The Rise of the Mages [EXO VERSION]

the force of choice

[Oh Shin]

"Come here!" Sehun yelled at me, grabbing my trembling hand as he dragged me towards the base. I was still stricken by Donghae's death and my eyes were tearing up. I pushed him away, my emotions filled with frustration as I whirled to let him go of my hand.

"Let go of me!" I said and Sehun looked at me, taken aback by my sudden ferocity. "Your father... started this war, Oh Sehun. So, don't you come to me and bark orders as if you own me when it is your father who is making people die!"

Did Donghae tell me to lay low? I scoffed at the thought of how blind Sehun was. The size of his brain! I trembled with fury. Kyungsoo was hurt. Johnny got burned. We were having giants tanking for us.

"What are you talking about?" Sehun sighed exasperated, a hand gripping his sword. "I know you're shocked by Senior Donghae's death but that does not mean you can pick a fight-"

"Pick a fight? The war is-"

"If this war was started by my father, he wouldn't want me to be fighting in it!" Sehun bellowed at me, his eyes flashing gray. "And yet here I am, seeing people getting killed from left to right! Do not insult the leadership of my father when I am here sacrificing myself for this war!"

I paused, the sudden thought sinking in. Sehun was kind of right. If Oh Shin started the war between Euren and Exodus, he wouldn't let Sehun fight. It was too much of a risk to take. I couldn't connect the dots together, not yet. There was too much to think of. Another crash sounded and I looked up to see the giants roaring as they slowly defended the people below them when I heard a voice.

"Sehun." The voice was smooth and when I looked towards the sound, I saw Oh Shin standing there, his eyes reflecting the bright red light. His clothes were dusty and he didn't look as royal as he usually was.

"Father... What are you doing here?" Sehun asked, limping up to his father. "You cannot be here!"

Oh Shin's eyes did not leave the dragons for awhile until he dragged his gaze towards his son. He looked down on Sehun's bleeding leg and his eye brows furrowed, grabbing Sehun's shoulders.

"What's wrong with your leg?" Oh Shin asked, searching for more bruises and cuts to see if his only son was hurt. "Why are you hurt? Didn't I tell you to wear your Royal Pin?"

Sehun looked confused, a hand going up to where the pin was supposed to be before he shook his head at his father. "I was fighting... I-Why would I wear my Royal Pin?"

"If you did, no one would have hurt you!" Oh Shin thundered and Sehun gaped at his father. Even I was confused by his logic. Why was wearing a Royal Pin so important? What did he mean when he said that if Sehun wore it, no one would have touched him?

Oh Shin told Sehun that he was not to fight anymore because the dragons were here; Sehun shaking his head violently at his father's order.

"This is war! They would hurt me regardless of whether I'm wearing he Royal Pin or not!" Sehun answered back, shaking his head when Oh Shin began to try to take Sehun away. "Our people are dying, Father! I have to stand by them to fight!"