Seonghwa hesitated to go 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.

Groaning, he pushed his body up. A bed of shells and white rocks created an uncomfortable bed underneath his body. He couldn't identify some of them, they didn't look like any sea creature or material he had seen before. What was this island?

Black sand lined the shoreline of the ocean up ahead. He seemed to have been pushed right onto the beach by the sea. No signs of civilisation were anywhere near him. Only a few pieces of driftwood and greens defied the rough terrain.

The bottom of Seonghwa's pants was soaked where the ocean kept licking on his feet. Shivering, he pulled his ankles out of the reach of the cold water. As he emptied his shoes of any leftovers, he spotted the scars on his arms. The parallel lines looked purposefully made. Yet, his brain couldn't supply him with the painful memory where they had come from. They reminded Seonghwa of a kid he had known in his neighbourhood, a sad girl with a lot of internal pain she suffered from. Her arms had looked the same for years before she had hanged herself. The memory still shrouded their village in sadness. Every day on his way to the docks, Seonghwa would pass her memorial. People said they didn't know, and that they had never expected it, even when her call for help had been so clear.

Yet, Seonghwa's scars looked old. Older than the time he could have spent lying here and surviving. When had this happened? They must have accumulated over years from how many there were, partly crossing over each other. But he never cut himself. He had lived a happy life at home, with smooth and unmarred arms.

One scar looked fairly fresh. But this one had probably scraped along a sharp edge on his way here. The blood had clotted recently and the angry reddened skin around had yet to even out.

Worried, he refrained from poking at it and put his shoes back onto his feet. He should dress those wounds as soon as possible.

As he pushed his hair back behind its ears, he searched the horizon for a clue. Surely, a fishing place was nearby, and he could ask the people there how to get bandages and a way back home. Wherever he was. He believed to remember this island from the lore of the sailors. They spoke about the black island only ever with hushed voices in the dark, as if they couldn't let anybody hear them. Seonghwa had always found it curious. The stories about monsters and people who disappeared here were countless. Would the same fate befall Seonghwa? Or would he become one of the few to tell the tale?

Seonghwa jumped up to his feet when the ocean slammed against the rocks nearby and covered him in the icy spray. As if it were pushing him off, the wild waves rolled and rushed aggressively. It wasn't wise to stick around. Even the ocean threatened him to leave as soon as possible.

He picked up a shell from the ground to add to a considerate pile of them on a rock, as if he had to hand in a ticket before he wandered off. On his way, he held a respectful distance from the water that left more shells and sticky algae in its wake. If it ripped things in with it, no trace of them remained. Seonghwa would gladly stay dry and keep the precious air in his lungs. Even if it was cold and wet and tasted of the rotting ocean.

In the distance, a lighthouse grew from the ground to reach for the grey skies. He would arrive there soon, maybe in a few hours. The white walls seemed close enough for him to grab them with his fingers, but he knew his eyes betrayed him. The terrain was difficult to master, and he wasn't too sure about the time it would take him to scale it.

The skies looked ready to break above him. He should hurry and uphold his dryness in the round walls. Usually, every lighthouse out on these islands, no matter how discarded and foreign, had a person taking care of its duties. With them nearby, Seonghwa would be safe.

He knew that in this lighthouse also; the person waiting for him understood and related to him. It made sense. If he were the one out here guarding this lonely outpost forever for somebody to come by, he would also be overjoyed about every face he saw. Yet, as he thought about the lighthouse, a face came to his mind. No face that he knew, but a pretty face of a young man with a straight nose and bowed lips. The look in his eyes was familiar, but Seonghwa couldn't place where he had seen it before. He wasn't one of his friends from home. Maybe a travelling boy he had seen in passing? Seonghwa's heart had always been fast to jump to people. He wore it on his sleeve and every so often; he fell in love with strangers he saw for their smiles, the laughter, or how they played with their dogs and kids. Ever on the move, it had yet to settle for someone, but he wouldn't be surprised if this person with the pretty features had been one to capture it.

Despite the eeriness of the island, Seonghwa appreciated its melancholic atmosphere. It felt homey in a weird sense, and it had his mind drift to adventurous stories of monsters and magic.

He resurfaced when he spotted something stuck in the sand. A blue object that got covered and uncovered by the wavering sea, but stubbornly held to its place. With careful taps of his feet, once the ocean retreated, Seonghwa neared it. It was a bottle, dotted with barnacles and black sand. A rolled-up piece of paper stuck inside, and Seonghwa retreated to the rocks to open it and read. The pretty handwriting stood out from the tarnished paper.

Day 30. Jongho is trying to put together the broken parts on a boat we found. If he manages to build it, then we might have a chance of escaping this place.
We have to try, at least. There's only 3 of us left now in our crew.
We can't afford to waste any more time here. As if "time" exists in this place. I think I'm starting to lose my mind. I can hear my breath after a screeching sound pierces my ears.
If you are reading this, then don't look for us.

Stunned, Seonghwa read through the text again and again. This crew had spent an entire month on this island and hadn't given up their attempts to escape. And yet, they asked the beholder not to find them. How badly would they deem their situation to not ask for help anymore? As absurd as it sounded, the implications also terrified Seonghwa.

That crew didn't deem their salvation as worthy anymore. Or they gave up on survival already.

If Seonghwa didn't find a way out, how would he react? Would he also lose all hope after a few weeks? Or would he hold up longer? If he found that boat in case the crew hadn't finished on time, then he might escape.

Seonghwa left the bottle on the rocks and wandered along. The message he took with him. It wasn't signed or dated, but he wanted to try to search for this crew once he returned. Since everything was too late for them already, he could at least carry on their legacy. The dry paper rustled in his pocket as he walked along the shore. Wide awake and alert, he kept his eyes open for any hints of their legacy around.

He found a sacrificial site that had his stomach churn and bile rise in his throat. No more but the bones of an arm on a rope remained, but imagining what once was made Seonghwa dizzy. Yet, he stood near the six candles in a corner that challenged the wind with their cheerfully dancing flames for a while longer. The scriptures on the wall intrigued him. The unfinished words surrounded the arm like an ancient spell.

"...Cthulhu R'lyeh... lies... sle," he read. Cthulhu lied at R'lyeh? Cthulhu was lied to by R'yleh? He tested the words on his tongue, and they traced his lips heavily. They tasted foul.

The person writing those had left some words out or hadn't been strong enough to write it all. As much as Seonghwa tried to make sense of it, none came up. He didn't know what those two names were supposed to be. Places, people, maybe even foreign words that had no translation.

Ultimately, Seonghwa couldn't find any more clues what the hidden meaning might be. He rose to his feet to continue the short path to the lighthouse. As if they wanted to map out his exact trail, wooden stick talismans led his way.

He pushed open the door to the lighthouse with careful consideration.

"Hello?" His voice echoed through the tall tower. For a moment, nothing moved. Then, the shuffling of feet on the floor above him sounded. Seonghwa waited politely as he looked around the fishing nets, a boat, a lot of barrels with unknown contents, blankets, chairs, wooden beams, a table saw, a penny-farthing that he did not know how it had come here, and the skull of what might have been a small whale in a corner. Nothing out of the ordinary, even if he wondered why this combination of items had gathered in a place like this.

He looked over the solid white walls and winding wooden staircase all over the ground and the doorstep at his feet.

Surprised, he stepped aside when his eyes caught onto the corner of a sheet beneath his feet. When he crouched, he picked up a photograph. His own side profile with the chiselled jaw and nose greeted him. He stood on a boat next to his grandfather in a pose that mimicked him as the two of them stared out over the ocean together. Seonghwa recognised the scene, but he couldn't remember another person taking a photo of them. Where were the boat and his grandfather? They must have crashed together.

Seonghwa still stood in confusion and with the picture in his hand when another person came down the stairs. His appearance was so sudden that Seonghwa instinctively took a step back. Something in this man disturbed and repulsed him. And yet, his surprise when he spotted that straight nose and the bowed lips was all the greater. The hopeful smile the man sported fell when he saw Seonghwa eye him suspiciously. Seonghwa hated to see it gone, but he felt as if it had a good reason.

"Hongjoong?"

Abruptly, the man halted in his steps. His lips parted around a gasp.

"Do we... know each other?"

Just as confused, Seonghwa stared back at him.

They didn't. He was sure that he had never heard the man's name before. And yet, here he stood. And his name had dropped into Seonghwa's mind like airmail. The plane had disappeared instantly, leaving no explanation what had happened.

Like a befuddled cat, Seonghwa blinked at him.

"I- I don't know. I know your name, but I think we've never met before." Awkward, he rubbed the back of his head. Oh, the fool he was. Within a second, he had made himself out to be a creep towards this poor guy. A weird man, washed ashore to haunt the lighthouse keeper like a nightmarish apparition.

"Ah, it seems as if we aren't on the same level here... So, uh, yes. Hi, I'm Hongjoong. What's your name?" His adorable shyness buttered Seonghwa up to focus back on their talk. Slowly, he stepped in entirely and closed the door behind him so that the chilly wind would stop pushing at him. Finally content, it shut up at once when the door fell shut.

"I'm Seonghwa. I apologise for the spook, I swear I'm not a weird person. I got stranded out there." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. Given their circumstances, the explanation was far from needed, but Hongjoong nodded gravely at him, anyway. The mutual understanding about their situation and Seonghwa's fears eased his mind.

"Do you want to join me upstairs? I can show you around and tell you everything about this island."

Relieved that the man still gave him a chance despite their wobbly first encounter, Seonghwa sprinted up the stairs behind him as he turned. Hongjoong gestured through the room that held a bed, some study objects, and a large variety of documents as well as artsy projects in different states of completion.

"Get comfortable anywhere you want. I have a wild story for you, and you might want to sit down for it."

Surprised, but intrigued, Seonghwa perched on the edge of the bed. He drew his legs together and rubbed his thighs with his hands to get the blood flowing into his numb and cold flesh. Hongjoong sat down at the table and cleaned up a few items there. Once he was satisfied with his new stack of books, he searched for the right words to explain.

"So, the fact is that you are stuck here. And it might be difficult to go home. Vicious reefs and deadly torrents surround the island. I haven't heard of survivors in years."

Seonghwa nodded seriously. He could imagine that this place wasn't easy to leave. Despite his smart acceptance, however, his mind got stuck on a minor detail.

How old was he? Hongjoong didn't look a day older than Seonghwa, but he spoke as if he had lived here all his life. And maybe he did? He could have moved here with his relatives, which happened often in that job. He probably knew this island like the back of his hand.

"There is this document I found, though. I did some research on it and it seems legit. In summary, it talks about these black orbs, three of them, that can help the stranded here to flee. A macabre joke, if you ask me, an odd puzzle, but they might serve as a key to a door somewhere on this island where an escape is possible."

Escape? Flee? Orbs? He talked as if they were neck-deep in a magical adventure. This was just a regular island. Like any island, it had swallowed people, but most came back home from it.

At Seonghwa's disbelieving stare, Hongjoong quickly continued to talk.

"You know, I heard a lot about the islands down here, and some have odd stories to tell. It might be worth a shot to check out. And if it's all just a fabrication, then I swear to help you find another way. I also miss my siblings back home. I want to accompany you."

That sounded like a solid statement to Seonghwa. He gave the rigid man a careful nod. With a bright smile, Hongjoong relaxed in his chair. Then he excitedly resumed his talk. Seonghwa was more focused on his glee than the actual story he told. As infectious as it was, it also lit up the man's complete face and made him glow attractively.

"Even better yet, I already found two of the orbs within this tower. We only need to investigate the third one, and even if it's drawn roughly, I have a map here that tells us in what area it might be." He held up a sheet of paper to show it to Seonghwa. The rough outline of the island shaped most of the page, but three big, black X's showed the locations. With his nose hooked over the paper, Hongjoong squinted at it.

"I think the one we are searching for is here. At the shore." His fingers tapped onto the one nearest a loose rendition of the lighthouse.

"That's not too far. It won't hurt to check it out. But we should hurry before the storm hits." Seonghwa shrugged it off. Whether those orbs actually helped them or the man opposite him had literally lost his marbles didn't matter to him. He was willing to help as long as he received help in return, and both of them got what they wanted.

Right away, Hongjoong stood from his chair to pick up his bag. As he sorted in a few items he needed for their trip, Seonghwa idly ran his hands over the blankets surrounding him. They were scratchy on his skin, and for a flash, a memory permeated him. Of his knees digging into this exact material as he embraced a willing lover beneath him. He couldn't recognise their face, but the setting felt oddly familiar to him. Irked, he shook it off.

"Ready to go?"

Seonghwa rose to follow Hongjoong down the stairs and out of the lighthouse. His eyes fixed once more on the door that he had found the picture at. How had it come here? Had his grandfather visited this place?

The easiest solution to gain that answer would be to ask Hongjoong about it. But for some reason he couldn't fathom, Seonghwa didn't want to address his personal business with the man. Instead, he tried to brood up a solution on his own as he stomped through the resisting sand behind the other man. It seemed to pull on his feet to root him on the spot. Similar to what Seonghwa would believe to be quicksand, even though the beach wasn't supposed to act as such.

Hongjoong moved a bit more fluid on the surface than him, as if he had less weight to sink with. When he noticed Seonghwa's struggle, he threw him an empathetic smile over his shoulder. Seonghwa's eyes lingered on the sway of his hips.

"You aren't very vocal, are you?"

"Still confused by the situation. It's a lot to take." Getting stranded on an island he had never been to and only heard of that had not a single grocery store was a lot to take. But Seonghwa was confident in their joined abilities. He had travelled to inhabitant islands before, if with his grandfather. A lighthouse and Hongjoong here were a connection to civilisation, so he didn't fear the situation too much.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Sometimes, time seems to pass weirdly here. When the weather stays the same for two days, then it feels as if it didn't pass at all."

Seonghwa glanced at the horizon and the ever so grey skies that did not indicate the time of day.

"I can see that..."

The skies watched them as they climbed down over a few rocks. Seonghwa worried about hurting his ankle at every little jump he performed. If he got injured out here with no doctor nearby, then he risked getting sick. He took extra care of his stance while Hongjoong ahead of him skipped over the stones as if he had been born on them.

"How long have you lived here?"

"Oh, I grew up here." Hongjoong's voice wobbled when he hopped in between his words. With great concentration, Seonghwa followed exactly where the man's light steps fell.

"You did? That's fascinating. Doesn't it get lonely?"

Hongjoong chuckled under his breath. Then he dropped back down onto the sand. He held his hand out for Seonghwa to take, and Seonghwa allowed him to help him down. Hongjoong's hand was gracious in his, and he balanced Seonghwa's weight effortlessly as he joined the other man on the beach. For a moment, they stood pressed intimately against each other and their breath fanned over their faces. When Hongjoong let go first with a small smile, Seonghwa also stepped back from him with warm cheeks.

Gone was his heart one more time.

They walked along the shore close enough that their shoulders brushed against each other at times. The little flirtation distracted Seonghwa as they passed a new corner of the island he had never seen before. The ocean attempted to reach for their feet with its greedy fingers, but no drop of water touched Seonghwa's shoes. His gaze strayed over driftwood and what might once have been a boat nearby. A large, metal one that was usually used for container shipments. It laid stranded upon some rocks far enough above the water that Seonghwa wondered how it had gotten there. The flood didn't seem to rise that high. The rusty dark metal told a story about decades of age, however, so the water might have dug deeper beneath the stone by then. All-consuming, it took apart even what humans had spent decades of work on.

Seonghwa picked up one of the larger shells to play with and keep his hands busy. His proximity to Hongjoong made him nervous, and his stomach felt queasy. Attraction to the other man had befallen him quick. Yet, he was too shy to reach out and take Hongjoong's hand or try anything else.

As they rounded another boulder, Hongjoong suddenly halted in his stride. Surprised, Seonghwa rose his eyes from the white shell, too.

In front of them, something akin to a macabre execution site had been erected. A few metal spikes on the ground held up human bones in the air as if showing them off to the skies. A book laid nearby with its pages strewn about all over the area by the wind and ripped rags of clothes told a tale of what might have happened.

Spooked, Seonghwa stared at the skull on the pole. It seemed to stare right back at him.

Bones had never been too disgusting for Seonghwa to look at, but he felt even more uneasy now. What had happened here? Those people wouldn't have landed on spikes if they had died on the shore of starvation or hunger.

Half a ship laid partly sunken at the shore. Another big metal one, probably once filled with either researchers or merchants. Something had ripped it apart entirely in the middle, as if a huge knife had come down on it. Seonghwa couldn't see the other half. Only metal pieces floating about. It must have sunken beneath the water's surface.

Hongjoong crouched next to the wooden crate, close to the nearest spike. A rucksack remained in the mess of the remaining bones strewn around. He picked at the equipment with careful fingers before he pulled the crate closer. Not once, his eyes strayed too close to the skewered remains above him.

Seonghwa wordlessly collected the pages of the book. Three skeletons. Three people. What had killed them? Had they been displayed like this only after their death? The other two spikes had a ribcage, and a spine poked onto them, respectively. With all his might, Seonghwa kept his thoughts from wandering and trying to conjure the image with the flesh still attached.

Of course, he failed. Misfortune had already befallen this island, and there was no way to deny it forever.

A sob so sudden that it surprised Seonghwa himself spilt from his lips when he tripped over a human pelvic bone. Terrified, he stumbled back. He wasn't crying, but the shock of the brutal sight made him nauseous. As his sight wavered, he knew he needed to sit down for a while.

Hongjoong let him, not commenting on it as he scavenged the bodies.

"Wait for me behind the next corner. You don't have to look at this."

Seonghwa wanted neither of them to look at this. He didn't even want the knowledge that people out here might have died a violent death. And yet, he didn't hesitate a second to drop the papers in Hongjoong's crate and flee. As usual, the sand made it difficult for him to leave, as if it wanted to trap him on the spot.

He turned the rock with his eyes closed to breathe for a moment. The ocean air did nothing to aid him. Violent images flashed behind his inner eye, and Seonghwa bit his lip to keep himself grounded with the pain. His fingers tightened around the shell he still carried. As it dug into his palm, he reminded himself where he was.

After a few seconds, he was able to open his eyes again. Confused, he blinked for a second as his brain struggled to interpret what he saw. Then he froze up with discomfort even more.

Bodies. More bodies. Bodies, a camera, and a gigantic obelisk.

Seonghwa didn't even know where to start. His jerky eyes flickered between the three skeletons that laid still in their clothes and mostly intact. They had fallen against and in front of the rock he stood at. Instantly, he retreated from them. He eyed the camera on the tripod first, then the booming obelisk a few hundred steps away. How had he not seen that thing before? It was gigantic, far taller than the lighthouse.

Nervously, his gaze flickered back to the peaceful skeletons. Their poses were unnatural and spoke of a struggle before going down. Yet, in death, they had found solitude.

Solitude and peace were what a soul seeks after being free. Did they die in vain? It appeared they were murdered. What a horrible way to find solitude.

Seonghwa didn't want to stick around. Hongjoong would spot the bodies and dismantle their equipment. Thus, he took the liberty to step over an outstretched bone arm with a muttered apology full of regret and continued towards the camera. His eyes remained transfixed on the dominating obelisk that was so black and unsettling that he barely dared to glance away from it.

When a seagull flattered from the skies behind him to pick on the bones to detect something of worth, Seonghwa jumped out of his skin. His heart raced as he glared at the unsuspecting bird. As if it were the most normal thing in the world, it pecked at an empty eye socket.

Seonghwa's stomach churned, but even more than that, his heart brimmed with sadness for those strangers.

Behind the camera laid another skull half-buried by the sand. Even the beholder had died. Yet, Seonghwa bravely stretched out his hand for one of the pictures that had accumulated beneath the brown apparatus. They were all similar, so he chose one to squint at in detail.

Three men stood in front of the boulders, posing for the modern black and white camera and smiling brightly. In the left corner, the lighthouse barely stood out against the white rendered skies. And around the bolder that the researchers were leaning against curled giant black tentacles ready to reach for them. The photo must have been taken seconds before a catastrophe. As Seonghwa laid it back down with trembling hands, he wondered if the person taking the picture had known of the danger, or seen it only through the lens. It seemed as if every warning he could have uttered had come too late.

The camera itself was broken. It didn't function anymore. Like a reminder of what it had seen, it just stood frozen in fear.

Hongjoong rounded the boulder. When he also spotted the bodies, he knelt next to them with a sigh. Seonghwa parked down on a rock nearby to wait for him. He drew his legs in and nibbled on his fingers. As he slowly rocked himself back and forth to stay awake and in movement, the rushing of the aggressive waves echoed in his ears. The ocean had seen everything that had happened here, no matter how long ago it had been. And yet, it stayed neutral and not partake in anything. Even more, it hid the creature possibly responsible for this.

He felt powerless. As if the dread of the island had started to consume him. Even as his teeth dug painfully into his skin and he swayed his body on his accord, he didn't deem himself as the one in control of his own being. Dark and festering, fear and craziness penetrated his mind. It spread to his heart and all through him like black poison in his veins.

Seonghwa stopped gnawing on his knuckles when more pain flooded them. Instead, he looked around for something to do. When he spotted a message in a bottle nearby, he reached for it instantly. It was hidden in a cleft between two rocks, as if the author had never bothered to throw it out into the ocean. Curious, Seonghwa unrolled the paper.

It's not my fault! A person had already died here.
"Je" spoke about a shadow whispering between the rocks! We can't stay on this island anymore. We have to leave now!

Who had died here first? Which one of the seven? Seonghwa doubted the author had left the island. He feared he was one of the people strewn around. Their bones told a story. They left a warning about just how risky Seonghwa and Hongjoong being here was.

Like a raging giant, the thick thunder clouds rolled over the sky. No light came through them anymore, and in the shadow, the temperatures of the island dropped even further.

Seonghwa pocketed the message hastily when Hongjoong made his way over to him. He didn't want him to see the depressing message.

"Lost all optimism yet? Our goal is near. We'll escape this curse, Seonghwa, I promise. You don't have to be afraid."

"What if-" Seonghwa's fragile voice broke. He cleared his throat and repeated himself. "What if whatever attacked those men attacks us, too? A tentacled creature... I'm afraid, Hongjoong. I don't doubt it's still in the water."

The cackling laugh of the seagull mocked Seonghwa. Shivering, he curled up tighter.

Hongjoong looked out over the ocean with narrow eyes.

"We have to try, even if it is. The only other option is to stay and from how I see it... that is none the safer." His voice was gentle when he spun back to Seonghwa. Understanding crossed his saddened eyes.

"Come on. Let's go to the obelisk and see if we can find out anything about it. Maybe it even tells a story about what we are facing here and we can prepare accordingly." He rubbed Seonghwa's shoulder comfortingly. With a weak nod, Seonghwa let himself get hauled along.

The path over to the obelisk was short and decorated only with shells and no bones. Yet, the sense of dread that twisted Seonghwa's stomach and locked up his muscles seemed to intensify all the more. Mighty and sinister, the obelisk towered over them and the pit of blackness in front of it. Despite the light above being elsewhere, the shadow of the tower fell against all laws of physics to shroud the pit in the twilight.

And, of course, the orb they were searching for had to be right in that pit decorated with more bones than Seonghwa could count and petrified bodies. Seonghwa halted a few steps away. His trembling legs were rooted to the ground, and he couldn't lift them for even another step. His every limb was paralyzed and inaccessible to his mind, as if his brain had cut off the connection to his central nervous system.

Hongjoong also stayed and studied at him worriedly. But not even his loyal and soft eyes granted peace.

Terrified with fear, Seonghwa did the bare minimum and breathed around the reflex to gag or rip his hair out. Something was happening, something bad. He tasted it in the air as it mixed with the smell of the ocean and rotting materials.

A warning.

"Seonghwa..."

"No, I-" Seonghwa couldn't find words. Every function of his body failed at its task. Sweat clung to his skin and burned in his eyes. He tasted its salt even on his lips.

"Something is wrong, Hongjoong. This isn't right, we will get hurt, we will die."

Gaping like the mouth of an ancient monster, the pit observed their exchange. Seonghwa couldn't rip his eyes off it, even when Hongjoong gently grasped his face with his hands. As he angled Seonghwa's chin to look at him, Seonghwa stared right through him.

"Seonghwa. It's our only lead."

Seonghwa juddered his head. The grip on him restricted him, terrified him. His panicked mind felt trapped. He shook Hongjoong off with more force than necessary. With wide eyes, he stared at his surroundings. The pit, the obelisk, the water that never stopped its movement.

Overwhelmed, Seonghwa crouched down to pull at his hair. The pain in his scalp wasn't enough to ground him. Everything felt so wrong, so terrifying.

"Seonghwa."

Hongjoong's fingers pried Seonghwa's digits apart to pull away the strands of hair he had ripped from them. They tumbled to the ground, dark and lifeless. The wind instantly carried them off over the sand.

"We can do this. You just have to snatch the orb and we can leave. We will stay in the lighthouse, nothing will happen. We are protected there. You know that, don't you?"

"I don't want to go." Seonghwa shook his head fiercely. Sand got into his shoes and bit at his skin.

"It takes only a few minutes. It's fine."

"No." Seonghwa trembled in the hold that Hongjoong had on his wrist. He wanted to collapse, wanted to fall asleep and never wake up again. Anything but the distorted reality around him.

"Seonghwa, please... It will benefit us. And nothing will happen, I promise."

How would he know? He knew nothing. Couldn't he notice how wrong this was? Seonghwa wanted to tear at his hair again, but Hongjoong was stronger than him.

"You are strong, Hwa. You can do it. You have all the courage and resilience. Look how well you are doing out here."

Hongjoong fared far better. Hongjoong didn't seem afraid or disgusted.

"I don't want to, Hongjoong. I really don't."

Cautious so he wouldn't kick Seonghwa, Hongjoong sat down in front of him. He crossed his legs to stay close as he let go of Seonghwa and reached for his bag. That terrifying crate was still near.

Seonghwa wrapped his fingers around his own wrists, squeezing them to keep himself at bay. The wind coldly pulled on him, but he barely felt it.

Hongjoong held a piece of paper out for him. With fast-moving lips, he argued.

"Here, look. It says to find all the three orbs and he will be free. He referring to the person trapped on the island! That's us!" The letters blurred in front of Seonghwa's eyes even when he concentrated on them. But he knew that's what it said. Who had written it? What did they know about this island? Didn't they reckon with the terrifying nature of their treasure hunt?

Quietly, they just sat with each other for a moment. From everywhere, chilly coldness seeped into Seonghwa's body.

"I found the other two orbs in the tower already! It's only this one, we are so close. If people managed to get the other two, then this has to be safe, right?"

Speculations. All speculations. They knew nothing.

Seonghwa rocked his body back and forth again. He didn't trust it. He didn't want to.

"Just for a moment. And I'll be right here to get you back out. You can do it, Hwa."

Gradually, his desperate attempts buttered Seonghwa up. What choice did they have, anyway? They either died out here of madness and hunger, or they died because of unknown forces squishing their bodies like insects.

Seonghwa didn't care. Not enough. He was too terrified not to try. He saw no future anymore, no hope. This island was where he would end.

"Please, Seonghwa."

"Fine."

His hollow voice instantly shut off Hongjoong's begging. Surprised, the man leaned back to try to catch a glimpse of Seonghwa's features. But they had evened out. Nothing but emptiness answered him.

"I'll do it."

Before Hongjoong could react, Seonghwa was already on his feet. Stiff, he marched over to the pit without another second of hesitation. Hongjoong stumbled to stand and run after him.

"Be quick! You know... In case something does happen. I'll get you out."

Without listening to him, Seonghwa swung his legs over. He didn't look at the corpses, didn't mind the twist of his ankle when he came to stand. His gaze tunnelled in on the orb. The object of their desires.

With brusque steps, Seonghwa walked up to it and snatched it right from its socket. Then he turned and threw it to Hongjoong.

He had done this before.

The sudden flash of a memory threw him off for a second. Numb, he stood in the pit.

Why did he feel worse than before? How was it he saw no hope, but only their demise in their future?

The surrounding pit enclosed him with its dark walls as if it made a judgement. It seemed to watch him from all directions with hundreds of invisible eyes.

Seonghwa ran.

He ran as if the devil was on his heels. He ran up to the edge and jumped, never looking back.

Hongjoong caught his outstretched hand in his and hauled him up. His little body maintained a lot more strength than expected of him.

Heaving, Seonghwa laid in the sand and looked up at the sky. They seemed to sigh at him.

The obelisk shadowed his view.

"Magnificent! You did so well, Seonghwa! So well! I'm proud of you. With this, you made sure that we have a goal to follow. I see shining faith on the horizon!"

Seonghwa didn't. He saw none of those.

Empty, he stared up into the roof of clouds.

"Hongjoong..." His lips were dry. "Did I... mess up?"

Hongjoong gave a disbelieving chuckle. His hand came down to pat Seonghwa's chest reassuringly.

"Mess up? Why would you mess up?"

"I feel as if I did."

Hollow, empty. Filled only with terror and madness.

"You didn't, I can promise you that! You did wonderfully and I don't doubt that we will make the best out of this situation!"

For a while, they stayed there. Seonghwa didn't ask again, and Hongjoong also found no need to comment on anything. They merely reminisced about their minds.

Hours must have passed by the time Seonghwa finally rose his head. His eyes settled on the obelisk.

Without a sound, he got to his feet and rounded the pit. The boulders around the tower protected it from water, and only the spray of some particularly powerful waves sometimes rained upon Seonghwa.

Hongjoong followed him quietly as Seonghwa stared up at the obelisk in awe. Inscriptions, images, and runes that looked older than humankind greeted his limited human eye. Seonghwa did not know how they had gotten here, but he had a profound respect for them.

His eyes found the writings. As he read, his mind effortlessly translated them for him, even if he couldn't remember ever learning an unfamiliar language than his own. Yet, he made sense of the words, even if their meaning confused him still.

"In his house at R'yleh, Cthulhu lies sleeping. What could it mean?"

Seonghwa didn't turn. Yet, Hongjoong's long pause registered in the back of his head for how unnatural it was.

"I... don't know."

"Isn't this island called R'yleh?"

Now, sand crunched underneath Hongjoong's soles as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

"It's probably just gibberish. It looks old," he commented, not answering Seonghwa's muttered question.

While his confusion rose, Seonghwa also gradually felt as if the pieces were coming together. The pieces of what? He didn't know.

"But it is called R'yleh, right? That's where we are."

Hongjoong hummed.

"So this... Cthulhu," the word laid heavy on Seonghwa's tongue, "is here, too. Sleeping. Is it the name of the slumbering god?"

Where did he get that information from? He must have read it somewhere.

"And he is in the same place as we are."

"Well... If you believe that tale. People also claimed to have found the cave that Jesus resurrected in, and... I think it needs a lot of fantasy to believe in such things." Hongjoong sounded flippant.

A humourless chuckle came over Seonghwa's lips.

"Are you calling me mad?"

Now, Hongjoong had to laugh, too. This time, it was him who sounded disturbed. Satisfaction filled Seonghwa's heart. He had overcome his mania, and he felt powerful thrusting it upon Hongjoong now.

"Not mad. Just upset. I think you need some rest. You can sleep in the lighthouse."

"We should kneel in the presence of gods. Who knows? If we gain his favour, he might bless our escape, given that he is so close." Seonghwa understood. He understood why a sacrifice had been appropriate. Maybe it was time for another blessing. To ease the mind of the slumbering one.

"You don't know what you're saying. Come on. Let's leave this place."

Hongjoong pulled on Seonghwa's sleeve to get him to move. Seonghwa wanted to stay, wanted to learn more and bask in his enlightenment. But ultimately, he was weaker than Hongjoong. The man dragged him along.

They left the spooky site. The more distance they gained to the pit, the calmer Seonghwa became. While fear still kneaded his heart around like a ball, he at least could breathe regularly again as they wandered back to their fortress.

From time to time, Hongjoong threw Seonghwa wary gazes.

"What is it? Are you scared?"

"No, I... I wonder if I made the right decision sending you down there."

It was too late for that. They had already acted. And while Seonghwa couldn't fathom the consequences yet, they couldn't turn back time. If it was a mistake, then they had already messed up.

"We got the orb, that is all that is important. I'm sure once we're back, we will find a way to piece them back together and create this key you mentioned."

Hongjoong just nodded. He didn't seem convinced, but Seonghwa didn't care about that. He was busy recreating the idea of a god in his mind based on what he knew about the tales out there. Even the other islands nearby that had people's homes on them told a lot of different legends and things they believed in. Seonghwa had never heard of a Cthulhu before, but he was intrigued.

Perhaps he should sacrifice a seagull to him. Just to see if it might be divine displeasure that trapped them in this place.

They arrived back at the lighthouse without a hassle. Hongjoong had become quiet over their trip, but he was kind enough to hold the door for Seonghwa as they entered. Up on the second floor, Seonghwa immediately threw himself down on the bed. Hongjoong slowly sat his bag down on his desk. His eyes flickered between his work and Seonghwa.

"Want to send a message in a bottle? Just in case we might need help from outside," Hongjoong suggested patiently. Seonghwa immediately nodded. He got a paper and one of the few pens lying around that he knew still had ink to write with. Then, he sat on the bed to engross himself in his writings while Hongjoong unpacked his bag.

Dear Reader
Something is wrong with the island that we have stranded on. We are trying our best to return, but fate and the tides are working against us.
I fear we won't be able to find a way out. The slumbering god is keeping us cornered, and we have yet to appease his mind.
Don't come to find us if you read this message. R'yleh is not a place for you to be. Or for any human, really.
I don't know which date to sign.
Park Seonghwa.

Once he finished, he handed the pen back to Hongjoong and went down the stairs. Outside, in the whipping wind that mussed up his hair and disrupted his breathing pattern, he threw the bottle far out.

For a moment, he stuck around to look after it. But as if the island wanted him to leave and hide back inside once more, it pushed at him viciously. Ultimately, he had to turn and return to the lighthouse.

When he joined Hongjoong again and once more perched on the bed with nothing to do, the other man chuckled at him bemusedly.

"Get some sleep. I will try to figure this out and notify you if I find something." His smile was reassuring, but Seonghwa shook his head. The earlier fright at the obelisk had wakened him up throughout.

"I don't want to sleep."

Fumbling, Hongjoong crossed his arms. His features remained over-tasked.

"Then... What do you want to do?"

"Do you have any readings on the slumbering god? You do, right? I'm sure that those island people left a lot of them." Ecstatic, Seonghwa straightened his back like an orderly scholar. He would take anything Hongjoong threw at him. He thirsted for knowledge.

"I do, but- I don't think you should spend too much time with it. Those writings aren't any good. If you read too much into it, then you might lose your sense of what is real and what isn't."

Seonghwa pouted at him.

"But it might help us understand what happened here. And why this island feels so cursed. It might be the curse of a god!"

Helpless, Hongjoong looked down at his table. As he searched for words, Seonghwa excitedly moved more towards the edge of the bed. With his best pleading eyes, he peered up at Hongjoong.

The man rubbed the bridge of his nose in stress.

"Listen- Alright, you know what? How about this? I will take a brief break with you and give you a reward for your earlier bravery. And afterwards, we will throw ourselves at work together and you will get to find out everything about gods and obelisks that you want. How does that sound?"

Seonghwa had to think about it for a while. Then he nodded. He was flexible in the timing of his day, they still had a lot of hours left to go.

"Fine, you get your will. But later, you will give me everything on him you have."

"Of course." The relieved smile on Hongjoong's face was worth waiting.

Curious, Seonghwa tilted his head as Hongjoong put his book down to step closer to him.

"So? What will my reward be?"

Hongjoong's grin turned coy as he swung a leg over Seonghwa's lap and settled on his thighs. His fingers grasped Seonghwa's nape as Seonghwa instinctively pulled him in by his waist. He liked the pliant willingness in Hongjoong's eyes. His body was warm and firm in Seonghwa's arms. A fine reward, indeed.

"I don't have a lot to offer but myself... But I hope you will accept such an insignificant gesture." Elegantly, Hongjoong exposed his neck for Seonghwa when he leaned in. Hongjoong's skin tasted of salt.

"You are more than enough. A splendid gift to give."

Everything about gods and obelisks and dark orbs disappeared from Seonghwa's mind. Nothing but Hongjoong was important anymore.

As Seonghwa's hands undressed the other man slowly, he became putty beneath his palms. All his trust and gentleness grounded Seonghwa and reminded him of their human character. With all the care, he trailed his fingers over Hongjoong's raising them above his head and hold them there as he explored the man's torso. Hongjoong had a beautiful chest, and it got a lot of attention from Seonghwa.

Gentle fingertips trailed deeper to touch places on Hongjoong that had the man throw his head back and spill the sweetest noises from his lips. They pulled Seonghwa's attention from the crashing waves and the rolling thunder outside as the skies finally dawned its tears and anger at them. They remained blissfully dry and shared their warm breaths. Seonghwa kissed the gasp off Hongjoong's lips when his fingers entered him deep and massaged his soft insides.

Later, when Seonghwa was buried deep inside the other man and Hongjoong had thrown his head back in pleasure, Seonghwa didn't even remember what he had read on that obelisk anymore. His senses all centred around the beautiful man and the way he arched over Seonghwa's arm.

Hongjoong's heat around him felt heavenly and blessed Seonghwa with all the calmness and soothing pleasure that he had missed. His earlier fear and tension all released as he embraced his lover. They clung to each other as their chests heaved in tandem and Hongjoong's toes curled in bliss.

They were so busy with each other that Seonghwa didn't even question how something probed and entered him from behind while he thrust into Hongjoong. The way it massaged him was too good for him to react with more than a moan. He let it explore and bring sensations to him that had his sight go white.

He should have investigated it, really. For its slippery and flexible character. Especially when he had both of Hongjoong's hands pinned above his head. And yet, he didn't. He focused only on Hongjoong and his sighs that tumbled in one litany from his parted lips. The man's dark eyes were closed as he handed himself over to the feeling, but they opened, fluttering as both of them came to watch Seonghwa's face contort in pleasure.

Whatever had touched Seonghwa from behind disappeared at the same moment and left nothing for him to examine.

Seonghwa was tired once they finished. He laid down in what he swore to himself would be just a brief nap. Hongjoong's body against his made for the warmest pillow. With his hand sprawled over the soft skin of Hongjoong's chest, Seonghwa fell into a long sleep. Exhaustion pulled him under so deep that he didn't even startle when Hongjoong later on pulled away from him to return to his work desk.

As soon as his protective spirit left Seonghwa's side, he dreamed. And compared to other nights, his bewildering dreams seemed clearer and more to the point than usual.

When he awoke in the realm of his dreams, Seonghwa was in a dark forest. It resembled the forest of the island, a forest that he was very sure he had never been to before. Yet, it was different in a way that he couldn't quite place. As if all the colours had darkened slightly and a thin grey layer covered everything. A cloud of something evil had settled here, and Seonghwa didn't know exactly what to expect of this dream.

You found your destiny.

Seonghwa startled at the sudden voice. He whipped around to check behind him, but no other person was nearby. The sound seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It surrounded Seonghwa like the air and yet; it echoed exclusively in his ears.

No wind rustled the trees. No bird flew by.

"Who are you?"

Not who. You know who I am.

Did he? Was that Hongjoong? But that voice was distorted and deep, like the rumbling of an earthquake. It sounded nothing like Hongjoong.

"Are you me?"

Seonghwa still turned on his heels. Faint light fell through the palm trees above his head, and he blinked against the sky.

I am you and not you.

Puzzled, Seonghwa halted when all the spinning made him dizzy.

I visited you a lot, mortal. You fulfilled your tasks well. As much as there is reason to resent your kind, you restored some of my faith in you.

Unsure what he faced right now, Seonghwa leaned against a tree trunk. Stable, it supported his back.

"I did? What if I hadn't done that?"

Death. And despair. The downfall of your civilisation as you know it.

A bunch of dark symbols flashed in front of Seonghwa's eyes. They were too fast to see, but they forced him to the ground with how disruptive they entered his mind.

When he rose his head again, the forest had changed. Seonghwa's eyes widened when they spotted the bags on the ground. Large, vaguely human-shaped bags. Blood drained through the brown linen sacks that held them to stain the green leaves and the earth red. In the trees were also bodies. They dangled from curved palm trunks with ropes around their necks and swinging feet.

Stand up. Look around.

Despite his discontent at doing what he was told, Seonghwa managed to rise. His knees wobbled beneath him when he took the first steps.

Some corpses still turned as if moved by the wind. None of them had faces. Seonghwa's dream blurred out any features he might have recognised.

These are all those who were of a weak state of mind. They couldn't shoulder the burden, and neither could they find their peace.

All of them were dead? Real people who had died here?

Seonghwa shuddered. The dream felt far too real for him.

Look to your right.

Before he could reach the swinging feet of the first person, Seonghwa pivoted his head. There, in the tree, floated he himself. With lifeless arms hanging down his sides and his face ashen and purple from having suffocated. Death reflected in his eyes.

Seonghwa collapsed under the next flood of images. They whispered and yelled in passing, hissing his name and threats and words of madness and gloom. Then they disappeared again. Seonghwa sat in the lighthouse on the bed. He was alone.

The other presence had disappeared. When Seonghwa looked around, he spotted weird things in every corner. A few fingers peeking out from between closed book pages. Blood blotches on the windows. A pair of shoes seated neatly in front of the window.

Swallowing, he tried not to focus on the details of the distorted room, but his eyes kept catching on some. Where was Hongjoong?

Even after several minutes - that might have been hours in the actual world - the lighthouse keeper didn't resurface. So Seonghwa's eyes wandered again. And this time, they got stuck on something on the shelf. Behind the pile of books and papers, he saw something blue, an object made of glass. Curious, he squinted at it. What was a bottle doing back there?

Just as he wanted to rise to investigate, the door downstairs fell shut. Hongjoong came up the stairs to smile at Seonghwa brightly. He didn't seem to notice the unsettling changes in the room.

"Oh hey, you're back. Found anything interesting?" Hongjoong asked with a charming smile. He set his bag down on the table and crawlers spilt out of it. Centipedes, bugs, spiders, they all ran off on their many quick legs to hide behind the furniture. Repulsed, Seonghwa regarded that sack.

Seonghwa didn't tell him he never left. Or had he?

"I didn't. Will you turn on the lights upstairs? I still haven't figured out the mechanism." He gave a forced smile to the man. If he didn't concentrate, then his eyes would drift back up to the bottle that had caught his attention. Now that he had spotted it, it stuck out like a sore thumb and his curiosity thrummed as he tried to hold it at bay.

"Sure!" Hongjoong skipped off with a grin. Meanwhile, Seonghwa reached over to grab the dull knife that Hongjoong used for cutting wood. With his jaw grit, he used it to cut along his scars. Fresh blood pooled on his forearm. He connected two vertical ones with a horizontal line. Once he woke up, he needed to check that shelf.

He had to remember.