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The hallway was silent but brightly illuminated by the large windows, decorated in gold and silver; fully showing how wealthy the owner was.
Suddenly, quick steps broke the once-reigning silence.
Crimson hair shone under the golden lights of the sun, making its owner look like an angel on earth.
The said angel was panting, he tried his best to go up to his room, but the layout of the villa made it difficult to access the fifth floor. He didn’t complain before, but now, with his body shaking and his head fuzzy, he can’t help but curse the architecture.
“-Haah… aah…”
“Damn it”
“_Cale, you need to slow down, your heart can’t take this effort.”
Cale noticed how worried Super Rock’s voice sounded, but he can’t slow down, his kids are going to be here any minute, and he doesn’t want them to see him in this state.
“_Cale- Hic- If you don’t calm down I won’t-Hic- Be able to cure you…”
“Fuck it.”
Black boots quickly made their way upstairs, and Cale finally stopped, right after he closed his floor’s door. The youth slowly left himself down, before sitting on the cold marble floor. He looked at his pale hands, only to find them thinner and shaking uncontrollably.
And he finally let the pain crash on him, leaving him dizzy and lightheaded.
“Why is it now…”
Cale felt hopeless, why now when he finally started the life of his dreams?
Why now, when he finally overcame his fears?
Why now, when he finally started to love?
Why now, when he is finally happy?!
Cale silently cursed his life, he cursed his inability to protect himself, he cursed his weak body, and his helplessness…
“How much?”
“_I don’t know… I’m sorry…” The crybaby apologized. Cale didn’t know why he would be apologizing, when he kept him alive during many of his crazy acts, guess this is just the end…
Red browns slowly closed down, leaving him to drown in a painful slumber, uncomfortable on his room’s floor.
When he opens his eyes, he doesn’t find himself in his chamber, no, he found himself in an office, one that is too familiar to him.
“-Hello…” a voice erupted from behind him, and he immediately turned, only to see his past self Kim Rok Soo.
The original Cale Henituse- Kim Rok Soo now, was standing in front of him.
“-What happened?” Cale sounded tired, and the black-haired man smiled softly.
“-The God of Death wanted to talk to us, I’ve been waiting for quite a while.
-What would that bastard say again? Did he do something?” Cale asked exasperated, before sitting down on the black couch next to him, Rok Soo soon joined him.
“-I apologize for making you wait.” A white-haired entity appeared in front of the metallic desk, before leaning on it carefully. The two analyzed the man in front of them; long white hair flowing down, scarlet eyes shining mischievously, the god was wearing a white button-up, basic black pants, and dress shoes; the said god appeared less than whatever they imagined.
“-I wanted to inform you of something, one that only I know about the existence of you two.” He started slowly.
“-I don’t want to know any useless information.” Cale quickly claimed, he definitely wasn't interested in whatever the man would say. Rok Soo next to him nodded, his brown eyes sharp, he can’t trust this god, no matter the deal the two had made once, the God of Death wasn’t someone trustworthy.
“-My children…” The entity started walking toward them, before crouching down.
“- We are not your children.” Cale denounced; this bastard was really making him mad, he is already stressed out with his supposed to be close death, and now this fucker comes yapping at him about secrets and shit.
“-Cale, your heart is failing you, right?” Red eyes focused on the current red hair.
“-What nonsense are you spouting, you bastard?” Rok Soo denied, laughing.
Cale stayed silent, and this silence made Rok Soo realize it was true. The black haired grabbed the youth by his shoulders before turning face to face.
“-Cale? What does it mean your heart is failing? What’s going on?” Rok Soo asked, worried.
“-The backlash from his fight with the Sealed God and his minion, made him weak, the vitality of the heart can’t do anything about it, right?” The god explained, looking at the child in pain and regret.
“-You said you wanted to have a slacker life!
-I know, but apparently, I won’t…” Cale shrugged with a chuckle, surprising the black-haired in front of him.
“-That is no secret” He turned to face the god, “What are you hiding?”
Rok Soo, although pained, -as he felt like he stole the youth’s life, and robbed him of his ability to live a long life-, turned to face the entity, waiting for this big secret of his, he will talk to Cale later, and will apologize.
“-With Cale dying, that also means that you, Kim Rok Soo, are going to die too.”
Cale stilled.
“Rok Soo is going to die because of me?”
“-What do you mean?” Cale shakily asked, he doesn’t care if he dies, but why would Rok Soo die too? It was his mistake, so he has to face the consequences, so why Rok Soo?
“-You two are linked, both of your souls are linked.
-That doesn’t make any sense!” Rok Soo yelled.
“-Why does he have to die?! He doesn’t deserve it! Why do I have to die because of it?! What bullshit have you done again?!” Rok Soo shouted at the God at fault, but what fault, no one knows.
“-Calm down, and I will explain.
-Calm down?! You-“
The black hair stopped when he felt Cale’s hand holding his, he turns to look at him, only to find Cale silent, looking sharply at the man in front of them.
“-When Jour Thames was pregnant, she bore two souls, she was supposed to give birth to two babies, but one was affected with a curse… A curse related to the White star.”
Rok Soo didn’t like where this was going, he hated it. He unconsciously tightened his hand around Cale’s, and if it hurt the latter, he didn’t show it.
“-I tried to break the curse, because an innocent child couldn't bear such one, no matter what, but I couldn’t, and… it cost the other sibling’s life.”
Oh.
“- I managed to save the soul of the child and was able to send it to another world, hoping for it to grow up and survive. But what I didn’t know, was that the curse was on both of the souls, which led to everything happening on earth 1”
Oh
“- The two of you are linked, your souls are linked because each has a part of the other in his. You were supposed to be siblings, no, you are siblings, but I messed it up for both of you, and I am sorry.”
Cale’s mind was silent, he didn’t know how to process all of this…
“If it weren’t for The God of Death, I wouldn’t be hurt? If- I… my parents would still be alive? Would the world still be peaceful? I… I was the one who ruined everything?”
The youth stayed silent for a while, before sighting.
“-Now what?”
Rok Soo, who was lost in his thoughts, was awakened by Cale’s blunt voice, by his brother’s blunt voice, hah…
“-All of this already happened, now what? If you’re telling us all of this, that means that there is another thing, all that you said had been this soap opera about long-lost brothers, now what are you going to do?”
The white-haired entity chuckled, of course, he is now in the presence of two scary people, he shouldn’t let his guard down, and definitely, he should keep them interested.
“-You both are going to lose your lives, unfortunately, but I will give you both a present when the time comes for it, for now, I wish for both of you to have your farewell with your loved ones.
-How much time do we have?
-A week…”
The god’s form started to fade away, leaving the two all alone.
“-I’m sorry…” Rok Soo suddenly said.
“-Excuse me?” Cale was confused; shouldn’t he be the one apologizing?
“-If I didn’t make the deal with him, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt, and now you’re going to lose your life because of it…
-I hated that place, to be honest… I’m glad I’m not there anymore, at least here, I found a place to call home.
-Me too, I found my mother, our? Anyway, and the team members are hilarious to be with…”
The two looked at each other for a while, before getting up.
“-Everyone must be worried, I will go back.
-Yes.” Rok Soo nodded, as he watched the red hair disappear into particles. He found himself all alone, before calling out.
“-Oi! You bastard! Come here.” As he sat down on the couch, he watched as the god returned, obediently.
“-What do you need now?
Red browns looked at the darkness that finally started to disappear, leaving with the nightmares that tormented him.
When he heard that people usually see their life pass before their eyes when they die, he didn't think it would be like this, especially since he still had a week left from his death...
The darkness went off, before his eyes finally opened up, to meet wet blues.
“-Human! You’re awake!” The small dragon cried as he snuggled his face in Cale’s neck.
Brown reds looked through the room as he managed to sit up with the baby dragon, he found his kittens sitting on his lap, looking at him with a worried look, he then saw Eruhaben sitting in a chair next to his bed, scowling, Ron was located near the window, adorning his face with a benign smile, while Choi Han was leaning on the door, barely awake.
“-Unlucky bastard…” The golden dragon cursed, making Cale flinch, what did he do again?
Cale tilted his head in confusion, and Choi Han who finally regained his senses ran toward Cale.
“-Cale-nim! Are you alright?” The swordmaster asked carefully, sitting on the edge of his master’s bed.
Cale thought for a moment, he felt better than before at least, even if the talk with the God of Death made him have a terrible headache.
“-I am alright.” Cale nodded, yes, he feels fine.
But apparently, neither Choi Han nor the others trusted him.
“-On, can you take Hong and Raon outside to play with Lock? We need to talk to your father.”
Cale flinched at the tone Ron used in his last sentence, what did he do?
On shot him a concerned look, before she called for her brothers and left the room, even Raon had to go, he wasn’t allowed now.
Once the kids went out, Ron approached, and Choi Han stood up.
“-Young master, how are you truly feeling?” Ron asked again, and Cale was perplexed, he was fine, he doesn’t feel tired anymore, and there is no pain.
Seeing the red hair confused, Eruhaben spoke.
“-You were unconscious for four days..."
“Huh?”
Cale looked at the dragon wide-eyed, he did what now?
If he collapsed for four days, does that mean that he only has three days left? He can't go after only three days! that's too little, even if he had years left, it would still be too little, he wants to spend every second with his family, he wanted to live and be happy with them... why...
“-Choi Han found you collapsed behind your door, and your body was scorching, it only cooled off a bit before you woke up.”
The dragon kept explaining, he kept a detail, one of the young boy screaming for help, of him crying and begging...
The cries only stopped a few hours before Cale woke up.
Cale was tired, he just felt too much and too little. How was he supposed to process the information of his death? How is he supposed to tell his family that he only has mere three days left? How is he supposed to comfort them?
He doesn't know...
But he knows for a fact that his family cherishes him, after all, if they didn't would they still be around him after the end of the war?
A sigh left Cale's lips, drawing everyone's eyes toward his stature. The youth looked as if he was holding the weight of the world; it was a sight they were used to, but not after the end of the war; because Cale finally relaxed, and became more expressive.
So why? Why do they feel like Cale is hiding something again from them? why?
"-I will leave you to rest, young master," Ron announced, he walked out of the room, to prepare himself mentally for whatever is going to happen, and to train, because he will never let his young master get hurt again...
Eruhaben observed the pale youth in front of him, as he followed with his eyes the butler out.
"-Cale...
-Yes, Eruhaben-nim?
-If anything happens, tell me or tell Choi Han, and I will go ask for something for you to eat.
-Thank you..." Cale mumbled, before resting his head on his hands.
Choi Han watched his liege do so, worried, he had a bad feeling about all of this. Cale looked sick and tired, his collapsing was a wake-up call for them, making everyone realize that something is wrong with the person they love the most.
"-Choi Han..."
Cale's weak call awoke the swordmaster from his trance, and he hurriedly grabbed Cale's shoulder, stabilizing him as he lay down.
"-Yes, Cale-nim?
-Can you... Gather everyone for dinner?
-Everyone?
-Yes, I want everyone here, mother, father... the wolfs... Mary, Jack, and Hannah... Everyone..."
Choi Han felt a chill pass through him, what does his liege mean?
Cale looked at the Korean youth in front of him, before smiling.
"-I just feel like I'll miss them..."
Cale didn't like how weak he felt, as Choi Han walked him downstairs. They had a slow pace, to not exert the youth.
"-Cale-nim...
-Hmm?
-What will happen next?
-I don't know Choi Han... We will see...
-May I ask what are you planning, young master?"
Cale flinched at the butler suddenly appearing in front of the duo.
Brown looked skeptical at the youth, eyeing how the swordmaster held his young master and the latter looked as if he was about to faint.
"-Let me help you, young master..." He held the vacant hand and slowly, the swordmaster and the butler helped their liege to go down.
Once Cale was able to go alone to the diner room, the two stayed back. Ron grabbed Choi Han by his shoulders, before flashing a dagger under his chin.
"-What's going on?" he asks with venom.
"-I don't know..." Choi Han eyes so much pain it scared Ron.
"-Is the young master terminally sick?" Ron's hold over the teen relaxed, he stepped back a few steps, shocked by his question.
"-I... I don't know..." Choi Han teared up, he doesn't know what was going on, things are worrying him, and Cale is worrying him...
Ron felt sick.
The dinner was heartwarming.
Everyone was happy, they talked energetically.
The kids played, and the adults laughed.
And Cale, he was so happy to see everyone around him, for one last time. He recorded every second. He didn't care if that took a toll on his body, he was satisfied with the current state.
"I don't wanna go..."
The next days were draining him, but he was happy. He took his siblings and children out, and they had the fun of their lives.
He then spent time with the adults, talking and debating over things, something so simple and yet, so satisfying.
Cale was now walking under cover, next to him was his sworn brother, in his dark elf form.
"-Cale.
-Yes, hyung-nim?" Cale used Alberu's favorite title immediately, which left the latter flabbergasted.
"-Should I be worried?
-Why?
-Did you do something?
-How offending! His Majesty the Sun of our Empire has so little trust over his humble brother!
-Stop..." Alberu sighted exasperatedly over his brother's words, but then reminded him.
"-If anything happens, you will tell me, right?" The disguised emperor spoke seriously, as he heard from the rest that Cale is exerting himself to stay with them, and doesn't go to sleep until everyone does. He was told that his brother has spent a lot of money building some things, and a lot was gone in shopping... Why is he doing so much?
Cale stilled at the question and then smiled as he took Alberu's hand in his.
"-Yes, I will."
The red hair then started dragging the older through the stands of food, enjoying everything the market offered.
"I'm sorry for lying... Hyung."
He knew it was time.
He feels the power of Death flowing through him, making him stand up from his desk, giving the letters on it one last glance before walking to his bed.
Cale slowly makes himself comfortable as he starts feeling drowsy.
Well, at least he won't die in pain.
Once he is finally satisfied with his position, he closes his eyes in acceptance.
When Ron comes into the room to wake up his young master, he finds the youth smiling, breathless.
The street was busy, even if it was barely eight in the morning.
Combat boots ran on a puddle of water, before running toward a campus.
"Damn it, Kim, you couldn't wake me up?!"
Bright red hair, styled in a half ponytail, shined under the sun, making its owner look like a spirit from the legends.
The owner of the hair ran as fast as he can, praying that he isn't late for the first day of school, not the day when he is supposed to check out the new students' documents because somehow he is the damned council's president.
Once he arrived, he finds the door closed.
"Fuck you, hyung!"
The red hair steps back a few, before running as fast as he can and grabbing the top of the metallic door, he uses it as a stepping aid, before hopping over it.
His shoes made a sound as he make contact with the pave way, startling some victim whose only mistake was to be there at that time.
"-I'm sorry!" The youth quickly apologized as his eyes met the blond man's blues before he started running again, this time, to the council's building.
The blond smiled at the sight of the red hair running in front of him, before turning to meet an Asian black-haired, and a red-haired woman.
"-Seems like young master Cale is more energetic and healthier here.
-As Cale-nim should be."
The two commented, leaving the blond looking at the coming red-hair, one that looked exactly the same as the one who just ran out.
"-So... I did a good job, huh, he is living the life...
-Yes, thank you Kim.
-Of course, he is my brother, Alberu..."