Chapter 10: Sparks in the Dark

..."Even a dying star still burns brighter than the night that swallows it." — Chanyeol...

The fire crackled low, filling the cave with a soft, flickering light.

Kyungsoo sat motionless by the flames, arms wrapped tightly around his knees, staring into the embers as if they could somehow give him answers.

They didn’t.

The silence wrapped around him like a second skin — cold, heavy, suffocating.

Until—

A noise.

A voice.

Faint at first, carried on the bitter wind.

"Kyungsoo!"

Chanyeol’s voice — desperate, raw, cracking like a whip across the frozen night.

Kyungsoo's head snapped up.

He was on his feet before he even thought about it, stumbling toward the mouth of the cave, heart hammering against his ribs.

And then —

A blur of black and red crashed into him.

Chanyeol.

Alive.

Solid.

Burning hot even through layers of winter gear.

Kyungsoo staggered back a step, but Chanyeol clung to him with a strength that was almost violent — arms crushing around his smaller frame like he was afraid Kyungsoo would vanish if he let go.

"Hyung," Chanyeol gasped, voice broken, "God, hyung — you're really here—"

Kyungsoo froze.

For a long, breathless moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

And then another body barreled into them, softer but no less desperate.

"Don't hog him, you giant!" Baekhyun’s voice — bright and wobbly and so painfully familiar that Kyungsoo’s throat tightened.

Baekhyun squeezed into the embrace, his arms winding around both of them, face pressed into Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

The three of them stood there, tangled together, shaking not from cold but from something deeper.

Relief.

Grief.

Hope.

Kyungsoo buried his face into Chanyeol’s jacket and allowed himself, just for a moment, to breathe.

To feel.

He wasn't alone anymore.

Later, after the fire had been built bigger, after Baekhyun had insisted on stuffing Kyungsoo full of lukewarm soup, they sat huddled together in a messy pile of blankets and exhaustion.

The storm raged outside, but inside, it was almost warm.

Almost safe.

"How did you find me?" Kyungsoo finally asked, voice hoarse from disuse.

Baekhyun snorted, nudging him playfully.

"Please. Chanyeol turned into a bloodhound the second your signal flickered. We would’ve crossed oceans to find you."

Chanyeol ducked his head, cheeks pink.

"I... couldn't lose you too," he muttered.

Kyungsoo looked at them — really looked.

Baekhyun’s usual sparkle was dimmer now, eyes shadowed by things he hadn’t said yet.

Chanyeol’s smile was brittle around the edges, like a cracked window pretending to hold.

They had changed.

So had he.

Maybe none of them would ever be the same again.

But they were here.

Together.

It was enough.

For now.

As Baekhyun fussed with cleaning a cut on Kyungsoo’s hand (despite Kyungsoo’s grumbled protests), Chanyeol cleared his throat.

"We found Baek in the southern ruins," he said, voice low. "He was... trapped. Caught in some kind of time loop."

Baekhyun grimaced.

"Not my finest hour."

Kyungsoo’s brows furrowed.

"Who did this?"

Chanyeol's jaw clenched.

"We don’t know. But it wasn’t an accident. Someone — something — is using pieces of our own powers against us. Twisting them."

Kyungsoo thought of the creatures he had fought.

Of the darkness that had dragged Sehun away.

He nodded slowly.

"I believe you."

Baekhyun hesitated, then asked, voice small:

"Did you see anyone else?"

The words stuck in Kyungsoo’s throat like thorns.

He swallowed them down.

"I saw Sehun," he said finally, voice barely above a whisper. "But he’s... trapped. Somewhere worse."

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating.

Baekhyun’s eyes shone with unshed tears.

Chanyeol scrubbed a hand down his face, exhaling shakily.

Kyungsoo pressed on, forcing the words out before he could choke on them.

"I couldn’t save him. Not yet. But he’s alive. I’m sure of it."

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

Chanyeol, eyes burning with fierce determination.

"We’ll get him back," he said.

"No matter what."

Baekhyun nodded, a tremulous smile breaking through.

"And everyone else too. Suho-hyung, Chen, Xiumin... even Lay, if he’s still out there."

Kyungsoo closed his eyes, the weight of hope almost heavier than despair.

They still believed.

They still fought.

He had to, too.

Later, after Baekhyun had fallen asleep curled against Kyungsoo’s side (because "you’re warm and I’m selfish, deal with it"), Chanyeol stayed awake, staring into the fire.

Kyungsoo watched him through half-lidded eyes.

"You’re blaming yourself," he said quietly.

Chanyeol didn’t deny it.

Kyungsoo shifted, careful not to wake Baekhyun, and reached out.

He placed a steady hand over Chanyeol’s clenched fist.

"You couldn’t have stopped it," Kyungsoo said. "None of us could."

Chanyeol’s throat worked soundlessly.

"But we will stop it," Kyungsoo continued, voice like steel wrapped in velvet.

"Together."

Chanyeol looked up, eyes shining in the firelight.

For a moment, something unspoken passed between them.

Something heavy.

Something old.

Kyungsoo squeezed his hand once, firm and sure.

Chanyeol squeezed back.

No more words needed.

Morning came slower than expected.

The storm had finally blown itself out, leaving behind a world of pure white and dangerous beauty.

Baekhyun bounced on his toes, energy returning in bursts.

"We need a plan!"

Kyungsoo nodded.

"We track the echoes. Follow the distortions. Find the others."

Chanyeol cracked his knuckles.

"And if anything gets in our way?"

Kyungsoo smiled grimly.

"We bury it."

Baekhyun whooped, slinging an arm around both their shoulders.

"God, I missed this," he said, grinning wide.

"The three of us, back together — being badass."

Kyungsoo snorted but didn’t pull away.

He had missed it too.

More than he could ever say.

As they set out into the blinding snow, footprints trailing behind them like fragile promises, Kyungsoo felt something warm bloom quietly in his chest.

Not joy.

Not yet.

But hope.

A stubborn, burning thing that refused to die.

Like a star flickering against the dark.

Somewhere far ahead, shadows waited.

Old ghosts.

Old enemies.

Old regrets.

But Kyungsoo wasn't afraid anymore.

He had his family.

He had his fire.