...“Sometimes, the quiet ones carry the loudest echoes—echoes of a past they can’t remember, and a future they’re afraid to reach.” – D.O....

The rain had always been his favorite sound.

There was something calming about the rhythm, the way it drowned out the noise of the world. On days like this, Do Kyungsoo sat by the window of his small apartment, a cup of lukewarm coffee in hand, eyes staring blankly into the gray mist.

He lived simply—woke up, worked at the local bookstore, returned home, cooked, slept. Every day was a repetition, a soft blur of routine. Safe. Controlled. Quiet.

But the dreams were getting worse.

Last night, he stood in the center of a shattered world, cracked like porcelain beneath his feet. Trees burned with blue fire. The air vibrated with unspoken screams. He remembered looking up—twelve lights in the sky, and then only nine. The rest fell like dying stars.

And then—earth cracked beneath him. A force surged from his hands, breaking the ground in a ripple of raw power. He’d screamed. Not in fear… but recognition.

When he woke, the glass on his nightstand had shattered.

At work, he noticed it again. The books on the shelf trembled as he passed. A ceramic figurine slid off a counter when he reached for it. And when a kid accidentally bumped into him, the floor creaked beneath their feet—too loudly for such a small touch.

Something inside him was changing.

Or maybe, something was waking up.

That evening, as the rain returned, Kyungsoo walked past the alley near his building—the one he never noticed before. But today, his feet turned on their own.

The alley was narrow, shadowed by broken neon signs. At the end of it stood a man in a dark hoodie, hunched and trembling.

Kyungsoo paused. “Are you okay?”

The man turned slowly, revealing bruised eyes and a bloody nose. But that wasn’t what made Kyungsoo freeze.

It was the faint glow in the man’s pupils. Red. Pulsing. Familiar.

Before he could move, the man lunged.

Kyungsoo raised his hands instinctively—and the ground exploded.

The force was raw, unshaped. It blasted the attacker back into the wall, cracking it like glass. Dust filled the air. Kyungsoo stood frozen, hand still outstretched, heart pounding.

The man groaned but didn’t rise.

Kyungsoo stepped back. “What... was that?”

Behind him, a voice answered. Calm. Confident.

“You’re one of them.”

Kyungsoo spun.

A tall figure leaned against the wall, face half-shadowed under a cap. But the voice… it was familiar in a way that made his chest tighten.

“Who are you?” Kyungsoo asked.

The figure stepped closer, eyes glowing faintly gold. “Name’s Kai. But you used to call me Jongin.”

Kyungsoo blinked. “Do I… know you?”

Kai nodded once. “You will.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small glowing orb. It pulsed in time with Kyungsoo’s heartbeat. “This belongs to you. Your core. You’ve been asleep too long.”

The orb floated toward Kyungsoo, dissolving into his chest with a soft light. Instantly, memories flickered—a Tree of Life, twelve brothers, laughter, betrayal, burning skies.

Kyungsoo staggered.

Jongin caught him.

“I don’t understand,” Kyungsoo whispered. “What is this?”

Jongin’s voice was gentle now. “The world we knew is gone. We were the Guardians. But we were scattered. Broken. Now… we’re waking up.”

Kyungsoo looked at the unconscious man in the alley. “And him?”

“Red Force. They’re hunting us before we remember who we are.” Jongin’s jaw clenched. “They already got to some of us. Kris… Luhan… Tao…”

Kyungsoo's breath caught.

“We don’t know if they left us willingly,” Jongin continued, “or if they were taken.”

Silence hung between them.

Finally, Kyungsoo asked, “What happens now?”

Jongin’s lips curled into a soft, familiar smirk. “We find the others. And we take back what’s ours.”

As the rain turned to lightning, and the city lights blinked out for a moment too long, Kyungsoo followed him into the dark—where answers waited like ghosts.

......................

..."In the darkness, even the faintest spark is a promise of the dawn." – Baekhyun...

Baekhyun had always been a dreamer.

Even now, as he sat in his small apartment, staring at the empty space before him, his mind wandered. A faint buzzing in the back of his head refused to go away, like a flickering light bulb on the verge of going out. But it wasn't just the buzzing—there was a weight, a presence, like a forgotten piece of himself tugging at the edges of his consciousness.

His phone vibrated on the table. Without thinking, Baekhyun reached for it. A text from a friend he hadn't spoken to in months.

“Are you okay? You’ve been acting strange lately. Call me when you get this.”

Baekhyun smiled faintly. It was the sort of text that would have been funny to him before—the kind of thing he might have brushed off with a snarky reply. But now, the words seemed to echo, distant, like an old song he used to love.

He dropped the phone and leaned back, eyes closed. The buzzing in his head grew louder, pressing against the sides of his skull like it wanted to break free.

It started in the middle of the night.

Baekhyun had always been able to ignore his dreams—just another facet of his overactive imagination. But this time, it was different. This dream wasn’t a figment of his creativity or a random collection of thoughts. It felt… too real.

He stood on a rooftop, the city stretched out below him. A strong wind blew, pulling his hair behind him, but there was something else. Something deep inside him that resonated with the wind, as if they were connected, as if his very soul danced with it.

And then, the light.

It wasn’t like any light he had ever seen. Not the warm golden hues of a sunset or the cold fluorescent lights of a street lamp. No, this was pure—a brilliant, blinding light that seemed to exist beyond time itself. It surrounded him, filled him, and for a brief moment, Baekhyun felt… whole.

But that feeling didn’t last long. The light flickered, dimmed, and vanished.

Baekhyun awoke with a start, gasping for air. His room was dark. Silent. Normal.

Except, his hands… his hands were glowing.

Now, here he was, sitting in front of the same empty space, the buzzing still vibrating in his mind, when it happened again.

The light.

It flashed across his eyes, just like in the dream. Baekhyun stood, his legs shaky as the sensation of power surged through him. He clenched his fists, and the light pulsed once, twice, until he felt it. It wasn’t just light—it was energy, pure and unrestrained. He could feel it crackling in his veins, making him dizzy with its intensity.

He could hear the hum of it, like the world itself was singing.

Baekhyun stumbled to the door, his heart pounding in his chest. His mind was racing, but there was one thing he knew for sure: he couldn’t stay here. Not like this. There was something waiting for him outside. Something he needed to find. Something that felt… right.

He stepped outside, the cold night air biting at his skin. As he walked down the street, trying to make sense of his thoughts, he felt it again—a tug. A pull. The energy was leading him, guiding him.

The further he walked, the stronger the pull became, until finally, he found himself standing in front of an abandoned building. Its windows were shattered, the paint peeling from the walls, but there was something about it that felt... important.

Baekhyun hesitated for only a moment before stepping inside.

Inside, the building was dark, the only sound the echoes of his footsteps. But as he ventured deeper, a familiar presence filled the air.

“Baekhyun.”

His heart skipped a beat at the voice. It was low, steady, and full of warmth.

He turned around quickly, his breath catching in his throat.

Standing in the middle of the room, illuminated by a soft glow, was Jongin—Kai, as he once called him. But this wasn’t the same Jongin he remembered. This man had an aura about him that felt… different. Powerful. His eyes glowed faintly, and his presence was undeniable.

“Kai?” Baekhyun whispered, his voice cracking.

Jongin nodded slowly, his expression unreadable. “It’s me. Or, at least, it was. I’ve been waiting for you, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun took a tentative step forward. “Waiting for me? What’s happening? What’s going on?”

Jongin’s eyes softened. “You’re waking up. We all are. You remember what we were—what we had—don’t you?”

Baekhyun shook his head. “No. No, I don’t. I remember us, but… everything else is like a fog.”

Jongin stepped closer, his hand reaching out. Baekhyun’s instinct was to pull back, but the moment their hands brushed, a surge of energy passed between them, sharp and electric. Baekhyun gasped, his whole body trembling with the force.

“Baekhyun,” Jongin said, his voice gentle but urgent. “We were Guardians—twelve of us, connected by the Tree of Life. We were chosen to protect the balance of the worlds. But something happened. There was betrayal. Red Force took hold of some of us, and the rest of us were scattered.”

Baekhyun tried to process the words, but it was like trying to catch smoke with his bare hands. “But… why me? Why now?”

Jongin's gaze hardened, and he stepped back, looking at Baekhyun with a mix of sadness and resolve. “Because we need you. The others need you. You have a power that no one else does.”

Baekhyun clenched his fists, feeling the light flicker within him. “What power?”

Jongin gave him a small, knowing smile. “Light. The light you saw in your dream. It’s your core. You’re the last piece of the puzzle.”

Baekhyun stood still, his mind a whirlwind of confusion, disbelief, and wonder. “What do we do now?”

Jongin stepped forward, placing a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Now, we find the others. We wake them up, and we stop Red Force from destroying everything.”

......................

..."They called me fire, but forgot I could burn myself too." — Chanyeol...

Fire wasn’t always warm.

Sometimes, it seared. Sometimes, it destroyed. And sometimes… it whispered secrets in the silence of ash.

Chanyeol sat alone in the half-lit basement of a downtown music bar, his guitar case resting by his side. The room was empty now, the crowd long gone. Only a single red bulb swayed from the ceiling, casting flickering shadows against the walls. He leaned forward, his long fingers slowly twisting the guitar’s tuning pegs, but he wasn’t really paying attention.

He hadn’t been okay in a long time.

The applause never filled the void inside him anymore. People praised his energy, his charm, his voice—but none of them saw the crack under the surface. The growing heat he felt in his chest wasn’t just anxiety or stress. It was alive.

It had started three months ago.

Sparks in his palms when he got angry. Warmth radiating off his skin even in the dead of winter. Lights around him flickering whenever he got emotional. He thought he was going insane—until the dreams came.

He would wake up drenched in sweat, the bedsheets scorched, sometimes even smoldering. But it wasn’t the fire that scared him.

It was the memory of a world that didn’t exist.

Mountains that floated. Trees that shimmered with gold. A city in the sky where he stood, surrounded by eleven others. And always, in the center, a great flame—the Heartfire, it was called. He didn’t know how he remembered that name. It just… was.

Every night, the dream burned brighter, the voices louder.

“You are not who you think you are.”

“The flame is calling.”

Chanyeol tried to silence the voices with music, late-night drinks, and laughter with strangers, but the fire only grew stronger, waiting.

Until tonight.

He didn’t notice the door creak open. Didn’t hear the quiet footsteps until a soft voice pierced the air.

“Chanyeol.”

He turned slowly, his body already tensing. The fire responded before his brain could. A faint red glow pulsed under his skin.

Standing by the door was someone he hadn’t seen in years.

Wide eyes. Pale skin. Soft hair that framed his face like moonlight.

Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol blinked. For a second, he couldn’t speak. “D.O…?”

Kyungsoo nodded slowly, stepping further inside. “It’s me. And I’m sorry it took so long.”

Chanyeol stood up fast, the stool toppling behind him. “What is this? What are you doing here?”

Kyungsoo looked calm, but his eyes glinted with something deep—pain and purpose. “We’re waking up, Chanyeol. One by one. Baekhyun’s already awakened. So has Kai. Now, it’s your turn.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chanyeol snapped. “You can’t just show up after years and—”

“I never left,” Kyungsoo interrupted, his voice sharp but low. “None of us really did. We were scattered, our memories sealed, our powers buried. But the seal is breaking. The Red Force is rising again.”

That name. Red Force.

It lit something inside him, like a forgotten melody suddenly heard again. His hands trembled.

“You’re insane,” Chanyeol muttered, turning away. “This is a bad dream.”

Kyungsoo took another step closer. “Then explain this.”

With a flick of his hand, a swirl of stone and earth lifted from the floor and hovered in the air, floating with perfect control before returning gently to the ground.

Chanyeol’s breath caught.

“Your powers are coming back too,” Kyungsoo said gently. “You’ve felt it, haven’t you?”

Chanyeol looked down at his hands. They weren’t glowing… but they felt hot. Like fire was just beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed.

“What if I don’t want it?” he whispered. “I didn’t ask for this. I just wanted to live. Make music. Be… normal.”

Kyungsoo’s expression softened. “None of us wanted this. But it’s not about what we want anymore. It’s about what we are.”

The fire responded again—stronger this time. Chanyeol closed his eyes as memories began crashing down.

Not dreams. Memories.

Of Sehun laughing as he floated through the sky. Of Suho conjuring rain with a wave of his hand. Of Chen’s voice bringing lightning down in a storm of glory. Of Kris, Lay, Luhan, Tao…

All twelve. One unit. One force.

EXO.

Chanyeol stumbled back, gripping his chest. “What’s happening to me…?”

“You’re remembering,” Kyungsoo said. “And soon, you’ll feel it all.”

Then the ground shook.

It wasn’t a tremor—it was intentional.

The floor cracked. The walls groaned. Lights burst overhead as something slammed into the building from the outside.

Kyungsoo’s eyes narrowed. “They found you.”

“Who?” Chanyeol gasped.

Kyungsoo didn’t answer. Instead, he extended his hand toward Chanyeol. “You need to awaken. Now. Or we both die.”

Chanyeol hesitated for only a moment before taking Kyungsoo’s hand.

The moment they touched, fire exploded around them.

But it didn’t burn.

It embraced.

Chanyeol’s knees buckled as a roar echoed through his ears. The flame inside him surged, memories flooding back in full.

He was the Guardian of Flame.

He once stood at the edge of a collapsing world and held it together with nothing but burning will.

He was EXO’s heartfire. The one who burned brightest when all else failed.

His eyes snapped open—glowing crimson.

Outside, the building tore apart as three figures cloaked in shadows descended through the ceiling. Their forms rippled, faceless, moving like smoke and poison.

Red Force agents.

Chanyeol stepped forward, the ground hissing beneath his feet. His voice was low, deadly.

“You picked the wrong night.”

Kyungsoo raised a hand, the earth responding immediately—pillars rising to shield them as Chanyeol lifted his palm and focused. The fire inside him answered eagerly.

He whispered a word that came naturally. “Pyra.”

Flames exploded outward, washing over the Red Force shadows, forcing them back. One shrieked—a piercing, unnatural sound.

The fight was chaos. Fire and earth clashing against shadow and void. But Chanyeol felt alive. Like the universe had finally remembered him, and he remembered who he was.

One agent lunged forward, claws outstretched—but Chanyeol met it with a punch full of fire. The impact sent the creature crashing through the wall, disintegrating mid-air.

The remaining two turned to flee, but Kyungsoo brought the floor beneath them up like a wave, slamming them against the wall with brutal precision.

Silence fell.

Chanyeol stood, breathing hard, flames dancing across his fingertips.

Kyungsoo walked to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You’re back.”

Chanyeol gave a slow nod, eyes still glowing faintly. “I remember everything.”

Kyungsoo looked proud—and sad. “Then you know what comes next.”

Chanyeol turned to the gaping hole in the wall, smoke rising in the distance. “We find the others. And we burn the Red Force to the ground.”

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