“Every person has a life that is given to them.”
Trickle. The King of the Underworld filled the cup on the table. It was a dainty teacup, a stark contrast to his enormous frame. As the King turned his back, clattering as he tidied the teapot, Geon-joo took a breath. A clean, simple fragrance filled his lungs. It was a tantalizing scent, almost ticklish in how it stimulated his appetite, but he wasn’t bewitched into drinking the tea.
Persephone’s pomegranates were famous for a reason.
Seeing that his guest was not drinking, the King merely shrugged his shoulders without applying any pressure.
In the quiet space, the dry rustle of tea leaves and the sound of water echoed like the chirping of birds. Judging by the atmosphere alone, it felt less like the Underworld and more like a tranquil retreat deep in the countryside mountains.
This is unexpectedly peaceful.
Contrary to the System’s warnings, the King of the Underworld he met beyond the gate was not as frightening as he had imagined, nor as ruthless as the alerts had suggested. He was even surprised by the man’s hospitality in offering tea. The atmosphere was so different from the rest of the Underworld he had experienced that he remained on high alert as the man, having neatly arranged some refreshments on a plate, sat down opposite him.
“Just as the lives of people are varied, so too is the karma each person carries. Do you know what karma is?”
“I have a general idea.”
“Then do you know what effect that karma has on a life?”
“I don’t know that much.”
A light series of questions and answers passed between them. The King of the Underworld smiled as if pleased with the honest reply and lifted his cup.
“It is often said that if a person does wicked things, they will not be able to close their eyes in peace even after they die.”
He waved a hand.
“I am inclined to agree with that statement.”
A transparent system window materialized in the air. At the King’s gesture, the screen enlarged, and a dark video began to play. It was a familiar place. Geon-joo instantly recognized the space on the screen as the River of Death he had just crossed.
—Gyaaaaaaaaaah!
The distinctive screams coming from the video made it impossible to mistake.
“First, the souls who have sinned pay a price in this hell, befitting the nature of their transgressions. The less severe the sins committed in life, the shorter their time of suffering in the river.”
The King moved his thumb and forefinger as if zooming in on a phone screen, and the view shifted to show the landscape within the river. The inside of the pitch-black river, a sight Geon-joo had not been privy to, was divided into various forms of hell he had only ever heard about. Occasionally, a soul would escape the wretched abyss and rise to the surface, but whenever that happened, the ferryman would appear, shatter the soul to pieces, and collect them. The screams erupting from the river were the death cries of those souls being harvested.
Even though it was just a video and not reality unfolding before him, there was something deeply unsettling about it. A cold draft, enough to make his hair stand on end, swept between Geon-joo and the King.
The King silently observed Geon-joo clenching his fists on his lap. After a moment, he continued his explanation.
“The souls that have undergone their period of repentance in the river then live their second lives as humble creatures.”³
The video changed. It showed blades of grass being trampled underfoot, then a bee in flight. After showing various plants and animals, the video ended on the image of a mayfly, then faded to black.
“Birth and death are repeated. They live as humble creatures for a duration proportional to their sins, and in the end, they live and die as a mayfly. Only then do they finally become human again.”
Light slowly returned to the dark screen as the sound of a baby’s cry was heard. The King’s eyes deepened.
“But not everyone is born as a proper human.”
“…”
Geon-joo held his breath as he watched the video. The newborn baby’s arm was bent at a grotesque angle, it was missing a finger, and it was so small he wondered if it had been born impossibly premature. The mother, upon seeing the wailing child, went into shock and fainted from exhaustion. The baby’s father, hearing the news, wore a grim expression.
“The things from a past life that a person carries when they die and are reborn—that is karma. For the most part, they are born bearing their faults like that and live a life of hardship. Humans have a curious saying. They see a child born with a deformity and ask what sin the child could have possibly committed to be born that way, but that is backward thinking. It is because they have sinned that they are born that way.”
The King laughed, a low, mocking sound. The video faded to black completely, and the system window vanished from the air. The King of the Underworld was now looking directly at Geon-joo.
Only now did it truly feel like he was a god. Though it was merely a gaze, it felt as if a colossal weight was pressing down on his body. An unbearable burden had settled on his shoulders.
<Health has decreased by 10. Remaining Health: 20.>
<Soul Value has decreased by 5. Remaining Soul Value: 20.>
It wasn’t just a feeling; his body reacted immediately. A surge of blood rose in his throat, and he couldn’t stop himself from spitting it out. He wiped the blood from the back of his hand and coughed a few more times. The King simply watched him in silence. His stare was so uncomfortable that Geon-joo furrowed his brow and spoke.
“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”
Is he saying Sa-yoon has committed so many sins that he’s now bearing the weight of his karma? So I should give up on trying to save him? It was an unconvincing argument. Connecting a past life to a present one was the perspective of a god; from the standpoint of a human who is created and lives, there was nothing more unjust than being judged for the sum of both.
After all, the soul of the present life had committed no sin in the present life.
Of course, in Sa-yoon’s case, he had already committed irrevocable sins, but wasn’t that also instigated by beings like this, the so-called gods?
What in the world is he thinking?
He was so great and mighty that Geon-joo couldn’t even begin to guess at a single fragment of the goddamn grand picture he was painting. The King closed his eyes as he met Geon-joo’s gaze, which was now so sharp it bordered on sacrilegious.
“You haven’t changed. You haven’t changed at all. An impudent soul never changes…”
He didn’t know what it meant, but he knew it was an insult. He wrinkled his nose to show his displeasure and parted his lips. It was about time he asked the King to open a path to Sa-yoon, but looking at the being before him, it didn’t seem likely his request would be granted.
He should have said something before watching that bizarre video. The atmosphere had grown heavy since it ended. As Geon-joo was stewing in regret, the King placed a teacup down in front of him. He had set it down gently, yet a thunderous BOOM! echoed, as if it would shatter the very space around them. Geon-joo’s head snapped up in reflex.
“You who has crossed into the Underworld while still living.”
“…”
The voice, chillingly low, felt like it was scraping against his lungs.
“Do you know what karma you yourself bear?”
A quiet rage was packed tightly within his calm demeanor. What had set him off?
His words caught in his throat, and he couldn’t answer. The King stared at him with simmering eyes for a long moment before closing them again.
“It’s no use asking you now…”
Muttering incomprehensibly to himself, he opened his eyelids again. The King snapped his fingers at Geon-joo, who had remained silent.
“I know what it is you want. Therefore, let us make a wager.”
+++
<The Master of the Underworld has given you a quest!> <Sudden Quest occurred! Clear the quest!>
+++
[Sudden Quest – Slay the Black Serpent]
In the depths of the Underworld, a Black Serpent that once devoured tens of thousands of people and committed an unforgivable sin lies coiled. Kill the serpent and prove your worth to the King of the Underworld!
+++
Clear Condition: Slay the serpent. Success: Another exit to ‘The True Evil of Humanity?’ will be provided.
Failure: Forced awakening of ㅁ502*!#’s memory.
+++
“Ugh!”
The quest window had barely formed before it began to shake violently. A pain like his brain was being gouged out shot through him, and his insides started to churn. His whole body vibrated, as if someone had reversed the flow of everything within him. Unable to bear it, he collapsed to the floor, vomiting blood. Then, dark red blood began to stream from every orifice above his neck—his eyes, ears, and nose.
“Keo-heok!”
It felt like his airways were completely blocked by blood. He couldn’t breathe, gasping as he clawed at the floor, but his body was too weak to even push himself up. A ringing filled his ears, as if a bomb had gone off. The one arm that had been propping him up gave way.
“…Ah.”
His strength drained away, making his entire journey here feel meaningless. Perhaps due to the system error, no health-loss notification appeared, but he could feel his body weakening in real-time. Through his blurring vision, he saw a red system window pop up in front of the King of the Underworld.
“What’s the problem? If you want my cooperation, it’s only fair that I set conditions like this,” the King muttered in annoyance.
The system window began to rampage furiously in front of the King. It wasn’t an exaggeration; it was literally shaking up and down, then appearing in front of his face, above his head, and behind his head, as if to pressure him. The King sighed, looking at the holographic window bucking like a wild colt.
“Fine, I get it. You are all too soft…”
The King waved his hand in defeat and said something else. The once-clear sound became muffled and distant, as if his ears were filled with water, and then it disappeared entirely. His hazy vision faded. As blood from his eyes filled his final sight with red, he heard a system alert. To accommodate a user who had lost their vision, it even came with voice support.
<Error correction. System is being restored.>
That was the first notification.
<All Health is depleted. The physical body loses its claim in the Underworld.> <All Soul Value is depleted. Remaining Soul Value: 0. Your soul loses ‘?’>
<Calculating…> . . .
<You have died.>
That was the final notification.
For the first time in a long while, Han Geon-joo had met his death.