Honor and Glory | ATEEZ

022

This was so much worse than what we had experienced in the Temple of Ice, I thought, and that had definitely taken the top spot on the list back then.

I tried my best to keep up with the others, but the distance between us only grew with each step. My lungs burned, screaming desperately for air that I wasn't able to provide them with. Yes, this was definitely worse.

I glanced back over my shoulder, my hair whipping wildly behind me as the wind picked up, covering my eyes.

I looked at San, and my heart fell as I realized that the ice elemental seemed to be holding up even worse than me.

He looked more exhausted than ever, but his grey eyes shined with a strong determination that told me that he wasn't going to break down anytime soon.

Behind us, another lightning strike hit the ground, sounding dangerously close this time. The hair at the back of my neck stood up, and I shivered involuntarily as the arena was bathed in another wave of purple light.

The smell of electricity in the air was so strong that it burned my nostrils with every breath I took.

"We can't outrun it!" Jongho yelled, and even though I didn't want to admit it, I knew that he was right. We all did.

"If we can just make it to the side of the cliff!" Seongwha huffed, pointing toward the end of the arena where the tall stone walls shot directly up from the ground, forming a solid barrier all around us.

"What do you mean?!" I yelled, raising my voice in an attempt to down out the loud sounds of thunder and rumbling clouds behind us.

"Just trust me!"

"Trust you?!" Wooyoung shrieked, whipping his head around to face the darkness elemental with wide eyes.

He offered no further explanation, probably wanting to save his breath, and since no one else seemed to have a plan, we rain straight for the stone wall that quickly grew in size as we got closer.

I had known Seongwha for as long as I could remember, and I knew that he would never betray me, but I had no idea how he was going to make this work.

His plan wasn't even a plan; more like directions, to be honest. But we had to trust him.

Suddenly, the shadows in front of us began to shift.

The dark shapes on the ground, on the side of the cliff, and in the ripples between the rocky surfaces began to blend, combine.

They got darker with each passing second, with each struggling step I took, and I suddenly realized what Seongwha was planning to do.

I reminded myself of our escape from the Temple of Darkness that had happened only minutes ago and tried my best to run faster.

"What kind of dark magic is this?!" Mingi yelled, glancing back over his shoulder to get a better look at the storm that was brewing behind us, quickly coming closer and closer, catching up with us.

It may have been a figment of my imagination, but I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows in confusion as I looked into the angry clouds above us.

They were swirling quickly, unnaturally in and out of each other, and for a moment, it almost seemed like the clouds took on the shape of a face

A pair of electric purple eyes stared down at us with a dark look before disappearing again.

They looked nothing like Mingi's beautiful purple eyes I thought. These ones had been evil, flashing with white lights like lightning strikes from within.