7 The Pathway in between Three Voices

Everything was white. There was no concept of time nor any sign of life. Nothing but an endless white space, filling out every direction Taehyung could see. Eagle-spread, he stared up at the ceiling(or was it a sky?).

He sat up.

What was this place? Was it part of his dreams?

He assumed it was, for the last thing he had remembered was going to sleep after a concert at Citi Field. Surprisingly, his hair was dry; yet there were cowlicks everywhere from sleeping with it wet. His hand threaded through his locks, trying to tame it as much as possible.

"Hello?" he called out.

The sound of his voice echoed throughout the space; hundreds of hellos greeting him after a brief moment. Some were closeby, others much more distant, to the point where he could barely hear. Since his voice echoed, it meant that this space was not endless, and had walls. He didn't want to overthink, and wonder about what other options there could be. Anything could happen inside a dream, and that included breaking all known laws of science.

All of a sudden, Taehyung found that he could no longer move his arms and legs. He was stuck in a sitting position.

A melodic voice broke through. It was the same voice Taehyung heard earlier, the one who held answers to the locations of the other members.

"Are you sure?"

Taehyung found that he could move his head, but that was the limit of his control.

With a resolute voice, he declared, "Of course. I mean what I say."

"Even if it meant surrendering your soul to me?"

Taehyung hesitated. If he sacrificed himself to save the others...how would they feel? Hell, would they even remember him? Or would BTS come back, as 6 members instead of 7?

But this was his only chance.

Instead of speaking, he nodded his reply.

The melodic voice chuckled, an emotionless sound that shot shivers through Taehyung's heart.

"How adorable. How very...chivalrous of you. You wouldn't mind giving up everything in the world?"

His family meant the world to him. What was the point of having everything without owning what was the most important in his heart? The feelings the members of BTS cultivated went far further than riches or fame.

Taehyung's eyes grew resolute, the lines on his face hardening.

"You have everything. Looks, money, fame, yet you'd give it all up?"

Now, Taehyung was the one to chuckle. He smirked at the bodiless voice.

"After asking the same question so many times, isn't it already obvious?"

The voice stayed silent.

Taehyung glared in the direction of the voice. "Now," his voice hardened, "where are they?"

Silence greeted him.

"Hello?" he asked tentatively, making sure the entity was still present.

When the melodic voice answered, the sound shocked Taehyung. It sounded almost sorrowful, even a little guilty.

"I hope you do not regret this."

Taehyung laughed without mirth. "What is there to regret?"

"Alright." The voice faded away listlessly.

All was silent once more. Taehyung waited for an answer, or any explanation by what the entity meant. How would he find the rest of BTS? The force restraining his body faded away along with the voice. Before Taehyung could take another step, his vision turned blurry.

Everything was dark.

Was he falling? There was no wind, no sense of a firm ground underneath his feet. Floating? He opened his eyes, and everything was pitch dark. He could not see anything.

He tried moving his arms, his heart fluttering anxiously.

The thing held him in place once more, trapping his limbs, like being stuck in an ice block for 70 years. The only respite was that at least Taehyung could breathe and blink.

Was this truly a dream?

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The sound of his heartbeat pounding right between his ears; the all too familiar well of anxiety in his stomach. This overwhelming feeling of being alone; of being trapped. Taehyung hated it.

A deep male voice sounded out. It, this time, was much more aggressive.

"You will be sent to a reincarnation of yourself. Past or future, it doesn't matter," he growled.

"How will I find—" Taehyung began.

"Shut up. You are nothing but a speck in the light of the universe," interrupted the voice.

Taehyung remained silent obediently. There was a time and place for fighting back, but it was not today. Not when the lives of his family were potentially at stake.

The voice snorted. "Bunch of pussies. So emotional. This is why humans are so damn annoying."

Taehyung took a deep breath, calming down his anger. There was a time and place, but this wasn't the place. It could be the time though, seeing how this place was essentially timeless. If he could punch the voice, he would. Or at least, he'd try to.

If the voice heard his thoughts, it gave no indication and ignored him.

The voice continued, "There will be a human at each destination. That human has been set to die at some point in that lifetime."

Taehyung's mind jerked violently at the thought of one of the member's death.

"Will there be a—"

"Shut it. When will they die? Dunno. You better pray that it ain't soon after you wake."

The voice chortled at the thought.

"To successfully save that human, you have to save them from their predestined death, and restore their memories. Their true souls are there. Once they die, you will never be able to retrieve them again."

Predestined death. Restore memory. Never able to retrieve.

These statements floated around in Taehyung's head. There were so many uncertainties; how would he recognise them? Whatever was the mastermind behind this, they obviously wanted to see him suffer. They would not make it easy for him to find each of the members.

"You also have a set amount of lives," the voice interjected, interrupting Taehyung's thoughts.

Taehyung's head jerked up. All this, all his suffering, must be like a sick game to whoever was behind this. He wondered if whatever was behind this could see him at this exact moment, and whether it was enjoying his pain.

"How many?"

"Dunno. I'm just the messenger," the voice replied. Surprisingly, the sound was not aggressive for once, sounding more confused.

"Who's your boss?"

The voice burst out in laughter. "You think I'm stupid enough to fall for that?"

Taehyung argued, "It was worth a try."

"Shut it."

Somehow, the voice sounded much more friendlier than earlier. Still aggressive, but there was no true bloodthirst behind it this time.

"Your first reincarnation is in the realms of the Heavens."

Taehyung stared blankly at the dark space. Was this a roundabout way of saying that he was going to die and go to heaven instead?

"Hey, I never said your reincarnations were limited to mortal realms and earthly worlds," the voice retorted in defense. "Humans have only seen a small sliver of the truth."

Taehyung chuckled, shaking his head. That, in itself, was true. Humans fought so much against each other instead of working together, towards the benefit of humanity.

All was quiet once more. His vision blurred. This time, the space was a muted shade of grey. Taehyung tried to move his arms, only to find he was still stuck. At least he could see this time, although the light was quite dim, it was better than the pitch darkness of before.

The next time the voice spoke, it sounded neither female nor male. Androgynous. Interesting. When the space was white, it was a female voice. When it was pitch black, it was a male voice. Now, it was mixed.

What in the world was this entity? Now that he was talking about it, was it the same entity each time?

This time, the voice was emotionless. "We are sorry that we cannot help."

"You are the ones who trapped me here. If you were truly sorry, you would let me and everyone else go."

The voice stayed quiet for a brief second, ignoring Taehyung.

"We came together to say," the voice quivered slightly, "the journey will not be easy."

"I never expected it to be."

"Very well. We wish you luck, Taehyung. Maybe in another life."

It was the first time the voice used his name. The way it said his voice was disturbing; emotionless, yet there was a small tinge of guilt and...yearning?

Taehyung called out, "What do you mean?"

There was no reply.

Taehyung felt his clarity slip away, falling back into the dreamworld. He struggled to stay awake, thrashing within the restraints. There were still so many unanswered questions, but his most pressing question was—

What did it mean by another life?

The dreamworld forcibly pulled him in, and he fell back into a deep sleep.