𝒯𝒶ℯ𝒽𝓎𝓊𝓃 

The light never felt like such a trap... blinding me, towering me... distracting my focus from the screams of terror and cries for help coming from behind the door; horror freezing my distressed soul, guilt squeezing my heart. I couldn't move and the bitter taste of his lips judged all my claims that hurt him on my way to save the twin flame. 

Yet they were still there... trying to reach us, their voices trapped in curses, blood and crackling fire. 

"Beomgyu, open the damn door!" 

I need to help them... I despaired, tried to break free from his kisses, but my neck fell into the shackles of his hands. 

"Are you kidding me, Taehyun?" Beomgyu's breath chilled my chin, his greenish eyes obliged me - you are the one in need. Now listen to me... listen carefully. 

"Me? Be the same as you? Hardly that... It is all about you, Yeonjun and the hero complex limiting your minds. Soobin's suffering is all your fault," the outraged dryad scolded me. 

"I wanted to help him out of it...," I gulped, my Adam's apple moved against his palm - let me breathe. 

"Out of what anyway?" a disappointed smirk appeared in the corners of his lips and eyes, as he pushed more on my neck, "you said you'd tell me everything you knew. We've all dealt with the reason for Yeonjun's anxiety, but did anyone bother to tell me that it started with Soobin? My lifeline..." 

"I just wanted to protect you from the demon... the less you knew, the more likely it would leave you alone," I defended myself.

"... but in the end it was that ignorance that endangered me! I wasn't blind, I have an intuition... I felt it all inside, and that demon hooked me in a weak moment anyway... it even took advantage of my best friend." 

I'm really sorry for that... I'm so sorry for Heeseung... 

"It tried to divide us...," and I didn't know about it at first... am I also a victim in that case? I felt the tears melting again the sadness soaked in my stiff cheeks. 

"You know... Tae... that's exactly why I have wings and not you. How could you fly with such a weight pulling you down?" 

"That's enough, Beomgyu," Hyuka's caring voice came to us from somewhere I couldn't see. 

"Does even Kai know about everything you do know about? How many secrets and lies are hidden in your mind?" 

I weakly shook my head. 

"Who's the real liar, Taehyun?" 

⍟

Me - that simple word hung on my parted trembling lips, when I opened my teary eyes to wake up from the accusing dream. 

If I had been faster... if I had talked to Yeonjun sooner and we hadn't tried to fight alone, we'd still have to end up here... but at least we wouldn't be torn apart... That's what I thought when I found myself lying on my back... alone in an unknown place, looking up at the dark green sheet high above me. It was already night again.

Will we ever be the same as before?

The flickering orange candlelight tried to chase away my shadows, pressing on my chest, and caress my regret-soaked cheeks, while the comforting aroma of roasted fish and vegetables gently crept into my nose and constricted throat to release it. 

I sat up and hugged my hungry stomach, looking around. 

My sense of smell led me straight to a long table, on which was not only a plate of food and countless candles, but also a pile of books and papers, leading my eyes to the person who was bending over them.

As soon as my mind, still emerging from unpleasant dreams, remembered the two companions who had gone with Beomgyu to look for Kai and connected it to the food on the table, I carefully got up from the lounger and slowly walked over to the back of the person whose light hair was falling on broader shoulders. I quietly looked from behind them and observed stacks of papers with runes and simple drawings.

I already understood Hyunjin must be smart and probably master some kind of magic... yet I have never read of his kind in any general writings.

"What is the purpose of a chameleon anyway?" my curiosity whispered and Hyunjin flinched slightly before taking off his reading glasses and looking up at me with a smirk. He chuckled shaking his head.

"Heck, Healer warned me that your brain is constantly working and that you might talk in your sleep, but I didn't expect this."

Should I apologize for that? I hesitated, still waiting for the answer.

When I just stood there silently for a while, Hyunjin pointed his hand to the other side of the table and blurted out: "You slept for a long time and the food is already quite cold... don't you want to eat first?"

I briefly looked at the delicious smelling food again... it must have been prepared by Beomgyu before he left, it was my favorite. In a short time I was already sitting on the other side of the table, peeling the fish from its crispy skin.

"You seemed more chatty yesterday," remarked the chameleon as he watched me pulling tiny bones out of the meat.

"Adrenalin...," I answered simply. I was more of a listener if it wasn't about solving a problem or my hobbies.

"I see...," Hyunjin chuckled again, looking back down to his papers for a moment, before his gaze zoomed out to the one of the dark corners of the large tent.

Looking at all the flasks, dried herbs and medical supplies around... Beomgyu must have grown to love this place by now. It reminded me of our potions lab. Could this be their base?

"Well... to tell you the whole story...," the mystical boy started.

So eventually he gives me an answer... maybe he just doesn't talk about it often and wanted to sort out his thoughts. I slowed down my eating to focus.

"As we already indicated before - Felix is the angel of death and we transfer the souls of deceased lost children to Neverlands. This ring-" he showed a palm with a beautiful engraved silver ring on the long index finger, "is paired with Felix's and the portal is opened between them, so we can never leave the Earth separately. Well, we can if it's different kind of portal, but soul can only leave with both of us through this one and... yes, my purpose..."

Although I didn't manage to study portals as much as I would like to and I didn't need any anyways since the Earth and other worlds were supposed to be only legends and fairytales so far... I understood his a little bit chaotic babbling. In many cases, magic was controlled chaos after all.

"In Neverlands, my purpose for Felix is practically needless, but he needs me to complete the missions down there. While his light and aura can be like a ticking time bomb for technology and human's brains, I'm like a fuse... a regulator of his power. I can coordinate it and hide the manifestations of his presence from mortal eyes. I can practically tune both him and other things to the frequency that their surroundings receive and thus create illusions."

Wow... so that's why he's a chameleon - he disguises supernatural things as natural - I nodded. I didn't know enough about portals yet, but deception of the senses has been almost on my daily agenda lately. Not that I actually wanted or should brag about it.

"I know enough about manipulation... So your power comes from chaos, just like mine," I guessed from his explanation and stuffed my mouth with roasted vegetables.

"Exactly.... and I cook potions as a hobby," Hyunjin laughed at his own words and I chuckled as well... I felt much calmer and happier now, because the food was so incredibly delicious and I even learned new things while eating it. Perfection.

"So these islands... is this an afterworld?" I asked uncertainly as I finished my dinner.

"An afterworld?" Hyunjin smiled, dreamily looking somewhere behind me and stretching his hands between his knees. "That would be too easy for all our souls traveling through this universe for knowledge, light and growth..."

"Our...?"

"Of course. Just like you, even me and Felix have a soul... and their missions allowed us to became messengers of death... to help souls who lost their lives on the Earth unexpectedly, hard and too soon to get here - to the land of dreams, fantasies and freedom. The Neverlands are more like the main transfer station between life, death and rebirth," he explained me in more detail.

"So you died too?" I wondered.

Hyunjin giggled and got up from the bench.

"Died... were born...? Both is possible. It's been too long, and in the beginning the fairy dust must have sorted through our memories just like the memories of the other lost children. However, almost all of the souls in Mother Wendy's archipelago died a cruel death, and we can't read our own true names... so who knows? Maybe we used to be her two lost brothers," the ensuing laughter pointed out that this might have been Hyunjin's favorite funny theory about their past lives and origin.

His talk brought my soul a kind of peace with death... but what about complete extinction, or loss of memories? - I remembered our fading star whose fire burned in Yeonjun's chest.

I barely realized how amazed I was looking at the tall chameleon that took a few steps towards the exit.

"Follow me..."

When we came out of the tent, a beautiful starry sky spread out above us. Only here and there it was overshadowed by the silhouettes of other flying islands.

"Just as pixies are born from children's laughter...
as stars shine brighter with wishes...
as these islands are born from fantasy,
so your world and you were created by the spark of a star above the Magic Island...
the spark that shines in someone's eyes," he spoke quietly into the soothing darkness... and continued...

"Not every star has its defenders who can leave its dimension and have the chance to save it, Taehyun... It's exceptional," he emphasized that importance by looking directly into my eyes, "I don't know what exactly your mission is, but you should complete it at all costs... and especially - together."

I know...

With a gleeful laughter wafting towards us from somewhere in the valley, I prepared to cross one of the deep chasms...

... and finally stop the echo of warped words between me and Healer.

•.°✻⍟✻°.•

•.°✻⍟✻°.•

+x+

I said what? This chapter is even longer than the previous one xD well, chapters probably won't get much shorter in the future... more likely just longer, but it's okay✨️ beside I publish less when it's longer... eheee. Anyway, this month I will probably manage to write max only one more chapter, because my holidays are starting on September 15. and I will go to see my family🙏🩷 the free days will be till the end of the month... so we will see. Many of you will be probably busy with school anyway✨️🌸 so! I am wishing you all good and much of energy 🥰🩷 seeyou next time~💜

Ps: hope you liked this chapter and understood the stuffed info at least a little bit xD 'Chameleon' is a 'creature' I made up more than 10 ys ago in my very first fantasy story omg... but I've never talked about it in detail so this writing was a real adventure lol xD