Flashes of light came from behind Kris, his golden eyes glaring down at Suho’s chocolate eyes. Thunder rumbled, the rain pattered, and the wind howled. The room grew cold, the air heavy, and Suho’s stiff body trembled.

            A scoff came from Suho’s lips, “I’m sorry, but were you expecting me to fall down on my knees, shouting ‘no’ for a period of time?”

            Kris smirked at his reference. From the curtains to the bookshelf, Kris removed one of the few books, and tossed it to Suho. The contents opened, photos spilled out, revealing wedding photos, baby photos, and graduation photos.

             He saw the transition within the photos, the marriage at 1983, Mi Yun’s birth at 1984, and Kris’s death at 1986. He glanced at Mi Yun’s large grin, hugging her mother’s neck with each photo, shocked at her close resemblance to her mother.

            “Mi Yun must remind you a lot of your wife.” Suho muttered watching Kris’s soft smile return on his face as he glanced down at the pictures from behind him.

            “Yeah, she does.” Kris mumbled, his eyes never leaving the only family picture with the three of them present. Abruptly, he turned away and looked out into the stormy night.

            “You reminded me of Mi Yun when she was a child. Well, before she died. She was optimistic, and when she saw me as a child and the year she was about to die, she was happy. Happy that she was able to spend time with me, know me, and believe in me. I guess she just wanted to know that she wasn’t alone.” Kris retorted.

            “Wait, lets rewind for a second, she saw you the year she was about to die. Did you-”

            Kris cut of Suho’s sentence, nodding at the his question, “Mi Yun was my Archangel test. I had to kill her off at her destined time.”

            Suho’s knees weakened, “So, when you became an Archangel, you realized that you killed your daughter?”

            Kris only shook his head, his eyes casted away from the male, “When Mi Yun became a Reaper she had no memory of past, but I was also a special case. The day I became a Reaper, I knew everything of my past.”

            “So, why did you become an Archangel?” Suho muttered confused at his choice to kill off his daughter. “It doesn’t make sense! Why would you do it?”

            “Humans, Reapers, and Archangels are one in the same. We’re all flawed. It’s just that we’re separated by death.” Kris retorted. “The old geezer told me that if I became an Archangel, I would be with my daughter again. I thought it would mean that I could see her and talk to her normally, but I didn’t think I had to kill her.”

            “Don’t you have a choice?” Suho asked. “If you’re not bounded to fate then we’re not the same.”

            Kris chuckled, “The only fate that binds you is death. Other than that you always had a choice. Besides, when you love your target there are consequences. I’m not sure all the consequences since it varies with each target, but she ended up with no memories.”

            Suho’s eyes grew heavy, his eyes focused on the floor, unsure of what to comment or what to say. “This really is a game.”

            "Yes. One where no one but He wins." And Suho saw Kris's knuckles turn white just before he punched the wall. 

            “So, what are we going to do?” Suho asked. “I know the truth. Am I supposed to tell Mi Yun? Keep my mouth shut? Act normal?”

            “Just pretend things were always the same. Let Mi Yun find out everything on her own.” Kris muttered.

            Suho’s voice rose, “That’s unfair! Not only to Mi Yun, but also to you! You’re her father! You should at least try to get her to remember. You must have some power to show her some of her memories!”

            Suho glanced at his friend, watching his lone figure in the corner, not once turning to see his vacant expression. “You should go home.”

            “Wait, Kris!” The Archangel quickly turned to the male, pushing him out of his apartment and into the hallways. Suho turned, the door slammed at his face, as he glanced back at the door. He pounded at the door, “Kris! Kris! I don’t care what you say! I’m going to tell Mi Yun! She deserves to know!”

            Kris ignored Suho’s rant. Kris barely listened to the pattering of his feet, the light rain that drizzled by his window, or the calm rumbling. His main focus was the dark corner of his room. Two pairs of golden eyes peeked through the shadows, their eyes glaring at their leader, before wandering to the door.

            “Did he finally leave?” Suzy muttered.

            “Yeah, he’s gone.” Kris retorted as he glared at the two, upset at their intrusion. “The pieces are set and the final level begins.”

            “Kris, did you really have to tell Suho everything? You could have just lied to him. You could have said that you were her lover or something?” Tao asked.

            “He deserves the truth.” Kris retorted his eyes watching Suho leave the apartment with his head hung low and his feet dragging against the pavement. “With him knowing everything, it pushes him to meet the old geezer’s expectations.”

            Suzy and Tao glanced at Kris. Tao more curious than Suzy, but the two continued to remain silent. Kris finally turned to the two, his eyes glancing at the two, noticing the curiosity in their eyes. “What?”

            Tao glanced down while Suzy’s glare hardened at their leader. “I don’t understand. By doing all this you’re pushing the game to continue. I thought your goal was to end it.” Suzy retorted.

            “I am finishing it.” Kris muttered his eyes flickering golden.

            “By sacrificing Mi Yun and Suho?” Suzy shouted. “You said the whole point was to ensure that no one else was sacrificed! That we would finally end this game before we lose another comrade!”

            “Mi Yun was already a toy to the old geezer from the beginning! We all were! If I know my daughter well enough, she’ll meet expectations and finish this game.” Kris retorted.

            “She’s not your daughter anymore! Once she was made a Reaper your expectations for her disappeared. She has no memories of you. No memories of her past. She can’t meet your expectations if she isn’t the same person! That’s what God had intended to screw you over! If Mi Yun has no links to her past, she’ll eliminate Suho with a solemn face. He expects her to kill him with no remorse like he expects that with all of us! How is that finishing the game?” Suzy continued to shout, her eyes glowing with each word.

            “We can only hope! That’s what makes us human.” Kris mumbled.

            “We’re not human! We lost our humanity the day we died!” Suzy argued.

            “If you continue to argue this way we would have already lost the game.” Kris retorted. “He wants us to believe that we have no control. That everything is bounded by fate.”

            Tao stood in between the Archangels watching the two bicker in silence.

            “But if we continue on like this. Nothing is going to change.” Tao murmured.

            The two finally glanced at him. The two Archangel’s casted their eyes to the ground. The pattering of the rain began to disappear and the three stood in silence.

            “So, what happens now?” Tao asked.

            Kris glanced at the Reaper, his eyes casted in defeat, “We can’t do anything. It’s up to Mi Yun and Suho now.”

            “So, in the end, it’s up to fate.” Suzy murmured.

            Kris could only sigh at his comrade’s comment. His eyes wondered to the photo album lying on the floor. “The one thing that got us into this mess.” He thought.