Surrounding the North Kingdom, the Northern Ocean stretched endlessly, its vast expanse embraced the moonlit waves. The night sky had hues of indigo, adorned with sparkling stars. As the moon cast its silvery glow upon the water, a figure emerged. He was a tall and lean merman of unparalleled beauty with iridescent scales that glistened like the moonlit sea, long dark hair that looked like silk, and abs and muscles that looked like were sculpted by an artist.
"Welcome, curious souls, to the realm of the supernatural beings. I am Han Haejun, guardian of the Northern Kingdom, and I hold within me the tales untold." His voice sounded like a melody as he continued, "Let me explain this world to you all. The human realm has four kingdoms, the North, South, East and, West Kingdoms, surrounding which lies the supernatural realm where the four guardians live, the East kingdom's guardian is Myeong, a two-tailed cat, I am the guardian of the North Kingdom, the South kingdom's guardian is a nine-tailed male fox, and the West kingdom's guardian is a bulgae or a fire dog. Above the supernatural realm lies the 7 realms of heaven, ruled by demi-gods of diligence, chastity, charity, patience, humility, temperance, and gratitude, and above those seven realms, lies the abode of God. Below the spiritual realm, lies the 7 realms of hell ruled by the demons of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, and below those realms, lies the realm of the devil king," He looks up at the moonlit sky and then continues, "If I have to say more about me....then yes, I am the one whose scales were used to kill Queen So and yes, I am the one who handed over the spiritual stone to King Sian...but I am not a bad person..."
With a flick of his tail, Haejun descended into the mysterious waters. As he swam deeper inside the water, a realm of vibrant coral gardens and schools of iridescent fish became visible. Mermaids and mermen bowed to Haejun when they saw him. With a smile, Haejun swam straight inside his pearl palace and sat on his throne as he began the tale................
*Flashback*
King Sian looked down at Queen So with a smirk as Sir Eunsang joined him and wrapped his arms around King Sian to support him as he was injured. "I feel happy today so I am willing to fulfil your dying wish! Speak what you want?!" King Sian said while looking at her.
There was a pool of blood around Queen So now and she struggled to keep her eyes open and felt out of breath as she spoke in a low voice, "D-Don't...ki...kill....m-my....hus....husbands....p-please.....re-re-release them...."
"I shall consider that! Rest in peace!" King Sian smirked and Sir Eunsang guided him out of the room to treat his wounds.
Queen So grabbed the dagger that was stabbed in her back and pulled it out in one go while crying in pain, "AHHHHHHH!!!!!" Her trembling hand held the blood-soaked dagger, and with sheer determination, she carved a "7" into her wrist, symbolising her seven beloved husbands.
She dropped the dagger and gasped for breath as her vision grew hazy, and her pain faded into numbness. Her fingers weakly touched her chest, as if trying to seek solace in her memories of her husbands. The room was filled with silence as the queen's breaths became shallower, and she closed her eyes and got flashbacks of the sweet moments she had with her husbands. The queen's life slowly faded away, and with a final, peaceful sigh, she succumbed to her wounds. Her eyes closed for the last time, and her body grew still.
*Flashback ends*
"The queen was lonely during her last moments and soon after her death, the room began to fill with white smoke and her body started to levitate and eventually vanished into thin air. Her mother, Myeong is a two-tailed cat, the guardian of the East Kingdom, I am positive that she went back to her realm..." Haejun said, looking at a distance, "I am like her...half human and half supernatural being. My merman father and my human mother were attracted to each other even though my mother was a consort of the Northern King. One day, she found out she was pregnant but not by the king, this made her anxious and she tried to reach my father but she couldn't reach out to the spiritual world being just a mere human. After my birth, the king obviously got to know that I wasn't his son because I looked different. Thus, he executed her for her infidelity but he was kind enough to adopt me and give me the life of a prince because he believed that a poor baby shouldn't suffer due to his parents' actions. My name was given by my adoptive father and it means the 'handsome ocean'" Haejun paused as he recalled his memories, "I always felt detached from the human world and as I grew up, I became aware of my true nature and my own kind by cultivating my spiritual energy. I also came to know that the only way I can return to my realm is if I get my hands on the spiritual stone..." He sighed, "That time the stone was with the Western king and he was planning to gift it to King Sian. On the day of King Sian's wedding, all the royals from the four kingdoms were invited to visit the East Kingdom and I knew that was my chance to get the spiritual stone. However, when I saw the king for the first time, I was distracted and lost in his beauty....he was an attractive man and his aura radiated a dark energy for he was the son of the devil...."
*Flashback*
I was admiring the king when suddenly I heard the queen calling me.
"Young man....would you please come forward?!" Queen So said, pointing at me
I went forward and bowed, not knowing what she was planning.
"Would you like to join the harem as a noble consort?" She asked.
"M-me?!" My eyes widened in surprise and I saw King Sian choking on his wine.
"But Your Majesty, how can a man enter the harem?!" The Northern king asked.
"Is it written somewhere that the king should have only female consorts?! Besides, as far as I know, even in history, several kings had male consorts....have you ever heard about the cut-sleeve emperor?! What about Lord Long Yang?! And Mizi Xia's bitten peach?!... Have you all ever heard about them?!" The queen asked. Her argument was valid and she was really someone with beauty and brains.
The crowd was left speechless by the queen's words. Finally, the Northern king turned towards King Sian and asked, "What is your opinion on this matter, your majesty?!"
The king shrugged, "She is right...I don't know about other kingdoms but in this kingdom, the ancient kings used to have male consorts as well....right, sir Eunsang?!" King Sian looked at Sir Eunsang.
Sir Eunsang cleared his throat, "Yes, the king and the queen are right!"
"And what about you, son?! Do you want to become his consort?!" The Northern King asked me.
I nodded shyly as I didn't have any problem becoming the consort of such a handsome and powerful man. Besides I really needed that spiritual stone and it was the best opportunity for me.
*Flashback ends*
"The spiritual stone was gifted to Queen So because of her wits. I visited the Queen's hall to search for the stone at night...even though I couldn't get the stone, I figured out that the queen had 7 husbands and that the king wasn't her husband. Nonetheless, I needed to befriend her to get the stone and also to get closer to the king because he was the only one capable of activating the stone. But when I went to meet with the queen to ask her help to introduce me to the king, I got to know that her father had passed away and this made me sad for her because somewhere I could connect with her... after all, she was a supernatural being too...so, I gave her my cloak so that she could disguise herself, sneak out of the palace and perform her father's burial ceremony," Haejun swayed his magnificent tail as he continued, "Judging by her emotional state, I decided to meet with the king by myself...but when I reached there, I saw him with his advisor. He was in love, in fact, married to his advisor...I was about to leave but then a dagger came flying my way and pierced my shoulder..."
*Flashback*
"Ahhh..." I whimpered in pain and grabbed my shoulder which was bleeding.
"Too many people are spying on us these days..."
I looked up and saw the king standing in front of me with his advisor.
The king looked intimidating so I quickly bowed my head.
King Sian grabbed my chin and pulled my face up so that I make eye contact with him.
"Wow! A merman, huh?" He smirked, "What a useful thing!"
I didn't realize that a few of my merman scales became visible due to the pain I felt. I quickly used my powers to hide them again.
"Why were you spying on me?" He asked in a cold voice.
"Y-Your M-Majesty, I wasn't spying on you...I just wanted to meet you but when I saw you having your private time, I was just about to leave..." I said politely.
"And why would you want to meet me?" He asked.
"B-Because...." I was scared to tell him the truth.
"Spit it out!" He ordered in his harsh tone.
"I-I w-want to return to my realm, Your Majesty...and you're the only one who can activate the spiritual stone...so please help me..." I said while folding my hands together.
The king was silent for a few seconds and he looked like he was thinking about something.
"Very well..." He smirked, "Find me the spiritual stone and I shall help you return to your realm!"
Before I could say anything, a sudden thunder fell on Mount Ether and the mountain was engulfed in dark clouds.
The king smirked, "Looks like someone is trying to activate the spiritual stone..." He looked at me and continued, "I am giving you a chance to make it up to me...go and bring me the spiritual stone!"
*Flashback ends*
"When I reached Mount Ether, I found nothing useful and had to return empty-handed but I knew that the only way I could get the stone now was by befriending the queen. The next day, when I was on my way to the queen's chambers, I met an interesting human..." Haejun smiled as he recalled his memories, "His name was Chen Ming and he was rather adorable, asking me to save him from rats..." Haejun chuckled, "Finally when we reached the queen's chamber, I was looking for ways to ask about the spiritual stone but Ming was the first one to bring up the topic by looking at the queen's amethyst necklace. The queen looked rather sceptical and suspicious when Ming brought up the topic and that look was enough for me to understand that she was protecting the stone with her life and no matter what, she would not reveal anything about it. When I left her chambers, Ming followed me...I was annoyed because he was clingy and always wanted to touch me but when he discovered my wound that was caused by the king, he cleaned it and bandaged it, tearing his own sleeve. He was a good man and probably the only one with whom I felt connected during my life on the surface....I miss him..." Haejun sighed and stayed quiet for several minutes before continuing, "Anyway, I was on the king's secret mission to find the spiritual stone when the king figured out that the queen is a two-tailed cat and things got worse because the king knew that two-tailed cats can be killed with daggers made of mermaid scales. I was at his mercy and he was my master so I had no option but to give him some of my scales for the deadly weapon. But I did try to warn her about it when I discovered that she knew nothing about her kind....."
*Flashback*
"Queen So, I came early for the meeting because...I....umm....I wish to speak to you!" I bowed.
"Yes, what is it?" She asked.
I looked around to make sure no one was listening and then went closer to her, "Your Majesty, I....ahem...I-I heard you're not a human?!"
She nodded, "How do you know?"
"Your Majesty, supernatural creatures, spirituality and everything else might be a foreign concept for this kingdom for most of the people but not for people from the other kingdoms. I knew it when I first saw you but that day I got confirmation after seeing your shadow." I said politely, not revealing my true nature.
She nodded, understanding my point.
"Your Majesty, I believe that you don't know much about your kind...am I wrong?!" I asked.
"You're right, Haejun...I don't know much!"
"Your Majesty..." I gulped and looked around to make sure once again that there were no spies of the king, "I must warn you that merman scales are-"
Unfortunately, I was cut off by Ming entering the hall, "Greetings, Your Majesty!" He bowed and smiled at me
The queen nodded at him and focused her attention back to me, "You were saying something..."
I cleared my throat and sighed, "Nothing important, Your Majesty! It's just that you should be careful and stay safe..." I bowed and looked at Ming I couldn't reveal such matters in front of him.
Soon the other consorts came in and greeted the queen and the meeting began. After that day, I didn't get the chance to meet her alone as she became too busy because King Sian arrested her husbands. Meanwhile, I took that opportunity to find the spiritual stone...
*Flashback Ends*
"I got the spiritual stone in her bath chambers. It was hidden among the stones that adorned the dragon fountain of her sunken bath. As soon as I got the stone, I gave it to the king and he praised me for my success. After that, I was trying to dry my hair under the sunlight when Ming approached me, he really was very sweet and helped me dry my hair with his innovative technique...I wish I could stay longer with him...." Haejun sighed and then continued, "As promised, the king opened the doors of the spiritual realms for me and when I arrived here, I saw that my father had already died and I being the only heir left, had to take over his position as the guardian of the Northern Kingdom. Later, I got the news that the king passed away too...his death was a shock to me and I believe this happened because no matter what, he was half human too and without the Yin and Yang balance, the powers of the spiritual stone destroyed him.
*Flashback*
As the guards prepared to bury the casket of King Sian, lightning struck the casket and lit it on fire. Everyone started screaming in horror and evacuated the place but Sir Eunsang stood there with the newborn crown prince, Prince Jeongryeong, holding three golden coins in his hand. He looked at the casket and said, "The son of the devil can't die...he'll return...I know....he has to return...for me!" He wiped his tears and looked at the coins, "He promised me to be with me even in the afterlife and the next life!"
The burning of the casket out of nowhere was enough proof for Sir Eunsang to know that his husband's body and soul were claimed by the devil himself. He knew that his beloved husband had returned to the realm of hell and that gave him some kind of relief.
*Flashback ends*
"As for the spiritual stone....it doesn't exist anymore. God has destroyed it after He saw what chaos and imbalance it brought up upon His world. But somehow I find myself the reason for the deaths of the king and the queen..." Haejun started to feel guilty as he continued, "If only I hadn't found the spiritual stone, both of them would have been alive and their lovers and children wouldn't be suffering...I-I am a bad person...." The handsome merman felt vulnerable and guilty as he wiped his pearl-like tears and swam away into the darkness of the deepness of his palace.
________________________________________
A/N
Here's a (bad) visual representation of the realms because I'm lazy to create decent images👺
Anyway, go to the "characters" chapter and check out the newly added image of the devil king cuz why not meet the new villain?! 👺