Chapter Text
Honmoon's POV
"We are hunters, voices strong. Slaying demons with our song. Fix the world and make it right when darkness finally meets the light."
These are the earliest words the Honmoon can recall. The words that resonate most with its being, that resonated with the souls of its chosen.
Originally, the Honmoon was merely a barrier. A magical shield pulsing with light and sound, separating the material realm from the spiritual.
Yet it was a thing woven together by the souls of humanity, cultivated by the songs and desires of its chosen protectors.
Over time, it evolved. Learned.
Generation after generation it chose those whose souls resonated strongly with it, tying their fates together in an inescapable bond. Three were chosen, a unity of body, mind, and spirit.
And each generation, it learned some more. Learned from those it chose, and from the humans it protected.
The Honmoon loved it's chosen. Each and every one of them. Their souls, burning bright as their voices wove a tapestry of power.
It knew them, understood their very soul. How could it not adore them?
The Sunlight Sisters were one such trio. Their souls were so bright, their friendship was an absolute delight for the Honmoon to witness.
When Mi-Yeong began meeting a man in secret, the Honmoon was saddened. Not that she was seeing somebody (the Honmoon loved when their chosen found people to share their lives with) but that she went through so much to keep it a secret.
All humans kept secrets, the Honmoon was aware enough to acknowledge this. But amongst those that were like sisters, a secret like this would only hurt.
And then the man turned out to be a demon, surprising both Ryu and the Honmoon, and the Honmoon vibrated in alarm at the threat.
Then Ryu did something the Honmoon had never expected.
Ryu managed to share her gift of song with a demon.
Ryu managed to give that demon something else to listen to beyond Gwi-Ma's voice, allowing him to be pulled away entirely from the demon-king.
Where once it was a duplicitous game, the demon desiring to trick and assassinate, he now fell in love with Ryu, and she him. Together, they had a child that the Honmoon instantly adored.
The defection of a demon meant so much - and the Honmoon was delighted at what it perceived to be the first among many.
But it was not to be.
The Honmoon had a consciousness of sorts. It acted and made choices, but it was not truly sentient. Not fully. If it had been, perhaps it could have predicted how Gwi-Ma would react to one of his demons defecting for the first time in history.
The resulting attack was brutal and swift.
The Honmoon screeched in discordant tones as Gwi-Ma, in a move that must have hurt him just as much, forced a breach allowing the largest concentrated attack the Honmoon had experienced.
Her chosen fought with song and sword, while Ryu's lover fought with fang and claw, demonic power bolstering his strength.
Yet by the time the attack was properly repelled, it was clear it was only a pyrrhic victory.
Ryu's lover had sacrificed his life to save Ryu's. Their third sister was deeply wounded, but alive as Celine did what she could.
And Ryu… She wept as she held the bleeding form of her child, singing desperately as she tried to heal. The Huntress poured her soul into her voice as she did all she could, pleading with the Honmoon to heal Rumi.
It tried. Oh, how the Honmoon tried. But as strong as it was, the damage was too great, and little Rumi's body was too fragile.
Exhausted beyond measure, both body and soul, Ryu could only watch helplessly as her only child went still.
As Ryu collapsed, the Honmoon mourned in her place. A symphony of sorrow for a lost child, feeling like a piece of itself was lost.
Lost. But… not gone? It didn't understand. It had experienced death and loss. Generation upon generation of huntresses had perished, and the Honmoon adored each one. This was the same… But different.
Years passed. The Sunlight Sisters were never the same after that, especially with how Ryu's secret was brutally revealed. Even after they reconciled, they were lesser.
One was weakened from her physical wounds, her arm never having the same power it once had. one had given too much, her soul now weakened from loss. And one became even more firm and strict, determined to not experience such a loss again,
Life moves on, and the Honmoon chose successors, as it had for generations. Across the globe, it found two bright souls, souls that thrummed in synch with its own.
But for once… It could not find a third.
Across the world, the Honmoon could feel people with the desire to help. Many could have been chosen. They could have made it work…
But it didn't feel right. And so, it didn't choose. It was not the right time. It waited.
From three, the Sunlight Sisters became two as one's injuries became too much. Even as she left, the Honmoon loved her, and sang a song of gratitude and farewell. Ryu and Celine went out and found the Honmoon's chosen, and the Honmoon delighted at their joy of meeting each other. The older generation to train the next, and the Honmoon felt contentment once more as the joy and happiness came across the bond once more.
And still, it did not choose a third. It didn't feel right.
The Honmoon sang of regret and apology - Ryu and Celine were doing nothing wrong. They worked hard, trying to find a third that didn't exist. And the two young ones gave it their all, but their souls could feel something missing. They unconsciously yearned for their lost sister, their missing part, and could do nothing about it.
And still, the Honmoon waited.
Until the day came it felt the presence of a familiar soul.
The Demon Realm, Jinu's PoV
Jinu breathed a sigh of relief as they finally made it out of range of Gwi-Ma's pyramid. The entire group was silent for all of five seconds before the air was filled with relieved laughter.
"I can't believe this is actually happening!"
"Dude, I know! First everybody was like, 'nah that's stupid', and then we did the pose and he was all like 'ya know, that could work.'"
"I told you practicing that pose wasn't stupid."
"Eh it was kinda stupid -"
"Look, it worked, so it was worth it!"
"Would've gone faster if we went in the outfits I chose…"
"Hah! You just wanted to show off your chest. No, this was better. The shock value was important for the sell. Not suspecting anything, and then bam!"
Jinu chuckled as the other boys celebrated. "Alright guys, calm down. You heard Gwi-Ma, he wants us to be ready to leave by tonight."
Abby rolled his eyes, "Dude, I don't know why you asked him for even that. Why not go right away? I'm pumped and ready!"
Jinu raised an eyebrow. "Just in case any of us have any last minute tasks that need done."
The other boys quieted at that, each giving him a dry look.
He raised an eyebrow, "What's with that look?"
"By 'we', I think you mean 'you'. And with 'task', you mean 'tell somebody you're leaving'." Mystery gave him a pointed look.
Jinu scoffed, "C'mon guys, you're her friends as well."
"Upupupupup," Baby held up a finger and gave him a stern look. "Jinu, she's your friend. She merely tolerates us."
"That's not true -"
"Dude, she straight up told me that if I came near her territory, she'd break my legs!" Abby said, folding his arms across his chest.
Ok, there might be some truth to that.
"That's kind of your own fault for bragging about your latest venture in the Human World." Jinu protested. "I swear, she was warming up to you guys before that."
Abby puffed out his chest, "I scored three girls from that party and got their souls before the old ladies came, and I had to flee." He declared proudly. "That's an achievement to be proud of, and I won't let anybody shame me."
The others quickly threw in their own less than friendly experiences, Jinu feeling himself wilt after each one.
"Jinu." Romance waved the other's down. "Look, I'm not criticizing who you become friends with. But she needs to come to terms with the fact that we're demons… And so is she."
Jinu frowned. "That's not -"
"She can't keep getting upset at us for killing humans." Baby interrupted. "She's already alienated herself from most other demons because of it. And after your plan, if she clings to it, she'll be alone."
Right.
Jinu breathed out slowly. "Look, I'll talk to her about it." Again. "And yeah, I do need to tell her I'll be gone for a bit." He was about to walk away before turning to look at them. "You sure you guys don't want to say bye?"
They all burst out laughing, and yeah, he kinda expected that.
With a flex of his will, Jinu teleported himself away, appearing on a path next to a mountain.
He could have teleported closer, but it was generally a bad idea to teleport into another demon's territory without advanced notice.
As he walked up the path, he could feel the spiritual remnants of those demons that failed to take such warnings to heart.
The small house was nestled against a mountain. It was a small thing. Humble. Unassuming Jinu had to blackmail a couple dozen demons to get it built. It had a feeling of nostalgia that reminded him of…
Jinu winced and promptly killed that line of thought.
Walking up to the door, he knocked on the door frame. "Knock knock! Anybody home?"
He heard the rustle of movement before an irritated voice called out. "Just get in here, Jinu."
Jinu chuckled as he walked in.
Demons… They came in several varieties.
There were natural born demons, like the Dokkaebi or the Kappas. Without an illusion, no way was anybody thinking they were human.
Then there were demons made by corrupted humans, like himself, called Jeoseung Saja. They actually kept most of their human features with just a few extra features like claws and fangs.
Jinu sighed as he walked into the back room, where he saw his friend pouring over what looked like several hand-drawn maps.
And then there was Rumi.
And he had no clue what the heck she was.
Leaning against the doorway, Jinu couldn't resist looking her over as he shook his head in bafflement. If one wasn't looking closely, she could pass as either a human or a demon. Her skin was a healthy hue, and unless she was agitated her patterns were fairly passive. But she had claws and fangs as sharp as any demon, her pointed ears were distinctive, and one look in her eyes would let anyone know the truth.
And her marks… Usually, those marks were Gwi-Ma's brand. A mark of ownership, as it were. But Rumi's were distinctly different. In shape and color. Enough to completely baffle and concern him.
Too human to be a demon. Too demonic to be human.
Jinu coughed, "Hey Rumi, how's your day gone?"
A low growl echoed from her chest as she refused to look up. "That depends." Rumi growled, patterns flashing across her skin. "Have you realized how stupid it is to let Gwi-Ma carve up your mind yet?"
Yep, she was angry.
"Wow, dramatic much?" Jinu asked with forced lightness. He should have brought Derpy. Proven fact, you couldn't be mad while looking at Derpy.
Rumi just shrugged. "You're the one who wants a master deceiver to eviscerate your brain, not me. You sure it's me that's being dramatic?"
Jinu grimaced. "Look, can you at least, just… Stop saying it like that?"
"Is there any other way of saying it?" Rumi finally looked up at him, amber eyes staring angrily into his. "How 'bout lobotomizing your brain?"
Jinu scowled, and as he looked at her he couldn't help but reminisce to when he first found her. A tiny infant, crying in the middle of nowhere.
See, Demons didn't 'age'. You didn't get demon babies, that just wasn't a thing, and Gwi-Ma couldn't corrupt human babies (though Jinu had no doubt he tried). So something was definitely off. And maybe it was long forgotten brotherly instincts, but he couldn't just leave it there.
The first ten to fifteen years were a nightmare. Seriously, figuring out how babies worked was terrible and now a blocked off memory that shall never be brought up again.
He honestly cried tears of joy when Rumi began to be self-sufficient, and he did not mind admitting that.
Jinu wasn't cut out to be 'parent' material. Nope. Nuh uh. But 'older protective brother'? THAT he could do. And he and Rumi got along fairly well.
This was probably the angriest she's been at him though.
Jinu took a deep breath and let it out. How best to get her to calm down so he could break the news… "Look, I get why you're upset - "
"Do you?" Rumi cut in drily, walking around the table to sit in a chair, arms folded. "Do you really?"
"- but," Jinu powered on while sitting in his own chair. "I have given this a lot of thought, and it won't be as bad as you make it out to be. I only have about twenty years of human memories. Take those away, and I'll still have four hundred years of memories. You won't notice any difference!"
Eyes flashed, and Rumi's markings started glowing ominously. It was an uncomfortable feeling - they reminded him a bit of the Honmoon when she was like this.
"I think I might notice when you get back after committing mass murder." Rumi snarled.
"I mean, I'm not going to be committing mass murder." Jinu tried.
Rumi gave him an unimpressed look. "You're going with the express purpose of causing the death of countless humans." She returned. And… Yeah, bringing down the Honmoon would result in that, she wasn't wrong. "And even discounting the 'mass' part, I bet you are planning on killing some people, right?"
Well, it was one of the best ways to get under the Huntresses skins, and it would make Gwi-Ma more amenable, soooooo…
"You're focusing real hard on the 'killing' part. Which is odd, because I know you've killed quite a few demons." Jinu tried to deflect.
He isn't sure where Rumi got her moral code. It certainly wasn't from him or anybody he knew.
Rumi's glare strengthened. "I kill the demons that trespass onto my territory or try to kill me. Which, coincidentally, is exactly what every demon's intent is when they go to Earth. Can't say I blame these Huntresses you all complain about if they're doing what I'm doing."
"Look, you're not connected to Gwi-Ma. If he gives an order, then -"
"No!" Rumi rounds on him angrily, eyes molten amber. "Gwi-Ma is currently ignoring you! He doesn't know what to do! I have ears, Jinu! You're the one that WANTS to go to him to propose a plan for mass murder!"
"Fine!" Jinu threw his hands up. "Yes, it's my plan. Mine and the other boys. Is that what you want to hear?"
"And you think this is a good idea?" Rumi scoffed. "You don't see anything bad, with either your proposal or your request?!"
"YOU DONT KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE!" Jinu shouted back, feeling pissed off and frustrated. "You have NO idea what it's like, to have these memories constantly eating away at you. And you go on, you try to forget over and over again, try to move on, and you can't!"
And, though he'd never admit it, a part of it was Rumi herself.
When he was alive, he betrayed his mother and sister. That was his fault. And here he was, actually content sometimes, with somebody he considered a sister.
A replacement.
How dare he just replace his sister after failing them so horribly when he was alive?
It wasn't Rumi's fault, which is why he couldn't tell her. This was on him.
That's why he needed Gwi-Ma to remove his human memories. This guilt… He couldn't take it. He's tried, and it was only getting worse. Whoever said time heals all wounds didn't know squat.
Besides, like he said, it was only twenty years. What's that compared to the four hundred years of memories he had? He was confident Rumi or the boys wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
They sat in silence for several minutes.
"I still think that a lot of that negativity is Gwi-Ma's influence on you." Rumi murmured in frustration. "My vote is still to kill him."
Jinu snorted. "And I voted that down last time for a good reason."
"Yes, because we aren't strong enough. Something that could be rectified." She gestured to the map. "Plenty of powerful demons out there, and nobody likes Gwi-Ma."
Well, that was certainly true. Gwi-Ma might be the strongest, but there were quite a few with more power than average. If Gwi-Ma was the demon king, then they were demon lords.
"And they'd never be willing to work with you since they're in the same boat that Gwi-Ma is in." Jinu pointed out. "They want the Honmoon gone as well. They'll never rebel now that he's got a plan that might bring it down."
Unfortunately, this didn't dampen any of Rumi's excitement, and she dashed over to the map she'd been pouring over and looked at him eagerly. "They would if there was not only no plan, but if they thought there was a chance they could take over! I've given it a lot of thought, and I think I have a solution! If we…"
Rumi paused, his words catching up to her as she stared at him, and Jinu could see the gears turning.
"You said 'now that he's got a plan'. Rumi stated, and Jinu winced at how flat her voice was.
"Yeah." He nodded. Time to face the music.
Rumi stared at him for several long seconds. "You already made the deal with Gwi-Ma."
"Yes." Jinu nodded solemnly. "'Bout an hour ago now."
"I see." Rumi's markings shifted, becoming dimmer. Colder. "You lied to me about when you were going to propose it."
"Yes. I did." Was the temperature getting colder? Man, it felt it. "And for good reason, since I wouldn't put it past you to challenge Gwi-Ma himself."
Or worse, make a counter-deal.
Rumi's eyes narrowed, and her growl restarted.
"Well, I suppose I can tell when my opinion isn't wanted." Rumi stated emotionlessly, standing up and stiffly walking out of the room.
Jinu groaned, turning around and following her out. "That's not true. I respect your opinions -"
"Do you?" She snapped back. "You've ignored every single one of my ideas, refused to change your own, and went behind my back so I couldn't change anything!"
Ok, it sounded bad when she put it like that.
"Tell me I'm wrong." Jinu stated. "Tell me that you wouldn't have made some insane plan to try to take down Gwi-Ma had you known."
Rumi didn't answer him. Which was fine, they both knew that that's totally what she would do, and Jinu nodded.
"I'm leaving tonight with the boys." Jinu said softly. "Not sure when I'll be done. I know it's not what you wanted. I'm sorry. But it's what I'm doing."
Rumi stared out into the eternal night and huffed. "Then go and do what you think you need to do, Jinu."
Jinu sighed at her blank tone, but acknowledged that that was probably the best he was going to get and began walking out. "I'm not sure when I'll be back." He tossed behind his back. "But I'll see you when I do. I love you, sis."
Ignoring the customary guilt that came with calling her 'sis', he heard her say "Love you too, brother." right before he teleported.
Rumi's PoV
'I love you, sis.'
Rumi closed her eyes to fight against the bitter tears.
Rumi loved her brother, despite how dumb he could be at times, that wouldn't change.
Her entire life, he'd been there for her. He's the one that told her stories of the human world, who got her books, who helped her hide from Gwi-Ma's knowledge…
But this was the first time he'd lied to her and disregarded her.
Rumi knew there was more to his motivation that he wasn't telling her. And maybe it justified this stupidity.
But she had a difficult time coming up with any reason to trust Gwi-Ma with your brain.
Everybody knew what happened to those who gave Gwi-Ma too much. There were enough mindless husks walking the wilderness of the Demon Realm.
Taking several fortifying breaths, Rumi opened her eyes in determination, hands clenched.
If Jinu was determined to go along with his own plan, regardless of her thoughts… Then she would do her own.
With that, Rumi teleported herself to another spot, further along the mountain. One near the edge of the Demon Realm that she'd scouted earlier that week.
A part of her was grateful she didn't tell this aspect of her plan to Jinu. See, she firmly believed that if they got a few demon lords together they could overthrow Gwi-Ma. However, they weren't gonna just do so on a random demon's say so.
She needed some sort of incentive. Something to encourage the other lords they had a chance at beating Gwi-Ma. Somebody that had already pushed back Gwi-Ma in the past.
Rumi needed the Huntresses.
It was the perfect solution!
Rumi had never seen them in action, but every demon knew of their reputation. Huntresses had to be strong, both physically and magically, and they hated Gwi-Ma. If somebody came up with a plan for them to confront Gwi-Ma, why wouldn't they jump at it?
If she could get the Huntresses on board, then it wouldn't be too difficult to get some other demons in on this. Gwi-Ma was strong, but not that strong!
Of course, there was the small matter of convincing the Huntresses to work with demons. And as a demon, she was going to trespass on their territory…
Yeah, she hadn't quite figured that part yet.
To her knowledge and from what she'd learned from other demons, the Huntresses were 'merciless' and would most likely fight her upon seeing a demon.
Which, fair, it's what she'd do. And did do, in her own territory. That was just common sense.
But no demon had ever tried talking with them first. If she spoke quickly enough, maybe she could propose her plan before they tried to kill her?
It certainly had a better shot at succeeding then trusting Gwi-Ma did.
Rumi had never been to the Human Realm, so she didn't have any clue what the Huntresses looked like in order to pitch her idea. But then, how hard could it be to find two superhumans amidst all the normal people?
That, and based on the descriptions she'd heard from other demons, there was a 'sadistic girl with long hair and giant axe' and a 'knife-flinging crazy eyed girl'.
Should be easy enough to find.
Right?
Right.
And… Maybe if she was lucky, she'd find somebody else?
'Rumi! Please, please be alright! I love you baby, please, please don't die!'
Rumi shuddered at the ancient memory. Her earliest memory, and how she knew her name. That and a beautiful voice singing were all that she had of the human world.
But! That wasn't the objective of this trip! Finding and meeting the Huntresses were, not finding a mother that may or may not exist.
… But if it came up, she wouldn't say no…
Rumi slapped herself, focusing her thoughts. First, she had to cross the Honmoon.
Walking along the edge of the mountain, Rumi eventually found the spot she'd found previously. A spot where the Honmoon was weakened.
Rumi gulped, tightening her fists.
She'd heard enough from Jinu and their friends to have an idea of what to expect.
To get past the Honmoon, you had to find an area of high spiritual energy when the barrier was thin. Breaking through it then required a lot of strength and determination, and it was… Unpleasant.
Abby claimed it felt like crawling through a tight tunnel, with sharp rocks lining the bottom. Mystery and Romance said it was like shoving your way through a series of windows, broken glass and all.
Taking a deep breath, Rumi pressed against the barrier and pushed. She met resistance for all of one second…
And then the barrier tried to freaking suck her in, WHAT THE HECK?!
Rumi shrieked in panic, pulling her arms back desperately. And for a few minutes they remained stuck, like she was elbow deep in mud. Little by little, she eventually yanked her arms out and fell backwards, scrambling back on hands and knees.
What the heck?! Nobody told her that the Honmoon tried to eat demons!
Breathing heavily, Rumi stared at the barrier as it seemed to stretch towards her, as if it was reaching for her.
"Nope, nope, not gonna get eaten, not today." Rumi muttered desperately. And for a moment, it honestly felt like the glowing barrier was hurt. When she didn't get any closer it seemed to sag, and Rumi could almost hear a sad tune come from it.
Well now it was making her feel sorry for it!
"Nope, I'm not gonna feel bad for not being eaten." Rumi rebuked herself. "No way, nuh uh. That's not something that somebody should have to feel sorry for!"
Ok, well, did she really need to go to the Human Realm?
Rumi groaned, because she'd already gone over everything she could think of. If she actually wanted to help Jinu… Then yeah, she had to go.
So, options… This was clearly an 'unusual' patch of the Honmoon. Maybe she could find a different section? One less murdery?
But… How long would that take? To find one that Gwi-Ma wasn't aware of? It was honestly a surprise that she found this one!
She was brought out of her thoughts when the music she thought she was imagining changed, turning to something gentler, comforting.
Before Rumi's eyes, the section of the Honmoon shifted. A glowing archway formed, an opening drifting open, with gentle patterns on either side.
The glowing patterns pulsed in time with a rhythm Rumi could barely sense. Welcoming. Inviting.
The Honmoon, perhaps the singular most hated thing in all demon history, capable of pushing countless demons and holding back Gwi-Ma himself… Made a gate for her.
… And she was tempted to trust it. Why was she tempted to trust it?!
"I'm going crazy." Rumi murmured in a daze, taking a tentative step forward and reaching out with a hand. As she touched the barrier the music swelled.
"Please don't hurt too much," Rumi asked as she took another step and entered the archway. "Please?"
It... didn't hurt at all, to her surprise. It actually felt like walking into a wall of jelly, a warm pressure pressing down all around her as it gently pulled her in, and the music shifted to something joyous.
It felt like it was giving her a big hug, like several people were giving her a hug.
It felt like being welcomed home.
Moments previous
The Lost Child! It was the Lost Child!
The Honmoon cheered as it felt that familiar soul, hardly believing she was alive.
As Rumi pushed up against the Honmoon, instead of resisting, the Honmoon welcomed her wholeheartedly, instantly trying to pull her through.
Then the girl resisted, and the Honmoon was confused. Was she not trying to come through?
As the lost chosen wrenched free, backing up, the Honmoon felt hurt at the fear she could feel in Rumi's soul. It didn't mean to scare her - It missed her. Her sisters were missing her, without even knowing her. It wanted her back, wanted her safe.
As the girl debated with herself, it feared she would talk herself out of coming. So, against its own nature, the Honmoon created its own breach.
This wasn't like the tears created by Gwi-Ma. It was more like parting the water of a waterfall. Lines denoting the Honmoons presence bunched together and bent, and the Honmoon opened a way.
Rumi stared at the arch for several minutes, and the Honmoon tried to exude feelings of warmth.
'Come on,' it urged gently. 'Don't be scared. It'll be alright.'
And eventually, Rumi did.
And the Honmoon sang.
Across the world, those with any sense for the supernatural saw the Honmoon light up.
Celine froze in the middle of a press conference as the rush of feelings took her by surprise.
Ryu gasped, falling to her knees as the Honmoon swirled around her in joy.
On opposite sides of the city, Zoe and Mira both stumbled at the same time, the part of their soul that was reaching out finally feeling peace.
Meanwhile, the Honmoon would be dancing if it could.
The Lost Child was finally coming home.