★ We are family ★

-·=»‡«=·-

- Challenged -

Taehyung

The atmosphere nearly does a 180, especially when Illume and the other Gods fall deadly silent. The walls rumble as if an earthquake is beneath our feet, my magic power growing stronger as the seconds turn to minutes. There isn't a word said between Illume and I, not until he takes one step forward.

"I accept your challenge, Taehyung." I feel the need to bark back a response, but I kept myself from doing so. He's already agreed to my challenge, that's all I wanted. Jungkook's eyes me worriedly and I know he's scared for me. We've never challenged a god before.

His magic power surrounds me, but it isn't enough to make me feel helpless. It's strong- most definitely- but not as strong as I imagined. The only magic power that almost made me cower was Soros', and Illume's doesn't even match it. "How dare you?" I roar, my anger seeming to get the best of me.

"How dare I what? Tell me, what did I do to you?" He bites back, eyes narrowed while they turn completely white. He looks possessed, and that's enough for me to lower myself towards the ground a bit. I don't do it as a sign of backing down, but as a sign to charge forward.

"You know damn well what you did, Illume! Forbidding Soros from helping me? From helping us?!" The room falls silent and the other gods look away. Surely they knew about it too, hell, I'm sure they had no say in the matter either. "It needed to be done," Illume protests.

That's all it takes.

I'm charging forward at lightning speed, ice covering the ground before I even let the command cross my mind. Water floods the room and darkness pushes me off the ground. It all happens in seconds, just mere seconds, but in those seconds I'm off the ground as throwing a hard punch at Illume.

And it hits just where I want it to. His cheek. There's a black imprint left in his skin, his body stumbling back as my wings of darkness keep me in the air. I scream, mostly out of anger and frustration, ice spikes flying throughout the air and hitting every wall in the palace entrance.

"How dare you?!" I'm screaming, feet planted back on the ground as water forms in waves, crashing against the walls and growing higher and higher up. It's towering over Illume now, and that says something. Every god and Elemental in the room is silent, just watching with wide eyes as I stay back, eyeing Illume.

And oh boy is he mad when the realization hits him. His white eyes burn with anger, light bouncing off of his skin, blinding me. "You are below me, Kim! You do not control my actions and my decisions!" He roars, his voice bouncing off the walls with so much power it makes me shake.

But I refuse to cower.

If I don't cower to Soros, I'm not cowering to Illume.

Light floods the entire room and I'm blinded for a few seconds. I growl, hands pressed to the ground. I'm stronger than he believes I am. I won't let him win! "Screw you!" I screamed, concentrating on my emotions. Anger. Sadness. Confusion. Hatred. Frustration.

And as those emotions grow even stronger, so does my magic. I'm opening my eyes, letting darkness overpower the light, turning this room pitch black. "You lying bastard!" I roared, moving in the darkness that only I could see in. I'm stealthy and silent, other than the occasional remarks I spit out.

"You lied to us! You keep things a secret, despite us putting our trust in you!" I yelled, letting an ice spike form in my hand. I aim it at his figure, throwing it directly for his arm. And it hits, right in the middle of his forearm. "We trusted you! We put our life into your hands!"

"So that you could keep secrets from us? Ones that may determine whether we see the daylight tomorrow or not?!" I'm screaming, passing right by Soros and stopping in front of him. My chest heaves up and down with anger, my eyes black and narrowed onto Illume.

The darkness of the room fades and we're back to how it originally was, able to see the entire room with decent lighting. He's livid, grabbing the ice spike from his forearm and pulling it out. I could see Jungkook, his body held back by Smoldris.

This is my fight. It's the right choice to not let them intervene.

"Then when the one person who wants to tell us the truth, because he knows it's the right thing to do, speaks out, you shun him away?!" I'm pointing up at Soros, seeing his eyes fill with shock. I'm fighting for him. For us. I'm fighting not only for the Elementals but for the treatment he deserves.

He's a God, just like them. Yet they shun him away like he's the devil.

"I'm tired of your fucking shit! You may call yourself the leader, but you don't control what he does. You don't control us!" Illume laughs, light thrown from his fingertips. "Watch me." It's too quick, the light sent right at me. I can barely process it, my eyes widening for a split second. This attack, it's stronger than the rest.

But my magic manages to stop it, forming this thick barrier around me. The darkness tendrils are thick, wrapping around my body and shielding me. My ice forms a wall, thick and unbreakable and the water creates an orb around me. My magic isn't some tool, it's me.

I see an orange glow rushing at me, my eyes widening in realization. Jungkook. Fire surrounds his body completely, eyes narrowed and features filled with anger. His arms raise up and there's a ball of fire sent at Illume, hitting him on the face.

I let my magic disappear except for the water. He nods, throwing fire all around the ground. My cue. Our cover. Water floods from my fingers and smoke rises up, covering us while darkness adds to the cover we created. Our backs press and I feel his fingers intertwine with mine.

"We're in this together. Partners." I could hear his voice, my heart racing in my chest. Together. We're in this together. "What's the plan, Taehyung?" He whispers, fingers running over the back of my hand. "The plan is to throw enough attacks at Illume to knock him back. Surprise him, go for an area he won't think about."

"Above," Jungkook says immediately, the both of us looking straight up at the ceiling. "Fly up to the top and go behind Illume. I'll stand in front. When you hear me shoot another remark at him, throw your attacks," I say, looking around the room. I can barely make out Illume over the smoke but I know he's moving forward.

"Together," I say, squeezing his hand and taking a few steps away. He nods, wings forming as he flies above Illume and behind him so that he attacks his backside. I fly up, positioning myself in front of Soros, who is still pretty shocked.

"You may be a God, but I know for a fact that your power cannot surpass mine," I say, loud and clear, watching as the smoke begins to fade away. "What makes you so sure about that, Kim? Are you underestimating my ability to kill you instantly?" I laughed, shaking my head as the smoke finally clears, revealing me in broad daylight.

With my magic swirling around me.

"You will never be stronger than me!" I roared, raising my palm up and aiming it for Illume. "Because my magic comes from within, from my heart, from my emotions. My magic is not some tool, some weapon, it's something beautiful, something only I can make," I say, smiling as I see Jungkook's flames grow stronger.

"You may be the God of light, Illume," I said, wings extending as my magic grows, ready to fire.

"But you are not an Infinite!"

That's the cue, Jungkook's magic hitting him right in the back. I send water to form a barrier around everyone but Illume and I as I concentrate on the power held deep within me. This is my magic, my power, and I make it what I want.

Then it shoots out from every inch of my body, strong and deadly, heading right for Illume. He actually yells, the whole room watching in shock as I knock him down. He's kneeling, the magic never stops. Ice is around his hands, scalding water burns his feet and the darkness hits him everywhere else.

Then it all stops as he finally falls to the ground, the thud heard as all the magic in the room disappears. There's silence, except for my heavy breathing. The whole room is shocked, a smile forming on my face. "I win," I say, lowering myself to the ground. He turns his head, finding my figure, eyes growing angry.

"I refuse to let myself fall to a human!" He shouts, magic power doubling up. Still, it's not enough to make me cower. I smile, shaking my head and letting my hair fall over my eyes. "You already did, Illume." He shakes his head in denial, getting back up shakily and rushing after me.

But as I raise my hand to attack, I'm stopped by Soros, his magic shielding me and hitting Illume. "Enough!" He roars, his magic hitting the God of light so hard he flies back. "I'm tired of this! You accepted his challenge and lost! You are done fighting!"

I look up at Soros to see him shaking with rage, his tendrils wrapping around me and pulling me closer to him. He's protecting me. Just like I protected him. "The kid is right, Illume. You trained them to fight the monsters roaming the earth now, yet you still keep secrets from them."

"Then you forbid me from protecting them when I go to spill the truth?" Illume glares at us, all of us, light flying off his skin. "You have no right to go against my orders, Soros!" Anger builds up inside of me again, my eyes turning black once more. "You have no right to order him around!"

"He's stronger than you'll ever be! Just because he's the opposite of you, just because he possesses darkness doesn't mean he's the devil!" I roared, watching as Jungkook took a stand beside me, holding my hand tightly. "If anything, he's nicer than anyone I've ever met before!"

"He might as well be crowned the God of light and good because he's what you're supposed to be! But instead, you're running your mouth about him being dangerous for us! Might as well make you the fucking devil instead, Illume!" I'm screaming, held back by the tendrils that belong to Soros.

"I'm done letting these Gods cower to you. We have the right to know everything you're keeping hidden from us. We have the right to make our own choices without being controlled by you!" All the Elementals are running towards Jungkook and I, standing beside me as we face Illume.

Each of them has their magic swirling around them and that lets the room fall silent again. I take one step forward, instantly pulled back a bit by Soros. Glacius and Drift join us, taking their stand beside Soros and using their magic to shield us, all of us.

"Soros will continue to protect us, all of us, as will the rest of the Gods," I commanded, letting my magic double up again, the walls shaking once more. "I will not let you shun him away. He's one of you, he's a God, yet you treat him so differently. He isn't evil, never has been and never will be." My eyes are dark and my voice is deep.

No one fights against my commands.

"And if you dare to say otherwise," I say, letting my magic swirl around all the Elementals and the Gods in the room.

"Then I'll show you everything an Infinite can do."

-·=»‡«=·-

He won the duel! Jungkook stepped in and Soros used his magic to help protect Taehyung. The Elementals are standing up against Illume.

Was it the right thing to do?

I purple you 💜

~Pisanthrophobia.