Chapter 16

The supreme being who created the three realms goes by two names. The Chief of Heaven or the King. He has no beginning or end. He was All-Seeing, All-Knowing which means that he could see the future as well as know which being was not loyal to him. He was the ultimate ruler yet he created a being to oversee the third realm - Hell.

Hell was one of the realms that needed a careful, unbiased eye to guide lost souls who died. It was a tough realm, unforgiving and cruel. So to ensure that the ruler does not get influenced by the cruelty of the realm, Father created a being named King Iskandar and he has with him a legion of grim reapers – whose sole duty was to guide the souls to move on.

King Iskandar was a tallish man with broad shoulders and a weather-beaten face always set in a frown as if the souls condemned in hell were more than he could bear. He always had his salt and pepper hair tied up in a tight bun – showing off his broad forehead and sharp jawline. On his head sat a crown befitting a king.

The things that I could never get used to were his grim reapers.

They looked like normal human beings but they were dead souls who got condemned from their previous lives and were made deals to work under King Iskandar to ferry souls to the afterlife. They are invisible to the mortals, and if they existed long enough, they were granted powers to aid them in their work.

Some existed for millenniums.

Inside my tea room, I was busy brewing a new batch of tea leaves and watching it boil closely. The bubbles were causing the tea leaves to dance. The sweet and spicy fragrance of the leaves enticed me – making me excited to taste the new flavor. Katrina had gifted me them after her last descent to the mortal realm.

Hearing a crash and a scream in the distance was a norm for me, so I ignored it as I focused on the tea boiling in front of me and prepared the pot, cups, and tray. I kept my hands busy and my mind free of any thoughts when I sensed an anomaly attempting to breach the Heaven Gates.

Hmm? 

I switched off the kettle and left the tea room to appear in front of the pearly gates. What I found there made me doubt. A sight I had never seen before – it was happening in front of me mind you - despite that, it took me a while to register. This was uncommon and I had never witnessed this before.

"What is happening here?" I asked.

Two of my sentries were having a bitter argument with a grim reaper and they were blocking his way towards the pearly gates. They were shoulder to shoulder and tried their best to keep the grim reaper away from the gates - trying their hardest to stop the being from reaching any nearer.

It was like he was searching for something in Heaven.

"Y-your Majesty!" one of the others exclaimed – bowing while the other was engaged with his work. "A grim reaper is attempting to enter Heaven, even though it is against the laws. He is still trying to enter no matter how much we try to dissuade him!"

"Stop this foolishness, Lee Jae-gyu," I ordered.

The grim reaper – in his black attire and wide-brimmed hat stopped his desperate advancement upon hearing his name being uttered aloud. He looked at me with widened eyes – astonishment and confusion were etched on his pale face. He was towering over six feet tall, a senior grim reaper I noted.

"Who are you?" he asked in a rude tone.

The two sentries bristled angrily. "How dare you!" one cried in outrage and unsheathed his sword in anger. "This is the Crown Princess of Heaven! Show your due respect!"

I extended a hand to them – a silent order to step back. Antoginising the Grim Reaper would not solve anything. They did – albeit grudgingly. "If you step past these gates, you will be disintegrated," I said, eyeing him closely. "Not even your soul can be saved much less get reincarnated to a better life."

He deflated – like a hopeless balloon. I had never seen a grim reaper look even paler than he did. The hope that he had was gone upon hearing the truth. I watched him closely, wondering what made him climb up all the way here. He must want something – a question, a sign – it was not an easy journey to travel.

He did not say a word, even after a few minutes had passed.

"I'd have to speak with King Iskandar about this," I said. "No grim reaper has ventured up –"

"Is it true that there is a man-devil inside Heaven?" he interrupted abruptly. He neared me suddenly, which made the two sentries step in quickly to block him from getting closer. "Please, tell me!"

I stared at him. "If there was such a being, I would know," I said.

He tried to push past the two sentries hurriedly, desperately. "There is!" he cried as he pointed past the gates. "He's in there!"

His statement made me pause and wonder if he was telling the truth. It created an inkling to appear in my heart. If there was such a being that had entered Heaven – no, it was impossible. He wouldn't even go past the shield. As I let the two sentries handle the grim reaper, a voice was shouting for me in the distance and I turned around to see the monkey being chased.

Within seconds, even before anyone could react, the grim reaper had gotten loose from the hold of the two sentries, brushed past me, and made his way towards the bumbling Aidan. My eyes widened as I shouted for him, my hand reaching out to grab a hold of him before he could reach the gates.

"NO!!"

My hands couldn't reach him on time. I was just inches away from him. He was too fast for my legs to keep up. He disappeared into ash just as he stepped past the shield and his disappearance made me drop to my knees – anguish filled my veins as I stared unseeingly at where he was last seen.

My scream could be heard all the way to the Palace.

With his abrupt death, the guilt weighed heavy in my heart. I was so damn close to him yet I could not stop fate from taking him away. His poor soul is now lost forever, condemned to Hell for eternity. Even I was not spared from fate's ruthless cycles and the realization of it made me grieve.

I had to be carried back to my room.

I must have fainted. 

Hours later, I arose from within the softness of my bed. The grim reaper's death weighs heavy in my mind and I let out a sigh as I rolled onto my back – in turn colliding with Aidan's drooping back. He was fast asleep. I let him drop on the bed – lying sideways was better than seated upright. I glanced away and looked up at the ceiling – staring unseeingly. 

Why did the grim reaper climb the treacherous mountain up to Heaven just because he had heard about the man-devil? How desperate must he be when he knew of this fact? Who was that man-devil he had talked about? He turned when Aidan was ambling his way to me. Was Aidan the man-devil? How did he know? 

How did I not know he's half man half demon?

Is the being before me the end of all?

I groaned.

Too many questions.

"Are you okay?"

Aidan was awake. I could feel him shifting around on the bed, stretching his body as he let out a groan. I sensed his ancient magic brewing inside him like a time-ticking bomb, I recalled the bite on my neck, the past strange things that he had done and I wondered if he really was the man-devil.

"No."

"What happened?"

"A grim reaper climbed up from Hell because he heard a rumor of a man-devil that has entered Heaven. He was a senior grim reaper so he should know that there's a shield protecting it from such anomaly," I explained quietly. "How he knew, I have no idea. How a man-devil bypassed the shield, I have no idea."

"So he died."

"I have to answer to Father about this," I complained. "And to King Iskandar."

"Who is King Iskandar?"

"The one who's in charge of Hell and manages the grim reapers in his stead," I answered, staring intently up at the ceiling. "His behavior was so strange. He ignored all the rules and plunged himself straight through the shield just so he could talk to you."

"Me?"

"He started moving when he saw you coming towards the gates," I said. "He didn't care about the damn shield, he only cared about -"

I stopped talking abruptly and let out a sigh. The guilt was too much for me to bear, too many what-ifs. 

"I doubt he's a man-devil if he could enter Heaven," Aidan said suddenly. He sounds strange. "If he really was a devil, the shield would've obliterated him as well."

"I know."

"Then he's not the devil."

"Then, what is he?"

"Someone who wants to get into Heaven."

I stared hard at him. "Aidan, is there something that you're not telling me?" I asked.

"You don't need to worry about that little information," he said softly. "You'd know it. You're bound to me."

His statement annoyed me. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "You removed the mark."

"I removed the mark but not the bond," he said. 

"You're kidding me, right?" I asked. "Surely you jest."

"I may be powerful, Athena but I cannot undo a bond," he said. "You and I are stuck together forever. I can feel what you feel, I can know what you think. You're bonded to me."

I gaped at him in surprise. "You're going to get us killed," I said.

"All you got to do is trust me."

"I barely know you, you daft monkey," I growled and started kicking his back repeatedly. "You lied to me!"

"I didn't want to worry you further."

"You are following me to Hell!"

Aidan sighed.

…