Prologue

"Everlasting glory" was the promise of the Great Kingdom of Joseon. A nation of vast and verdant mighty landscapes and blue vigorous seas. Within its midst lie the Golden Capital, the land of everlasting glory and bountiful wonders. The center and standing of the Royal Palace of the Great Kingdom of Joseon under the reign of their benevolent king. Although that had not always been the state of affairs.

The people once cowered in fear of a bad omen, rampaging that the fall of the nation was near. Their beloved crown prince pronounced dead weeks before his own coronation, the hope of the future the people prayed for. Thus, leaving countless speculations that the current royal family had gone wayward in fortune and capability to rule. However, regardless of the fear and hatred thrown upon by the citizens, the prince in line to the throne stood up taking no time to grieve for his beloved brother and single-handedly managed the nation. Reclaiming various lands, treasures, and eventually, the faith of the people under his austere yet still, benevolent rule. The nation only came to what it is today because of his strength and willfulness. His sacrifice and tender heart, pushing himself to become the king that the people needed, and one deeply loved. Years later, his six sons are born and raised to become the future of their beloved kingdom, long letting the despairs of the past slowly fade away into moments of history.

"Everlasting glory for the Great Kingdom of Joseon" people chant, but anyone who dares speak ill or poses a threat to this unified glory is quickly silenced. Ornery superstitions and negative predictions were shortly banned after the birth of the second prince yet whispers can vaguely be heard here and there, especially from people of the past and those who practice the art of predicting the future. Like they say, old practices are not so easily driven out. Nonetheless, those whispers grow meeker by the day, nothing but good fortune has come to their nation and with the promise of six young, healthy, and fine princes, nothing but prosperity will come.

King Bu Seunghyun often raises his cup to the many loyal and competent scholars attending at the royal palace alongside his own children. He favored those who were both competent in academics and philosophy, and sometimes he would personally attend the opening ceremony and question the young students. They say that it is rare but if he likes an answer so much, he'd automatically pass you, granting a secure spot in the royal academy. Although it had been a few years since he'd last done so, this year a single student's answer enlightened him and so the winning answer was soon disseminated throughout the nation. The king had simply asked "What is life?" to which that student replied "Life is its own being, you follow the flow of it never really knowing whether you'll end up falling from a cliff or if you'd be standing in a field of blossoming flowers. Along with life is time, time is odd… Changing places- civilizations and people. No matter how you put it, we're all subject to these two; you end up with some sort of 'life' in some part of 'time'."

The royal scholars and teachers who were present at the time all froze up hearing such a response. When one was to speak to the king, your words must be chosen with utmost respect and not dare challenge or mention things of negative aspect. Yet the student answered off the tip of his tongue, even mentioning the possibility of falling off a cliff to the king himself. In return, the king merely chuckled and nodded his head, saying "Indeed, we are all merely subject to life and time. What happens must happen, no point in viewing matters such as 'bad life' or 'good life', past or future."