The sudden light made Wooyoung gasp. He couldn't decide if he wanted to pull San closer to him or if he should move away, so he just stayed where he was and watched...

A beautiful, golden light took over his human's entire body, outlining him perfectly.

Then a gentle hum came from the mermaid in front of him. It was enchanting, sending a rush of tingles across Wooyoung's body.

But... It wasn't just any mermaid.

Wooyoung was in front of the mother of his species. His goddess. The one everyone he knew turned to for guidance.

She was real.

And she was even more glorious than the stories said.

His thoughts were pulled away from that realization when San started to move away from him.

Wooyoung made to grab him, but stopped when he saw it was Mother Atargatis doing it. She was using her magic to guide San to the red moss beneath them, where she set him down and snapped her fingers.

The moss started to move, creeping up his fingers, over his arms, and slowly proceeded to cover his entire body.

With a small whine, Wooyoung darted forward and sank to the pyramid floor with his tail curled beneath him. "Sannie!"

"Fret naught, dear one." Water and bubbles swirled around him as Mother Atargatis settled down next to him. She gracefully curled her tail next to her and leaned against the wall. "You should rest. I can feel how exhausted you are."

"I-" Wooyoung looked between her and where San was, stumbling over his words. "I don't... How-"

His Goddess laughed, a sound filled with joy and magic, as she brushed her hair over her shoulder. "I'll make you a deal. Lay down, settle in, and I'll talk."

With a small nod, Wooyoung lowered himself to the mossy bed, his tail still bent and his hands pressed together under his cheek.

The moss was so soft, cradling his body and already beckoning him to fall asleep in its comforting embrace.

"Don't worry about speaking. I know all that is in your mind." Mother Atargatis' voice flowed over him, like the sweetest lullaby or a scent that reminded him of home. It was perfect in every way and it was a sound he never wanted to forget.

His eyes stayed focused on the mound of moss in front of him, and he had to use all his focus to not think about what it looked like...

But that thought was gone once Mother Atargatis started to speak.

"I know this entire place is a lot for you to take in, that seeing me feels impossible. That's how I want it. I've spent thousands of years exploring the oceans of the world and this... this is where I feel most comfortable now. If you hadn't noticed," She chuckled softly to herself, "I am a little bigger than you, and it's hard for me to hide from prying eyes. Both human and merfolk."

Wooyoung tilted his head so he could gaze up at her and bit his lip when he noticed how sad she looked.

"I'm alright." His Goddess flashed a kind smile. "I get fulfillment by watching the world through their eyes." She motioned to the fish swimming lazily around them. "I do what I can to watch over everything, while staying hidden. It wouldn't be good if others started to know about me, so I would appreciate it if you kept this a secret."

She paused for a second, then smiled again at Wooyoung's silent agreement. It was starting to get harder for him to keep his eyes open.

"This place has plenty of magic protecting it, which is why no one has discovered it. But you, sweet Wooyoung... The pleas in your heart touched my own in a way I haven't felt in a long time. That's why I decided to guide you here. You remind me a lot of myself when I was... much, much younger." Mother Atargatis laughed again and sighed. "You want so much more out of your life. Your curiosity is so fun and refreshing, and I've enjoyed watching you grow. Both as a merman, and a human."

Wooyoung yawned and wiggled in place. Her melodious voice continued on, soothing him, as if she were trying to place him under a spell.

He could feel how drained his body was. All the healing and use of magic had taken its toll on him. No matter how much he wanted to keep listening to his Goddess, his body won, and he was slowly pulled into unconsciousness.

.

.

.

.

"Hang on." Mingi grunted as he readjusted his grip around Yunho. He used all his strength to continue swimming toward the surface as fast as he could while keeping a weak shield in place behind them.

Yunho just groaned in response, his head bent forward and his body limp with blood trailing behind them...

When Wooyoung had darted off, they were both distracted just long enough for the tiger shark to shoot past Mingi, mad with hunger.

It was Yunho who reacted first and tried to stop it...

And his left arm ended up getting torn to shreds in the process.

Mingi's fear and anger had taken over instantly, and a long line of magic arched away from him, slicing through the shark.

Now he was trying to get Yunho back to the surface. His magic needed time to recharge if he was going to use it to heal Yunho... and the surface was the safest place.

Even though he knew it was taking him further away from Wooyoung.

He hated leaving his friend behind, especially with... San...

Dead... San was dead... and he knew Wooyoung was never going to be the same.

What were they going to do now?

Mingi knew he'd have to figure that out later. Right now he needed to focus on protecting Yunho.

They reached the beach a few minutes later, thankfully without encountering any other sharks. Once they hit shallow water, Mingi forced himself to shift so that he could drag his mate onto the beach. He stopped where the waves would still keep Yunho's tail wet, but far enough away that they were protected from any other predators.

"Yunho, are you alright?" The prince asked, leaning over Yunho and looking for any other injuries.

He just got another groan in response.

They needed help... Mingi glanced up at the cliff they had jumped from. Smoke was billowing up from where the human machines had collided. Had that always been there??

He shook his head and thrust his hand toward the sky, sending a shower of sparks up in the air. He prayed one of the humans he knew would notice and come to investigate and not a stranger. That would cause too many problems that he didn't have the mental capacity or magic to deal with right now.

"Min..." Yunho's raspy voice called to him and Mingi quickly leaned over him to cup his cheek.

"I'm here. We are back on the beach. You're safe now."

He watched his mate's eyelids flutter weakly, the sight making his stomach twist in horrible knots.

"Woo..."

Mingi sighed and shook his head. "Wooyoung is on his own now. I won't leave you."

For a moment, it looked like Yunho was going to try and argue with him. But then Mingi remembered what Wooyoung had shared with them in the back of the human machine... a truck? He couldn't think of the name but that didn't matter.

What did was the man laying in front of him right now, and the emotion Wooyoung had stressed so much when sharing memories with them.

"I love you, Yunho." Mingi whispered while pressing their foreheads together.

His guard whimpered in response and nodded weakly. "Me-" He started to say, but then a horrible cough made his entire body shake.

He was loosing too much blood.

Mingi knew it was foolish, but he called on his magic yet again and started to move his hands back and forth over Yunho's arm. He was trying to keep it as simple as possible while still doing enough to make sure Yunho was going to be at a stable place.

The blood slowed and soon he could watch Yunho's skin gradually stitch together. It happened at the same rate he started to tire, water appearing on his forehead and rolling over his skin. His breathing also grew labored.

But he couldn't stop... wouldn't stop... until he was confident that Yunho would be alright.

"Mingi!!"

The prince's head snapped up to see Hongjoong running toward them at top speed, with Jongho some way behind him supporting most of Yeosang's weight.

He was distracted enough, and weak enough, that his magic stopped. But he was so relieved to see the three of them.

Hongjoong didn't stop until he could fall to his knees on the other side of Yunho's body. His eyes were wide with concern and he leaned over Yunho to cup Mingi's cheek. "You need to stop. You're draining yourself too fast."

Mingi blinked a couple of times, then nodded.

The human was absolutely right.

"What happened?" Hongjoong asked, now looking down at Yunho. "What happened?!" He asked again after seeing the merman's arm.

Before Mingi could answer, Hongjoong was pulling his shirt over his head and ripping it into long strips, a couple of which he used to tie tightly around Yunho's arm just under his shoulder. The few wounds that were still bleeding soon slowed to barely anything while Hongjoong tried to clean some of the blood up.

"There was a shark. We... He swam in front of it to defend Wooyoung..." The memory flashed across his eyes and his head dropped.

He'd failed...

Silence stretched between them until Jongho and Yeosang arrived. "Where are Wooyoung and San?" The younger human grunted as he helped Yeosang to sit on a nearby rock instead of lowering him all the way to the ground.

From their short time together, Mingi had seen how close Yeosang and San were. How... How was he supposed to tell them?

He could feel their eyes on him, waiting, needing to know what happened.

Then Yunho reached his good arm across his chest to grab one of his hands, which were still hovering in the air. It was a touch that was meant to show support and comfort, a touch to tell Mingi that he was in pain too.

"I don't know." Mingi answered, unable to lift his head enough to look at anyone besides Yunho.

Yeosang groaned, his low voice full of pain from whatever injuries he has sustained back on the cliff. But that didn't stop him from asking, "What do you mean? You jumped after them. Where are they?"

"I don't know." Mingi said again, but softer this time. "Wooyoung just took off with San. I don't know why, I don't know where... I don't know what he expects to happen because... San is... He... He's gone..."

"No." Yeosang gasped. "No, please! Please tell me this is a lie!"

"Sangie, you need to-" Jongho started to say.

"NO! This has to be a joke right?!" Yeosang's voice grew more strained and higher in pitch, causing Mingi to finally look up.

The human's eyes were glistening with tears, already leaving streaks on his face, mingling with the blood from some wound on his head. The right side of his body was also very cut up, but it didn't look to be too severe, or Jongho had managed to get any bleeding to stop at least.

Yet utter anguish and defeat carved itself into every part of his body, worse than any of the wounds he'd obtained.

Jongho pulled him close, comforting him as best he could while he forced himself past his own tears.

Then Yeosang yelled, a cry of pain and shattered hearts, tilting his head back and his voice cracked. "SAAAAN!"

The softest touch grazed Wooyoung's cheek and he brushed it away, angry it was pulling him away from his slumber.

He'd been dreaming of San, of their time on the beach together the first couple of weeks they'd met. They were some of his happiest memories and he'd give anything to go back there and do it all again.

Another touch, a little harder this time, made Wooyoung whine and roll onto his other side.

He wanted to go back. Please... Just let him dream for a little longer...

A gentle chuckle reached his ears, sounding so familiar and so comforting, but also so far away, yet close at the same time.

This was it. He was about to fall asleep again, and he welcomed it with open arms.

Fingers brushed gently against his hair.

Wooyoung whined again, his forehead scrunching with frustration. His thoughts drifted to Mother Atargatis. Did she have something to tell him? He should probably see what she wanted...

With a sigh, he slowly opened his eyes. He had to blink a couple of times before his vision cleared enough for him to see clearly.

Mother Atargatis wasn't there...

Wooyoung sat up and couldn't help but examine the room, as if his mind couldn't fully remember that she was four times his size. Where did she go?

Maybe she had decided to give him some time alone...

Now that he was awake, the events of the previous day came crashing back into him and his shoulders immediately fell. The hole in his chest made itself present again, a hole he knew would never, ever be filled.

How was he supposed to move on? How was he supposed to be... him again?

His heart ached, filled with wishes of being able to see San one more time, to touch him, to hear his voice... just one more time...

A hand touched his shoulder.

Fire shot through his entire body.

He turned.

His world stopped once more.