The Seventh Guest (3/3) [Infinite]
The room that Myungsoo leads them to is barely the size of the dorm's living room back home, which they find only after getting lost in twisting hallways. The walls are still whole and there's a window for them to breathe fresh air, and maybe all in all these translate to security somehow. They drape some black cloth they found downstairs against the window so their firelight doesn't shine through. It never pays to advertise where they are. Dongwoo whistles contentedly. "It's almost daybreak anyway. We'll be safe once the sun is up." Woohyun gently settles Sungyeol at one of the corners. "Best not leave anything to chance, the fairies can still come up with something before they have to retreat." Sungjong mutters after some thought. "I feel safe but I'll feel safer if I put some protective enchantments on the way here. And I still have bit of extra mana, anyway. We don't want anyone sneaking up on us, do we?" "I'll come with you," Howon says automatically, but Sungjong shakes his head confidently. "I won't take long. It'll just be the usual spells to block the stairwells and the hallways. Save me some food." Sungjong draws his sword, mutters a short verse and the blade glows white, not as brightly as during the earlier fight did but definitely enough for him to see by. They hear his footsteps echo faintly down the hall. "We have food?" Sunggyu asks. Myungsoo digs through his satchel and pulls out a small package wrapped in brown cloth. "In a manner of speaking. I took a second to stop by our camp after taking down the behemoths. I thought this would be useful." It turns out to be a wheel of bread. It elicits groans from everyone but Sunggyu. "Now I know we're really desperate," Woohyun jokes as he heats his bread on the flame wolf curled up on the floor. "I never thought I'd ever have to eat dwarf bread." "Is this really all we're going to eat?" Sunggyu asks incredulously as he eyes his piece of bread. The morsel is barely larger than his palm. Not that he's surprised, he ate much lesser when he was promoting- he blinks slowly. Why is he thinking of his idol life in the past tense? He is an idol. That's his life. This is... just a temporary displacement, or else a very persistent hallucination. "This is dwarf bread," Howon says gruffly and bites off a small lump from his morsel. "It's all you're going to need." "What do you know about dwarfs?" Myungsoo asks. Dongwoo scoots closer to them, a smirk of mischievous interest on his lips. Sunggyu shrugs nonchalantly. "Not much more than I know about elves. I mean, in my world, we don't really believe in dwarfs, either." Sunggyu fails to recall the main dwarf's name in The Lord of the Rings. "People think they're good with metal. And they really like gold. That's basically it." "That's pretty much how it is here, too," Dongwoo says. "Humans and dwarfs have a working alliance. See, dwarf magic is all about metallurgy, all about mining. So they provide us weapons or armor or whatever metal artifacts we need because whatever they come up with is better than anything we can make, and in return we give them. Well." He grins. "Good food." Sunggyu's forehead crumples at the absurdity. "Go on, try the bread." Dongwoo looks like he's trying hard not to break out in laughter and Myungsoo is stifling his chuckles with the back of his hand. Sunggyu raises the bread cautiously to his lips. Takes a tentative bite. And has to stop himself from spitting it out. "Eat it. It's good for you," Howon urges him from his side of the room. Sunggyu just wishes they managed to save their supply of water at least. "It's so dry! Like my mouth turned into a desert the moment I bit in!" And everyone breaks up laughing, including Woohyun when he returns from checking up on Sungyeol. Dongwoo fondly pats Sunggyu's back. "See, dwarfs approach baking a lot like how they approach everything else: it's about function and never about the frills. So for them, baking is a lot like improvisational weaponsmithing." "Just because you can eat it doesn't mean you can't bash someone over the head with it," Woohyun explains. "They don't even have ovens," Myungsoo adds helpfully. "They use their forges for baking." "But dwarf bread has everything you'll ever need," Howon says seriously. "Working in mines don't really afford them a lot of space for luxury. Dwarfs make their bread to last and to be as filling as possible. Tasting good has nothing to do with it." "Which is what we offer them," Dongwoo points out, pulling the conversation back to its original place. "They give us good metal, we give them good food." "Fire." A weak voice from the corner of the room. Everyone turns to look at Sungyeol, who is trying to sit up by supporting his body with his elbows. Myungsoo scrambles to help him. "They're burning the whole castle," Sungyeol says even as Myungsoo heaves him to lean against the wall. "There's a goblin outside. I saw through its eyes. The castle is on fire." "The castle is made of stone," Howon says gruffly, not bothering to hide the impression that he thinks Sungyeol is a few bricks short of an oven. "Stone doesn't burn." Woohyun gets on his feet to peer outside the window. "Everywhere is still dark. I don't see any fire around us." But he looks at Sungyeol like he's willing to listen. Instead of arguing with them, Sungyeol looks straight into Sunggyu's eyes and Sunggyu suddenly finds himself looking at the castle from outside. The night is still dark but the promise of dawn is in the sky. There is the sound of fluttering wings around him even though he doesn't see where it's from. Fairies. They're outside the elves' enchantments, Sungyeol's voice says directly into Sunggyu's mind. We're in the mind of the goblin they used to burn the castle. Goblin eyes are different from human eyes. They can see different wavelengths of light and magic. Look. And as they watch using borrowed eyes, Sunggyu sees one of the castle's walls collapse. There is a faint glimmer at the edge of sight, a sparkle of color all over the castle grounds like there is fire and it's everywhere and Sunggyu can barely see it but it's there. The flames are climbing the castle walls. Even if stone doesn't burn. Sungyeol breaks the spell and Sunggyu's mind is catapulted back into his body. Disoriented. But he makes one thing clear even as he rushes to reorient himself with his own senses. "We have to get out of here." And Dongwoo leaps to his feet. "Ghostfire. Invisible fire that burns magic itself. They aren't burning the stones, they're burning the magic in them!" "Sungjong!" Howon yells as he lunges for the door, but he freezes when Myungsoo's shadow binds him. "He already knows," Sungyeol tells Howon. "I told him. But the fire has already cut him off and he can't get back here. He's looking for another way out." Howon looks like he wants to slash them both but he forces himself to listen. He takes a deep, calming breath. Myungsoo releases his spell and Howon doesn't run off. "How do we get out of here?" Woohyun interrupts them frantically. A tremor rocks the castle as if an entire tower just collapsed on itself and they all brace themselves against a wall. "We have to think of something!" He says this to everyone but he's looking desperately at Sunggyu. Everyone is looking at Sunggyu. And before Sunggyu can curl defensively into himself and yell How the fuck would I know! he's not even from this world, he's done well enough not to freak out, all things considered, he's a freaking musician and the biggest danger he's ever faced are unstable set pieces and the eventual deranged anti-fan. And before he snaps at everyone to think of something, you can use magic, the world— stops— Maybe that's the wrong thing to say, his own voice says in his head. What did I always tell myself whenever everyone fought and I felt like I was losing my mind? What did I learn about leadership? Everything is still. Woohyun waiting for orders, Howon with both of his swords drawn, Sungyeol on his feet and leaning on Myungsoo, Dongwoo with fire in his hands, all of them looking at Sunggyu for guidance. All their trust pooling in Sunggyu's chest, lighting him like his own personal sun. There is no movement anywhere. This isn't a pocket in time. This is the small, impenetrable area of calm inside Sunggyu's mind, the place he retreats to whenever he needs to think. They are Infinite. Because Sunggyu is there and Sunggyu will protect them in any way he can, and that makes them his Infinite no matter who they are, no matter what. Leaders should act the way people wish they themselves could act, he tells himself. Years of hard work, years of carrying the burden of six men on his shoulders, all condensed into one principle that has never failed him yet and will not fail him now. Leaders should never feel lost. Leaders should never admit to having no idea about what to do next. Once before, Sunggyu learned to change himself in order to lead a handful of kinds who dared to dream of winning the world. Once before, Sunggyu learned that his voice and his music were not enough, that there were other talents needed of him. He did not fail them then. And he would not fail them now. In this world, magic is as real as it can get, Sunggyu hears his own voice say in his head. Anyone can use magic. For better or worse. You should be able to use it too if you put your mind to it. Sunggyu grew up in a world of music and hard work, where magic is only for when dreams come true and you don't look too closely at how it all happened. Sunggyu believes only in real things. But as he's seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears, in this world magic is real. And Kim Sunggyu believes strongly in Kim Sunggyu. A moment of perfect clarity. A gift that all leaders yearn for. "This way!" Sunggyu yells and the world is back in motion. He runs to the window and pulls the black cloth off, revealing the brightening sky beyond. "The whole place is on fire," Sungyeol reminds him. "Even if we survive a jump from this high, we definitely won't live through ghostfire!" Sunggyu grins at his group. Mania. Adrenaline. All those good things. "We're jumping out but we won't land on the ground!" "For the record, I've always known you were crazy," Howon sighs, but he stands beside Sunggyu anyway. "What's the plan?" What Infinite needed back then was a leader who would shape them into the disciplined idols they are now. What Infinite needs now is a leader who can give them a way out of a burning castle. What Sunggyu needs now is wings. Like the wings that have been plaguing his dreams. "The plan is to fly," Sunggyu tells them all. Magic is real. "Whoa." Woohyun, for the first time, is not unimpressed. Leather wings take shape and unfold right outside the window. Sunggyu can feel the world's mana coursing through his body, taking its cues from the commands in his head then leaping out into the world and ceasing to be merely imaginary. We need three, Sunggyu thinks strongly, and the mana tries to resist and dispel but Sunggyu grips it tightly, finds the nooks and crannies in his mind that he can use to bend the mana to his will. The spell resolves in the blink of an eye. The evidences of his success glide effortlessly in the air before them: three majestic beasts, each one as blue as the morning sky. Sunggyu can summon dragons. "Come on!" he yells. They help Sungyeol out first with Myungsoo assisting him. Howon and Dongwoo climb onto the back of the second, Sunggyu jumps on the third followed by Woohyun who settles in right behind him. The dragons flap their wings to climb the air, less about lift and relying on the magic that created them to also aid their flight. A loud crash from below. A chunk of the wall explodes outward to reveal Sungjong, wearing one of his auras and glowing white from head to toe. Dongwoo's and Howon's dragon dives and glides gently to him. Sungjong lightly jumps aboard and they fly high once again to catch up with the rest of the group. By the time they're too high to hear anything, Giltleaf Castle – with all the magic keeping it together burned away by invisible ghostfire – gives in and crumbles to the ground. But they don't stay to watch. Dawn breaks. Woohyun's and Sunggyu's dragon catches the first rays of morning light. "This is incredible," Woohyun says from right behind Sunggyu and Sunggyu remembers that his guard is down. "I've never seen anything like this before. Look, the wings are changing!" Flecks of green are mottling their dragon's wings. Sunggyu glances at the other two but they don't seem to be affected by this development, their wings staying resolutely sky blue. "Weird," Sunggyu says. "But hey, as long as it doesn't affect their flight they can take whatever color they want." "Nobody has ever summoned dragons before," Woohyun continues excitedly. "Nobody's mind has the right shape. I'm the best summoner around and when I tried the most I came up with was a lump of mana that vanished too quickly. You're amazing, Sunggyu!" Where to now? Sungyeol's voice says in his head. What the hell, what are you doing in my head?! Howon's voice this time, also soundless but arriving crystal clear. And sounding very affronted. Times of need, Sungyeol huffs. It's just a simple mindlink, no need to freak out. Easier than yelling at each other while we're in the air. Just... think your words at us. Say them out loud if it helps. "Sungjong, are you okay?" Sunggyu asks. He feels foolish for a moment, but Sungjong answers and that's what matters. What, you're worried about me for just that? It's not like it was anything life-threatening, Sungjong laughs lightly, though Sunggyu hears the surprised gratefulness in the tone. "Glad to hear it. But Howon? Don't ever let Sungjong out of our sight again, okay?" Count on it, Howon mutters grimly, earning a falsely affronted Hey! from Sungjong. Again, where to now? Sungyeol repeats. Woohyun twists and turns in his seat. "It's hard to get bearings from high up but it looks like we're going in the right direction." He points at a low mountain ridge by the horizon. "The Glen Elendra should be on the other side of that ridge." That's about a day's travel, Dongwoo says. But in the air we should be able to reach it in an hour. Grim silence greets his words. Is everyone ready? Looks like we'll be fighting this war earlier than we thought. I guess it's too late to back out now, Myungsoo mutters to himself. "The Glen is the heart of fairyland," Woohyun reminds them all. "The moment we pass the Veil, the enchantments tampering fairy magic during daytime won't be in effect anymore, meaning their magic will be as strong as ever." We already know this, Woohyun, Sungjong says patiently. Howon's voice is bracing. So let's do this hard and fast. The queen is the central brain of all the fairies. Take the queen down and the rest will follow. Right? "That's the plan," Woohyun says tersely. "Sunggyu's dragons are giving us a huge advantage: we can fly right into the heart of the Glen and into the queen's palace instead of breaching their kingdom from the edge and fighting our way through." Sungyeol groans loudly. Straight into the lair of the strongest fairy alive. Great. I'm positively ecstatic. So it's time to unleash our full power now, boys! Only Dongwoo could sound so manic about the prospects of life and death. But Sunggyu isn't fooled. Dongwoo, both this one and the one in the other world, are solid believers in positive thinking especially in the face of adversity. I'm cutting the mindlink, Sungyeol tells them. I have a feeling I need to save my energy for later. Let's connect again in a while. And the buzz of voices grows silent. "Are you ready?" Sunggyu asks Woohyun. "We've been saving our major spells for the main fight. That doesn't mean I'm any less worried," Woohyun admits. "I want us all to get out of this alive. I even want to tell Sungyeol to stay back because he can't use magic offensively on the same level as the rest of us. I don't want him to get hurt. I don't want anyone to get hurt." "But you need him there." "We need him there," Woohyun agrees. "Sungyeol. Dongwoo. Sungjong and Howon. Myungsoo. All six of us." Sunggyu grins even though Woohyun can't see it. "Don't leave me out. I'm coming with you guys." "Don't put yourself in danger," Woohyun chides him. "I acknowledge that you're a genius to have summoned dragons, but it's going to take more than this to be able to fight." "I can summon more," Sunggyu says confidently. "Ten. Maybe fifty. An entire army of dragons. Don't tell me that won't be helpful." "But I think I've already pulled you in too much." Sunggyu turns in his seat to catch Woohyun looking at him intensely. Woohyun smiles at him, sad and wistful. "I don't know how it happened either, it doesn't make sense. I mean, you know how magic feels now, right? It's like telling the world what you want to happen using the right words and the right tone, and each person uses their own words and tone so the world reacts differently. Well." Woohyun laughs, so very conscious of what he's saying, just like Sunggyu's Woohyun whenever he acknowledges his complex. "The day you came, I asked the world to help us get through this. When the council gathered the six of us, they made me the leader because I have the most experience working with groups. But that doesn't mean I can actually lead a group. That doesn't mean I can lead anyone anywhere. And I can't. I fall to pieces when other people need me." "You did your best," Sunggyu says, facing front again. "That's all that anyone could ask for." "Maybe that's how it is in your world." Woohyun's grip around Sunggyu's waist tightens. "That's not true here. What matters here is that we succeed. What matters here is that we stop the fairies now before they grow any stronger. So I asked the world for help. And then. Well. The world gave me you." Sunggyu laughs despite his pessimism. Anything to lighten the mood. Because it's too dangerous but too easy to imagine these words being said by his Woohyun instead. "Then the world heard you wrong. I'm a singer! From a world that doesn't have magic! I can't do anything here, I'm practically next to useless." Woohyun shakes his head. "Says the guy who summoned dragons on his first try! You know that's not true. You lead us this far. We wouldn't have made it here without you." "Don't say that," Sunggyu retorts. "So what if they didn't listen to you at first? They would have learned eventually. I just arrived before you found your leadership style but that doesn't mean you would have failed if I didn't." He feels Woohyun laughing against his body even if Woohyun manages to stay silent. "What?" "How do you know exactly what to say?" Woohyun asks, incredulous and fond at the same time. "I also live with a Woohyun," Sunggyu admits and wow, why does it suddenly feel like he's living on the edge of danger? "And you're exactly like him. I mean, you guys are different in a lot of things but you're exactly the same person where it matters. Smart and well-meaning. Emotionally needy. Always needs to be loved. Always comparing himself to different people and hating every single time he falls short of some standard. Even if no one else is comparing him." "Sounds like you've been watching him closely," Woohyun says with a corner of his lips quirked up. "Someone has to," Sunggyu says quietly, falling into the habit of defenses. "It's so easy for him to hurt himself." But then, this Woohyun isn't his Woohyun, right? This Woohyun isn't so careful of what he eats, isn't so particular with his body, but he knows his pack like the back of his hand and he uses each beast's strengths to their advantage. This Woohyun has carried the burden of leadership and quickly realized that it means having to be someone who he's not, and having to change himself or ask for help is okay. Because this Woohyun is forced by experience to see past the glamour of the role. "He's lucky that he has you to protect him, then," Woohyun says. "Even if he doesn't know how lucky he is. Take it from me. I can take a lot of things for granted." But in the end, Sunggyu thinks, maybe all these differences are about what his Woohyun can learn but it's not about who Woohyun really is. Because maybe what matters is that the person holding on to Sunggyu now while they're flying through the air is a Woohyun, who is still a Woohyun in his own right, even if it's not his Woohyun. And even if they are innately the same, these are still Woohyuns of different worlds. "I've never told him why," Sunggyu whispers, doesn't really care if Woohyun hears him. But with them so close together like this, it's impossible for Woohyun to miss the words. "I think he'd like to know." Yeah. Maybe this isn't his Woohyun but this is still Woohyun. And they're closer than they've been for a while and Sunggyu has been strong for too long. "Even if this is the reason?" he asks. Turns his head fully and leans in quick. Learns how it feels to have Woohyun's lips against his, all those years of wondering and imagining cresting in too fast a moment of experience. "My Woohyun and I... we need to function as a team. A lot of people rely on us working well together. I can't let something like this get between us." "I'd want to know if it were me," Woohyun insists quietly, "and I'm sure your Woohyun would want to know, too." "I can't afford this kind of change," Sunggyu admits with a short laugh. Woohyun's arms around Sunggyu's waist tightens and Sunggyu tenses because right now he's not sure which Woohyun is running around inside his head, but this Woohyun doesn't ease up until Sunggyu eases in to the assurance. "You said he and I were the same where it matters, right? Well. I think you matter. And I'm glad to know." Sunggyu nods, withdraws into himself once more, carefully shapes his expression back to calculated blankness. "I'll think about it. Afterward. Let's focus on your mission first." Woohyun rests his head against the back of Sunggyu's neck. "One last fight. Let's get through this alive and it'll all be over." The Veil looms as they approach, a weak shimmer in the air that forms an unbroken dome over the valley. The Glen Elendra holds up to everything Sunggyu imagined fairyland to be, at least from what he can see high in the air. There's color everywhere in every shade he can imagine, maybe even a few of those he can't, color made possible only through magic like the eighth band of the rainbow. There are no castles or towers or houses anywhere in the valley, just the largest garden Sunggyu has ever seen. And at the center of the Glen, towering over the trees is a single unopened rose bulb the size of a shopping mall. The fairy queen's palace. The good thing about riding dragons is that they can fly straight to the palace instead of having to fight fairies on foot. The bad thing is that riding dragons into enemy territory isn't exactly a subtle method to get anywhere. "I'm just glad that fairies can't fly very high," Woohyun mutters. Is everyone ready? Sungyeol asks. I've been keeping my fire down for days, Dongwoo informs them lightly. Going full force will be a relief. Howon and I are ready, says Sungjong. Remember, we can't afford a single injury. Keep your armors strong. "Myungsoo?" Sunggyu asks. "You're awfully quiet." Maybe the mindlink works beyond just words; Sunggyu can feel Myungsoo's anxiety as if it were his own. I'll be releasing L's full power again, Myungsoo worries. It's been years since I had to. And. I'm not sure if I can rein it back afterward. Guys, L is very dangerous, if I can't control him after the fight- I'll fight him, then, Howon says confidently. Long enough for you to take over. After all, L failed to kill me before, right? I don't think he'll succeed this time around. And I kind of like Myungsoo more than L. Besides, you have me now, Sungyeol adds. Even demons have minds, meaning I can subdue him if you can't. Sunggyu can see Myungsoo smiling in his head. Just don't go overboard, okay? I'll also be in there being scared with all of you. "I have a question," Sunggyu volunteers. They're above the Veil's zenith now. The Glen looks peaceful from this high up. "How will we keep fairies all over the valley from swarming the queen's palace?" "I have a few tricks up my sleeves," Woohyun says. "I've been collecting beasts for this specific purpose, actually. You already saw one of them last night." So I guess we're ready. We may get separated down there so I'll keep the mindlink open. If anybody needs help, remember: ask for it. Woohyun braces himself against Sunggyu. "Let's dive." Sunggyu nods gamely. "Hold on tight." As one, the dragons fold their wings and they drop from the sky. The rush of air past their ears is deafening. The Veil – designed solely to keep fairy magic within the Glen – lets them through, ripples in the shimmering air the only clue that the magic was disturbed. The dragons flare their wings to slow their fall, controls their glide to head straight to the palace itself. Four of them don their armors as one. Glyphs glow white on Sunggyu's skin as Sungjong's magic comes alive to protect him. The fairies can't fly high to greet them, but even at the eye-watering speed of their dive Sunggyu can see the fairies swarming thickly near the palace. I've got this, Dongwoo yells. Sunggyu turns his head in time to see Dongwoo jump off his dragon and explode. The fireball splits into four birds of flame with Dongwoo riding the largest one, and they burn their way through gathered fairies, scattering the crowd and letting the three dragons past. Their claws grip the green flower bud tightly. The six men jump onto the roof of the palace. The dragons disperse back into mana the moment Sunggyu's feet touch the springy plant matter. Myungsoo's face and arms (and the rest of his body, Sunggyu assumes) are covered in jagged black runes. Howon is wearing his familiar aura, much like the one Sunggyu is wearing, but Sungjong's armor looks like it was forged out of silver and mirrors, scattering sunlight brightly all around him. Sungyeol, on the other hand, is shrouded in mist so thick that they can't actually seem him anymore. Woohyun isn't protected by anything yet but he's invoking under his breath and they're quickly surrounded by sparkles of green light. Myungsoo crouches and lays his hands on the bulb. The green quickly starts crumpling and turning black. The plant wall caves in the exact moment Woohyun's spell resolves into an army of giant spiders that litter half the palace roof. The army skittles on its thousand legs to cover every inch of the palace in a web of sticky silk. A blast of hot wind hits them. Not far above is a new flock of phoenixes crisscrossing the air with waves of fire. "All of you go in," Woohyun commands. "Dongwoo and I will cover our trail." Sunggyu knows better than to protest. Woohyun and Dongwoo can handle themselves. Howon jumps into the hole first, followed by Myungsoo and Sungjong. The Sungyeol cloud watches Sunggyu intently. A final reassuring glance at Woohyun and the beginnings of the next wave of his army. Sunggyu jumps in and Sungyeol follows without a word. The inside of the palace is a dark maze, hallways branching everywhere and seemingly at random intervals. Howon's swords are already alight whereas Sunggyu and Sungjong are sources of light of their own so they can still see their way through the maze of pale pink halls. Myungsoo has always been more comfortable in the shadows. And Sungyeol- "So this is what a fairy mind feels like," Sungyeol says from deep within his mist. "The queen is giving me a headache. Her senses are scattered across too many bodies but she's the only one we have to find. The main one. Several layers deeper into the flower." "Which direction?" Sungjong asks. "To the center." "Stand back," Howon warns, but he slashes violently at the thick petal walls before any of them actually clear his range, his swords cutting and burning at the same time. He leads the way past the ruins, dodges left from a rapier thrust an inch away from his cheek. He bats the weapon away with a quick swing of his own. The fairy flits back out of range. The hallway is quickly filling with armored fairies zipping through the air with wasp-like wings. This species is larger than the ones they fought earlier, each one half the size of a man and wielding stingers plucked off giant hornets. "I have this," Myungsoo says. The writing on his skin spreads even thicker. Thorns sprout all over his body, tearing his clothes away to reveal scars that glow deep red like magma. He breathes toxic green smoke in the direction of the fairies and all those it touches grab their throats and fall to the floor. "That's our cue to go far away really fast." Sungyeol freezes the next layer of wall which Sungjong shatters through with a kick. "Was that... L?" Sunggyu gasps. "That was Myungsoo borrowing some of L's powers," Howon explains. "The real L won't have waited for us to leave before breathing poison everywhere." Sungyeol leads them deeper into the maze. "This way." Two outside, one fighting on his own,, Sunggyu counts in his head as they run through the next empty halls. A tremor rocks the entire palace followed quickly by the enraged roar of a gigantic beast from above. "Looks like Woohyun's really summoning the big ones," Sungjong grumbles. They slash and burn and shatter their way through more walls that Sunggyu can reliably count. Deeper and deeper into the palace, the spaces becoming tighter, the maze patterns more intricate. "Uh-oh." That's one of the last things Sunggyu wants to hear from the normally very stoic Sungyeol. "Grab on to something!" he yells, both by voice and through their mindlink. And the reason why makes itself clear immediately after. The entire palace begins to shake. Not just the tremors of Woohyun summoning his monsters or even Dongwoo's explosions. They can feel the unsettling rumble coming from deep inside the structure itself. Howon and Sungjong stab their swords through the walls and grip tightly. Howon grabs Sunggyu's arm while Sungyeol deactivates his mist to avoid freezing Sungjong. The palace... blooms. It's toss and tumble for a while, all four of them yelping and struggling to stay on their feet as the world reorients itself, floors becoming walls, walls becoming the ceiling, the dark hallways suddenly filling with bright daylight and wind blowing from all over. Sungyeol loses his grip but doesn't roll far away, whereas Sunggyu grabs on to Howon tighter than he's ever held anyone in his life and Howon endures the discomfort of a grown man curled firmly against his body. But soon the world stops moving and there's a definite floor for them to step on. Sunggyu lets go of Howon, and Howon breathes freely again now that Sunggyu isn't crushing his lungs. There's sky above and they're standing near the middle of a gigantic pink rose in full bloom. A frantic glance around shows trails of webs littering the outer edge of petals. There are spiders leaping and crawling and phoenixes still burning through the open air above. On the petal to their right is a beast made entirely of vines snatching wayward fairies in midflight. "The queen," Sungjong says darkly. And at the very center of the flower is a throne made of the iridescent wings of butterflies. And on that throne she sits gracefully. The queen of the fairies. She's human in shape, not just humanoid, but with every blink Sunggyu's eyes see a collection of flowers carefully arranged to look human even though his brain insists that it's a woman wearing a gown regally made of petals. Like one of those pictures where you never know what you're looking at: is it two faces or a vase? are the stairs going up or down? is the terrace seen from the top or the bottom? Is she a woman made of bluebells? Or a bouquet made to look like a queen? But then, in this world maybe there isn't one answer. Maybe it's possible to be both where magic is real. The queen of the fairies. And she turns to face them. From the flowers of her hands crawl out black beetles that fly toward Sunggyu's group, changing in mid-flight from harmless insects to dark-winged warriors brandishing epees made of thorns. There are too many of them to count. "The final-sting fairies," Sungyeol tells them urgently. Sungjong and Howon raise their swords, their aura and armor glowing brighter. "The queen's personal guard. Be very careful. It was one of those fairies that got me last night. Those swords can-" "Decay human flesh." Howon takes a careful step back. "We know. Fairy magic. Woohyun told us last night." The fairies saunter closer. Their epees glint evilly in the sunlight. "Any ideas, guys?" Sungjong whispers, almost but not quite frantic. "How about I drop in?" a voice shouts from above just before a pillar of fire erupts and consumes the body of the swarm and scatters those at the edges. The fire spell resolves into a burning python with a body thick as Sunggyu's torso. Dongwoo lands nimbly from the sky, worn and worse for wear but still so full of vigor. "Dongwoo, the queen!" Sunggyu yells, thankful that Dongwoo is always attentive to context. The python curls around the throne, but the flowers don't burn and a tiny chrysanthemum blooms between the snake's eyes. It pauses for a moment before turning to face Dongwoo instead. A flash of green sparkles quickly followed by a shadow that blots out the sun above the throne, a split-second of ominous dark right before a frog the size of a dump truck drops from the sky and crushes the python and the throne beneath it. "Thought you could use my help," Woohyun calls, crouched on the frog's head, wearing tight-fitting armor woven entirely from spider silk. Somehow, Sunggyu knows better than to feel relieved. "Sungyeol, where is she?" "Her mind is scattered all over the flower palace," the Sungyeol cloud says. "I'm trying to find where she's collecting herself-" The frog's tongue lashes out like a whip. Howon is fast enough to cut it right before it hits Sunggyu. Woohyun, eyes wide, disperses the creature and leaps away. A chrysanthemum falls delicately through the air. Sungjong spins on his heel and calls up a wall shaped like jagged crystal. The vine monster's claws scratch against it, leaving deep gashes that reform in seconds. Sungyeol covers the creature in mist until it's completely encased in ice. It's only then when they realize that all the spiders all over the flower have crawled silently closer and surrounded them, each one sporting a tiny chrysanthemum right above the mandible. A green and blue fairy the size of a bulldozer lands heavily nearby, each of its bladed arms dripping with thick, green goo. The floor sizzles and crumples wherever the drops fall. The men share a collective moment of silence, a point in time that translates to everyone simultaneously thinking "Oh shit." "Can you unsummon the spiders?" Dongwoo asks Woohyun tersely. "Not all of them at once!" Howon's smirk is grim. "Then we don't have a choice." For the first time in Sunggyu's memory, the blades of Howon's swords glow bright enough to be blinding. Woohyun doesn't resist. Several things happen at the same time. Flowers sprout beneath their feet. "The queen!" Sungyeol yells. Everyone jumps away as the throne reforms and the bouquet sitting on it blooms to life, immediately surrounded by its swarm of guards. The floor in front of the giant fairy turns opaque black. A demon, three times the size of a man and covered head to toe in thorns, lunges up from the darkness, grabs the fairy's throat and bites its head off. Specters of blue form in the air, shadows of three pairs of leathery wings that they can barely see grow solid and flap wide. Sungyeol climbs on the back of one, Woohyun and Dongwoo on another, and Sunggyu by himself on the third. Howon and Sungjong are charging through the army of spiders and scattering severed limbs behind them. Are we retreating? Woohyun asks. Sunggyu doesn't answer. He quietly takes stock of the situation, reorients himself with what they have and what they still need to do. Anything Woohyun and Dongwoo can summon can also be turned against them. Think, Sunggyu, he berates himself. Myungsoo, Howon and Sungjong are fighting through Woohyun's spiders and the new swarm of the queen's personal guard. Sungyeol is thinking the aerial view at the three still on the flower, providing a new perspective and allowing them to guard themselves better. But even Sunggyu, in his inexperience, can see that they're all on the defensive and that's no way to win this fight. The queen is watching them all from her throne. Think! One of Dongwoo's phoenixes speeds past above Sunggyu, chasing one of the last airborne fairies. And Sunggyu gets an idea. "Dongwoo," he asks urgently, "are your phoenixes still flying under your control?" Huh? Yeah, most of them are- -and none of Sunggyu's dragons have grown chrysanthemums- -as a tribe, the fairies learned how to live on the natural magic that the land produces, Sungjong said yesterday- -and just minutes ago when they broke into the palace, what did Sungyeol say? So this is what a fairy mind feels like ... The queen is giving me a headache- Because... ... because it's the first fairy mind that Sungyeol ever encountered? And Sungyeol found that watcher fairy by peering into a raccoon's mind, not by sensing that fairy's mind itself. Because... Because... A sharp chill crawls down Sunggyu's back. Epiphanies always make him feel like he dived into a freezing lake. All the fairies they killed were nothing but summons. There has only ever been one fairy. She is watching from her throne. Her throne is the flower of her palace. Her palace is the rose of the valley. Her valley is the garden of the world. And everything with a connection to the garden that doesn't have its own mind, she can learn to command using her chrysanthemums. "Woohyun! Can you summon anything that can fly?" What? Just beetles, but they can't fight- "Dongwoo? More phoenixes?" How many do you need? "As many as you can make. Cover me!" Sunggyu's dragon spreads its wings, gathers the wind beneath itself and soars higher. Dongwoo's phoenixes surround him, followed by blue phantasms that mature into sea serpents. Thank me later, Sungyeol butts in. I don't want whatever you're planning to be suicidal. "I have so much to live for," Sunggyu says solemnly. And so what if he's thinking of Woohyun? "Let's dive." The dragon folds its wings. It's funny, Sunggyu thinks when the world is rushing up at him and the roar of the wind renders him deaf. It's funny how he's always relied on his voice to help his dreams come true. How it's his words more than his actions that helped Infinite push and pull their way to the top. But now that actual lives are depending on him, in the end he has to rely on his hands. The queen's guard swarms thickly, a poisonous cloud of black covering the throne and hiding Sunggyu's target from sight. But Sunggyu's momentum is too great to be stopped. And where his speed may fail, Dongwoo and Sungyeol have thrown their support. They're not fighting alone. The phoenixes fly ahead and burn through the swarm, creating an opening for Sunggyu's dive and letting him through. The phantasms lose their shape to coat Sunggyu in a layer of hardened memories, a totem of protection above the armor Sungjong cast on him. But the queen is still hidden in her swarm, the speed of the dive is hurting Sunggyu's eyes and he's so close, he only has this one chance but if he can't see- Close your eyes, Howon's voice says in his head, and look through mine. And Sunggyu does. He sees himself on the back of his dragon soaring downward at breakneck speeds. And Howon has positioned himself where he can see the queen clearly. And at the right moment, Sunggyu opens his eyes again. Reaches out. Closes his hand around the queen's neck and feels a stem against his palm- -and picks the flower from its throne. Flowers, once picked, are nothing but dead things. Sunggyu! Myungsoo, alarmed. You're- "-awake?" It takes a moment for Sunggyu's vision to clear and another for him to jumpstart his lungs when he realizes he's not breathing. "Hyung?" Myungsoo asks uncertainly. Sunggyu is lying in bed. But not his bed. It doesn't take much deductive reasoning to figure out where he is, what with the white blanket and the absence of personal furniture and the tiled floor and the beeping, glowing machinery, the ceiling lights turned off and a solitary lamp casting warm light in a nearby corner. The smell of disinfectant in the air. There's a tubed needle stuck through the back of Sunggyu's hand and the bed is slightly inclined from the waist up. Myungsoo is sitting on a spindly chair right beside the bed. "Myungsoo?" Sunggyu asks. He sounds like he just ate gravel. Like he hasn't spoken for... "Hyung." Myungsoo smiles. Cheerful. Relieved. Sunggyu tries to sit up, an action that his body takes as its permission to start aching all over and at the same time. "Shit," Sunggyu whimpers, falling back against the stiff bed. "Shit is right," Myungsoo says with an amused grin. "I'm just glad you're okay, hyung." "But-" the queen, Sunggyu almost asks, "-what?" Myungsoo frowns in worry. "Maybe you're not so okay yet," he says. "The doctors said they didn't think you were concussed but if you can't remember what happened-" "Myungsoo." Deep, calming breaths. "Where. Is everybody?" Myungsoo glances at his watch. "Filming should be done by now. They're probably on the way here already." A brief, thoughtful pause. "I should text them that you're awake." "Too late for that, Kim Myungsoo," a voice scolds lightly from the door. Woohyun. "Hyung." Careful steps inside the room as if he's afraid Sunggyu would run away. Or bite his head off. "How are the kids?" Sunggyu asks immediately. Reflex. Some of the worry on Woohyun's face vanishes then. "Now I know you're really okay. The kids are fine. They're waiting in the van downstairs, Hyoan-hyung allowed only one of us to stay over. And speaking of which. Myungsoo, get packing, they're waiting for you." Myungsoo glares at him hard. "I want to stay." "You need to sleep." "I can sleep here." Woohyun groans. "Myungsoo, come on-" It takes a lot of effort but Sunggyu manages to raise a hand and ruffle Myungsoo's hair. It's weak but the fondness is there. The gentle reassurance. "Hyung will be okay. Go home. Get some sleep." Myungsoo doesn't say anything. Looks sulky and rebellious but Sunggyu knows better. "Don't stay up too late." "I won't." "You two are so sweet," Howon coos as he comes in. "You forgot your bag, Nam-star. And Hyoan-hyung sent me to make sure Myungsoo wouldn't take too long to pack up." He looks strange, Sunggyu thinks, without his swords in his hands. Myungsoo rolls his eyes at them and gets up with a huff. "Atta boy," Howon teases. Myungsoo ignores him and heads out the door. "You sure you'll be okay taking care of the old man by yourself?" Howon asks Woohyun. "Hey." Woohyun grins, taking the backpack from Howon. "I'm sure he won't be much trouble." Sunggyu wants to throw his pillow at them but he's not sure if his muscles would listen. "I'm glad you're okay, Leader-Gyu," Howon tells him lightly. "But I agree with Myungsoo. Get some rest. You took a bad fall the other day. We don't want you and your aching bones to slow us down." "I feel so loved," Sunggyu mutters. "Oh, and Howon?" Howon looks back from beyond the door. "Yeah?" Sunggyu doesn't say anything. Only looks at Howon with a question in his eyes. A request for permission. A quiet moment of understanding. Howon nods. Undoes Sunggyu's locks and unbinds him from his chains. Leaves Sunggyu alone. Trusts him to do the right thing. "Thank you," Sunggyu says even if Howon doesn't hear. "For everything." "What was that about?" Woohyun asks as he takes Myungsoo's place on the bedside chair. "Oh hey, looks like you dropped something." He bends out of view for a second, reaches for the floor and sits back up. Raises- the queen's head -a bluebell held gingerly between his fingers. "From Myungsoo, I guess. Probably thought you'd look more dramatic with a dash of color in your hands. I wonder where he put the rest of the bouquet, though." Sunggyu keeps his face blank. He killed the queen. And without the queen the fairies' threat is ended. Which means Woohyun's wish came true. Which means... Sunggyu had no reason to be there anymore. The magic that brought him had no reason to keep him. So he was sent back. "Gyu? You sure you're okay? You look-" "Sick." "-like you want to cry. Hey, whatever it is, I'm here, okay?" "I don't really need to be taken care of," Sunggyu says by way of answering. "I'm sure you'll sleep better at home." "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Woohyun tells him with a light laugh. "Let me take care of you at least this once, old man." "You've taken care of me plenty of times before." "Like when? You never let me." "Whenever you look after the kids, you're taking care of me." Woohyun's laughter is much less controlled this time, and a lot more unimpressed. "That is such a shitty answer, Kim Sunggyu." Sunggyu just grins at him, weak but genuine. Watches Woohyun watching him. And this is dangerous, this moment between them, a part of Sunggyu's brain rearing up and sounding the alarms... but he's been through other dangers, taken worse risks in another world that right now exists only in his memories. I'd want to know if it were me, Woohyun – the other Woohyun – told him when they were flying. You said he and I are the same where it matters. "You're looking at me weird." Woohyun chuckles. But there's nervousness there, Sunggyu can hear it. "How weird?" Woohyun shakes his head. "I shouldn't say." "Hey, it was my look, I'd want to know how it came across." "Like you want to kiss me," Woohyun blurts out. "But that's stupid of me, I'm just tired okay-" "Maybe I do," Sunggyu cuts in. He doesn't dishonor Woohyun's honesty by looking away. Keeps his eyes on Woohyun even as Woohyun freezes in surprise. "What? Gyu-" "Maybe I've wanted to for a long time," Sunggyu continues. It's hard to stop the dam once the water starts pouring. "Maybe I've wanted to for years. Maybe I've been working hard to keep you from knowing. But that doesn't mean I don't want to." Woohyun looks like he wants to say something – anything... but can't think of what to say at all. Nam Woohyun, speechless, what a moment to remember. "But I'm not going to," Sunggyu finishes. "And I never will. You're too important to me to push away just like that." "Sunggyu. Hyung. I can't-" "I know. And I'm not going to ask you to. But I'm not going away, either," Sunggyu preempts him. "I'm not going to be afraid of being around you just because you know now. I just..." It doesn't take too long for Woohyun to compose himself. To catch on to what Sunggyu is saying. "Don't want me to be afraid of you?" Woohyun finishes for him. He breaks out a smile, one of the genuine variety, the kind he uses only when there are no cameras around. "Me? Afraid of you? Kim Sunggyu, it'll take a lot more than this to chase me away." It's Sunggyu who's laughing this time. Not in relief, not exactly. More like... being free after spending so long in chains. More like riding the wings of a dragon for the very first time. "I'm not idiotic enough to think otherwise." "But thank you for telling me," Woohyun says. Takes Sunggyu's hand and squeezes. "I'm glad to know." Maybe a lot more happened than Sunggyu saving the other world. Maybe it wasn't just the other Woohyun's wish that brought him there. So. Sunggyu breathes lightly. What was I worried about all this time? "Aaaaand look who's back!" "Enough of the melodrama, Woohyun." "Hyung!" the rest of the team cheers as Sunggyu hobbles into the practice room. Woohyun jumps out of the way just in time for Myungsoo to barrel into Sunggyu and almost carry him back into the hallway. Nobody can hug quite as dynamically as Kim Myungsoo. "You sure you should be on your feet, gramps?" Howon teases, smile too wide to be teasing. Sunggyu fake-glares at him. "Just wait 'til this leech gets off me and I'll show you who should be in bed." "Nothing like threats of violence to assure everyone that you're okay," Sungjong says, only half exasperated. "I guess this means we should all be on our best behavior again." Sungyeol sighs deeply. "Man, I really don't want to do the laundry." But it's Dongwoo who pushes the Sunggyu-Myungsoo mess of limbs back into the practice room. "I'm all for Sunggyu resting as well but there's something hugely wrong about seeing only six of us dancing in the mirror." "Come on, Myungsoo." Howon does his best in prying the two apart. "Leader-Gyu has to earn his spot in Infinite again." "And work harder for it, too," Sungjong adds. "You guys aren't getting rid of me that easily," Sunggyu says confidently. "We're still young enough to dream." Sungyeol winks at him. "We almost succeeded, too." "What was that, Lee Sungyeol? It sounded like you were volunteering for laundry duty." "Didn't say a thing, Noble and Wise Leader-Gyu," Sungyeol backtracks and Woohyun breaks up laughing. "That's more like it. Now, everyone to your places," Sunggyu commands. And just like before, like always, Infinite follows even if they groan and complain every single time. "Music in three. Two. One." Maybe they can win this world after all. [Fin] |