Chapter Text
“We should surrender!”
Hyun stopped in his tracks, seeing another troop speak up to Kan Soo-Jin. His voice desperate and shaking, and Hyun could tell that he was scared. Within an instant, the soldier’s head was on the ground. Hyun stepped back, his eyes wide.
In efforts to revive the soldiers’ spirits, Kan Soo-Jin started to speak, but Hyun was rooted to the spot, his body filled with fear. He believed that Soo-Jin was a rightful ruler, but now, he was overwhelmingly overpowered. And yet, Soo-Jin still tried to fight.
Something felt wrong. Hyun didn’t want to fight anymore; perhaps Su-Won was fit to be a ruler. He had predicted every single one of Soo-Jin’s moves and made preparations against it. Hyun didn’t want to betray Soo-Jin and risk losing his life by decapitation, but now he was stuck in the middle of two dismal situations. To fight against an army that served a proper king or to lose his life to the very ruler he looked up to.
He had already lost so many of his friends and companions in this fight. There wasn’t much else to lose anymore. He still valued his life, and in the end, he realized that he could not give it up for the sake of the Fire Tribe.
Suddenly, a woman’s voice spoke up, cutting his thoughts off. “Don’t be so full of yourself.”
Hyun whipped his head around to see seven people standing in a circle. “You don’t even know what you make your people live through.” The woman’s voice was cold and unforgiving. “You are not fit to be king.”
He could see her from where he was standing. Her bright red hair and purple eyes were filled with courage, determination—everything that he was lacking. Soo-Jin ordered everyone to kill them, to erase them from his sight, yet Hyun couldn’t lift his sword. Something about her forced him to stay in place. There’s no way I could kill her anyway.
No one else moved, and she continued to speak. The people who surrounded her seemed calm as if they were wandering around a market and not in the middle of a battle. The second she closed her mouth, soldiers sprung forth around Soo-Jin.
Hyun still couldn’t move. Everyone else is going to fight, he thought. Why can’t I move? What is keeping me here?
He saw Fire Tribe soldiers falling to the ground, and his sword shook in his hand. I’m a Fire Tribe soldier, yet I can’t bring myself to fight for it . The men who stood around her were fighting relentlessly, easily throwing soldiers away. Hyun lifted his sword and was about to move when he heard a whistle and saw the king himself standing a short distance away.
Geun-Tae and Joo-doh arrived a moment later, and all of them froze as they saw the woman. She said something to her comrades, and they disappeared as fast as they arrived. Perhaps it would be over now—-
“Hey! What are you doing?” Soo-Jin’s voice shattered that thought. “Go after them!!”
Murmurs of “His majesty . . .” echoed throughout the soldiers. Hyun could understand the reason. The king himself stood in front of them, and they were unsure how to act.
If this coup failed, would all of them be punished for an attempt on the king’s life? With that question in all of their minds, none moved. Soo-Jin was still so brave, so courageous, but it would only lead to his demise.
Hyun watched with horror as the Fire Tribe leader picked up the bow that was hanging from his horse’s side. He’s going to shoot the king , he thought bleakly. He’s going to shoot the king.
No one moved as the man notched the arrow, screaming at the king who looked at him impassively. How could he be so calm? Hyun took in a shaky breath. His life is on the line and yet . . .
Soo-Jin pulled the arrow back, and before he could let it go, the sickening sound of a sword through the chest reached his ears. Hyun saw a soldier holding a spear, one end in his hands, the other in Soo-Jin’s back. He had seen that soldier before, a kind man who always smiled and never got into any fights with other people.
Now, his eyes were filled with fear, and he was panting, letting go of the spear and stepping back to watch Soo-Jin fall off his horse, his body hitting the ground. Breathing unevenly, he fell to his knees. “Lord Soo-Jin . . . ,” he said quietly, but it was loud enough for everything. “Lord Soo-Jin . . . you are . . . you are no longer the king we adored . . . you are not . . .”
Soo-Jin took a last shaky breath as he breathed out his childrens’ names, tears streaming out of the corner of his eyes. Hyun and the other soldiers looked on, unable to move or look away. Soo-won, Geun-tae, and Ju-Doh had grim expressions on their faces, watching silently. Soo-won’s eyes betrayed a hint of disappointment and sadness as Soo-Jin stopped breathing.
With no clear purpose in sight, Hyun and the other soldiers stood about uneasily, submitting without a fight as Soo-won and the imperial army subdued them. Memories of the battlefield consumed him. He thought about the girl who had appeared and disappeared like a passing wind, causing Soo-Jin to lose his composure. Who could she be?
She seemed almost like . . . the red dragon from legend. The people who protected her showed no fear when fighting against the Fire Tribe soldiers. He was most definitely dreaming, right? The red dragon didn’t exist in real life; it was just a legend. At least, that’s what he tried to convince himself to think.
It was hard not to think about Soo-Jin’s sudden death either. Where had that courage come from? Hyun didn’t want to admit it, but he was waiting for someone to take the leader’s life. The soldier’s words echoed through everyone’s thoughts. At that point . . . he was most definitely not fit to be king.
He almost regretted thinking that, but it was true. There was nothing more to be done than accept it. Hyun looked up at the sky, letting out a sigh. If there was one thing that he wanted to do before he died . . . well, seeing the girl and her group again wouldn’t be so bad. Even if he was just deluding himself, he wanted to see the reincarnation of Hiryuu and the four dragons. Perhaps then, he’d be liberated of the regret that burdened him when he disobeyed Soo-Jin’s orders.