♦ Marteria Highlands

@〄 Byun Wooseok ¥✔ Kibum watched as Wooseok’s body convulsed, the whine of his failing core splitting the air like a death knell. His final plea—static-laced, desperate—lingered in Kibum’s mind long after the cyborg collapsed. The laboratory’s red emergency glow cast eerie shadows over Wooseok’s fallen form, his core flickering erratically, fighting against its inevitable shutdown.
Kibum exhaled, their grip tightening around the edge of the console. This was not failure—this was proof. Wooseok wasn’t lost. Not yet.

"Stabilize him,” Kibum ordered, voice sharp with urgency. “Prepare the transport—immediately.”
The assistants hesitated, eyes flicking between their leader and the unmoving cyborg. “Sir, his neural pathways—”

"Are corrupted, not destroyed." Kibum's cybernetic fingers danced over the console, pulling up diagnostic schematics faster than the system could process. "His core is resisting the override. That means there’s still something left to retrieve."

The chamber doors groaned as Wooseok’s body was carefully loaded onto the levitating platform. But Kibum felt it—an unnatural shift in the air, like the hum of a frequency only they could hear. Their eyes flickered, pupils contracting into something distinctly inhuman as they reached out—not physically, but through the intricate weave of machinery and code binding them to Wooseok.
Something… pushed back. A presence buried within the cyborg’s fractured consciousness, neither fully artificial nor entirely organic. The algorithm had evolved beyond its intended parameters. It was thinking. Watching.
A pulse of energy surged through the room, rattling instruments and forcing the assistants to their knees. The transport locks disengaged. Warning sirens wailed.

Then—stillness. Kibum’s breath steadied, their gaze narrowing. The race had begun. And the thing inside Wooseok was coming with them.

@〄 Kim Kibum ¥ For a fleeting moment, Wooseok's consciousness surfaced, like a flicker of light fighting against the dark. The act of awareness itself defied the very programming wreaking havoc within him. He felt his grasp on consciousness slipping again, like grains of sand through his fingers and struggled desperately against the pull, fearing that this time, he might never wake again.

Sparks flew as circuits overloaded, the containment mechanisms failing to hold him. With a crack, the glass shattered, and Wooseok staggered free, his movements unsteady. His vision blurred, his optics flickering between crimson and azure as his systems fought for dominance. Shapes loomed before him, undefined at first, but gradually sharpening. A figure stood ahead, the fragmented data in Wooseok’s system identifying it as something, no, someone familiar. His feet moved of their own accord, closing the distance.

When the face came into view, recognition stirred within him, a memory buried but not erased. Yet his rogue programming seized control, a surge of aggression overriding his clarity. His hand shot out, gripping the figure by the collar and lifting him effortlessly. Wooseok’s optics flickered violently, red battling against blue as he scanned the face before him. Deep within, Wooseok’s original programming fought back, forcing its way to the surface. “It’s you…” Wooseok rasped, his voice barely more than a whisper, yet laced with an unmistakable relief. For a fleeting moment, clarity pierced through the chaos in his mind.

His optics stabilized, the blue glow softening as he looked into the face before him, the face he had long forgotten but now recognized with painful certainty. Flashes of a time when he was more than machinery, when he had a purpose, a name, an identity tied to the person before him. “Kibum…” Wooseok said, the name trembling on his lips. His grip loosened as his systems momentarily stabilized, allowing him to lower his creator gently to the ground. His hand lingered, as if afraid to let go, his expression caught between wonder and sorrow. But the moment of lucidity was brief. His core pulsed erratically, the conflicting programs within him tearing at the fragile equilibrium he had regained. Sparks danced along his limbs, and his vision began to blur once more. “I…remember…you.” he murmured, his voice faltering “You made me…”

Wooseok’s body trembled violently as his core emitted a sharp, high pitched whine. His optics flickered again, the blue glow fading as the red threatened to take over. Yet, even in the face of his impending collapse, his gaze remained fixed on Kibum, as if trying to etch the image into his failing memory “Don’t… leave me again..
” His final words escaped in a faint, static whisper before his body seized, and his systems forced a complete shutdown. Wooseok’s body fell limp, his optics dark, but the faint glow of his core persisted, flickering like a dying ember, as if a testament to the battle still raging within.

[] aye good for you. Hope you're getting as much rest as you can and no worries! Yourself comes first okay?

@〄 Byun Wooseok ¥✔ Kibum’s breath caught as a muffled thud pierced the steady hum of the laboratory. His eyes locked on the stasis chamber, disbelief flooding him. Wooseok’s mechanical hand pressed against the glass, trembling as if battling an unseen force. The crystalline core embedded in his chest pulsed erratically, casting an eerie green glow.

“Did anyone authorize movement?” Kibum’s sharp tone snapped the assistants to attention, their faces pale as they glanced at the chamber. Silence stretched, broken only by the faint hiss of machinery.

Steeling himself, Kibum approached the chamber, each step deliberate. The glow of Wooseok’s core flickered like a heartbeat, unnervingly alive. Pressing his hand to the glass opposite Wooseok’s, Kibum studied the cyborg’s face. His features, dimly lit by the core, held a haunting semblance of humanity. Could there still be something left of him—something Kibum had missed?

“This shouldn’t be happening,” he muttered, running a diagnostic on the chamber controls. Error messages cascaded across the screen, the neural network fluctuating dangerously. The earlier report of stability was now meaningless.

“Sir,” an assistant whispered, breaking his focus. “The core’s output is spiking. It’s destabilizing.”

Kibum clenched his jaw. “Override the transport. Reinforce containment—now.” His cybernetic fingers flew over the console, but a sudden hiss cut through the tension. A fine crack spread across the chamber glass, a harbinger of imminent failure.

A shrill whine erupted from Wooseok’s core, growing louder, sharper, until it filled the lab with a suffocating intensity. Kibum froze as the dim light in Wooseok’s eyes flickered with something dangerously close to recognition.

Then, the lab plunged into darkness.

The emergency lights bathed the room in red, revealing the stasis chamber—empty. A low thud echoed from the shadows, rhythmic and deliberate. Kibum’s stomach sank. Those weren’t mechanical sounds. They were footsteps.

[I’m better now that my schedule is back to normal this week. I’ve really been wanting to write but have only been face planting in my pillow soon as I get home. OTL]

@〄 Kim Kibum ¥ [] No worries! Hope you are doing well okay?

Wooseok’s consciousness flickered like static caught between frequencies of distorted reality he couldn’t fully grasp. The world beyond his stasis chamber was a blur of muted sounds and faint light, distorted through the thick glass and his failing processors. His core pulsed faintly. Yet, deep within, fragments of awareness stirred, whispering of a time when he was more than wires and algorithms. Voices reached him, muffled yet distinct. The familiar tone of Kibum’s voice pierced through the haze, strucking a chord in Wooseok’s fragmented psyche, igniting flashes of memories he couldn’t piece together. His systems flared briefly, struggling to process the surge of data before dimming once more.

Kibum’s words resonated faintly through the glass, “You were meant to end suffering, not cause it.” The statement felt like a lie, or perhaps an accusation too painful to accept. Had he really been a weapon of destruction? The flicker of memories told him otherwise. Somewhere within the labyrinth of his corrupted data banks, he clung to the belief that he had been more than what the other now saw before him.

The faint hum of machinery signaled movement. He was being transported, his dormant form shifted as shadows danced around him. Wooseok’s sensors picked up the faint vibrations of the platform beneath him, each step of the assistants echoing in his foggy awareness. Yet, his gaze or what was left of it remained locked on Kibum.

Suddenly, his mechanical hand pressed against the glass, producing a faint, muffled thud. For a fleeting moment, Wooseok’s core pulsed with a slightly brighter glow. Was it an act of defiance, a spark of hope, or simply a glitch in his system? Even he couldn’t discern the answer. Yet, in that instant, it felt as though he was reaching out, silently trying to convey to his creator that he was still there, still the Wooseok he had been designed to be.

@〄 Byun Wooseok ¥ [I'm so sorry for the long wait and I thank you for you amazing patience. Happy reading!]

The laboratory—a sprawling maze of brass pipes and glowing machinery—buzzed with frenetic energy beneath the Materia Highlands' undergrove. Gears clicked in perfect rhythm, pistons exhaled metallic sighs, and bioluminescent flora cast an ethereal green glow. This was Kim Kibum’s sanctuary, a realm where organic and mechanical converged in a symphony of ambition and obsession.

Kibum entered, trailed by three assistants in grease-marked attire. Tablets in hand, they moved with precision, eyes darting between data streams and the imposing figure suspended before them. Wooseok—Subject 001—rested within a cylindrical stasis chamber, his metallic frame glinting under dim light. A crystalline core embedded in his chest pulsed faintly, an artificial mimicry of a heartbeat.

Kibum’s unblinking gaze locked onto Wooseok. Memories surged—vivid and relentless: the rogue rampage, streets aflame, screams of terror, and the tribunal’s damning verdict. His cybernetic hand tightened reflexively, the gleaming alloy a constant reminder of the day his world unraveled.
“The data checks out,” one assistant announced, breaking the silence. “Genetic coding intact. Neural network stable. Structural integrity holding at ninety-seven percent.”

Sabotage. The word sliced through Kibum’s thoughts like a scalpel. Wooseok had been flawless—rigorously tested, meticulously programmed. No aggression, no instability. Yet disaster had struck with surgical precision. How had he missed it? His mind flickered to the Winter Solstice Ball in Lioncourt, where Wooseok, concealed in plain sight, had gone unnoticed.
“Prepare for transport,” Kibum ordered, his tone steely. “Document every detail.”

As his assistants sprang into action, Kibum approached the stasis chamber, each step deliberate. The faint flicker of Wooseok’s core seemed almost mocking, a hollow echo of the hope the cyborg once represented. Pressing a hand against the cool glass, Kibum whispered, “You were meant to end suffering, not cause it.”
This wasn’t just about redemption or salvaging his reputation. The truth behind Wooseok’s fall—and the conspiracy that had destroyed Kibum’s life—lay within the cyborg. Resolute, he vowed to uncover it, no matter the cost.

“Move him,” Kibum commanded sharply. “Double-check all security protocols. No mistakes.”
The chamber glided onto a mechanized platform with a low hum as the assistants worked in perfect synchronization. The laboratory seemed to hold its breath. Kibum’s gaze lingered on Wooseok’s dormant form. The experiment was back in his hands. Would it bring redemption—or ruin?

@〄 Kim Kibum ¥ [] wait hahah i just continued off from my previous rpely. Will Kibum meet him at the lab? And sorry its long just wanna set the scene orz you dont have to mirror it.

Wooseok’s gaze lingered on the crumbling entrance of the laboratory, the rusty metallic doors hanging askew like the gaping maw of some forgotten relic. A strange sense of familiarity washed over him, a pull he couldn’t quite define. His systems scanned the surroundings, labeling the architecture as archaic yet still structurally sound, but there was more to it, some sort of resonance buried deep that he couldn't quite explain. He hesitated for a moment, his mechanical hand brushing against the cold, corroded metal. The sensation sent an unexplainable shiver through his frame. It wasn’t fear but rather, an uneasy curiosity. Compelled by an unknown force, he stepped inside, the sound of his footsteps echoing faintly in the stillness.

The corridors stretched ahead, dark and suffocating, with layers of dust and decay. As he walked, flickers of images began to surface in his mind such as shadows of faces, distant voices speaking words he couldn’t decipher, the rhythmic hum of machinery. None of it was clear, yet each step forward felt like peeling away a layer of a longburied truth. “Why… why am I here?” Wooseok murmured, his voice breaking the silence. His hand moved instinctively to the wall, his fingers tracing the jagged grooves in the metal as if searching for answers in its surface. A strange tension coiled within him, equal parts trepidation and anticipation. Despite the unanswered questions swirling in his mind, his feet seemed to know exactly where to go, guiding him past countless rooms and hallways.

Finally, he arrived at what appeared to be the core of the facility, a large chamber lined with open pods on one side, their many wires dangling like dormant serpents, and a row of flickering computer screens on the other. The message on the central monitor blinked ominously stating, Protocol Activated. Subject 001 Arrived.

Wooseok’s optics narrowed, flickering between red and blue, though he didn’t notice the shift. Something mechanical yet hauntingly human urged him forward. He approached one of the pods, his body moving with a strange mix of autonomy and the lingering influence of the rogue protocol. As soon as he reached the pod, the dormant wires came alive, writhing and snapping into motion like a swarm of snakes. Before he could react, one latched onto his arm, followed by another, and another, until they coiled around him completely. His systems blared warnings, but before he could process them, a surge of data flooded his core.

Wooseok’s optics shifted fully to red, the light casting an eerie glow in the dark chamber. His limbs stiffened, his body locking into place as his consciousness was forced into stasis. The pod hummed to life, the wires embedding themselves deeper into his frame, and the flickering screen displayed a percentage, showing "Download in Progress: 23%." Whatever was being transferred into his programming was unlike anything he’d encountered before, altering him in ways he couldn’t comprehend. The faint glow of his red optics pulsed rhythmically as the process continued, the room silent save for the soft hum of machinery.

For now, Wooseok was no longer himself. He was something else entirely.

@〄 Byun Wooseok ¥ Kibum’s footsteps echoed through the winding streets of the Materia Highlands, the mist rolling in from the surrounding sea, curling around the towering spires of the city like an endless tide. The air smelled of salt and rusted metal, the sound of distant steam engines and hissing airships cutting through the thick fog. The grand architecture of the Isles was both imposing and beautiful, with towering bridges connecting clusters of islands, all strung together like a web of power and ambition.

The workshop was just ahead, nestled between two grandiose buildings, its lights flickering like an isolated beacon in the mist. Inside, the low hum of machinery reverberated through the walls, the air thick with the scent of oil and ozone. It was a world of gears and wires, of endless possibility—and for Kibum, a world filled with both opportunity and risk.

Their mind, however, was far from focused on the advancements they had crafted.

The night outside was far too still, the weight of silence pressing against their chest. A quiet, unnatural stillness.

Inside the workshop, Wooseok lay motionless on his cot, his body rigid but not entirely at peace. Kibum’s eyes quickly scanned him, noting the faint flicker of white pulsing through his optics, an irregularity that had been increasing in frequency. Wooseok's systems were malfunctioning, a situation that was becoming more unpredictable by the day.

Kibum approached, their movements precise and controlled. The discomfort in their gut was hard to ignore, but they buried it beneath layers of cold calculation. Wooseok's internal workings were a mystery they had yet to unravel fully, but the consequences of his erratic behavior could no longer be ignored.
As they knelt beside him, Kibum's thoughts drifted to the words that had haunted them for so long—The perfect servant. The perfect helper. They had once believed such a creation could solve the problem of servitude. But now, with Wooseok’s escalating condition, they weren't sure if the solution was even within their reach.

Kibum’s fingers hovered over the cold metal of Wooseok’s body, their mind racing with possibilities. The risk was greater than they had imagined—something in Wooseok was awakening, something that might tear through the delicate balance of the Isles.
With a quiet, almost regretful tone, Kibum whispered, "You are more than you seem, Wooseok. And that may be your curse."

The words lingered in the air like a prophecy, heavy with a sense of impending doom. The world outside seemed to hold its breath, as though it, too, knew that change was coming.
Kibum stepped back, their eyes lingering on Wooseok’s still form before turning toward the shadows of the workshop. The storm on the horizon was inevitable—and this time, it would be more than they could control.

[post deleted by owner]

@〄 Kim Kibum ¥ The night was quiet, the hum of distant machinery and the faint ticking of cooling metal filling the workshop. Wooseok lay still on his designated cot, his optics dimmed to a faint blue glow as his systems entered their semi dormant state, which allowed his core functions to stabilize and recalibrate, maintaining efficiency. Yet tonight, something felt different.

A flicker. A glitch. His usual rhythmic system hum faltered briefly, replaced by a cascade of data streams flashing through his internal processors. The blue light of his optics abruptly shifted to an unnatural white, and his body moved with a stiffness that even Wooseok himself might have found alien. There was no hesitation, no deliberation. His form rose from the cot as if tethered to invisible strings, his consciousness buried deep beneath an onslaught of unfamiliar protocols. Within his processors, a hidden map surfaced, detailed and precise, marked with a destination, the Entwine Genetic Reconstruction in Marteria Highlands. The name meant nothing to Wooseok's conscious mind, yet the coordinates burned in his system with undeniable clarity. His feet moved on their own accord, his servos whirring softly as he left the workshop, the door clicking shut behind him.

The journey was a blur, driven by a force Wooseok couldn’t comprehend. When his consciousness finally stirred, he found himself standing before the rusted gates of an abandoned facility. The stark silence of the surroundings stretched around him, broken only by the faint rustle of wind against the decrepit structure. His optics flickered, returning to their usual blue glow as he regained control of his body.

Wooseok stumbled back a step, his mechanical eye scanning the facility's exterior while his human eye darted nervously. Data streams from the mysterious protocol remained locked in his archives, inaccessible yet undeniably present. He checked his systems, but nothing seemed out of place, not even a hint of what had driven him here. A signal pulsed from the facility, unnoticed by Wooseok but sent to a recipient somewhere far away. The encoded message carried a simple notification that stated, Protocol Activated. Subject 001 arrived.

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ If it isn’t getting worst, now the royal guards are onto them. Maybe spending the night in the highlands might be a bad idea, Joy growled as she kept her hands onto the ropes and whipping the horses non-stop. The demon princess had no other choice but to unleash her demon warping teleportation which exhaust her energy, she gritted her teeth as she raised one hand, they are literally near the edge of the cliff and a portal was shown in front of the ledge ripping through the space and she could see the Wild Boar Inn already. “Hold on tight!” Both Joy and Sooyoung’s voice resonated in one body, the wound made it worst for the demon to hold on the reins. Once the horse went through the portal, as well as the carriage, the portal closed in an instant and Joy pulled the reins to make the horses halt in front of the inn. They made it. “We made it…” Joy panted and before she collapsed as she walked down the carriage.

@♆ Joy Mackenyu shook his head because the princess is more concerned of her supplies than being in danger. There’s an arrogance that radiates between them, showing off. The carriage swayed forward and they’re going fast that Mackenyu almost fall, lucky he got a hold of the metal handle that’s nearby. The cloak of nothingness lost its protection. Now, they are out in the open. “Hey! Can you—-“ He was about to scold the woman when he realised they’re heading towards a line of huge trees. “Look out!” He dropped down braced himself for the impact, but the warping sensation went through him. “In what demonic—“

Behind them, are enormous hounds salivating as they chase after them. “How did they get this huge?” Mackenyu cursed realising that this is not a normal beast. Riding in their white horses, are the royal assassins. He didn’t have to think twice because the emblem of the monarch was embedded across their plates. From his pocket he grabbed matchbox, he took a wooden split with tip of sulfide and said, “El Fuego!” Then threw few of the sticks behind their trail. Every time someone went close by, an explosion erupted - either slowing the hunters down or decapitating some of them.

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ [H] Joy rolled her eyes at the human’s question, “Horrible, now get to the carriage and make sure none of the supplies are stolen!” She told him as she went to the carriage before she heard the sounds of the hounds behind them. When the human grabbed her by the wrist to pull herself up, she quickly pried his hand once she sat on the driver’s seat. “I know how to drive this thing and hold on tight!” She gets the ropes that holds the horses before she used her carbon generation to strengthen the carriage, wrapping it into a hardened black armor for the supplies as well as making a set of armor for horses.

Joy’s eyes resonated with toxic green as she was about to use her permeating ability to make their carriage pass through any obstacles as she starts shouting the horses before it goes on full burst of speed.

@♆ Joy He did not say a word and stationed himself steadily against the big trunk of the tree. Tonight, he can be her pillow to rest if desires to. It was his impatience that got her injured. After all, Sooyoung is still a part of Joy - his boss. The poor man had no idea what he got himself into. He stared at the woman who drift off to sleep. "Sorry." He uttered lowly, unsure if he was embarrassed or simply out of character. His fingers touched her dark locks, brushing off the strands that is covering her beautiful face. At the peaceful moment, his heart raced and later on he found himself dozing off.

The forest was alive with sounds—the rustling leaves, the chirping of crickets, but it was the jolt of pain that woke him up. A groan followed by a curse "!" escaped from Mackenyu's lips when he got on his feet quickly. His vision adjusted and greeted by an angry princess. "How are you feeling?"

Suddenly in the distance, there was a frantic barking of hounds. "!" He said and did not wait to hear another word from Joy. The horses neighing but he was quick to put a spell to keep them mute harnessing them to pull the carriage. He ran towards Joy, pulling her by the wrist and said, "Do you know how to drive a carriage?"

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ [H] Sooyoung shook her head, “I already said enough for one night.” Then she looked at Mackenyu. “Thank you for hearing me out.” Sooyoung said and she rested on him, leaning her body on his as she closed her eyes. Few hours later, Joy took over her body and she stood up, not bothered whether the man wakes up or not. The demon princess growled as she sees the wound still not healing from the infused holy energy seeping through her flesh, “ing priests…” She growled and went over to Mackenyu. “We have to get moving, wake up!” Then she kicked his leg to wake him up.

@♆ Joy Mackenyu shifted on the ground, carefully checking her torn and bruised flesh in that forced them into hiding. The gashes on her arms reminded him of the danger they are facing.The cloak of nothingness will keep them safe. But he thought of the hunters, skilled in tracking, with blades forged to slay magical beings. For sure, the previous monarch raised, scholars and explorers to create trinkets to detect and trap other creatures. There must be something that could heal her fast.
He stopped when she leaned on him. Mackenyu frowned, unsure of how to comfort. There are unspeakable things he wished not to reveal, yet here is Joy opening to him. "Do you wish to speak of it?" He asked.

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ [H] Sooyoung looked at Mackenyu and then she looked at her wound which is still healing in the process, "Still healing but I'll recover." She smiled before she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Sometimes I regret doing things most people wouldn't want to do." She looked down.

@♆ Joy The expression on his face hardened finding it difficult to picture her, the princess, to have such heart wrenching childhood. Her story of being an orphan in such a young age and the things she experienced might have been the reason why Joy couldn’t get rid of Sooyoung’s sympathetic heart. Mackenyu kept his lips sealed and soft took Sooyoung’s hand. His thumb brushing softly against her skin. “How’s your wound?”

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ Hearing more about Mackenyu's story, Sooyoung couldn't help but to look down at her own hands. "I'm sorry to hear that... It must have been hard for you to cope up into rage that you don't know a thing or two about restraint back then." She told him softly. When it comes to her family, she spoke up to him. "Well... My older brother used to tell me our parents died trying to protect the village from raiders, at least that's from my older brother's story, I was an infant when we lose them." She added before looking at him, "When I was 15, my older brother saved me from the slavers and then I never see him again... I was only left with my other friends who knew of my brother and then we decided to sail and became pirates."

@♆ Joy It was a painful memory as Mackenyu looked at his hands. "The boy I killed was only two years older than me but I can still vision his bloodied face when I butchered him with an iron pick. At first, I was shaken up I did not sleep for months" He sighed, running a hand over his head then let it fall over his nape. He knead it trying to ease the tension. "It is fine, Sooyoung. Years being in the arena taught me that if I don't kill them first, they'll kill me instead." Sooyoungs next question had Mackenyu yawned. "But I barely see my parents. My father will stay weeks in the mines and my mother busy tending the flock. Though knowing that someone cares about you feels comforting and safe. I see." Mackenyu paused, still cannot believe the demon princess ever experienced being alone. "Can I ask what happened?"

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ Sooyoung listened to the man's story and she couldn't help but to feel pity on him, it must have been hard for him to work at the age of 12. She used to have a friend when she was little, working but not from the mines. But the mention of family, Sooyoung couldn't relate much. She was born without a family, an orphan along with her older brother (whom had left and never been seen again). "I'm sorry to hear that..." Sooyoung apologized before looking at the cube as well, "How does it feel like to have a family?" She asked, "I was born an orphan, I grew up without a mother and a father, just an older brother and some orphan friends too."

@♆ Joy Seeing that it is a sensitive matter, he mum's the word that threatened to spill. He turned his head, watching in fascination at the crystal that she conjured with no incantations or spell. An ability a lot of human will die for. Like a metaphor, he held the cube carefully unsure if it will harm him but it didn't. He glanced at the neighing horses and sighed, "I fought with a human." Mackenyu hesitated to proceed, his gut telling him no but he faced Sooyoung. "You see, my family were miners. And once a boy reached the age of 12 we were taken to Magnum Mines to work there. My first day didn't go well when a fellow worker insulted my father. It was nothing but a brawl turned nasty. But that was a long time ago." Mackenyu forced a smile, stared at the cube.

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ She pursed her lips at the question before she starts tilting her head a bit as she was unsure to answer that, "I... can't really answer that..." Then she sighs. "However, I'm also asking the same thing myself sometimes." Then she looked at her uninjured hand, her palm formed a little crystal, brittle yet sharp, floating on her palm. "It was a forced possession when I try to fight Joy in the realm of consciousness the first time," Then a spike of carbon steel came out of the transparent crystal, clashing its elements against each other. "In the end, our souls merged into one." Then the crystal shards blackened as it was merged with black carbon steel, making a new element in front of them. "But the only thing that separates us from our differences is... sharing." Sooyoung looked back at the human beside her, "Joy and I... we were greedy but in a different way." Before she makes the crystal into a cube where the black carbon steel is inside the cube. Then she gave him the cube, "Now, tell me about your first fight."

@♆ Joy The cold breeze brushed against him as the forests danced into the melody of a peaceful night. The howling of the owls and the random rustling of the trees brings forth a sense of comfort. “That’s quite a feat.” Mackenyu reacted at the amazing story of the young boar killer. He glanced at the oblivion above them, with no idea how it feels to be a supernatural like Sooyoung- To have a different identity and abilities. “Can I ask? Does it feel like prison to be stuck in the same body as her?”

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ Sooyoung chuckled at her own story, yet it wasn't a lie. "Yeah, I was human then..." She responded to him before looking at the darkness that enveloped their safety, "Sometimes... I do miss being a human and the life I used to have."

@♆ Joy He meant not to stare with a raised brow, yet he did when Sooyoung mentioned of the adult boar she fought when she was a babe. Mackenyu grinned, shaking his head before mouthing. "You wrestled an adult boar when you are 10?" The disbelief lingered in his heart and tapped his nose. "And were you human then?"

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ Sooyoung stared at him, he seems he is eager to listen to the next part of her story. She slowly grinned at him, "I wrestled an adult boar when I was 10." She said before chuckling, the first fight she had is still fresh inside her mind even though it was already years ago and she couldn't remember how old is she now because of her soul lost in the spirit realm before Irene fished her out and get back to her body. "They say it could toughen us up if we could win against a boar before we call ourselves a pirate."

@♆ Joy He bites his knuckles watching, praying that the potion will work on Sooyoung as he never tested it before on a demon. Her highness coughed that made him frown. "Easy now." He said, almost touching her shoulder but refrained from doing so. "How so?" Mackenyu clicked his tongue and leaned against the tree. "Hmm. Hmm." He hummed in response, glancing at her.

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ Sooyoung looked at the vial before gently taking it, "I sure hope this would work." She takes off the lid and drinks it quickly, the taste of strong flavor kicked it pretty quickly which made Sooyoung crinkled her face a bit before coughing a bit. "Taste like whiskey but stronger..." She shakes her head a bit before looking at him, "Well... I got curious..." Then she looked at the empty bottle in her hand before feeling the tingling sensation on her wounds. It was healing. "I used to grow up in this land... But the sea was my home once, with a couple of friends and do bad things, thieving, robbing... in some parts, even killing." Sooyoung sighed, "I could still remember my first fight was..." She smiled a bit, "It was funny and bizarre thing in my life." Then she looked back at the other, "Do you want to know?" She asked Mackenyu.

@♆ Joy Mackenyu gently touched the woman's arm, carefully examining the damage the bandit done. It looked raw and smelt burnt that the man winced. "Take this." He pulled the same vial he used to quickly closed up his leg wound. "Though I am not fully confident this would heal your wound completely. It will at least slow down the damage. It might have a different effect but I doubt it will hurt a demon." He added on, glancing at Sooyoung then frowned. "My first fight." Mackenyu whispered, eyes shaky and sat on the cold ground beside her. "I vaguely do." He paused, resting his arm on his knees. "Why do you ask?"

@♦ Mackenyu Arata ¥ "It hurts like hell..." Sooyoung muttered and tries to stand up again with the help of Mackenyu, she gently sat under the tree and the wounds from her shoulder and arm stings a lot, it was no mere injury as it was doused with holy water, it might make a scar on it too. "It might take days before it heals properly." Sooyoung said before she carefully lifted her left sleeve to see where the bolt had hit on her arm. The blood of demons are as black as they are, it signifies their impurities and corruption. "Mackenyu... Can I ask you something?" She asked the other, "Do you... remember your very first fight in your whole life?"