Level And Life | KTH ✓

18. Don't go there!

As Hoseok and Bee kept walking cluelessly, they had stepped into an old, endless, grey path, scattered with crunchy leaves and long twigs. The white translucent mist sneaked through the branches. It weaved its way between the trees like tendrils of smoke. The further they went, the more mystical and spellbinding it became.

They were following their path when a weird sound banged their ears, alerting them to avert their gaze around in every direction. There popped up a monster with a goat's head, bat's wings, and cloven hooves. In a fraction of seconds, it's long sticky tongue that was dangling from its toothless jaw launched towards Bee.

Before it could do any harm to her, it met with the tight clasp of Hoseok's hands. He held it as it still desperately tried to skewer her. He threw it flying back into the air, smashing it on the monster's own head. His eyes were now glistening reddish-orange as the fiery flames danced around his palm. He quickly set them in motion and shot it to the monster floating in the air, first setting it's wings on fire, collapsing it down, then eventually burning down its entire existence on the spot, leaving only the residue of black soot behind.

As they further went deep, slowly the place that claimed to be a dense, green forest had turned into a dry and barren piece of land covered with the sand...a desert.

"W-what is this place? Where the hell are we? We were in the f-forest?!"

They scanned the area around them with questioning eyes, getting bewildered. As far as their eyes could capture their vision, it was nothing but sand. A desolate and lonesome environment surrounded them.

The cool, chilly atmosphere got replaced by the intense warm winds. They stopped in their tracks with a dumbfounded expression written on their faces, probably trying to process all of that was happening to them.

"Look! A key!!" Hoseok shouted, his face brightened up as he saw the one lying in the heap of the sand right in front of them. While Bee's eyes slightly glowed pale golden for a brief moment then immediately fainted, returning back to their actual color, indicating that something was off.

"Hey Stop! Don't go there!! It's an il-" she yelled, chasing after him.

Unfortunately, it was too late as Hoseok had already dove into his own death trap, his hands busy as they searched for the key in between the sand dunes.

He realized what he had gotten himself into when he felt a force dragging him towards it. A sudden burst of bubbles bloated out from the ground. Soon the place where he sat had changed into a big deep quaking bog.

His feet got totally immersed and locked inside the mushy, wet pool of swamp. His both hands pulling his body up from the agonizing position. He tried to use his power but that couldn't help in anything as his eyes faded after gleaming only to a little extent. His breaths came fast and shallow. Heart racing, he blinked and swiveled his eyes in their sockets.

"Give me your hand!" Bee spoke, extending out her own. After a few attempts, he got hold of her fingers then slowly of her hand. She tried to yank him out but the bog sucked him inside even more as his body was now stuck up to his waist. His hand haltingly started to loosen from hers.

"Don't let go. Hold on tightly."

But at the last, it slipped off her grip which was his sole support at the moment.

He gave it his all as he struggled against the swamp that now rammed him in itself upto the level of his chest.

"Leave from here."

Bee had a loss of words for a second as her mind couldn't comprehend the words that left from his mouth, the words that felt like daggers.

"W-what?? L-leave? Have you lost your mind?! Stop talking bullshit. I'm not gonna leave you here alone...just to let you die." she opposed, again trying to get hold of him.