Ocean's Descent ||| Woosan (Ateez)

37

Wooyoung could feel each beat of his heart as he ran forward, and in turn, each pulse of magic through his veins.

There was something here. Some source of magic that was fueling this place.

He had been slightly confused by how quickly he'd been able to change back into a human, especially since he was still waiting for his scales to grow back. Now he knew he was drawing off the magic here.

"Woo! Slow down!" San called out behind him.

"I can't! I know it's here!" Wooyoung started running uphill, grabbing onto trees and boulders when he needed to keep himself upright.

The tingling sensation filling his body was getting stronger, giving him the energy and strength to keep going. He knew he was leaving the others behind, but it was almost like he couldn't stop, even if he wanted to.

After several minutes of climbing, Wooyoung looked around and realized he had entered some sort of valley. Tall mountains surrounded him on both sides while the ground started to level out.

He continued forward, going deeper into the forest. The trees were incredible. They were so tall he couldn't see the tops through the branches, plus their trunks were wider than his body was. And they just kept getting bigger...

This forest was old.

Suddenly Wooyoung didn't feel like he deserved to be here. The air was heavy, weighted down by an ancient presence that was not to be meddled with. He stopped in a small clearing and turned in a slow circle.

"Wooyoung!"

"Woo! Where are you?"

The voices of his friends were distant and muffled. That's when he realized it was getting darker. Too dark...

"San?" He called how, too afraid to move now.

"Woo!" His human shouted, getting a little closer now.

"S-" Wooyoung started to answer, but then he stopped when a soft, pink glow came from his right.

Then a blue, green, and yellow light joined it. The small clearing he was in started to fill with the floating lights. They drifted slowly back and forth, almost as if being carried by a gentle breeze. But as they got closer, Wooyoung realized they weren't just lights.

Fairies.

Tiny, fluttering fairies danced in the air around him. Their laughter was like tiny bells, a sound Wooyoung had grown to love after San had taken him to a bunch of shops by the beach.

He had read about the amazing creatures back home. His pod had scrolls recording all sorts of magical creatures. Most were classified as 'unknown' now because it had been so long since the merfolk had left their watery homes, but they never destroyed what information they had.

One blue one dared to fly a little closer, tilting her head curiously as she studied him.

They must be able to sense his magic too.

"Hello." Wooyoung said, keeping his voice low and even.

All of them let out a little trill and dimmed their lights.

"No! Please don't go. I'm a friend." Wooyoung held his hand out, palm up, and drew upon his magic to create a small pool of water.

The blue fairy flew closer, then shivered in place, sending a cloud of glue glitter into the air, before settling down on the palm of his hand. She leaned forward so she could put her hand in the water and giggled.

Wooyoung marveled at the fact that she was no bigger than his thumb. Even so, he could see each intricate swirl on her four delicate wings. She was so light, he barely registered t hat she was sitting on him.