Cursed Hearts | ATEEZ

048

The Goddess's presence was welcome as I felt my last breath leave my broken and bleeding chest; comforting and cool like the night itself, beautiful, in a way, like the way the moon itself is beautiful.

But as I died and the Sun claimed its last sacrifice ever, I knew that no matter for how long she had stayed with me and the kings she would never truly return. The dead never truly did.

A soft voice spoke in my mind as the cave faded away and I felt my body become heavy, lulling me into an eternity of sleep and dreams where the pain of losing Taeyong and Wooyoung and the ache of the bruises and cuts littering my body could no longer reach me.

"People think a soulmate is your perfect fir and that's what everyone wants. But a true soulmate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life."

"A soulmate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But not everyone is lucky enough to live with a soulmate forever. It's painful, but sometimes soulmates simply come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, just to disappear again."

"A soulmate's purpose is to shake you up, to tear you apart little by little, to show you your obstacles and addictions, to break your heart open so new light can get in, and make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life and make yourself better."

The voice paused, faded, and, for some reason, I felt sad, but then it continued, the sound more like a delicate whisper in my ear as it said, "Tell him that I love him. That I always will."

And then I felt the darkness fade, slowly, at first, and then all at once as I suddenly regained the urge to fight, to wake.

"Tell him that I love him."

And then my eyes shot open and I gasped for air, my heart hammering desperately against my ribs as the darkness and the night and the cave disappeared, suddenly replaced by daylight once more as the sand in the arena scratched against the palms of my hands, quickly replaced by the smooth fabric of my suit as I immediately brought them to my chest, searching for the pain, the blood, but not finding either.

Disoriented, dizzy, and then frightened, I flinched and moved to cover my head as a deafening boom suddenly cut through the silent air as the horrible sounds of explosions became all that I could focus on until, as a cloud of rubble and sand and crushed stones washed over the walls of the arena, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the familiar smell of the King of Autumn as he toppled down on top of me and held me close.

And I cried, out of breath and blinded by the dust which hung heavily in the air and coated my tongue with a taste of something metallic like blood.

And I couldn't get close enough to Wooyoung as he sobbed against me, clawing at my back as if he was afraid that, if he let go of me for as much as a single second, I would disappear again.

And I heard the confused screams and yells of the crowd which were suddenly interrupted by familiar voices as the Kings of Haelan joined us, clutching their chests as they stared down at me with wide eyes and mixed looks of sorrow, guilt, and disbelief.

And then the dust settled and I knew that Dawn had upheld her promise of redemption as my eyes went to the sky and realized that, after centuries of suffering and punishment, the mountains were no more.

Hongjoong was clawing at his chest with tears in his eyes, wearing a ring on his finger that immediately brought me back to the voice from the darkness as I remembered what the Moon had wanted me to say.