Long Journey || ATEEZ

Still Seas

True to the captain's word, they passed the rock spires where they'd encountered the kraken not long after. With no sign of the not-so-mythical sea monster disturbing the waters, the ATINY forged on, her crew assured of their safety – for the time being, anyway. Only the gods knew what lay in wait beyond the edge of the horizon.

But either way, autumn was approaching; it was certainly felt by the sudden drop in temperatures. Though not cold enough for coats, scarves, gloves and the like, most of the crew were wearing long sleeves, and no longer complained about the heat. Fog settled over the oceans once more, and the eerie atmosphere of the far north returned.

San had been training hard. Pushing himself further than anyone else on the ship – even Mingi, who had previously been the most hard-working in terms of combat – he'd been practising controlling his 'awakened' state in the quiet of his room, with only Seonghwa-hyung and occasionally Hongjoongie-hyung when the former was busy to accompany and guide him. Now he was confident enough to go above-deck – where sparring was easier – to practise.

"Ready?" Seonghwa asked as he rolled up his sleeves and faced San. He was already sweating from their warm-up, the same applying to the younger demon.

"Of course," San grinned as he cracked his knuckles, and slipped off the bandana he'd stolen from Wooyoung, laying it carefully on the railing.

"Be careful, you two," Juyeong warned from the sidelines. "I don't want anyone getting hurt."

Seonghwa and San nodded, whilst Seungho shifted uneasily from foot to foot. He wasn't particularly needed, but the guilt from being indirectly the cause of this had compelled him to see if he really had helped.

The two demons took up their respective fighting stances, and San closed his eyes momentarily. The sensation of his Dark Energy sparking around inside of his channels flushed up to his head, and he shivered, almost with delight. He felt power coursing through his veins, and he grinned. The pain in his head didn't even affect him that much anymore.

Time to test out his new power.

"Are you ready, hyung?" San asked, flexing his fingers. His eyes had gone pink as usual, but unlike when he normally used Dark Energy, his sclera had gone a deep, dark ebony. It made his grin look all the more terrifying and maniacal.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Seonghwa said with a small, cocky smirk on his lips, and leapt forwards.

The two demons' Dark Energy sparked together, and they began their deadly rhythm of to and fro, San attacking with a fiery intensity as Seonghwa calmly blocked and counterattacked.

A blow slammed into Seonghwa's side, and he spat out a cough as he stumbled to the side, fighting to regain his balance – and composure. But San didn't wait. Three more blows rained down on him, and Seonghwa was forced backwards. Blowing hair out of his face and gritting his teeth, the first mate changed his course of action.

Catching San on the cheek with his fist, Seonghwa raised his leg to kick, aggression and adrenaline fueling him. But then all the air was forced out of him as San slammed his entire body weight into Seonghwa's stomach. Choking for the second time that day, wiping spit from his chin, noticing San hadn't grabbed him as he tackled him – a stupid move, really – Seonghwa twisted and let a burst of Dark Energy erupt from his core.

San fell back – but not as far as Seonghwa expected. The demon growled and charged forwards again as the other got up.

Seonghwa dodged – once, twice, thrice – close combat was clearly dangerous. Especially if the demon decided to tackle him to the ground again. Seonghwa quickly sent two shots of Dark Energy flying at the demon and retreated.