On the eve of Grey's thirteenth birthday, her soul had left her body.
Suspended in time and abandoned by gravity, she had stopped squinting her eyes and noticed the shards of glass slicing through the car seats, through her skin, and through her parents. Her body and all of its resistance succumbed to the will of the vehicle. She was weightless, and the momentum rendered the unbreakable laws of physics powerless.
Darkness swaddled her in a cocoon as a sort of escape after she crashed into the back of the front passenger seat. Mercy, she supposed, gifted to her unconscious body to spare her from having to see the gruesome aftermath. However, it did not come quickly enough to make her forget that lurch-- a summoning of the body so far forward that made it's victims breathless, useless, and worthless until reality snapped their existence back into place like a crash dummy.
As Vanity's declaration sank in, that is what Grey felt; a shove towards a collision in which she was not in control of where she would land.
The human girl slowly looked to Seokjin who still reached for her. His hands pressed against her arms, the ice in them jolting her awake it seemed. He was saying something, lips moving to form words and expressions and whatever else she did not care to process in that moment. All she recognized was the unforgiving cold of his skin. An attribute meant to distinguish the difference between him and her. The difference between all of them.
She understood no more about this parallel world than she understood about her place within it.
Of all voices, Vanity's commandeered her attention most. She ignored Seokjin to find the immortal woman's eyes.
She smiled and said, "You poor thing. I'm so sorry it had to come from me."
Grey blinked, a tear sliding down her cheek. Jin's hands fell away and so did his shadow in her peripheral. He may have been tugged or moved on his own accord, she did not know.
Vanity came closer to Grey. Close enough to take her hands and hold them up supportively.
"Grey, do not listen!" It was the mysterious silver-haired man behind her. Nico.
Vanity glared daggers at the man behind Grey's head. "Another word from you and my claws go into her chest. She and I are bonding."
Grey swallowed, her resolve weakening. "Please, leave me alone."
"Wait, dear. You'll want to hear this part." Her thumb caressed the back of Grey's hand. She shot a golden glance at Anaphiel. "I would think they'd tell you the truth in all of their self-proclaimed righteousness, but if they're trying to get back home this way doesn't it make you curious as to why they're still here if all they have to obtain is one confession? That would suggest that you aren't the first. There were probably many before you. Don't you want to know what happened to them?"
"I don't want to know," Grey shook her head, not bothering to wipe the second tear that rolled down to her chin.
"You need to know." Vanity wiped her face with a knuckle. "Those women are dead, Grey. Every last one of them. There's something about pure heart holders that give them this insatiable desire to save others and not defend themselves. Girls like you are just too easy to find and too easy to kill, and to my irkans, they're absolutely delicious."
Grey snatched her hands from Vanity's. "You're sick."
The Siren rolled her eyes. "Typical for a human to blame the person that freed them over the ones that kept her contained. I'm trying to tell you that you're at the top of the hit list and if you still want these little boys as your guardians, then, you don't value your life."
She didn't want anything to do with the men around her. All they were doing was staring anyway. Watching her and her human dreams and expectations wither amidst their lies and the mess they made.
"I probably can't count on two hands how many girls died for this charitable cause so," Vanity shrugged, "I can protect you."
Jungkook flinched as though he was about to say something but thought against it. Next to him, Yoongi stared at the floor and Taehyung flexed his fingers at his sides like he heavily considered wrapping them around Vanity's neck.
"Protect me?" Grey sniffled. "You were about to kill me."
"I've reconsidered. Here's my new deal. Your life is yours so long as you leave this ballroom and the men in it behind and never return."
"Why?"
"I pity you and I don't like you around my property. But I will admit that looking at you now... There's no reason why I should care. I see your soft heart breaking through your pretty eyes and while your suffering is enticing, I do have honor. You were wronged by every man in this room, essentially set up for slaughter and you deserve a chance to start over. They're hard to find but others with pure hearts exist. You aren't the only one. They'll replace you."
Was that what she wanted? To be replaced? Moreover, was that all she was? A commodity that could be distributed every which way and when broken, substituted at the drop of a hat?
She gave them roses. Roses lined with promises and visions of the future. Roses that touched her heart.
Gosh, how stupid she was to give them a piece of her hope.
How stupid she was to think for a second that they cared.
"If I leave," Grey said, "Your creatures leave me alone?"
Vanity held a hand up above her head. The snarling beasts and rotted corpses hushed their roars and fell into obedience. Silence blanketed the ballroom, the eyes of the dead and undead centered on Grey and their queen. "As promised," Vanity said.
"One more thing," Grey gathered her skirts and straightened her shoulders. "If I leave, no harm comes to them."
The Siren frowned. "I offered you your life."
"Spare them tonight at least. Whatever happens after the sun rises is between you and them."
Vanity hesitated, her eyes narrowing and her fists balling up her lace cloak. She measured all of the angels and took a deep breath. "Fine. Get out of my sight."
Grey pivoted on her heel, pausing when her foot landed on something round. It was her final rose for Jin, and though a hand squeezed her heart, she stepped over the flower and walked through the main floor with her last shred of pride. She refused to glance sideways, refused to meet the eyes of Nico who gaped as she passed.
Grey climbed the staircase in stride, and as the warm summer breeze of a night in Seoul overtook her skin and she heard the colossal door close behind her, she still did not glance back.
:::
She was gone.
Grey was gone.
If Nico tried hard enough he could picture her there, could picture all the events of the night that he spotted from a distance; her smiles, her laughter, her presence filling the room and bringing it to life. At this ball, she made the gears turn and the wheels spin. She restarted the clock. In her absence, the handiwork shut down again as though the semblance of magic never existed.
He silently pleaded for the beautiful girl to look at him as she passed, but when he glimpsed her face he fell quiet. Vanity was right. One could see her heart's pain through her eyes.
The human truly carried feelings for them and she wore it miserably.
The woman in black cackled. "Shit, guys, I did not mean for it to go that way."
All his rage fell upon Vanity, blistering and boiling with wrath. He used to love that beautiful voice. Used to listen to it sing him to sleep and conjure merrymaking on even dreary days. Light up entire realms and peoples and hearts. How had it become so wicked?
"Really, I wanted her dead but I can't kick her while she's down. That's not my style."
Nico stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak when Jin interrupted.
"How miserable must you be to ruin anything good for other people?"
She raised an eyebrow, smirk gorgeously outlined by her full lips. "Do I look miserable to you?"
Taehyung growled, a low guttural noise. "Shut up. You love to hear yourself talk."
Vanity groaned. "Why are we acting like I was the only one that couldn't wait to get her out of here? Do you see how long she stayed standing there like I told her someone killed her puppy? It was ruining the festive mood."
"Stop talking about her!" Jungkook's katana shimmered under the lights. He pointed the tip of the blade at Vanity's nose. "You don't know anything!"
"I do know that you lied," she pouted, placing a contemplative finger on her chin, "and you made me look like the damn hero. I'm not supposed to be the hero. I'm so much greater than that. Born to be more, in fact."
Nico shouted, "You were born from the stars just as I was to be my sister. To watch over the people of this realm and--,"
"Nico," Vanity pretended to gag, "cut this moral act. It's a drag. I'm more interested in how you're alive. I thought we killed you before your fall."
Namjoon slammed the butt of his walking stick into the floor. "Enough. Anaphiel, Nico, we need to leave."
"Are you clapping that stick at me?" She pointed to it, eyebrows raised. Then, she turned to Nico. "I know he is not trying to get my attention. Remember your place, princeling, your superior is speaking. Who said anything about you leaving?"
Hoseok glared. "You agreed to Grey's terms."
"I don't listen to humans, Hoseok." Vanity scowled and turned her focus to the swarm of demons that grew excited to see her gaze like dogs awaiting table scraps. They began jumping up and down once more, snapping their jaws, biting at air. Her next command was graceful, elegant, careless.
"Kill them."
A surge of irkans rushed the circle of Anaphiel. Before the first talon could scratch one of their suits, a dome of black shadows formed around the angels. The smoky mass pushed outward, the demons that managed to climb on top of the shield being flung towards the walls. When the smoke cleared, Jin had his palms outstretched and his breathing was short.
"Show them no mercy!" Their eldest yelled.
Yoongi disappeared into a fog, Jungkook twirled his katana like a baton, Jimin's eyes became crimson as two elongated fangs punctured his lips. Namjoon snatched the head from his walking stick and jerked it in his arms. Two blades, one at the top and one at the bottom, jutted from the wood. Taehyung lowered into a defensive stance while Hoseok unleashed his wings.
Jin's shadows pooled around their feet, a sea of night and darkness.
Nico ran from the fray, cerulean light engulfing his hands. Using his magic so openly like this, he'd have about ten minutes of power at best. As for the others, less than that.
While the men dispersed to tackle different corners of the ballroom, Nico covered their backs by climbing the steps and taking position on the balcony. From above, he saw everything.
So, he watched as Jungkook fought off two different beasts with his slashing blade and didn't detect a third coming for his back. Nico stretched his palm to a spot right behind the angel. A gaping hole of crackling blue opened in the demon's path, its momentum too heavy for it to evade the trap. It fell into the portal as Nico used his other hand to point to the ceiling. Another gaping door opened there. The demon fell from the ceiling to the floor, victim to Nico's manipulative void.
Taehyung snatched a champagne bottle from a nearby table and slammed it against the skull of a bone-winged demon. The creature screeched as glass tore into it's thin skin. While it reeled, the angel took a wooden chair and swung at it's ribcage. The seat splintered, breaking into several pieces. Before the monster could recover, he grabbed one of the chair's legs and stabbed the irkan in the chest. Black blood sprayed white tablecloths as it clambered to the ground.
Nico sent a quick prayer to the sky for Taehyung as the young man squared off with another monster. Seeing him in a humanlike state well into the fight meant that he was either holding back or not even close to having all the strength he needed. His condition could not be helped. There were six other angels Nico had to protect.
Across the way, Namjoon held off three irkans while back to back with Hoseok. Their commands to one another rang clear through the venue.
"I have three in front!" Namjoon waved the walking stick towards the creeping beasts, using the knife at the end as a threat.
Hoseok cried, "Four on my end! Too many!"
He was right. Seven irkans against two angels with dwindling powers. Nico prepared to create another void, but halted when Namjoon said, "Hoseok! Do the thing!"
"I might hit you!"
"You won't hit me! I trust you. It's our best way to the others!" Namjoon roundhouse kicked an irkan that pounced forward, his walking stick sinking into the soft flesh beneath it's chin. It dropped in a heartbeat, blood pooling beneath it's head."Now!"
Hoseok crossed his winged arms, raising them parallel to the floor. Namjoon ducked as the older grunted and opened his wings. Numerous darts shot from Hoseok's arms, jet black and swift. Feathers, Nico realized, feathers sharpened like arrowheads pelted the irkans, slicing into rotted skin and bone. The demons hit in the heart fell to the ground immediately. Those that survived howled.
"I did it!" Hoseok grinned, turned to Namjoon. "I did it!"
"I knew you could." Namjoon shook his head, catching his breath, then, "Watch out!"
Before a wriggling soldier could slash it's claws through Hobi's shoulder, a long, silver dagger pressed through it's heart and through the front of it's chest. Nico winced at the gurgling sound, but blinked incredulously at Yoongi, who pulled his blade from his victim.
"Save the cheerleading for later," Yoongi barked. He vanished in a black cloud.
Jungkook rolled through the legs of his attacker at the tables beyond Joon and Hoseok. Upon standing, he expertly lunged for the chest of his irkan. The demon stepped out of the way, too fast for such a swing to work.
From first glance, this one was different. Broad shoulders and a muscled chest, it's skin was indigo and it's head was unlike anything Jungkook had ever seen. It had no face, but flaps of skin that would open to reveal several rows of sharpened teeth. It moved on all four limbs, scurrying forward to bite and grab or scooting back to evade the bodyguard's special attacks.
Jungkook feigned a move to the right and whirled to the left. His blade sliced clean through the demon's shoulder. The ugly thing reared it's flowered head and shrieked, spit flying from it's various jaws. Satisfied with fresh blood on metal, Jungkook raised his blade overheadâand shouted as the demon tackled him to the ground with two burly paws. His sword slid a few feet too far from his reach, and though he tried to calculate the distance, the irkan's dripping maw over his nose warranted far more attention.
Saliva, warm and viscous, dripped onto Jungkook's chest. The bodyguard wriggled, the beast's muscles far too powerful to escape with will power alone. His head ducked to the right as the demon's teeth narrowly missed clamping down on the left side of his face.
"Get off of me!"
A foot connected with the beast's side. The kick sent the irkan slamming into nearby tables. Jungkook gulped down air, scampering to his feet in case of another attack. Jimin sauntered to his side.
"Tell me I'm tall and I'll handle this one."
Jungkook glared, balling his fists as the irkan recovered and shook it's alien head like it was shaking off dizziness.
"You were having trouble, Kookie. Say it."
"Never."
The irkan's lengthy green tongue snaked out of its mouth as it hissed. The ugly thing loaded weight on its haunches, coils of unearthly muscle rippling under leathery skin. It was going to charge.
Even worse, Jungkook raised an eyebrow as the gash dripping black blood onto his chest began to close. The stupid thing was healing. Regenerating itself.
Jimin gasped, clicking it's tongue. "Tell me or I'll let it get you."
"Over my dead body," Jungkook spat.
Jimin sighed. "I'm too nice to you."
Claws scratched against marble as the beast lunged with claws outstretched for them both. Jungkook rolled out of the way, his eyes managing to stay on his friend who licked his bottom lip and rolled up his sleeves.
The bodyguard expected to see Jimin's body torn to ribbons, expected to see a hole sliced clean through his black shirt and paisley blazer. Except, when the irkan was centimeters from his face, Jimin's enchanting face contorted into rage. He yelled, winding up and punching the demon square in the cheek.
It's head snapped to the side, entire body twisting and spiraling over a series of tables before landing on the buffet. Jungkook's hair blew back from the force.
Jimin sucked in a breath, shaking out his hand. "He's got a hard head."
Since when did he get so powerful?
Jungkook swallowed the horror that surfaced in his expression and ignored the utterly ominous aura pouring from the older. He snatched his blade from the ground.
"Stop using the darkness as a power source."
Jimin purposefully looked to the other end of the ballroom where Jin held irkans airborne by tentacles of shadow. The eldest was throwing them at walls like they were no more than toys. Jimin said, "I haven't in a while. Look, we've all been using it. None of us are supposed to last this long."
"I haven't," Jungkook admitted.
Jimin grimaced.
True to his calculations, Nico stood atop the balcony with not a speck of power left. He'd used too much with the dramatic entrance. Even so, he scanned the visible perimeters of the waning battle for the woman in the black dress. Through intuition alone he could tell she'd vanished a long time ago.
However, she would not hide forever. He would meet her again.
Disfigured bodies and blood stained with ink littered the floor. Overturned tables and shattered glass decorated their open graves. Seokjin had told them to withhold mercy, and they had. Not a single demon moved or flinched. It was an overwhelming victory and it wasn't difficult to discern why.
Anaphiel stood in separated corners of the main floor, heaving.
All seven of them had overdone it, and Nico could see it in the paling of their skin and the swaying that accompanied their strained walks back to the middle of the ruined dance floor. They hadn't fought in years, and it showed.
Nevertheless, they fought. They thoughtlessly severed the hearts and heads of every demon that charged their way as though it was second nature when it was not and it never had been.
They fought with glimpses of vengeance, glimpses of a certain edge that Nico had seen in battlefields of centuries past.
And perhaps Nico assumed prematurely, but he believed that they used this night--this moment--for release to rage over what they had just lost.
As the last demon fell, the ensuing silence was deafening.
:::
(A/N) Forgiving reader,
As of Part II's release, I'm officially out of school but I won't be updating like mad as with Part I.
UPDATE SCHEDULE: still deciding between Tuesdays/Fridays and Mondays/Thursdays; one of the upcoming chapters will have a finalized decision.
Next release: 7/12 (July 12th)
Consider voting and commenting if you liked today's action scenes or the comeback chapter as a whole (it was really a rejoinder to show the aftermath)! Though voting is never necessary and strictly an extra perk, it lets me know as the author that you're still having a blast!
Also, I don't understand why I waited so long to give @Emsuga18 a dedication. She's an extremely helpful and lovely human being that's been so supportive. So glad you're on this journey with me!
Have a beautiful rest of your day/night. Hopefully, I'll see you next time!
All best,
- M