Inferna (Psi)
>Chapter: Psi<
Kibum was still basking in the feeling of victory when he walked up the hallway that lead to the meadow beyond. It hadn’t been easy to convince Jonghyun of his request, but this particular matter was a personal thorn in his side.
The elder hadn’t really been keen on letting him go. Scratch that, he hadn’t wanted the spring god to go at all. However, Kibum had found a very convincing argument that had enabled him to turn the tables and leave the other baffled.
The brunet hadn’t been able to think of a counter argument and thus Kibum had announced that he would be going and that he would go alone.
“Fine,” he remembered himself saying
“Seunghwan can come”
So his last statement was proven as invalid, but this had been the only thing he had agreed to after he had told the elder that, yes, this was his fate too. His job.
His reason why he was allowed to be a part of the underworld and as such, he would attend to his duties and not count on Jonghyun to carry the heavy burdens in his stead. That was just not how Kibum worked.
He didn’t want to be dependent on someone, not after he had been sheltered like that by his own parents. The black haired deity needed to stand on his own two feet and pull through with his own strength.
And Kibum was really grateful that Jonghyun had given in with a last, unnecessary loud, sigh.
A sigh which the younger had easily ignored, too caught up in the feeling of winning over the other and getting what he wanted. The deity knew he could be stubborn - but he wouldn’t want to change that.
Seunghwan had promised to meet him at the destination. It was so much easier for her to travel the shadows as it didn’t take a toll on her at all. Jonghyun was able to travel longer distances without any of his black mares, but the further the destination, the more exhausting it would be. Kibum had gotten the hang of it pretty fast, but expanding his reach was still difficult for him. The spring deity was continuously practising, but tonight there was no time to waste.
Vanity could easily be spotted on the green meadow as he opened the big wooden door at the end of the corridor - her black frame was always a stark contrast to the colourful nature around her. Her ears perked up before she raised her head to look at him, letting out a small huff.
Kibum chuckled and beckoned her over with a wave of his hand that she easily understood and made her trot closer to him, her tail swishing.
Bridling her didn’t take long and soon enough he could push his feet into the stirrup and mount her, taking the reins in his hand and make her run for the closest shadow that would take them away.
The darkness that enveloped him had stopped bothering him a long time ago. He didn’t close his eyes anymore as soon as they entered the realm that belonged to the underworld alone and neither he nor Jonghyun had a say over.
Kibum knew that he did not have to fear anything.
It was simply a measure of cause and it got him to the well-guarded castle of Ephyra(*), with its high battlements, their large defensive wall and the many soldiers guarding the place.
It was a symbol of power to the people of the city state. A power their king was abusing.
Vanity emerged from the shadow of one of said walls, the full moon giving enough light for large shadows to be cast. She neighed as she came to a halt, Kibum’s eyes darting around in hopes of finding Seunghwan close by.
It didn’t stop him from inhaling deeply, as the crispy night air felt really refreshing to him.
Since winter passed both Jonghyun and him had been on edge, their nerves raw. Spring used to be Kibum’s favourite season, thanks to very obvious reasons, but he had also learned that spring was the season of war, when Ares and Athena reigned freely, enjoying the shenanigans of the mortals.
And war meant casualties.
It meant death.
And Ephyra was playing a major role in that. Their soldiers were barely trained. The army had lost their great fighters and due to the avarice of their current King they pulled young man from their families, handed them a piece of cheap armour and told them to go out on the battlefield and kill.
The deity knew first-hand how that ended.
Most of them had been wailing in his ears when they arrived at the river Styx where Seulgi was waiting for the young men with sad eyes.
It needed to stop.
The remaining soldiers didn’t even have time to properly bury all of their fallen mates and neither had the resources to do so as it was of no concern of their ruler.
Kibum growled in the back of his throat as he thought of the countless of souls that would never find peace.
“Young Master”, Seunghwan touched his arm with more force than he had expected. Yet, as soon as the deity rose his head to look at her he knew why.
Her whole body was tense, her face pale as she tried to catch her breath. The Erinye of anger was fighting an inner battle and only now did Kibum understand why.
“Seunghwan…”, he touched her hand that was gripping him and she calmed down a little, releasing him after another heartbeat. The sheer anger and madness that had accumulated in this place must be driving her insane. She was close to losing it and then more people would die.
It was the nature of the Erinyes. They were receptive to the emotions they punished after all.
“We need to hurry”, she breathed out and Kibum gave her a curt nod. The black haired hoped that his presence would help her. They were connected now - like Jonghyun was connected with them. It had been a very strange feeling to him, feeling their presences in the back of his mind, but he had learned how to deal with it.
Not that he had another choice. Not since he had accepted Jonghyun and the underworld fully.
Vanity had vanished back in the shadow they had come from and the two of them were left alone. They just needed to go inside the castle now, find the monarch that was causing this distress, who was not honouring his dead, and bring judgement to him.
It was easy.
So easy.
He was a deity and Seunghwan a creature of the shadows. They could just walk past the guards, enter straight through the main gate that was held open for messengers and servants to pass. The soldiers flanking said gate didn’t see them.
They didn’t even feel their presence as they passed by, Kibum’s black chiffon flapping in west wind sent by Zephyr(**). Seunghwan was right behind him, her steps a little reluctant, a little hesitant as she had to pull herself together to not lash out.
But she was doing fine.
Soldiers were rarely receptive to divine beings. Kibum couldn’t remember ever being seen by one. Jonghyun had never mentioned something like that either. There surely were some cases out there, but usually their special talent stayed unnoticed or they worked in temples. The divine places where it was something sacred and special when a mortal priest had visions of the gods.
Was an oracle.
Not all of them were true, however.
They strut inside the inner courtyard, taking a look around to assess their current situation. Torches were lit in countless braziers around the yard and some servants were running from one place to another, opening and closing the many doors that led inside the hallways and corridors of the palace.
Each door was guarded by another soldier.
But they should not pose a threat to them.
“It’s this way”, Seunghwan whispered out, not due to the fear of exposure but because of her current state
“Are you sure?”
Kibum followed her gaze to a large wooden door, with two soldiers positioned next to it.
The Erinye of anger hummed in affirmation. She could probably feel it. The anger and greed this man… this tyrant was emitting.
The spring god nodded to her and was about to walk over to the men and make them lose consciousness for a while when he stopped in his tracks, his attention averted.
There was a young boy standing next to a pillar, carrying a pitcher filled with what seemed to be wine. He must be a servant, Kibum mused, judging by his shy demeanour and his clothes. Or lack there off.
The thing that bothered the deity however, were the boy’s eyes. Dark brown, seizing him and Seunghwan up from head to toe.
He could see. And not only the slightest illusion, but see them as a whole.
The boy swallowed audibly, but Kibum just waved at him, showing him a gentle smile before he brought his finger to his lips, indicating the boy to stay quiet about this.
Luckily, out of respect or fear, the young boy nodded.
Judging by his look of utter shock, it was probably the first time he saw a divine creature in front of him. Or at least the first time that he realised that what he was seeing right now was not from his own world.
The black haired deity wanted to try his luck then.
He locked gazes with the servant again before he looked at the door with the guards. If he would let the soldiers drop unconscious, there was a chance that others might find them and alert the whole castle.
Which would result in chaos and their chance to confront the king alone would be spoiled. So this… was a safe call.
The boy nodded again, clutching the pitcher in his hand and stepped forward, walking to the door that Kibum had hinted at. The guards only looked at him for the duration of a heartbeat before they stared straight into the yard again.
The entryway stayed open, the boy waiting for the strange deity to enter the corridor after him.
And he did.
The door fell shut behind Kibum and Seunghwan.
“Thank you”, he mouthed to the boy and reach out to ruffle his hair a little. He couldn’t be much older than 11 human years maybe.
The spring god wasn’t too sure about that though, as he had never really paid that much attention to mortals and how they grew up.
There wasn’t time to dilly around like that.
The servant boy nodded again, not daring to speak and waited for the deity to give him any sign of permission to leave. Kibum chuckled a little, how easily humans could be intimidated.
These kind of mortals at least. The ones with power and wealth were arrogant, sometimes believing they could put themselves above the gods.
Like this particular one.
The boy had rushed off, not caring if the wine in the pitcher would spill over the edge or not. Soon enough, he was out of sight and the spring deity and the Erinye followed the long hallway.
In the end, they located the royal chambers at the very top of the palace, at the very back, but unguarded and with an open door.
The man must either not value his life or was sure about his soldiers taking care of any suspicious movement.
If only…
The royal chamber was lit by torches that decorated the walls. The window was open to let in the cool breeze of the night, causing the flames of the torches and the candles on the table to flicker.
The man they were searching was hunched over said table, staring at a map, moving around some figures made of wood that should probably symbolise his troops.
Finally.
Kibum took a deep breath as they entered the room fully, the west wind welcoming them with a small gust that rippled the silky curtains as well as the deity’s tunic.
Up close, the king did not look like a tyrant. He looked like a man that had seen many things in his life, good and bad, and had formed his path in this world.
But Kibum knew exactly how said path looked like.
And Sisyphus of Ephyra left dead bodies in his wake. Unburied and with no coin in their mouth to carry them over the rivers of the underworld.
Kibum knew all of the secrets that this man hid behind his mask of someone who worried for his troops, who worried for his people and only wanted the best for them.
Lies.
He knew them all.
The deity raised his eyebrows as he took in the man before him, rounding him once. He had no idea that he was here.
And what was in store for him.
That Kibum was bringing his end.
He would not waver - he had promised this to himself. He knew that he was about to end a life, burn a string of fate that the Fates themselves have not yet cut.
And he knew that it had to be this way. That it needed to be done if he wanted these killings to stop, if he wanted to stop this madness where souls kept pouring in and had nowhere to go.
It was the punishment for the king of Ephyra.
Death - and the endless pits of Tartarus.
And the Erinyes existed to carry it out, but he fully understood now why Seunghwan had asked him for help.
Support.
He touched her arm gently, trying to calm her breathing. She was close to losing it. And if she did, she would not stop with the King alone.
She would slaughter, punishing more mortals for the crime of their monarch who were innocent. Like that boy that had helped them get in.
And Seunghwan didn’t want that. It had happened countless of times before, but this time she didn’t want to bring more people down into the underworld than necessary.
“I’m okay”, she breathed out and Kibum let her go.
“Mortal”, she spoke, her voice suddenly steady, no trace left of the previous strain.
The man in front of them flinched, whipping his head around in search for the source of the voice.
“Show yourself!”, he growled and got up, abandoning his place at the table.
Oh well, Kibum mused.
He would play along this time.
The king was glaring in the direction of the window right now, assuming it must have been someone from outside.
Well, he was a little wrong.
The deity only needed to close his eyes for a moment, letting out a small breath as he made himself visible to the mortal.
And it didn’t take long for the monarch to turn on his heels, facing him with big eyes. The endless years in his position must have taught the man to be tuned to foreign presences, gazes at him. Often enough, something small as this could save your life.
The man blinked at Kibum in disbelief.
“Who are you… how did you…”
He didn’t finish any of his questions. Instead, his eyes roamed the form of the intruder, taking in the black clothes, the black hair.
The woman with her red lips that stood next to the man who had infiltrated his chamber without any of his guards’ notice.
Realisation dawned upon him.
“Do you really need to ask?”, Kibum hummed, the faintest hint of a smirk playing on his lips.
A gasp left the monarchs’ lips, his hands trembling as awareness settled in.
“Hades”
Kibum snorted at that.
“Not quite”, he hummed, shrugging his narrow shoulders
“But close enough.”
He stepped closer to the mortal in front of him, who immediately sank to his knees, eyes wide open as he tried to process what was happening. The deity however took another step closer and got into a squatting position, his arms crossed over his chest as he met the mortal’s gaze.
Fear was reflecting in them.
“That’s the same look”
The mortal made a sound of bewilderment, but didn’t dare to break their eye contact.
“The same look that your soldiers have in their eyes when they realise no one burned them like they deserved it. When they have nowhere to go, not even in the underworld”, the deity started to explain.
“The same look they have when you send them to the battlefield untrained, with a sword in hand they don’t even know how to hold”
The monarch didn’t retort. Neither admitting anything nor denying it. Kibum hoped it was because he was scared to death. Pun intended.
“Only because you’re too greedy and too angry at Athens to finally lie down your weapons and ask for a peace treaty. Because you’d rather buy your wife some pearls than tell your remaining soldiers to bury your dead men.”
He watched the monarch swallow thickly before he finally found his voice
“No. That’s not true! We can win this and then Athens will be mine. These… men are my men!”, he hissed out between gritted teeth
“This is war. There is no time to bury the dead!”
The young deity felt the anger rise in his chest. Felt it like bile coming up in his throat and he had to try really hard to swallow it back down.
“They lose their lives for you and now they are damned to wander the underworld forever”
Nowhere to go.
No place where they belonged.
“You don’t understand- “, the tyrant tried again, but Kibum wouldn’t listen any longer.
This man would deserve to be punished by all three Erinyes. Murder, Anger and Jealousy were glued to his every move, spilling more and more blood.
“You are right. I don’t”
The black haired god closed his eyes.
He felt the power that Jonghyun always told him about flowing through his veins. Felt it burn hot and searing. Felt how it flickered in rhythm with his heartbeat.
A small blue flame ignited itself in his hand, but it quickly grew into an azure coloured blaze that would not hesitate to destroy anything Kibum wanted it to.
He was still crouched down, but it didn’t really matter.
The man watched in horror as the fire had grown, the flame that would consume his life and judge him.
“No more”, the deity whispered and brought his hand to the man’s face, gripping him right above the eyes.
He didn’t scream.
There was not a single sound coming from his mouth that was hanging wide open as the fire ate him inside out.
When Kibum retreated his hand, the monarch’s body was unscathed, but the life in his eyes had dulled.
Burned out.
There was a tiny light in his palm however which he kept in his grip.
He straightened his back, looking at the Erinye that was still panting a little.
“It’s done”
“It is”, Seunghwan answered, offering him a small smile before she walked up to him and accepted the soul from her Master. She knew what to do with it and the knowledge caused a small smirk to play on her lips.
They took a last look around before they made their way back, leaving a king to rot in his own chamber.
--
Kibum couldn’t wait till he would finally be home.
He urged Vanity on, making her travel faster through the shadows, bringing them back. He knew that he didn’t need to wait for Seunghwan, she would be fine on her own.
Would probably need some time to recharge.
After she had tended to the soul that is…
But now that King Sisyphus was no more, the city state of Ephyra would finally settle again. They had a very promising prince and Kibum could only hope that he would not follow the footsteps of his father.
But for now, it was not of his concern anymore. Meddling with the mortals wasn’t really his business to begin with, but there were these times where they had to step in.
And so he had.
And now there was only one thing in his mind that he needed to take care of. Wanted to deal with immediately, as his perpetual headache had finally cleared a bit.
It would take a while till the young soldiers would stop turning up without coins, but alone the knowledge of it made him feel better.
Stronger.
At ease.
Jonghyun was not in the main hall, but he hadn’t really expected him to be. As Kibum knew him, he was probably in his chamber, brooding over something.
Worrying over him, perhaps. Or most certainly.
That was why he made his way through the hallways that led him further down, along countless of doors that he had never opened until now, and from which not even Jonghyun probably knew what was inside.
It was not important now anyway.
The only thing that mattered was his desire to see his beloved and persuade him to indulge in some private time.
And with ‘persuade’ him he actually meant seducing him.
Kibum knew that Jonghyun had no way of saying no to him anyway.
The spring god didn’t knock but opened the door without further notice. He knew that the brunet was on the other side as he had expected it, feeling his presence clearly and unmistakably.
The prospect of what was about to happen had his heart jumping in his chest in anticipation, and the way his hands quivered in the slightest way was maddeningly sweet.
Jonghyun was there, sitting on his chair, but as soon as he realised who had strutted in did he get up
“Kibum-”
Said male smirked as he grabbed the collar of his lover’s tunic, fisting it tightly before he pressed the elder against the hard surface of the wall next to the wooden door.
In a matter of seconds had he pushed his body flush against Jonghyun’s, one of his thighs located between the brunet’s, slowly and teasingly rubbing against the other’s groin with practiced ease.
His face was pressed close to the elder’s neck, taking in his unique scent that immediately caused him to hum in contentment.
It was intoxicating.
And Kibum just wanted to let go and indulge in what they had.
A single gasp left Jonghyun’s throat and then could the younger feel the other’s hands come around his waist, pulling him against the elder in a desperate movement.
The grin had never left his face, not even when his lover’s warm palms slid down his body, over his lower back and to his firm buttocks.
Not even when they squeezed his bum and all he wanted to do was let out a moan of approval.
He kept it in place.
“I think we need to make up for lost time”
Kibum dove in to devour Jonghyun’s lips.
Notes:
(*) Ephyra - a city state of Ancient Greece, later ‘Corinth’
(**) Zyphyr - the god of the west wind
A/N:
And we end it at the beginning ;) You all know what comes next~~
Also that’s it for Psi~~ which means the next chapter will be the last… Omega comes next. I can’t… really believe it.
It was really Kibum focused this time, what are your opinions, guys? I wanted to emphasise that Kibum has gotten used to his duties there and that he slowly but surely grew into his role : ) It’s important for the next part ;)
Thanks for reading!! ^^
xxx Blingdom