No Eul Seduces Son
In the chambers where Son was staying, his father Wei was seething with rage.
"You are insane, Son! You've jeopardized peace, all our stability!"
"I will not be part of a hypocritical deal, Father. My destiny is not in politics. I have found... I have found my true fate."
"Your 'fate' is chaos!" Wei slammed his fist on the table. "You are blinded! Come to your senses before it's too late!"
"It's too late, Father!"
"You gave an oath to marry! A promise given by a God is inviolable!"
"I am not violating anything! I gave an oath to marry Ha Eun, and I will unite my energy only with her!"
Wei, breathing heavily, turned around and left without another word, slamming the door. Not a minute passed before the door opened again, and No Eul entered the room like a shadow. She moved smoothly, like a cat; her silk hanbok flowed over her figure, revealing a high, elegant slit on her thigh. There was no longer the former despair in her eyes—only a predatory, hot resolve. She took a step toward Son, and he felt a heady scent enveloping her skin. It was not just perfume—it was the legendary "Moonlight Lotus," a special aphrodisiac capable of awakening unbridled lust even in a divine essence. She came so close that only millimeters of air, saturated with her perfume, separated them. Son looked up at her, his gaze filled with desire.
"Do you want me? I know you do. Only I can be in your heart. You feel this attraction to me, don't you? It doesn't lie to you. I am the one you need."
She raised her hand, and her fingers lightly, almost weightlessly, touched his chest, right over his heart.
"You are a Lord. You are obliged to marry me. The deal is concluded. We are bound. So why... why wait for that boring, official 'union'?" Her voice dropped to a husky, intimate whisper. "We can do this now."
She pressed her entire body against him, her thigh lightly pushing against his. The warmth of her body was scorching, and her eyes were wild, full of frantic desire. "Show me that you are a man. Show me what your 'true fate' means..." She arched her back slightly, exposing her neck. "I am your duty. I am your power. I am your Light."
Without waiting for an answer, No Eul ran her hand down his body, and then boldly and sharply tore open the collar of his hanbok. The silk slid from one of Son's shoulders, exposing his strong, divine skin. Her hot fingers, like tongues of flame, rested on his chest, caressing him.
Son felt his muscles tense. He was furious, but under the scorching intimacy of her body and scent... his fury wrestled with primal instinct. Every cell of his divine body reacted to the "Moonlight Lotus" and to her desperate, predatory beauty. The lust was overwhelming, like a wave threatening to wash away his reason. He could not deny her dazzling, dangerous beauty. No Eul was truly beautiful and desirable, and the power of her passion was almost irresistible. His heart pounded, and the divine heat, caused by the scent, boiled in his veins. He fought against himself, his will battling the instinct that demanded he take her body, to gain relief from this burning, imposed desire. He clenched his fists, feeling his own powers clash with the effect of the scent. His pure devotion to his true fate and his contempt for her manipulation became his shield. A second passed—and his internal battle was won.
"Leave," Son said in an icy tone, full of near-physical repulsion.
He carelessly pushed her away. Being rejected felt worse than a slap to No Eul.
"Your gift... your body..." He barely suppressed a grimace. "It does not create a resonance in me. You are not my Light, No Eul."
She froze. Pain instantly reflected in her eyes, quickly replaced by a searing, black anger.
"Why?!" Her voice broke into a strained cry. "I am the most beautiful! The strongest! You choose this... this nobody! An energy that hasn't even revealed itself! You are making a fatal mistake!"
No Eul stepped back. Her lips stretched into a ghastly, cold smile.
"Do you think the Heavens will accept you two? You will regret pushing me away. No one in this Realm will allow you to even be together."
She slowly, with dignity, turned away. As she left, she did not look back. Son stared at the closed door, his eyes burning with a resolve that overcame the remnants of his recent fury.
"We shall see about that. No one in all the Realms, neither the Heavens nor you, will forbid me from being with her."
He turned and walked to the window, looking at the dark sky. There was no room left for fear in his heart—only blinding, unshakeable certainty in his choice. Having decided to act, he immediately left his chambers to find Ha Eun.
Chan Min and Ha Eun's Quarrel
Chan Min led Ha Eun across the causeway leading to the massive, gray structure known as the Cold Castle.
"I'm sorry Father acted this way, Ha Eun. He's just afraid of the new, afraid of losing control."
"And you?! What are you afraid of?!"
"The only thing I'm afraid of is losing you."
"And that's why you let Father keep me imprisoned?"
"It is necessary for your safety," he said dryly.
They entered the central hall, where three Prophets—elders whose faces were hidden behind deep hoods and whose hands glowed with a faint blue light—were already waiting for them. Chan Min stopped Ha Eun before them, as if offering a sacrifice.
"Proceed," he briefly commanded.
Ha Eun felt her inner energy, the very essence she was only beginning to know, shrink in terror. One of the Prophets raised his hands, and silver chains of light erupted from his palms, enveloping Ha Eun.
"No!" she cried, trying to break free, but Chan Min held her, preventing her from moving.
The Prophets began chanting an ancient spell. The blue light emanating from the chains began to burn her skin. Ha Eun screamed in pain. She collapsed to her knees. Chan Min watched. Ha Eun's pain was both torment and a necessary sacrifice for him to keep her... and for her to remain his. After a few minutes, the Prophets finished. The chains disappeared, but a gaping emptiness remained in Ha Eun's body. She felt as if a part of her soul had been taken. She was breathing heavily, trembling from the residual pain. The Prophets, silent as shadows, bowed and exited, leaving Chan Min and Ha Eun alone in the hall.
Ha Eun slowly lifted her head. There was no longer fear in her eyes, which were full of tears and anger—only dazzling fury.
"You let them do this! You held me!" "It was necessary! You would have harmed yourself if it hadn't been blocked!" Chan Min tried to justify his cruelty with concern.
"Liar!" She finally wrenched her arm from his slackened grip. "Is this concern—to forcibly keep me in isolation so I won't leave?!"
Pure pain reflected on Chan Min's face. He knew she was right. Her soul did not resonate with him as it did with Son. The threat of loss, the reality of the existence of someone with whom her energy could unfold prematurely, was unbearable.
"You are my fiancée, Ha Eun!"
"Yes, I am your fiancée, but I am not an object!" she snapped, backing away.
"And what did you expect me to do?! Engage in battle with my father?!"
"But didn't you promise to protect me and never cause me pain?!"
"I have to go," his voice instantly became hard, stony, concealing his inner chaos. "I will return tomorrow, when you calm down and understand that everything my father and I did was only for your good and the good of all worlds."
He abruptly turned and left, abandoning Ha Eun alone in the Cold Castle. Only one desire burned in his soul: to punish the one who dared to sow discord between him and his love. Chan Min, engulfed in rage, came to Son's chambers. A servant of the God of Darkness tried to stop him at the palace entrance.
"My Lord Chan Min, please, do not disturb the Lord's peace!" the servant pleaded, blocking the way.
"Move aside!" Chan Min snarled. "I will not allow this upstart to claim what belongs to me! Son! Come out! Explain yourself! By what right do you claim my fiancée?!"
He shoved the servant aside, but the chamber door remained sealed. Chan Min, unable to contain himself any longer, unleashed a powerful torrent of wind upon the door, but it didn't even tremble. Suddenly, Chan Min sensed an anomaly. Son's energy, which should have been inside, was pulsating somewhere far away. Chan Min's anger gave way to alarm.
"No... Not this..." Chan Min gasped.
Son was not in his chambers. Chan Min bolted, using his power to cover the distance to the Cold Castle, where he himself had just taken his fiancée. He flew, and every meter of the journey was permeated with his fury and the fear of loss.
The Union of Darkness and Light: Passion and Invasion
Ha Eun paced the cold room, consumed by anger. Suddenly, she sensed the familiar aura of Darkness. Son appeared from the air, as if woven from shadow.
"What are you doing here?! How did you find me?" she whispered.
"I am the God of Darkness, Ha Eun. I feel you as my other half," he took a step.
"My energy is blocked!"
"They blocked your manifestation, but not your essence. Your Light cannot be hidden from me. I feel it wherever I am."
Son approached. His movement was slow but commanding, making her instinctively press her back against the cold wall.
"I saw your reaction in the garden. You felt a strong pull towards me."
"That was a momentary weakness! I am Chan Min's fiancée!" she exhaled, trying to remind herself of her duty.
Son only smirked. He leaned in commandingly, his face an inch from her lips.
"And I believe that a true destiny is born precisely from such a moment of weakness. Your body, your true essence... they desire me. Don't hold back. Trust your true power."
Son pressed his body against hers without asking, blocking her between himself and the wall. Her breathing hitched. A scorching heat emanated from him. His hands slid to her waist, pulling her tightly against him, and she felt the strongest energy building between them. Ha Eun tried to resist, placing her hands on his chest to push him away, but the struggle was weak because her own body was betraying her. "I can't! I shouldn't! I gave an oath to Chan Min, he is my future husband, he is my duty!" her thought screamed in terror, but Son's searing warmth drowned out the voice of reason. The energy of Darkness demanded her Light, and for the first time, she felt complete, despite her sealed power. This was wrong... but it was true.
At that moment, the door to the chambers burst open with a crash, and Chan Min stormed into the room. He froze in the doorway, seeing Son and Ha Eun in this intimate position. His eyes filled with mad fury.
"Son!! Let her go immediately!!" he roared.
Hearing his voice, Ha Eun panicked. Duty and fear instantly overwhelmed passion. "Let me go! I must..." She tried to break free from Son's grip to go to Chan Min.
But Son did not allow her. In one commanding motion, he seized her chin, interrupting her words, pulled her to him, and kissed her.
In that same instant, a colossal energetic explosion occurred within Ha Eun. The Kiss of Darkness became the key to her Light, tearing off the Prophets' seals. Her energy of Light burst forth, answering Son's Darkness, and the sealed power flooded back into her body. They both shone as if a thousand suns had rushed into the room.
"Yes, you feel it!" Son whispered, deepening the kiss.
Chan Min lunged forward, but Son, without breaking the kiss with Ha Eun, used one hand to place an unbreakable Darkness Barrier around them, restraining Chan Min.
"What are you doing?! She is my wife!" Chan Min shouted, trying in vain to pierce the invisible wall.
"She is no one to you yet. And she will never be yours!" Son replied.
"This is the will of the Heavens! You are going against Order!"
"This is your father's will! I am following my heart!"
Before Ha Eun could fully comprehend anything, Son pulled her even closer, embracing her one last time before vanishing.
The God of Darkness kidnapped Ha Eun, dissolving with her into clouds of black and golden energy.
Chan Min, standing before the empty barrier that was slowly dissipating, collapsed to his knees, his cry of despair and rage echoing through the Cold Castle:
"Ha Eun!!!"