Long Journey || ATEEZ

Gods, Goddesses, And Ghosts

San, Wooyoung and Hongjoong watched the water with tense eyes. Nothing. Not even bubbles. The opaline sea stayed eerily still as the three pirates waited.

Hongjoong heard the familiar clumping of boots behind him. He turned, and Seonghwa's face greeted him, flecked with blood – presumably Zinnia's. His lips were pursed in a thin line as he ignored Hongjoong's gaze and instead surveyed the water with sharp yellow eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Is Shinoko..." He let the question trail off into the air, suddenly much colder than it had been moments before.

Hongjoong shook his head.

"We don't know," he sighed.

Before long, the rest of ATEEZ had gathered around the rock pools, staring intently into the water, half out of fear and half out of hope. Hopefully Shinoko would come to her senses and let the blasted pirate captain drown.

San bit at his nails as he anxiously watched the water for any signs of life, any signs of the siren. Was she alright? What had happened to her? And why was she staying underwater for so long? Surely Cezanne would've drowned by now...

Unless her sea god's blessing let her breathe underwater as well.

The little demon's anxiety peaked when the water turned crimson again – like when they'd dumped all those bodies into it. Except the transformation wasn't momentary this time; it stayed.

Then out of nowhere, a towering figure burst from the sea with a reddened thing in her arms. San almost screamed out loud, but held his breath as he looked up at a lady with flowing green hair and rich blue skin.

She was tall. That was the only coherent thought gripping San's mind as he gaped up at the goddess – for surely that was the only thing she could be – cradling Shinoko's limp form in her arms. He had never met a goddess before.

Then, as the initial awe faded, he began to absorb her other features. Like the fact that she was very fluid. She moved with all the grace of an elf manipulating water, elegant and controlled – yet there was something about her that exuded an aura of strength far exceeding any mere elf. She commanded the waters and they bent to her will; not like with elves who would have to wheedle and beg for the ocean's might. She was ultimate; she was power.

She was the goddess Thalassa.

Of course, San only knew that thanks to the first words Jongho – who knew best about the gods out of all eight of them – dared utter.

"T-Thalassa...? What are you doing here?"

"A Thalassa-nim would be nice," the goddess said haughtily as she tenderly adjusted her grip on Shinoko, still in her siren form. Her voice was smooth and deep like the ring of the ocean, reverberating in each pirate's bone marrow as she spoke – yet at the same time it was tender and soft, kindly even. Though her tone was not.

Meanwhile, Shinoko's blood swirled a sickly crimson in the water below her, seeping from a gash across her neck. San winced, and clenched his fists. What had Cezanne done?

"Sorry," Jongho said quickly, kneeling his respect. The other crew members followed suit, unsure of what to do in the presence of a goddess, "Thalassa-nim."

Thalassa laughed, a twinkling sound reminiscent of gentle waves lapping at coasts.

"Drop the formalities, Jurna's little one," the goddess chuckled. "I was only messing with you. I'm a family friend of yours, after all."

Jongho rolled his eyes, and he felt the crew's look of alarm burn into him. He turned and stuck his tongue out at his hyungs, then turned back to the goddess.