{M}ℝ𝕦𝕟 𝔸𝕨𝕒𝕪 | ✨𝕐𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕪𝕦 & 𝕊𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕒𝕚✨

Chapter 56

It had been a pretty chilly morning with the ocean's breeze being strong enough to rustle the branches of the trees above and make the birds of their paradise sing loudly as they soared around looking for fruit.

The sun was shining above the sky, but the clouds around the majestic yellow star were turning into dark, roaring fluff. The rainy seasons had been long gone and wouldn't return for another 4 months. . . Yet the sky was still was anxious. In fact, the whole island itself was in deep distress as a dark spy flew above Earth Tribe's hollow.

The crow's yellow eyes gazed all over the open space, examining every creature whose faces were bright with bliss for the upcoming ceremony that was to be held at their territory. Even though watching them was quite entertaining, the crow's attention needed to focus on the main target, who was to play an important part in their Master's success.

So without much thinking, the crow let out a caw and flew down towards one of the dens inside the hollow.

The crow extended its small talons and made a clean landing on the ground before folding its wings in a rather clumsy way. It looked around the shelter from where it stood until its eyes caught the familiar figure of Eclipse's brand new puppet, whose attire was as beautiful as Beomgyu's, but whose eyes were no longer recognizable. . . Even if they resembled Eclipse's malevolent orbs.

There was wonder pooling inside the crow's chest at how such a strong-willed being could have finally been caught and controlled. But yet again, Yeonjun hadn't been easy to capture as Eclipse had taken three years of mental torture and terrorization to break Yeonjun down to his core.

A shudder ruffled the crow's feathers.

The crow—as well Eclipse's other spies, had been a witness of the many horrors inflicted onto Yeonjun ever since Eclipse had learned of his return to the island and the powers he'd inherited from his mother. The nightmares, the constant reminders that Yeonjun had abandoned his friends to their luck, and the newly added pressure of murdering his friends. . .

Anyone would crack into pieces if those things were done to them. . . But for now—even if the crow felt pity towards the 20-year old, the only thing that mattered was following Eclipse's word in monitoring Yeonjun's behavior to make sure he followed orders.

And so far, Yeonjun was pretty good at doing just that.

From the darkness of his den, Yeonjun held an arrow and examined it, lightly touching the pointed tip with his finger and noticing that after the mere contact, drops of blood were already running down his palm.

Even though his face was painted with the bright colors of his tribe, the 20-year old was zombified. His eyes had become hollow and deprived of any emotion whatsoever as his empty stare stayed fixed on what he was doing. His love for the four he loved the most was gone, erased from his being and replaced with the hunger for battle and the thirst for their blood.

He was not Yeonjun anymore, but a puppet made to kill and be killed if he dared to disobey orders.

The crow kept watching with intent. Its head tilted to the side, trying to examine the 20-year old to notice that Yeonjun's arms and head were twitching every so often. . . As if he was trying to stop himself from doing whatever he was going to do. . . But it was clear that the force invading him was too strong for him to refuse any longer.

The crow narrowed its eyes and its gaze darkened for a while, suddenly wondering if Eclipse had been able to break him. But the crow shook its head, preferring to ignore its doubt. Did it even matter if Yeonjun's loyalty to Eclipse was shattered? He was going to be turned into a corpse soon either way.