Author's POV

It had been less than a few days, yet it didn't take even a second for the Devil's mood to swing in a completely different direction. This time, however, the mood swings didn't feel temporary, they definitely weren't. It was as if something had come into light, from the very deep pits of darkness. Once again.

Memories buried deep down were opened up once again, similar to the box that Pandora had ended up unhinging.

Difference was, Pandora's story was known by everyone, but this one, was just known by a single entity.

Namjoon's days had been sorrow-filled, something that could be considered outright absurd, peculiar. It was concerning. Have you ever seen a Devil locked up in his room silent and with the key swallowed? His mind was constantly lost somewhere in his thoughts; it was stuck in their depth.

Sounds fake, right? It had been a rather long while since he had uttered a single word, or stepped his foot out of his room. He was too weak for that, nor had he any will for that.

He had lost his will to do anything.

These few days had been so sickening that even the fake smile on his face was too exhausted to appear like usual. Instead of roaming around to cause trouble in his free time, like he would always do. He was drowned in his study, concentrating on the growing effect of his dolls on the hopeless humanity. It was a good thing, definitely it was. He was being serious for once. It was just very unusual, he felt that too.

Things were beyond odd. But everything was a mess inside the Devil's head.

And so, to avoid the annoying lump in his throat and the aching in his chest that would make its appearance every once in a while, he found distractions, as many as possible. Distractions that were difficult and just too long. For instance, handling the kingdom affairs and the more royal stuff that was too boring to be talked about in detail.

Through this mess, Jimin was the only person who actually cared enough to thoroughly observe Namjoon's recent behaviour from behind. After all, he was a concerned friend, and it was his duty as a concerned friend to find the cause of his friend's remorse which had never arrived before, and to find out why it had arrived in the first place.

But everything made sense at the end when he heard the subtle sobs of the said Devil from the most unknown corners of the palace. It didn't matter how he did, but all of this answered why all of this happened in the first place.

Namjoon had been...Triggered.

It wasn't clear to any outsider as to what, or how, but seeing Jin's pain perhaps, opened the wounds of his own. And all these things brought back memories from centuries ago.

Memories that he had been buried deep, deep down inside his heart for so long.

And Jimin was the only one who knew what they were.

»»----------► ❍ ◄----------««

Namjoon sat in his enormous but dark chamber filled with numerous tall windows. Each one of them was covered by pale white curtains that were violently waving due to the wind entering through.

The pained howling of the violent winds echoed in the dead silence of the room. Thunder roared out in the sky filled with hollow darkness all time long. The moons hid trembling behind the enraged clouds in alarm. Sparing the weather a little, everything present there too had a gloomy glow in it.

The cold gust of wind trailed through Namjoon's silky locks, but it was all ignored by the Devil who was so lost in his own dark and dingy thoughts.

His face was pale and bony with his cheeks more dented than ever before. His jawline sharper than any knife made. His now even skinnier collar bone stood out prominently from the dark robe he was wearing.

It agitated Namjoon deep down that no matter how much he attempted to bury his emotions down and drown his broken heart in an overwhelming amount of work, the words from Jin that day would never leave his what he once thought was a sharp mind, nor his non-beating heart.

Just like many of the recent days, he stared right at the sullen clouds that contained the exact emotions he felt at the moment. His dark and hollow heart for the first time in centuries, ached. His brain looped the cruel words and the even cruller tone of the man he so dearly loved a million times, torturing his heart and soul increasingly second by second.

'I can't and won't love you back.'

The younger might have said that many times. But that night, it felt different. It felt more genuine, more painful and more serious.

It wasn't only the rejection that tore his numb heart apart. It was the look that he saw in the eyes of the man, the same look the child gave to the doll that brought him comfort for the first time in his life.

It was the loneliness of an abandoned child. The pain of a misunderstood being carrying all the pain and burden of the world at such a young age. The wrath of a thoroughly betrayed son. And the desperation of a young boy that just wanted to be loved and protected.

And perhaps deep inside his mind and his heart, the look reminded him of his own past. All the suffering he went through. The torture and abandonment he had to survive through.

He really meant it when he said that he related to the misery of the man he loved.

And due to how much Jin reminded him of his younger self, it gave birth to an urge inside him. An urge that made him want to protect Jin at all costs, even if the said male would never accept him. Perhaps it was because he didn't want his love to make the same mistakes that he did, the same way he threw himself into that pit of fire without even knowing.

Protecting Jin to him was like protecting the inner child that went lost in the agony of those flames.

Namjoon's gaze slowly drifted downwards as his shoulders sunk deeper. Thoughts raced along with the million questions that had crowded his head.

As he kept thoroughly zoning out, a timid rhythm of knocks echoed throughout the room. It took Namjoon a couple seconds to care about the events happening in his surroundings and realise that someone was waiting outside.

He sighed, and with a hollow voice he let out a "Come in".

The large door creaked open and behind it appeared Taehyung with a small tray that held on top one kettle and a teacup.

The young advisor stopped two feet away from him and bowed ninety degrees.

"What is it?" Namjoon questioned, with not a single emotion present on his face, sullenly looking out at the clouds.

"Your father, His Majesty, King Lucifer has sent this peach tea for you since you have decided not to join him today as well." He explained as he placed the tray on the coffee table near the bed with utmost care.

The Devil sighed as he lowered his head, avoiding the subtle light coming out of the windows. He was well aware of the fact that his fathers and Jimin were all awfully concerned for his state. And oddly for the first time he didn't crave that sort of attention, from anyone. Probably because he didn't want to seem weak in front of anyone. But Jimin, he had seen Namjoon in various states. Then why not him?

"Why couldn't he just send a servant in or something? I don't want to see your face," he mumbled rudely as he rubbed his head.

"Unfortunately, I was not aware, your sire. And I'm sorry you feel that way," the advisor's head and gaze were low as he was not allowed to keep eye contact with the royalty.

A loud sigh spilt out of Namjoon's tired body, peach tea was his favourite and his father was the one who got it sent.

"Give him my appreciation and tell him to not worry about me, it's nothing." He gave him the message to relay.

Taehyung nodded his head, his eyes went towards the steaming cup of tea. "I shall, your sire. Is there anything else you'd like?"

"No, you may leave," Namjoon shook his head, bringing his fingers closer to the tea cup before picking it up and taking a sip of the flavorful liquid with a hum.

"As you wish, your highness. Have a good evening." The standing male bowed with respect before turning on his heels and heading to the door.

But without the young Devil's notice, the other male paused to give him a quick glance. And perhaps, the corner of his lips may have curled upwards, slyly, before he disappeared into thin air after quietly closing the door.

Halfway after finishing the warm tea, the creature kept the cup back in its original place before getting up from his seat after hours.

Maybe if he just slept, then perhaps his problems could leave him at peace for a temporary while.

So, with a fatigued body and clouded mind, he climbed onto his dark but fluffy bed, before collapsing behind the curtains and losing himself in the warmth of the comfortable blankets.

But it will be soon when he realises that peace wasn't a thing he could ever find.

»»----------► ❍ ◄----------««

The threatening silence of the darkness was too loud. The presence of the emptiness was too suffocating. The fright inside one's head was too overwhelming. And the quivering lips of the crying boy were far from helping him calm down.

It had been a few minutes since he had finally come back to consciousness, yet the only thing he saw was darkness around him and the pain of his throbbing head was what he felt.

He didn't even know how he had ended up in this state but the last thing he remembered was running through some dark alleyway to escape the angered mobs before being hit sharply in the head by a crowbar and dropping abruptly to the cold ground.

The young boy attempted to weakly move his arms but it didn't take him long to realise that it was chained tightly, gripping onto his almost bleeding wrists that prevented him from ever escaping this silent hell. The fact that it also wrapped around the boy's legs was even worse.

Regardless of already stinging with numerous wounds, the boy fought with the last ounce of  energy left within him with the pathetic thought that he'd actually break out of the restraints of this emptiness but also the hell his life had become in just these mere years.

After so many unuseful attempts, his pants echoed around the silent abyss as he had given up. Perhaps he'd be starved to death, as if he already hadn't been facing that.

Before the unknown boy could contemplate how his death would take place in this given situation, a loud creak of a metal door opening perked the ears of the child. Some subtle mutters entered the room along with a small amount of light which was enough for the child to notice just how small and dirty the place was.

When an uninvited figure stepped inside the small prison, the boy made sure to mask any inkling of emotion that seeped out of his face. This is exactly how he learned to bottle up the torture that life kept inflicting on him.

What sounded like high heels, knocked onto the rough ground and echoed loudly to the eardrums of the young male. The light was too feeble for him to make out the face of what seemed like his kidnapper. But from the silhouette, it seemed like a woman.

"Looks like our little baby is awake," a poisonously sweet giggle chimed out of the mouth of the sickening lady. Her voice was so annoying that the child wanted to vomit despite the fact that nothing was inside his stomach.

"W-w-why am I...Here?" And for the first time in a while comprehendible yet shallow words left his flaky lips.

The lady cooed out loud at the male's vulnerable state.

'Everyone's a sadist,' thought the now silent being.

"Well love, you are here, because we want to show your beauty to the world!" The lady chimed with optimism as fake as her smile. That was an extreme level of sugar coating indeed.

The boy spoke nothing in return but decided to absorb himself between his thighs and arms as he hid his face. He knew exactly what she was talking about. It hadn't been many months since he had been violated and raped. So throwing such beautiful lies at him only spiked his not-so-old trauma.

Without waiting a single second the lady decided to emphatically command, "Come on now boys, we don't have all the time in the world. Get him dolled up and caged before the show." An unnoticed smile erupted around her red lips, "Oh my dear, you are going to please so many people." Her sinful words ended as her knocking heels finally walked out of the prison.

The said boy hadn't noticed the rough arms ghostly creeping around him, removing him from his restraints before instantly dragging him out of the dark abyss and into the mortifying light.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to put up a fight. He wanted to run away from all of this gruesome misery.

But.

He had learnt his lesson, so many times. Life had punished him enough and each time in the end whispered pathetic degrading words to him.

'You'll never escape your fate.'

'You are nothing but a slave I shall get off playing with.'

'Oh, little one, your screams fuel my desires to ruin you.'

This was his life alone treating him like a dog. And he couldn't do anything because there was no hope. Absolutely no will. He held no power against the people who used his fragile body and soul at such a young age of his.

So there he was, getting dolled up for all pedophilic men to sinfully run their sick desires over his body. He was getting restrained so that he could let them all use him one by one, over and over again.

He wanted to believe that this was a mortifying nightmare. But he wasn't dumb to not realise that nightmares don't last for years.

His heart was sorrowfully empty along with his soulless eyes as they pushed him inside the filthy cage. And to his surprise, he wasn't the only one trapped inside the small confined box-like cage. Numerous boys wailed, sobbed, screamed, and begged for freedom.

Ha! As if they would be getting that anytime soon.

The child emotionlessly scoffed at their pathetic act. But at least they still had the will to escape. To actually fight for their freedom. While he was just here, accepting everything like a coward who couldn't stand up for himself even once.

The entire area was secured by the guards surrounding them from each corner. It almost felt as if they were under a stage of some sorts. Ready to be presented to the predators that were thrilled to feast upon the bodies of young boys.

The 9-year-old child leaned his head against one of the bars of the grimy cage as he heard a voice from above, likely of the host, cheerfully chime, across the entire area through a speaker.

"Welcome, gentlemen to our 7th luxurious auction!" The boy trembled with perfume at the mention of the said event. Yes, he was aware of the situation but it sounded so obsoletely terrifying when said out loud. And soon various young boys' cages were being lined up on the stage trolley before heading upwards and being displayed above to be bought.

The boy couldn't care about anyone that cried around him. He was experiencing the same fate as them, so what was the point of even feeling bad for them when he couldn't even feel the same for himself?  But to think about it, the boy couldn't feel emotions to begin with.

He observed every person that went up with fierce eyes that soaked in everything. Everyone looked older than him. They all looked like teens around the age of 13-15, all pretty decent looking and presentable, probably so they could be sold.

But the question was, why did they decide to have a child like him that looked like nothing but a baby with wounds all over his entire body that couldn't even be covered up. And as time passed by one more question was raised.

Was he going to be the last? If so, then why?

The questions met  their answers and the boy met the hungry lurking eyes of gross, spoiled, and sadistic men that licked their lips at the sight of him.

'Pedophiles.' another thought that roamed through his messed up brain.

"And the best for the last, indeed!" The host, whose face was covered by a black mask, beamed as he pointed towards the said person who avoided all the disgusting eyes laid upon him.

"He's our youngest with such elegant beauty at just the age of 9. The best thing about him is he's the most obedient one due to his young age and the best thing is, that no matter how much you do to him, he will take everything like the good boy he is."

He could feel the countless smirks being formed in front of him with the dirty images that flooded all around.

"And the last thing that makes him stand out the most from anyone else is that the colour of his blood, is black."

The boy's eyes snapped towards the host with an expression so grave and fiery, he really could have set that douche on fire (only if that was possible). And as if his body was being controlled by someone else, he let out a painful scream before-

Everything went back to the dark abyss that he was trapped in his entire life.

»»----------► ❍ ◄----------««

Namjoon's eyes hastily ripped open as his body flew forward to him sitting on his bed. Loud horrified pants echoed around his room as beads of sweat trickled down his damp skin. His petrified eyes hurriedly wandered around the room.

Unusual was a huge understatement to describe the situation.

It was already odd that he was dreaming and the fact that it was a nightmare, that was the worst out of anything. Nothing in that dream made sense. But at the same time, it did.

However, the reason it appeared, didn't. A gasp left his mouth as he gripped onto his hair realising that this dream wasn't a dream, it was a recursion of an actual event that had happened in the past. And to add to the shock, he knew exactly whose situation this was.

Not being able to control his fright, the young Devil let out a loud scream as he roughly pulled on his not-so-smooth hair.

This wasn't possible. This couldn't be possible. Why did this happen? How did this happen?

Even the brain of an intelligent being like him could turn into an icky mess which was hard to escape out of. Just because of a million questions that tightly gripped onto every remaining corner of his mind.

It seemed that his scream had grabbed the attention of various people outside his room. Because just then he heard the annoying voice of the advisor.

"Your Highness! Are you ok there? Did something happen?" the young male's worried voice raced from behind the door.

Namjoon gritted his teeth before audibly announcing in a rather annoyed voice, "I-I'm, fine, Taehyung. Just leave me alone."

There was a light pause of hesitation before the advisor complied with his master. "As you wish, your highness."

And the male behind the door couldn't help but hide his mouth behind his palm as a sickening smile littered his thin lips, before heading towards the darkest corners of the palace.

Perhaps, it was him that held the answers to all the questions running inside the mind of the young Devil.

But how, though?

This chapter was a pain in the ass to write. But I just wanted to thank my new editor for making this so much better!!! Please check out pibee15 and her content, she's amazing! ㄟ(≧◇≦)ㄏ