Taking in a deep breath, Akira pulls the reins of her horse as she arrives at the kingdom of Nyla, the time only an illusion to her as the sky remains dark. Even before dawn, she has informed Yunho that she'll be going to Nyla on her own and has asked him to overlook the Lucida palace's affairs while she's gone. She emphasizes on watching Seonghwa's progress to see whether he'd wake up or not, despite Yunho looking heavily reluctant to let her go on her own. She had then set off, her sword tied to her back as she brought her horse as quickly as she could to Nyla, not even wanting to waste any more second.

Becoming a fool to come to Nyla alone, the very kingdom that had attacked her kingdom? She truly is, but she needs answers on how she can bring back her husband.

She tries to erase the image of her husband's appearance but it seems that even as she arrives at the Nyla palace, she's reminded of the same. The surrounding area of the palace is teeming with the dark entity, those remaining inside affected by it as they look passive, the guards barely even turning their heads as Akira dashes past the arched entrance. She looks at the horrible exterior of the palace, feeling as if she has stepped into another dimension as she watches the stones enveloped in black tendrils.

Her heart clenches as she looks at the garden Seonghwa has been taking care of with his life, only to see all the plants already dead, their leaves covered by cobwebs of the dark entity while the soil is as if it hasn't rained a thousand years, the cracks looking like it'll open up to swallow her whole. She leaves her horse behind, carefully approaching the garden - the place which was a witness to their marriage vows - dying and losing their colours.

With every step she takes along the garden, the dying flowers turn into dust before they crumble to the ground in a pile of black powder and disappear. It is as if with every step, she'll only bring forth upon destruction. Her eyes rest upon the delentines which have shriveled up, reminding her of the last time she was kicked out of the Nyla palace when they lost their charms. She keeps walking, trying to find any flowers that could still be alive, only to be met with black roses sprouting from the ground, the only patch of land with flowers still thriving.

She turns away before walking away from the garden, almost breaking into a run as she bursts into the palace. She looks around at the palace staff who are in their own world; they don't even acknowledge her. She searches the palace for any of the young masters, almost giving up before she runs into Wooyoung, who seems to be the only sane person in the whole palace.

"Akira," he utters, clearly surprised that the queen of Lucida is currently right here, alone.

"Where is he?" she says, already too desperate. "Where is Choi San? How could you," she says in disbelief, "pretend as if nothing had happened to my kingdom when you knew your king went and attacked mine, unprovoked?"

"We-" he looks guilty yet he doesn't know what to do. "San is-" He loses his words trying to explain to Akira that they had no idea that San had gone to Lucida, and that they're also trying to deal with their own problems to bring back their own king to reality. "You see the condition of our kingdom-"

"Your brother," she exclaims, desperate. "Is dying." She falls to the floor, kneeling in front of Wooyoung. "San- I don't know what happened to him, but he-" Her hand trembles as her fingers rake the floor, tears dropping one by one. "Seonghwa is sick. Whatever San has, he has-" she sobs, "he has transferred it to him."

Wooyoung remains speechless at Akira's revelation, his mind completely forgetting the effects the attack would have on Lucida. They were too fixated on San that they disregarded whatever happened in Lucida, only focusing on curing San. He lowers himself down, gripping Akira's arms as she cries on the floor.

"I'm sorry," is all he manages to say.

"Is there no way to bring them back?" Akira says through her tears.

"Akira."

Both of them turn their heads to see Yeosang approaching them, looking much calmer than both of them but he's frowning. He senses that the queen must have brought bad news, and he's already thinking about whether it'll be more worth it to tell her the truth. He's thinking about whether it's better to directly tell her that even though they manage to find those who are still alive in Ileara, there's no set guarantee that both of them will be cured. Not to mention that the journey into the unknown will pose more dangers that they might not be able to face.

"Akira," Yeosang crouches next to the queen, signalling to Wooyoung with his eyes to ask him to slightly move away. He takes a deep breath, and he knows- it's better to be blunt. So as Akira cries her heart out on the floor, he reveals everything, from what San had gone through to the possibility of them finding a cure to reverse the curse.

"You're saying..." she says weakly, "that the only way we can cure them is to find someone who we don't even know is still alive or not."

"Yes," Wooyoung answers as he helps her up. "We were planning to go there as soon as possible but after San went to Lucida, we're in a bind. Everyone is still trying to figure things out."

"I'll go," Akira says, trying to stop herself from trembling. "I'll do whatever it takes to find the cure to this mess."

"Are you-" Wooyoung utters, "suggesting that we go now?"

"The longer we put it off, the more we don't know how it'll turn out. I can go alone; just-" she takes in a sharp breath, "-tell me where to go."

"Akira," Wooyoung utters seriously, "I am not letting you go alone. I know that you were a soldier but you are not facing it alone. I am especially not letting my brother's wife go alone."

Yeosang says, "You are aware that you're going into an unknown, abandoned kingdom. You don't know what lies in there, or if there is even anyone alive."

Akira looks down, her eyelids fluttering as she mutters, "I'll do whatever it takes to bring them back." She gazes at them, hard. "Even if it means sacrificing myself."

---

Yunho looks down at Seonghwa's figure, his face bearing an unreadable expression. His eyes trace the anomaly on the king's body, finding it hard to even figure out where it starts nor where it ends. He's alone in the room with Seonghwa, no one else even daring to step inside as they fear the unknown. He might have tried as hard as he might to protect Akira from touching the entity that's taking over the king's body, but it doesn't mean that he's heeding the same warning on himself.

He's curious about what happened before he found both San and Seonghwa on the floor, seemingly having been grappling with each other before both of them were knocked out. Blood was everywhere; black and crimson mixed on the floor as the weapons were scattered on the floor. He saw the bow and sword Hongjoong had gifted to the couple, pretty sure that Seonghwa had brought them together with him while he was fighting his way through.

What he couldn't figure out was what happened before both of them were knocked out; there were no visible signs of any wounds on their bodies, so he's not sure whether they did injure each other. All he could see were blood yet no wounds, making him wonder whose blood they belonged to. Crimson should've been Seonghwa's... but the black blood?

If San supposedly has white while Seonghwa is crimson and the only other person in the room at that time was Akira... does that mean the queen was hurt while they were fighting?

"But she looked fine," Yunho utters to himself. "Besides the healing wounds she got from the attack in town, she was unharmed."

Yunho looks down at Seonghwa, a slight feeling of grudge coming to him again.

"Did you even try to protect her?" he says to an unconscious Seonghwa. "Or did you completely give her up?"

Yunho watches the tendrils and vines slowly slithering and pulsing as if they're alive, and he frowns. He's almost ready to pull out his sword as he gets ready for any possibility that the entity will indeed come alive, providing some enemy stronger than he could fight. He's not scared and he's decided that the longer the king is trapped in this unknown state, the longer Akira will have to suffer without him by her side.

Which means... the longer Yunho will hold on to this unsettling feeling of always blaming Seonghwa for Akira's misfortune.

"You were supposed to be the reason she finally gets to be happy after a life full of misery," he utters.

Yunho slowly raises his hand, uncurling his fist as he puts it near Seonghwa's neck, his fingers trembling with uncertainty as he mulls on what would happen if he tightens his grip around the king's neck. His hand slowly touches the latter's skin, seeing how bad his whole skin was marred, giving his appearance no less ghastly. He can't perceive his own emotions as he looks at how the king's face looks anything but peaceful, as if even through it all he has to witness something horrible.

As the corner of Yunho's mouth twitches, he wraps his fingers around the king's neck, feeling the slow pulse under his thumb. He looks over his shoulder to see whether anyone is in the doorway, but it's only him and the king; everyone else is too scared to even approach the cursed room. Gradually, he tightens his grip around his neck, seeing for any changes in the king's face.

If only you're gone.

You don't deserve the throne, if the only thing you know is how to do is to burden Akira.

Determined, he doesn't let go of his grip around Seonghwa's neck as he presses it harder, gritting his teeth as he wishes for the pulse to stop beating under his thumb. If there are no visible wounds yet the weapons that day were dirtied with their blood... that would most likely mean that bodily harm using weapons would not kill them, as their wounds would heal on their own. Is this the power of the curse, or whatever entity is coursing through Seonghwa's body?

I'll just have to kill you some other way.

Be gone quietly in your sleep, and Lucida shall flourish even without a king heading it.

Akira is capable on her own.

You shouldn't even have stepped into Lucida.

You bring misfortune to Akira, you bring misfortune to Lucida.

You don't deserve to live.

"Die," Yunho mutters under his breath as he tightens his grip, tears flowing down his eyes as he feels Seonghwa's windpipe contracting. "Die, die, die." He utters like a madman, this time both of his hands flying towards the king's neck as he puts more pressure on them, tears flowing harder.

He hates the fact how Seonghwa doesn't move even as he tightens his grip around the latter's neck, almost ready to cut off his air supply completely; he wants to see how the king struggles, his face contorting in pain. He wants to feel the power as he sees the king surrendering to him, a yellow blood who's finally able to stand up to someone of a higher rank.

That's right; feel the power Jeong Yunho. It's not the time for you to be weak, it's not the time for you to always bow to other people.

Kill him. Kill him like you've always wanted to.

This is your chance to kill him with your own hands.

Imagine all the power you can gain after he's gone.

It's not your fault, he's not a resident of Lucida anyway.

All you're doing is a favour to Akira.

That's right, you're only protecting her.

"General!" Yunho hears a shout behind him before his body is tackled to the ground, completely releasing his grip around the king's neck.

He receives a hard punch to his face before his collar is roughly yanked, and he sees Jongho's eyes bearing down upon him, anger evident. As if the bubble around him is popped, he releases a heavy breath while he feels his heart pounding against his ribcage. It is as if he has just returned to his sane mind before he looks to the bed to see the king still in his same position while Jongho has his fist near his face, as if ready to punch him again.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jongho shouts as his chest rises up and down, an unforgiving stare at him. "You were trying to kill the king."

"Get out," Yunho manages. "We need to get out of here." He pushes Jongho off of him, yanking the grip the former has on him before almost looking like he's about to throw both of them outside. Their bodies slam against the wall outside as he hastily instructs the guards, "Lock the door, lock it! Don't even think of coming near the room. Make sure no one comes in too."

"General, just what on earth is happening?" Jongho shouts at him as Yunho shakes his head.

"We need to get away first, and I'll explain everything," the general looks panicked, almost looking like he has just escaped from somewhere that brings forth horror to him.

He makes sure the guards have secured the lock on the door. Although knowing that it's probably a flimsy protection against whatever's more sinister lurking in there, he's rest assured knowing that there's at least a barrier between him and whatever that took over the Lucida king.

And whatever that almost took him over too.

"What is the meaning of this? You just tried to kill the king!" Jongho exclaims as he pushes Yunho against the wall, his arm horizontally against the general's chest. "That's treason on its own, a sin that can never be forgiven. You're the leader of the army; Akira trusted you!"

"Please," Yunho begs, "listen to me."

Gritting his teeth, Jongho lets go of Yunho but makes sure that he has his full attention on him, in case he ever decides to do something that would be out of character.

"The curse," Yunho starts, "or..." he looks troubled, "whatever that has taken over His Majesty, its powers... you can't control it."

Jongho only stares at him before scoffing. "You expect me to believe you? What, you're saying that whatever's brewing inside that room has affected you too, and you wanted to kill His Majesty because of that? I know that you admitted that you hated him, but when you said you couldn't, was all of that a lie?"

"I-"

"Her Majesty," Jongho utters, already seeing how Yunho looks disappointed in himself, "trusted you, and that was why she left everything here to you, to find how to cure her husband. She's putting everything on the line to save someone she loves because she thought she could trust you, but all I saw was you trying to kill him. Is this your idea of making sure that Her Majesty doesn't suffer anymore? To kill her husband?"

"You don't understand," the general says weakly.

"How am I supposed to understand?!" Jongho shouts, punching the wall beside Yunho, but the latter doesn't flinch. "I saw everything with my own eyes."

"The curse..." he repeats, defeated. "It makes you- it just makes you- unearth your deepest desires, and it forces you to act on your darkest ones, convincing you that what you're doing is the correct one."

Jongho shakes his head weakly. "I don't understand; is this the excuse you can come up with after breaking the trust the queen had in you?"

Yunho's tears drop as he hears Jongho saying this and he slides to the floor, his hands shaking as he looks at them. He rakes his fingers through his hair, frustrated and not believing that it was him who had tried to kill the king.

With my bare hands I tried to kill him.

The very person who makes Akira happy.

I tried to take that away from her.

"It's not me," he utters slowly, as if in pain. "It was this..." he trails off as he knows that it only sounds like he's making excuses to get out of it. He cries as he kneels in front of Jongho, "I'm the one who doesn't deserve to live," he says through tears. "I attempted to kill His Majesty because of my hatred towards someone who could rise to the throne so easily. When all my life I was chained to this destiny to live to serve others all my life. It was jealousy. I thought that I had gotten rid of every hatred but when I entered the room and saw him lying there, helpless... all I saw was an opportunity to kill him."

"General," Jongho says sullenly, eyeing the sword that Yunho had brought together.

"Why..." Yunho retorts.

"All these years and Akira still trusts you." Jongho tilts his head backwards, "She must have a reason in trusting you for all these years." He releases a deep breath.

"I don't know if you want to believe me or not," he sniffs as he shakes his head, "but I went inside the room because I wanted to see how he was doing, whether there were any changes. But everything remained the same... the entity as if it's alive, wrapping His Majesty in some kind of magic. But the longer I was in the room, I felt this itching feeling. I know," he bursts out, "I know that I said that I hated him, because he was just a stranger who managed to rise up to the throne because he's married to Akira. The feeling is there but I told you." He lets out a sharp breath, "I told you that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hate him. I always see him trying his best to make her happy even though he's suffering himself." He clutches his chest, "But the more I stayed in the room, it is as if the feeling is dug out and awakened again."

"You're saying that the curse has this effect on you... to make you act out your darkest desires," Jongho supplements. "Yet you have no control over your body when you do it."

Yunho nods. "I don't know what it's supposed to be... but it slowly took over me and I thought I was doing the right thing. The next moment I found that I tried to kill him."

"If what you're saying is entirely the truth," Jongho says carefully. "It's not your fault. The curse's effects... you couldn't fight it."

The general shakes his head, defeated. "Don't you understand what I'm trying to say?" He unsheathes his own sword, throws it on the floor near Jongho's feet and it clangs. "The curse takes out your deepest desires and makes it come alive, seemingly most of the time it's bad. That means you have that desire, it's just a matter of you trying to act on it or not."

Jongho lowers himself down, grabbing the handle of the sword as he looks at it with a neutral expression. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just kill me, Choi Jongho. Kill me, because the power the curse had over me made me realize that despite me saying that I couldn't hate him, deep down inside, I still had that desire to kill His Majesty."