The World Ends With You
Title: The World Ends With You
Chapter: 6/?
Pairings: ZhouRy (Main), many others
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Character Death, Angst, Apocalyptic Themes
Summary: Sequel to Till Death Do We Part. Zhou Mi had always been a failure of a necromancer. He botched up all his spells, brought back the wrong person, and the few times he had gotten it right, his ex boyfriend had taken it upon himself to send his successes back where they came from. But this didn’t stop him from trying… Until one day, the new boy next door happened to walk in on his ritual… And vanished into thin air. Determined to get Henry back, Zhou Mi set off for Korea, to find the only person he knew would be willing to help; Cho KyuHyun, his ex. But more people start disappearing, and the events set in motion would change all their lives, and the fate of the four worlds, forever.
A/N: See see, I updated fast this time! *feels proud* Oh, and two more pictures have been added to the Character Pictures page!
Trailer
Characters and Terms
Character Pictures
Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four || Chapter Five
Chapter Six
They’d been walking for… Who knows how long. Nothing seemed to change, and they didn’t run into anyone. Tablo and EunHyuk talked away in rapid-fire Korean, the former occasionally switching to English so Henry wouldn’t feel left out. The Canadian appreciated the effort, but it was rather a lost cause; he already felt like he was butting in on something, despite having no other option than to follow the two of them. But he didn’t say anything, because he knew from the few hours they’d been together Tablo was too polite to say whether Henry was a burden or not, and EunHyuk wouldn’t understand him anyway.
The first event away from the monotonous conversation that Henry couldn’t even begin to comprehend happened about two hours in. How Henry knew it was two hours was because his watch seemed to be still functioning. It was the only method of telling time, though Tablo had said something about the purple and blue glows in the sky also helping to tell time, though Henry really couldn’t see how.
Either way, they’d been walking with Henry trailing behind as usual, when suddenly EunHyuk fell. Not tripping over his own feet and falling onto his face though. It was as if he’d stepped off a ledge, and plummeted several feet down, then tripped over his own feet from the sudden lack of balance. Tablo let out a shout of laughter, as Henry stared at the boy laying face-down several feet below them. “Is he okay?” He asked tentatively, relieved when EunHyuk lifted his head, looking somewhat disorientated, and made a face at Tablo who had yet to stop laughing at his ungraceful fall.
“H… He’s fine,” Tablo said, wiping tears out of the corner of his eyes, before easily hopping down the invisible ledge and landing beside EunHyuk, helping the boy to his feet. Henry, looking around for where the ground suddenly gave, decided safety was more important than his pride and went on his hands and knees, moving forward until he could feel the edge. The sense of touch was the only thing he could use, because as always he couldn’t actually see the ground, and if it hadn’t been for EunHyuk falling off the ledge first, he would have never known there was even a ledge there.
“Does the ground level change like this often?” Henry questioned, sitting on the edge and lowering himself down. Tablo nodded, still laughing as EunHyuk whacked him off the back of the head. “There’s hills and cliffs all over the place. You have to watch for the inconsistencies in the ground, something that EunHyuk hasn’t mastered yet despite being here for nearly five years.”
Henry looked back at the ledge, and noted that Tablo was right, there was something slightly odd about the darkness. The hints of blue and purple seemed to form something of a ledge, but it was hard to tell. Then, the rest of Tablo’s sentence seemed to register, and he looked back at them with a stunned expression. “Five years???”
Tablo nodded. “Time passes differently here than in the other worlds.” They started walking again, as Tablo explained to Henry another mystery of the Void. “When I arrived in here, it was the year 1750.” Henry ‘wowwed’ softly. So Tablo was nearly three hundred years old then. “Then, when EunHyuk came here it was 2008. I didn’t have a watch or anything like you all had, so myself and the few others here went by the highlights in the ground and sky to tell time. And even though nearly three hundred years had passed for you all, for us it had only been ten. No one has aged so much as a day physically though.”
“So… Time moves slower here?” Henry asked. But that didn’t match with EunHyuk’s story at all.
“Not really. It seems to speed up and slow down constantly. So between 2008 and 2009, five years have passed here for us. It’s odd, but we can use the dates from when new people arrive to tell what the current difference in time is. It’s been a couple hours for us, but on Earth based on what you’ve told me, only a few minutes have passed.”
It was hard to comprehend. Henry watched EunHyuk argue with Tablo, and though he couldn’t understand he could imagine the spiky-haired male was scolding the elder for laughing at him. If only a few minutes had passed, Zhou Mi might still be looking for him. He couldn’t recall much from right before he’d passed out, but he did remember an odd wind, and Zhou Mi making shapes in the air with his hands…
“Tablo?” He asked eventually. The two Koreans stopped their conversation, looking over at Henry. “How long do you think it will be… Before we can get out of here?”
Tablo sighed softly, appearing saddened that he had to be the one to say this. “Henry… I don’t think we’re ever getting out.”
*****
DongHae watched curiously from behind a pillar as YunHo strode purposefully out of the main building, JaeJoong at his heels, and walked towards the gates.
He’d only seen YunHo a few times, mostly around JaeJoong, but since the two had broken off their relationship for the umpteenth time, it was rare to see the Sword of God and the Right Hand of God so much as in the same room. DongHae had asked about their nicknames multiple times, but JaeJoong would only smile mysteriously, and LeeTeuk’s explanations were more confusing than anything. He hadn’t worked up the courage to talk to YunHo yet, let alone ask. He’d heard the leader of the Elite Guard was very nice and playful, but he looked so serious all the time DongHae ended up chickening out.
So the first thought that went through his head was that either they’d made up again, or whatever was going on was serious enough that they didn’t mind being in each other’s company. Or perhaps a bit of both.
LeeTeuk was gone to visit KangIn, and ChangMin had run off somewhere after having a hurried word with JaeJoong, leaving DongHae on his own. And what was a curious new Spirit-Guide-in-Training to do? Find the source of all the commotion, of course.
And the source was right outside the Gates of Heaven. Two demons stood there; he didn’t need to look long to know they were demons. The black wings, the odd tattoos, the fangs, red eyes… And the aura coming off of them in general, everything made him nervous and on edge. He supposed it was normal for a soon-to-be-angel to get weird vibes from demons; they were on opposite ends of the spectrum, after all.
One of the demons was quite visibly more of a problem than the other. He hadn’t been standing there for more than half a minute, ranting loudly and shooting off red sparks, and seemed to be attempting to knock the Gates down. The other demon was trying to calm him down, but obviously wasn’t having much of an effect. It was like talking to a raging bull.
What were demons doing up here anyways? DongHae remembered asking about Hell once, and what stopped demons from just coming up here whenever they liked. The answer was the invisible, pure aura surrounding Heaven. It was too strong for ordinary imps, and only the strongest of demons could last more than a few minutes outside the Gates. The opposite was also true; only very strong Angels, A.K.A. one of the Firsts, could stand the evil radiating from Hell.
And considering the yelling demon showed absolutely no sign of fatigue in any way, and neither did the other, DongHae wondered just how much trouble they were in.
“-And if you’ve hurt him in any way I’ll-“
“HeeChul, calm-“
“-fucking angels and your supposed superiority-“
“-Stop before-“
“-U-KNOW GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE BEFORE I TURN YOUR PRECIOUS GATE INTO LIQUID SILVER!”
Covering his ears against the outburst, DongHae hid for a moment so JaeJoong and YunHo wouldn’t see him as they walked by, before looking out again. YunHo went up to the Gate, all friendliness and playfulness gone. “Kim HeeChul,” He greeted, but the words sounded strained, like he was forcing himself to be polite to the raging demon. “What brings you so far away from your clan borders?”
“Cut the small talk and open the Gate before I blast it open, you son-of-a-“
The demon beside the one named HeeChul wisely chose that moment to cover the feminine males mouth with one hand. Ignoring the muffled screech and the attempts to get out of the others grasp, the second demon bowed slightly to YunHo. “I apologize for my friend, U-Know.”
“Micky,” greeted YunHo, sounding relieved that the more polite of the two demons had taken over the conversation. “I haven’t seen either of you since the Great War. What brings you here, when it’s clearly the last place you want to be?” The Great War. DongHae remembered from one of LeeTeuks’ endless lectures (one of the ones he hadn’t fallen asleep in) that centuries ago there had been a war between Heaven and Hell, and many of the First Angels had been killed. They’d also taken a good number of the more powerful demons with them though. It made sense why both sides of the conversation now were talking with forced politeness. They would have been enemies centuries ago, and still were.
“There has been a slight… Problem in Hell, and unfortunately Rella seems to have pinned all the blame on you since neither of us could turn up any indication of what may have- Ow!” HeeChul had bit the hand over his mouth.
“Feisty as ever,” JaeJoong murmured; DongHae had to strain to hear his voice. HeeChul however, turned his attention towards the quiet angel in an instant. “YoungWoong, I know you know what happened! You always know! Now either you tell me or so help me, I’ll have you die a second time!” JaeJoong didn’t seem concerned about the threat.
“Wait, hold up, both of you,” YunHo said, rubbing one temple. “WHAT exactly has been happening?” At this point, LeeTeuk and ChangMin ran out of the building, and DongHae had to duck behind his pillar again. “What’s going on?” LeeTeuk asked breathlessly as they stopped beside the two other angels.
“Two imps from our clan have disappeared,” The demon YunHo had called Micky replied. YunHo frowned slightly. “Have you check for spells? Curses?”
“If we had found any, we wouldn’t be up here talking to-“ Micky covered HeeChul’s mouth again before he could continue. “There was none,” Micky informed them. “Rella seems to think you’re the cause, even though there was no sign of angelic influence either. Actually, I was hoping you might have an idea nonetheless.”
“Must be serious if you’re willing to ask us for help,” YunHo murmured. “Aren’t imps the lowest demon status? It’s not like either of you to care so much about two imps.”
HeeChul started shouting again, but thankfully the hand over his mouth prevented the majority of his words from being understood.
“Well…” LeeTeuk started slowly. The others looked at him. “There was something similar down on Earth recently,” He said, frowning. “I just came back from meeting with a group of humans discussing a strange disappearance. The boy in question vanished right in front of someone else, so none of the usual kidnapping or runaway ideas applied.”
“How can you be sure it’s connected?” Micky asked, though he was frowning thoughtfully. HeeChul finally stilled, thinking also.
“It’s just an idea,” LeeTeuk said sheepishly.
“Why don’t we discuss this inside? YunHo?” JaeJoong asked, looking up at the leader of the Elite Guard. YunHo frowned, then nodded after a moment. “Very well. We’ll bring them to the guest chambers; there’s an enchantment on the room so you will be less affected by the aura.” He looked sternly at the two demons, or more accurately, at HeeChul. “Do we have your word you will behave?”
Micky nodded, and after grumbling HeeChul did as well. YunHo waved one hand, and the Gates swung open, allowing the two demons entrance. DongHae watched the group head towards the guestroom, none of them sparing a glance towards his hiding spot. Then, as DongHae shifted position slightly, JaeJoong turned around and looked right at him.
For a split second they were looking into each other’s eyes, then DongHae ducked behind the pillar again. His heart pounded in his ears out of fright. What had that been about? A minute later, the new angel peeked out again, to see the others were gone.
It had only been a moment, but he was sure that JaeJoong had known he was there all along.
Chapter: 6/?
Pairings: ZhouRy (Main), many others
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Character Death, Angst, Apocalyptic Themes
Summary: Sequel to Till Death Do We Part. Zhou Mi had always been a failure of a necromancer. He botched up all his spells, brought back the wrong person, and the few times he had gotten it right, his ex boyfriend had taken it upon himself to send his successes back where they came from. But this didn’t stop him from trying… Until one day, the new boy next door happened to walk in on his ritual… And vanished into thin air. Determined to get Henry back, Zhou Mi set off for Korea, to find the only person he knew would be willing to help; Cho KyuHyun, his ex. But more people start disappearing, and the events set in motion would change all their lives, and the fate of the four worlds, forever.
A/N: See see, I updated fast this time! *feels proud* Oh, and two more pictures have been added to the Character Pictures page!
Trailer
Characters and Terms
Character Pictures
Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four || Chapter Five
Chapter Six
They’d been walking for… Who knows how long. Nothing seemed to change, and they didn’t run into anyone. Tablo and EunHyuk talked away in rapid-fire Korean, the former occasionally switching to English so Henry wouldn’t feel left out. The Canadian appreciated the effort, but it was rather a lost cause; he already felt like he was butting in on something, despite having no other option than to follow the two of them. But he didn’t say anything, because he knew from the few hours they’d been together Tablo was too polite to say whether Henry was a burden or not, and EunHyuk wouldn’t understand him anyway.
The first event away from the monotonous conversation that Henry couldn’t even begin to comprehend happened about two hours in. How Henry knew it was two hours was because his watch seemed to be still functioning. It was the only method of telling time, though Tablo had said something about the purple and blue glows in the sky also helping to tell time, though Henry really couldn’t see how.
Either way, they’d been walking with Henry trailing behind as usual, when suddenly EunHyuk fell. Not tripping over his own feet and falling onto his face though. It was as if he’d stepped off a ledge, and plummeted several feet down, then tripped over his own feet from the sudden lack of balance. Tablo let out a shout of laughter, as Henry stared at the boy laying face-down several feet below them. “Is he okay?” He asked tentatively, relieved when EunHyuk lifted his head, looking somewhat disorientated, and made a face at Tablo who had yet to stop laughing at his ungraceful fall.
“H… He’s fine,” Tablo said, wiping tears out of the corner of his eyes, before easily hopping down the invisible ledge and landing beside EunHyuk, helping the boy to his feet. Henry, looking around for where the ground suddenly gave, decided safety was more important than his pride and went on his hands and knees, moving forward until he could feel the edge. The sense of touch was the only thing he could use, because as always he couldn’t actually see the ground, and if it hadn’t been for EunHyuk falling off the ledge first, he would have never known there was even a ledge there.
“Does the ground level change like this often?” Henry questioned, sitting on the edge and lowering himself down. Tablo nodded, still laughing as EunHyuk whacked him off the back of the head. “There’s hills and cliffs all over the place. You have to watch for the inconsistencies in the ground, something that EunHyuk hasn’t mastered yet despite being here for nearly five years.”
Henry looked back at the ledge, and noted that Tablo was right, there was something slightly odd about the darkness. The hints of blue and purple seemed to form something of a ledge, but it was hard to tell. Then, the rest of Tablo’s sentence seemed to register, and he looked back at them with a stunned expression. “Five years???”
Tablo nodded. “Time passes differently here than in the other worlds.” They started walking again, as Tablo explained to Henry another mystery of the Void. “When I arrived in here, it was the year 1750.” Henry ‘wowwed’ softly. So Tablo was nearly three hundred years old then. “Then, when EunHyuk came here it was 2008. I didn’t have a watch or anything like you all had, so myself and the few others here went by the highlights in the ground and sky to tell time. And even though nearly three hundred years had passed for you all, for us it had only been ten. No one has aged so much as a day physically though.”
“So… Time moves slower here?” Henry asked. But that didn’t match with EunHyuk’s story at all.
“Not really. It seems to speed up and slow down constantly. So between 2008 and 2009, five years have passed here for us. It’s odd, but we can use the dates from when new people arrive to tell what the current difference in time is. It’s been a couple hours for us, but on Earth based on what you’ve told me, only a few minutes have passed.”
It was hard to comprehend. Henry watched EunHyuk argue with Tablo, and though he couldn’t understand he could imagine the spiky-haired male was scolding the elder for laughing at him. If only a few minutes had passed, Zhou Mi might still be looking for him. He couldn’t recall much from right before he’d passed out, but he did remember an odd wind, and Zhou Mi making shapes in the air with his hands…
“Tablo?” He asked eventually. The two Koreans stopped their conversation, looking over at Henry. “How long do you think it will be… Before we can get out of here?”
Tablo sighed softly, appearing saddened that he had to be the one to say this. “Henry… I don’t think we’re ever getting out.”
*****
DongHae watched curiously from behind a pillar as YunHo strode purposefully out of the main building, JaeJoong at his heels, and walked towards the gates.
He’d only seen YunHo a few times, mostly around JaeJoong, but since the two had broken off their relationship for the umpteenth time, it was rare to see the Sword of God and the Right Hand of God so much as in the same room. DongHae had asked about their nicknames multiple times, but JaeJoong would only smile mysteriously, and LeeTeuk’s explanations were more confusing than anything. He hadn’t worked up the courage to talk to YunHo yet, let alone ask. He’d heard the leader of the Elite Guard was very nice and playful, but he looked so serious all the time DongHae ended up chickening out.
So the first thought that went through his head was that either they’d made up again, or whatever was going on was serious enough that they didn’t mind being in each other’s company. Or perhaps a bit of both.
LeeTeuk was gone to visit KangIn, and ChangMin had run off somewhere after having a hurried word with JaeJoong, leaving DongHae on his own. And what was a curious new Spirit-Guide-in-Training to do? Find the source of all the commotion, of course.
And the source was right outside the Gates of Heaven. Two demons stood there; he didn’t need to look long to know they were demons. The black wings, the odd tattoos, the fangs, red eyes… And the aura coming off of them in general, everything made him nervous and on edge. He supposed it was normal for a soon-to-be-angel to get weird vibes from demons; they were on opposite ends of the spectrum, after all.
One of the demons was quite visibly more of a problem than the other. He hadn’t been standing there for more than half a minute, ranting loudly and shooting off red sparks, and seemed to be attempting to knock the Gates down. The other demon was trying to calm him down, but obviously wasn’t having much of an effect. It was like talking to a raging bull.
What were demons doing up here anyways? DongHae remembered asking about Hell once, and what stopped demons from just coming up here whenever they liked. The answer was the invisible, pure aura surrounding Heaven. It was too strong for ordinary imps, and only the strongest of demons could last more than a few minutes outside the Gates. The opposite was also true; only very strong Angels, A.K.A. one of the Firsts, could stand the evil radiating from Hell.
And considering the yelling demon showed absolutely no sign of fatigue in any way, and neither did the other, DongHae wondered just how much trouble they were in.
“-And if you’ve hurt him in any way I’ll-“
“HeeChul, calm-“
“-fucking angels and your supposed superiority-“
“-Stop before-“
“-U-KNOW GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE BEFORE I TURN YOUR PRECIOUS GATE INTO LIQUID SILVER!”
Covering his ears against the outburst, DongHae hid for a moment so JaeJoong and YunHo wouldn’t see him as they walked by, before looking out again. YunHo went up to the Gate, all friendliness and playfulness gone. “Kim HeeChul,” He greeted, but the words sounded strained, like he was forcing himself to be polite to the raging demon. “What brings you so far away from your clan borders?”
“Cut the small talk and open the Gate before I blast it open, you son-of-a-“
The demon beside the one named HeeChul wisely chose that moment to cover the feminine males mouth with one hand. Ignoring the muffled screech and the attempts to get out of the others grasp, the second demon bowed slightly to YunHo. “I apologize for my friend, U-Know.”
“Micky,” greeted YunHo, sounding relieved that the more polite of the two demons had taken over the conversation. “I haven’t seen either of you since the Great War. What brings you here, when it’s clearly the last place you want to be?” The Great War. DongHae remembered from one of LeeTeuks’ endless lectures (one of the ones he hadn’t fallen asleep in) that centuries ago there had been a war between Heaven and Hell, and many of the First Angels had been killed. They’d also taken a good number of the more powerful demons with them though. It made sense why both sides of the conversation now were talking with forced politeness. They would have been enemies centuries ago, and still were.
“There has been a slight… Problem in Hell, and unfortunately Rella seems to have pinned all the blame on you since neither of us could turn up any indication of what may have- Ow!” HeeChul had bit the hand over his mouth.
“Feisty as ever,” JaeJoong murmured; DongHae had to strain to hear his voice. HeeChul however, turned his attention towards the quiet angel in an instant. “YoungWoong, I know you know what happened! You always know! Now either you tell me or so help me, I’ll have you die a second time!” JaeJoong didn’t seem concerned about the threat.
“Wait, hold up, both of you,” YunHo said, rubbing one temple. “WHAT exactly has been happening?” At this point, LeeTeuk and ChangMin ran out of the building, and DongHae had to duck behind his pillar again. “What’s going on?” LeeTeuk asked breathlessly as they stopped beside the two other angels.
“Two imps from our clan have disappeared,” The demon YunHo had called Micky replied. YunHo frowned slightly. “Have you check for spells? Curses?”
“If we had found any, we wouldn’t be up here talking to-“ Micky covered HeeChul’s mouth again before he could continue. “There was none,” Micky informed them. “Rella seems to think you’re the cause, even though there was no sign of angelic influence either. Actually, I was hoping you might have an idea nonetheless.”
“Must be serious if you’re willing to ask us for help,” YunHo murmured. “Aren’t imps the lowest demon status? It’s not like either of you to care so much about two imps.”
HeeChul started shouting again, but thankfully the hand over his mouth prevented the majority of his words from being understood.
“Well…” LeeTeuk started slowly. The others looked at him. “There was something similar down on Earth recently,” He said, frowning. “I just came back from meeting with a group of humans discussing a strange disappearance. The boy in question vanished right in front of someone else, so none of the usual kidnapping or runaway ideas applied.”
“How can you be sure it’s connected?” Micky asked, though he was frowning thoughtfully. HeeChul finally stilled, thinking also.
“It’s just an idea,” LeeTeuk said sheepishly.
“Why don’t we discuss this inside? YunHo?” JaeJoong asked, looking up at the leader of the Elite Guard. YunHo frowned, then nodded after a moment. “Very well. We’ll bring them to the guest chambers; there’s an enchantment on the room so you will be less affected by the aura.” He looked sternly at the two demons, or more accurately, at HeeChul. “Do we have your word you will behave?”
Micky nodded, and after grumbling HeeChul did as well. YunHo waved one hand, and the Gates swung open, allowing the two demons entrance. DongHae watched the group head towards the guestroom, none of them sparing a glance towards his hiding spot. Then, as DongHae shifted position slightly, JaeJoong turned around and looked right at him.
For a split second they were looking into each other’s eyes, then DongHae ducked behind the pillar again. His heart pounded in his ears out of fright. What had that been about? A minute later, the new angel peeked out again, to see the others were gone.
It had only been a moment, but he was sure that JaeJoong had known he was there all along.