Seonghwa's silence was honed. Hongjoong knew how he looked when he was dead set on something. Though Seonghwa pursed his lips and mulled it over in his mind many times, the answer remained the same.

Their awful suspicion had been right.

Somehow, Hongjoong's current condition was tied to black magic. How and why they had yet to find out.

The only thing keeping Seonghwa from marching straight into the shadows' embrace to demand answers was their duty. Paired with the barricade of the closed mirror portal, thank heavens. There was no holding him back, and Hongjoong wouldn't know what to do with himself if Seonghwa found his end in that god-forsaken place. Whatever curse drove him, mirrors never meant well.

The others didn't know yet. And honestly, Hongjoong preferred to pretend this was a mislead over endangering their lives because of chatters in sleep. As Wooyoung and San flirted in the crow's nest and Mingi helped Jongho to refresh the paint of the railing under the warm sun, Hongjoong valued their harmony too much. Before he didn't know more, he wouldn't disrupt their tentative peace.

Seonghwa and he didn't debate more theories. They were strained to address the topic towards one another, aware their methods would clash. When Yunho came to try his needle treatment on Hongjoong, Seonghwa left the room without comment. Hongjoong joked he might do another tattoo soon as Yunho looked after their Pirate Prince. With a distracted chuckle, Yunho returned to his task.

During the time they sailed back to the Buried Lagoon, Yeosang counted the coins they retrieved from the treasure chest and calculated the worth of its other contents. A statue made of alabaster, various weighty fabrics, and an old artwork of lush forests rich with apple trees. The money would be enough to buy them another docking bay. They could employ their new mates from the island as workers there.

After another three bland days in which Hongjoong wandered the ship slowly and watched by many eyes whenever he insisted on joining them in the dining room, they anchored at the familiar beaches of the Black Bay. In the warm sun, they all wanted to pause and indulge in the turquoise glow of the ocean and its colourful fishes, but Seonghwa excused the pair with a strained smile.

"I will get 'im to Yongguk right away. Let's play once 'e feels better," he offered. With a cheer, Wooyoung splashed into the water, Mingi following close behind. Their squeals rivalled the seagulls.

Yeosang heaved the trunk into his arms only to get freed by the load immediately after by their strong youngest.

"We'll tend to matters in the port. Leave it to us and focus on getting better," the navigator grinned, small teeth bright in his tanned features.

Hongjoong accepted his fate where he stuck to Seonghwa's side.

"'Ave a deadlight on these rascals," he said with a nod at the squealing and playing bunch. Yunho sat in the sand and collected sea shells while his legs adjusted to the still earth. San enjoyed falling over into the water with stretched arms. Dark marks dotted his body underneath his clinging clothes.

"As usual," Yeosang chuckled. He nodded at them to leave first. Since he wasn't as pushy in his care, Hongjoong appreciated the subtle relief in Yeosang's eyes.

Seonghwa's lips formed a grim line, tugging the scarred corners of his mouth taut. When he led Hongjoong between the trees obscuring the bay from the village, his stride was quick.

"We do nay know if me dreams be anythin' to go by. It might still be some other sickness," Hongjoong pointed out, feet less elegant than usual as he tripped over roots and branches, but he blamed it on the land legs. Though Seonghwa caught his every stumble, he didn't have the patience to dawdle and check on Hongjoong each time.

"Yer symptoms match the ones at the wendigo cave. An' the mirror..."

"I 'ave nightmares o' the umbras, precious. If I call in fear o' 'em an' dread the sole mirror in the room, it does nay 'ave to mean anythin'." Hongjoong was begging at this point. Even when his gut seemed to know more than him, and even if it might be the truth.

He didn't want to get caught up with black magic again. And he didn't want to go back to that awful place. Or send anyone else to suffer in his stead.

The cries of colourful birds over their heads contrasted with the pirates' gloom. Seonghwa's boots dug into the sand as he ruthlessly dragged Hongjoong along.

Usually, he enjoyed returning here. Especially now that the island belonged to him, it was supposed to mean peace and home.

Yet he dreaded the sight when the trees lifted to the houses scaling the hill. His haven with Seonghwa didn't get a glance as his lover hauled him to Yongguk's home.

Hongjoong's hope that the warlock already left and was unavailable (as if that would stop Seonghwa) shattered when a deep voice grumbled in response to Seonghwa's aggressive knock. A light female voice asked if she should open the door, but Yongguk did it himself. Though he knew it was them, he'd rather not send Tikki by herself.

"My teas didn't help," Yongguk deducted with a glimpse at their strained, exhausted frames. Seonghwa stressed over Hongjoong's health as well. He lost sleep to both his dread and Hongjoong's nightmares. They barely closed their eyes after the haunting encounter with the mirror.

"What do ye know?" Seonghwa demanded. His cold voice left no room for secrecy, so Yongguk beckoned them in with a sigh. They sat, but Tikki was asked to continue to study by herself.

Yongguk crossed his legs. His calculating eyes studied Hongjoong. The wild of his hair that didn't come from the sea wind, the haunted eyes.

"I'm at a loss. I thought it was odd but blamed it on natural deficits. The way you stormed in here tells me I was wrong. What did you find?"

Seonghwa stared at Hongjoong, daring him to come up with an excuse. Since he didn't want to fight with his precious, the captain kept his eyes lowered and played with his rings.

"Hongjoong fainted durin' a battle," Seonghwa laid their cards open.

Yongguk's eyes twitched down the captain's frame.

"To the depths," he cursed. He was about to stand and offer them aid, but Seonghwa continued.

"'E mentioned gettin' dizzy an' 'eadaches. Then 'e 'ad a nightmare."

Seonghwa described as much of it as they could gather. What Hongjoong had seen, how it correlated to their past and how his sleeping self delivered a cryptic message. Yongguk's features darkened by the minute. After Seonghwa dropped a last comment about how these reminders of the past, he fell quiet.

Hongjoong bit his nails.

"I see," Yongguk muttered after a long pause. He stood, and when he returned, he placed two bottles of rum in front of them. Amused that it wasn't yet another herbal tea, Hongjoong grabbed one. The grave expression on Yongguk's face told him they would need the alcohol. Hongjoong uncorked his bottle without complaining.

By his side, Seonghwa sat straight as a rod. He didn't distract his mind with the tempting drink. Nothing mattered more to him than Hongjoong's well-being.

"You made a good call," Yongguk began with a nod at Seonghwa. "This isn't a light-hearted issue. Though I had hoped we'd have more time." Distressed, he rubbed his forehead. His locks tumbled back down, unkempt as he calculated in his mind how long it had been.

"What ain't ye tellin' us?" Seonghwa pressed. He crossed his arms, obstinate like a rock at a beach.

After another pause, Yongguk looked off to the side. He lost himself in memories of the far past, years back from where they arrived now.

To a time when their shadows still took shape by their sides to haunt them.

"Do you remember Kira? The one blessed by the stars with eternal life?"

Hongjoong nodded. His grip was clammy around the dusty green glass of his bottle.

"Youjin's wife."

Yongguk hummed. She had been much more than that, an eternal being, but that side of things had always concerned only Yongguk. To them, she had been a good friend, though plagued by eternity after she couldn't be with the one she yearned for so long.

"When you died, you became like her. Eternal, undying. Not touched by worldly time as you were shrouded in the magic of a different plane. Not my magic from reviving you, however. His magic. The magic of the shadow realm."

The details were blurry in Hongjoong's memory. He had been so confused to return, by that riddled explanation of how that could be.

The dead didn't return to the living, never. No magic was powerful enough for that. It was only through the combination of Liv's curse and Yongguk's effort that he found a loophole. And even then, Yongguk had apologised.

"Back then, instead of regaining your soul to create something new, I made a mistake. I turned two into one, reviving you through the lingering fortitude of your umbra's life force. I turned you into one like Kira. One cursed to wander the earth for eternity; too powerful to die, yet a magnet for supernatural problems."

The leather of Seonghwa's corset vest creaked when he leaned closer, glued to Yongguk's lips. His mutter was low and self-deprecating, but the pirates tried to follow along.

"I knew this would come. But I closed my eyes from it for as long as I could."

"What be 'appenin'?" And what did it have to do with Hongjoong's death?

"It's calling to you," Yongguk whispered. Hongjoong's blood froze in his veins. "The shadows reap what they sow, always. They aren't benevolent like the stars. Every dust of power comes at a price. A new life and eternity for your humanity. Each day, they drain you more. Madness waits at the end of this road. A human mind cannot comprehend the darkness of the Abyssus. You will survive, but you no longer will be yourself. Humans aren't supposed to best time. Or to return from the dead."

Seonghwa shot up from his bench. Hongjoong was pale around his nose, clinging to his bottle like a lifeline.

"But the umbras died! They no longer have power over us! The curse is over!" Seonghwa raised his voice. Fear stood written across his features, so much worse than anything they anticipated. Their time had been limited, after all. A captivating fantasy of a second life. One that Hongjoong had never been supposed to have. It was precious time, but the outcome was the same.

Hongjoong was dead.

The pirate felt cold all over. The understanding was worse than the sudden and unexpected death back at the Island of Gold. How could he part from Seonghwa slowly, agonisingly? How could he leave them behind again as he became but a shell of himself?

"They did. It's not Liv's curse that did this. It's the new shape he assumed for his return. And my fault," Yongguk ended in a whisper. A distressed hand ran through his curls.

Seonghwa slammed his hands on the table. Tikki startled, looking at him with wide eyes. Frenzy reflected in Seonghwa's eyes. The wood trembled under his force as his voice roared through the room.

"I'm not letting him go. They called for us, no? What can we do? What can we offer them to leave him alone?"

Yongguk hesitantly shook his head.

"There is nothing I know of. It might be a trap; calling for you. They are strong in the Abyssus and if you go there, they might reap everything that is precious to him. All the whispers and promises are a product of his decline."

Numb, Hongjoong stared at his hands.

Hands that weren't his own.

Hands he had no control over.

"There must be something!" Seonghwa begged. "Open the portal for us. We will go and see. They can't defeat us all and if we- If-" His voice broke when he found emptiness in Yongguk's eyes. He wouldn't endanger them for something that was inevitable. His loyalty to Hongjoong meant preserving what he could preserve.

"I won't send you there again. Surviving it once was incredibly lucky," Yongguk whispered.

Tears overflowed from Seonghwa's eyes. He fell back down on the bench, defeated. His sorrow dripped from his chin, unmasked.

Tikki sat in shock, wavering to come closer and soothe him.

Hongjoong held on to his bottle, staring into the void.

It wasn't his place to reach for his husband. To ease his pain.

When all that awaited them in the near future was losing each other all over again.