From the Soul to the Song - Verse Thirty Four
From the Soul to the Song
Book One: Melody of the Ensouled
Verse Thirty Four
The first sense to return was his sense of smell. Sweetness tickled his nose, the scent of sun warmed grass and life that he couldn’t quite describe. Sound was next, the soft flutter of fabric in the breeze accompanied by the rustle of long grass. The sense of touch followed almost immediately as he felt the breeze dance across his skin. His eyes fluttered open and he sighed as he came into full wakefulness.
It was quiet, not in an audible way, but in a way that only he could understand. There were no Songs clamoring to be heard, just sweet relaxing silence. His eyes drifted shut again before they really took in their surroundings. Wherever he was lying, it was incredibly comfortable and if it was what death felt like he was certainly going to enjoy it.
It took a minute for the feeling of fingers combing through his hair to register with his brain but when it did his eyes snapped open and he whipped his head to the side. Ryeowook sat beside him smiling gently. Yesung sat up quickly, tears filling his eyes, “I’m sorry Ryeowook. I didn’t mean to…” he trailed off, unable to complete the statement.
“Shh,” Ryeowook hushed him. “If we really are dead you know I don’t mind. We defeated Keiran that is all that matters. Besides, I don’t really think we are dead.”
Yesung reached out and traced the symbol of their element beside Ryeowook’s right eye. “Why do you say that?”
Ryeowook shrugged, “I’m hungry and I don’t think you get hungry if you are dead. That, and this note.” He held up a piece of paper which had two sentences on it. You are not dead. When you are ready ring the bell.
“Ready for what?” Yesung asked. Ryeowook shrugged again. He set the piece of paper on the small table beside a tiny silver bell.
“I don’t know but it is peaceful here. I like it,” Ryeowook replied and he smiled then, completely relaxed.
Yesung took a minute to take in their surrounds. It seemed as though someone had taken a huge comfortable bed, placed a canopy over the top with semi-see through fabric hanging down to the ground and enclosing them. All around them as far as he could see, was a sea of grass, lightly waving in the wind. The afternoon sun streamed down on it all giving it a warm and comfortable feel.
Despite the wonder of their surroundings Yesung trained his eyes on the true wonder, Ryeowook. The other man was sitting just in front of him, seemingly peaceful. He wore a loose shirt that was more of a tunic then a shirt, and loose pants both in matching white. Along the bottom edges and both of the sleeves silver stitching danced in intricate patterns. Yesung was fairly certain he was dressed in matching clothing but he didn’t take the time to inspect it.
His thumb ran over the symbol on Ryeowook’s face once more and Ryeowook leaned into his touch. “How are we not fused?” he asked softly as if talking about it would change it.
“I don’t know,” Ryeowook replied.
“Come here,” Yesung beckoned opening his arms. Ryeowook smiled and climbed fully onto the bed. He settled onto Yesung’s lap, straddling his legs and facing him. Yesung’s arms immediately wrapped around him, tucking him in close, and Ryeowook allowed himself to be pulled in close to Yesung’s body.
“You were in so much pain. I’m so sorry,” Yesung said quietly.
“After Keiran broke our first wing, I don’t remember much else,” Ryeowook replied, settling his head on Yesung’s shoulder.
Yesung cringed and clutched him tighter for a moment. “I’m sorry, I should have done something I-”
“Stop,” Ryeowook said firmly. He lifted his head and leaned back so that he could look Yesung in the eyes. “Stop feeling guilty because we were hurt. Stop saying you’re sorry that you did what you had to. I’m not. I’m not sorry for any of it. If I had the chance to do it all over again I would make every choice the same.”
“Even the choice you made in the pond that night?” Yesung asked softly.
“Especially that choice,” Ryeowook said firmly. They shared a look for a moment and then Yesung nodded.
Ryeowook relaxed into Yesung’s hold and they reclined to lie on the bed beneath them. Neither man made a move to shift Ryeowook from his position on top of Yesung. They simply settled there, content, for the moment, to be alive.
“I can’t hear you,” Yesung said softly a while later.
Ryeowook sighed and ran a hand up Yesung’s chest. “I was afraid of that. It feels like something is strange in me too.”
“I don’t like it,” the other man said in nearly a pout.
Ryeowook laughed. “You’ll get over it.” He sat up and looked down at Yesung, smiling. “At least you won’t have to listen to the rest of our group being noisy.”
Yesung smiled then. “I wonder if Donghae can still feel emotions.”
“If he can’t I think Kibum just lost his favorite form of entertainment,” Ryeowook replied with a mischievous grin. They shared a knowing look and relaxed into silence once more.
Neither man could say how long Yesung’s fingers traced patterns on Ryeowook’s back, but Ryeowook was nearly asleep when Yesung shifted. “Maybe we should ring the bell and see what happens.”
Ryeowook lifted his head and looked slightly irritated. “It has been driving you crazy hasn’t it?” Yesung shrugged but sat up and reached for the small object anyway, his motion causing Ryeowook to slide off him and onto the mattress. “You would be the one to press the big red button just to see what it did.”
Yesung laughed as he turned the small object in his hand. “I would never get the chance. Eunhyuk or Donghae would press it first.” He then rang the bell once and was startled by the clear sweet note that sounded from it. It was different than any bell he had ever heard and he felt as though there should be something else that he should be able to hear but was just beyond his grasp.
The sound carried for a moment before fading into nothing. As soon as it was gone there was a slight shimmer and a silver portal opened beside the bed. “Oh that is what it means,” Yesung said calmly. He set the bell carefully on the table before sliding to the edge of the bed and standing. His legs supported his weight and he wasn’t entirely sure why he was surprised by that fact, after all he was still breathing and in one piece.
“I suppose we should go through it. I have never seen a Dark One portal like that so it can’t be too bad right?” Ryeowook asked, feeling a bit unsure.
“It’s not bad,” Yesung said confidently. “I don’t know how I know, I just know.”
“Good enough for me,” Ryeowook replied. He stood beside Yesung and reached for his hand. Their hands slid together, fingers intertwining, and they shared a smile before stepping forward together and through the portal.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Yesung wasn’t too surprised to see most of Super Junior gathered under what he could only describe as a large pavilion. It was little more than a cloth ceiling above them offering them shade but doing nothing to discourage the warm breeze that fluttered through it. The members were arranged throughout on rugs and large pillows that they were either sitting or laying on.
Every member, he noted, had their symbol on their face much like they had at the festival and were dressed much like they were in loose fitting white garments; yet each team had its own style. Donghae’s team had shirts that did not have sleeves of any sort. Instead stitching in various shades of blue edged the outfit along the shoulders the lower hem and the cuffs.
Kyuhyun’s team was wearing cream colored undershirts with the white shirt over the top that was left open. Their sleeves came down to their wrists and the stitching was done in various shades of yellow that made him think of sunlight.
Kangin and Leeteuk both had white sleeveless shirts that mirrored Donghae’s in style. The edging detail was done in every shade of green. Beneath them both wore a loose long sleeve layer. The under layer was of the palest green as if the color had all but faded with time.
Yesung absently noted all of his members but he was distracted by the figures sitting amongst them. There were five of them, undressed. Somehow that fact did not really bother him, even though there was the illusion and idea that three of them were female and the other two male. All five seemed to glow with a light from within in, in one solid color. Everything about them radiated the color and although they looked delicate he knew they were not.
The way that none of Super Junior seemed alarmed and the simple fact that they just felt familiar, kept him from worrying too much about their presence. He filed that away and think on it later, because shortly after he finished studying them he noticed Henry sitting in their midst.
The young boy was dressed much like Yesung was. His white clothing bore stitching in every color of the rainbow all blended together. What really drew Yesung’s attention were the things in Henry’s lap. The youngest of their group sat with his hands cradled carefully on his folded legs with long strips of white fabric wrapped around each one.
Henry greeted him with a peaceful smile as he dropped to his knees in front of the boy. Yesung gently reached out and touched his wrist. “I’m alright,” Henry told him.
“Your hands,” Yesung said softly. He could only imagine what lay beneath the bandages and the worst part was that he knew how the damage had been done. If only he hadn’t forced Henry to play like that. “I’m so sorry Henry. This is my fault.”
Behind him Ryeowook sighed and Henry lifted one of his hands. “Look,” was all he said. Yesung knew that he had too. No matter what was laying beneath the bandages, he needed to see it. Carefully he cradled the appendage and began to unwind the cloth. When the first bit of skin was bared he prepared himself for the disfiguration to follow. Yet as he worked the fabric off Henry’s hands, from his wrist to his fingertips he saw nothing but smooth unbroken skin, fresh and whole.
He ran a finger over the skin lightly to assure himself that it was real and Henry sighed. “How? Why?” Yesung could remember, if he tried, the faint images of blood and Henry’s pain filled cries.
“Avanipala fixed them physically as soon as they got us. I don’t know why but they feel better when they are wrapped. He said it is because they are tied to my Player abilities and even though they have tried to numb that as much as they can, they can’t do everything. For some reason the bandages make my hands feel better,” Henry explained the best he could.
Yesung nodded and began to wrap the young man’s hands again. When he was finished he carefully lowered it into Henry’s lap. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I chose to do it. You didn’t make me. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to play it,” Henry responded.
‘He is alright Spinner of Spirit. In time he will be fully whole again,’ the green male figure told him.
Yesung nodded as he settled by Henry’s side. As soon as he was down, Henry leaned sideways and rested against him. The younger man sighed in contentment. Ryeowook smiled and sat on Yesung’s other side, taking his hand and twining their fingers together.
“So,” Donghae began the moment they were seated as if he couldn’t keep it in a minute longer. “Where did you guys wake up?”
“In a bed in the middle of a field,” Ryeowook told him.
“We woke up under water!” he exclaimed.
“Not just underwater,” Eunhyuk added, “but in the middle of a coral reef!”
“There were fish everywhere, of all different colors and all sorts of things, and we were sitting in the middle of this bubble of air. It was like being in a glass tank but not! I could put my hand through the wall, get it wet, and then pull it out again,” Donghae continued. Leeteuk smiled fondly as they continued to describe what they had seen, as if he had already heard all of it.
Eventually the pair began to repeat themselves in their description and Kibum clamped a hand over each of their mouths. “Alright. They get it.”
Sungmin smirked. “That is nothing. We were floating in the air.” Beside him Shindong shuddered and looked a bit green. Sungmin patted him sympathetically on his knee.
Kyuhyun smirked. “Shindong here woke up in his own floating bed and almost fell out of it.”
Leeteuk shot him a look as a clear reprimand for terrorizing the clearly traumatized young man and Kyuhyun returned it completely un-phased.
“Where were you?” Ryeowook asked Leeteuk in order to head off any brewing trouble.
“We were in the middle of a forest, by a stream. There were birds singing and it was pretty peaceful,” Leeteuk told them.
“Zhou mi, you weren’t with us,” Ryeowook commented thoughtfully.
“Nope,” he agreed. “I woke up in a meadow by myself.”
‘We agreed that you may wish to wake up with only your mates for the time being,’ the yellow female whom they assumed was Zepherin told them.
‘With the exception of the fire team, we felt that they may want to wake up together,’ Endellion informed them. They could hear a hint of mischievousness in his voice.
As if summoned by his words, a portal opened and Heechul emerged followed closely by Hankyung and Siwon. They too were dressed in white with shirts that fell to their mid-calf and detailed edgings in reds and gold. Heechul’s eyes swept over everyone as if he was taking a head count of the members. When they fell on Yesung they stayed there for a minute. Something passed between them and Heechul nodded quickly.
His eyes then fell on the glowing red form of Endellion and they narrowed. “Where the hell are we and how the hell are we not fused?”
‘Have a seat Weaver of Fire and we will explain,’ Irirangi told him firmly.
“I will stand right here. I am tired of the games and all of you keeping things from us,” Heechul snapped.
‘And you presume that you would be able to understand thousands of years of knowledge when you can hardly figure out your own insignificant existence?’ Endellion snapped. ‘You have no idea to whom you are speaking to!’
Heechul took a step forward and Hankyung grabbed his upper arm. “Heechul,” he cautioned.
‘Enough,’ Irirangi said firmly. ‘From both of you. Yes, Weaver of Fire there is much that we have not told you and we will tell you now all that we know if you will permit us.’
“Come on,” Hankyung said firmly and he tugged on Heechul’s arm. The other man let himself be lead to an open seat and Hankyung pulled Heechul down to sit with him on one side and Siwon on the other.
‘We will start at the beginning,’ Irirangi lifted her hand. In the middle of the group there appeared an image of the earth, an illustration that would display the story as she told it. ‘Our story, as Vidyagauri told it was the truth as she knows but only a portion of the truth. This realm, Earth, and Turmoil were all created to interconnect. When your world was young our world was old, for we quickly discovered the changes in time between the three. Our world and that of our brothers flowed together but much more quickly than yours.’
Some of us would go to your realm, our brethren and us, to fellowship with the strange creatures there. It was there that we truly discovered the difference between good and evil. We could not at first understand much of what man did, but as we watched we learned more and more about them.
It was my brothers and sisters from Sanctuary that first discovered the Song of man. It was something fascinating that we did not posses, power that we did not have. We found that if we asked, the power could be shared and we could do amazing things. For the first time we were able to take on forms that could interact with man. We didn’t have to sit back and watch man make the decisions that we thought were foolish. We could guide them, and for a time we did. Your history books still contain the tales of those times. To men we were known as gods.’
“Mythology. Like the Greek and Roman gods,” Kyuhyun said softly.
Irirangi nodded and her illustration displayed images and sites that they knew from different mythology. ‘Every culture has its gods. The majority of those tales were of our kind and our brothers. We stayed with men and tried to guide them, but somewhere something went wrong. We will never know what it was that drove it, but one of our own chose to take a Song without permission. Our dear brother discovered something forbidden and from it became something no better than the evil we were supposed to guide man against. Those who chose this path became known as Dark Ones. They moved to the realm that was to become known as Turmoil to use it as a source of their power and a place to bring more power to.
Those who did not agree with them moved to the realm of Sanctuary and became known as Light Ones. It took us too long to realize that our brothers were destroying their own realm and by the time we did, they were already moving onto yours. To them you were little more than cattle, raised to take from and meaning nothing else. To a being who has always been and will always be, what is the life of a fleeting human?
For a while we thought that the Dark Ones would be harmless, but as they continued to take Songs from man they took on the aspects of man more and more until they were twisted from what they had once been. Man was more than a fleeting existence, man was power and that power began to destroy your realm as well. When we finally realized, and acted, we did not have a chance at winning.
Then when the first of our kind died, we knew there was no hope for our race any longer. Our sister was not simply killed. Every Song that she had asked to use was ripped from her by the Dark One, until she was nothing more then what she had been created to be. Then her being was consumed entirely. It was the first death of our kind, and the birth of the Prince of the Dark Ones. It was not long after that, that we discovered that weapons crafted from Song, could kill us as if we were weak humans.
The slaughter that followed was unimaginable. They say that all three realms shuddered with its passing. A third of those that had chosen the Light remained or retreated to Sanctuary where they would remain safe, for the Dark Ones could no longer enter the realm. Yet for every Dark One that was laid to rest a new one rose to take its place. The Light Ones were dwindling in numbers and the Dark Ones simply kept coming.’
“They could reproduce and you couldn’t?” Donghae asked confused.
‘In a way yes. Through the power that they had gained they could reproduce something of their own kind. Much of what you have fought were those reproductions, a mockery of what we are, and nothing more than mindless drones. Their presences allowed the few Dark Ones who were on Earth to have overwhelming numbers while we had a quickly dwindling few.
It was not just our kind that suffered. Humans began to suffer as well. By the droves, humans died to feed the Dark Ones. The Light Ones that fought were powerless to stop it. As a defense to it the Earth produced the first Ensouled.’
“The twins,” Sungmin recalled from the original story they had been told shortly after their arrival. “The first Weaver and Singer.”
Irirangi nodded. ‘It gave us the twins but they were not as you were told. By the time they were born, we knew that each Song had an element that it pertained to. We are as we are by only asking for Songs in that element. The twins Songs were all elements and none at the same time. They had power that had not walked any of the realms before and has not walked them since.
By the time they were born there were five Light Ones left in your realm. Five. Two thirds of our brothers and sisters had been destroyed. The five that were left, saw the twins for what they were and brought them here to learn and mature. It is said that together they discovered a way to stop the Dark Ones once and for all, something that would protect everyone. Whatever it was that they had discovered was lost with their death and with the deaths of the five who worked with them.
It took hundreds of our years for us to even discover that they had been destroyed. When we did we knew there was little more we could do. Five were chosen from among us to go to your world, learn of Song, and obtain as much power as we could. We were those five. We have been careful not to fight the Dark Ones directly, for that has done nothing but cause us destruction. Instead we have taken Ensouled and taught them. We have guided them as best as we could, but none have been what the twins were.’
“You are waiting for the next ‘twins’ aren’t you? And all the while we are fighting a war that we can’t win,” Kyuhyun said quietly. Irirangi said nothing.
“They had to have written things down. Maybe it is in one of the books,” Henry suggested.
‘If it is, we cannot understand them. It was a language developed while the third of us remained safe here and it was lost when the last of the active Light Ones died. You could possibly read every book in the library and not find what you are looking for, if you could even understand them all.’
“But you gave us a book that taught us about the fusion and how to undo it,” Yesung said suspiciously.
‘We gave you a book that looked as though it had useful information to match the illustrations,’ Endellion said.
“You guessed?” Kangin accused. “You based our ever separating on a guess?”
‘It is not as though we couldn’t have righted it eventually,’ Endellion said off handedly. ‘We did put you right this time.’
“Then why have you done nothing for Vidyagauri,” Ryeowook asked pointedly.
‘It was too late when I discovered what I could do. I could no longer separate their Songs without killing them. It had been too long and they had become too close,’ Irirangi sounded saddened by her own words.
There was a moment of silence before Henry broke it. “I have a question,” he said hesitantly.
‘Ask and we will do our very best to answer it,’ Avanipala told him kindly.
“During our battle I asked for help and I heard a Song that I have never heard. It was so powerful I have never heard anything like it.”
‘What you heard was the Song of Creation itself, the Song of Life,’ Zepherin replied. ‘At its very basic, it is a bit of every Song of every living thing that has ever been and every one that will ever be, yet at times it seems to have a consciousness of its own. That is all we know Player. I am sorry we cannot tell you more.’
“Why can’t I feel anyone?” Donghae asked quietly.
‘We have, in essence, temporarily sealed your abilities. Through the connection you all shared, you tapped into so much power that it is as if you all received a horrible sunburn. In effort to keep you from being burnt worse or hurt by the burn you already have, we have put on the thickest healer we know how. Do not worry. As you heal the seal on your abilities will wear off and if at any time you truly need them you will be able to cast it off.’ Avanipala told them.
“So let me get this straight,” Heechul said suddenly. “We are trapped in a war that is never going to end because the bad guys will just keep coming and we don’t have any idea what the big plan that was going to stop them was supposed to be. Thousands of years didn’t let you come up with anything that will help. So really this is all for nothing.”
“No,” Henry said instantly. “We stopped Keiran. We are saving people. Yesung and I can read the books.”
“When you are healed,” Yesung insisted.
“We can read them. We can find out what the plan was,” Henry said confidently.
“So until then we just sit on our hands and do nothing?” Heechul asked. There was no answer for him. “Fine. I for one know what I am going to do.” He stood and pulled Hankyung to his feet. “Send us somewhere private. We have some things to work out.”
Irirangi lifted her hand without a word and her illustration disappeared, replaced by a portal. Heechul didn’t wait for any further comment before he stepped through it and it closed behind him.
“Well,” Donghae said lightly. It didn’t take his powers of empathy to feel the tension among his members and spur him into action to deal with it. “Does anyone want to see the larger than life fish tank we woke up in?”
‘I’ll take you!’ Kanja said, jumping to her feet and speaking for the first time. ‘It’s my special part of Sanctuary. I can show you all of my friends!’
“Why not,” Leeteuk agreed climbing to his feet. Irirangi lifted her hand again and another portal appeared. Kanja skipped through it followed closely by Donghae and Eunhyuk who were dragging Kibum. At a much slower pace, the rest of the members rose and followed.
‘Singer of Fire wait a moment,’ Endellion instructed. Obediently Siwon stopped and waited as the Light One approached. From seemingly nowhere he pulled out a book and placed it into Siwon’s hands. ‘You should know this: what is written in this book is truth. I saw half of it come to pass. You humans are fairly accurate in your recordings of history. Never doubt that which you believe.’
Siwon’s brow was wrinkled in confusion. He glanced down at the book in his hands and his eyes widened as he saw the golden gilded letters displaying the words ‘Holy Bible’ on its cover. He could feel tears form in his eyes and he clenched the book to his chest. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Endellion smiled at him and Siwon looked down at the book again. “I would like to go somewhere private if that is alright,” he said softly. Irirangi nodded and opened another portal. Siwon stepped through it without another word and it closed behind him along with the one to Kanja’s realm.
Zepherin climbed to her feet and seemed to float over to Endellion. He wrapped her in his arms and she smiled. There were no words, the four didn’t need them. They knew everything that could be said and everything that would be said in response, words that they didn’t need to hear. Words that said that for now, for just this moment, what they had was enough.
Verse Thirty Five
Masterlist
Character Information
AN: One more chapter guys! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself (think of a puppy wagging it's entire body. Yeah that would be me.) The next chapter will be the end of this book/song. It will also have a link to a choice that you will all get to make, but there will be more on that later. I plan to put together a soundtrack for the second half as well that will probably come out sometime this week. Look for the next chapter sometime in the next few days! (Probably tomorrow because I can hardly contain myself for my beta to get it back to me.)
Book One: Melody of the Ensouled
Verse Thirty Four
The first sense to return was his sense of smell. Sweetness tickled his nose, the scent of sun warmed grass and life that he couldn’t quite describe. Sound was next, the soft flutter of fabric in the breeze accompanied by the rustle of long grass. The sense of touch followed almost immediately as he felt the breeze dance across his skin. His eyes fluttered open and he sighed as he came into full wakefulness.
It was quiet, not in an audible way, but in a way that only he could understand. There were no Songs clamoring to be heard, just sweet relaxing silence. His eyes drifted shut again before they really took in their surroundings. Wherever he was lying, it was incredibly comfortable and if it was what death felt like he was certainly going to enjoy it.
It took a minute for the feeling of fingers combing through his hair to register with his brain but when it did his eyes snapped open and he whipped his head to the side. Ryeowook sat beside him smiling gently. Yesung sat up quickly, tears filling his eyes, “I’m sorry Ryeowook. I didn’t mean to…” he trailed off, unable to complete the statement.
“Shh,” Ryeowook hushed him. “If we really are dead you know I don’t mind. We defeated Keiran that is all that matters. Besides, I don’t really think we are dead.”
Yesung reached out and traced the symbol of their element beside Ryeowook’s right eye. “Why do you say that?”
Ryeowook shrugged, “I’m hungry and I don’t think you get hungry if you are dead. That, and this note.” He held up a piece of paper which had two sentences on it. You are not dead. When you are ready ring the bell.
“Ready for what?” Yesung asked. Ryeowook shrugged again. He set the piece of paper on the small table beside a tiny silver bell.
“I don’t know but it is peaceful here. I like it,” Ryeowook replied and he smiled then, completely relaxed.
Yesung took a minute to take in their surrounds. It seemed as though someone had taken a huge comfortable bed, placed a canopy over the top with semi-see through fabric hanging down to the ground and enclosing them. All around them as far as he could see, was a sea of grass, lightly waving in the wind. The afternoon sun streamed down on it all giving it a warm and comfortable feel.
Despite the wonder of their surroundings Yesung trained his eyes on the true wonder, Ryeowook. The other man was sitting just in front of him, seemingly peaceful. He wore a loose shirt that was more of a tunic then a shirt, and loose pants both in matching white. Along the bottom edges and both of the sleeves silver stitching danced in intricate patterns. Yesung was fairly certain he was dressed in matching clothing but he didn’t take the time to inspect it.
His thumb ran over the symbol on Ryeowook’s face once more and Ryeowook leaned into his touch. “How are we not fused?” he asked softly as if talking about it would change it.
“I don’t know,” Ryeowook replied.
“Come here,” Yesung beckoned opening his arms. Ryeowook smiled and climbed fully onto the bed. He settled onto Yesung’s lap, straddling his legs and facing him. Yesung’s arms immediately wrapped around him, tucking him in close, and Ryeowook allowed himself to be pulled in close to Yesung’s body.
“You were in so much pain. I’m so sorry,” Yesung said quietly.
“After Keiran broke our first wing, I don’t remember much else,” Ryeowook replied, settling his head on Yesung’s shoulder.
Yesung cringed and clutched him tighter for a moment. “I’m sorry, I should have done something I-”
“Stop,” Ryeowook said firmly. He lifted his head and leaned back so that he could look Yesung in the eyes. “Stop feeling guilty because we were hurt. Stop saying you’re sorry that you did what you had to. I’m not. I’m not sorry for any of it. If I had the chance to do it all over again I would make every choice the same.”
“Even the choice you made in the pond that night?” Yesung asked softly.
“Especially that choice,” Ryeowook said firmly. They shared a look for a moment and then Yesung nodded.
Ryeowook relaxed into Yesung’s hold and they reclined to lie on the bed beneath them. Neither man made a move to shift Ryeowook from his position on top of Yesung. They simply settled there, content, for the moment, to be alive.
“I can’t hear you,” Yesung said softly a while later.
Ryeowook sighed and ran a hand up Yesung’s chest. “I was afraid of that. It feels like something is strange in me too.”
“I don’t like it,” the other man said in nearly a pout.
Ryeowook laughed. “You’ll get over it.” He sat up and looked down at Yesung, smiling. “At least you won’t have to listen to the rest of our group being noisy.”
Yesung smiled then. “I wonder if Donghae can still feel emotions.”
“If he can’t I think Kibum just lost his favorite form of entertainment,” Ryeowook replied with a mischievous grin. They shared a knowing look and relaxed into silence once more.
Neither man could say how long Yesung’s fingers traced patterns on Ryeowook’s back, but Ryeowook was nearly asleep when Yesung shifted. “Maybe we should ring the bell and see what happens.”
Ryeowook lifted his head and looked slightly irritated. “It has been driving you crazy hasn’t it?” Yesung shrugged but sat up and reached for the small object anyway, his motion causing Ryeowook to slide off him and onto the mattress. “You would be the one to press the big red button just to see what it did.”
Yesung laughed as he turned the small object in his hand. “I would never get the chance. Eunhyuk or Donghae would press it first.” He then rang the bell once and was startled by the clear sweet note that sounded from it. It was different than any bell he had ever heard and he felt as though there should be something else that he should be able to hear but was just beyond his grasp.
The sound carried for a moment before fading into nothing. As soon as it was gone there was a slight shimmer and a silver portal opened beside the bed. “Oh that is what it means,” Yesung said calmly. He set the bell carefully on the table before sliding to the edge of the bed and standing. His legs supported his weight and he wasn’t entirely sure why he was surprised by that fact, after all he was still breathing and in one piece.
“I suppose we should go through it. I have never seen a Dark One portal like that so it can’t be too bad right?” Ryeowook asked, feeling a bit unsure.
“It’s not bad,” Yesung said confidently. “I don’t know how I know, I just know.”
“Good enough for me,” Ryeowook replied. He stood beside Yesung and reached for his hand. Their hands slid together, fingers intertwining, and they shared a smile before stepping forward together and through the portal.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Yesung wasn’t too surprised to see most of Super Junior gathered under what he could only describe as a large pavilion. It was little more than a cloth ceiling above them offering them shade but doing nothing to discourage the warm breeze that fluttered through it. The members were arranged throughout on rugs and large pillows that they were either sitting or laying on.
Every member, he noted, had their symbol on their face much like they had at the festival and were dressed much like they were in loose fitting white garments; yet each team had its own style. Donghae’s team had shirts that did not have sleeves of any sort. Instead stitching in various shades of blue edged the outfit along the shoulders the lower hem and the cuffs.
Kyuhyun’s team was wearing cream colored undershirts with the white shirt over the top that was left open. Their sleeves came down to their wrists and the stitching was done in various shades of yellow that made him think of sunlight.
Kangin and Leeteuk both had white sleeveless shirts that mirrored Donghae’s in style. The edging detail was done in every shade of green. Beneath them both wore a loose long sleeve layer. The under layer was of the palest green as if the color had all but faded with time.
Yesung absently noted all of his members but he was distracted by the figures sitting amongst them. There were five of them, undressed. Somehow that fact did not really bother him, even though there was the illusion and idea that three of them were female and the other two male. All five seemed to glow with a light from within in, in one solid color. Everything about them radiated the color and although they looked delicate he knew they were not.
The way that none of Super Junior seemed alarmed and the simple fact that they just felt familiar, kept him from worrying too much about their presence. He filed that away and think on it later, because shortly after he finished studying them he noticed Henry sitting in their midst.
The young boy was dressed much like Yesung was. His white clothing bore stitching in every color of the rainbow all blended together. What really drew Yesung’s attention were the things in Henry’s lap. The youngest of their group sat with his hands cradled carefully on his folded legs with long strips of white fabric wrapped around each one.
Henry greeted him with a peaceful smile as he dropped to his knees in front of the boy. Yesung gently reached out and touched his wrist. “I’m alright,” Henry told him.
“Your hands,” Yesung said softly. He could only imagine what lay beneath the bandages and the worst part was that he knew how the damage had been done. If only he hadn’t forced Henry to play like that. “I’m so sorry Henry. This is my fault.”
Behind him Ryeowook sighed and Henry lifted one of his hands. “Look,” was all he said. Yesung knew that he had too. No matter what was laying beneath the bandages, he needed to see it. Carefully he cradled the appendage and began to unwind the cloth. When the first bit of skin was bared he prepared himself for the disfiguration to follow. Yet as he worked the fabric off Henry’s hands, from his wrist to his fingertips he saw nothing but smooth unbroken skin, fresh and whole.
He ran a finger over the skin lightly to assure himself that it was real and Henry sighed. “How? Why?” Yesung could remember, if he tried, the faint images of blood and Henry’s pain filled cries.
“Avanipala fixed them physically as soon as they got us. I don’t know why but they feel better when they are wrapped. He said it is because they are tied to my Player abilities and even though they have tried to numb that as much as they can, they can’t do everything. For some reason the bandages make my hands feel better,” Henry explained the best he could.
Yesung nodded and began to wrap the young man’s hands again. When he was finished he carefully lowered it into Henry’s lap. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I chose to do it. You didn’t make me. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to play it,” Henry responded.
‘He is alright Spinner of Spirit. In time he will be fully whole again,’ the green male figure told him.
Yesung nodded as he settled by Henry’s side. As soon as he was down, Henry leaned sideways and rested against him. The younger man sighed in contentment. Ryeowook smiled and sat on Yesung’s other side, taking his hand and twining their fingers together.
“So,” Donghae began the moment they were seated as if he couldn’t keep it in a minute longer. “Where did you guys wake up?”
“In a bed in the middle of a field,” Ryeowook told him.
“We woke up under water!” he exclaimed.
“Not just underwater,” Eunhyuk added, “but in the middle of a coral reef!”
“There were fish everywhere, of all different colors and all sorts of things, and we were sitting in the middle of this bubble of air. It was like being in a glass tank but not! I could put my hand through the wall, get it wet, and then pull it out again,” Donghae continued. Leeteuk smiled fondly as they continued to describe what they had seen, as if he had already heard all of it.
Eventually the pair began to repeat themselves in their description and Kibum clamped a hand over each of their mouths. “Alright. They get it.”
Sungmin smirked. “That is nothing. We were floating in the air.” Beside him Shindong shuddered and looked a bit green. Sungmin patted him sympathetically on his knee.
Kyuhyun smirked. “Shindong here woke up in his own floating bed and almost fell out of it.”
Leeteuk shot him a look as a clear reprimand for terrorizing the clearly traumatized young man and Kyuhyun returned it completely un-phased.
“Where were you?” Ryeowook asked Leeteuk in order to head off any brewing trouble.
“We were in the middle of a forest, by a stream. There were birds singing and it was pretty peaceful,” Leeteuk told them.
“Zhou mi, you weren’t with us,” Ryeowook commented thoughtfully.
“Nope,” he agreed. “I woke up in a meadow by myself.”
‘We agreed that you may wish to wake up with only your mates for the time being,’ the yellow female whom they assumed was Zepherin told them.
‘With the exception of the fire team, we felt that they may want to wake up together,’ Endellion informed them. They could hear a hint of mischievousness in his voice.
As if summoned by his words, a portal opened and Heechul emerged followed closely by Hankyung and Siwon. They too were dressed in white with shirts that fell to their mid-calf and detailed edgings in reds and gold. Heechul’s eyes swept over everyone as if he was taking a head count of the members. When they fell on Yesung they stayed there for a minute. Something passed between them and Heechul nodded quickly.
His eyes then fell on the glowing red form of Endellion and they narrowed. “Where the hell are we and how the hell are we not fused?”
‘Have a seat Weaver of Fire and we will explain,’ Irirangi told him firmly.
“I will stand right here. I am tired of the games and all of you keeping things from us,” Heechul snapped.
‘And you presume that you would be able to understand thousands of years of knowledge when you can hardly figure out your own insignificant existence?’ Endellion snapped. ‘You have no idea to whom you are speaking to!’
Heechul took a step forward and Hankyung grabbed his upper arm. “Heechul,” he cautioned.
‘Enough,’ Irirangi said firmly. ‘From both of you. Yes, Weaver of Fire there is much that we have not told you and we will tell you now all that we know if you will permit us.’
“Come on,” Hankyung said firmly and he tugged on Heechul’s arm. The other man let himself be lead to an open seat and Hankyung pulled Heechul down to sit with him on one side and Siwon on the other.
‘We will start at the beginning,’ Irirangi lifted her hand. In the middle of the group there appeared an image of the earth, an illustration that would display the story as she told it. ‘Our story, as Vidyagauri told it was the truth as she knows but only a portion of the truth. This realm, Earth, and Turmoil were all created to interconnect. When your world was young our world was old, for we quickly discovered the changes in time between the three. Our world and that of our brothers flowed together but much more quickly than yours.’
Some of us would go to your realm, our brethren and us, to fellowship with the strange creatures there. It was there that we truly discovered the difference between good and evil. We could not at first understand much of what man did, but as we watched we learned more and more about them.
It was my brothers and sisters from Sanctuary that first discovered the Song of man. It was something fascinating that we did not posses, power that we did not have. We found that if we asked, the power could be shared and we could do amazing things. For the first time we were able to take on forms that could interact with man. We didn’t have to sit back and watch man make the decisions that we thought were foolish. We could guide them, and for a time we did. Your history books still contain the tales of those times. To men we were known as gods.’
“Mythology. Like the Greek and Roman gods,” Kyuhyun said softly.
Irirangi nodded and her illustration displayed images and sites that they knew from different mythology. ‘Every culture has its gods. The majority of those tales were of our kind and our brothers. We stayed with men and tried to guide them, but somewhere something went wrong. We will never know what it was that drove it, but one of our own chose to take a Song without permission. Our dear brother discovered something forbidden and from it became something no better than the evil we were supposed to guide man against. Those who chose this path became known as Dark Ones. They moved to the realm that was to become known as Turmoil to use it as a source of their power and a place to bring more power to.
Those who did not agree with them moved to the realm of Sanctuary and became known as Light Ones. It took us too long to realize that our brothers were destroying their own realm and by the time we did, they were already moving onto yours. To them you were little more than cattle, raised to take from and meaning nothing else. To a being who has always been and will always be, what is the life of a fleeting human?
For a while we thought that the Dark Ones would be harmless, but as they continued to take Songs from man they took on the aspects of man more and more until they were twisted from what they had once been. Man was more than a fleeting existence, man was power and that power began to destroy your realm as well. When we finally realized, and acted, we did not have a chance at winning.
Then when the first of our kind died, we knew there was no hope for our race any longer. Our sister was not simply killed. Every Song that she had asked to use was ripped from her by the Dark One, until she was nothing more then what she had been created to be. Then her being was consumed entirely. It was the first death of our kind, and the birth of the Prince of the Dark Ones. It was not long after that, that we discovered that weapons crafted from Song, could kill us as if we were weak humans.
The slaughter that followed was unimaginable. They say that all three realms shuddered with its passing. A third of those that had chosen the Light remained or retreated to Sanctuary where they would remain safe, for the Dark Ones could no longer enter the realm. Yet for every Dark One that was laid to rest a new one rose to take its place. The Light Ones were dwindling in numbers and the Dark Ones simply kept coming.’
“They could reproduce and you couldn’t?” Donghae asked confused.
‘In a way yes. Through the power that they had gained they could reproduce something of their own kind. Much of what you have fought were those reproductions, a mockery of what we are, and nothing more than mindless drones. Their presences allowed the few Dark Ones who were on Earth to have overwhelming numbers while we had a quickly dwindling few.
It was not just our kind that suffered. Humans began to suffer as well. By the droves, humans died to feed the Dark Ones. The Light Ones that fought were powerless to stop it. As a defense to it the Earth produced the first Ensouled.’
“The twins,” Sungmin recalled from the original story they had been told shortly after their arrival. “The first Weaver and Singer.”
Irirangi nodded. ‘It gave us the twins but they were not as you were told. By the time they were born, we knew that each Song had an element that it pertained to. We are as we are by only asking for Songs in that element. The twins Songs were all elements and none at the same time. They had power that had not walked any of the realms before and has not walked them since.
By the time they were born there were five Light Ones left in your realm. Five. Two thirds of our brothers and sisters had been destroyed. The five that were left, saw the twins for what they were and brought them here to learn and mature. It is said that together they discovered a way to stop the Dark Ones once and for all, something that would protect everyone. Whatever it was that they had discovered was lost with their death and with the deaths of the five who worked with them.
It took hundreds of our years for us to even discover that they had been destroyed. When we did we knew there was little more we could do. Five were chosen from among us to go to your world, learn of Song, and obtain as much power as we could. We were those five. We have been careful not to fight the Dark Ones directly, for that has done nothing but cause us destruction. Instead we have taken Ensouled and taught them. We have guided them as best as we could, but none have been what the twins were.’
“You are waiting for the next ‘twins’ aren’t you? And all the while we are fighting a war that we can’t win,” Kyuhyun said quietly. Irirangi said nothing.
“They had to have written things down. Maybe it is in one of the books,” Henry suggested.
‘If it is, we cannot understand them. It was a language developed while the third of us remained safe here and it was lost when the last of the active Light Ones died. You could possibly read every book in the library and not find what you are looking for, if you could even understand them all.’
“But you gave us a book that taught us about the fusion and how to undo it,” Yesung said suspiciously.
‘We gave you a book that looked as though it had useful information to match the illustrations,’ Endellion said.
“You guessed?” Kangin accused. “You based our ever separating on a guess?”
‘It is not as though we couldn’t have righted it eventually,’ Endellion said off handedly. ‘We did put you right this time.’
“Then why have you done nothing for Vidyagauri,” Ryeowook asked pointedly.
‘It was too late when I discovered what I could do. I could no longer separate their Songs without killing them. It had been too long and they had become too close,’ Irirangi sounded saddened by her own words.
There was a moment of silence before Henry broke it. “I have a question,” he said hesitantly.
‘Ask and we will do our very best to answer it,’ Avanipala told him kindly.
“During our battle I asked for help and I heard a Song that I have never heard. It was so powerful I have never heard anything like it.”
‘What you heard was the Song of Creation itself, the Song of Life,’ Zepherin replied. ‘At its very basic, it is a bit of every Song of every living thing that has ever been and every one that will ever be, yet at times it seems to have a consciousness of its own. That is all we know Player. I am sorry we cannot tell you more.’
“Why can’t I feel anyone?” Donghae asked quietly.
‘We have, in essence, temporarily sealed your abilities. Through the connection you all shared, you tapped into so much power that it is as if you all received a horrible sunburn. In effort to keep you from being burnt worse or hurt by the burn you already have, we have put on the thickest healer we know how. Do not worry. As you heal the seal on your abilities will wear off and if at any time you truly need them you will be able to cast it off.’ Avanipala told them.
“So let me get this straight,” Heechul said suddenly. “We are trapped in a war that is never going to end because the bad guys will just keep coming and we don’t have any idea what the big plan that was going to stop them was supposed to be. Thousands of years didn’t let you come up with anything that will help. So really this is all for nothing.”
“No,” Henry said instantly. “We stopped Keiran. We are saving people. Yesung and I can read the books.”
“When you are healed,” Yesung insisted.
“We can read them. We can find out what the plan was,” Henry said confidently.
“So until then we just sit on our hands and do nothing?” Heechul asked. There was no answer for him. “Fine. I for one know what I am going to do.” He stood and pulled Hankyung to his feet. “Send us somewhere private. We have some things to work out.”
Irirangi lifted her hand without a word and her illustration disappeared, replaced by a portal. Heechul didn’t wait for any further comment before he stepped through it and it closed behind him.
“Well,” Donghae said lightly. It didn’t take his powers of empathy to feel the tension among his members and spur him into action to deal with it. “Does anyone want to see the larger than life fish tank we woke up in?”
‘I’ll take you!’ Kanja said, jumping to her feet and speaking for the first time. ‘It’s my special part of Sanctuary. I can show you all of my friends!’
“Why not,” Leeteuk agreed climbing to his feet. Irirangi lifted her hand again and another portal appeared. Kanja skipped through it followed closely by Donghae and Eunhyuk who were dragging Kibum. At a much slower pace, the rest of the members rose and followed.
‘Singer of Fire wait a moment,’ Endellion instructed. Obediently Siwon stopped and waited as the Light One approached. From seemingly nowhere he pulled out a book and placed it into Siwon’s hands. ‘You should know this: what is written in this book is truth. I saw half of it come to pass. You humans are fairly accurate in your recordings of history. Never doubt that which you believe.’
Siwon’s brow was wrinkled in confusion. He glanced down at the book in his hands and his eyes widened as he saw the golden gilded letters displaying the words ‘Holy Bible’ on its cover. He could feel tears form in his eyes and he clenched the book to his chest. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Endellion smiled at him and Siwon looked down at the book again. “I would like to go somewhere private if that is alright,” he said softly. Irirangi nodded and opened another portal. Siwon stepped through it without another word and it closed behind him along with the one to Kanja’s realm.
Zepherin climbed to her feet and seemed to float over to Endellion. He wrapped her in his arms and she smiled. There were no words, the four didn’t need them. They knew everything that could be said and everything that would be said in response, words that they didn’t need to hear. Words that said that for now, for just this moment, what they had was enough.
Verse Thirty Five
Masterlist
Character Information
AN: One more chapter guys! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself (think of a puppy wagging it's entire body. Yeah that would be me.) The next chapter will be the end of this book/song. It will also have a link to a choice that you will all get to make, but there will be more on that later. I plan to put together a soundtrack for the second half as well that will probably come out sometime this week. Look for the next chapter sometime in the next few days! (Probably tomorrow because I can hardly contain myself for my beta to get it back to me.)