"Is there really no way for us to directly find out who are the ones still alive?"

"Like we said, we saw the destruction faced by Ileara when we went back there, but we didn't explore the whole kingdom. Everything just seemed so... barren that we assumed there was no one left." Haneul looks into the distance, the flashes of memory coming back. "But it's not impossible for someone to be alive."

"We just don't know where to find them," Garam utters.

Wooyoung looks from his father to his mother before he sighs then takes their hands in his. He hugs them, a farewell before they descend the mountain to head to their next destination.

"I promise you," he mumbles. "After San gets better and the condition of our kingdom improves, I'll invite you to live over at the palace. Together with Yeohan, all three of you."

"We don't deserve to live such a life," Haneul says. "We don't want to get in your way."

Wooyoung shakes his head hastily, denying whatever she said. "I told you that I've already forgiven both of you, and that I want to put the past behind us." He looks over their shoulders to see Yeohan, his little brother peeking at him as he stands at the front door. "I want us to live together as a family, and it doesn't matter if it's years late. I'm happy that I've found all of you, alive and well."

Haneul and Garam look at each other before slowly nodding. "But before that... are you going to find the remaining living people of Ileara?"

"We will try," Wooyoung says. "We don't have much time."

"It's going to be really dangerous," Garam interjects, "you're dealing with something far more powerful than you can handle."

Wooyoung smiles sadly. "San is my childhood friend, he was there when I needed someone. It's my responsibility to bring him back. I can't bear to watch him lose himself, even if it means I have to sacrifice myself." He looks down when he feels a tug at his shirt, and sees that Yeohan is staring at him with huge, round eyes. He crouches to be on the same level as his younger brother. "What is it, Yeohan?"

"Are you coming back?" Yeohan blinks as he pushes his lips outward. "I still want to play with you."

Wooyoung cups his younger brother's face before nodding, fighting back his tears. "Of course I am," he manages. "Once I come back here, I'll bring all of us to a new home, and you can meet new friends too." He sniffs, "You promised me to stay safe, didn't you? You also promised me to take care of mother and father."

"Yes!" he chirps, while Haneul and Garam look on with their hearts a mixture of happiness and pain. "I'll keep my promise, and you have to keep your promise too, okay?"

The older nods while chuckling, even though his eyes are opposite of what he's expressing. His heart feels heavy to leave them when he has found them after years, but he has something more urgent that he needs to do. Despite wanting to bring them together with him back to the palace, he knows that it won't be the best idea considering how the situation there is unstable. What he can do is to find the cure for San's curse as soon as possible, somehow find a way to pull it out of him before things go south. Next, he can probably feel what it's like to have a blood-related family.

What he hopes is that now won't be the last time he'll set his eyes upon his family.

"Wooyoung, we have to go," Hongjoong approaches him, slightly bowing his head to the former's family. "Thank you for your hospitality," he addresses them. He smiles, "I'm glad that Wooyoung has found back his family."

"We have to thank you for taking the chances of finding us," Garam says. "Or else we'll only be watching our son from afar."

For one more time Wooyoung hugs them, gives the tightest hug to his younger brother before hopping on behind Mingi, the time spent with them feeling too short than the actual time he had to suffer without them. He keeps on waving to them even as the horse has moved forward until they disappear from his view. He sighs as he turns back to the front, leaning against Mingi's back.

"This is so cruel," Wooyoung utters against Mingi's back as he rests his forehead against him. "How can the world be so cruel?" He stops to think as he mutters, "I really hope Yeosang is fine at the palace, and those in Lucida too. We haven't kept in touch with them for a few days."

"I surely hope they are," Mingi replies as they cut through the dense foliage, this time Hongjoong guiding them to go back. "No," he shakes his head, "I'm pretty sure they are. They have to be."

The dark sky accompanies them until their journey back to Nyla palace, that they can't even tell whether it's been a day or not since they started to embark on the journey to find Wooyoung's parents. They are looking to return to Nyla first to check up on Yeosang, take some needed rest before they decide their next steps to find those who could possibly help San.

"Do you think..." Wooyoung says, "that there is a possibility of someone actually living all this while at the abandoned kingdom?"

"We never know until we go there," Mingi replies, "and that's what we're going to do. This is all for San and the betterment of our kingdom."

"I just wish things would go back to how we were. Why does it truly feel like the last happy day we had was during my brother's wedding? Now everything is just..."

"Don't say anything more," Mingi chastises. "We're fixing this, no matter what it takes. You were confident."

"In front of my parents, sure. I didn't want to appear like a weak son but in reality? I can't even imagine going to an abandoned kingdom to find someone who we aren't even sure exists or not. I'm a coward in reality."

"You're not," Mingi interjects as they near the border of the forest. "If you're talking about cowards, it's me." He pauses as they emerge from the forest. He had hoped that the sky only looked dark because they were surrounded by the forest, but sighs in disappointment as it remains the same. "For someone who is really a coward like me, who can't even fight, says that I'd do anything to see San return to how he is before, that is something. I'm scared, but I want to take the chances."

"You're right," he utters.

He looks around with a heavy heart as the condition remains the same for them, the dark and gloomy atmosphere accompanying them. It seems that whatever possessing San is starting to bleed out into the neighbouring kingdoms. Soon, it's going to be even harder for them to bring it back to how it was before.

The rest of the journey back to Nyla witnesses no conversation between them anymore. As soon as they arrive in town, they sense that something bad had just happened. As opposed to when they were about to get out of Nyla, the residents are all out and about in town, but now, the town seems like a ghost town.

Hongjoong halts his horse as he looks around, trying to find any living soul there, but the condition was too different than when they left. Stores and shops are closed, no activity detected; even the air seems still. He frowns as he lets go of the reins, intending to hop off his horse to find what happened.

"The palace," Wooyoung shouts to Hongjoong from behind. "We need to go back to the palace, fast!"

Hongjoong nods, cancelling his intention to alight, grasping the reins again as he shouts into the deserted town, prompting it to gallop towards the direction of the palace. Mingi follows suit, with their horses looking like they're racing to outdo each other. Wooyoung keeps praying that nothing has happened to Yeosang, but even with the condition of the town, he can't be so positive.

The horses' hooves thunder on the bridge connecting the town and the palace; the nearer they get to the palace, the more Wooyoung feels like he wants to hop off the horse and run towards the palace. He can't wait anymore as soon as they pass the arched entrance; he doesn't even ask the guards waiting on either side of the entrance about what happened, he only wants to find Yeosang.

As Wooyoung throws open the heavy doors, Hongjoong and Mingi hop off their horses, the condition of the palace building the first thing they notice. Black tendrils have curled around the building even more, making it look like they're about to engulf it whole. They can barely see the crumbling structure of the building under the black masses; they look like they're alive and ready to attack them.

Wooyoung runs into the foyer, stopping as he sees Yeosang sitting on the staircase, his head down and hands clasped in front of him.

The palace doctor looks up, looking tired and defeated. "You're back," he says softly.

"Yeosang..." Wooyoung utters as he goes over to him. "Are you hurt? Did San do anything to you?"

"I'm fine," he mutters under his breath before he buries his head in his hands. "I'm sorry. I wasn't strong enough to stop him."

"What do you mean?"

The doctor looks up again, his mouth twisting as he fights back the major disappointment he has towards himself. "San brought our army with him, and he's heading for Lucida. He said he wanted to pay a visit to Seonghwa and Akira."

---

Seonghwa looks at Yunho who has just burst in the meeting room bringing in news that their palace is under attack, immediately instructing him to protect the ministers and bringing them to safety. He watches as they are all gathered at one corner, with Yunho instructing them to follow him so that they won't be exposed to danger.

Yunho turns to look at Seonghwa before he exits together with the other ministers. "Your Majesty, don't tell me perhaps that you're planning to..."

"I am," Seonghwa replies. "Any positive identification of the intruders?"

"We haven't been able to identify the intruders," Yunho replies as his hands give a signal to some of the soldiers surrounding the ministers to bring them away. "It was an ambush from all sides. We suspected they have already infiltrated the palace and are already somewhere inside, waiting."

The king sighs as he runs both of his hands through his hair. "The guards outside?"

Yunho looks grim as he shakes his head. "All targeted and lost."

Seonghwa curses under his breath as he cooks up a plan. "Akira-"

"I've sent some of them to check up on her. We'll protect her the best we can."

The king nods with his answer before deciding, "I'll join you."

"Your Majesty," Yunho looks hesitant, "this is not your duty. It is ours."

"No time to argue; I need to play my part."

When Yunho stays quiet and is only looking at him with heavy eyes, Seonghwa turns to Jongho instead.

"It's dangerous, Your Majesty," Jongho utters, looking equally heavy to let Seonghwa join in on the fight. "You have all the rights to be protected."

"I'm not sitting idly when my wife is hurt because someone wanted to kill her," Seonghwa says through gritted teeth, "I'm done being a pushover."

He doesn't let them answer as he walks out of the room, breaking into a run as he heads for the weapons storage. He manages to avoid any outsiders who broke into their palace, saving energy in case he needs it for an actual fight later on. He scavenges through the storage, noticing that most of them are already taken, but his mouth curves slightly as he sees his specialized bow hanging on the wall, with a set of prepared arrows below it. He unhooks the arrow, instinctively feeling the groove of the weapon before he grabs the arrows and slides the case on his back.

He stops as he thinks about something before he runs towards the storage where they stash away all of their swords. A sudden melancholic feeling rushes to him as he sees Akira's sword hung on the wall, barely used. He grabs the sheathed sword before equipping himself with it, putting it beside the supply of his arrows on his back. Satisfied, he turns around before dashing out of the storage room, already deciding where he's going to be setting himself up with his bow.

He hears multiple shouts and screams, cries of war resonating throughout the whole palace compound. He closes his eyes, trying to even his breathing. He knows that he needs to see Akira's condition, but first he needs to fight all that he can. He runs across the back part of the palace, eyes darting to point out any of the intruders and see if he can recognize them. The environment is too dark for him to see them; even as he squints his eyes they are merely moving shadows.

"One... two... three..." he counts under his breath as he tries to identify which one is on his side and which one is his enemy.

He looks up to see whether he can gain leverage to fire his arrows, and decides to climb up a floor- from outside. Quietly, he jumps up before grabbing the ledge, heaving himself up before he holds the wall for support. With only the minimal ledge for him to put his feet on, he treads carefully against the wall while ducking to avoid being noticed. He reaches an area where he's able to fit himself in before he rolls on the floor to minimize the impact as he lands. He searches for a position he's able to fire his arrows from, before he crouches and positions his bow.

Stretching his fingers, he slowly reaches behind to pull out an arrow, placing it on the bow as he wraps his fingers around the bow handle and string. Taking aim, he looks around to see whether the invading army has positioned their own archers, but takes a deep breath when he spots none. His eyes search for his targets, distinguishing his enemies by their obvious differences in armour- the intruders have obviously prepared themselves well, while his army were forced to fight with what they can grab.

Counting how many arrows he has together with the amount of enemies he'll have to take down, he nods before firing the arrow. His mouth curves slightly as it hits an enemy directly on their chest. As soon as they realize another threat from above, they change their attention, but still Seonghwa has the upper hand as he loads another arrow, this time exposing himself as he fully stands up, firing them nonstop. It takes him quite a few seconds to identify which one is the enemy; so he uses the time he's loading the arrow on the bow to pick his next target.

He's pretty sure that they're targeting him next and there are probably attackers already thundering upstairs to take him down. Suddenly he wishes he has something to cover his face with; if they know they're fighting with the king of the kingdom, they'd probably be more merciless because if Seonghwa's gone, taking over the palace would be an easier feat for them.

He doesn't use up all the arrows; he makes sure to leave some as he shoots one in the head, as they drop to the ground with a lame thud. Thanks to him, the Lucida soldiers fighting on the ground manage to take a rest as they've been fighting without stopping. Appreciative, they look towards the attacker and as soon as they see that it was the king who had saved them, their automatic reactions were to bow towards his direction while calling out 'Your Majesty'. He cringes as it resonates throughout the palace compound, and he curses loudly again.

"Damn it, not now," he utters just as he feels the blade of a sword against his neck from behind.

Great, just great. Now everyone knows where the king is.

"Your Majesty?" he hears someone say, but it's obvious that it's in a mocking tone.

Seonghwa freezes in place as he's sure that he's very familiar with the owner of the voice. Risking a glance, he feels like his heart would stop beating as soon as he realizes who it is, together with a bunch of other people crowding behind, all ready to fight just one. He slowly turns around as he places the bow on the floor, obviously looking to end it in peace rather than breaking into war, yet he's sure that they're not thinking the same as the blade is still placed directly against his skin.

He stops turning around as he comes eye to eye with the sword bearer; it's no wonder that he feels a sense of something he has seen before as he shoots his enemies. He doesn't know whether they are the enemies at this point, instantly regretting the people he had shot. It's no wonder how the people look like they've been trained, because... I was there with them, training together.

He grits his teeth as he realizes who they are.

Nyla's soldiers.

"What on earth is the meaning of this?" he utters as he feels the tip of the sword poking his neck. "How dare you point a sword at me. I'm one of you!"

"Not anymore, Your Majesty," the one holding the sword against him says. He is one of Nyla's soldiers, a person he has trained with for as long as he has lived in the Nyla palace. He is one of the top soldiers, a person they affectionately call as Mr. Lowe, a wise man who has taught them a lot about life.

Seonghwa can't even fathom why the person who was like a mentor to all of the young masters in the Nyla palace is currently pointing a sword at him, threatening him with it.

"Mr. Lowe," Seonghwa tries, but he closes his eyes and grits his teeth as he feels the blade digging deeper into his skin. He feels a nick already forming, his warm blood slightly flowing out. Another wrong move and a deeper cut, he'll probably die on the spot from major loss of blood.

"General for you," he replies. "I don't allow those who betray Nyla to say my name."

Seonghwa's eyes dart subtly to all of the soldiers in front of him, noticing something off about them. He notices that they don't look like their eyes are focusing on him all the time; they look like they're out of it... as if something is influencing them.

They're not themselves; he's sure of it.

"I didn't betray Nyla," Seonghwa utters even as he feels blood slowly trickling down his neck. "I still pledge my loyalty to the kingdom."

"Talking like that when you decided to become king in an opposing kingdom?" He has a disgusted face on. "How shameless. Do you even hear yourself talking? The king of Lucida saying he pledges loyalty to Nyla? Look at where you are now... who are you protecting? Your wife?"

Seonghwa doesn't answer as he slams a kick on the general's stomach, using the momentary confusion of his sudden response to slap away the sword directed at him. He pulls Akira's sword from behind and picks his bow up, before slashing his way through the throng of soldiers, letting them fight among themselves trying to catch him.

He slaps a palm over the wound on his neck before he goes back into the palace, his destination next where Akira is. His mind is reeling as to why Nyla would attack them - it would mean it's under San's orders, but why on earth would he do that?

Inside the palace the commotion has died down but he can only turn away as he watches the pile of bodies scattered everywhere. He gasps in distress as he arrives near the hallways where their bedroom is, breathing heavily as he sees that the guards at the hallways are all on the floor. He checks for their pulses and whimpers as he notes that they aren't alive anymore.

His heart tightens as he sees drops of what seem like black blood trailing all the way to their bedroom; it doesn't take much for him to be spurred on as he sprints towards the room, gasping for air as he arrives at the opened door. The guards outside are knocked out, and he blinks slowly as he sees a silhouette standing near Akira, their head directed down as they look at the unconscious queen.

The silhouette turns their face and Seonghwa almost collapses to the ground as he sees who it is. "San," he utters slowly even as his heart feels like it's about to give in. "What are you doing here?"

Seonghwa frowns as he sees San's condition under the limited light; he is nothing like the person he last met, with eyes as dark as the night and a body tattooed with black branches. The Nyla king smiles at the older, showing a slightly sharpened set of teeth.

"She's pretty isn't she?" San doesn't answer the other's question as he turns around completely, his back towards the queen. "I understand why you wanted to marry her."

"San," Seonghwa repeats, slowly making his way towards the king. "Why are you here?" He releases a sharp breath, "If you wanted to visit you could've told us, we could prepare everything for you."

San chuckles slowly before it increases in volume. "It's alright; I wanted to make it a surprise."

"You could've... brought the others too." All while he's talking, Seonghwa keeps approaching San step by step, intending to push him away from Akira. "We miss them a lot too."

"No you don't," San answers sharply as he glares at Seonghwa. "You're too busy with your own kingdom. Do you like it, becoming a king so easily?"

"What happened to you?" The other approaches the cursed king, putting out a hand but San is quick to slap him away. "I could-"

"I want your kingdom," San chuckles as he takes out a dagger from behind, taking Seonghwa by surprise.

San stretches out his left arm, grabbing Seonghwa by the shoulder before he drives the blade into Seonghwa's flesh. He pushes the blade into the other's body, in which the latter couldn't react quickly as he shouts out in pain, his legs becoming weak as he drops to the floor in San's arms. His bow and arrows tilt to the floor as Akira's sword clangs to the ground.

It looks like San is not letting go of him as he keeps holding his shoulder and the dagger lodged inside his body. As Seonghwa grasps San's body, trying to pry himself away weakly, the cursed king chuckles again before pulling half of the blade out, spurting crimson blood out.

"That's why... why did you decide to go to Lucida... hmm? Now you're considered a betrayer to Nyla," he smiles a smile that Seonghwa could only see through his blurry vision as tears and pain flood him. After pulling half of the blade out, San pushes it back in, this time with more force as he lets Seonghwa go. "But it's easier for me to take over Lucida since you trusted me."

San watches as Seonghwa grapples for his life on the floor, staring down at him with no sign of remorse. In fact he smiles as he sees Seonghwa's body experiencing the same as what he did; writhing as extreme pain courses through his body, the black branches starting to pop up under his skin as Seonghwa shouts in agony.

"You didn't even expect it was me, do you?" San sighs. "How are you becoming king when you can't even protect yourself?" He looks over his shoulder at Akira who's still unconscious. "You can't even protect your wife. Tch," he spits, "Only a little bit of the taste of power and you're already so weak."

San ignores Seonghwa who's still fighting the pain as the curse spreads through his body before he turns around, walking towards the bed. He smiles as he places a hand on Akira's cheek, caressing it.

"She's a pretty woman," San comments as Seonghwa drags himself to the bed. "Too bad she has all those ugly scars." He grips the dagger tighter, wiping Seonghwa's crimson blood against her clothes before lifting up his hand, and he's about to drive the blade into Akira's body before he feels someone grabbing onto his leg.

"Please..." Seonghwa says. "Just... leave... her..." he struggles to breathe, "alone... just kill me instead... " He tries to fight whatever's taking over his body. "Not her... please..."

"Even until the end you're protecting her," San says in a melancholic tone. "Do you ever think she'll ever do the same to you? She won't hesitate to throw you away because in the end, she's loyal to Lucida."

Seonghwa slightly hesitates as San feeds him with his insecurities ever since he got married to Akira, slowly letting go of his hold on San.

"See?" San questions him. "Even you realized that. She has only known Lucida all her life, so what makes you think that you're so special to her?" He hums. "You regret it... don't you? Asking the question to her, for her to marry you... now you're just an outsider to a kingdom you're supposed to rule over."

Seonghwa looks at Akira as his mouth twists, fighting the pain coursing through his veins and he feels the dark thoughts consuming him.

"I do. I regret asking the question to her," he utters, tears dropping as he looks at San. "I regret marrying her."

"So it doesn't matter... if I kill her anyway, does it? Just another burden off of you, then you can come back to Nyla, live the life you've liked better." San smiles as he spins the dagger in his hand, before aiming directly at where Akira's heart is.

Seonghwa only looks away as San brings down the dagger, black blood spurting on the latter's face.

San pulls out the dagger, looking at the black blood dripping from it.

"How tragic."