Theram

The final journey. After months for Dauvi and years for the others, they have somewhat pinpointed Azula. And they were ready, ready for whatever—whoever, might be waiting for them.

    “Is that everything?” Hongjoong asks Jacq.

    “I believe so.” Jacq responds after taking a look at the checklist in his hand.

    “Ah, it seems we are now prepared to embark on our voyage.”

    “Where's Beckhan?” Danny questions, looking around the deck for the older boy. Dauvi looks around too, there was no sight of the boy.

    “Has anyone seen Beckhan?” Dauvi asks around.

    “"Now that you mention it, I haven't caught a glimpse of him all morning, since breakfast, I dare say..” Dashtin thinks putting his hand on his chin.

    “So no one's seen Beckhan?” A couple members shake their heads. Hongjoong's eyebrows furrow.

    “He's not down in the hull.” San informs after coming up on deck.

A search party was about to begin if it wasn't for the flash of black. It is Eogam that cuts through the trees and comes to a halt on the bank.

    “Looking for someone?” Bumjoong smirks. Behind him, the young teen sits on the dark horse. His face flushed.

    “Beckhan!”

Beckhan gets off Eogam and thanks Bumjoong before getting aboard the Tatiny.

    “Safe travels, you all!” And with a couple a waves, Bumjoong and Eogam take back into the forest.

    “Where have you been? We were on the verge of departing without you!” Dauvi scolds Beckhan lightly.

    “Good heavens, I was utterly unaware that you had even departed for the Tatiny.” Beckhan defends himself, hands up.

    “Presumably, it is because you continually stray off, Beckhan.” Danyier punches the older's shoulder teasingly.

    “I didn't stray away! I was... I was simply indulging in a conversation with Demitria, Juyeong and Juhan, savouring the final remnants of our time together.” Beckhan crosses his arms. Dauvi chuckles lightly with a shake of her head.

The ship sets sail soon after, leaving the fresh water and returning to the salty waves.

Dauvi closes her eyes breathing in the sea air. You would think that with all the sailing she's done she would have wished to stay on land a little longer...

This was it. Azula was just a month and some away.

﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏

Dauvi awakens, a small streak of sunlight comes through the clouded window.

She sits up and stretches, she was not used to sleeping alone anymore. During their time in Ryeongko, she had gotten quite used to sleeping in the same bed as the captain. Without the comforting warmth of another person, it just wasn't the same. She didn't have a reason to sleep in his bed anymore... She couldn't lie to herself, she would definitely miss it.

There were footsteps above, telling her she wasn't the only one awake. She quickly gets ready for the day.

Dauvi heads straight to the gallery after freshening up. The orange glow from the lamps made it more cozy than it needed to be.

    “Morning, dove.” Wooyoung gives her smile, he leans against the table. “How did you sleep?”

    “Good morning, Woo. I slept.. fine.” She takes a piece of bread off the table and takes a small bite. He hums amused, a slither of suspicion dawns on him. “How was your night?”

    “I slept well. I must confess that catching a wink on the Tatiny feels frightfully more like one's own domicile than one's own private residence itself.” Dauvi cracks a smile, he was right about that.

    “What's for breakfast?”

Dauvi gets right to work—helping with breakfast, chopping things and plating while Wooyoung showed off his skills at the fire. They soon serve it and everyone eats their fill.

Outside on deck, the ocean is calm, rocking the ship in a steady rhythm as they move forward. Dauvi wonders many things about Azula; what would it look like? Could there possibly be any inhabitants? Would Santiris be among them? She lets out a small sigh, looking up at the soft clouds.

Her cheeks bloom bright red as she recalls the memory that still lurks in the back of her mind like a looming shadow—only appearing when she needn't it to. That morning... It always feels like yesterday.

Oh what surprise she had when she opened her eyes. She awakened on top of the captain with hardly any recollections to what had happened yesterday night. Dauvi froze in place—head literally on his chest—momentarily before melting due to his deliciously warm body heat. His arm wrapped around her frame, protectively tight even in his slumber. His chest fell up and down softly. She attempted to get free of his grasp but he would not budge, to her embarrassment he only held her tighter. She blinked once before she remembered how compromising this situation truly was. She attempted once more to move away—he lets out a low rumble from his throat. Her heart stuttered realizing he was now awake. Quietly in that sleepy rasp of his he had asked her to stay. And oh did she stay.

The sound of his heartbeat stays permanently etched in her mind, She's still terribly embarrassed about it. The memory haunts her every hour of quiet, her every moment alone—she hasn't realized it yet but her heart was silently wishing for more.

﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏

Dauvi wakes up from a dream she does not remember. It was still dark. And it was cold. She couldn't fall back asleep.

She throws her legs over the edge of the bunk and she sits there—not sure how long. Her thoughts finally clear from the drowsiness. She gets up and dresses.

Quietly, Dauvi emerges from the hull only to be met by a large cloud of cold sea fog. It was dense, she could hardly see 6 feet ahead of her. She hugs herself to warm up.

Perhaps she should have brought a torch.

Fog in Eersberg wasn't rare no, she was used to the thick cloud on the ground. However she never anticipated how scary it would be on the ocean. She hopes that it would lossen up by the time the sun begins to rise.

    “Dauvi?” a voice startles her.

    “Oh—! Hongjoong, did I wake you?” He shakes his head, coming closer.

    “What are you doing out here?” He asks. 

    “I couldn't fall back asleep...” She murmurs.

A pause.

    “You're cold.” It wasn't a question, taking note of her posture. “why don't you come to my cabin, it's warm and we could talk there.”

Well she is cold... She didn't need further convincing. Dauvi agrees and together they head to his cabin. A lamp was already lit, giving the room a hazy glow. It was a little messy, just like his bedroom back at home, she stands and takes it in again.

    “Oh come on now, do sit down and relax. Really, after sharing my bed for half a year, do you not think you could muster up a modicum of familiarity?” His smile teasing as he pats the spot next to him.

Dauvi shakes her head with a flush and sits down next to him, shoulders brushing.

    “If I'm being honest, I quite miss your presence” He murmurs soft, if she didn't know any better she would have assumed the words were a front for something else he wanted to say.

    “Well since we are being honest, I quite missed yours too.” She confessss. A small beat of silence after the confession wraps around them. If silence could be a color, in that moment it would have been a soft rose.

    “I daresay we've traversed the border and arrived at the western sea with all due haste. Might I inquire, how long shall we be in for before stumbling upon Azula?” He asks to fill in the silence.

    “A few days I'd say...” Pause. “Well however long it takes, I have this feeling that we will find it.”

The lamp flickers once, the flame burns steady. It casts a firey glow on the two of them. A bubble forms around, too focus on the banter between them, the world around disappears with a poof.  The minutes go by, quicker than before—slipping past without notice.

    “What—? Fog!”

Just like that the bubble bursts at the sound of San's voice. The others were waking up. Dauvi gets up and Hongjoong was right behind her. The sun is rising, it gives the fog a dreamy state around as it turns into beautiful pastels.

    “Ah you two are up already.” San raises a brow. He chooses not to say anything, instead he gestures. “Look at all this fog.”

    “It was worse earlier. I think it may be clearing up.” Hongjoong taps her arm getting Dauvi's attention.

    “Do tell, which nation are we nearest to?”

    “About a day's way away from Belmauri if trajectory continues unaltered. Why?” She tilts her head.

    “...Then do tell where is that?” Hongjoong points towards the bow of the ship.

Sure enough in the distance in the fog, an outline of an island is seen, hardly but it is there. Her lips part unable to come up with an answer.

    “...Could it be?” Hints of hope slips into San's voice barely above a whisper.

The trio stare out into the distant murky—yet dreamy fog, the excitement whispers electric through their fingertips.

﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏

After breakfast is served, the fog was finally clearing up. Everyone is on deck, excitement bubbles and cracks almost like lightening. Had they truly found Azula?

Now with the fog dying down, they can clearly see it. ...A huge mountain in the water. Just like San and Yunho saw in their dreams—just like in Santiris' painting. It was huge—peculiar in shape, what was a mountain doing just stamped in the middle of the sea? With no doubt for the 9 of them, this has to be Azula.

What was puzzling was how had they not notice the island years ago? Yunho has log proof of them taking a course through here two years ago and yet no one recalls seeing it.

Everyone is restless as they wait for the Tatiny to make it to the island. Dauvi sits crisscross on the ground, her journal in hand as she finishes writing an entry.

    “Whatever may be waiting for us, we will fight.” She says to no one in particular.

When they got close enough to really see Azula, it was huge. There was a cave mouth somewhat to the side with stalactites hanging from the top. The ocean flows in like a river, going into the dark cave. By the looks of it, the water going into the sink was as deep as the water out here.

Hongjoong says something to Seonghwa, Dauvi can only guess he's telling him to steer directly into the cave. Those were the directions in the sea shanty after all—but should they even follow the directions? They had no idea what they were really getting themselves into.

The Tatiny's bow headways first into the cave. There is no light whatsoever down there, it looked like the darkness stretched on and on. How deep was this cave?

    “We won't be able to see a thing, Captain.” Fyland informs.

Hongjoong makes a grim face. 'Twas true, they'd be going in it blind from what he could see.

    “Yes. However, darkness or not, this is the way we must take.”

There's a slow current below dragging them further away from the toothed mouth and deeper into the abyss. The light from cave mouth only brings in up to 20 feet from the entrance.

    “We'll get the lamps out, perhaps that would give us some light.” Hongjoong plans.

A couple of them went down to the hull to fetch the lamps from down there. Dauvi stands up and walks over to the bow. If the song was right and if it was a guide into Azula, the island of the richest land... something was missing. She stares into the dark in front of her. It stares her back, unmoving—teasing with the thought of unknown behind it.

A lamp was lit behind her, she could see the bow of the Tatiny better. She presses her lips together. It was silly... She looks to the phoenix. Dauvi shakes her head, what was she thinking? She chuckles and reaches out to feel the wooden bird.

Upon the touch of her fingertips she freezes for a moment. With her brows furrowed, she glides her fingers over the bird. Strangely, it did not feel like wood. The bird blinks causing Dauvi to stumble backwards and begin to fall.

She falls into someone's arms.

    “Pay attention there, Dauvi. Good heavens, I dare say it wouldn't have been advisable if you had, by some misfortune, tumbled forward rather than falling at your heels.”

When she didn't answer, Hongjoong notices her face, staring ahead with wide eyes.

    “Are you alright?” He couldn't help but ask.

    “The figurehead... It feels rather like.. like silk. And, I daresay, it may have been the result of my vivid imagination, but I could have sworn it momentarily blinked at me,” she murmurs. Hongjoong looks at the figurehead but it is still. He slowly lets go of Dauvi. “It was probably just the flicker of the flames.”

Dauvi sighs unsure what was wrong with her. Hongjoong goes up to feel the figurehead and sure enough it does feels like silk, warm silk. It is getting warmer to the touch. Hongjoong yanks his fingers back at the sight of another blink.

    “No, dove. It.. it definitely did.” His voice is scarily calm for someone who had seen an inanimate object move.

The bird figurehead blinks again somehow. And again, and again, until it opens and shuts it's eyes at a inhumanly rapid pace. Dauvi stares in horror. Hongjoong could feel the heat radiating from where he was standing. He takes a large step, getting back down when the bird crackles into flames.

A yelp leaves their mouths simultaneously at the sight, jumping. The sudden light got the attention of the others, eyes wide with fear that the Tatiny had suddenly caught on fire.

It is strange, the bird is burning but the fire was yet to spread over to the rest of the ship. They stare dumbfoundedly at flames before them. Dauvi swallows.

    “Is it alive? ” She barely whispers.

As if to answer, the bird lets out a sharp squeaky sound that echoes down the cave. The bird suddenly takes flight, circling the Tatiny like a vulture hunting it's prey. It takes another loop before flying back down and sitting on the bow of the Tatiny like that was it's assigned seat. Perhaps in a way it really was...

Mingi flinches when the bird lands and points,

    “Was that not just a wooden figurehead?!”

    “Another painting...” Seonghwa says coming up behind Mingi.

    “The last one of the three...” Yeosang reminds.

The feeling of uncertainty is terrible, was something supposed to happen when all of the paintings came true?

The rest of the day is spent under flame light. The Tatiny inches slowly through cave, the figurehead or rather the very much alive phoenix lights their way. Just like the shanty suggested it would.

Water drips from the stalactites above, creating a rhythmical song as the drops putter into the water below. It echoes through out the cave, the sound not escaping the darkness.

It took a couple minutes for everyone to get use to blazing fire at the bow of the ship. Every now and then the bird would make sounds reminding them of it's sudden existence. The phoenix would ruffle it's burning feathers too, a very strange sight to see indeed.

They had been in the cave for hours with no exit in sight. They could see the entrance no longer, for the sun had definitely set.

Supper was just sandwiches tonight, no one felt like cooking a real meal.

Sprawled out on various parts of the deck, mostly keeping to small groups of twos or threes. Dauvi sits besides Mingi, their shoulders brushing.

Mingi draws something on a sheet of paper to pass the time as Dauvi watches over his shoulder. The lines of graphite come together slowly, Mingi's strokes deliberate. The dark splotches of what appears to be shadow and depth reminded her of ink spills. She could make out what he is drawing now; two cracked spheres connected by an infinity symbol. Something dripped from the spheres, what? She really had no clue.

    “What are you drawing?” She feels the need to ask.

    “I'm rather uncertain... The vision, I dare say, was presented to me in a most vivid dream. The spheres, as it were, shatter, and, I confess, a most copious effusion of blood does emanate from the cracks, falling into the abyss of the void, replete with stars.” He tells her. That sentence was out of character for Mingi.

Dauvi looks at the drawing again with the new found knowledge and grimaces. Why would the star show him something so horrible? She couldn't help but wonder if it was symbolic to something....

It was indeed night even though they never saw the transition from the huge star to the small little ones. It was agreeded upon to go to bed by now to rest up for what tomorrow may bring. In her nightwear she sits in her bed, ready to go under the sheets.

﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏

When Dauvi awakens, she lays in bed blinking. Something feels weird. She turns away from the lit window and lies on her side. She inhales once.

A beat.

She sits up in quick motion, is it really light coming from her clouded window?

She was not deceived, it is light indeed! Coming from the clouded window, soft lights as if it were dawn cast a glow into her cabin.

She hurries getting dressed, she skips her shoes and walks out of her room barefoot and climbs up on deck. The Tatiny is still in the cave but the exit of the cave was giant—40 or 50 feet tall, it is bright outside the cave. And from what she could see, it is a jungle that seemed to go on and on.

A sharp short chirp reminds her she was not alone. The bird flies straight upward before coming down and landing 3 feet away from her. It's burgundy eyes blink at her.

    “Thank you for giving us light.” Dauvi thanks phoenix gently, crouching down.

The bird makes a chirping sound before shuffling closer. Dauvi can feel the warmth on her skin. Hesitantly, she reaches out and the bird permits her to touch it's blazing feathers. It was strange to touch fire and not be burned from it. She pats it's head—it seems to like the feeling for it's feathers ruffle and it lets out a sharp happy sound.

Dauvi's face melts into a smile, phoenix was really cute. When Dauvi retracts her hand after petting the bird, it stretches it's wings before taking flight again.

    “You really are something.” Dauvi chuckles in amazement.

The hatch opens.

    “Woah, we've reached the end!” Danyier gasps at the exit.

    “Good morning, Danny.”

    “Morning Dauvi! Were you speaking with the phoenix?”

    “Yeah. She's very cute.” Dauvi tells him.

    “It's a she?” Dauvi shrugs.

    “She feels like a she.”

    “Really?” Danny tilts his head before looking at the phoenix who sits on the railing near the front of the ship. The bird ruffles her feathers sassily as if she understood exactly what they were talking about.

    “I think she rather agrees.” Dauvi giggles humorously, watching as phoenix goes to paying no mind of the two on deck with her.

    “You think she likes cashews?” Danny questions.

    “We can see.” Dauvi gets up from the ground as she says this.

They both go down into the hull. There are dishes clanging in the gallery. It was no surprise that Wooyoung is up already,

    “Good morning you two! I presume we've reached the end of the cave with all this light seeping through the windows.”

    “Yes we have. It is rather bright outside in Azula and the exit is rather tremendous.”

    “Do we still have cashew stored here, Wooyoung?”

    “Yes, over there. But I thought that cashews didn't really tickle your fancy, Danny?” Wooyoung quirks a brow.

    “Oh no not for me but for the phoenix.” Danny goes over to the shelf to retrieve the cashews. “Let us go feed her!”

Danny bolts out the gallery. Dauvi shakes her head with an amused smile before going after him.

    “Here, Phoenix!” Danny waves a handful of cashews towards the bird.

Phoenix takes one look at the handful of nuts before turning her head up.

    “Aw. Does that mean she doesn't like them?” Danny sounds a little disappointed. Phoenix looks back to them and tilts her head.

    “Try getting a little closer to her and be more still.” Dauvi suggests.

So Danny moves up and holds his hand out as still as he can. The bird comes closer and inspects his hand for a moment. She takes a single cashew and eats it—seemingly tasting the nut. Approving of the taste, the phoenix eats more. Danny lips tug wide.

    “I daresay, I never in a thousand lifetimes anticipated the prospect of nourishing a live Phoenix from my very own hand.”

﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏

The sight was absolutely incredible, Azula was absolutely beautiful. It was nothing like any of them had ever seen. The island seemed to be a huge jungle covered in exotic plants. Even the few creatures they stumbled upon were of nothing they knew. Giant flowers hang in the giant trees as well as the ground, all of many shades. A few bunches they saw had to yet to bloom. Tightly closed, the flowers hung from the tree tops, dangling like Christmas decorations.

The crew went out to venture the island but only staying near the river bank as to not get lost. After a couple minutes into the exploration, they came to the conclusion that it was deserted of other humans. Well at least this area.

They planned to wait for nightfall to follow the shanty's instructions, it was not boring whatsoever as they wait for the time to pass. The river sparkled under the sun's beams as fish of all sizes darted through it's deep waters. It was paradise, a haven.

And my, was it loud. Hoots and chittering, water rushing, fluttering of wings, squeaking, small paws hitting the ground—that was the the symphony of Azula. It was lovely in a way that draws out the fascination. To think that this beauty was all hidden out in a island away, deprived from the human gaze for so long it was considered a myth to most...

Night falls on Azula pretty fast, the sky litters itself with many stars. If it was beautiful in the day, imagine it so at night. Twinkling fireflies give the jungle a hazy glow, the moon—full, brightens the way. In real time, the giant flowers they saw earlier bloom as the moonlight catches them—they almost seem to glow themselves. The beauty is unreal...

Dauvi looks in awe as a group of birds take flight into the night sky. In the distance the song begins, nightingales hidden behind the plants sing a tune that almost sounds mournful in search of a mate.

Perhaps the reason this place is known as the island of riches was because of it's emense beauty, money could not produce even a near replica.

Even the deep river seems to not be actual water, for the way it reflects the ball in the sky it makes the water look like liquid diamonds.

    “The star of Azul...”

Yeosang whispers.

Dauvi promptly looks up, shining brightly—the star of Azula placed high in the sky, it twinkles slightly. The star looks almost blue from where they could see it.

    “Anchor the Tatiny.” She hears Hongjoong order. Dauvi and Yeosang turn around as the anchor gets thrown down into the river.

    “We're going on foot. We ought to stay by the riverside though.”

In the cool night, half the crew trails on following the sound of the nightingales. Their shoes left prints in the soft soil as the walk on.

Dauvi walks up front with Hongjoong. He moves away the hanging branches in the way like a gentleman he seems to become around her. The birds' song never seemed to get louder the further down they went. It was as if they were flying away as the group got closer. Dauvi eyes look up, at least the star seems to be reliable...

It suddenly gets red and bright, like a fiery furnace. Phoenix makes a shrieking trill before zooming right past them like a comet on fire. They couldn't help but flinch at the bird's sudden strange antics. Dauvi picks up on it.

    “I think we ought to follow her.” And Dauvi takes off walking briskly.

Hongjoong shrugs and waves the group to make haste. They walk faster until they catch up to the phoenix. She is sitting on the ground now, picking at her feathers before looking up to the group. Her head tilts as if she was saying "what took you all so long?"

Behind her was a bridge that looked like it was made of pure gold with flower and swirly engravings leading to the other side of the river. There appears to be a path at the other side of it, a very human made looking path. A small breeze blows, causing a rush of goosebumps to prick up Dauvi's arms and neck.

The stone path lead up to a strange building. There wasn't much they could tell of the structure from here. The phoenix flies up again. She circles them before flying to the other side of the bridge.

Anyone and everyone whether they spoke phoenix or not could obviously tell the bird was telling them to cross over. And that's what they did, with their weapons ready they cross over the golden bridge.

Cautiously, they made it closer to the building. The phoenix is nowhere in sight. Upon getting closer, Dauvi could make out what it was. The build is sort of temple made of bricks the same color grey the path was. The walls are trimmed with gold and had the same swirly design as the bridge.

The temple is unkempt, wild vines grew on the walls and on the roof of the structure. The temple doors are open, vines had also covered the doors making it look impossible to close without cutting some vines first. A shrill cry came from inside—phoenix was inside...

Hongjoong steps up the stairs and peers inside the temple. A rushing sound comes from inside.

    “I hear water.” He notes.

    “...Are we truly going inside?” Mingi asks worriedly, hands in his pockets.

    “Phoenix is in there, I daresay we may proceed with a certain degree of tranquility.” Seonghwa shrugs.

    “How do we know we can even trust the bird? It may as well be trained for the witch...” Mingi whispers the last word.

    “Don't be silly, Mingi!” Wooyoung pats his back before climbing the steps himself. “For goodness' sake, I shall lead the way myself.”

Wooyoung enters the temple's doors. He looks to the right for a moment before disappearing to the left.

Dauvi steps up the steps and enters the temple. She wasn't about to let Wooyoung as brave as he was go alone. Hongjoong is two steps behind her.  At the right of her is a wall with a gold plate, something is inscripted on it in a language she did not recognize. Taking the left, the next doorway is only three feet away from the entrance.

The room they enter is large. The floors are made of a white quartz marble, it sparkles from the moonlight above in the glass sun roof and from the glowing pool in the center of the room. A statue is in the middle of the pool on a podium; from the stone flowers on her podium, water gushes out making waterfalls that flow into the pool of water below. The water itself seemed to glow, a turquoise color that looked unnatural.

Mats are placed in groups of 4s around the pool. This place was none other than a place of worship, worshipping the statue—no doubt—that looked to those who enter the room.

The statue in the center end of the room is of a beautiful woman, the carving of her eyes looked fierce—not in a way to cause fear but a way that makes you want to respect her. She sits on the large podium with her legs crossed to the side, feet dipping in the glowing liquid. A crown of what appeared to be stars rest on her head, her hair flows down long and was realistically carved to rest on the podium. A bit of her hair fell off and dipped into the pool. Her face carries a faint smile. Her hands form together at her chest, carrying an object that appeared rather small in her large hands.

Wooyoung stands near a small bridge that leads over to the podium. He turns around just as the others begin making their way in.

    “This place seems to be free of traps.” Wooyoung informs.

    “This appears to be a most ordinary place of worship. It seems to have been left untouched for quite some time.” Yunho is right. The vines had unfortunately made their way into the scared place, noticably keeping clear of the pool.

    “Does anyone recognize the woman?” a chorus of nos answered. Dauvi looks around. Where had Phoenix gone? The bird is no where to be seen.

    “I wonder who carved this?” Yeosang thinks out loud.

He gets closer to Wooyoung to get a better look. Whoever carved the statue knew of great technique, the attention to details was admirable—she, the woman looked almost alive. Jongho crouches down next to the pool to get a closer look at the glowing liquid. He risks it all by dipping his fingers in the pool.

Nothing happens. Yet he cannot confirm what exactly it is. It feels like water though... Jongho removes his hand and clenches his fist. Strange. There is a slight tingle before it vanishes as quickly as it came.

A flutter of wings causes Dauvi to look up. Phoenix rests on the hands of the woman next to the small object. She knudges whatever it was with her head.

San catches the movement and hops over the bridge in time. He catches the falling object before it fell into the pool. He inspects it.

It's an hour glass; the body is made of gold and the sand inside is white and almost seems iridescent.

    “Is she a goddess of time?” San's eyebrows furrow. He walks back over the bridge to where the others stand.

    “Guys look at this—” He holds the hourglass for the others to see. Flipping it upside-down for the sand to fall. That causes the world to tip.

﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏

A flash of light blinds them all momentarily. Dauvi closes her eyes shut tightly for the light was so bright it hurt to keep them open. Her body felt like it had been thrust into the ground by a strong gust of wind.

When her eyelids no longer screamed in red she cracks her eyes open slightly for a split second. No more bright light... She hears the groans from the others before she opens her eyes fully. The others are also on the ground, laying on their stomachs. Hongjoong is the first to sit up.

    “Is everyone alright—?” Hongjoong manages to ask before freezing in horror. They were somehow back on the... Tatiny? However the fact that they were back on their ship was the least of his concern at the moment.

It was night just a few seconds ago and yet here they are on the Tatiny with the sky as bright as basically noon— wait — the sky——

Hongjoong's head snaps up, to his surprise his eyes meet vast oceans. The blue waves wave on normally as if the ocean wasn't defying everything he knew of physics right now.

How was this possible? Hongjoong quickly gets up to his feet, he begins walking over to the railing of the boat. He looks down and his heart drops into his stomach causing nausea. They are in the sky, sailing as if they were in the sea. Clouds puff by as if they were ocean waves. His fingers tremble pushing way from the edge, he didn't want to know what would happen if he accidentally fell over.

Behind him the commotion begins.

    “...Arosyn? Arosyn! He is not awakening!” Seonghwa calls behind his shoulder as he is shaking the man.

    “Not one of them are!”

Hongjoong turns back to the deck. On the ground, the rest of their crew lay unconscious. Dauvi shakes Danny but the boy keeps on sleeping. She checks his pulse and breathing, he seems to be perfectly fine.

After making sure—— everyone else seems to be perfectly fine, they just appeared to be in some sort of deep sleep. After a little while they give up trying to wake them from their sleeping coma entirely.

The hour glass rolls on the ground and hits at San's feet. The man looks too terrified to pick it up, after all if it could send them to this terrible place then what else could it possibly do?

Dauvi sits with her knees brought up to her chin. The abnormality of everything is getting to her head. The eight others in similar positions as hers because looking at the sky... sea... whatever it is was nauseating in a way.

It was like someone flipped a switch of opposites and changed the laws of physics. The lingering question, how were they going to get back home repeats in their minds as they process their current predicament.

    “You all finally made it.” They all jump simultaneously at the sound of the unknown voice. A couple of them, including Dauvi let out screams in different pitches.

It's the statue— well her in the flesh, real and up close. They hadn't notice her come aboard the ship, too busy processing.

She is very tall—taller than Yunho tall. Her teal hair is long too like her limbs reaching almost to the deck of the Tatiny. Her eyes are silver and look like the stars themselves went to live in the orbs.

    “You!” The eight of them are on their feet in seconds.

    “I know you all may be wondering, yes I am Santiris. And no Mingi, I am not a witch.” A hint of amusement peaks in her voice.

Mingi's face pales as he gets singled out. Her silver eyes—uncanny, made him want to squirm.

    “Where the fuck are we and what happened to the rest of our crew?” Jongho wastes no time getting down to business. Santiris doesn't seem to mind the edge in his voice.

    “This is the bridge. Your crew is just fine, they're in the natural state humans enter while in the bridge. Why you eight are awake right now instead of unconscious is because of special circumstances.” The looks of confusion causes her to continue. “Don't you remember what happened before you got here on the Aurora?” she asks them amused.

    “The aurora..? This is the Tatiny.” San corrects, hand gestures around the ship.

    “Well yes that is what it's called on Ae but you're no longer on Ae no? It's the Aurora. A... rather old version of it but that'll be fixed once you crossed the bridge.”

    “This bridge you keep mentioning, what is it?” Hongjoong crosses his arms, already tired with how she was taking forever to get to the damn point. His foot taps impatiently on the wooden deck of the Tatiny— erm Aurora.

    “This is the bridge between the two realities. When one of you flipped the heart, it opened a rift and sucked you in. We're in the present bridge between old and new. I've been stuck here for years now! Thanks to those dratted no good guardians—” She halts seeing their expressions and she realizes she's getting carried away. “Right. Let me get onto the point.

    “There are two universe connected together by this bridge. She made it so that they were the same but at the same time not. She appointed I, Santiris goddess of Zed and my sister Galaseia goddess of Ae. We were to watch over the worlds, the hearts and the inhabitants.

    “The heart—” She flicks her wrist and in her hand appears the strange hourglass that was just near San's feet. “—is this hourglass object known as the cromer. This one is heart of your world; without the stardust that resides inside the cromer, the air veil will shatter and everything perish. The guardians already have the heart of Zed—unfortunately I had been too blind to notice the overthrow until it was too late.

    “The guardians are an alien android race from the stellar realm—don't worry, you will understand that when you exit the bridge. Those guardians are slowly taking over the world Zed——”

    “What, pray tell, could this possibly have to do with us?” Yunho interrupts, confused. All this nonsense of alien androids whatever the fuck they may be made no sense and had no correlation to why they were here right now.

    “Well I really was getting to that Yunho. As I was saying, they're taking over Zed—I can only see fragments from my crystal ball from in here but I know that they plan to change Zed to their evil aligned order. The cromer has warn me and I am certain it has warned you all too what will happen to the worlds if they attempt to change it's alignment. They will distroy Zed and with it Ae will come crumbling.”

It was difficult to wrap her head around it. Alien androids, world hearts, future distroyed worlds—never had Dauvi expected to hear such abnormal sentences, especially all in the span of half an hour.

    “So you're saying that if the guardians continue on with their endeavors, both the worlds could be distroyed?” Dauvi questions. Santiris nods once.

    “Not could but will be,” Santiris corrects.

    “Then, pray tell, why aren't you or your sister trying to stop them?” Santiris grimaces at Wooyoung's question.

    “My sister has been missing for some time now. Hence why the guardians were able to infiltrate, they took advantage by the fact I was distracted by her disappearence. Although they definitely had some help from another being from the stellar realm, they managed to trap me here like I said earlier. They've blocked my abilities so I cannot interfere or descend down to Zed.

    “However with the help of Cromer A, I was able to descend down to Ae twice and plant clues for you to find my sister's temple.” The pieces are slowly coming together. How Ms. Frans was able to be friends with her after Santiris had been mentioned around the golden ages is making sense now. It was truly something to think about. The question now was how many years had she been trapped here, waiting for Ateez to be born, find and piece all the clues, and get sucked into that rift?

A wind comes up like a surprise from a direction none of them could tell. The wind starts to pick up, it got to the point that their hair is waving in all directions. Somehow, even in the chaotic breeze, every strand on Santiris' head stays perfectly in place.

    “We don't have much time left before you'll reach the exit. Here take this, I'm sure it'll answer a few questions that you may have,” Santiris speaks fast, thrusting a booklike object into Yeosang's hands, the speed at which she did is frightening. “Just remember, the cromers don't do accidents. You all were chosen for a reason.”

Not even a second later—before one could ask another question, before one could even blink—the same gust of powerful wind knocks them all down, blinding them with light as the rift opens and everyone is thrust out of the bridge.

This time it was painful when they come crashing down to the ground. Somewhere above a whirly humming sound is heard. Dauvi is dizzy, when she opens her eyes the world is a blurry turning mess. It takes a minute for it to still and clear up. When her vision is restored, she is met with a strange sort of ceiling. Dauvi blinks. In her mind she knows that she had never seen it before but for some reason she knew exactly what it was. Titanium...

Her mind is racing—and it just wouldn't stop—racing in a strange way... It wasn't racing as if she were overthinking, no.  She comes to the conclusion that it is as if her mind is downloading a very large file at high speed.

...what?

﴿﴾——

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