Cursed Hearts | ATEEZ

025 PRECIOUS

The pagoda seemed almost impossibly tall, the remaining three of the five stories towering above me as I climbed, my arms shaking from holding up my weight, my hands bleeding, blood coating the skin and bandages in a hue of dangerous crimson red which almost bled into the colour of the tower itself as I kept climbing, lungs screaming for air as I tried to regain my breath.

The golden key was digging painfully into my hand by now, and my previously white suit was littered with cuts on the arms and sleeves from where blood had also begun to seep out, staining the white fabric, partially from rips caused by me almost slipping as I continued to climb, and partially from the stars of cold steel the black-clad mercenaries kept sending my way.

"Keep your head high, Yuna," I whimpered as I struggled to haul myself over yet another one of the hipped roofs of the pagoda, well-aware by now that a crowd had gathered beneath the building to watch me, pointing, yelling. I bit back tears, "Keep your gaze high," I huffed as I kept climbing.

There had to be something at the top, I told myself, there had to be- "No!" I exclaimed, feeling my heart drop as I lost my grip and felt gravity take hold of my falling body for a second, barely catching myself on one of the intricately cut wooden decorations on the rooftop before I slid over the edge. I scrambled to get back to the wall as I saw another shuriken cut through the air, the small but deadly weapon singing a lethal song as it flew past my head.

"Keep your head high," I whispered to myself, my voice rough and shaky, my throat hurting as I climbed up and hauled myself over yet another one of the roofs, so close to the top of the pagoda.

"Keep your gaze high," I breathed, blocking out the sounds of the crowd below, clenching my teeth as I felt the wind ripping at my hair, whispering about the figures that were following me, closing in.

I wiped my bloody hand on the leg of my suit, watching with detached emotion as the bloody handprint seeped into the crisp white colour and bled out a little before grabbing onto the wall again, hoisting myself up step by step, inch by inch as I reached out for the roof and let out a shaky breath as I pulled myself over the edge, legs dangling mid-air before I felt the solid roof tiles underneath me again.

My injured hand was throbbing painfully, the burns from the second trial not yet healed and now bleeding freely from underneath the shredded bandaged, a steady flow of pain shooting up my arm.

"Injuries later," I muttered to myself, "I'll check on the injuries later." It wouldn't be the first time I had visited the hospital wing after returning from the trials, if I would even make it through this one, I thought to myself, running a bloody hand through my hair before grabbing onto the golden spire atop the pagoda's roof as yet another gust of wind pulled me towards the edge.

I clung to the golden spire with all of my remaining strength as I felt the wind pick up, my heartbeat following as I saw a black glove wrap around the corner of the roof. In less than a second, I found myself back by the edge, clutching Wooyoung's dagger tightly in my hand as I brought it down on the mercenary, watching the figure tumble onto the story below as the others began to catch up.

"Shit," I hissed, whipping my head back towards the spire and staggering over to wrap my head around the golden spheres surrounding it, letting my hands slide over the golden material which blinded me in the sunlight, eyes widening as I felt my fingertip graze a small indent on the other side.

I almost fell off the roof as I spun myself around the spire and came face to face with the keyhole I, fumbling with the golden key from Budapest before sticking it in and turning it, earning a small, satisfying click as a small hatch by my feet opened up, revealing yet another key which I quickly grabbed.