Never Alone • a BTS fantasy ff

Chapter 18 • The Soul-keeper

The touch of freezing air caressed her skin as the wind picked up again. The weather had changed drastically over the last couple of hours, the once clear blue sky now a threatening grey. The clouds appeared like a compact darkness ready to explode and let go of all its fluids and build-up pressure. Eunha wasn't too thrilled with that idea.

Call her a crybaby, but she absolutely hated thunderstorms. No matter how many times people told her that the storm wouldn't harm her, that it was just some loud noises and flashy lights, nothing to be scared of, she just couldn't help the fear taking over the body. Her muscles stiffened, her heart pounded in her chest, hands all clammy and breath uneven.
She just hated it.

"Looks like we've reached our destination."
Namjoon's low voice distracted the girl from her worries.

After Taehyung had gotten his ass beaten by a furious mint-haired Yoongi, the group decided it was a waste of time to go back to sleep. It had taken them the remaining of the day, but now that evening had arrived they found themselves in front of supposedly the soul-keeper's workplace.

"Well that looks...nice?"
Hoseok spoke with uncertainty as he observed the scene in front of him.

After breaking through the line of trees, the ground had gradually changed from a somewhat softer underground to a rocky landscape. Cutting through the middle of it was a huge river, the inky dark water moving about wildly. Stretched along the edge stood some tiny cottages made of branches: places for fishing. The thing that really caught his eye though, was a group of huge, historical looking temples build on the other side of the river. The black wooden buildings dominated the area, being even bigger than the trees surrounding them.
It truly was a sight to behold, especially with the few rays of moonlight that managed to break through the wall of clouds and illuminate the shining temples in an eerie blue colour.

"Wow." Jimin muttered, eyes wide as he took in the view.
"Wow indeed." Hoseok agreed with the younger. Being an angel he had seen drawings and heard stories about the soul-keepers, but to finally be there and actually see the temples himself, it was quite the experience.

"So what do we do now?" Taehyung asked, his gaze darting around the place. He was not too thrilled to be there after his past encounter with a soul-keeper, the awful feeling of being paralyzed engraved in his mind, but of course he did not show the others that. His face remained blank, voice sounding neutral.

"We have to find someone and explain why we have come." Namjoon casually stated. He himself did not really have a plan, he just hoped asking them for a favour would do, if not he would think of something on the spot. With an IQ of 148, how hard could it be right?

"What about them?" Eunha pointed at a hooded figure standing close to one of the cottages. They were putting away the fishing rods that stood outside, probably a precaution for the upcoming storm.

The others looked at the figure in surprise, not having noticed them before. The black cloak and intense aura made it quite clear that this person was a soul-keeper. Exactly who they needed.
The six shared a glance before quietly walking up to a real life version of the Death itself.

Knowing that the person in front of them had guided the souls of a ridiculous amount of people after their passing, made the girl extremely nervous for some reason. One day, hopefully as an old lady, it would be her turn for the examination. A soul-keeper would analyze her heart, dividing good and evil before placing their judgement. An innocent soul is lead somewhere else than a sinful one, but where exactly she did not know.
Guess I will find out when I die.

To lessen her nerves the girl found herself reaching for the person closest to her, which happened to be Hoseok. She grabbed the angel's hand in silence, eyes focused on the hooded figure now directly in front of them. Hoseok said nothing but did caress the back of her hand with his thumb, reassuringly drawing circles as to calm her down.