haven - zb1

39

They were in a strange space, the horizon stretching endlessly. The ground was a strange luminous liquid, rippling with every movement they made. Everything was white, the sky was pearly bright with thick rolling clouds. A thin cool mist surrounded them, enough to slightly obscure their vision.

They lay flat on the shimmering ground, groggy and disoriented. Zhang Hao recovered the quickest, sitting up with a start, chest heaving slightly from the unfamiliarity of the situation. The rest began to stir, Gyuvin jerked up coughing when he turned to his side and accepted a mouthful of the strange liquid.

Some began to stand and regain their composure. Quanrui quickly realised they were all empty handed. "All our weapons are gone," He breathed, stating the obvious. He also forgot to mention that any injuries and all blood and grime was gone from their bodies. Yujin could stand and jump no problem and Zhang Hao's arm was nice and clean.

"Forget that," Hanbin brushed off, "Where are we?"

"This place..." Taerae trailed off as he took it all in, then gulped, "Call me crazy, but if I were to guess, it's some sort of magical, milky version of the place Taehyun found."

Milky was a strange but apt choice for the setting. "Well then..." Hanbin started, "We only have one choice, don't we? We have to move forward."

They walked for what could have been mere metres or miles, it was hard to tell, the endlessness was constant. But suddenly, their vision blurred as the mist thickened, and when it cleared, finally, besides an endless horizon, something was before them.

A young boy sat on a large, flat stone, blinking at them slowly. He was their age, maybe only 20 years old. He had boyish features, large doe eyes that were full of mischief and energy.

"You all are so young," The boy breathed, a bright smile blooming on his face, "That makes me glad."

Everyone was tense and wary, so the boy continued, "I'm very proud of you all. This batch must have been the best group of heirs I've seen yet."

"Why haven't we reached nova?"

The boy blinked serenely, "You will. I just want to have a chat with you." His eyes looked sad now, this unexplainable sense of grief washing over his face.

He gestured for them to sit, and while they weren't eager to sit on the liquid floor, who were they to argue with him? So they carefully sank down, feeling much like little children looking up to their teacher.

For someone who wanted to speak with them, the boy stayed silent for a second, his gaze sweeping across them slowly, as if taking them in carefully. Then he said, "Did you have fun? Did you learn something, at least?"

Stunned by that candid and unexpected question, none of them spoke. But the boy wasn't disheartened, only continuing as he looked into the endless distance, "I hope you learnt more than your seniors. They were all such strong individuals, of course, which is good. But they were all...selfish, so focused on themselves. Granted, that's not always a bad thing, but there's a time and place for that."

"Well, we did learn that our powers do complement each other," Hanbin offered, a relief for the awkward moment. There was a bright twinkle in the boy's eyes, and he smiled, a large one that lit up his face. "That's exactly it. You are all strong as individuals, but when you put your powers together... I have never used only one element alone, why should I? They complement each other, as you said." The boy fell silent again, studying them with the interest and amazement of a child.

Finally, he said, "I hope you keep this lesson with you. You did well. I'm so happy to have met you. I won't hold you back now. You must be tired. You should go." With that, he hopped off his stone, and swiftly, stepped to Jiwoong. Before any of them could react, he pressed his finger tips to his forehead, and Jiwoong's eyes rolled up and he slumped to a side. Quanrui narrowly managed to cushion his fall, but before he could look up to say something the boy was by his side and he too was rapped on the forehead and passed out.

The boy then approached Zhang Hao, who wordlessly closed his eyes as soft fingertips brushed his skin. This continued for the other water boys, then the earth heirs. As Gyuvin fainted and Yujin was the last one conscious, Yujin suddenly asked, "Will we remember this? Will we remember everything?"

Taehyun smiled serenely, "Of course. You all will remember this vividly. I just hope you'll never forget it."

As he raised his hand, he paused and said,"I have one last thing I need you to do. I hope you look at it with an open mind. Can you do that for me?" Wordlessly, Yujin nodded, and with that, he was tapped and his vision went blank.