Uni gave them a new surprise. "Everyone, this is Sig. He has transferred here due to some personal reasons. Please cooperate with him, and help him when you can," the teacher said. The boy waiied, and smiled at everyone, although his gaze kept straying on Rain, though Rain had not the least bit idea about that. He stayed lost in his own thoughts, his eyes unfocused and glazed most of the times. Phayu hated this, and something must have shown on his face, because Pai immediately put his hands on Phayu's shoulder and asked him to calm down. Later that day at lunch, every sense in him screamed that he should keep Rain close, as close as possible, but he could not wrap him up. Something lurked there, making it impossible for all the students to breathe free and easy. "You both go ahead and grab seats, we will get the food," Pai said, pushing Phayu towards Rain, who shuffled away, ostentatiously looking for a place to sit. The three of them exchanged a glance and then Phayu walked after Rain, who moved with no agenda, but ended up close to where Sig was sitting.

Sig jumped up, drawing Rain's attention. Phayu watched as the two said something to each other, where Rain kept shaking his head. Sig seemingly sighed, finally handing over his phone to Rain, who added something to it, then put his fingertips to Rain's shoulder and disappeared. Phayu stared at his retreating back, wanting to just end that boy when a huge BOOM!! shook the whole building and the sound of shattering glass filled the void. Everyone looked frantic, trying to figure out which direction the sound had come from. Pai and Sky ran upto Phayu, hoping he was okay. "Why wouldn't I be?" Phayu asked. "Look," Sky pointed upwards. One of the bigger and thicker branch from a giant banyan tree, just outside the campus area, seemed to have fallen on one of the glass windows, cracking it, creating a fine web.

"Phayu, where is Rain?" Sky asked, his tone distraught with worry. Phayu looked around, and Rain seemed to have completely disappeared. The three off them ran all over the place shouting and calling Rain's name and trying his phone, but they got nothing. They convened again, looking around, wondering if they had missed something, which was a ridiculous idea in itself, since they had left no place unchecked. Rain was gone, as if the very winds that had blown into destroy the premises, had taken him away. Phayu was going crazy with anger and stress, when suddenly Sig appeared in front of them, his face distorted with worry and anger.

"I think I know where Rain is," he said without preamble, making the trio of friends come to a standstill in their hunt for Rain. Before anyone could react, Pai had pinned Sig to the wall, anger radiating off him in spades. "Where is he?" he glared at the boy, his voice quivering, giving away how thin his control was at the moment. Although Sig was near choking to death and gasping for air, he knew that it was necessary to give out the information as soon as possible. Time was of the essence. "Let me go," his breath trembled out. "I will tell you everything, just that, this is not the right place for it." Pai immediately let him go, and Phayu dragged him into an empty class just outside of the canteen.

The moment they were in, Pai and Sky whirled around and pinned him with a glare. "Start from the beginning," Phayu said, his voice taut with fear and worry. Sig took a deep breath, trying to centre himself, his frustration rally coming through. Sky, Pai and Phayu watched him without giving anything away. Finally, he looked ready to talk. Although it had seemed like an indeterminate amount of time to the trio who were looking for their friend. "Start!" Phayu said, fast losing patience. "Okay, let me begin by apologising. I was supposed to get here before things got this bad," Sig said. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Sky asked. "And who the fuck are you?" Pai asked, folding his hands on his chest, trying to look intimidating.

"Look, I know what you are thinking," Sig said looking at Phayu. He had not missed the other man's glare when he had asked Rain for him number. If looks could kill, Sig would have done and dusted before he got his phone back. "I do not know Rain, not personally, and I am not here to make him fall in love with me, or anything of the sort. You can probably say that, in this case, I am someone with a similar experience. I was trapped in a cult once, and it was an extremely scary and abhorrent experience, one I would not want Rain, or anyone else, to go through. I ran away, was rescued and brought to Thailand. But news of some cults still looking for the entity called the antichrist came to our ears. And Rain was someone who I heard about repeatedly."

"This.. this.. ritual is just a myth right?" Phayu asked, desperately wanting it to be true. "I am afraid not," Sig said, shaking his head. "Cults in Korea, especially the one Rain belongs to, are particularly vicious in their dealings, luring people with dreams of great wealth and power. This whole idea is all too real to them. And the trouble comes when the ritual doesn't work. The cult I was in? They beat the life out of me when they thought that I had sabotaged the ritual. And in a way I am glad that they did. Some good Samaritans found me and took me to the hospital. The moment I could stand, I ran as fast as I could. I found out that there is an organisation that helps rehabilitate people who have escaped from such traumatic conditions. I have been looking for Rain for a while now. But I realise I am a little too late."

"What do you mean?" Sky asked, his tone mirroring the panic that Phayu and Pai were feeling. "The cult that Rain belongs to? It is headed by his uncle, a particularly cruel and sick, twisted bastard. The moment he realised that Rain is the child born under all the omens and portents that they believe in, he ensured that he got his brother and sister in-law to go back to Korea. Then he got them killed, so that he would have sole custody of Rain. After that, when they were told that the antichrist is likely to rise here, in Thailand, he sent Rain here, using his grandparents as an excuse. I am assuming that he must have found strength here, probably power from the three of you, since you are his perfect soulmates. So he must have defied his uncle, which is why his grandparents died. That's how I found him here. By the time I could reach here to warn him, it looks like they have already started draining him off, so that his uncle can absorb both his, and the antichrist's power and use it to terrorise more people." The three friends stared flabbergasted at him. Rain's uncle was the one who had made him lose everyone, just for his gain?

"His uncle got his entire family killed? And wait. What do you mean we are his soulmates?" Pai asked. "Phayu and he are in love, right? And you both are his best friends?" Sig asked. They all nodded. "And you have the tattoos?" he asked. They nodded again. "Phayu is the storm dragon, his perfect half, he who is the water dragon, and you both his guardians, the wind and sky dragons. Don't you know the prophecy?" Sig asked. The trio shook their heads. All this was just too much to digest. "The rain falls for the demon to rise, but the dragons of old, the dragons of power will rise; blue, grey, silver and white, will mingle and join, and the demon will finally pay the price. That is the prophecy. Rain's powers will be dulled during the storm, to help the demon rise, but the joint power from all of you will be his shield, and cause the demon to be buried again."

"You knew all this shit, and you show up now? What the hell were you doing till now?" Sky asked, stepping forward with his fist raised. "Sky, baby, no, not the time," Pai said, holding his boyfriend back. But the anger and fear for their friend swirled in his eyes. Sig knew very well that Pai had put his arms around Sky, not to stop him, but to ground himself. He could see the fury coiled just within control. If and when Pai erupted, it would definitely be worse than the storm predicted. "Where the fuck is Rain?" Phayu asked, his beliefs warring with his need to just run out and save his love. All he could think of was how he could possibly lose Rain because of his stupidity.

Sig pulled out his phone, and opened a map from a messaging service. "Look, according to the prophecy, there's supposed to be a wooden cabin somewhere in this area, with some kind of sacrificial table inside," he said, his finger tracing the boundaries of a shaded region. Pai grabbed the phone from him, looking down at the image on the phone and then away, mentally dissecting the map of the town in his head. "It's the forest behind the Uni," he said, conviction colouring his tone. He immediately clicked a picture of the location on his phone. He hadn't seen the cabin personally, but he knew enough about the town to know this. His craze of every kind of biking had led him the weirdest locations. "Are you coming with us?" Phayu asked, turning back at the door of the classroom. "No, this is for you, you all to do. I will only be in the way," he said. The three nodded and left.

Stepping out, they were faced with the most unnatural phenomenon they had ever seen. The wind was a tempest, whirling and sweeping everything that stood in its path, trees bent almost to half, the sky a damning grey, with thick heavy clouds that obscured all light from the sun that should have been shining at this time.

Pai pulled out his phone, trying to keep it safe from the wind that was threatening to snatch everything away. "We head west. I have not seen it, nor do I know the exact location, but I know I can find it. Do you trust me Yu?" he asked, clutching Phayu's hand. Sky did the same, knowing that they needed Phayu's faith, and his love for Rain, if they wanted to get their boy out of the danger he was in. Phayu closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they flashed with determination as he clutched Sky's hand with his other. "We will find him. We have to," he said. Pai and Sky nodded, as they hugged one last time before running into the forest.

Pai seemed to know exactly where he was going. He unerringly took the path, cutting through the shortest path he could think of, knowing that time was of the essence. Rain may have been Phayu's lover, but he was bound to Sky and Pai too. Plus, the tale of the dragons that they had heard, had cemented his belief that all of them were in this together. They were an entity, fighting against a common cause, four threads woven into a tapestry of sorts. If something happened to even one thread, the entire tapestry would unravel and leave nothing but torn threads everywhere. And he wouldn't let that happen.

However, as they went deeper into the forest, it was almost as if the whole world had changed. They could feel the oppressive darkness settling in on them, the clouds seemed heavier, and the wind picked up pace, whining and rattling through the trees, the incessant sound like the scratching like nails on a mirror, almost paralysing them with its intolerance. Sky stumbled multiple times, but with Phayu and Pai holding onto him from either side, he did not fall. The forest seemed to get bigger and more menacing as they navigated through it, not ready to stop, despite labouring breaths and harsh omens. They were hell-bent on getting to Rain as soon as was humanly possible.

But the forest did not make it easy. It was almost as if it was alive, making them turn wrong a couple of times, but they had only one target in mind. Rain. Keeping his face in their memories, his beautiful smile, his kindness, his sunshine nature, his love for food and manga, his sinful voice as he sang as Phayu strummed his guitar, they were able to overcome all obstacles that the forest presented. It was by chance that Phayu, with his sharp vision, managed to locate the cabin in the almost near darkness of their surroundings. It was a rough outhouse like structure, and the three friends ran towards it. But they immediately ran into something; a barrier that had been constructed to keep everyone away? Or for another, more sinister reason?

A/N : Next update Monday.. Off for vacation tomorrow!!