Wooyoung could feel himself getting weaker as the seconds dragged on. Every ounce of his magic was being forced into San, slowly draining his own life.

But he didn't care.

He didn't want to live in a world without San...

"Please!" He shouted, startling some of the fish still swimming around him. "Please, Mother Ata, please!!"

The low, thudding whoosh of something hitting the surface came from somewhere above him, followed shortly by his protective barrier breaking apart as Yunho and Mingi swam toward him.

"Wooyoung!" they both called, panic evident in their faces.

"M-Mingi, hurry!" The younger sobbed, unable to take his eyes off San's face.

It was unfair... how peaceful he looked... as if he was merely sleeping.

"Are you crazy?!" Mingi said, his voice harsh. One more flick of his tail rocketed him into Wooyoung, where he immediately cupped the younger's cheeks and forced his head up. "Why wou-"

"HELP HIM!" Wooyoung wailed, ripping his head away. He sent another pulse of his own magic into San, needing this to work.

By now, Yunho had reached them as well. He took a second to look at both San and Wooyoung. His shoulders fell. "Woo..."

"No!" Wooyoung's screech grew louder as he held San closer to him. Another, more powerful pulse of magic left him.

Mingi's eyes widened and he grabbed Wooyoung's hand. "Stop! You can't change this, Wooyoung. He's de-"

"NO!!"

The fish around them started to swim faster, almost like they were getting worked up into a frenzy...

"Wooyoung..." Yunho held out a hand, his lower lip trembling slightly. The sudden movement made the water around them swirl, mixing in and diluting San's blood even more.

"No! You can save him!" Wooyoung pleaded, looking at Mingi as if he held all the answers in the world.

His prince frowned and whispered "Woo..." He glanced at San again and pure pain flashed in his eyes. "You know magic doesn't work like that."

Each word broke Wooyoung's already shattered heart even more.

He sent yet another pulse of magic into San's body.

"Stop it, Woo." Mingi's voice grew hard again. "You're going to kill yourself if you keep going!" He reached for the couple in front of him, but Wooyoung pumped his tail furiously to move away.

"Then let me die!" His voice cracked, his throat burned, his vision blurred. "Let me die with him!"

"Youngie! Don't say that!" Yunho shook his head, his blue hair glowing in the light of the jellyfish, although it was getting dimmer.

Wooyoung thought he saw dark shadows closing in out of the corner of his eyes, but he couldn't be sure, nor did he really care.

All he could focus on was the... the body... in his arms.

"M-Mingi, please..."

When silence was the only answer he got, Wooyoung cried out with such force he felt like he should have displaced all the water without him.

It was a horrible, crushing, soulless sound that silenced any other sound in the ocean.

And it just wouldn't stop.

Wooyoung pulled San to his chest, clinging to him and still trying to deny the truth he could feel in the way San wouldn't hug him back...

"I..." Mingi swallowed and crossed his arms over his stomach. His voice was thick, full with his own emotions. "I'm so, so sorry."

There was nothing Wooyoung could think of to answer him. He could feel himself slowly sinking deeper into the ocean.

His sun had gone out... He had no direction to follow any more now that his tether had snapped... He had no purpose...

He was nothing without his San.

Mingi and Yunho sank with him, giving him the space he needed while showing they were here for him.

Until both their heads snapped up and Mingi rushed to throw up a shield around them right as a gigantic tiger shark charged at them from the dark void around them.

Wooyoung couldn't bring himself to stop crying, even when Yunho moved in front of him to act as a separate wall. With no weapon, he'd be next to useless against a shark, especially one nearly twice as long as any of them.

It was here for San...

And that thought made Wooyoung cry even harder.

There was no way he was going to let San be taken...

"Get them back to the surface." Mingi ordered. He started swimming in a circle around them, keeping himself and his shield in between them and the shark. "That will be the safest place."

Yunho nodded and turned back to Wooyoung. "Come on, let's go."

But Wooyoung didn't move... couldn't move...

His eyes were glued on the shark, watching its large, black eyes stare at them as if it hadn't eaten in weeks.

The only light they had now was the light coming from Mingi's magic. It was a shimmering blue and it made the shark look like a sickly grey color.

But it also highlighted a little scar behind it's right fin. It looked to be from a bite or maybe a tooth that had snagged there, something completely ordinary.

Yet it's shape... a jagged 'A'... Wooyoung gasped and shook his head. "Keep it busy!" He said, then darted deeper into the ocean.

"WOOYOUNG!!"

He could hear his name being called time after time, but he didn't care anymore.

With a quick switch, he started funneling his magic into his tail. It helped him to swim faster than normal with less concentration. This allowed him to hold San close to him as he rocketed through the water.

He also created an orb to cast in front of him so he had a beam of light. It illuminated the surrounding around and made it so he could see around him too.

It also drew the sea life closer, which was a risk, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

Nurse sharks joined him at first, swimming close to him and brushing against his tail. Then larger fish, eels, and even a few less aggressive species of bigger sharks joined in.

They were all their to lend their support...

The one, minuscule second he allowed himself to think about it, Wooyoung was so thankful they were here. It added to the comfort surrounding him like a warm hug.

He was home.

But once that second was over, he surged forward, pumping his tail as hard as he physically could.

His mind tried to argue with his decision, telling him this was foolish and there was no point. Telling him he would die.

That didn't matter, though. He'd meant it when he said he'd be alright with dying.

If this didn't work...

No, he had to have faith.

Wooyoung continued to swim deeper into the black abyss.

So much about the deep ocean was still unknown. There were too many dangerous things for merfolk to encounter, especially alone.

He noticed some of the fish around him start to leave as the water grew colder and heavier. One by one, they would slow down and turn away, until all he had was the glowing orb above him and San's body pressed to him.

That's when the deep sea creatures started to emerge, attracted to the light.

Twisted, gnarly fish with abnormally long teeth or lights attached to them somewhere to lure in prey. Several were transparent or white, giving away the face that they'd never been exposed to the sun or any true light.

Wooyoung had never seen anything like them before and he felt himself starting to slow down from fear.

A new species of shark appeared in his vision. It looked like it's forehead extended into a horn, which was odd, but the real shock came when it attacked a fish.

It's entire mouth and jaw shot forward, away from it's head, to grab the unsuspecting fish and pull it back for the shark to swallow whole.

Wooyoung swam backward, crying out in shock at the strange creature.

What else was lurking down here?

He took that moment of hesitation to turn in a full circle, taking in his surroundings.

Truthfully, he had no idea where he actually needed to go...

Rumors had always floated around his pod about the Sea Witch and her strange magic. She was said to live in the deepest part of the ocean and that only the brave, or extremely foolish, could find her.

Yet there was no one alive who'd ever seen her...

"Please, Mother Ata... show me the way." Wooyoung whispered.

Heavy silence surrounded him. Only the occasional glug from a bubble forming or a swish of a tail could be heard.

Then... several loud clicks came from behind him.

Wooyoung spun around and his jaw dropped when a massive sperm whale swam into his light. Several long, orange tentacles flopped alongside her head, making Wooyoung shiver at the sight.

He watched as she turned, slowly, until she could look directly at him with one, large eye.

That's when he recognized her. She was the same whale who had come close to him the day their pod was attacked.

She made a few more clicking sounds, then rotated again so that her right fin was extended in his direction.

Wooyoung knew it was crazy, but he'd always been one to trust the sea life around him. It had caused problems before but... right now he was desperate.

He wrapped one arm around San's waist so he could grab the front of her fin.

The sperm whale clicked again, then started to swim forward. She was fast, covering more distance than Wooyoung could, even with his magic.

Because of his new ride, Wooyoung was able to give his magic a break, although he did keep the light so he could see.

This allowed him to watch in awe as the whale used her massive tongue to pull the giant squid in her jaws deeper into her mouth.

He hoped she was ok on air, but the beautiful creature seemed perfectly at ease as she glided over the ocean floor.

They passed by hundreds of other fish, the bones from whale carcasses, and even the remains from human ships.

Even with how dire their situation was, Wooyoung could still appreciate the beauty hidden in the unknown world.

Especially when it started to... glow?

The merman looked around, confused as to where the glow was coming from. Then, small gems started to appear in the sand as they passed over, getting bigger and bigger the further they went. They were all shades of pink, blue, green, and white, and they were... breathtaking.

When Wooyoung turned his head forward again, he gasped.

How had this place remained undiscovered?

A large, prismatic pyramid rose from the ocean floor. It glowed from the inside, illuminating the surrounding area to reveal every type of coral Wooyoung had ever seen, plus even more he hadn't.

He noticed the water growing warmer, too, and also instantly felt the increase of magic. It made his skin tingle and buzz as he started to absorb some of it. He could also feel it healing whatever wounds he had left.

What was this place?

The whale slowed down the closer they got to the pyramid. Then she turned and stopped directly in front of what looked to be the entrance. She gave a few encouraging clicks when Wooyoung let go before turning toward the surface to take a much needed breath of air.

"Thank you." Wooyoung whispered.

"Come to me." A powerful, enchanting, feminine voice called.

Wooyoung held San close to him, then swam forward.

He felt like he should be scared, or at least nervous. Here he was, venturing into something entirely unknown and potentially very dangerous. Yet... he felt completely at ease.

The entrance to the pyramid ended up being a long tunnel that led to a large room that looked to be the entire center of the structure. He discovered it was the walls themselves that glowed, not too bright to be painful, and they looked like they were carved from pure starlight.

He stopped at the edge of the tunnel, not sure where to go next, but the answer quickly came to him and he felt his heart stop.

A mermaid, over four times his size, rose from the red moss covered base of the structure.

She was stunning, elegant, beautiful, and so much more. Her opalescent tail glittered in showers of rainbows, each scale perfectly shining in harmony with the next. Her moonlight white hair flowed effortlessly around her, framing her perfect, heart shaped face. And her eyes, her ageless, turquoise eyes, increased her beauty tenfold.

Wooyoung couldn't bring himself to move as she stopped in front of him and smiled. "Wooyoung."

The merman blinked a couple of times and opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Had he died? Was he about to pass into the Eternal Ocean?

No... He couldn't have. Not with the weight of San's... body... still in his arms.

He looked down at his human and felt his body start to tremble at the sight of his white and blue skin and blood stained shirt.

"I see what's in your heart, dear boy." The mermaid said, her voice kind and gentle. She lifted her hand, so perfectly smooth and elegant despite it being nearly as big as Wooyoung himself, and extended one finger to touch the top of Wooyoung's head.

A rush of magic flowed through him. Nothing happened, other than it felt like she was merely saying 'hello' or welcoming him to her home.

But it was just what he needed to say, "I-I don't know who you are, but... please... c-can you h-help...?"

Deep down... he knew there was no point in asking...

San... San was... gone...

If he was on the surface, he knew tears would be running endlessly down his cheeks as he started to sob.

Suddenly he was moving.

The mermaid had gently cupped him in her hand and was now bringing him closer to her while sinking down to the moss below them.

"You know me." She whispered. "You asked me to bring you here," She added with a giggle.

Wooyoung blinked several times and opened his mouth. There was no way... No way... "Mother Atargatis?" He asked slowly.

A glorious smile answered him. "I will explain everything. But first..." Her eyes fell to San. "You've been through so much... Yet your heart has not changed. I know your wish."

The water around them started to tremble and swirl.

And then...

San started to glow.