★ We are family ★

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- Work Together -

Taehyung's POV

"If you want to survive as an Elemental, then there are a few things you need to learn!" Soros shouted, tendrils of dark black magic seeping from his arms and fingertips. They danced around his body, multiplying by the second. "Always use your head, think of different solutions."

"Find a different angle." I nodded, the tendrils beginning to circle around me, enclosing me in my specific spot. Ice formed in my hand, a blade as sharp as a knife slid through my fingers. I looked like wolverine, yet with ice instead of metal.

Cut the tendrils.

"Always think fast! You'll need fast reactions to survive!" Soros shouted, tendrils rushing at me at lightning speed, my eyes widening as I ducked down, barely missing their grip. I gulped, cutting through the tendrils and running away from them, turning around to see Soros with dark eyes and surrounded by darkness.

"Never rush in without a strategy, that's asking to get yourself killed!" He roared, the tendrils and black magic together beginning to form a creature of some sort, my jaw dropping open. It resembled an ogre, in a way, but the texture looked awfully slimy.

I visibly shook, ice forming from my fingertips and launching right towards the creature ahead of me. The creature released a horrifying scream, my eyes widening as I backed away again. "Never rush more than one enemy! Retreat or hold back until you've got one by itself or until you have a teammate!"

The creature rushed at me, my palms slamming down onto the dark palace floors, ice spilling onto the surface, and traveling over the ground. The creature screamed again, slipping on the ice and falling. I took this as my opening, running over the ice, jumping over a tendril, and sending ice flying from my fingertips.

It was like throwing sharp knives at a wall, watching them hit and land in the target. Ice formed in my hand, my arm swinging back then forward as I threw the ice straight into the creature, hearing more horrifying screams emit from it.

Then, with one last hit, the creature dissipated, vanishing into thin air with darkness swirls floating around the atmosphere. I looked at Soros, time seeming to slow down as five tendrils rushed at me, heading for my arms and legs.

Dodge!

I ducked down, somehow managing to jump over the tendril to my right then rolling on the ground, sliding on my ice. I hit Soros' throne with my feet, immediately standing up, using water to push me off the ground and up onto his throne. "Try to find different openings and angles when you're fighting, even if it means getting a higher advantage point!"

"Always look for the source of the problem, then fight to take it out! If you worry about the small obstacles, you'll never get rid of the main problem!" He shouted, my eyes scanning over the palace. The main problem. The main source.

That's Soros.

He's the source, he's controlling the magic.

My eyes widened just slightly, landing on Soros. He had changed, a little bit, eyes pitch black and deadly. His whole body looked eerie, my body tensing up. Is this what Jungkook meant by eerie? Is this what Jungkook sees? Is this what the rest see when they see Soros?

No. Whether he looks like a demon or not, he's still Soros.

But right now he's the source.

I looked down at my hands, seeing them glow light and dark blue. My fingertips were dark blue, the color of my water magic, and my palms were light blue, the color of my ice. I closed my eyes, letting everything fade away, every sound, every sight.

Concentrate.

I took a deep breath, feeling a rush of sudden power flow through me. When I snapped my eyes open, I locked eyes with Soros, seeing his lips twitch up for a mere second before he was sending more tendrils my way. With one hand behind my back, I used my free hand to cut through the tendrils again, holding my ground just for a little bit.

Just a minute! That's all I need!

The hand behind my back was working to form ice on the ground, right behind Soros. I kept glancing over to his frame, seeing the ice building up from the ground, spiraling towards Soros' legs and arms, working at a fast speed to freeze the main source of the darkness.

Soros.

The tendrils were slowly getting closer to my arms, a growl seeming to form in my throat. I have to work faster. I doubled my magic power, water beginning to swirl around my legs and feet, making its way up towards my stomach and chest. When the ice was just inches away from Soros' legs and hands, I moved my hand from behind my back, using water to fend off the tendrils.

Emotions affect your magic power.

Let's get mad.

I thought about my university life, the way I felt on a daily basis. How they put me down, belittled me, made me feel weak and useless. How my parents didn't stand up for me, how they pushed me to become something I didn't want to become. How they pushed me to do something I didn't want to do.

How they hurt me, made me cry, made me scream from sadness, anger, and pain. My blood boiled, my eyes glowing blue, the water turning hotter and hotter. Steam was seeping from the back of my hand, the ice somehow compacting a little bit, making it harder to cut through, almost impossible, actually.

Soros seemed a little taken aback by the sudden change of my power, my magic seeming to double in power yet again. Waves formed around me, towering over my frame as they grew. Ice formed on my right hand, turning the flesh into ice. I expected it to hurt, to make me scream in pain but it actually just made me feel more powerful.

Wait.

Does that mean that I can turn into ice?

My right arm was completely ice and was moveable. I could move my fingers and hand up and down, as well as my arm, even bend it, but it was ice instead of flesh. Punch the tendrils! My mind was racing, screaming at me to act now. I did it without fully thinking, my right hand forming a fist and landing a direct punch to an oncoming tendril.

And just like that, the ice spread over the tendril, stopping it in its spot then shattering. The tendril was gone. I shook my head, my eyes landing on the spiraled ice that was still behind Soros. Take out the source or the tendrils will never stop!

I aimed my hand made of ice and Soros, fingers extended, the spirals continuing, and finally enclosing on the God of Darkness. The ice-encased his legs and feet first, covering them in a thick layer of ice while still forming from the ground. Then his arms, the dark magic coming to a stop as his fingers, hand, and arm was encased in my ice.

The tendrils dissipated, the darkness that clouded the palace disappearing within an instant. The waves of my water magic still circled around me, my ice still dancing on my arm, fingertips, and feet. Soros seemed to turn back into the God I knew very well, a wide smile on his face.

"Well done, Kim."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, my shoulders slumping a little bit, a smile forming on my face. I did it. He chuckled, the deep vibration making me smile wider. "You've made me proud, Kim," He spoke again, a laugh leaving my lips as I sat on his throne. My arm turned back into flesh, the ice vanishing as well as the water.

The ice that encased Soros disappeared, every single magic seeming to vanish into thin air. Soros called me over, my water magic helping me down from his throne and towards the God. Then, in a flash, we were in a different room. It was a training room, yet it wasn't the training room the other Elementals and I used.

"Welcome to my training room," Soros spoke, walking deeper into the room, my eyes widening. "You have a training room?" He nodded, arms crossed over his chest. "Illume and I are the only gods to have big palaces. The only reason why I have a big palace is that I have too much time on my own."

"I built this training room to, in hopes, train an Elemental, that was strong enough to possess my power, of my own." I found myself smiling a little bit, nodding in an understanding. "This looks really complex," I stated, looking around, hearing him laugh. "That's because it is."

"Kim, I need to make sure you're one hundred perfect positive that you want to train for my magic. I train with a purpose, and I train hard. Your training here will be double, maybe even triple times harder than your regular Elemental training." I met his eyes, nodding again. "I'm positive, Soros. I'll work hard for this."

He smiled, snapping his fingers. We were back in his palace, darkness swirling around his fingertips. "You have so much potential, you just need to make sure you're using it right." I stared at him, listening to him speak. "You are, right now at least. Keep using it correctly and you'll survive. Keep working hard, Kim,"

"And you'll be the first Elemental to touch the earth again."

With that, I was teleported back to Illume's training room, sitting right back in the spot where Jungkook fell asleep. I looked around, seeing the Gods still in their corner of the training room, talking amongst themselves while the other Elementals leaned against the walls, trying to energize themselves again.

I looked down, seeing Jungkook still sleeping on the training room floor, his breathing steady and even. I felt a smile begin to twitch up onto my face, dropping as soon as the Gods spoke. "Water, Ice, and Fire, your second simulation training will begin in five minutes. Get ready."

I shook Jungkook gently, seeing his eyes flutter open. "What?" He asked groggily, a little whine leaving his lips. I laughed, pointing to the Gods. "Training in five minutes. Let's get ready." He groaned but sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "You want to make our Gods proud, right?"

He nodded, looking at me in the eyes, his own eyes flashing an orange color. "Then let's train hard. I don't know about you, but I want to see the earth again," I spoke, the words Soros said to me repeating over and over in my mind. Keep working hard and you'll be the Elemental to touch the earth again.

Jungkook nodded, hands clenched into fists, a look of sheer determination spread across his features. I flashed a smile, standing up from the ground, seeing the other Elementals look at me, eyes big. They raised their fists into the air, surprising me.

"You can do it! We're rooting for you!" I found myself smiling, nodding, and looking at Jungkook. They were cheering for us, supporting us. He smiled too, beginning to stretch a bit. I did the same, awaiting our second simulation training to begin.

Simulation training is the most dangerous training there is. This training can and might kill us. Whatever we face, we must take seriously. Don't let our guards down, don't give up, and whatever we do, keep fucking fighting. I looked at Jungkook again, seeing him with a smile and stretching out his muscles.

Don't let him die.

Finally, we heard Illume speak again, a small smile on his face. "Work hard, Elementals. Good luck. You have ten minutes." The training room disappeared, a portal opening up. I looked around, spotting Soros for a split second, seeing him flash a smile before Jungkook and I were teleported into an arena of some sort.

I looked around, seeing creatures begin to form one by one. They looked like giant monkeys mixed with ogres, my body tensing up again. This was similar to what I fought in Soros' palace. Not only were there these creatures, but there was water beginning to flood an area behind a large glass.

Oh my god, we're in a glass dome.

"Welcome, Elementals." We heard, our heads shooting up to the sky, looking around for where that voice may have come from. "Your second training consists of ridding of the creatures and also surviving against natural disasters." Oh, fucking shit.

"Every two minutes, a new natural disaster will release from outside of the dome. You have ten minutes to rid of the creatures and survival against the environment. We wish you luck, Elementals." I looked at Jungkook, a giant clock displayed on the wall.

The seconds counted down from a minute, my eyes wide with shock. I pulled Jungkook towards me, hearing him yell. "Hey! What is-" I shut him up, leaning down to whisper into his ear. "We don't have time so I'll make this quick."

"Do not, and I mean do not take this as some game. This training- it's real. Every single ounce of this is real. You will die if you think this is some game." I could feel his body tense up, his hands gripping my shirt. "Take it seriously. We need to fight to stay alive."

"Are you serious?" I nodded, looking around. "These creatures won't be easy to take down. Remember, we have two obstacles. The disasters and the creatures. Two minutes is all we have before a natural disaster releases. Thirty seconds before it releases, start finding a way to make it out alive."

"In the meantime before that, we work together to get rid of these monsters." He nodded, eyes big, and filled with fear. "You're going to have to trust me, Jungkook. We can do this, but we need to work together." He grabbed my hand in his, my breath hitching.

"Tell me what to do, Taehyung."

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One. You have ten minutes! Begin!"

The clock began counting down from ten minutes, the creatures releasing some terrifying roars as water and fire began to dance around them. Oh, these gods are fucking with us. Jungkook visibly gulped, looking at me with wide eyes. I looked around, eyes landing on a few creatures, fire spilling from their mouths.

They're going to shoot fire.

"When I say duck, you duck, got it?" Jungkook nodded, my gaze landing on one creature, his mouth opening, and fire beginning to launch out. "Duck, now!" Jungkook and I ducked down, the fire shooting fight over us and hitting another creature, a scream heard.

Then the creature that was hit with fire was gone, vanishing into thin air, another creature replacing it. I gulped, looking around. They're coming from the walls, something was, like, spawning them in. Find the source.

The source looks like the walls.

"We fight together. Let's take these bastards down." Jungkook nodded, running forward with me, the two of us heading for one monster. Don't rush more than one enemy by yourself. I let an ice spike form in my hand, launching it right through the creature's body, seeing it vanish.

"We alternate. I hit with water or ice and you hit with fire." He nodded, my water magic shooting from my palm and hitting the creature in the face. Jungkook dodged an attack and ran forward, fire dancing from his fingertips, shooting from his palms, and burning the threat.

Then it was gone. I looked up at the time, ten seconds left before the thirty-second mark before the release of the first disaster. I called for Jungkook, the two of us retreating as four creatures ran towards us. I used ice to build a wall, channeling my emotions to make the ice more compact.

Get angry.

Not yet!

I looked around, the water flooding outside the dome, the glass barely able to keep it out. It was beginning to crack, my eyes widening. "It's a tsunami!" I shouted, looking around. I concentrated on my emotions, letting myself grow angry again, my eyes glowing blue. "Don't move."

I slammed my palm down on the ground of the arena, large pillars forming from under Jungkook and I, a small dome of ice forming around us to make sure we didn't fall. I used my ice to push the pillars up, hearing the ten-second mark hit before the release of the disaster. We hit the top of the dome, the compact ice holding us up.

"Don't even think about melting the ice!" I shouted, seeing him shake his head quickly. The glass broke and the water spilled in, flooding the ground and beginning to flood the arena. What I did notice was how the disaster was wiping the creatures out. If we can use this to our advantage, then we can get rid of the spawners.

I looked around, the water towering up towards Jungkook and I. I used my ice to thicken the walls around us, making sure we weren't going to get wiped out. I enclosed us completely in the ice, the water spilling on top of us and around us. The ice kept us safe, but how long would it last?

"The creatures are spawning from somewhere in the walls. That's our main focus. Get rid of them then we can worry about these disasters," I explained, the water beginning to disappear slowly. "Melt my ice," I told him, the fire hitting the ice and turning it into water. We slowly lowered to the ground, water turning the ground wet.

The disasters last thirty seconds.

The creatures began to spawn again, a groan leaving my lips. I looked around, the creatures doubling as the seconds flew by. "Taehyung, what now? We have seven minutes left!" I looked at Jungkook, frowning a bit. "Do you trust me?" He nodded slowly, eyes big. "Then trust me when I say this."

"Reach inside of you, find that spark that pushes you to keep going, and give it fuel. Double your power. You can do it." His eyes widened, darting down to his palms. Fire swirled around them, my eyes closing as I concentrated again. I let everything fade away, my mind concentrating on my ice magic.

If I can turn into ice, then let me!

I opened my eyes to see my right arm turning into ice again, a smile twitching up upon my face. "I believe in you, Jungkook!" Fire sprouted from around his whole body, spiraling around him quickly, encasing him completely. "On my count, shoot your fire at all the creatures. Let it spill out of you and cover the whole arena."

"What about you?!"

"Don't worry about me!" I roared, swinging my arm back while I looked around once more. "Just do it! On my count, okay?" He nodded, eyes glowing red and orange, the flames doubling by the second. "One, two," I swung my right arm back then swinging it forward. "Three!"

I hit the ground with one hard punch, ice coating the arena floor and forming around the creature's feet, preventing them from moving. I glanced at Jungkook, darkness forming around my body, the same feeling I felt earlier in my back returning.

"Now, Jungkook!"

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Simulation training part two has begun. Jungkook and Taehyung are working together to rid of the problem. Which disaster is up next?

Will they succeed in this training?

I purple you 💜

~Pisanthrophobia.