Cursed Hearts | ATEEZ

043

The final trial came much too quickly.

My time was running out much too quickly.

I wanted to cry as the sounds of conversation, yells, and excitement washed over me and I felt the masses of people pushing against me, making me stumble forward and forcing me to let my eyes flutter open and face reality just as the sun broke through the November clouds and blinded me with its dreadful rays of morning light.

I wanted to cry as I looked around the Piazza San Pietro, surrounded by tourists and native citizens of Sector 8, Rome, and finally turned my gaze to the enormous shadow cast by St. Pete's Basilica across from me; devastatingly beautiful and devastatingly cruel in all of its glory as I felt my heart quicken at the very sight of it.

This was where all of it had begun almost half a year ago. This was where all of it had begun on the Declaration this summer. This was where everything had gone wrong; my home, Taeyong's home, Wooyoung's home.

"Welcome to the eighth and final of the Trials of The Eight Mountains, dear contestants, and champions! And welcome to Sector 8, Rome." Kim Namjoon's voice echoed across the square and overhead the hundreds of people crowding the dark cobblestones' heads, seemingly unaware of the deep and melodious sound as they went on with their everyday life; painfully unaware and unconcerned.

I glanced over at Taeyong's familiar head of copper hair before my gaze swept across the two fountains on each side of the rounded square; surrounded by tall, white columns and blending perfectly into the white lines splitting the otherwise dark ground in intricate patterns, before finally focusing on the Vatican Obelisk in the middle.

Having lived here my entire life, I knew that it was originally from Sector 6, Cairo, and that it had been gifted to the King of Autumn as a symbol of allegiance, of friendship, from the King of Summer. Despite this, I couldn't help but find it foreign as it stood there, an infinitely tall column of granite amidst marble and culture unfamiliar to its own, forced to fulfill a role that wasn't its own. I sighed, closing my eyes as the announcer continued.

"This is the Piazza San Pietro, situated on the outskirts of the Vatican City and leading up to Haelan's biggest basilica; Basilica di San Pietro. Once again, like in the City of Lights, the trial in the Eternal City will begin here, among arched ceilings, stunning frescos, and imposing architecture surrounded by ancient secrets, amazing scenes, and ageless gardens, but whether or not it will end here as well, I cannot tell you."

"I think you just did," I mumbled to myself, taking a deep breath and keeping my eyes closed as I enjoyed the chilled breeze as it fluttered past me and caressed my face, realizing, with detached emotion, just how long I had been away from home.

"As always, a golden key will be needed to succeed and make it to the goal. Except this time, you will only be dependant on the one already in your possession to make it to the goal, the final one. Your keys will be needed to escape this world of vanity and beauty. I have faith in the fact that your hearts will tell you where to go because if it doesn't do so in time, it will stop beating completely."

He paused for a moment, the silence following the abrupt halt seeming almost painfully loud as I instinctively let my eyes flutter back open, feeling my heartbeat pick up as the announcer suddenly continued, his next words immediately bringing me back to the second trial, "The heart wants dangerous things but only once it beats with the songs of passion and desire, of honesty and loyalty, will it be able to lift The Curse."

My breath caught as I remembered reading that very line in the glowing book in Budapest before I had blacked out from the pain in my burned hand, "The Moon dies, The Sun punishes, and The Dawn offers a chance at redemption," I whispered, my eyes widening.