hydra | svt

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.

wonwoo

light spots my vision as i begin to come round; my entire body aches with effort and it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust to the new light intensity. the distant groans around me signify the awakening of my friends as well, now including mingyu and junhui.

before i'm fully functioning, a pair of strong arms wrap around my torso and i'm overwhelmed by the aroma of cinnamon and sweat. mingyu's breathing is irregular as he holds back the sobs threatening to wrack his frame - his hair tickles my neck as i grunt with the surprise hug.

"i'm so sorry..." he mumbles continuously, even though i have no idea what he's apologising for. i awkwardly pat him on the back in return and he pulls away, locking his gaze with mine, before lunging at hansol; he smothers him in his lithe form as he does so.

relatively back to normal, i prop myself up against the wall and observe the tight bear hug happening between minghao and junhui. although minghao had joined our guild last, he'd become instantly attached to jun upon finding out that he was also chinese and fluent in both mandarin and korean, sensing a sort of kinship. ever since, they'd been joined at the hip and were rarely seen without the other.

"gēgē," he whispers, cradling jun's frail body, using his own as a shield of all the danger in the world. both had puffy eyes and wet cheeks and i nudge the tissue box on the coffee table closer to them with my elbow.

"welcome home, kind of," i say softly after the two newest additions to the group calm down and gather their composure. the ambience is comforting to our tired souls and we take the time to recuperate and count our blessings, smiles never leaving our lips no matter how hard we try to repress them.

i lean back to let out a breath but as my head hits the wall behind me, a tingling sensation floods my body and my head spins again; my vision clouds over before clearing just as quickly.

my heart drops to my stomach when i realise i'm no longer in my living room.

"wonwoo?" the worried shouts of my friends are faint and i scan my new surroundings, relaxing when i realise i'm only upstairs. i must've teleported.

wait.

the hairs on my arms stand and my skin goosebumps as i scramble off my floor and rush to the top of the stairs, where minghao is just about to climb up to look for me. i let out a strangled cry and point shakily at his arm.

the scaly sheen of snakeskin hisses back and minghao and i stare incredulously at the docile creature flitting it's tongue out every so often.

"our powers..." minghao is much calmer than i am as i push past him and rejoin the others in the living room. nothing seems out of the ordinary but they jump up at the sight of my distress, on their guards immediately.

"hansol!" the boy jolts at my unstable tone as i stoop down to pick up a glass half-filled with water, thrusting it into his chest. "make droplets appear!"

"but, i don't have-"

"trust me." he caves pretty easily after that, not one for confrontation. i signal for the others to watch as hansol hovers a doubtful hand over the glass, crying out as droplets of the cool liquid rise out from the surface; they're no bigger than thumbtacks but they're droplets nonetheless.

in his surprise, the glass slips from his hands and i brace myself for the jarring sound of glass hitting hardwood.

it never happens.

mingyu's arm is outstretched and his hand is curled, as if he were holding the glass. however, the glass itself is hovering just above my living room floor and with some great effort, mingyu settles it on the table.

"jeez." is the only word spoken as hansol lets's the droplets splash onto the floor in the glass' place, which i silently chide him for. minghao's arm is no longer in its reptile state, his hands tucked into the pocket of his hoodie instead. not a word is breathed.

"i don't have my keys." junhui's voice pierces the silence and his gaze is trained at the ground. we look at him pitifully and mingyu even brushes a hand against his arm in sympathy.

"just go and get one then," hansol says simply. four pairs of eyes stare at him as if he's grown a second head.

"oh, you're right!" junhui nods determinedly and i can't even splutter as a dim beige flash fills the room.

after a few seconds, it fades and it's as if junhui never left: the only difference is the gleaming gold key in his right hand.

"you..you actually went," i whisper, secretly impressed.

"well, hansol said i should so i did! i couldn't stay for long, about an hour in spirit-realm time, but i managed to find this!" he brandishes the key proudly but from where i am and the poor lighting in the room, i can't tell which spirit it belongs to.

"where's your garden? i think it's best if i open this gate outside."

with my brain short-circuiting, i lead the way to the garden, numbly unlocking the patio doors and letting the cool night air revive me a little. we shuffle into the middle of the garden with jun standing in front protectively.

"okay, here goes! open, gate of the golden bull, taurus!"

warm air encompasses me immediately, accompanied by the beige glow of junhui's magic - it's dimmer than i remember.

the roar of a bull knocks the breath out of my lungs as the golden bull spirit materialises in my back garden. against the navy sky, his glowing aura stands out even more.

"hey jun! long time no see! who are we fighting today?" he takes a step towards us and i'm suddenly hyper aware of the sharp axe glinting over his beefy shoulders.

"hey taurus! woah, not these guys! they're friends!" jun puts a hand out to stop the giant bull from turning us into mince-meat. in response, taurus sags a little and steps back, his tail flicking with unreleased energy.

"man, what's the danger then?"

"taurus, how long has it been since i last called you?" the bull spirit looks stumped and i hold back a laugh at the dumb glaze that comes over his eyes.

"in spirit realm time...a couple of years? and in real time that's like.... just over a month."

jun looks to me for confirmation and i quickly calculate the time i'd spent in this realm so far: it pretty much checked out. jun nods gravely, closing the gate without so much as a goodbye to the spirit.

the darkness is amplified as we stare at each other in silence, a slight breeze rustling our hair.

"wonwoo, how long did the mage say we had?"

i recall it immediately, haunted by the countdown ever since i'd arrived here. "a year. but i have a feeling something's happening much sooner than that."

"what makes you say so?" minghao asks.

"the attacks are getting closer together. i was here for at least a week or two before apep attacked and then as soon as i had recovered hansol phthisis attacked, like he knew what had happened. and now hecate, who attacks after i find two more members? i reckon we should be on our guard at all times from now on."

the others listen to my rambling, gathering the same conclusion as i had.

"well, at least there's no school tomorrow," hansol breathes as we make our way back inside. the late hour is catching up to our tired minds and bodies and i know they'll have to leave soon.

"get lots of rest, you guys. i'll research as much as i can before monday." i help them gather their things and offer to see them off, but they insist that i sleep soon as well.

"good luck with your matinée show tomorrow, mingyu," i mumble shyly. he nods and hums, letting a canine show as he grins.

"see you guys soon, be careful!"

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oop it's a filler 😌 but big things are coming soon....