I woke up particularly early today for some reason.

Probably because something felt off. I ignored the feeling the first few times I woke up, but it started getting progressively stronger as time went on.

Chenle was fast asleep next to me, in his cat form of course.

Did I mention he's a calico?

Either way, no matter what breed he is, he's still really cute.

Seeing him sleep so carefree puts me at ease, but just a little bit. I got up to make sure everything was alright in the rest of the mansion.

-

Everything was normal, apart from Jeno and Zachariah sleeping on the ceiling in a crisscrossed position.

Other than that, it was the same as it usually is at five in the morning. When I got back in my room, Chenle was awake.

"Morning hyung~"

He yawned, stretching himself out.

"Morning Lele~"

"Why are you up so early?"

"I don't really know. I just had a bad feeling, but I'm fine now"

"You sure hyung? You still look a bit uneasy"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some more sleep~"

"Me too~. Can you pick me up and put me on that pillow next to you~?"

"Of course~"

I picked him up by his neck, just the way he likes it.

It's kind of like how a mother cat picks up her kittens. That kinda makes me wonder what his life was like before he lived here. I'll have to ask him later.

"Goodnight hyungie~"

"Technically its morning, but goodnight Lele~"

He curled up into a ball next to my head and went to sleep, as did I.

-

Later That Day
Around 12

-

Chenle woke up before me, and was licking my face in order to wake me up.

"Leleeeeeeee"

I groaned softly.

"Hello Renjun-hyungie~"

"What time is iiiiittt?"

"11:58~"

"Oh! Time to get up then~"

I cheered, and Chenle changed back to his normal self.

We made up my bed together, and made our way towards the door, but something suddenly felt off.

I started feeling really dizzy and drowsy. I guess Chenle was too, because he grabbed onto my shoulder.

"Hyung... W-Why are we...so...sleepy...?"

"I don't...know..... Let's try to....find Taeyong-hyung...."

-

We limped our way to Taeyong's room, but no one was there, not even Jungwoo or Lucas. Chenle passed out when we were leaving his room, so I did my best to carry him.

I don't know why, but my instincts brought me to the penthouse. Feeling my drowsiness and dizziness become stronger, I hurriedly opened the door. Everyone was here, and they were all knocked out.

I fell to my knees, since Chenle was getting heavier due to my current condition. I still kept him on my back as I crawled to the others, only then for me to notice there were two others with them.

It didn't matter to me what they looked like or who they were, I just need to help them. One of them came closer to me, and took Chenle off of me, then proceeding to step on my back, preventing me from moving.

I tried getting up, but not only am I dizzy and drowsy, but my vision is blurry too now.

"Chen.....le....."

I tried reaching out for him, but I passed out sooner than I'd like.

-

I woke up, but I wasn't in the mansion, and everyone was gone. I tried moving around, but I was only greeted by and glass wall hitting my forehead. That's when I noticed how dark the room was.

There were multiple human-sized capsules, and from the looks of it, I was in the biggest one. I'd be flattered, if I wasn't having a panic attack.

"So, you're finally awake I see"

"It's about time"

I heard two unfamiliar voices speak.

I looked down, and I saw two slightly familiar guys in front of my capsule.

Now if I didn't know any better, I'd say they were the two guys from before, but that's impossible right?

It felt so much like a dream.

"Seriously, even your friends woke up way before you dude"

Never mind...

"Who are you guys? What did you do to my friends?"

"Well let's see, I'm Luca, and this guy in the over excessive armor is Alistar"

The one with white hair spoke.

"Hmph, you're just jealous I'm younger and better looking than you"

"Anyway, so you want to know where your friends are, but first we should explain why we kidnapped you all in the first place, right?"

"Makes since"

Why are we all so calm in this conversation???

"Well, a while back, we were carrying out our normal duties in the underworld. Then we all felt a familiar presence, or an aura as some may call it. We were assigned to go find that presence, and retrieve it. But, soon after we felt it, it disappeared just like that. Luckily though, we could still trace little bits of the presence, and then a miracle happened. That presence awoke once again. It was weaker than before, but it was definitely the same presence. And those traces led us to you. Unfortunately, you weren't alone, so my 'buddy' Luca here had to use his abilities to get you, along with the others as a bonus"

Alistar explained.

"I bet you're wondering what my powers could possibly be right? Well I'll tell you. My first ability is Sleep Manipulation, which allows me to control anyone's sleeping pattern. I can control how long and how deep that sleep is as well. My other two abilities tie into that, Dream and Nightmare Magic. I use my Dream magic to trap anyone in their dreams without any hope of waking up. The same is for my Nightmare magic, except it can allow me to kill anyone in their sleep if I wanted to. I can also bring anyone's dreams and nightmares to life, and they can take the forms of anyone's fantasies and fears. Awesome right?"

"I'll admit, that's pretty cool, it really is. But why use it on my friends and not just me?!"

"Simple. Alistar and I both knew they'd all engage in a reckless attempt at rescuing you. Bringing in the cavalry along with our main target only made our job easier"

"Now onto where your friends are. After scanning them, we put them in containment rooms that oppose their powers. If they try to escape, the little 'punishments' we've created will be unleashed upon them, until they can't fight back anymore"

"You're gonna kill them?!"

"Well technically, they'd be killing themselves. But don't fret, we didn't bring all of your friends. We left two behind"

"Really?! Who?!"

"The little fox and the frail hybrid boy. They're pretty cute, we'll admit that, but that's not the reason we left them. They're practically useless to us, so why bring them right?"

"True... BUT STILL! Can't we settle this without killing my friends?!"

"I'm afraid not. They'd be too much of a threat. They're all so powerful for their age. Especially that Donghyuck, boy did he have a high power level. He'd really be a major threat to us if he ever got loose"

"...Then what are you gonna do to me?"

"Experiment on you of course! Why else would you be in this room? That power that came from you felt so familiar, and yet we don't even know you! We're starting to have second thoughts about who you really are. You're not fully Ethorian either, that much is certain"

Alistar scowled, looking quite annoyed.

He's right. I know I'm not full Ethorian. I wish I didn't know that...

My parents were complete opposites, that much I can't keep denying. Wait-

"Who exactly do you think I am?"

I asked, testing a theory I just conjured up.

They wouldn't be after me if I was any ordinary demon. That could only mean they're looking for someone else.

Someone I used to be.

"Our former leader, Huang Zhenya"