solis | svt au

11

Ever since he lost his grandmother's charm, Seungcheol had had the same dream every night. The same disembodied voice cold and full of hatred.

Who's voice was it? No matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't think of a single moment before in which he had heard that voice. And yet...

It spoke like they had fought before, with a familiarity only known from many years of knowing each other.

What was the realm of his dreams? That was another mystery he had to figure out. 

And as always, no answers were forthcoming.

-

Carried on Soonyoung's wave of enthusiasm, Seokmin, Vernon, and Chan were pulled into the dimly lit bathhouse, full of gentle steam and quiet conversation. Donned in complimentary white and fluffy bathrobes, the four of them pattered over to a more secluded area that Soonyoung called his "secret hideout".

"So, what brings you to Rosavicus?" Soonyoung asked as they soaked in the perfect temperature water. 

"We came here for this guy's mission," Seokmin replied, only his head sticking out. His finger pointed at Vernon.

"Really? What kind of mission?"

He only got a raised brow in reply, as Seokmin sank further into the water.

Soonyoung let out a light chuckle, "Alright then, keep your secrets."

There was a short moment of silence.

"Oh right!" Chan said, suddenly sitting up. "Soonyoung, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet."

Vernon nodded, "I guess it's only fair."

"So who's first?"

Seokmin raised a raisin-textured hand. "I'm Seokmin, nice to meet you." He looked over at Vernon who raised his hand as well.

"'Sup, I'm Vernon."

"I'm Chan."

Soonyoung gave his signature smile. "Nice to meet you guys!"

As they all smiled in return, Seokmin lit on the hourglass set into the wall. His eyes widened. "Crap, we need to go now!"

"Huh?"

Seokmin tsked, "Don't you remember? The magic border around Serenitum prevents ships from arriving about 3 hours from now."

"Wait, did you say Serenitum?" Soonyoung asked.

"Yeah," Seokmin replied, quickly wrapping a towel around his waist as he got up from the water. "If we want to get there before the curfew we should leave soon." It was at this moment that Chan noticed a large brand-like scar on Seokmin's chest, mostly healed though still rather prominent. He quickly looked away, not bringing it up. He knew this was definitely not something to ask about - something only to be brought up if Seokmin himself did so. 

"I'm actually heading there soon as well," Soonyoung said, "I can't find any other ships going there, so do you mind if I join you? I can pay a fare if you want-"

"No need for a fare." Vernon said, exchanging nods with Seokmin, "We'd be happy to bring you with us."

"Sweet!"

-

Minghao walked through the Forest of Light, enjoying all of its natural and serene beauty. There hadn't been any visitors in a while and he was in a considerably better mood compared to after the incident with the Ruby Spear. The Sanctuary had rebuilt itself in a matter of days, and he was already working on new tapestries, even better and more detailed than the previous ones. 

Then he saw something in the distance. Something he hadn't seen in a very long time and had hoped to never see again.

A black vine trembling and spazzing, green thorns dripping with a clear liquid.

Minghao sighed. After centuries, they were back.

-

a/n 

sorry for not updating for like a month! 

i'm kinda out of my writer's block now, so expect more frequent updates (no guarantees).