Aera had the odd feeling she was forgetting something extremely important.

"Aren't you going to get into the water already?" Jimin called out. She looked over at him. Blond bangs slightly ruffled by the ocean breeze and honey-glazed skin glowing underneath the soft sunrays, he was the epitome of perfection. She suddenly wished she could take a picture of him and engrave it in her mind because she wanted to remember this moment forever. It was so serene.

"In a minute." She mumbled, glancing down as the tide kissed the tips of her toes.

"Take your time," Jimin grinned, the sunlight reflecting in his enchanting smile. "We have an eternity ahead of us."

This instilled a subtle feeling of uneasiness inside of her, "What do you mean?" she asked sheepishly, looking around the beach.

Jimin stretched his arms over his head and groaned blissfully, letting the sun caress his skin. Then he walked over to her, his arm snaking its way around her waist and pulling her close to him.

"We can stay here for as long as we want." He murmured, his hand drifting to her cheek to tuck a wisp of hair behind her ear.

Instead of happiness, Aera was overcome with dread.

"This is our little paradise," he went on with a simper.

"I'm not sure this is right," she fumbled out. "What about-"

Our friends?

Yoongi? Taehyung?

"Shhh," he hushed her softly, pressing a finger against her lips. "Why does everything have to be so complicated all the time? Why do we have to feel so much pain, angel? Let us have this. No questions asked."

Aera was bemused, but reluctant to obey. Her lower lip tucked under her teeth.

"I love you," Jimin said earnestly. "And I will do everything to keep you safe. You just need to trust me. Close your eyes, angel... you're going to be okay."

***

Aera jerked awake to a pair of dark onyx eyes boring through her.

The sound of someone clapping their hands in the distance echoed across the cavernous hall, "Miss Lee. I'm so glad you could finally join us. Really join us."

Her gaze drifted to the direction the silky voice had originated from. It belonged to one of the most dangerously handsome men Aera had ever seen, and yet she had the feeling she wasn't seeing him for the first time. JB sent a smirk her way.

"It worked." Yoongi whispered under his breath. His eyes were enlarged, shock was not a look on him she saw often. Full of hostility, Aera's piercing gaze cast over him. He shuddered, feeling like a mouse put under a microscope.

"What did you do!" Taehyung hissed, shoving Yoongi roughly from behind. The shorter man lurched frontwards but caught himself before he could lose his balance. "This has got to be your stupidest decision yet!"

Yukwon rolled his eyes. "Here we go again," he told Giselle who just gave him a weird widened-eyed look.

To Yoongi, it seemed futile to explain that he was doing it all for Aera's sake. "I did what had to be done. She was never going to cope with this on her own. I just called for a little back-up."

"Hello, Taetae." Aera purred, slinging her arms over Taehyung's shoulders seductively.

"You call this back-up?" Taehyung asked with a frown, a dark shadow cast over his handsome face. "This would be back-up if we were shooting a porn movie. Where did you even send her normal self off to?"

"She's going to be fine. She's in an illusion with Jimin." Yoongi replied quietly.

"Whatever the hell this means!"

"I just made things easier for her," Yoongi sighed exhaustedly.

"But the Jimin in there with her is not the real one! You're just reinforcing this belief inside of her that she's incapable of dealing with anything by herself! You're fueling whatever this sick, twisted dissociative shit she's going through is! If anything, you're contributing to her problems and enabling her issues!"

"Can you two stop talking like I'm not even here?" all of a sudden Aera interjected sharply. "I can hear everything, you know."

Struck, the two men swung their heads to look at her. Even though it was hardly appropriate to think about it in that moment, Aera had to say they both looked extremely dashing tonight in their formal classy attire. They were like two handsome princes bickering over a mighty throne.

Taehyung was scowling, but this didn't take away from his mesmerizing exterior. His clenched jaw and balled fists made him look even more irresistible. There was a flame smoldering within him. Yoongi looked calm as always, like nothing could ever bother him and he gave this slack, impassive aura that was equally alluring. His expression flat-lined once their eyes met.

Aera's heart rate accelerated at that moment. She could feel the remnants of her anger towards him slowly dissipate. She had no recollection of why she had been mad at him, but all she knew was that she had forgiven him now. Like something colossally important had occurred between the two of them that had removed every bit of the grudge she held for him.

The mental image of a pair of lips silently moving resurfaced before her eyes.

"I-love-you."

The memory fled her mind as quickly as it had arrived. Aera breathed a little sigh, disappointed by how fast her fleeting thoughts seemed to leave her.

The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped her out of her little bubble.

"Sorry to interrupt your playground squabble," JB's husky voice reached her ears, a warning entangled in his tone. "But I'm getting kind of impatient and that's never a good thing."

Calmly, Aera turned around and directed her undivided attention to the captivating man and the sight behind him. This time, the seven high cages full of water did not evoke panic inside of her. She let her eyes roam them for some long moments before she started taking steps towards them.

Everyone stared at her in astonishment as she started walking slowly forward. Taehyung and Yoongi immediately stiffened with the instilled tension whereas JB watched her with casual curiosity. There was something inherently regal and elegant in the way she so beautifully carried herself in. Her motions were compellingly fluid as the hem of her night black dress glided behind her.

Once she was up on the improvised theater stage, her eyes scanned the cages with determination. She started walking past them, studying them, starting with the first one.

It was Namjoon's. He seemed like he was in deep slumber. Peaceful. Like he would open his eyes any second now and his lips would move to mouth something smart and wise as always. Aera glided the tip of her fingers on the reinforced glass. The frame was fashioned from black iron, cold to the touch.

When she was done admiring the tall man floating in the water before her, she moved on to the next prisoner. Jin looked equally serene underwater. A warm feeling crept in Aera's heart as she regarded him. Deep inside she was aware she shared a long history of knowing each other with him, but somehow her mind was programmed not to dwell too much on the sentimental side of things.

Then she stepped to the next two. Intentionally or not, Jungkook and Meisa's cages were put right next to each other, facing one another. The way their bodies were swaying underwater created the illusion that they were reaching their hands towards each other. On first glance, one might say that their fingers were touching through the glass. Aera gave a little smile.

Next was Hobi. Meisa's hot-headed brother resembled a flame that the force of water could not put out. His scarlet hair stood out against his pale expression. Although unconscious, defiance was still very clearly radiating through his form. No sort of magic could ever keep Hoseok's turbulent spirit at bay and Aera smiled internally at that.

Her gaze drifted towards the next prisoner and suddenly her air became cut-throat. In the next glass cage there was a girl - thin, pale and scrawny. Her skin gaunt and whitewashed, and her bony frame curled up into a fetal position with her knees pressed against her chest.

Aera scoffed as an unpleasant sensation of some sort swallowed her and poured acid into her soul. It was the same girl with Jimin from the vision Yoongi showed her. The sensation intensified as a lack of willingness to fight it came over her. The pain she still harbored from that uneventful vision contorted into something hateful and monstrous. Bitterness and hate filled her instead.

The sensation grew even stronger as if put under a magnifying glass and Aera finally acknowledged and identified it. Jealousy. That's funny. Is this how Yoongi felt every time he saw her with Jimin? This was torment. It was destructive. She felt strangely left out, abandoned. Like she wasn't even part of anything anymore. This girl before her was so evidently recklessly in love with Jimin if she had followed him all the way over here. In her own world Iris was the main character of her love story with Jimin and Aera had no part in this narrative.

This enraged her and her jaw tightened inadvertently. This right now, it was a burning of her soul. It was a dusty hot road on which her common sense withered. Her soul itself cried, but she couldn't hear it over the sound of her scorching hatred screaming for release. In her ill state of mind, her negative emotions prevailed significantly over her positive ones, defying her sanity.

There was no clear path of logic in front of her and her world was darkness. For over a decade, Jimin had been the bedrock of her personality, the one she had loved most in the world, the one who had kept her stable. And now, it felt like someone intended on ripping a part of her own soul away. The fear of losing him washed over her like ice cold water.

Aera was consumed by fury she never knew could take root inside her heart. But here it was. Here she was.

Here he was.

Swaying to the side gracefully, she stepped in front of Jimin. Her frozen heart shifted at the sight of his lifeless body. Desperately, her hands pressed against the cold glass as if she could break it with the sheer force of her despair. Before she knew it, her face was so close to the cold surface that her breath sent a warm breeze to it. The tip of her finger rubbed through the condensation her hot breath left on the glazed glass. On the other side was Jimin's own face, cold and slack, inches away from hers, yet it felt like a football field separated them at this moment.

All this time they had been so far away from each other and now they were reunited. But what was the point? He couldn't see her, nor hear her. This was awfully similar to that horrible vision Yoongi had put her in where she was just observing everything like an anonymous bystander.

Aera absently suppressed the urge to cry, to weep, to mewl. This was not who she was right now. Now, she had to be detached and tough. Her eyelids fell over her eyes and she hummed almost blissfully. Her teeth dug into her lower lip harshly and a small stream of blood trickled from the feeble wound. Then, she pressed her lips to the terrifyingly cold surface of the glass right where Jimin's lips seemed to be and she gave them a bloody kiss.

I love you. Never, ever forget that. No matter what I do, I'll always love you.

Abruptly, Aera spun on her heel and turned around, her sequin dress spinning along with her, a black sea at night with the tiny gem stones sparkling like an abysmal starry sky. A glint of insanity in her eyes, she wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand, grinning over at JB madly.

There was a slight drop in the air temperature and a descent of silence as Aera's wicked grin never faltered.

"I have to say I'm impressed. You really made an effort here. What are those, are they custom-made? I'd like to have one made for when I'm feeling kinky." She said eventually, gesturing to the glass cages behind her.

JB's shoulders started shaking with laughter.

"I'm afraid those aren't exactly appropriate for your unorthodox endeavours," he chuckled. "I've had someone cast a spell on them."

"Interesting," Aera hummed. "If you don't mind me asking, I'm curious as to how you managed to do all that."

She was by no chance naïve enough to believe it had been easy for JB to capture all of her friends like that. If fact, she was absolutely aware that if they had been allowed to use their Powers, it would have been utterly impossible to abduct them so easily. She had no idea what kind of creature JB was or what kind of abilities he had, but she was certain that Jimin and the others would have overpowered him any day of the week had they faced him altogether.

"Well you see, it's rather easy when you're born with a natural aptitude for finding out people's weaknesses," JB shrugged. "But frankly, I had a little help. It would be very disrespectful not to give credit where it's due," he pointed a finger somewhere in the crowd, making Taehyung and Yoongi look around cluelessly. "Come over here, darling."

A baffled pause ensued as Aera squinted to see who he was pointing at. A vision in gold sequin, Jungah stepped forward, gripping on her dress with sweaty palms. Uneasiness written all over her face, she continued walking towards JB until she was standing right next to him.

"Jungah!" Layla gasped, her coal black curls bobbing up and down as she spoke. "What the hell are you doing, get back over here!"

Jungah wore an apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry, guys."

Nana's anger burst through her violently. "What the fuck is the matter with you!" she screamed, her voice trembling with the hurt and the disappointment as the other girls just stared ahead blankly, struggling to process it all. "You were the one who hated JB the most out of us, you loathed him with a burning hatred, always going on and on about how awful and disgusting he is! How could you do something like that! I thought we were a team-"

"It's because I LOVE HIM!" Jungah snapped harshly, her eyes welled up with scorched tears as JB wrapped one arm around her waist and pressed her closer to himself. "Alright?! I hate myself for it, but I- I love him!"

"All this time... you were a double agent for him?" Hazel asked in a shaky voice, her enormous anime-like eyes quivering.

"Jungah... Pourquoi t'as fait ça?" Giselle whimpered, shielding her mouth with her palm. "Oh, mon Dieu..."

"I knew you wouldn't get it!" Jungah cried out as JB's possessive grab on her body became even tighter. He observed the whole scene with a mocking smirk.

Aera stared blankly too, examining Jungah's shuddering form. The poor girl was desperately bleeding for love. Aera could hear the desperation in her voice and could see the wetness in her eyes. She recognized the girl who just wanted to be loved by a man as cold as ice. How could she not? She had been her. Jungah had "love" stamped on her retinas as she gazed upon JB.

And he? He was just amused.

"Darling, don't listen to them," he purred, turning her around in his arms like she was a rag doll. His fingers cradled her jaw and he peered down at her. "Just focus on doing what makes me happy."

"Jungah, he doesn't love you!" Layla called out in a pleading tone. "Please just think about it. JB is manipulative and controlling. You're just a pawn in his game. Stop this before it's too late!"

"He doesn't... love me?" Jungah whispered, a little bit out of it. "You- you don't love me?"

"Of course I love you," JB said in a sweet voice.

"He can never love anyone besides himself!" Nana was not relenting, determined to fight for her friend. "His love is poison, Jungah. Please, just listen to us! He's using you! If he ever loved you, would he have left you to rot in these horrible living conditions we had? Would he have sent you off to violent street combats just for the masses' entertainment, so that you could be kicked down and beaten up by random men? Would he have let those men have their way with you? Tell me, would he?!"

"He promised me it was only temporary," Jungah replied on the verge of tears. "He promised when it was all over he would make me his lady. I just needed to... to do what he tells me." She peered over at the tall men beside her with such undying love and devotion that it was enough to evoke goosebumps. She would walk through fires for him, that was for sure.

JB's lips spread into a face-splitting grin as he regarded Jungah calmly in a manner that said 'she's property'. Aera wondered how a person so seemingly calculated and collected as Jungah would allow themselves into his selfish heart. From a bystander's point of view, it couldn't be more evident that he was nasty and manipulative. Yes, he was breathtakingly beautiful, but behind that striking exterior lay a soul so sickeningly rotten and corrupted it made her nauseous. Somehow she was reminded of her brother because of that.

"You see," JB said looking over at Aera. "My precious Jungah here has this peculiar ability of accessing people's past memories, everything that's ever happened in their lives. Of course, the range of that access varies accordingly to the person's mental barriers and depends directly on how well they can protect their mind from intrusions. You in particular, she had significant difficulties with. From what she told me, your mind is not so easy to invade. But last night... last night something rather interesting happened apparently."

Jungah shook her head rapidly, teary eyes gazing at Aera. "I'm so, so sorry, I had to..."

"Last night, there was a window. A certain moment of vulnerability when your barriers crumbled," JB stated and waves of heat coursed through Aera as she was reminded of her intense conversation with Yoongi. "You were so emotionally overwhelmed that your heart and soul were completely laid bare. So Jungah used the opportunity to collect as much data as possible about your friends, facilitating my plan further. After that, I knew all of their flaws and weaknesses and was completely prepared to program my Shadow Knights to pose as your friends' deepest, darkest fears, hence rendering them absolutely unprotected and vulnerable."

"Jungah, you traitor!" Nana spat out furiously. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

Aera wrestled with her thoughts, trying to calm herself down. Okay, what happened, happened and there was no turning back now. Now, she had to think of a way to get everyone out of that situation. But how?

"All I hear you talk about is other people and what they can do for you, JB," Aera deadpanned, completely dismissing his attempt at surprising and amazing her with his crafty plan. This slightly disappointed him, judging by the falter in his smile. "But I'd like to hear what you can do. What are your strengths? Surely you're not completely useless. Are you?" she quirked a brow defiantly. "You let a woman do all the dirty work for you and you had no contribution to this genius plan whatsoever?"

A dark shadow cast over JB's face as he removed his arm from Jungah's waist and let it fall loosely to his side. His other hand clutched around the handle of his cane.

"If you insist so much on knowing," he chuckled softly. "As I'm sure my estranged brother has already shared mentally with you, you probably know I wasn't born a normal, healthy baby. I was a product of a filthy affair, of something sinful and tainted. My mother was a sickly woman, her body could not handle the pregnancy so she had to give birth to me while she was five months pregnant. No one expected me to survive, but surprisingly enough I did. Until her death, she kept repeating she had saved me with her love... But then I grabbed the pillow and put it over her face, because the old wench just wouldn't shut her damn mouth." JB smiled with a childish warmth, the contrast between his tone and the meaning of his words was hair-rising.

Aera didn't even flinch.

"As expected, my father never recognized me as his son," JB sent an irritated glance in Yoongi's way and shrugged. "I was tossed into the thrash and spent my entire life living off of people's charity. I despised it all. I had all these grand dreams, but I was ugly and a cripple. No one would ever want to have anything to do with me, they didn't even want to look at me. Then one night I assume I must have passed away in my sleep, freezing to death. Next thing I remember was how I woke up here, in Abaddon. A powerful man discovered me and turned my life upside down. He became like a father figure to me. With the help of a little magic, he brought me back to life. But there was a little catch."

JB snickered, looking down at the cane in his hand.

"This cane is where all my life energy is being stored. I draw power from it and my body needs to be constantly fed from its vital energy. It can collect and store it, but it cannot generate it. That's why from time to time, I need to do this."

Within a flash, JB turned around to face Jungah. Her eyes enlarged like those of a scared puppy as the man she claimed to love twirled his cane in his hands and pointed it straight at her face.

Confused and horrified, she toppled backwards. Her mouth popped open and her jaw unhinged, her frantic eyes begged him not to do what he was about to. No words were said as a thin black veil extended from the cane's tip, heading straight to Jungah's chest and plunging through her ribs as if through foam. Gurgling sounds came from her mouth, her eyes swollen over as trails of blood started trickling down her cheeks. It poured from her lips too as her whole body convulsed and contorted in all sorts of unusual shapes, like all of her bones were being broken.

"I'm sorry, my love," one could even say JB looked slightly remorseful as he watched the life leave Jungah's body. "But it just has to be done. You need to die so I could live."

Jungah's dead body crumbled on the ground.

"Ah," JB sighed. "To die at the hands of the man you love. To die for love. How romantic, don't you think?" he grinned.

"You monster!" Layla cried out, breaking out into a run towards Jungah's lifeless form.

What followed next was mayhem. Hazel was whimpering loudly, clutching to Giselle who seemingly couldn't stop screaming. Nana was practically fuming, her face red and her eyes boggled. Layla was devastated, crying and weeping. Yoongi and Taehyung were both as white as chalk and Yukwon was literally running in frantic circles.

"The clock is ticking, Aera," JB completely ignored the commotion around him as he twirled around. "Someone once told me the Lees stop at nothing to be with the ones they love. If you want your precious Jimin back, you're gonna need to sacrifice one of your friends for him. Tell me who's it gonna be before I start killing them one by one."

Suddenly, from the crowd stepped Taehyung.

"Me. It's going to be me."