(Dont jump to the last please 😭😭)

At the dead of the night, a squadron of men quietly moved through a village which was utterly silent. The night light guided them, for even a single lamp was not illuminated in the village.

Like a ghostly , uninhabited town, the masked and black clothed men encountered no danger as they silently reached the big house of the Dark General.

The 4th Prince glanced at his brother, who silently nodded.

It had already been decided that he along with a few men would keep guard outside, while the rest went in.

When they reached the walls lining the courtyard, the skilled men climbed it to jump in. Just like shadows, they disappeared inside the house.

As soon as the men went in, the Crown Prince straightened, earning the alarmed glares of the six guards with him. Although they were not alive long enough to caution the Crown Prince.

Deadly arrows whizzed through the air and accurately pierced their vital places, killing all six guards so swiftly, that in their death, they could not even produce a single sound to disturb the dark tranquillity of the night.

From the surrounding, eleven men dropped down beside the Crown Prince.

One of them, extended a hand holding a vial. He was crisp with his words, "Leave. We will allow you inside in a while."

Saying so, the men quickly surrounded the walls from the outside, while the Crown Prince glanced at them once and without any protest walked towards the houses of the town, sipping the antidote.

For the chance of being the Future King, he apologised in his heart to his little brother he had willingly bartered and pushed to death.

Inside the house, the 4th Prince commanded silently, "Find the Princess. That is the main aim. If you find her, give the signal, we will all retreat. Killing Hoseok is second in our priorities, the Princess being first."

The men nodded and dispersed in different directions. The Prince himself went ahead with a group of eight guards.

Silently, they stalked the corridors, the rooms and the gardens. As time went by, the Prince and the men became more guarded because each house then went in, every building that they inspected, had been empty.

The Prince stopped at last, carefully observing the place. The gardens looked splendid, bathed in the light of the moon, the leaves of the huge trees rustling in the wind while a swing swayed. The surrounding houses all remained quiet.

Feeling a growing disquiet, the Prince spoke, "Head back. Something is wrong."

"Yes." The men spoke at once but then all of them stilled. The voices of the group was lesser than expected.

The Prince turned back alarmed, only to see equally shocked four guards with him.

They clearly understood, this had been a trap. The General, obviously knew they were coming.

The Prince shouted loudly, "RETREAT!"

But right before his eyes, each of the four men were instantly pierced with more than a dozen of arrows. They dropped to the ground silently, their blood painting not just the pavement, but it also sprayed on the astonished and horrified face of the Prince who gasped with fright.

"Leaving so soon?"

The cold voice came from within the shadows, an elegant man with his long hair tied back stepped out on the pavement. His robes became part of the darkness, as the swished about when the man walked towards the Prince.

"Can I not interest you to stay a bit longer?"

"WHERE IS ANYA?? WHERE HAVE YOU HIDDEN HER?" The Prince shouted at Hoseok, drawing out his sword. He looked about for his other men, but he could only see Hoseok in front of him, standing straight with his hands behind his back, "YOU ARE DESPICABLE! DECLARING HER DEAD TO KIDNAP HER AWAY FROM ME AGAIN?"

"She is not yours." His words carried a cold fury, "She is mine. Has always been mine."

"WHERE IS SHE??" the Prince burnt in hatred as he charged at Hoseok with his sword, who merely dodged the attack at the last minute, the Prince being carried by the force of his momentum turned back and panted, "YOU WENT BACK IN TWO DAYS! YOU NEVER MOURNED! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN IT WAS ALL A PLOY!" he charged again, "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BEFORE MY BROTHER TOLD ME!"

Hoseok dodged again, remarking, "You will never find her. You don't deserve to."

He kept engaging in a battle with the Prince who being emotionally unstable kept attacking with skill, but could never get a strike. He was getting tired quickly, understanding that Hoseok was merely playing with him.

Slowly, the courtyard and the gardens started getting brighter with light.

Glancing around, he saw all the buildings surrounding them burning. The houses, were being burnt down.

Not knowing what was happening, he looked at Hoseok who simply stood before him.

"What are you doing?" the Prince asked at last.

Hoseok smiled, his lips and eyes cruel in the light of the slowly spreading blazing fire, "Do you-"

"HOSEOK! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME TOO!" a child's tearful cry made both of them glance at the source, one looked with interest while the other with growing horror.

Catching on his weak spot, the Prince sprinted towards the figure of the running child crying and screaming for the General, while Hoseok followed closely behind.

Reaching him before the General, the Prince scooped up the shocked and tear stained child, placing the edge of the sword on his neck.

Hoseok stopped and thundered, "He is a child LOVED by Anya! LET HIM GO!"

The prince scoffed, "Is that so?" he placed the sword even more securely on the child's neck, drawing blood.

"Hoseok!" little Tang pitifully whimpered, utterly scared.

"Then that makes it better!" the Prince by then had lost all his sense, madly laughing, "You wont let me leave here alive, will you?? WILL YOU?? I will never again be able to meet her! SO I WILL KILL THIS CHILD SHE LOVES! AT LEAST SHE WILL HATE YOU FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO PROTECT HIM!!"

The Prince was cornered. It was here that his spirit broke at last.

He had met a girl he had fallen in love with, madly. Had wanted to spend his life with her. He had to withstand not just her demise but then learn she was being kept imprisoned by his General when he glimpsed at her at night, in a town.

He had gone crazy with fear worry and outrage, wanting her safety against a Demonic person that he could not defeat outright. So he had approached the person he had often noticed to be looking at the General with envious stare. Their association would make his beautiful and delicate love return to him, for he did not care if she remained a maiden or not, his love for her never was restricted to her flesh.

For months the Prince had been quiet as around him he saw himself slowly being destroyed, his power, his reputation being stripped away but none of that mattered. All he wanted was his Aaya. He endured it all, while planning to tarnish and obliterate the General in the worst way. Just what he deserved.

But even there, Hoseok killed his ally, his majority guards and taken Aaya away to be hidden after telling the world she died. And now?

Now Hoseok would kill him too. He would never be able to see her.

Then if this was his last attempt, he would make sure that Aaya would loathe the General for being responsible for the death of someone she loved. At least, the Prince would be able to make sure she never fell in love with the General.

He would kill this boy. It was the right thing to do.

The child hung on his arms, facing Hoseok, not understanding anything. Little Guk had only ever wanted to come to take him back to the new house. He had waited till everyone fell asleep and had quietly slipped away.

"You. Dare. Lay. Your. Hand. On. Him?" every single word was punctuated with the anger Hoseok barely controlled. He was livid.

The Prince did not care. He had understood they were being left alone by his men who had probably left. They were all to be burnt in this place while the rest including Hoseok would move away and start anew somewhere.

And he could do nothing about it. Nothing.

He prepared to slice the neck of the kid in at least an attempt to have a connection with Anya, may it even be a one of hatred, when he suddenly found Hoseok to have moved faster than light.

THe Prince saw his hand holding the child, being chopped away, his blood spurting out, before the pain hit his brain.

It was then that he screamed loudly, his scream disrupting the silent night.

He staggered back, falling to the ground clutching at his hand while Hoseok swiftly knelt on the ground and picked the boy up.

The little boy hugged him tightly, "please dont leave. Please don't le-leave." He hiccupped. Tang had no sense of what had happened, his senses not registering the plight of the man who had been about to kill him. his only fear was losing Hoseok just like he had lost Anya.

Hoseok hugged the small body close to him while his eyes stayed trained on the writhing figure of the Prince. He waited for Ha-Ru, who came quickly.

"All houses have been burnt." He informed Hoseok, taking the screaming boy in his arms, who had run away from his house. "have a pleasant journey." He greeted Hoseok again before he took the child away.

Going a distance away, Ha-Ru looked back at the tall General standing in the night with his robes billowing in the breeze, knowing, that would be the last glimpse of the Mighty Warrior. Even through the pain on losing him, Ha-Ru clutched the boy close and prayed on a whisper, "May you be reunited with her."

Hoseok never answered back. He never saw the child. He only walked forward and crouched down to the prince.

Drawing out his sword, he grabbed the hilt of it securely in his hands and poured all of his anger, all of his pain in the short time he had with the one who had taken his all away.

Stab after stab of the sword went in the body of the Prince, the sword piercing his body until bones started shattering. Hoseok still did not stop.

He severed the remaining hand then the legs of the corpse.

His pain, his anguish still not satiated, he dug out the eyes of the head of the man because of whom his Anya had to burn her delicate body.

His madness continued well into the night where all the houses around him kept burning down to nothing while he kept mutilating a corpse, bathing in the blood of it.

When he finally sat back, the headless corpse of the Prince was hardly recognisable.

"Joong-ki." The blood swathed General murmured, "You will never have her. She is Mine in life." He stood up from the ground, "Mine in death." Kicking the corpse away, he turned to walk towards the Gingko tree with the swing, "Mine in each afterlife beyond each breath."

Heavily, he settled down at the foot of the Gingko tree, watching all the houses around him burning in flames.

"I destroyed all memories Anya. I kept my promise." He murmured to the wind, which seemed to answer him back in a sweeping sound.

"I am all dirty." He said, glancing at his body soaked in blood, "You wouldn't like that, would you?" he whispered.

Closing his eyes, he sat with his back against the bark of the tree, his head resting against it.

"You know?" he kept talking, "I don't want to be this person. In a way, death is good. I'll learn to be capable but not insane. I just don't want you to fear me."

"I want to be open to learn what you wanted to teach about Love. Not be filled with constant mad devouring obsession." He murmured as he looked up to the twinkling sky, "I will forget this 'me'."

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The breeze kept blowing through the night, the townsfolk coming out of their houses to see the houses inside the General's wall burning.

Each of them lit a lamp in the name of Anya. Each lamp was then carried to the gate and placed before it. Old men, women, husband, wives, sisters, children, everyone assembled with tears in their eyes, standing with Hoseok's men.

Because they knew, inside the burning mansion, a warrior was mourning his love, preparing to join her in her death.

They all folded their hands, every person praying from the deepest part of their soul, for tem to have peace in their next birth. For them to be reunited, for them to have a happy life with each other.

They prayed that this tragedy, this separation that happened in this life, not touch them in whichever time destiny chose for them to meet again.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Promise to never cross that line Hoseok. Because once your soul gets corrupted, lives will not matter even if we get a chance at meeting each other. I will never be able to love or protect that which has crossed over to evil.

Hoseok smiled as he remembered Anya's words.

"I did not cross the line." He lifted his sword and placed it on his neck, "So you will have to keep your promise Love. You have to come find me where ever I will be. And for you, I will be a better person. A person who will make you smile, a person, who will not drown you in an obsession so dark that the meaning of love will be lost in its savage demands." He whispered.

"I love you, Anya."

In the night, below the Gingko tree, amid the burning houses, a warrior slit his throat to follow his love in her afterlife.

As his vision dimmed with the approaching death, he saw a spectacular white light swirling before him, waiting for him.

The last thought he had was,

Our very first birth as humans failed, love. I am sorry.

The dark entity released itself from the restrains of the human body, rising quickly to meet the Light, but both got sucked out of the time before they could touch.

The night, continued on as it always had, unchanged by the deaths. The world never paused, even when two lovers, sharing a profound love, got destroyed by a thing called Fate. . . . .

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Well, if you are enjoying the story, please do comment and Vote. . . . .