Seonghwa considered going to the lighthouse.

Seonghwa awoke on a beach of black sand. As he lifted his head groggily, some grains stubbornly stuck to his cheek and hair. The rushing of shallow waves nearby reached his ears. It brushed his eardrums and the back of his mind to clear his befuddled thoughts. Lost, he looked around.

Where was he?

Directly beneath his head, a large palm leaf that must have served as his pillow and several bamboo stalks greeted him. Their vivid green colours stood out behind the dull background. Anything else was just black sand and a shell he collected as far as the eye could reach. Had Seonghwa come with that old and rusty hooker nearby? It looked too ancient to be part of his life. The metal had shrivelled and flared with the years it had spent in the water. Maritime vegetation had taken the object over to claim it as theirs.

As Seonghwa gazed upon his hands, he found dirt underneath his fingernails. Earth, less so than the dark sand. Maybe he came from that nearby forest. He must have dug around there for something.

Scars covered his arms, but most of them had healed well. One had clearly had a bad time making it through the recovery and left an ugly scar. Seonghwa tried not to pick on it. They seemed to have been made by a dull object, like a nail or screws. Had he scraped along of metal?

When Seonghwa sat up, his hair fell into his face to hang in front of his eyes. Algae and sand were stuck in it, and as he pushed it back, it tumbled into his neck. Ticklish, it bothered his skin. A faint beard covered his chin. With dirty nails, he rubbed over the wispy hairs. He usually never wore them long, so the change of sensations distracted him.

Was there something he was forgetting? He felt as if he had wanted to remember something before falling asleep. It escaped his grasp like a falling leaf in the air.

Seonghwa had always been bad at remembering.

The ocean was loud today. The waves crashed against the rocks agitated as if wanting to convey a message. Seonghwa didn't want to stick around until they pushed something else ashore. Who knew what the ocean offered. How it defended itself against curious onlookers.

Before he left, he left the shell in his hand with a few others nearby. The collecting spot appeared man-made to his eyes. Maybe he would find someone else on this island. He believed to have stranded together with his grandfather. Surely, he must be around either here or on another island nearby.

Not as if Seonghwa could spy anything else but the wall of thick fog that rolled over the ocean.

In the distance, a lighthouse grew from the ground to reach for the grey skies. He would reach it around noon, it didn't look too far. As a first attempt, it might be wise to go there.

"How did I know of that lighthouse?" Seonghwa murmured to himself. It was the first thought that had crossed him upon waking up on a foreign beach. Shouldn't his worries differ? Shouldn't his thoughts centre on his crash, the circumstances, and his grandfather who was possibly hurt out here?

He's there.

Seonghwa wasn't too startled at the voice that replied in his mind. Initially, he presumed it to be just a fact he had forgotten and recalled at that moment. Then, he hesitated.

"Who?"

The one you seek.

Befuddled, Seonghwa pushed his hands into his pockets to walk along the ocean line. No matter how eerily familiar his voyage felt for him, the lighthouse undoubtedly was his best shot at finding help. If another person was there, all the better. Even though he couldn't fathom who it was that he sought. His grandfather? How would the voice inside his head know that he was there?

Foreign voices inside his own head meant madness, he had learnt that from the poor madman who lived in the outskirts of their village. He should concentrate and not listen to it.

For a few minutes, Seonghwa just let his thoughts wander. His apathy towards being lost startled him, but he blamed it on the shock of stranding here. He much preferred his indifference to panic and desperate searching for nothing in the void. And a void, it was. Not as black as one would imagine it, but just as still and lifeless.

At the beach, he soon found a message in a bottle. It was sealed tightly, but he twisted the cork off with some difficulties. Then, he smoothed out the paper and tried not to get any crumbs on it as he read. The letters were written hastily as if the person putting them on paper had taken no more than a few seconds to finish them.

I can barely describe what I have witnessed today. That old fool, San, suddenly went insane. He started stuffing his mouth with rocks, and kept doing so until his cheeks were completely torn! We had to tie him down. If you are reading this send help! There's definitely something wrong with this guy.

Seonghwa hissed through his teeth. That sounded painful. He was glad that to him, those rocks looked fairly unattractive. What could have happened here for a man to lose his mind this way? Especially when he had companions with him?

Of course, the craze of the sea was nothing unheard of. Old sailors with frenzied paranoia and hysteria that returned one day from their journeys to try to murder their wife and children were not unheard of. The police officers on Seonghwa's home island told the wildest stories when night fell and they retreated into the bars.

Had this person been here for that long?

Seonghwa corked the bottle back up and threw it into the ocean. The item felt cursed in his hand and seemed to weigh on his shoulder like a dark sticky film even when he had gotten rid of it. Uncomfortable, he looked around. The beach remained blissfully empty aside from him.

He doubted that any help he could offer would still come on time for this San person. Still, he kept his eyes open in case he would find someone who needed his aid.

When he met a path leading up to the far forest in the distance, Seonghwa ignored it at first. Instead, he curiously neared the ribcage of another ship he spotted nearby. It had been stripped of anything but its wooden bows, and it looked vaguely familiar to him. Wasn't this a ship built in the port near his hometown? What was it doing here?

As he neared, all doubts diminished. The 'Small Whale.' He recognised this boat. An artist made it to represent their greatest catch. How did it end up here? This was meant to be completed by the end of December, it was still September...

Given that it had already crashed, it must have set out a while ago, too. Did he mix them up? Time could have impossibly passed that fast. Even with his beard growth, Seonghwa doubted that he would have survived months in a coma laying at a cold beach.

The man who had caught that whale had long since retired from his job. Despite his fear of this island, he would often come here fishing for some very colourful fish. Seonghwa remembered finding himself quite disturbed as he watched him stuff his mouth with their raw meat.

Slowly, Seonghwa stepped into the partly submerged skeleton of the boat. It laid mostly on the sand and rocks and thus held his weight. The wooden bars groaned and creaked under his weight. He found a flattened stone on the ground, showing an octopus scratched into it as an intricate detail on one side. After staring at it for a while, he set it down to stay right where he had discovered it.

Oddly enough, it was warm.

Back on the beach, another wave of familiarity hit Seonghwa. This place felt like it was always a part of him as if it had taken hold of him and won't let go. Another foot in the sand but this time he sank deeper beneath the shore.

The shore... Everything began and ended here.

Seonghwa found a gravesite with five candles lit around the skeletal remains of an arm. No doubt, one of the friends of this San person mentioned earlier. The group must have fallen apart and sunken in the crazies. The foreign writings on the cliff carried an aura so evil and sinister that Seonghwa didn't dare stick around to read them.

On his way up the hill, he discovered two seagulls crashed on the ground. Both birds still weakly flapped their wings as they were too weak to rise from their places. Yet their beaks pulled on each other's flesh as they ripped it off in strips to devour it. Undoubtedly, both would die soon. Neither minded the pain. Their voices were quiet and dulled as they snapped at each other with gradually weakening movements.

Even the birds on this island were insane.

To flee from the unsteady ocean and the cruel imagery, Seonghwa made his way over to the lighthouse hastily. The entrance was unlocked, and he didn't hesitate to go in and leave the cursed beach alone. When the door fell shut behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Security and a sense of home embraced him like the hug of a loving mother. He knew he would find solace in this place. Something to keep him grounded.

The lighthouse was the only safe place on this island. He didn't know how or why, but he was convinced of it.

When he heard water splashing upstairs, Seonghwa nearly jumped out of his skin. He wasn't ready for yet another round of the ever-present liquid. He felt seasick without even being out near the ocean. Maybe they should search for a place further land inward. Another safe place. Another lighthouse.

"Who are they?"

No answer came to his grumble. So instead of sticking around, he scaled the stairs to check out the upper floor. He passed curious nautical items and fishing nets on his way.

From all the things he expected, a young man in a wooden tub as he scrubbed his arms with a cloth was not an option. And yet, here he was. He hummed a melody under his breath to keep himself busy, and the room smelled of clean soap.

Seonghwa awkwardly cleared his throat as he kept his eyes from travelling down the curve of the man's shoulder. Startled, the other whipped around to him and they stared at each other for a few long, embarrassing moments. Then, the boy in the tub spoke first. Surprise laced his gentle voice.

"Oh. You're here already."

When the words settled before Seonghwa could reply, he snapped his mouth back shut. Then, he curiously inclined his head.

"You knew I was coming?"

For a moment, the other man looked just as confused as him. Then, he nodded his chin towards the window. It pointed out at the shore and the burial site that Seonghwa had passed not too long ago. It looked weirdly different from this angle. As if the rocks laid differently than minutes before.

"I saw you wandering, yes."

"Ah, of course, you did."

Odd silence spread between them. The weird feeling that Seonghwa knew this guy didn't leave him. Much rather it pulsated stronger than ever. The little mole on the side of his neck screamed a message at Seonghwa but he couldn't decipher it.

"What's your name?"

"Hongjoong."

Hongjoong. A pretty name for a man. Seonghwa had multiple friends with doubling names, but he had never known a Hongjoong before.

"I'm Seonghwa," he introduced himself quietly. The smile that spread on Hongjoong's lips was worth every odd second. Seonghwa liked that smile.

He relaxed finally.

"You look rough. Do you want to take a bath with me? I have a knife you could shave with." Hongjoong lifted his hand to let water drip from it. Some steam rose from it to play around his wet hair and Seonghwa didn't doubt that it felt like heaven.

"Why not?" He pulled his shirt over his head to let it drop to the floor. The chilly air of the lighthouse played with his skin and made goosebumps erupt all over his body.

Once Seonghwa had stepped out of his clothes, Hongjoong shuffled to the side to make some space for him. As Seonghwa slid into the warm bath, a blissful sigh escaped his lips. The fresh warm water peeled all tension and dirt right off him.

"This is the first pleasant thing in hours," he murmured dreamily. Hongjoong chuckled in understanding. He adjusted to sit comfortably and stretched out his legs as far as possible next to Seonghwa. The added body in the water had made it shift so that it now tickled Hongjoong's elegant collarbones.

"Yeah, the island can be rough. I at least am lucky to have found this place and have a roof above my head. You can stay here if you want."

For just a moment, Seonghwa regarded him warily. Hongjoong was a stranger, even if they sat in the tub together.

Ultimately, he decided it wasn't worth the hassle. Where else would he go if not here? He had seen no village or house nearby and the tower had a bed and walls that protected them from the wind. Seonghwa could be glad that Hongjoong was welcoming to strangers. If his grandfather spotted this place, he would probably join them here, too.

"So, how long have you been here? Have you found a way home or any signal from outside?" Seonghwa rose his hands to wet his long hair. Lifeless, it stuck to his nape.

"Not yet, no. I read those books in the... Two weeks? That I spend here. They say that a group of fishermen had attempted to build a ship down in one of the caves at the cliffs. Where the flood wouldn't rip it apart right away. I haven't checked it out yet, but maybe if we carry some more materials over, we will be able to escape."

That was the best news ever since Seonghwa woke up. So there was hope, and as mad as those before them had turned here, they at least made sure that no one else would suffer the same agony. Yet, the distant roaring of the oceans reminded Seonghwa of the little might two humans had against the elements.

"The oceans are wild today. I hope we will manage."

Hongjoong handed Seonghwa the soap to wash his hair with. He rubbed the fragrant bubbles into his skin and scalp.

"Yeah, but at least we are two now. Better than one." Hongjoong leaned back in the tub to slacken his body. As he rested his eyes, Seonghwa allowed his gaze to travel down the man's chest and stomach. Hongjoong was free of any scars and pretty. Prettier than most boys who worked near the ocean.

Seonghwa liked what he saw.

"I agree."

The desk full of books and other island related items wasn't far. Hongjoong had no troubles reaching over and retrieving a knife for Seonghwa to use. For a while, they just basked in the warm water that turned Seonghwa's bones into jelly as he cleaned up his face. The dark fuzz of his face soon swam idly on the surface of the water. Once he was done, Hongjoong gave him a thumbs up.

They decided against cutting Seonghwa's hair out of paranoia to leave such a large piece of him behind. Instead, they tied it together with a band Hongjoong found lying around. Then, they sat in the water for as long as possible until its heat wore off.

Seonghwa rested his head on the tub and kept his eyes closed as he relished in the minutes of peace. Hongjoong's voice in his ears was like a soothing melody. A siren's song in the sea.

"Pardon me if this is odd to say, but you have really beautiful legs."

Chuckling, Seonghwa didn't bother to open his eyes. He trusted Hongjoong.

"You can touch them if you want," he offered quietly. Then, he shuddered at the gentle touch to his calf. For a moment, Hongjoong trailed his fingers over the smooth skin and relished in the sheer length of Seonghwa's legs. When he had gotten a feel of it, he wrapped his hand under Seonghwa's knee to guide it around him so that they framed both of his sides. Then, he trailed his fingertips along Seonghwa's skin once more. Like a brush of a feather upon his flesh, Seonghwa instinctively leaned into the caresses. His legs were sensitive, they had always been. And Hongjoong made use of that as he pressed his fingers into Seonghwa's thighs.

Seonghwa sighed at the careful massage that so sweetly brushed his special spots. The moment that Hongjoong stretched out his foot to press it against Seonghwa's exposed crotch, Seonghwa opened his eyes again. They exchanged a heavy-lidded gaze that posed both a question and a challenge. Ultimately, Seonghwa's hand came down to press the heel of Hongjoong's foot harder against his middle, enjoying the touch. Hongjoong's soles reacted and his foot twitched adorably in Seonghwa's hold before it ground down against him once more.

Hongjoong's lips looked inviting in the dim light inside the shadowy tower. And he didn't complain when Seonghwa reached out for him to pull him into his lap.

They lost themselves with time as pleasure took them over. Hongjoong's body was willing and open for Seonghwa and their arousal wouldn't simmer down for a while. Sometime during the middle, Hongjoong breathed a complaint about the cold water against Seonghwa's lips, so he moved the two of them over to the bed. Hongjoong fell apart beneath him and his sweet sounds resonated in Seonghwa's ears even after.

By the time they set out to the caves more hours than planned must have passed. Yet, neither of them minded as they got dressed and took a few tools with them to make sure they were equipped. Seonghwa made sure to write a message for a bottle himself to send out. He hoped they would be gone from this place before anybody would find it and search for them, but he wanted to make sure that they had a possibility to leave.

To anybody who finds this bottle.
We have been stranded. I have yet to find out where this island is, but I have high hopes of leaving it soon.
In case you still want to search for us, I would be thankful. We'll need food and water once we leave this place and any help is supported.
Maybe avoid trying to come near the island with boats, though. It's fickle to approach and even harder to leave.
I will expect to be back and tell a tale about this place soon.
Park Seonghwa.

As he corked up the bottle, Seonghwa searched the place for Hongjoong. The man stood on the stairs leading up to the third floor. A frown marred his features as he stared at something above him helplessly. He had found some fresh clothes in the only closet in here. They hung too big on his frame, but he made do with a belt.

"What's wrong?"

In the first moment, Hongjoong wanted to wave it off, but he talked upon Seonghwa's curious gaze.

"There a bird's nest stuck in the roof. I want to get it out of there but I can't reach."

Seonghwa set the bottle down on the desk to come over. Indeed, a mess of twigs and grasses clogged up the entry of one of the windows. The seagull that nested there clearly enjoyed the bits of warmth from underneath.

"I saw a ladder downstairs, I'll get it."

"That's not necessary, we can just-"

With a pat on Hongjoong's shoulder, Seonghwa turned to take care of the matter. With swift steps, he got the ladder and came back up. However, when he arrived, Hongjoong stood with the nest held inside his hands. Both of them stared at it confusedly.

"It fell. Must have been the wind." Helpless, Hongjoong shrugged it off. He set the nest down on the platform upstairs for the bird to return to if needed. Then, he closed the bit of the window that had been stuck around the nest fully using a pole. Once that was done, they left and locked the door to the lighthouse behind them.

Together, they threw Seonghwa's bottle into the sea before they made their way around the tall building they called home for the time being. Beyond the tall white tower, another place for fishing had once structured the beach nicely. With time and the incoming waves, the wooden beams holding up the ropes had splintered, and the nets were ripped. They wouldn't be able to find anything here.

As they walked towards the cave that Hongjoong's notebook described, they stumbled upon few more odd items in the sand. A lot of shells, but also broken clay pots and scattered bones. Ashen as if a fire had consumed them, the black sand made for a loose grave.

Silence wrapped around both of them as they passed sunken boats, scriptures on the stones and messages in bottles that dotted the sand like apples a tree. Seonghwa didn't dare to halt for every one to read them, and the sheer number of bottles also sunk his hopes that they actually found their way off. They returned here as if the wind was unwilling to let them go.

The wet sand crunched underneath their shoes as they climbed over a few boulders to access the entry to the caves. Wet and slippery, black stone walls wrapped around them and took all light of day away. Hongjoong lit up the oil lamp that he had brought as they made their way through the darkness. As Seonghwa wandered behind Hongjoong, he gnawed on his fingernails. He couldn't help the feeling of doom that weighed on his heart even as he tried to stay optimistic. Sometimes, harsh pain zapped through his hands when he dug his teeth too deep or ripped off too much skin, but he viewed it as his grip on reality.

In an attempt to soothe them, Hongjoong began to talk. His hollow voice echoed in the round tunnel.

"Did you see that grave? With the arm?"

"I think I passed it, yeah."

"The one with the six candles outside of the lighthouse."

"I saw, yes. Did you put them there?"

"I did. Judging from the notes I read that man belonged to a crew of sailors. Forsaken by his god and left to die here. And not even a sacrifice as big as his arm could soothe the rage of fate."

Did they have this conversation before? Seonghwa believed to recall something, but it slipped his mind. When Hongjoong continued, he decided to listen all the better this time.

"I thought he deserved someone to look after his grave, even if it isn't his god."

Hongjoong's care for this stranger surprised Seonghwa. So far, the man had shown a lot of noble traits. Seonghwa agreed.

"It's very nice of you to do that," Seonghwa muttered quietly. Hongjoong threw him a weak smile over his shoulder.

"It's the least we can do. No one else looks after him here. I wonder what his family thinks about what happened. The likelihood that somebody found him is low. Would they still miss him?"

"Well, we found him. And I think once we return, we can try to find his associates and tell them the truth. Even if they might not come here, they can hold a proper memorial back at home." With his hands on the walls, Seonghwa carefully felt his way through the cave. The darkness up ahead was all-consuming. Anything could await them there and they had no way of knowing what it was.

"That would be wonderful, yeah." Disgusted, Seonghwa flinched back when his hand brushed something soft and squishy. It had some give to it, like a ball of slime, and he jerked away fast enough that he had no way of telling what it was.

His untrained eyes tried to feel along the way to try to foresee any odd things coming up. While the shadows seemed to move and curl constantly, however, they had no distinct form. Whatever moved up ahead of Hongjoong stayed in its place and avoided the shine of the light.

"Do you have a family at home that misses you?" Seonghwa's heart rate normalised again after the spook. Ever so supportive, Hongjoong's voice replied in the dark.

"Not really. I have a brother. My parents don't live with us, but I'm sure he barely minds having the place to himself. The two of us never got along well." Hongjoong said it with a chuckle that was partly fond and partly annoyed. As siblings were. Seonghwa had to snicker, too.

"What about you?"

Seonghwa looked out into the darkness that had yet to change into anything other than what it was.

"Me neither. My brother lives with my parents in the city, I grew up with my grandparents. My grandfather should be around here somewhere, we crashed together. But my granny only watches from above. Where is the place you are from? I grew up near the Japanese coast."

"I'm from around here. A bit further down."

Yeah, Hongjoong seemed like a kid from the south. Mysterious and ready to face any risks as they might be posed on him. The people Seonghwa had met from there were extraordinary and Hongjoong was no exception.

They wandered the cave for a while until a sombre grey finally greeted them. The tunnel lit gradually until they stepped out onto the shore again. Seonghwa's feet sunk into the sand once more.

Hongjoong shut off the lamp to look around. The physics on this side of the island were odd. They hadn't walked for too long so they should have been able to still see the lighthouse over the rocks. Yet, it had disappeared as if it had never been there. With a shake of his head, Hongjoong led them further up ahead. In the little bay, they had invaded, the way out over the smooth stones seemed about impossible. The water had shaped them the way that the V formation made for a perfect hideout.

But the sight that greeted them up ahead was not the research or shipbuilding business that they had anticipated.

A large obelisk reached for the skies ridiculously high. Just as the other way around, there was no way that Seonghwa could have overlooked this thing from the lighthouse. The scriptures and reliefs carved into the stone were ancient and clearly made by a professional. The lines were distinct and told a story. No story that Seonghwa could understand though.

As they neared over the shallow sandbank, Seonghwa tried to make out any of those symbols. He saw swirls and cosmic constellations but nothing that made sense to him.

"Can you read it?" Awestruck by the impressive appearance of the tower, Seonghwa lowered his voice. Their slow steps carried them over to structure. Its tip stuck so far into the clouds that Seonghwa couldn't even see it from this angle. It stabbed the skies as if it held the stormy weather that ripped on their clothes there.

"No... But I believe it to be the same scriptures as those we saw before."

Once Seonghwa finished looking up, he slowly trailed his eyes back down. Around the rocks that seemed to grow around the obelisk and held it in place, another sacrificial site had been constructed. It looked akin to a shrine or altar of sorts and a bunch of orange candles that fought the harsh wind and dried flowers decorated the boulders. That, and more human bones.

"Where did they get flowers from?" Hongjoong's muttered question remained unanswered as the two of them halted at a respectful distance. Neither dared to cross the rocks to explore it closer. Seonghwa's eyes were stuck on the picture carved right into the part of the obelisk above the altar. An enormous figure, grotesque in its appearance just like the picture on the top of the lighthouse. The head was formed like an octopus with tentacles hanging from it. It perched upon a rock of some sorts, and it had a human-like body that crouched on the edge. The wings of a dragon folded around its shoulder protectively as it stared right out at the bay.

Right at them. Its simplistic eyes seemed to penetrate the very core of Seonghwa's soul. He couldn't rip his eyes away from it, but he found his speech back. Even if the movements of his tongue were lethargic and his words came out whispered hoarsely.

"Do you think it's for the same god? The slumbering one?"

Hongjoong didn't glance away from the ominous site even a second. As if it could disappear if he didn't ingrain it in his mind. Yet, he didn't seem too hung up about the macabre creature as Seonghwa was.

"We can safely assume that yeah... The slumbering god." With a visible shiver, Hongjoong tipped his head back to stare up at the skies. Some seagulls circled the obelisk lazily.

"Maybe he slumbered for too long. Maybe he actually lost his existence because people forgot about him." Seonghwa hadn't meant to say that out loud. Yet, the joyless smile it brought upon Hongjoong's lips was worth the mishap.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons, even death may die."

Petrified, Seonghwa glanced down at him.

That hadn't sounded like Hongjoong. That sounded like something entirely different. Something old and mighty.

Hongjoong grimaced at him apologetically.

"I read it in one of the books. It was their excuse why they didn't give up on that god yet."

Seonghwa didn't doubt the mania that could overcome a cult when left alone on an island for too long. The odd deities they prayed to surely didn't mean well if this was the case with them.

"Let's leave this place. I don't like how it feels," Seonghwa asked quietly. The gentle waves lapping at the shore seemed to stare after them when they crossed the sand. The hairs in Seonghwa's nape stood tensely until they were out of sight.

They dipped into the other cave that exited this place. Once more, Hongjoong carried the lamp and illuminated the odd plants and mushrooms that grew inside here. Just as before, the ominous silence got interrupted only by faint white noise and the occasional shift in the darkness that turned out to be nothing.

Seonghwa had not seen a single living sea creature ever since he had come here. Even though he would have guessed them to be everywhere. Snails and crabs and all kinds of crawlers on the walls. None of them was in sight. Perhaps, not even them dared to come near this island that only meant death and eternal damnation.

This cave was longer than the first one. The constant dripping of water echoing through the long hallways triggered paranoia in Seonghwa. He sent multiple glances over his shoulder, and each time the darkness behind him seemed to watch him from black eyes. Since a steady wind came from the front, he didn't fear never finding a way out too much. Yet, his claustrophobia that spiralled his thoughts and blurred his sight now was joined by a fear of the dark. Of whatever was in that dark. Nothing was more human than the fear of the unknown.

Hongjoong's tense shoulders in front of him were the only anchor in those long minutes that felt like hours. And the dancing light distorted them weirdly. As if his flesh was a shifting mass underneath his skin. It bulged obscenely, trying to break free, only to get restrained by his human shell. It changed right before Seonghwa's eyes only to return to normal immediately when Seonghwa blinked disbelievingly.

He must have gone mad.

Their trek through the cave soon paused when Hongjoong bent over something on the ground. As he reached out his fingers curiously, Seonghwa stayed back to observe.

Hongjoong picked up a shell, a bright little thing. It shone white in his light as he handed it to Seonghwa.

"This cave doesn't seem as if it floods usually. I wonder how it got here." The warm touch of Hongjoong's fingers lost contact with Seonghwa as he pulled away. Seonghwa gripped the shell in his hand tightly as they continued their journey. The distraction of fidgeting with the item distracted his brain from alarming him at every little drip he heard in the darkness.

Ultimately, they emerged in a large cave. Some light fell through the partly open ceiling where the rocks couldn't block out the entire sky. It was just enough to see the dark pit they had arrived at. A dark pit full of skeletal remains and petrified bodies that nature had preserved until they looked like statues made from stone.

Instantly, Seonghwa recoiled. The sense of impending doom that had twisted his stomach for a while now dropped in his guts. As if it wanted to rip all organs from his body, it pulled and yanked at him. His feet were rooted to the ground.

Frozen, Hongjoong stared down into the pit as well. Something akin to acknowledgement passed his eyes.

"What... Is that?" Trembling, he raised his fist to illuminate the room just a bit further. Their little lamp wasn't enough to make out much. Only steep walls, inscriptions, and a black orb in the middle of the pit. All evil seemed to stem from that thing. Seonghwa couldn't tell if the surrounding bodies had accumulated over their desire to possess it or during an escape from its unsettling powers.

For a while, both of them just stood in the cold room. Too startled to move and too weirded out by the fact that this, as well as the obelisk, had been made by someone. What kind of people would be able to succeed in such a mission? Especially on an island such as this one. They had no tools, no strength...

Seonghwa exchanged uncomfortable glances with the orb and how Hongjoong's jittery eyes stuck to it. His curiosity showed clear as day.

"Do you think... We need it?"

Unsure, Hongjoong tilted his head to stare at it. As if he had to communicate first and get an answer.

Seonghwa believed to hear it whispering. A deep, unsettling voice from the insides of an unsuspecting ball.

Impossible. That sound was the winds and waves outside.

"If I said yes... Would you help me get it?"

Despite their trust and their earlier closeness, Seonghwa hesitated for a long moment. When he murmured a reply, his voice wavered with terror.

"Why don't you get it, Hongjoong?"

Fixated on the orb, Hongjoong stared up ahead.

"I can't."

"Why?"

A suffocating silence throttled every faith that Seonghwa gifted the other man. He remained quiet for too long. Seonghwa couldn't move a muscle.

"Just do it," Hongjoong then hissed quietly. The gaze he gave Seonghwa was cold as steel and cut right through his fragile mind.

Don't trust him. Don't trust him.

Seonghwa took a little step back. Immediately, Hongjoong pulled his brows together. The orb was forgotten as he turned to look at Seonghwa. Like a sheep on the working bench of a butcher, Seonghwa felt all might leave him.

"Tell me why you can't," Seonghwa begged. His voice broke. "I'm also afraid. Tell me and we can figure it out."

Hongjoong swallowed harshly. The shadows in his face darkened as his throat bobbed.

For a second, even the atmosphere seemed all too quiet. The absolute deafness terrified Seonghwa.

His hands fiddled with the shell until he cut himself on an edge. Sticky blood coated his fingers.

For a moment longer, the fury in Hongjoong's face was unforgiving. Then, he exhaled slowly. His expression smoothed out again.

"I'm queasy near dead bodies. I can't get close to them without fainting. Even this..." He avoided looking at the pale bones. Instead, his little hand gestured in their direction.

Instantly, Seonghwa felt bad for provoking him. Why in the world would he question Hongjoong when he was his sole friend on this god-forsaken island? He was a fool to distrust the only person who could help him out of this place. Getting queasy around dead or decaying things was such a common occurrence that Seonghwa should have guessed.

"I understand. Sorry for snapping at you."

This time, Seonghwa didn't dare reach out his hand to pat the other man's shoulder. Oddly enough, Hongjoong seemed to be more terrifying than the darkness right at this moment.

With the sheer will to keep his legs steady, Seonghwa neared the pit. Hongjoong followed as far as possible, and he kept his eyes lowered and restrained to his lamp. Guilt nagged Seonghwa's heart for being insensitive as he swung his body down into the ominous circle.

He got the orb from its place with no problems. Then, he handed it to Hongjoong before he let the man pull him back up in the safer area. As Hongjoong slipped the orb into his bag, his face looked ghostly pale. Neither of them stalled to look around or waited for the inevitable fear that gnawed on their fragile minds.

"Can we please leave?" Hongjoong asked quietly. At once, Seonghwa nodded. He also didn't want to spend another second here.

Their way back outside seemed impossibly longer, especially given that they walked twice as fast. Seonghwa barely even took notice that they didn't pass the obelisk this time. The cave led right back to the beach behind the trusty lighthouse. By now, the beach felt so established to Seonghwa that he welcomed its appearance over the shady caves.

They must have taken a different turn that he just hadn't seen on their way here and landed here by luck. Not that anyone would oppose the independent existence of this island.

Seonghwa rubbed his scarred arms as they returned inside. The feeling of the ridges in his skin distracted him. He had lost his shell and the blood on his fingers had tried by now. It smelt of metal.

Hongjoong sat his bag down on his desk and pushed all ten of his fingers through his hair. The tired sigh that escaped his lips resonated in Seonghwa's soul. Their nerves were still taut from the fright and both of them wanted to sit down and rest for a while.

"I will try to do some research on this thing to find out more about it. Do you want to sleep?"

No!

"Not yet," Seonghwa replied hesitantly. "Maybe I could help? Or get anything to read, really. I want to learn more about this island."

Hongjoong nodded as he shifted through his books. The one he chose had a thick leather binding and a buckle that held it together. It looked important. The cool material weighed heavily in Seonghwa's hand as he got comfortable on the bed. Hongjoong stayed at the desk and took a notebook to jot the important bits down as he wrote.

Soon, Seonghwa lost himself in the extensive lore that the book with the looming drawings of creatures in the background offered. Underneath the blankets and with the two of them secluded in the room, his cramped muscles calmed with time.

The first page made a few comments over the creature drawn in the background. An odd, tentacled mass on two legs. Seonghwa couldn't see any eyes but they might have gotten lost with the ink.

Unnormal body shape

No symmetrical shape that could define a logical form

Unsymmetrical mouths all over its body.

Somebody here had disliked asymmetry a lot.

Seonghwa continued to read the text at the bottom. The letters were blotchy from spilt ink. Contrary to the refined artwork, the block of letters beneath appeared grimy.

Disputed and injured and quite forgotten, it's been 27 days since we are here and we came across something that our minds can not comprehend.
How could such a thing exist? How does God justify this? How can he allow such monsters to roam upon his creation?
My mind is terrorized a million times each time I try to visualize this beast. My hand is shaking as I draw each line. It was a plague of the mind.
I decided to give it a name, the Monster of the Thousand Mouths, although it may seem strange. But I heard a voice or more like a whisper shivering down my spine through my ear.

The text was unclear, and a jumbled mess. Seonghwa had difficulties piecing the sentences together. He stared at the many-mouthed monster with the tentacles in place of a head for a while longer until he switched over to the next page. The same author continued. He must have collected all information on his strange sightings in this book.

For a moment, Seonghwa thought a humanoid greeted him on the next page, but the scribbles denied him that relief.

No eyelids.

Body seems to be very strong.

A short blue tongue.

Shark eyes.

I tried to speak to them but in return they hissed and growled and made all kinds of weird noises. No trace of language.

Was this what happened to those who stayed here for too long? Did they turn into these... things? Seonghwa shivered underneath his blanket.

I have never seen such creatures before. Something is wrong here like God has forsaken this place and its creation.

That sentence was underlined. By Hongjoong? Maybe these creations hadn't been made by the same god after all.

The fish-like people are no humans at all. They are hostile and seem to be very aggressive. There is no trace of civilized behaviour on them.
Yet they seem to understand our movements as they have seen humans before. The fish-like deformities on them are present. They have tried several times to ambush us.
The only solution for us is to stay near the lighthouse. I'll study more of these abominations of the deep.

"I call them the Deep Ones. Compared to the rest, they are delightful, aren't they?" Hongjoong's voice surprised Seonghwa. The man hadn't risen his head from his work.

"I would rather not meet any of them," Seonghwa mumbled as he turned the page once more.

More tentacles. A mass of them. This time, the drawing resembled more of an octopus, though. Had those men just gone mad and seen things different from what they were? Seonghwa didn't want to know the answer. He himself had gotten startled by the smallest of incidents before.

We do not dare to walk the shore when the night comes. Something in the dark seemed to follow us at great speed. We hid inside the small cave. We had to stay there for the rest of the night. We begin to joke that we are no longer safe on this island. We have to leave but it seems everything works against us.
The long tentacle legs seemed to be very strong. A boulder before it shattered into pieces with a single strike.
My other half mind tells me I should stay behind and study them and the other half tells me I should leave now.
Wooyoung, one of the crew members found a camera. If we get it to work, we should try taking a few pictures.

"Hongjoong?" Seonghwa called out distractedly. The things he read disturbed his mind, but at the same time intrigued. He was no researcher nor an explorer, but this book was interesting even to him. The additional aspects it offered were so foreign that his mind couldn't grasp them. It read like a fairy tale. A dark one with a bad ending.

The other man responded with a questioning hum. The scratches of his pen on the paper made for pleasing background noise. He flipped a page.

"They are talking about a camera. Do you know anything about it? Shouldn't we search it?"

Hongjoong sighed. But then, he agreed with a nod.

"We should, but not today. We don't want to be out there at night. Let's check on that tomorrow."

Seonghwa couldn't argue with that. He had seen none of these creatures around yet, but he also didn't want to meet them or whatever they had derived from. He much preferred to read, even if he knew they would haunt him into his dreams.

Just when he lowered his head back to his readings and Hongjoong sunk into silence, the rushing of the waves reached Seonghwa's ears. They were louder than before as if the storm had gotten worse. From how close they sounded the illusion of them crashing directly against the lighthouse surfaced. Would they get flooded here once the gigantic waves rose? The sea sounded angry and agitated, and in the distance, thunder rolled. It wouldn't be long until the wind carried both over to them.

"The storm has gotten worse," Seonghwa commented quietly. He left the book where it was to raise from the bed. Huddled in the blanket, he passed the unmoving Hongjoong. He had lit a candle as the room gradually darkened from the tremor of the skies outside. Yet, he didn't mind the near danger too much.

"The sea does what it wants. We are safe inside here, all windows are closed."

Seonghwa still walked past him and up the stairs. He opened the hatch to step out onto the platform. Immediately, the wind viciously pulled on his hair and blanket.

High waves rolled over the ocean and crashed against the shore. The lighthouse stood far enough up the hill that they didn't reach them yet. If it got worse, they might as well get swamped, though. In Seonghwa's eyes, the lighthouse was not nearly as isolated as Hongjoong would like it to be.

"Are they, though?" Seonghwa muttered to himself as he stepped over to the railing. In the dark, the ocean seemed more green than grey. The waves swallowed some of the stranded items down at the shore and undoubtedly left others behind in exchange. Had Seonghwa come here this way, too?

As the sea rampaged as if a monster deep in its depths had plunged into fury, Seonghwa glanced at the painting up here. It showed the calm ocean as it usually would be when no waves disrupted the image.

"Hongjoong? Should I bring your drawing back in?" Seonghwa called down the stairs. For a long moment, everything was quiet and only wind and weather whipped around Seonghwa to jab at his face.

"Leave it. Come back in."

Once more, Seonghwa glanced at the darkened skies. They announced rain. He hoped they wouldn't get too wet. The second floor was the better alternative to the first one, but he should still ready buckets in case they had a leak. Giant clouds billowed as if just waiting to cry down on them.

Seonghwa didn't mind the painting anymore. He did turn on the light of the tower, though, in the small hope that if somebody were lost out here, they would at least find a way onto safe lands. Then, he stepped back inside. He sealed the hatch tightly and made a round through the whole tower to check on all windows and openings. He wouldn't be able to fix anything if a wall wasn't patched up correctly, but he did his best.

After a while, he returned to Hongjoong who still sat at the table working quietly. The pages underneath his fingers filled with letters more and more. Seonghwa wanted to read what he had written later.

With the determination to stay up longer Seonghwa settled back down in his bed. He pulled his book close even knowing that he shouldn't stare at creepy creatures before sleeping and while the storm wreaked havoc outside. Yet, the lore pulled him back in.

Hours passed. Not a single drop of water penetrated the tower even as the rain thrummed on the platform above. It seemed stuck to them in particular and didn't move all the time until Seonghwa's lids grew heavy and he threatened to fall asleep. Not long after, he used the book of abominations as his pillow as he slumbered deeply. The storm was forgotten.

In his dream, Seonghwa returned to the obelisk. He wasn't alone, but he wasn't with Hongjoong either. The people that accompanied him wore black frocks that reminded Seonghwa of the priests he knew from church. In a long procession, they walked along the bay. They carried orange candles that dripped hot wax all over their fingers but none of them seemed to mind.

As they knelt in front of the obelisk, Seonghwa stood nearby and watched them full of wonder and confusion. The language they spoke was none that he understood, but something inside him knew that it was the same as the one that he saw written on all those cliffs and stones. Their voices came together in an eerie choir as they sang to their deity and offered him their prayers and candles. Seonghwa couldn't see any of their faces, but he also didn't dare come near.

His mind spun when he saw black flashes. They were more clear and for a moment a gargantuan, tentacled head stared at him from the darkness with glowing eyes. The image whizzed past him.

The next time he regained his bearings, Seonghwa was at home. Peace and happiness flooded him as he sat down at the table with both his grandfather and grandmother. The locket with their picture inside hung around his grandfather's neck and all of them laughed and smiled together. For a second, the world was back in place. Seonghwa never wanted to leave again.

As they ate the excellent strawberry cake Seonghwa's grandmother made on special occasions and that Seonghwa adored more than anything else, conversation passed between them freely. It soon took a turn in a weird direction, however.

"So, lad, I heard you went to R'lyeh. How was it there?" His grandfather scrutinised Seonghwa with curious eyes as he shovelled a fork full of cake into his mouth. Confused, Seonghwa laughed.

"R'lyeh? What is that place? I never heard of it."

His grandmother laughed about his puzzlement. Even at her age, her laugh had still been bright like the song of a bell. His grandfather shook his head.

"No, you were there. You met the Great Old Ones."

Seonghwa lowered his fork to his plate. A pretty plate, with colourful flowers painted on the porcelain. Every dish looked different, and his grandmother was very proud of her collection.

"You know of them? How come you never told me about the island, then?"

"Well, because it's sunken, my boy! What is there to tell when there is nothing to see?"

Sunken?

Confused, Seonghwa glanced at the windows. He expected to see sunny flower fields and the meadow in front of the house. However, only greenish water stuck with algae and sunken ships greeted him.

Once more, the face of the slumbering god appeared in front of his eyes. Grotesque and slick, his rubbery tentacles tangled and moved on their own.

Your part of the promise, mortal. You shall leave once you abide by it. His dark voice was in Seonghwa's head instead of actually travelling from a mouth. Seonghwa's ears hurt from the pressure of it.

"I don't know what promise you mean!"

Thunder sounded in the distance. Slowly, darkness shrouded Seonghwa's vision and blurred the edges of the creature.

I will let you go once you fulfil your promise. Not before that.

Seonghwa tried to move, to look away and retire to his family meeting and the cake. However, every attempt was futile. Hysteria rose in Seonghwa when he couldn't move and he thrashed, moving left and right to flee the spell that held him in place.

Seonghwa. The voice of the old one grumbled his name. His red eyes glowed in the dark to watch Seonghwa's violent struggle.

"Seonghwa..."

"Seonghwa! Seonghwa, wake up!"

At the shift of tone, Seonghwa drunkenly looked around. Tears streamed down his face even though he couldn't remember when they had started to flow. Then, at once, he snapped out of his dream.

With wide eyes, he stared at Hongjoong, who was leaning above him. The soft glow of the candle still surrounded his hair with a faint halo and a blanket was wrapped around his shoulders. The storm howled around the tower but didn't touch them inside.

"Are you awake? What got into you?" Fear laced Hongjoong's voice. When Seonghwa swallowed the lump in his throat to speak, his eyes lowered to his hands. They had dug into Hongjoong's shoulders forcibly and drawn blood despite the blunt nails. It seeped into the man's white shirt. Instantly, he unclenched their grasp. Remorse filled him as he laid his trembling hands on Hongjoong's arms instead.

"I- I had a nightmare."

Worried eyes fluttered all over Seonghwa. Hongjoong didn't seem convinced, only concerned.

"You were screaming in a language I couldn't understand. I doubt it was Japanese."

A heavy glance passed between them. Then, Hongjoong sat back down at his side. His exhale was shaky.

"Please don't scare me like that again. I can give you a boring book on shipbuilding if it helps."

Sheepish, Seonghwa pulled his blanket up until his chin. Red embarrassment flooded his cheeks.

"No, it's fine... I'll try to have better dreams. I'm sorry."

Hongjoong gave him a brief smile and patted his leg. Then, he returned to his still unfinished work. With his heart still racing in his chest, Seonghwa turned to the wall and ignored his clammy skin.

The slumbering god didn't appear again in his dreams. But a beach littered with bones and the messages of people long dead because their sanity had left them did. Seonghwa walked along with it aimlessly, but he found nothing of worth and not another clue about this island.

The only thing he found was the bones of children buried halfway in the sand. The water had exposed them to the air once more, and they crunched beneath Seonghwa's feet sickeningly as he crossed the shore.

No hope was in sight and no exit off this island. Only black sand.

When his dream changed again, Seonghwa saw himself at the obelisk once more. But this time, he was with Hongjoong. Only that Hongjoong was tied to the obelisk with his arms stretched wide as if he were being crucified.

Seonghwa made no move to get him from there, even when the man screamed at him to help. He only watched how for the split of a second, something dark and pointed slid from beneath the leg of Hongjoong's pants. It disappeared as fast as it had come, but Seonghwa had seen it clearly.

He left the man tied up there as he wandered inside the cave with the black orb in his hand.