blind star // txt taegyu

call in all night

Taehyun felt rather strange as the days passed. He knew the core inside him was awakening as the Herrscher within him was finally growing conscious. Beomgyu progressed with his newly found power as a Pseudo Herrscher, but he was barely able to increase his ability to neutralise Scher energy within others. His power was practically ineffective against Taehyun, as he was too powerful, but he was able to fight against more common Scher effectively.

His physical style was dormant, however. Taehyun felt proud watching Beomgyu improve, but he was still too afraid. Taehyun felt the need to push Beomgyu until he was able to break through his fear and manifest a physical style. As a Pseudo, he was still significantly powerful, and was just making himself weak by staying fearful.

Taehyun couldn't help but find it pitiful.

"Taehyun — are you okay?"

The blades by his side formed three lances, floating by his side as he levitated above the ground ever so slightly. Taehyun's eyes glowed red, indicating that he was using his own style and not the Herrscher. "Yes, I'm okay. Why — do I seem off?"

"Yes, actually," Soobin commented. "Would you like to be with your boyfriend for now? We can take a break. I'm sure Beomgyu would like one as well."

Taehyun nodded, deactivating his style and softly stepping to the ground as the lance-like blades disappeared into thin air. The regulation monitor stopped and the safety door opened, allowing Taehyun to leave the chamber. "I'm a little lightheaded right now. I… might need to be regulated again…"

"You need to resist the awakening — you need to control it," Soobin said, putting a hand to Taehyun's shoulder. "We need you to remain as you are. Fear is not what the people of the world need right now."

"I'm not the only one here capable of losing my shit," Taehyun said, side-eyeing Soobin. "Your core. You said you're weak with no particular training towards your style. So why do I sense an overflow of energy within you?"

Soobin seemed nervous before shaking his head. "Look, I prefer not to interact with that part of myself. If I acknowledge it, I could lose control, because I have no control of myself. I'm truly not a fighter."

"If you lose control of your core, can I kill you?"

"Of course not, because I wouldn't kill you," Soobin frowned. "Stop harbouring thoughts of murder, Taehyun. You'll cause another cascade and we can't afford that."

"I'd rather acknowledge my ability as a killing machine than suppress it," Taehyun said firmly. "If you suppress it, it'll want to surface. After all, you're a Pseudo — it's not your core, just like Beomgyu. What fragment did you use?"

"That's confidential."

"Damn, another experiment," Taehyun chuckled. "When will Anti-Entropy realise that nothing good comes from their damn experiments? Look at me — they keep making monsters that want to kill everyone and everything."

"I'm not like that, though."

"Soon, though." Taehyun stepped past him, leaving the room without another word.

Soobin looked down, clutching his hands in frustration. He scoffed angrily, turning to his computer's hologram screen silently as he began typing. He couldn't concentrate, however, as Taehyun's words stuck to his mind. Would he end up wanting to kill? He's been holding back successfully for years — he wouldn't let the words of a Herrscher break him.

"Damn it…"

•

"Beomgyu!"

Beomgyu fell to his side with a thump against the white ground, a small yelp escaping his lips as a sudden shock of pain went through his body at the impact. He groaned, slowly lifting himself from the ground. "Why are you so rough…?"

Taehyun rushed to Beomgyu's side, a worried hand placed on his arm. "I-I'm sorry, Beomgyu! Are you okay? I-I didn't mean to…!"

Beomgyu quickly shook his head. "I'm okay! Just a little shaken, I think. Come on, let's continue training."

Taehyun looked at Beomgyu with worried eyes before putting a hand on his cheek. "Let's take a break. I'm getting tired too, Beomgyu."

"B-but… I'm trying to manifest a physical style. How am I supposed to do that without thinking about it?" Beomgyu asked with a slight pout. "I've been alive for weeks now, and… how do I still have no physical style? I'm a bit lacking, aren't I?"

"It takes time," Taehyun sighed. "I didn't become a Herrscher last week, Beomgyu. I was given time. You'll get there, I promise. Yes, stimulation works, but you'll tire yourself out without rest."

Beomgyu leaned against Taehyun's palm and nodded slightly. "Okay. Hey, professor, could we take a break?"

"Would ten minutes be okay?"

Taehyun looked back at Soobin with a slight glare. "Thirty."

"Fine — half an hour. I'll be inside."

Taehyun sat down on the ground in front of Beomgyu, taking his hands in his own. "We barely spend time together because of training and stuff. We can never seem to just… sit beside one another and appreciate that we're dating."

"That's true," the other chuckled, turning around and putting his head on Taehyun's lap. "We've been busy. I miss you."

"I miss your dumb ass too," Taehyun chuckled, pressing his lips to Beomgyu's forehead gently. "I miss it when you called me pretty and such. Made me feel good. Being without you caused my mood to dip a lot."

"Think we can sleep together tonight?"

"Hey, control yourself."

"You're such a pervert! I wanted to fall asleep beside you while cuddling! What are you thinking, you little perv?!"

"I'm not a pervert! Stop taking this out of context, I will hurt you."

Beomgyu chuckled, turning so that he faced Taehyun's chest. The other raked a hand through his long hair gently, enjoying the soft silence between them. They hardly had moment's to themselves anymore, and simply being with one another without training was rare. Taehyun wanted it more often.

"Do you think Ryujin misses us?" Beomgyu asked suddenly. "She was our closest friend, since it was usually the two of us…"

"We can video call her later," Taehyun suggested, earning a nod from the other. "Hey, you have a lot on your mind. It's okay, you can speak up to me. I know your mind is probably really busy right now and you can't organise your thoughts, but I'm someone you can talk to, okay? I'm your boyfriend, Beommie."

Beomgyu chuckled, turning onto his stomach and hugging Taehyun's thighs slightly. "Thanks, love. I don't know if I'm ready to talk yet, but… hopefully I figure things out sooner."

"You're strong, baby. I know you can overcome your problems."

Beomgyu hoped so too.