The Seven Wonders | BTS

97. Reckoning

To Taehyung, the whole experience was bizarre. His battle with King Michael passed like a blur and the prince could only assume that he had partly given himself to his gem. But alas, even with the combined efforts of himself, Jungkook and Shay— he was beaten.

Taehyung could still hear the shattering of glass next to his ears when King Michael grabbed him by the throat and scraped his body across the side of a building. And when the darkness gem bearer crashed to the ground, he had fully lost consciousness.

And it was strange because Taehyung wasn't blacked out. Instead, he was in some sort of limbo, a cross between being asleep and awake. He could still faintly see King Michael's figure choking him on the ground.

When Taehyung heard his own voice even though he wasn't speaking with his own will, he had an idea of what was happening. It was like watching a play, expect the prince could see what was happening in his head but had no control over his own movements.

"Make yourself comfortable, Crowned Prince," The gem whispered, the voice seemingly echoing across the empty dark plain. "I'll be taking over for now."

Taehyung scoffed and held his knees, grunting as he hopped to his feet. "You really think I'd just let you use my body?"

A loud drawn out sigh was released. Taehyung started to wonder why the darkness gem had a personality, almost as if he was conversing with another living being. It was strangely sentient compared to the other existing gems.

"You were unconscious," The gem spoke after grumbling complaints in short yet aggressive whispers. "Would you prefer I let King Michael beat you then?"

Taehyung didn't say anything. Instead, he glanced around the area. It was a bit terrifying to see nothing but pitch black all throughout the area, so much so that he couldn't even see his own feet if he looked down.

"You're looking the wrong way, bud."

Jaw clenched, Taehyung turned around. Suddenly, he could see another him sitting on a throne across him. He sat arrogantly, one leg crossed over the other and a hand curled for his cheek to rest on.

The throne of his own mind. Taehyung scoffed, thinking it was cheesy, yet he was staring at it. "For a gem that thrives on darkness, you have strange tastes."

"What?," The other Taehyung, the gem, chuckled. "Is this too flashy for you? Did you expect a literal burning hell?"

"You speak too much."

"And you speak too less," The other Taehyung leaned forward, a playful smirk slowly spreading across his face. "I have been watching you for some time, prince. A lot of your so called conflicts would have been resolved by simply conversing with your team— mostly with the guardian."