Glitch King

Distracted Pen

"You'd think there would be nothing left." Kira frowned, staring at a smoking tree. Little embers lit up the bark in places.

They didn't turn to dust because of their punishment. Yoongi knew that and his heart hurt for them. The pain they endured daily. He could hear the silent cries. The ones that Kira would never hear.

Prophecies were meant to be kept secret and when the Forest of Tranquility decided not to be so quiet. They were set on fire to an everlasting burn. Chakri still burns within the center of the Mystic Forest where she made her escape. Everyone is convinced she is dead. Alas the gods are cruel, Yoongi knew better than most.

"You would think." Sighed Yoongi. He pulled the cloth down on his face to take a drink from his pouch looking off into the distance.

"We need to be out of the forest before night falls." Kira confirmed looking from the map to the sun high in the sky. Tucking the map back in her pack, she started walking.

The subtle crunching of charred leaves beneath their feet was the only thing to be heard. At least by Kira. Yoongi listened to the pleas to be forgiven, the cries for redemption, and the steady wails with no hope of ending. This could have been a dreary quiet walk. It was anything but.

Yoongi sighed heavily, adjusting the pack on his shoulder. He was doing his best to drown them out, but why should he? One of them had to know about the god that helped Kira. One of them had to have seen him. Right?

He stopped, scanning the burning forest all around him. What he was searching for, he wasn't sure. Chakri would know... he knew that. It had just been years since she had spoken. A total of seven to be exact.

Yoongi spent two years within the forest of tranquility before it went up in flames. Then three years in the Mystic Forest with Jinx. The last two years in a marble prison far away from her.

He was used to sadness. If only it was sadness he felt now. This ache in his chest and the constant feeling that something was missing is nearly unbearable.

"What are you thinking about, Sire?" Kira's voice pulled him from his thoughts. A moment's reprieve from his constant longing.

"The reason we are going to the fates."

Kira smiled softly, adjusting the quiver of arrows on her back.

"You'll have your Queen soon." She assured him. He just nodded in agreement. He would get what he wants.

Night came a lot sooner than the two travelers expected. The dark blues mixed with the orange- red embers casting an eerie glow. Kira visibly shivered while Yoongi remained unfazed. Although he was hyper aware of the glowing red eyes about ten feet to his left.

"How much farther?" He whispered to Kira discreetly keeping an eye on the menacing ones that crept closer. Every inch of him wanted to run, to drag Kira with him until they were safe. They couldn't.

There was no point. The pen would just appear in front of them. Pretending it's not there is about the same, somehow it's a bit better.

"About a mile I think." She looked at me with an eyebrow raised. The slight change in my demeanor put her on alert.

"What is it?"

"Pen..."

Kira's eyes darted from one tree to another. She whipped around, bow already out and an arrow notched.

"That won't help."

A twig snapped close by, Kira whirled around sending an arrow flying into the night. We heard it land with a thud into one of the trees.

"Now we run!" I hissed, snatching her arm and running hard. Kira stumbles for a moment to keep up with the pace of the king. He was a particularly fast runner, almost inhuman.

Snarling appeared right at their heels, making the hairs stand up on the back of their necks. The sheer fear that pulsed through their veins fueled them to run faster.

It just wasn't fast enough.

"We're not gonna outrun this thing!" Kira expressed her worries out loud. Yoongi wasn't about to let a pen be the reason he failed at getting what he wanted. He was about to draw his sword and attempt to run it through.

Only a loud boom distracted him, freezing the pair in place.

"What was that!" Exclaimed Kira. Yoongi shook his head. He himself had no clue, all he knew was that it also distracted the pen.

With a shrill cry it disappeared, appearing right next to the cloud of brown smoke. Yoongi could almost see the figure standing within it. He then knew. It was the god of Destruction. These gods are always meddling. This time he was thankful for it.

"Run!" He ordered in a low whisper. Kira didn't hesitate, she sprinted as fast as she could.

When they finally made it out of the burning woods, both were breathing heavily bent over at the waist. Once Yoongi caught his breath he took a long drink of water, rolled his shoulders back then pulled out his map.

He wanted to see just how far the Mystic Forest was from here. Yoongi felt it was necessary to try to get his tree mother to speak to him.

"We need to add a stop on the way."

Kira glanced at him from her hunched over position.
She was still trying to catch her breath. The burning air mixed with running had her chest on fire.

"Where?" She exhaled the word as if it were her last.

"The Mystic Forest."

"The what?"

"It's a forest close to the Sunshine Meadow."

"Oh..."

Yoongi searched the map, but no matter how long he stared at it. He couldn't find the meadow or the forest. It was if they were hidden from him. Anger built up inside him. How could they take the two places that had been more of a home to him than his childhood home?

"Dammit." He growled, shoving the map back in his pack.

Kira stared at him concerned. He started pacing back and forth trying to rake his memories on how he got to the castle from the forest.

He remembered the day he glitched. How excited Jinx had been. The problem was she had overworked herself and the punishment Taehyung had placed on her took its toll. She fell to the ground exhausted. From that moment on everything else was a blurr.

How did he get to the castle? His gut said the Sunshine god.

"Let's get moving." Yoongi sighed, slinging his pack over his weary shoulders. Kira fell in step beside him not saying a word.

——
Unknown

Look at you all disappointed. Something else has been taken from you by the gods. I laugh at your anguish and that ache you feel at your loss. I don't pity you one bit. No one did when all the riches were ripped from my hands.

This life is filled with disappointments. You are the greatest disappointment. You and that god who saved you.

My time will come. I've seen it written in the stars. Even the gods can't stand in my way. I will spill the blood meant to give me what I truly want in this world.