A/N - enjoy 8,359 unedited words from me uwu 💋

Shay had a long list of things she despised and it ranged from useless weapons to bothersome people. One of the things she despised the most, however, were parties like this one. She already had to sit through three royal speeches and an unnecessarily long coronation for Taehyung. Although the princess didn't remember her own coronation being this long and crowded, she just wanted to teleport to her room and hibernate on her bed for the rest of the night.

But there was a consequence for leaving and Shay knew this. She rubbed her still throbbing arm and glanced at the large bruise hidden under thick make-up.

The dress provided by the royal tailors was tight too. Shay could feel the cloth press onto her like it was a second layer of skin. It was so tight that she found it difficult to move or even breath. She groaned in her seat at the discomfort. It was almost as if the gown was made for her when she was three years younger.

Shay knew that today, Taehyung was more important than everything else — including her. He was now the Crowned Prince of Hel, their father's pride and firstborn. Despite him having left Hel long ago, all the Helians adored him and chanted his name as the crown was placed on his head. The sight of it all made the princess ball her fists.

"And now the Crowned Prince will choose a lucky lady to be his first dance partner!"

Shay rolled her eyes as she remembered her own first dance as the Crowned Princess of Hel. It was a very unpleasant experience to say the least, especially because her partner had been a noble randomly selected by King Michael. The fact that Taehyung even had the freedom of choice made her scoff loudly.

For a moment, Helian women squealed as Taehyung gazed at them. Then, he locked eyes with someone and proceeded to talk towards a women with a floral purple dress. Shay squinted her eyes and stared at the girl. She seemed familiar, almost as if she had seen this person before.

Shay shook her head and dismissed her paranoia. As soon as Taehyung started dancing with who the Helian official announced as Lady Cloud, she stood up and walked away from the throne area.

All the Helians around Shay were busy watching Taehyung's first dance. Not even one person spared the princess a glance as she squeezed herself through the sea of people. She groaned when someone stepped on her skirt and felt like it had taken centuries to make it through the crowd.

Shay sighed and pat the dust off her skirt, the ballroom music still blaring into her ears. Scoffing, she glanced around the area. Her eyes skimmed through the glistening walls until they landed on the large bar area at the side. The idea of chugging down a few glasses of her favorite drink put a smile on her face. On the way to the bar, she spotted a few members of the Great Six hanging around near the area.

Medusa was sitting in front of the counter with her back facing the princess. Similar to Taehyung, she wore a dark long sleeved snake skin patterned coat that cut off just in the middle of her waist. The snake enchantress was wearing an inner white frilly polo and tight leather pants, accompanied with tall black heels that were also snake skin patterned.

A few seats next to Medusa sat Belladonna, who had her legs crossed and was boredly petting the Venus Flytrap on her lap. Her gown was bright pink in color, matching her hair, with various flowers of all shapes and sizes dotting her puffy skirt. Thick green vines were coiled around her arms and ended around her fingers.

Shay raised an eyebrow. She could see vines crawling on top of the bar's counter and towards the shelves of drinks. As the princess sat in between the two girls, she faced Belladonna and saw her place a finger in between her lips. A gesture of silence.

A deep and frustrated sigh escaped Shay's lips before she immediately grabbed the vine on the counter and gripped it tightly. Belladonna flinched in shock. Her vine twitched and nearly knocked over the whole shelf of bottles oand glasses.

"What are you doing?," Shay hissed and eyed the barista, who looked around the inner area of the bar in confusion. The vine slipped out of her grip.

"What do you think? I'm trying to get a drink!," Belladonna huffed and crossed her arms, an evident pout on her face. Her Venus Flytrap looked up and tilted its head. "And I could have gotten away with it if you didn't stop me."

"Belladonna!," Shay stopped herself when she realized that she was raising her voice again. The princess slowly took deep breaths before she leaned her arms on the countertop. "You are fifteen! You are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages!"

"Well duh, of course I knew that!," Belladonna threw her arms into the air, her pink hair bouncing on her shoulders. "Why did you think was I trying to steal one?"

Shay opened her mouth to retort but paused when she saw Belladonna's expression turn from furious to solemn, resulting in the princess' face softening. The young girl sighed deeply and twirled her pink hair between her fingers.

"Sometimes... I wish I was older like you, Shay," Belladonna whispered. Shay could still hear the ball dance music playing in the background, a crescendo of violin notes filling her ears. "That way, people would treat me better. They wouldn't see me as a little kid, they'd see me as something more."

Something more. Shay swallowed dryly at those words and drummed her fingers on the countertop. She understood what Belladonna was going through. She too wanted to be something more.

"Be mindful of what you wish for, Belladonna."

Shay looked up and saw Animo's figure tower from behind Belladonna, his shadow consuming the little girl. He was wearing a plain black tuxedo with a dark purple tie running down his chest. His jet black hair was styled, parted to reveal his forehead.

"Youth is one of the things you can never bring back," Animo smiled and pat Belladonna's head. The little girl pouted even more. "You must enjoy it while it lasts."

"Easy for you to say old man," Medusa slurred from Shay's other side. Her face was flushed red with eyes half-mast, a drunken smirk evident on her face and white hair tied to a ponytail. "You've lived the lives of a thousand men."

"Medusa," Massimo appeared from behind Medusa with a worried expression on his face. Shay noticed that he was wearing a suit similar to Animo's, except it was silver and shinier. "I don't think you should—"

Medusa shushed Massimo before chugging down a shot of alcohol. She slammed the glass on the countertop and faced Shay. "Hey, Princess."

"What," Shay hissed with squinted eyes as Medusa slurred and demanded more shots.

"Since the Lost— Crowned Prince didn't choose me as his first partner," Medusa paused and chugged down yet another shot of alcohol. Shay glanced at the stack of empty glasses nearby. "Do you want to dance?"

"No," Shay's reply came as quick as a heartbeat.

"I can dance with you," Massimo suggested. He was sipping on a cocktail drink, a little umbrella hanging from the edge of the glass. The sight of something so tiny made Shay scoff.

Medusa stared at Massimo in dead silence for a few seconds. Shay rolled her eyes at how both Belladonna and Animo were staring in anticipation. The princess then ordered some beer before the silence was finally broken.

"Hard pass," Medusa clinked her glass against another. Massimo shrugged as of saying I tried. Shay grunted when the snake enchantress faced her again while trying to give her puppy eyes. It only looked like a snake trying to be a dog. "Are you sure you don't want to dance with me?"

Shay gritted her teeth just as her drink was placed in front of her. She nodded at the bartender as a gesture of thanks. "Medusa, I swear to Macht—"

"Sister."

Shay froze. She clutched the cocktail glass in her hand before slowly turning around. Taehyung was standing behind her, both arms crossed over his chest and a blank expression on his face. The crown was still on his head, slightly tilted over his ruffled dark hair.

"Brother," Shay squinted her eyes once more. The princess crossed her legs and took a sip of her cocktail, making sure that she was giving Taehyung a glare. She could feel the rest of the Great Six stare at her. "You have a royal coronation to attend to."

"I have more important things to do right now," Taehyung replied with a flat voice with eyes looking right at Shay. The princess stared back and continued to drink. Her brother then sighed deeply. "Shay... can we talk?"

Shay almost instinctively declined but, even though the mere sight of Taehyung made her furious to the core, a part of her was curious. So, she set down her glass and faced Animo. "Leave us."

Animo didn't say anything. Instead, he nodded in understanding and gathered the other members of the Great Six before leaving the bar area. Massimo had to drag a still sulking Medusa from her seat.

Taehyung silently took a seat next to Shay, who stared at his purple thread lined eyepatch. The prince formally ordered lemon zested beer from the smiling bartender before he faced his sister.

"I assume that Father does not know about Yeontan," Taehyung folded his hands on top of the counter and straightened his back. "Where do you keep him?"

Shay finished her drink and gestured at the bartender for a refill. She looked around and made sure that nobody was listening before she replied. "Yeontan stays at the underground catacombs of the palace. He is far too deep inside for any soldiers to find."

"I see," Taehyung paused when a mug of lemon zest beer was placed in front of him. He whispered a thank you before taking a sip of his drink. "Thank you again for taking care of him while I was gone."

"He would have liked it if you never left."

Shay's eyes widened when she realized what she had just said since those thoughts were meant to be in her head. The princess could feel Taehyung's stare bore right into her skull. Her drink then arrived and she immediately chugged it down.

"Shay, listen, I...," Taehyung trailed off and whispered a curse word under his breath. Then, he set down his mug with a soft thud. "I'm sorry."

Shay nearly choked on her cocktail. Truthfully, she expected anything but a direct apology from Taehyung. He faced her brother and saw him palming his face. The prince then ran his hand down his cheek before he released a long and seemingly apologetic sigh.

"I'm sorry," Taehyung repeated. Shay continued to stare at him, the mouth of the cocktail glass in between her lips. "I never wanted to leave you. The plan was simple. Sneak out of the palace together and steal the darkness gem from Father's chambers. Then we'd find the wonders and—"

"We?," Shay cut off Taehyung. She slammed her cocktail drink onto the countertop and nearly shattered the glass in her hands. The sound was concealed by the upbeat music in the background. "There was never a we in your plan, brother."

"Yes there was," Taehyung insisted, his hands balled to fists. Shay was annoyed at the calm and collected tone her brother possessed despite his obvious frustration. "All you had to do was follow me."

"Follow you?," Shay scoffed in disbelief and massaged her temples. She let out a sarcastic laugh as Taehyung stared at her in obvious confusion. "You don't get it, do you? I would have followed you if I was worthy enough to be by your side!"

A silence soon fell afterwards. Shay took deep breaths as she recovered from her outburst. Taehyung stared at her with a wide, his hands trembling on the bar's metal countertop. The royal siblings then felt a pair of eyes boring into their skulls so they turned around. Whistling, the bartender immediately looked away when their eyes met.

Taehyung made the first move. He exhaled through his nose and suddenly stretched out a hand, which made Shay flinch and back away immediately. The prince stared at his own hand for a moment before he retracted it.

"Did you really think," Shay spoke with a breathy voice before she paused. She felt tears form in her eyes but she angrily blinked them away. "Did you really think it was that easy?"

Shay stood up and caught the attention of some Helians standing nearby. The music was still upbeat but it was starting to fade. Taehyung's eyes never left her figure.

"I am not Father's firstborn nor am I his pride or heir to the throne. Instead, I am a shadow of what the whole kingdom believes to be greatness," Shay's jaw clenched as she whispered sharply. Her fists trembled as her eyes turned glassy. "And because of that, I made it my everyday mission to prove myself to him and to you."

Taehyung didn't say anything. Instead, he was staring back at Shay with a mixture of emotions. He swung his arm and nearly slapped his mug off the countertop.

"But you won," Shay hissed and flinched at the memory of all the punishments King Michael had given her. "Every single time we were told to spar, you made sure to win."

Shay stumbled backwards and nearly tripped on her own skirt. She took deep breaths and felt heat rush to her face. Taehyung stood up as well and stepped towards her. It was then she noticed that a lot of Helians were staring at them.

"I was punished by Father every day," Shay lowered her voice out of instinct. She felt the fresh bruises on her arms throb once more. "Because of you."

"Shay," Taehyung finally spoke after a solid minute of painstaking silence. He seemed confused, as if he was unsure of what to do or say. "I... I never wanted to be a part of this... this contest. That was all you and father."

Shay's eyes twitched at Taehyung's words. She then let out a low yet very sarcastic laugh that made her brother stare at her silently. Almost instantly, the princess' expression shifted to one of extreme fury as she stepped forward with big steps. Her eyes were wild with the veins of her arms popping.

"Don't. You. Dare," Shay snapped, venom dripping from her voice. She looked around to see if Helians were still watching. Only some of them were now. "Listen. Say what you want about me but do not think for even one second that you are not just as big of a player here."

Taehyung's lips curled downwards and formed a frown, his eyebrows creasing together. "What do you mean?"

Shay barely stopped herself from giving Taehyung a punch across the face. Instead, she took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. "You were always... always just as hungry. You can say you hated it but you hated losing too."

The bruises on Shay's arms stung again. She rubbed on them and flinched once more at the memories of her daily punishments. Taehyung was still staring at her silently.

"And it didn't matter what you did to avoid it," Shay's lips trembled again as she spoke through gritted teeth. A single hot tear streamed down her face as her whole body trembled. "You just charged forward and never looked back."

Another silence came but it was much more painful than the first. Shay took deep breaths and watched Taehyung, who stared back at her wordlessly. Then, he started to whisper curses under his breath and ran both hands down his hair. He seemed frustrated, angry even.

"You just... go forward with your plans and can't be bothered to let anyone in on them," Shay trailed off and swallowed a cry. Now she could feel the tears streaming down her face. Her next words came in a whisper. "So I had to make you look somehow."

"You... you never had to," Taehyung paused and stared at Shay's crying figure for a moment. He looked away. "It was my fault for not looking."

Shay should have been angry at Taehyung, at least that was what she expected from herself. But instead, she felt tired, as if whatever energy left had been sucked out of her body. She couldn't scream back or cry any more. Instead, she stared at her brother in an awkward yet comfortable silence. After a moment, the princess walked towards her seat and back down to rub her temples.

"We're idiots," Taehyung spoke suddenly with a soft tone. He was seated next to Shay now and was staring at the ground. "Two people chasing each other, round and round like ships circling in the air."

Taehyung turned towards Shay, who silently used her fingers to wipe away the tears on her face. She expected anything really, even the possibility of being screamed at by her older brother. Instead, she felt a hand in hers.

Shay's eyes widened when she realized that Taehyung had used both hands to grab one of her own. She instinctively attempted to pull away but was stopped when the grip on her tightened, as if he was telling him that it was okay and that there was no need for her to let go.

And although Shay trembled at the touch, she didn't let go.

"Shay," Taehyung whispered slowly, his deep voice rumbling. He caressed the top of Shay's hand gently, which made the princess shiver slightly. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you."

Taehyung opened his mouth to say something but he stops himself before he could do so. He seemed to consider his words for a while before he looked at Shay with shining eyes. The princess stared back and wondered if the remorse she saw in his purple orbs were real.

"And I'm sorry that I don't have it in me to fully promise anything yet," Taehyung breathed. Shay noticed that his hands trembled even more than hers. "But... there is no need to follow me any longer. Forge your own path and take it."

Shay closed her eyes. She felt herself hold on tighter, as if she was desperately holding on to a far away dream. Taehyung was still staring at her, his gaze boring into her skull. The princess only snapped her eyes open when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders.

Due to Shay's instincts, she nearly punched Taehyung in the face. It took her a few seconds to realize what had just happened. Her brother had an arm around her shoulder with his fingers brushing against her skin. He was staring ahead, his lips pursed into a thin line.

Shay had conflicted emotions and it almost seemed like two voices were whispering in her head. The first voice told her to loosen herself from Taehyung's grip immediately and that the slightest of touch from anyone would only cause pain. The second voice told the princess otherwise. She was given the possibility that maybe just this once, something good will come out of it.

And although Shay was unsure of her decision, she found herself leaning towards Taehyung. She gently placed her head at the crook of her older brother's neck and felt the soft silk of his coat brush against her cheeks. The thought of being pushed away made her clench her teeth.

Contrary to Shay's expectations, Taehyung pulled her closer and tightened his grip. He leaned forward and softly kissed the top of her head.

The silence continued but this time, it was comforting. The Bristene siblings stayed in that position, relished each other's presence and ignored the Helian official calling for their names in the background.

Shay smiled.

-

You were currently in the underground catacombs of Hel. Seated at the edge of the boat, you stared at your own reflection in the water and felt conflicted about what to think. First, there was Taehyung. Everything about him was complex and this was proven by your encounter with him in the ball.

Although you hated to admit it, seeing Taehyung in formal attire made you feel a lot of things. Despite all the anger you felt towards the darkness gem bearer, the way he held and gazed at you with his burning eyes made you feel flustered. For a moment, you reminisced. It was almost as if you could feel his hand on your waist and hot breath fanning your cheeks.

You sighed and fished the letter out of your pocket. Taehyung wanted you to trust him. Although you loved the possibility of him being on the wonders' side, you still couldn't bring yourself to trust him fully. In the back of your mind, you couldn't help but feel like the Crowned Prince of Hel would end up stabbing everyone in the back again.

Still, you thought about everything Taehyung did before his betrayal. You again remembered when the two of you were on the deck and gazed at the stars as you he held your hand in a tight grip. You remembered him telling you about his human mother and when he almost kissed you back in Aarde.

You shook those thoughts away and stared at your reflection in the water once more. Running your hands through your silver hair, you sighed loudly.

"You okay there, Cloud?"

You turned around and saw Yoongi standing behind you with a small smirk. His arms were crossed over his chest, head tilted and Holly perched on his shoulders. The others were gathered behind the fire gem bearer in a circular formation.

"I'm... fine, I guess. Just thinking about some stuff," You leaned backwards a bit and swung your feet as Yoongi sat next to you. "Are they still trying to figure out the riddle?"

Yoongi replied after Holly crawled onto his lap and curled into a ball. He shrugged and pet his little dragon. "I felt like I've taken my brain out of my skull and squeezed it into a juicer but I still got nothing. None of us do. You?"

You thought about the riddle for a while and repeated it in your head as you drew circles in the water with the tip of your shoes. At the end of the earth's moon cycle, the darkness will come. But there is crack of light in the east. Wrench it open before then.

"Sadly, I have no clue," You sighed and swung your feet, making drops of water fling across. "Why didn't he just flat out tell me what he wanted us to do?"

"I'm sure we both know the answer to that," Yoongi let out a sarcastic chuckle. He extended a hand. "Hey, could I see the letter for a minute?"

You wordlessly handed Yoongi the letter and watched as he silently scanned through it. The fire gem bearer exhaled through his nose before he folded the letter in half. "That night when you saw Taehyung and Shay—"

"Cloud," Yoongi cut you off before you could finish. He gave you another small smile as he tilted his head, grey fringe swaying to the side a bit as he did so. "It's okay. You don't have to keep apologizing for it."

You opened your mouth to say something but paused when you fell into deep thought. It was a definite fact that things would have been different if you had listened to Yoongi but now there was nothing you could do. You glanced at the fire gem bearer and saw him petting a sleepy Holly with a wide gummy smile spread across his face.

"Do you think Taehyung is telling the truth?," You asked Yoongi, who flicked his eyes towards you at the question.

Yoongi shrugged and released a small nyeh sound. Holly purred slightly against his palm. "I don't know... but it would be really neat if he was."

A silence then fell. You stared at the water as Yoongi did the same, the tips of your shoes creating small trickles in the river. After a while, you could see the fire gem bearer's reflection turn as he glanced at you, which made you smile to yourself a bit.

"Say, Cloud," Yoongi spoke softly. You raised your head and turned to meet his triangular eyes. "What's with the sudden powers?"

You stared at Yoongi for a bit and thought about his words. This made you glance at your hands as you recalled the abilities you had back in the ball. You weren't sure if there really was purple mist swirling around your fingers or if it was just your eyes playing tricks.

"I... honestly thought it was sudden too," You spoke slowly and placed your hands on your lap, fingers digging into the skin of your thighs. "But I did have this weird... vision the night before the ball."

Yoongi didn't say anything. At first, you thought he had left or he wasn't interested enough to listen. Thankfully, you turned around and saw the fire gem bearer staring back at you curiously. Holly was still laying on his lap but its eyes were open and directed at you.

"What did you see?," Yoongi straightened his mouth into a thin line and he reminded you of a water Pokémon you couldn't remember the name of.

You pondered about it for a moment. Craning your neck and staring at the dark ceiling above, you recalled the vivid images of vision. "It was all so real. I was on a hill and was standing in front of the entrance of this... building. It looked like a church? But not quite."

Eyes closed, you paused as the image flashed in your mind once more. You could still feel the cold breeze fanning your cheeks and the rocky ground crunching against the soles of your shoes. However, the building itself was a blur and you could only see its golden exterior. A tarpaulin had been hanging over the entrance but again, it was too blurry for you to see.

"Then I wandered inside," You felt chills run down your spine as you saw yourself step into the unknown building. "And I saw a mirror."

You clenched your teeth and again felt the disturbing aura you had gotten when you first saw the vision. Then you felt Yoongi rub your shoulder. You turned towards him and laughed a bit at how he was avoiding eye contact.

"Besides myself, what I saw in the reflection was bizarre," You paused and collected your thoughts with hands unconsciously balling to fists. "There were people. Men and women, all with silver hair. They were all looking at me. It was like they were telling me that I didn't belong there. I turned around and—"

You paused and felt your teeth chatter as you remembered it all. The dread had consumed you and it made you freeze in the spot. The golden ceiling and walls were no longer bright but replaced with chipped paint, dust bunnies and cobwebs. Everything was dark and deadly which made your whole body tremble.

"They were all gone," You inhaled sharply and felt Yoongi's grip on your shoulder tighten. "What replaced them were layers and layers of— of bones. There were skeletons everywhere."

You vividly remembered walking across the tombs of death and could hear the bones crunch under your feet. The very thought of it made another chill run down your spine.

"A shadow appeared and it consumed me. I— I heard myself scream," You swallowed dryly. Yoongi was staring at you now with a concerned expression. "Then— Then I saw my parents... At least, I think they were my parents."

"Your parents?," Yoongi asked with a venomous voice. You could tell by his expression that he didn't mean to say it so harshly.

You nodded as you smiled at the memory, the only part of the dream that didn't make you feel so disturbed. "They were both kneeling down in front of me. My mother had beautiful silver hair. My father was standing behind her but I couldn't see him that much. They were crying. They were talking to me. Then I woke up and—"

Sighing, you glanced down at your hands. You stared at your palms for a moment and thought about the image of your mother. Remembering what Kiana said, you realized that your mother could have possibly been a former guardian. However, you didn't think about it that much.

"It felt like something inside me had burst," You tried to summon purple mist over your palm but failed. You smlighed. "And suddenly... I had these powers."

A silence came. You stared at Yoongi,  who silently slipped his hand away from your shoulder and started to pet Holly again. The fire gem bearer licked his lips slowly, as if he was carefully thinking of what to say next. You waited patiently for his response — if he had any.

"I'll be honest," Yoongi finally spoke. He puffed his cheeks and scratched them. "Most of the things you said went right through my head."

Despite how awkward that sounded, you couldn't help but laugh out loud at Yoongi's words. He chuckled as well and you realized how deep his voice actually was.

"On a serious note," Yoongi cleared his throat. Holly purred on his lap. "I think what you're feeling right now is similar to what we all felt when we first unlocked our powers."

Yoongi stared at his hand for a moment before he spread it open. A flame in the shape of a dragon formed over his palm, its little wings flapping. Holly turned its gaze towards it. You could feel the fire's heat hit your face despite the distance.

"Sky... you're one of the strongest people I know," Yoongi extinguished the flame on his palm and turned towards you. There was a small smile on his face. "Whatever hidden powers or secrets you have within you... You shouldn't be afraid of them."

You stared at Yoongi with wide eyes and took a few seconds to process his words. When you finally did, gratitude overcame you and you couldn't help but engulf the fire gem bearer in a big hug. You felt him stiffen at the sudden action as Holly merely adjusted its position on his lap.

"Thank you, Yoongi," You spoke into Yoongi's shoulder with a big smile.

For a few seconds, Yoongi didn't react and only had his hands hovering in the air. He then returned the hug as you felt his hands squeeze your back in a secure grip. "Anything for you."

Not even a minute passed before you felt something vibrate in your pocket. Confused, you pulled away from Yoongi and fished the object out of your pocket. You stared at the circular item in your hand and watched as it beeped in a pattern, a small purple light fading in and out in the middle of it.

"What's that?," Yoongi glared at the object. Holly was still asleep on his lap.

It took you a while to actually remember what you were looking at. You finally did after the light faded and it stopped beeping. Ah. "I found this in Taehyung's room. It's some kind of log recorder thi—"

You were hit with a sudden realization. Eyes wide, you stared at the log recorder as a lightbulb lit over your head.

"What? What is it?," Yoongi asked a bit too quickly with eyes shifting from your face to the log recorder in your hand.

"Taehyung's logs," You said slowly as a grin slowly grew on your face. Yoongi stared at you with a raised eyebrow as you hopped to your feet. "Yoongi, Taehyung's logs!"

"I don't understand what you're trying to—"

"He's been recording logs since way back and it's possible that he filmed some before he left Vrede!," You spoke excitedly and clutched Taehyung's log recorder. Yoongi was still staring at you in confusion. "Come on!"

Yoongi, despite him being utterly confused, tailed behind you as you sprinted to the team, who were seated in the boat with a circular formation. You basically dove in between Emily and Jin, which made both of them squeal loudly in shock.

Namjoon questioned your excitement so you carefully explained what you saw in Taehyung's room besides the maps and letter. You raised your hand that held the log recorder as everyone's eyes darted towards it.

"So what you're saying is," Namjoon trailed off as he politely asked for the log recorder. He stared it for a moment and stroked his protruded chin. "You think that there will be hints of the answer to Taehyung's riddle in his logs?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," You nodded and felt Yoongi sit down next to you.

"I didn't even know that Tae recorded logs," Jungkook mumbled himself, disappointment dripping from his voice. The little wings on his head suddenly appeared from his blonde hair and flapped.

"Oh, oh! Can I see?," Jimin said excitedly and reached for the log recorder in Namjoon's hand. This caused their fingers to brush, which lead to both of them freezing. Hoseok sighed loudly from next to the thunder gem bearer. "S-Sorry."

Namjoon didn't reply. His expression was stoic as he stared right at Jimin, who was doing everything he can to avoid eye contact. Then, the earth gem bearer sighed and grabbed his hand gently.

Jimin froze again. He looked down at his hand then up at Namjoon, who was looking away with flushed cheeks. There was a silence. A very awkward silence. You watched in anticipation as the thunder gem bearer's fingers twitched.

However, when Jimin noticed that everyone was staring at him, he immediately slipped his hand out of Namjoon's grip. The earth gem bearer wore an expression of sorrow as he silently passed him the log recorder.

Jimin quickly glanced at Namjoon before facing the others. A bright smile spread across his face but everyone could see through it. "I— I've never seen something like this before— Whoa!"

When Jimin randomly pressed a button, a holographic screen appeared over the log recorder. You stared at the screen of numbers and wondered why a log had played automatically when you first opened it.

"It's a menu screen?," Hoseok guessed as he tapped his goggles. You already expected him to be right.

Jungkook carefully took the log recorder from Jimin and stared at the screen. He then pressed a series of buttons as he whispered to himself. A loading symbol appeared on the screen before it was replaced by a list of numbers, no, a list of logs.

With squinted eyes, Jungkook swiped his fingers upwards. You watched as the list of logs moved, the bright blue color of the screen making your eyes ache. The angel then pressed a button, which froze the list and highlighted one of the logs. Log number forty two.

"The date of this log," Jungkook whispered with wide eyes. "This was... the day I saw Taehyung in Vlam."

"Which means he recorded logs even before he left Vrede," Emily mused. She faced you with a proud smile. "Just like what you said."

Namjoon raised a brow and stroked his protruded chin once again. "Since we don't have time to watch all those logs, we have to figure out which ones have the clues we need—"

"Log number forty two."

Hearing Taehyung's voice, you turned around and saw that Jungkook had played the log. The angel pressed a button and another screen appeared behind the one facing him, giving you and the people around you a better view.

You stared at Taehyung's face. The first thing you noticed was that he was a lot younger in this log. He was just staring at the camera silently and was wearing a long dark coat with its hood nearly concealing his entire face. Behind him was the background of a ship's deck. You could heard the waves splashing. Yoongi looked away, looking nauseous.

"I'm in one of Vlam's ships, on the way to Aarde to meet Mathilde," Taehyung spoke softly and shifted his gaze to the ground. A few seconds passed before he continued to speak. "I... met Kook in the heart of the city."

You faced Jungkook, who was staring at the screen with wide eyes and a slightly ajar mouth.

"He followed me, that idiot. Why can't he think of himself first?," Taehyung let chuckled with a small smirk on his face. The smile soon faded. "He... wanted to come with me."

A pause. You could feel the tension in the air thicken. You glanced at Emily, who gestured at a very focused Jungkook. The angel's eyes were basically glued to the holographic screen.

"He's so stupid. If only he knew how much I—," Taehyung sighed loudly and ran both hands down his face. Jungkook's already round eyes widened even more. "But... traveling across an unfamiliar planet would be too dangerous for him, for anyone. It would be best for him to stay in Hemel, where he's safe."

Taehyung's words definitely pulled at your heartstrings, especially because Kiana had already told you their story. You faced Jungkook and saw that his baby blue eyes were now glassy, hands trembling as he held up the log recorder.

You faced the screen again. Taehyung was staring at his ring and at the darkness gem, which was glowing a bright purple. He summoned mist around his hand but it sparked and faded in an instant. He sighed.

"I must remember my mission. If I fail... Rather, I cannot afford to fail," Taehyung trailed off and shut his eyes tightly. When he opened them, they were glowing as bright as his gem. "Log end."

A short buzz. Taehyung disappeared from the screen and was replaced by the list of logs. Another silence fell. Everyone was looking at Jungkook, who had his eyes shut and was obviously stopping his tears from falling.

"Jungkookie," Jimin whispered from next to the Hemelian, his voice dripping with worry.

Jungkook shook his head and inhaled sharply. His eyes were still glassy but his expression was more stern. "We need to look at the other logs."

"Look at the first two," You faced Hoseok, just as everyone else did. The air gem bearer's goggles were placed on top of his head, strands of brown hair sticking out all over the place. "I've made logs before. The first two are always the most crucial and contain the most information. Maybe it's the same for Taehyung."

You were stunned a bit when Jungkook glanced at you, as if he was asking for your approval for some reason. The angel only checked the bottom of the list after you shrugged in response. You glanced at the dates of the first two logs and gasped a bit at how long ago they had been recorded.

Jungkook's hands trembled and he finally pushed the button after a few seconds of delay. The screen buzzed before Taehyung came to view once again. You gasped at his young face and thin limbs. His cheeks were round and eyes doe. The structure of his face screamed of youth but he was drained of any kind of innocence. It looked like he was barely ten in the video.

"Hello, Mother," Taehyung's voice was squeaky and high-pitched, which was ironic because of how deep it was now. "I think there is a reason why you told me to look for this before you—"

Taehyung paused. His young eyes welled up with tears but he furiously blinked them away. Now you noticed that there were casts wrapped around his arms and neck. You felt your chest tighten in horror.

"Hey, Mother," Taehyung put on a fake smile. He bent down out and you heard rustling from out of the camera's view. The young prince of Hel pulled out a demon doll — a very familiar one at dad. "Remember Sooshim-ie? He says he misses you. He says that he wants to see you."

Taehyung paused. Sorrow filled his eyes as he sat the doll in front of the camera, its beady eyes staring right at you. The screen buzzed in the silence.

"Why did you leave us, Mother?," Taehyung's voice cracked as his lips trembled. His tears were running free. "Why did you leave me and little sis with— with Father? Why— Why didn't you—"

The ten year old Taehyung cried for a few seconds but he was obviously trying to hold in his sobs. You placed a hand over your mouth and felt tears well up in your own eyes as you watched. Jungkook couldn't even look at the screen.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of a door slamming from the video. Taehyung whispered something under his breath before the log ended.

Nobody said anything for a few seconds. Then, Jungkook pressed a button and the next log played.

Taehyung appeared on the screen once again. He was wearing the same clothes and was in the same room but everything else about him was... different. His formerly lively eyes were cold and empty as he gazed into the camera. The expression he had was like a blank canvas — void of any emotions.

You noticed that Taehyung's cheek was bruised with a horrible purple color and that there was a small cut on his lip. Sooshim-ie the demon doll was sitting next to him with a missing head, balls of stuffing laying next to the body.

"Is it true, Mother?," Taehyung's voice was flat, his eyes fixated to the ground. "Are humans like you weak?"

Another silence. You glanced at the others, at the humans of the team. None of them seemed to have been affected by his words but Yoongi did have his jaw clenched angrily. Namjoon's arm veins were popping since he was balling his fists hard.

"Father is planning something," Taehyung reached out a trembling hand and gathered the doll's stuffing into a pile. His expression stayed the same. "He said that in a decade's time, when the twin moons of Vrede are once again aligned, darkness will come."

Everyone doubled their attention on the screen. You saw Hoseok and Namjoon repeating the words to themselves. Honestly, you were more focused on the broken boy in the log.

"I don't know what that means yet but I will do everything I can to stop him," Taehyung raised his hand to the screen. You noticed that the ring containing the darkness gem wasn't on his finger. "...Log end."

The screen buzzed and faded into blue. For a moment, nobody said anything. You were slowly suffocated by the heavy tension in the silence. Jungkook made the first sound by shutting down the log recorder. He passed it to you and you quietly placed it back in your pocket.

Jungkook's face said it all — he was going to talk to you and Kiana about what he saw later on.

"Taehyung said that in a decade's time, when the twin moons of Vrede align, darkness will come," Hoseok thankfully shattered the silence. His mouth formed a pout as he fell into deep thought. "I think that's connected to the riddle?"

"The riddle stated that darkness will come at the end of the earth's moon cycle...," Namjoon trailed off as he furrowed his eyebrows, chin protruded once again.

"Isn't that a solar eclipse?," Everyone turned towards Jin, who was ruffling his own blonde hair with an eye closed. "I watched this documentary about the Earth's moon cycle. It begins with a lunar eclipse and ends with a solar eclipse."

"But what does a solar eclipse and the alignment of Vrede's moons have in common?," Emily questioned to you. You wanted to contribute to the conversation but were too stunned by the logs to speak.

"Astrological maps."

You turned around upon hearing the foreign. Just across you, on LOONA's boat, stood a girl with tied dark hair and piercing purple eyes. She had a white dove mask strapped over her face, its bright feathers folded down to her cheeks. Haseul — you remembered Olivia mention.

"Here in Vrede, one of the ways to read time is through the stars," Haseul had a scroll in her hands and you weren't sure why you didn't see it. Next to her was another girl with a cat mask who also had a scroll — Hyunjin, as you recalled. "We have astrological maps courtesy of Bliksem."

Jimin's ears perked at the mention of his kingdom. He took Haseul's scroll and unrolled it to reveal a blue map dotted with stars and constellations, along with circles of different shapes and sizes. Numbers were written down over the circles. The never ending lines connecting them all made your head ache.

"This is a map of the Earth's moon cycle?," Yoongi's words stunned you all. He traced the circular lines with his fingers as Holly watched with a tilted. "These numbers are dates, right?"

"Yes, they are," Hoseok said with a surprised tone. He raised a brow and smirked. "How did you know that?"

Yoongi shrugged and pet Holly. He mumbled. "I was bored and snuck into this random dude's house one night in Daegu. He was watching this boring old documentary about stars and astrological maps. The thing was hours long."

"You remember the weirdest things."

"Again, I was bored."

"Isn't anyone going to comment on how Yoongi snuck into someone's house and stayed there for hours unnoticed?"

"We're getting off-topic," Jungkook's sharp tone instantly silenced everyone. He unrolled the map from Hyunjin before his eyes widened. "Jimin, come here."

Jimin wobbled next to Jungkook and showed him the map. You stared silently as the angel's expression shifted from one of focus to shock. Then, a big bunny smile spread across his face. "I knew it. The dates of the next solar eclipse and the moon alignments are the same."

"The same?," You spoke finally and actually felt that your throat was dry. This made you release a cough. "You mean they're happening on the same day?"

Jungkook nodded before he squinted his baby blue eyes. "Which is exactly in... twelve days."

"Okay. So Taehyung said that when it happens, darkness will come," Jin's thick lips formed into a pout as he thought deeply about it, his mouth slanted. He snapped his fingers after a while and smiled. "I got it! In twelve days, the King of Hel will be attacking both planets!"

"You sound way too enthusiastic," Emily laughed at the way Jin's eyes sparkled.

"We've got twelve days to defeat Taehyung's daddy?," Everyone faced Jimin due to his weird choice of words. Someone fake-barfed. "I meant father—"

"On a serious note," Jungkook sighed. He was a lot more serious than he usually was. "We've got the first part of the riddle. We just need to figure out what the heck a crack of light in the east means."

Everyone started throwing around theories and even the LOONA girls joined in. On the other hand, you tried your best to temporarily forget the contents of Taehyung's logs by repeating his riddle over and over again in your head. A crack of light in the east. East?

Bingo.

Your eyes widened as you were hit with a sudden realization. Since you suddenly felt smart, you couldn't help but smile. "Hel has four districts, right Jungkook?"

Jungkook stared at you for a bit before he nodded. Everyone else turned towards your direction. You heard Holly snap its jaws together.

"District Drie is located at the east of the royal palace, if I remember correctly," You spoke slowly, not wanting to make a fool out of yourself. The LOONA girls nodded in agreement. "Which means... Taehyung probably wants us to go there?"

"So what's the crack of light?," Jin asked with a tilted head.

A silence. You thought about it for a moment. It seemed impossible for Taehyung to be implying such a thing. But with all the circumstances now, anything was possible. "Hope. I think the crack of light is hope."

You heard someone scoff but couldn't tell if it was Yoongi or Jungkook. Maybe even both.

"I think you're right, Sky," Namjoon responded immediately with a dimpled smile. Jimin was glancing at him secretly through the corners of his eyes. "Haseul, what exactly is District Drie like?"

Haseul collected her thoughts. She pulled off her mask and revealed a smooth and pale face. "Hel's best mechanics and engineers are from Drie. In other words, they specialize in developing gadgets and weapons."

"Making a deadly weapon maybe?," Hoseok spoke blankly then his eyes widened at his own words. "Wait a minute, I might actually be right."

"I hope you're not," Jimin shuddered. "But you always are."

"Then it's settled," Namjoon held his knees and stood up, the wooden boat creaking below his feet. The way his tall figure stood proudly gave him the utmost aura as the team's leader. "Our next destination is District Drie and our final mission... is to stop the attack and defeat the King of Hel once and for all."

Final mission. Somehow, those words saddened you. No matter how much pain and sorrow you've felt due to it, you didn't your adventures with the team to end. But, just like every story, you knew that an end was inevitable.

So you told yourself to enjoy the ride while it lasted.

-

A/N - do you guys understand why tae returned to shay now lol also full credits to hotricebowl for writing the dialogue between tae and shay!!! it wouldn't have been as emotional if it wasn't for her uwu

so with this I realized this book is almost done..... it's down to the final mission..... but there are still more things to reveal ohoho so better make sure to use mighty bond on dem wigs!

so yeah lots o' angst in this chap goddamn tae plus a MAJOR clue about the origin of the guardians in this chap! can anyone decipher sky's dream?

Lastly! One question before I end this note — Which character, in your opinion, has the best development in terms of personality? (Aka who has the best character development) I'm curious to see the answers hehe

Anyways pls anticipate the bomb ending I already have in mind and lots of big reveals! Goodnight!

He wildin' a true dom bye