Honor and Glory | ATEEZ

003

The clearing we had set up camp in looked completely different in the morning as the crescent sun's rays shone down through the tops of the trees, creating beautiful patterns of light and shadows that danced along with the plants and tall grass on the ground.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes and stretching my arms above my head, only to jump in fear as the sound of a lightning strike rippled through the air.

Wooyoung, who was startled by the sound, woke up immediately, scrambling a few feet away from me and stumbling a little as he tried to untangle our legs.

The sunrays that had just warmed up the ground disapeared as familiar storm clouds rolled over the otherwise clear purple sky, covering the crescent sun and bringing that familiar feeling of dread with it.

"We should probably get going," Wooyoung said, getting up from the ground and dusting off his clothes as he reached out his hand to me.

I nodded my head and followed him as we made our way out of the clearing, but I couldn't help glancing back at the grey and black clouds in the distance.

"It's almost like it's following us," I mumbled, mostly to myself, but Wooyoung must've heard me as he turned around and looked in the same direction as me.

He furrowed his brows at the flashes of purple and white that swirled inside the clouds.

"But that's impossible," he muttered.

"So is the ability to control lighting, though," I said, "But the man in black, Daios, seems to be handling that pretty well so far."

We decided to move faster, wanting to put as much distance between ourselves and the storm as possible, both of us praying that my guess hadn't been right.

The mountains in the distance seemed to grow in size as we made out way across the vast fields of Avalon, moving further and further away from Agora and the palace and, to our relief, the storm clouds that loomed threateningly in the distance.

The tall grass swayed in our wake as we moved through beautiful fields and over hills, and we laughed and splashed each other in the cold water from small lakes and streams that we had to cross.

We both enjoyed the small moments of happiness as we let ourselves forget about the terrors we had left behind in the capital.

"I seriously need a break," Wooyoung huffed a couple of hours later, coming to a halt a few steps behind me and putting his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath.

"Just a couple more steps, Wooyoung," I begged, walking down the hill and stopping behind him as I put both of my hands on the broad of his back and began pushing.

"I promise it'll all be worth it. We're almost there."

And so, struggling up the last part of the hill that we had been climbing for the last 30 minutes, we finally reached the top. And the view definitely did not disappoint.

"Wow," Wooyoung said, his words almost a whisper, barely audible, as he took in the view that stretched out in front of us. My heart skipped a beat as well.

Vast landscaped of green forests and lakes stretched out as far as the eye could see, waterfalls forming foaming streams and white splatches in the distance as they fell from cliffs and mountains.

And as we stood there, on top of the hill, the wind ripping at our clothes and blowing the hair out of my face, I felt a small flicker of hope ignite at the bottom of my stomach. It was a small flame, but a fire nonetheless.

"Wait," Wooyoung said, turning to me with confusion written all over his face, "Is this-?"

"District 2," I said, answering his question before he got the chance to finish his sentence.