[ it's not that hard to stab into the ghost of his father. ascertain the situation and make decisions quickly. the fact of the matter is that hak is still alive, he has to be alive, for yona's sake, for kouka's sake—
but he dies anyway. at the hand of soo-won's own mother, and there is at first indignation (his gentle mother who loved even an unsettling child like him would never) before he realizes this is real. hak is injured and he is dying. and soo-won reaches out, hand outstretched, and is stopped short by none other than the four dragons armed with a noose.
for a brief, traitorous moment, there is again that consideration. is this my punishment? should he accept it?
but he can't—not without saving hak first.
his vision grows blurry. he can't breathe. everything slips into darkness and those last traces of emotion persist. panic, anguish, this aching desperation the likes of which he can't remember feeling before—
when he wakes next, he chokes on the water of the akheron, hand still outstretched for someone that he can't reach anymore. he struggles against the waves and eventually his hand finds the riverbank. except even when it does, when he clears his throat once, he looks around wildly. none of this makes sense but that doesn't matter because he needs to find hak and if he is still in the water then soo-won will simply dive back in to get him. ]
tears up, action............
but he dies anyway. at the hand of soo-won's own mother, and there is at first indignation (his gentle mother who loved even an unsettling child like him would never) before he realizes this is real. hak is injured and he is dying. and soo-won reaches out, hand outstretched, and is stopped short by none other than the four dragons armed with a noose.
for a brief, traitorous moment, there is again that consideration. is this my punishment? should he accept it?
but he can't—not without saving hak first.
his vision grows blurry. he can't breathe. everything slips into darkness and those last traces of emotion persist. panic, anguish, this aching desperation the likes of which he can't remember feeling before—
when he wakes next, he chokes on the water of the akheron, hand still outstretched for someone that he can't reach anymore. he struggles against the waves and eventually his hand finds the riverbank. except even when it does, when he clears his throat once, he looks around wildly. none of this makes sense but that doesn't matter because he needs to find hak and if he is still in the water then soo-won will simply dive back in to get him. ]