Deus Didymus: Rend

Pt2Ch21: The Third

Eunchae dumped her group's belongings into Kazuha's deceivingly deep--potentially endless--backpack with a slight smile. She hummed while Yunjin and Garam cleaned the cabin's base.

"How old do you think Y/n ssi is?" Garam asked.

Eunchae side-eyed the older woman, smirking, "Why? Do you find him cute?"

"Maybe." Garam turned away with a slight pink tinge in her cheeks, "He's so mysterious and dreamy..."

"All the more reason to go to IZLand!!" the maknae cheered. "You can wait for him there~"

"Alright, let's not do this," Yunjin interrupted. "He's younger than us. He said he's seventeen when we were talking last night."

Eunchae nudged Garam, giggling, "Three years isn't too much~"

Yunjin lifted her head,  "Ya-"

An explosion boomed from the center of the room, throwing Yunjin, Eunchae, and Garam into the snow. Wooden detritus fell from the sky as what was left of the cabin burned in a dancing inferno. Garam clutched her leg, groaning. Burns covered her arms, and a chunk of wood lodged itself into her leg.

Eunchae rolled over, clutching her head. Her ears rang, her wings contracted, foam bubbled at her mouth and her eyes rolled back as her body convulsed.

Yunjin staggered to her knees. A deafening tinnitus screamed in her ears, and the world shook in her head. She looked around, barely managing a gasp at the two youngest's conditions.

What happened?! Did they find us??

Kazuha descended from the sky with her winged sword in hand. Upon touching the ground, a heat wave pulsed through the area, melting the snow around. From the porcelain covers, HYBE soldiers numbering in the dozens surrounded the cabin.

"Unnie, are you okay?" Kazuha shouted.

"Help..." Yunjin clutched her head, groaning, "Help the others!!"

There's too many of them... Who can I save?

Yunjin reached out toward Eunchae and Garam. Tears formed in her helpless eyes as she mustered the strength in her body. Lightning crackled at her fingertips only to fizzle out. Yet, a bolt of lightning struck, shaking the mountain itself.

From the flash of light, a single cloaked figure stood alone. Golden markings spanned the left side of his body, revealing itself to Yunjin as the cloak blew in the heavy winds created by the thunderbolt's shockwave. Nine black orbs levitated behind the figure's back, shining brilliantly in the bright light.

"No! Don't!!"

Y/n pulled his mask from his belt. He placed it on his face with a heavy exhale. The golden markings infused with his wounds, healing them as if Miyawaki Sakura herself stood next to him with her allele active. "It's okay. They won't know."

A pulse of energy swept through the area, blocking Yunjin, Kazuha, Garam, Eunchae, and Y/n from accessing their alleles. The eldest stumbled in a panic as a line of archers primed their bows. Kazuha reached out, gritting her teeth. In perfect synchronization, the twang of bowstrings snapping back to position filled the mountain side.

These are nothing like Ms. Ezaki's. Nothing ever will be.

Y/n pulled a kunai from his pouch with a deep breath. Following the faint whistle, Y/n turned into a blur of yellow and black. All arrows, except for one, ricocheted off of a wall of lighting--the last of which, Y/n caught.

"There's too many--even for you," Yunjin panted. "I saw what you could do yesterday, you're going to be overwhelmed."

Y/n snatched Kazuha's sword from her hand. Lightning crackled around its length, coloring the snow beneath with a faint yellow hue.