★ To see your eyes ★

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- Simulation training -

Taehyung's POV

"You know Smoldris better than anyone, Jeon. You know his power because his power is yours too." Jungkook's eyes widened, the two of us running through the fake city, buildings collapsing and burning all around us. "So, reach into your power and stop the fire from spreading."

He nodded, our eyes widening when a building came tumbling down, fire continuing to spread. "Now, Jeon!" I shouted, raising my palm into the air, acting on instinct. Come on, water, let's stop this fire. Water shot out of my palm, extinguishing the flames from a building nearby.

I continued spraying water onto the buildings, the fire slowly dying down, the screams we heard beginning to vanish. I glanced at Jungkook, seeing him with his arms outstretched, palms aimed at the fire. Except he wasn't adding to it, he was somehow sucking up the fire.

He managed to stop the fire by pulling it into him. I snickered, hearing something snap, my eyes flickering over to a tall building beginning to fall. What we're doing isn't enough. Come on, Taehyung.

You have more than one power!

Use them!

I bent down, slamming my left hand onto the ground, ice seeping from my palm and fingertips. It traveled over the pavement in seconds, forming large pillars and wrapping around the building. I was surprised, the ice working to sit the building upright again, forming beams to support it.

Double the power!

Use darkness!

My mind was racing, the time was counting down. "Two minutes!" I glanced at Jungkook, seeing him working just as hard, his features contorted into ones of concentration. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes then snapping them open, increasing the power seeping from my palms.

The water was shooting out of my hand at a fast rate, hitting the buildings and cars, the fire dying down a lot quicker. From behind me, I heard Jungkook yell, my mind having absolutely no time to process what was happening.

"Taehyung!" He shouted, panic laced in his voice. I looked back, a seven-story building beginning fall right where I was standing. I had no time to process anything before my darkness magic seeped out, tendrils as black as Soros' forming from the ground and latching onto the building.

"You live with such passion, such purpose that the magic we pour inside of you just connects with you."

I smiled, glancing down at my arm, seeing the dark black tattoo glow slightly then darken. "I won't let you down, Soros," I whispered, glancing around, seeing the fire begin to disappear, a few buildings still on fire. "Jeon! Let's end this!" I roared, seeing him nod, running with me down the street.

"We're a team for a reason," I stated, hearing Illume shout the time. We had one minute before this thing was over. "We work together." He nodded, extending his hand while we ran through the street, my own hand taking his. I shot water from my palm while he sucked up all the fire, his eyes glowing a light red.

Smoke filled the air, ashes raining down on the city. We worked hard, getting rid of the fire, the time continuing to count down. I used my ice and darkness magic to sit the buildings upright again, water dancing around my feet, spreading across the hot pavement to cool it down.

"Ten seconds!" Jungkook took care of the last bit of fire, the two of us working to fix this city, doing the best we could to prevent it from turning into a pile of rubble. "Five seconds!" I looked at Jungkook, our magic coming to a stop, a smile stretching up upon my features. "Three, two, one!"

"Time is up! Congratulations Jeon Jungkook and Kim Taehyung, you've successfully completed your training!" The city vanished from our line of sight, the room turning back into the training room, my smile still remaining upon my features. Jungkook laughed, running a hand through his hair.

He looked tired.

He ran towards me, arms wrapping around me before either of us could process what was happening. I didn't even think, I just wrapped my arms around him too, hugging him just as tight as he was hugging me.

"We did it," He breathed out, laughing a little while I laughed too. "We did it." The gods began to clap, the sound making us pull apart like we had been electrocuted, eyes wide. Glacius, Drift, and Smoldris walked towards us, smiles on their faces.

"Taehyung, we are more than proud of you." I found myself smiling, eyes shining while I looked up at my two gods, seeing them smile just as wide. "Jungkook, I am more than proud of you too. You've done well, young man." Jungkook was beaming, eyes big and bright, a huge smile stretched upon his features.

He looked so happy, so content with himself.

My heart was racing just looking at him.

"Acting under pressure isn't always the easiest thing to do, and often times, it's a lot easier to just cave in," Smoldris spoke, eyes shifting from Jungkook to me. "Yet today, you've shown us that acting under pressure is something you can manage. Given five minutes to save an entire city should be nearby impossible."

"And you managed to do it."

I smiled, looking at Jungkook. "You two have tackled the problem and succeeded. You worked together, which was the whole point of our training. You didn't split up and do your own things, you two worked together to extinguish the flames one location at a time." Glacius and Drift nodded, looking at the two of us.

"Despite the collapsing buildings, screams, and the intense heat of the flames, you two didn't cower nor cave. You stayed strong and focused on the task at hand, which is what we expect from our Elementals." Jungkook flashed a smile, one that made him look like a bunny.

"Continue working hard, Elementals. We're counting on you."

We high fived, smirking at one another. "Sit back and relax for a while, regain your energy. Your next training begins in an hour." I raised my eyebrows, looking at Jungkook who sighed softly, closing his tired eyes. Oh shit, I forgot that my magic doesn't run out.

No wonder why he's exhausted.

I sat on the ground, back pressed against the wall, sitting a good five feet away from Jungkook. I looked around, seeing the gods focus on a monitor mounted on the wall, a burning city seen on the monitor. It was another training session with Jimin, Hoseok, and Yoongi.

Yet they weren't just putting out the flames, they were rescuing people. I glanced at Jungkook again, seeing him slump against the wall, running a hand through his hair again. "Tired?" I asked him, seeing his eyes flicker towards me. "What do you think?"

"Well, to me, you seem pretty fucking dandy." I shrugged, smirking. "But figured I'd ask anyway." He snickered, glancing down at his hands. "I'm pretty fucking exhausted." I hummed, playing with my ice magic again. "How are you not even tired?"

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently, batting my eyelashes while he rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up, Kim. You used so much magic, yet you don't even look like you're tired. How?" I smirked, shrugging. "Maybe I'm just stronger than you, bunny. Has that ever crossed your mind?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah right. I could have saved that city all by myself. I didn't need your help." I cocked an eyebrow, continuing to smirk. "Yeah? I saved how many buildings from turning into a pile of rubble, while you saved how many?"

He glared at me, flipping me off. "Go fuck yourself." I laughed, tilting my head to the side. "That's my line!" He punched my shoulder, pushing himself forward a bit, laying flat on the floor. "Wake me up when our next training session is going to begin."

I rolled my eyes but nodded, continuing to look around the training room. My eyes landed on a patch of darkness at the very end of the training room, away from everything else. I hummed, squinting my eyes and leaning forward.

Suddenly, Soros appeared from the darkness, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. My eyes widened, eyebrows shooting up in shock. I pushed myself off the ground, jogging over to him, his eyes flickering up to meet mine.

"Hey, Kim. Saw your training session." I flashed a smile, standing beside Soros, back pressed up against the wall. "How did I do?" He looked at me, his lips forming a perfect line. "Average." I gasped, shooting some water onto his face. "Rude!"

"You didn't let me finish." I rolled my eyes, nodding, staying quiet while I waited for him to continue. "You did average for an Infinite, but you did excellent for it being your first time." I found myself smiling, glancing up at him.

"Guess you weren't lying when you said my dark magic protected you," He spoke suddenly, a hum leaving past my lips. "I don't lie." He laughed, the deep chuckle making me grin. "I suppose not. I saw what those tendrils did."

"Would I have died if they didn't stop the building?" Soros met my gaze, moving his head up and down. "Simulation training is the most dangerous training here," He spoke, his voice has a different tone than before. "It's dangerous for several reasons."

"For one, everything around you, whether that be sight or sound, seems extremely real." My eyebrows shot up, eyes finding the monitor mounted on the wall. "That's because it is real. Every sound, every sight, it was real." I gulped, looking at Soros, slight fear flashing through my eyes.

"They throw you into the simulation hoping that you'll see it as something more than just fake. It's part of your beginning training for a reason. The gods act nice, trust me, but their intentions scream torturous." I froze, Soros' dark eyes finally meeting mine.

"It's a test, not of strength or power, but of knowledge. They're throwing you in there to see how smart you are. You either act like it's real and fight like hell to get out alive, or believe it's fake and face the consequences." He sighed, glancing at the gods then back at me. "In this case, if you didn't take it seriously,"

"The consequence was death."

"That's absurd! Are they really trying to kill us?" He looked at me, frowning a bit. "We can't talk here. Let's go to my palace." I couldn't even reply to his statement, both Soros and I being transported to his palace, the darkness swirling around both of us.

"It isn't their goal to kill you, not necessarily. They're trying to figure out who's strong enough, smart enough, and powerful enough to stay." I gulped again, looking around. "They sent you into this training not to help your strength, but to see if you have what it takes to make it as an Elemental."

"Because like it or not, what you experienced was the easiest thing you'll have to face in the upcoming future." I wanted to faint, the information making my mind race and my vision blur. Oh my god, they're going to kill me.

"Look, I only tell the truth." He shrugged, looking at me. His actions showed he didn't care, but the look on his face and the glint in his eyes seemed to prove otherwise. I saw the worry and the fear that flashed through them. "I know. I believe you."

"I can't tell you what to do, or how to do it, I can only offer my advice." I nodded, walking towards him. "Please, tell me anything that can help me." He sighed, looking around the palace then kneeling down. "Take training seriously, Taehyung. Whatever you do, always aim to get better."

"Don't get comfortable. Fight hard. Don't get cocky." I nodded, meeting his eyes, the seriousness is seen within them. "Don't give up. Don't think it's easy. Give it your all. Impress the gods, because if you don't, your life here will be hanging from a thread."

I ran a hand through my hair, looking at Soros. "How do you know this? How do you what'll happen? Please, Soros, tell me." He sighed once more, standing up and staring at me, his eyes flashing with sadness. Oh no.

"Because you seven haven't been the only humans picked as Elementals."

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The truth is slowly but surely being set free. These seven have to fight for their lives or they may very well lose them.

Yes, this is Taekook, but I want this story to be more than just them falling in love. I want it to actually be a story, have some twists, and a good plot without just focusing solely on Taekook.

Yes, they'll more than likely end up with one another in the end, but I'm not going to focus all of this book's attention on their relationship all the time. (:

I purple you 💜

~Pisanthrophobia.