Honor and Glory | ATEEZ

022

Electric.

Unnatural.

Evil.

The shadows in front of us had grown so dark by now that the side of the cliff looked more like a portal, an entrance into outer space itself where nothing but darkness awaited us.

Seongwha stumbled forward, his eyes so black and weary.

Yunho helped him back up, supporting him as best as he could, still running along with the rest of us.

We continued forward, and when we were only a couple of meters away, I came to a halt, stopping in awe as I felt the pull from within the darkness, swirling, beckoning for me to step closer.

The others stopped as well, chests heaving in an attempt to catch their breath.

I looked back one last time, hoping that San wasn't far behind the rest of us.

I wished I hadn't.

San was only a couple of meters away, but during those seconds it took for us to turn around, I realized just how bad the storm had gotten.

I gasped for air, watching as the nightmare unfurled right in front of our eyes.

Several lightning strikes scorching the ground, clouds swirling angrily overhead, purple and white lights blinding us as the roars of thunder shook the stone underneath our feet.

Finally, San reached us, bending over as he tried desperately to catch his breath.

Seongwha sent me a look as if saying 'Trust me' and without further hesitation, I walked straight into the swirling darkness in front of us.

Time seemed to stop for a couple of seconds.

The noises of the raging storm were drowned out, leaving only a ringing sound in my ears as the world once again turned on its head.

A voice echoed at the back of my head.

I furrowed my brows in confusion as it rang throughout the silent space, a sudden feeling of anger flaring up inside me.

I knew this voice, but I couldn't quite place it as I suddenly felt too dizzy to concentrate.

Before I knew it, I tumbled out of the shadows again.

I saw the side of a sandy cliff behind be before I lost my footing, falling into a pile of scorching hot sand before quickly getting back on my feet.

The others weren't far behind, stumbling into the sandy dunes as well, the dark shadow on the cliff disappearing without a trace behind them.

A strong wave of heat suddenly hit me as a soft wind caressed the back of my neck, making me turn around to look at our surroundings.

My jaw went slack at the reddish landscape I was met with.

We were standing in the middle of a desert, the immense piles of sands stretching so far into the distance that it was hard for me to make out the sheer size of it.

It seemed to go on forever, and the thought alone made my heart sink.

Faraway sounds of birds could be heard, though it could have been my imagination playing tricks on me in the heat.

There wasn't a single cloud to be seen in the purple sky, and the crescent sun was blasting its warm sunrays down at us.

"What just happened?" Jongho asked, looking dazed and uncertain as he shifted his weight from one foot to another.

It almost looked like the sand was making him uncomfortable.

As if the lack of solid ground underneath him made him unable to get a footing.