gaped a little bit too openly at him, struggling to recognize him. She could swear she had never seen him in her whole life.

Yoongi, on the other hand, seemed to know him very well.

"Yukwon!" he exclaimed, his shoulders finally relaxing as he slowly abandoned his fight stance. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" the stranger's eyes widened in astonishment. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"You're not either!" Yoongi replied. "Oh my god, are you..." he trailed off, gasping softly.

"Yeah," Yukwon's face fell, his eyes downcast. "Two months ago. Plane crash."

"Fuck, I'm sorry," Yoongi said genuinely, placing a hand over his forehead. "I didn't know."

"No worries," Yukwon gave a sad smile. "So, that's a... bizarre reunion."

"Tell me about it!" Yoongi exclaimed again, his pitch black eyes still widened in disbelief. This had been the most lively reactions Aera had ever witnessed him exhibit. "But if you're here, then that means..."

"Yeah," Yukwon grinned, flashing two rows of pearly whites. "I was... well, I still am a werewolf."

"No shit," Yoongi gasped. "I never would have guessed!"

"Why?" Yukwon narrowed his eyes at him, assuming a slightly hostile demeanor all of a sudden. "Is it because of my sexual orientation?"

Yoongi furrowed his brows and lurched backwards slightly. Aera had to stifle a smile at the most inappropriate time. She had never seen Yoongi seem so intimidated by someone and the sight amused her.

"Not at all!" Yoongi hurried to deny, a tinge of anxiousness in his voice.

"You assumed I wasn't manly enough to be a werewolf?"

"I never said that," Yoongi shook his head. "I had no idea what your sexual orientation even was."

"Hm, alright. I'm bi, if you're into labels," Yukwon hummed before his sapphire blue eyes gravitated to Aera who was lost on to what his sexual orientation even had to do with this conversation. "Why hello there, sweet cheeks. Why are you standing all the way over there? Are you afraid of the big bad wolf?"

Doesn't seem so big and bad though, Aera thought.

"Yoongi, why aren't you introducing us?" Yukwon frowned.

Begrudgingly, Yoongi stepped to the side to reveal Aera. It was obvious by the reluctance plastered over his face that he'd rather not introduce them.

"Yukwon is a friend from college." He explained. "And Aera is..."

"Aera!" Yukwon exclaimed. "Wasn't that the name of that girlfriend of yours you always-"

"Ex-girlfriend." Aera corrected him quickly, earning a weird look from Yoongi.

"He chased you away with that crappy personality of his, didn't he?" Yukwon smiled mockingly as he stretched out his hand for a handshake that Aera took eagerly.

"Hey!" Yoongi scowled.

"Not exactly," Aera decided she should be polite. "We just... didn't work out anymore." After all, whatever went between the two of them, was their business only.

"You don't look so good, sweet cheeks," Yukwon slightly pouted, taking a good look at Aera while completely ignoring Yoongi who was an equally disheveled mess next to her. "Are you feeling well?"

"Not really." Aera admitted. Her eyes darted at Yoongi nervously as she mentally debated whether Yukwon could be trusted. His smile seemed friendly and benevolent, and it looked like he meant them no harm, apart from the cocky teasing he had offered Yoongi, which Aera had to admit, her ex deserved.

"Something chased me in the woods." She confessed as she went on to tell him about the creature and how terrifying it was.

"Oh," was all Yukwon said at the end. His face darkened. "So, you've already gotten familiar with the Shadow Knights."

"The Shadow Knights?" Aera and Yoongi said almost simultaneously.

"Yeah," Yukwon nodded as his face contorted in a disgusted grimace. "They're vile creatures, having taken the role of some sort of guardians of this realm. Kind of like soldiers, if you'd like. They make sure that the order isn't disrupted around here. They possess higher intelligence and the ability to unravel their victim's most hidden vulnerabilities and use it against them. No one really knows what they truly look like, as they can take the shape of everything you love and care about."

Aera shuddered as the memories flew back in her mind. This made sense as in her case, the creature had used the guilt she harbored about lying to Jimin, as well as the fact that she loved him deeply. Oh, Jimin, the way I miss you right now...

"Ultimately, if you're ever attacked by more than one Shadow Knight, they can drive you mad to the point that you'd want to literally kill yourself to escape the torture," Yukwon went on. "Trust me, there have been such cases. The Shadow Knights torment your mind while your body remains intact. But regardless, their effect is worse than any sort of physical pain there is."

"But these Knights or whatever, they have to serve someone, right?" Yoongi intervened, his voice cold and logical. "They can't be called Knights for no reason."

Yukwon nodded slowly. "Correct," he confirmed. "The Knights take orders only directly from the Shadow King. He's the ruler of this land of the damned. From what I know, this place hadn't always functioned this way. Until one day, The Shadow King arrived here and established this new order. I wasn't around back then, but I've heard tales. He's the one who created the Shadow Knights and taught them to terrorize. Before that, this was simply a place for people's souls to find peace. From then on, it's become a place of terror and destruction. People live in fear around here."

"Seems like a pretty intense guy." Aera uttered. "But what does he want to achieve with this? Make people tremble before him? Reign with terror?"

"Power I assume," Yukwon shrugged, kicking a small rock with his shoe. "He's also created a thing called the Elixir de Valorie. Valorie is a mysterious plant that no one knows where it's come from, but it's appeared around the time when the Shadow King arrived. Some people say he brought it with him and introduced it to Abaddon.

"See, the elixir derived from this plant has some very fascinating properties. It brings the drinker infinite happiness, evoking joyful images in their mind. For example, if you've lost someone dear to you, drinking the elixir might bring their face back into your mind and let you spend some time with them or even have a conversation. That is until the effect of the elixir goes away at least. Then everything stops and you're back in the clutches of your despair. If one drinks the elixir on more than a couple of occasions, a dependency is developed. Not being able to drink it will cause uncomfortable physical sensations to your body and even pain."

"So it's like a drug of some sort!" Aera exclaimed. "You get addicted to it the more you drink it." She recollected reading about forbidden substances in her father's books about Botanics.

"Exactly," Yukwon seemed impressed. "The Elixir de Valorie has become some kind of a trade coin around here. People trade with it instead of money. So whoever has the biggest amounts of the Elixir has the most power. It also replenishes the body and nourishes it, making you feel more healthy and vibrant."

"But if it's so good why don't people make it themselves?" Yoongi grumbled.

"That's the problem, no one knows the recipe except for the Shadow Knight himself," Yukwon explained. "Thus making it impossible for anyone else to create it. This way he holds all the power around here."

"Sly bastard." Yoongi murmured.

"By the way, I forgot to ask you guys," Yukwon furrowed his brows, suddenly changing the subject. "I know it's a touchy subject, but... how did you guys die? I mean, if you're here then you must be dead."

"Oh," Aera paused, exchanging looks with Yoongi. "Well, we didn't exactly die. We ended up here on accident."

"How so?" Yukwon's frown became even more prominent.

"Yoongi was trying to help a friend who got sucked up into a portal," she confessed. "And I... well, I was just about to pass into the afterlife, when he, kinda, sorta, saved me."

Yukwon stared at the both of them, utterly dumbfounded.

"You mean to tell me you didn't end up here naturally?"

"I guess you could say so," Yoongi said. "Why?"

"Oh god," Yukwon raked his hands into his shiny jet black hair. "Oh boy. This isn't good. This isn't good at all."

"Why?" Aera was starting to grow worried.

"Because you're not supposed to just waltz in here," he said in a hushed voice. "You're supposed to come here in a proper way. You know, die first, then come here."

"I didn't know there were rules." Yoongi scoffed.

"That's why the Shadow Knights attacked you so vigorously," Yukwon's gaze shifted to Aera. "Because they sensed you weren't supposed to be here. They may be vile, but they don't attack so easily. You're an outsider and they could smell you."

"Oh god," Aera gasped. "What are we supposed to do?"

"You're going to stay here with me until we figure this thing out," Yukwon decided, making a wave of gratefulness to wash over Aera. "And think of a way to cover you up. Oh, and also... I think you mentioned a friend of yours was here, too?"

"Yes!" Aera aspirated, her heart flipped as she thought of Taehyung and where he was now.

Yukwon's lips tugged upwards slightly and he flashed them an ambiguous smirk.

"Follow me."

Without another word, he swooshed past them, motioning to follow him. Aera mirrored him intently, curious to see where he was leading them. Yoongi shadowed them as well, wincing with each step he took.

The cave's ceiling got higher the more they advanced inside. Yukwon took out a flash to light their way. They had to pass through a very narrow space, resembling a tunnel. Aera quickened her pace, glancing over her shoulder every once in a while to make sure Yoongi was following. She shuddered at the coldness in the infinite darkness and just as her brain was starting to defocus, Yukwon's steps came to a halt.

Several metal clicks followed and he eased open a heavy armor-plated door. The light shined through the door frame, and Aera had to squint as her eyes adjusted to the brightness.

She heard Yukwon chuckle softly.

"I believe you've met this handsome devil."

Aera focused her eyes to overcome the fuzzy blur. She could not suppress her scream. There in the middle of an almost empty room, was sitting...

"Taehyung!"

author's note:
TAETAE IS BACK! Who's excited for him? 💕