Twenty years ago
The palace soilders could not penetrate into the tribe due to their strong elemental powers, it took them almost five years to figure out that the phoenix stone weakened their powers with the help of the phoenix stone they were able to infiltrate the tribe and wipe them all out, seizing and trapping all powers into the phoenix stone , all under the Queens command and the King contractual agreement in exchange of his son's life.
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The Queen slowly walked to her chambers opening the door, she walked in and sat down on her bed, she hated the bastard son but one thing that he said that she acknowledge was " the guilt will eventually kill her" , she used her hands to murder her son's because of her Min yu was in coma , Seugh min was dead, all she was doing , what was the point of it all, she looked at the table near her bed, seeing Eun Chen's dagger she picked it up , she couldn't live with the pain and she couldn't live with the guilt , she clenched hard on the dagger as she slowly closed her eyes and a tear slipped down her eyes with that she plunged the knife into her chest , she didn't make a sound as she took the painin silence, blood gushing from her wound, she forcefully removed the knife , blood splurging from her mouth, she collapsed on her bed as she gasped for breath, those ragged and painful breaths filled the room till it finally quieted down and the hall chambers became silent in the lonely palace .
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Present
Lee Kwon and Eun Chen crept through woods, it all felt too familiar , the forest he usually saw in his dreams , he was here the very place his mother was killed, he felt disoriented when he had heard what the Queen had said , why her mother and all her people died was because of his birth, his birth had been a curse from the very beginning and now the realization was clear, it was all clear , her mother died because of him, he looked back at Eun Chen, she looked up at him curiously, " what is it.....are....", before she could speak even more Lee Kwon hugged her grasping her tightly, " why...what is it.....what happened?", she asked worriedly, he had been too selfish, he never asked her about her family and if she finds out that his birth was the cause of her mother and tribes death , he won't be able to bear the hatred, she will oppose on him, he won't be able to hug her like this, he won't be able to look at her and she won't be able to look at him.
He departed from her, " once we reach the gate you will be finally free, live a good life, live a simple life, fight when necessary, find a good man and live well", he said with a warm smile holding her face in his palms, Eun Chen stared at him with confusion written all over her face , " what are you saying , didn't you say we will go together....why are you suddenly speaking nonsense", she said roughly removing his hand from her face, Lee Kwon heaved , " I don't ...deserve someone like you", he said as he scoffed, " you are too perfect for me...", " who told you I deserve someone like you....why do you choose to be stubborn at the last minute....do you want to die?", she said her voice almost raised, she was in a clear panic, yes, he wanted to die , his existence was a curse, he had wronged her in so many ways, he did deserve to love, Lee Kwon smiled softly, " okay,.....I will go with you,....we will go together", he said, Eun Chen smiled softly but soon that smile fell as she felt that panging pain on her chest, it felt worse it was tightening, once again that metallic taste came and she spat out blood, she suddenly felt herself falling to the floor but luckily Lee Kwon caught her before she could fall completely to the floor, Lee Kwon already knew what it was, he quickly opened her chest and saw the spiral marks had turned black and deep engraved dark purple appeared at the surrounding of the spiral marks, " has it been hurting this much?, why didn't you tell me huh...", he asked gently as he coaxed her, he was full of worry and panic, as soon as he said that they heard quick footsteps, it felt like it was coming from all directions, Eun Chen held Lee kwons robe, " they are here, Han jum and his men are here.....", she said weakly.
Lee Kwon lifted her up and carried her on his back, he could see torches from every side, where could he run to, where would he go?, the clouds covered the sky indicating that a storm was coming, Eun Chen coughed out more blood from her mouth, hearing her cough was like an alert and he began running not knowing where he was going, he ran and ran , Eun Chen still on his back, he heard a horn blown at a distance which meant they had seen them, this alerted Queens guards they knew the direction where it came from , it was a violent chase, Lee Kwon didn't take a moment to pause for breath , hundreds of menwere chasing him and Eun Chen stopping meant death, " catch them at all cost...", yelled Han jum , soon enough the Queens guards clashed with Han jums men and there began the battle, Han jums men were stronger, metallic clashes of swords, blood splattering on the ground and tree stems, heads rolled, Han jum killed everyone in his way whether it was his men or the Queens me he slaughtered everyone that was in his way, his main goal was Eun Chen.
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Both Eun Chen and Lee Kwon finally reached Gwengochans gate, it was left unattended due to the news of the Queens death and intruders but it was locked, they heard the sounds of swords and footsteps it was getting closer, Lee Kwon looked around for anything , a stone, he saw a large stone he picked it up as he tried to break the lock hitting it continuously till Eun Chen stopped him , his hand was bleeding, " eventhough I get out of here I will still die...the mark is beyond saving so.....save yourself, I still jave little strength I can fight them off you will have time to run away", said Eun Chen trying to assure him, Lee Kwon shook his head adamantly , " listen to me..." , " I have been listening my whole life , remember that I promised I will protect you, I couldn't fulfil it in the dueling ground but I can do it here, you are my woman and I am your man.....that means....", he said holding her face in his palms , " I won't leave you ", as soon as he said that they were there, they all surrounded them, hundreds of men against two people, all pointing their swords at them, Lee Kwon shielded Eun Chen as he drew out his sword that he had taken from one of the dead soilders also Eun Chen did the same thing, Han jum stood in front grinning from ear to ear, " long time no see my pupil, looks like you have company", said Han jum, Eun Chen stood stagnant with Lee Kwon still at a stance, " come to me my pupil and I will forget everything you did, you can come back and be the general of my army", said Han jum trying trying to sweet talk her, " I was a fool for trusting you, I was still a child then and even when I grew up I was blinded by the fatherly love I had for you eventhough I was nothing but a weapon to you, all this time you just wanted to use me...so that you can get rid of the royal family and sit on the throne , you had no plans for us because we were just strays", said Eun Chen coldly.
Hen jum smirked, " do you even know why your whole tribe was wiped out?", said Han jum with a smirk as he looked at Lee Kwon, Lee Kwon heart droppedas soon as Han jum looked at him, Han jum looked back at Eun Chen, " you are just following the wrong person my dear", he said stretching out his hand, " come to me and lead my army", he said his voice turning warm, that voice felt like a father assuring his child , a tone she had been craving to hear for a longtime, it was good to hear him speak that way but her behavior contrasted with her thoughts as she pointed her sword at him, immediately she did that all the soilders pointed their swords at them, the whole place became silent like a graveyard, it was silent yet eerie, Han jum walked close to the sword Eun Chen had pointed at him, " you are trembling , the spiral marks have weakened you", said Han jum with a sinister smile, indeed her hands were trembling but it was involuntary, Lee Kwon also saw this , she was extremely pale and she looked tired like she could collapse at any moment , Lee Kwon backed her away as he used his hand and put down her sword, standing Infront of her he pointed his sword at Han jum, " I am not letting you touch her", said Lee Kwon seriously, " the royal family has perished because of you , the King, Seugh min and the Queen are all dead, Min yu is still in a vegetative state because of you, do you want her blood to be upon your hands , hand her over if you truly have a conscience and I will let you live if you give her to me".
Eun Chen held Lee Kwon by his hand , Lee Kwon knew that Han jum was still going to kil him and he will kill Eun Chen once he got what he wanted, " no negotiation of who lives or dies , I am not allowing you to touch her", Han jum eyes furrowed as he drew out his sword, " then one of us have to die tonight and that person is definently not me", saying that Han jum latched at Lee Kwon thankfully he dodged it, that was like a goal signal to all Han jum soilders as they all charged towards them , Eun Chen held her sword tightly as she began to fight eventhough she was weak she still fought like a true assasin, dodging, slicing, killing off people she had once considered her clan now her enemy. Lee Kwon on the other hand had been abandoned by Han jum who had set out to find Eun Chen admist the chaos , Lee Kwon cut through all obstructions before him using every skill that Eun Chen had implemented upon him, an opponents sword sliced through his arm , Lee Kwon aggressively swung the sword and plunged it into the enemy chest.
Eun Chen backed away slowly as they began to corner her, her chest tightening, the crowd suffocating , she felt herself collapse to her knees as she held unto the base of the sword, Han jum came forward in the midst of his soilders , he stood Infront of her as she looked up at him, her eyes were weak but they still held that of determination, Han jum brought out the phoenix stone from his robe, " the marks are fading because of you, all the powers here are being transferred to you giving the bastard son leverage ", he said as he threw his sword on the floor then the phoenix stone, " your body is habiting all trapped elemental powers including that of the bastard son", saying that he drew out another sword from his saddle, Eun Chen eyes widened with shock from what she heard, Lee Kwon had elemental powers , she suddenly coughed out blood, the lightning struch across the sky more aggressively and it began to rain, Lee Kwon had elemental powers, was that why strange things always happened when they were in danger , all the phenomenal activities that happened when they were in danger , it all made sense , she looked up at the sky , the heavy breeze, the lightning that struck of different colours and the heavy downpour, these were the forbidden powers that were given by the heavens , a powers that was said to be a rumor, a power that no human was believed to have handled, she looked at Han jum she was clearly exhausted, her face looked so pale and she had started bleeding from her nose, she was soaked in rain, they were all soaked in rain, the aggressive combat of swords could be heard from the distance , her clan against Lee Kwon and the Queens guards against her clan and Lee Kwon, right now she knew that Lee Kwon was going to die, she bent her head low, " even if you kill me , I die with the spiral marks..., if you kill me even my blood won't bring back the phoenix stone", Han jum smiled , " remember what I told you, sacrifice is power, just the death of one person could change.....a lot of things".
Han jum raised his sword, Eun Chen looked straight at him, she was ready to die this was her fate, this was how it was to end, then she heard his voice calling her by her real name " Jiyoo", the name she was given at birth, a name she thought she will never hear again, she was glad that at the verge of her death someone called her by her real name not the name "Eun Chen" the rogued assasin, the blood thirsty assasin or a heartless being that was not to be called human, she was called Ji yoo, her mother's daughter who was deserving of love and care.
As soon as she closed her eyes she heard piercing of sword through flesh , eventhough it was raining she could feel the warm blood on her body and the stench, it all felt familiar, taking her back to when she was a child locked inside that cupboard and witnessing her mother's murder. Surprisingly she felt no pain on her body and the whole place was eeringly silent only the silents pits and pats of the rain becoming more heavy, Eun Chen slowly opened her eyes, something was blocking her , a body stood tall Infront of her , she slowly looked up and met his gaze , the sword which had been plunged from the back came out from the front , all bruised and battered , bleeding from every side of his body , he had been cut almost everywhere and his clothes were torn, she met his eyes , his eyes only on hers , she could tell he was in pain but he didn't say a word but his gaze was soft. Eun Chen felt like she was in a trance , this wasn't real, she repeatedly told herself as she shook her head in detail, tears already welling in her eyes, " Ji....jiyoo", he whispered her name softly before the sword was aggressively drawn out of his body, immediately that was done blood splurged out from his mouth as he fell on his knees limply, Eun Chen quickly caught him preventing him from falling to the floor as she hugged him, " Lee.....Lee Kwon...", she whispered his name softly as tears began to stream from her eyes , his trembling hand held hers, his breath becoming slower , it was clear he was dying, " Lee Kwon,.....don't close your eyes huh, DON'T YOU DARE CLOSE YOUR EYES", she yelled at him but it was a plea, a plea to stay alive , a plea not to leave her.
Lee Kwon held her hand more tightly, the rain water on the ground had turned red, their wet hair sticking to their faces and their open wounds spilling out more blood, " I'm.... I'm sorry Ji yoo", he whispered in the midst of the rain the warmth of tears that touched her neck could be felt, " no...no....no, please no, don't.....", she said desperately as she sobbed loudly and cling to him," I'm sorry....", Lee Kwon breath slowed down , his heart stopped beating, Lee Kwon felt himself losing in to the darkness , he didn't want to die , he didn't want to leave her alone , he didn't fufil any of the promises he had made to her, he failed her he wanted to live so badly , his breath stopped , flashes of his life with her slowly disappeared leaving nothing but darkness, the darkness sinned in and all he could do was to embrace it, he closed his eyes finally it was the end, this chapter of life was ended, Lee Kwon was dead.
Eun Chen felt his heart stop beating, his body was limp and his hand was loose on hers till it fell limply to the floor, " Lee Kwon....", she called out softly as she gently tapped him , she already knew he was dead but she failed to accept it, " Lee Kwon...., Lee Kwon wake up now, wake up you bastard, you said I own your life you can't die , you can't leave like this huh, Lee Kwon, Lee Kwon, please huh.....", she said admist tears , her voice was cracking and it shook in desperation, still no response. It dawned on her, realization struck her almost immediately as she clung to Lee kwons lifeless body, Lee Kwon was dead, his cold lifeless body was against her, he was dead, he wasn't going to wake up, she felt her voice give way and she found herself sobbing, a chilling heart wrenching sorrow visioned all of the pain and anger she felt , she no longer felt the pain of the spiral marks as she cried more blood spilled out from her mouth, she buried her face in the crook of Lee kwons neck as she sobbed painfully, he was dead because of her, he wasn't suppose to die like this, she hugged him more tightly as she cried, blood pouring from her eyes, nose and mouth as she hugged unto her beloved, this was were she knew that her life was worthless , every person she cared about died just because they were protecting her, she didn't deserve any good thing of this world, she didn't deserve to be cared for, she didn't deserve to be loved and most of all she didn't deserve to live.