Chapter 38. Point of No Return (2)

—once upon a time, when the earth still consisted of pitch blackness; when there was still no sun, moon, mountains, or humans—

—the heaven, which was in the skies above, watched over the dark ground. There was indeed a reason for the place to be named so—after all, it was the only place where birds gathered and sang, where flowers bloomed. The passage of time almost couldn’t be felt.

However, due to that, the gods suffered boredom—since there was nothing else to do.

Finally, the almightiest amongst the gods said—

‘Let’s build paradise on Earth.’

Thus, seven gods descended onto Earth.

First, they created the sun and the moon to light the sky. Then, they planted the seeds of vegetation, and along with it, caused rain. The Earth immediately became lush.

Lastly, the gods made humans and blessed them with love, courage, and wisdom. Thus, human began to live happily and comfortably in the land where the Gods ruled.

However, some Gods didn’t like the world for they weren’t bestowed a role in the creation—one of them was Hades; the God of Death and Regeneration.

Amongst the Gods, he was the only one possessing black hair and eyes. His figure wasn’t well received by the Gods. So, he decided to leave paradise and live amongst the people in Earth.

However, when he finally decided to do so, the other Gods instantly uncovered his plan. As soon as he landed on Earth, he was captured and brought back to heaven.

—thus, he pleaded The Almighty—please make me human.

His wish was granted, and he became a human being.

However, cruel reality awaited him on Earth.

His appearance made him stand out—he was just different.

People chased him, thus, he ran deep into the forest. With his remaining power as a former god, he created a human girl. Hades named the beautiful girl, with jet-black hair and eyes, Sofia. He raised her with care.

When Sofia was able to speak, Hades said—

“—you must never get close to people other than me.”

Sofia inquired:

“…Why?”

“Because humans are afraid of us—our black hair and eyes make us different from them.”

At that time, Sofia still didn’t understand the meaning behind Hades’ words.

Then, for years, decades, and hundreds of years, Sofia lived together with Hades in the forest. Sofia obliged to Hades’ words, never stepping a foot out of the forest.

However, a thousand years later—

—a young man strayed into the forest.

The young man was deeply injured, and on the verge of death. Sofia was surprised when she saw another living creature besides Hades—mostly by the fact that the two looked similar with each other.

She reached out to the young man, whom looked like he was in pain.

The young man—who was momentarily distracted by Sofia’s otherworldly appearance—soon passed out due to the wound he suffered.

After a while, once the man regained consciousness, he discovered that the wound which ruptured his internal organs had completely disappeared. The young man quickly realized it was because of that girl.

The young man returned into the forest to thank the girl. Along the way, he encountered a beautiful lake with an abundance of clear water—he had heard a singing voice from there. The young man was struck by the lovely melody she sang, which was akin to birds’.

The young man gently approached the girl and called out.

“Are you the one who helped me?”

The girl’s shoulder trembled at the voice, but gentle smile of youth soon returned to her face. She had forgotten entirely of Hades’ order.

“That’s right.”

Sofia unconsciously smiled.

The young man was instantly mesmerized by Sofia’s smile, and also her voice—which was similar to the chime of a bell.

“My name is Kyle. Can I have your name?”

“…—Sofia. It’s Sofia.”

“Sofia? What a beautiful name. Thank you for saving me, Sofia.”

Sofia too, was naturally attracted to both Kyle’s strong, dignified appearance, and his gentle smile.

Sofia asked Kyle—what was the world outside the forest was like.

Kyle explained sadly, the gods had abandoned Earth, war raged on—there was nothing but endless fighting between people.

So it turned out, Kyle was a prince in a neighboring country. After the civil war happened, he escaped the kingdom. None of his vassals survived—he had nowhere to return.

Sofia took Kyle home. She requested Hades to give Kyle shelter.

—to Hades’ utter rejection. Sofia had never seen him that angry before—he was the splitting image of a wrathful, vengeful God.

Why did you go against my order—!?

Hades was aware of it, already—Sofia was attracted to Kyle, while Kyle loved Sofia. Both were unforgiveable to him—

—after all, he loved Sofia, too.

Sofia, whom he created with his own hands, from the bottom of his heart—

—Hades also understood, that humans were short-lived. Hades, whom possessed traces of the god’s power, and Sofia, whom inherited it, had incomparably longer lives than Kyle.

At the edge of the lake, Kyle embraced Sofia tightly while uttering to her in the brink of tears—

“—leave the forest together with me. Together, we can start over.”

Sofia’s cheeks were dyed red. However, she didn’t give an immediate respond—

—she was really concerned about Hades. If she left, Hades would have nobody by his side.

Sofia requested Kyle to wait a day, and returned to Hades.

She appealed to Hades again—

“—let him stay.”

“That’s unacceptable.” Hades glared at Sofia.

“Don’t you know how short-lived humans are compared to you?”

“—even if so, I want to spend that short amount of time by Kyle’s side. I’m sorry, Hades, but …I love him.”

“—…”

At Sofia’s words, Hades finally gave up.

Since the beginning, he was aware that this day would come. Sofia would leave him. Indeed, ever since he had breathed his own soul inside her vessel …he had understood so.

“Then leave with that man. But, you must never return to this forest ever again.”

After that, Hades uttered not a single word to Sofia ever again.

Finally, the day arrived when Sofia would leave the forest with Kyle. That day, Hades appeared at all. He locked himself in his room.

Sofia, along with Kyle, arrived at the forest’s exit. Sofia glanced back at the forest. It was a very difficult thing for Sofia to leave after she had lived there for two thousand years with Hades. Nevertheless, she had made her decision—she chose to live with Kyle.

Sofia was drawn by Kyle to outside of the forest—then, a white owl landed from the sky upon Sofia’s arm.

Sofia immediately noticed—the owl’s dark eyes, it certainly had something to do with Hades.

—Hades was worried about her, and decided to put a sliver of his consciousness inside the owl to follow Sofia.

Sofia left the forest with Kyle while taking the owl along.

Some time had passed since then.

When the gods returned to heaven, the land that had been ravaged by war soon returned to its lush state due to the help of a King and a Saint.

Thanks to the mysterious power of the Saint, crops were abundant and rivers never dried. The people of the kingdom lived happily, expressing their eternal gratitude to the King and the Saint.

However, one day—the King became sick.

With all her power, the Saint tried to heal the King, but to no avail.

…then, the King died.

Sofia was devastated and cried all year round.

Sofia wanted to join the King’s side, but, she couldn’t die no matter what.

The owl, whom had been watching Sofia the entire time, told Sofia that he could grant her wish—I can release your soul, if you want to. Tell me, what is your last wish?

Sofia remembered the King’s dying wish—

—to protect the people of this country.

In accordance to the King’s wish, Sofia requested Hades for an everlasting prosperity for this kingdom. He released Sofia’s soul, and at the same time, unleashed her remaining power—turning it into a blessing that would protect the country. He himself also vowed that he would protect the kingdom’s prosperity.

Sofia’s body, which lost its soul, quietly fell into an eternal slumber. The people mourned, but the Saint never opened her eyes again.

However, even after her death, the kingdom continued to prosper—as the King and Sofia wished.