Chapter Text
Prologue Part 1
Suddenly feeling something cool on his cheek jolted Cale’s mind awake. He remembered the God of Death’s divine item smacking him in the face and then fainting, so the cool feeling he is experiencing now should not be there. That could only mean one thing, he was dreaming again.
“That motherfucking God of Death has some explaining to do,” Cale grumbled as he sat up.
“You are finally awake.”
“…Ha.”
Sighing, Cale glanced around his surroundings. He could see a typical office quite similar to those he saw when he was still Kim Rok Soo.
Cabinets, various office equipment, windows with black curtains preventing him from looking outside, and two desks. He was sitting in front of the smaller of the desks which had a glass top and was the source of the cool feeling his cheek had experienced.
Tap.
The sound of a cup being sat down near him drew his attention to the mug containing what he assumed could only be hot cocoa judging by the sweet fragrance coming from it.
Having finished with his observations, Cale glanced up and turned to the side.
“Is that your true appearance?”
The God of Death shrugged and asked, “Did you expect something more holy?”
“…No. You look more normal than I expected,” Cale replied.
The God of Death just stared at Cale speechlessly while Cale observed him.
The man in front of him was tall at over 190cm, dressed in a sweater and khakis, with white hair, black eyes, and a muscular build with bronze skin.
He looked good, a very healthy complexion even. That just made Cale frown and glare at the God of Death. How dare that bastard look so refreshed while he and his people looked so tired and haggard.
Awkwardly glancing away and coughing, the God of Death decided it was time to get to the point of this little meeting.
“I called you here to have a little chat and to reward you for all the hard work.”
At the mention of rewards, Cale’s glare disappeared to be replaced by sparkling eyes and a bright smile. Rewards from a god are bound to be worth at least a small fortune.
Unfortunately, the smile didn’t last long as the next words out of the God of Death’s mouth were utter nonsense.
“Have you given any thought to becoming my Saint?”
“Like hell that will ever happen,” Cale immediately replied.
“It was worth a shot,” the god said. “Didn’t think you would actually say yes, but miracles do happen.”
The flat look in Cale’s eyes told the god he had better get to the point soon or Cale would find some way to get rid of him like the God of Despair.
Sighing, the God of Death gave up for now, moved away to sit in a chair, and did as Cale said.
“As I said earlier, I brought you here to reward you. I have several gifts for you. The first of which is a replacement item for the cintamani that broke. It will be delivered to you soon.”
Cale smiled at that. He was glad that he would still be able to talk with everyone from that world.
Noticing Cale’s smile, the God of Death felt happy that he could bring some joy to the life of an individual he had inadvertently caused so much despair.
“The next gift I have for you is information. Choi Jung Gun is living well.”
“I don’t care about that guy,” Cale said.
“Choi Jung Soo is also living well.”
Cale smiled hearing that and waited for news of the last person.
“Lee Soo Hyuk is living well. He reincarnated into the world you are living in.”
The gasp Cale let out at those words made the God of Death smile.
“He also retained all his memories as a reward for helping with sealing the God of Despair.”
“What?”
“He gave you his Embrace ability. That is what allowed you to seal the God of Despair. He should get a reward for that as well and chose to keep his memories.”
‘The team leader is in the world I am living in? I can see him again?’
Those thoughts just went round and round in Cale’s mind. He was experiencing many different emotions at the same time. Confusion, joy, excitement, anticipation, and many more.
The God of Death smiled and just gave Cale a few moments to process everything before speaking again.
“He was reincarnated into the Endable Kingdom.”
“The Endable Kingdom?”
“Yes, you will find him there.”
The smile on Cale’s face was bright enough to overshadow the sun and infectious enough that the God of Death felt himself smiling along with him.
“I have one last gift for you,” the God of Death gently said.
Cale looked at him and wondered what else the god would give him.
“I am giving you the gift of truth.”
“What?”
At Cale’s confused murmur, the God of Death gently smiled and began speaking again, “I am not such a shameless person that I don’t know when my actions have caused chaos and grief to others. The lives you have lived as both Cale and Kim Rok Soo have been full of either the chaos caused by the curse on the White Star or despair caused by the White Star’s curse. I accept that I am at the least partially responsible for all of it and this is my way of trying to make amends.”
Seeing Cale staring blankly at him, the God of Death smiled sheepishly before taking a breath to continue.
“By transmigrating you here I have placed many burdens on your shoulders. You have done amazingly and changed this world’s, as well as others, fate in a way better than even I expected. With the death of Cale Barrow and the sealing of the God of Despair, many of those burdens are gone, but I know you have already started to make plans for dealing with the Hunters. Since those burdens remain, I will take the only one I can from your shoulders. I will give you the gift of truth for those you have come to care about, so that you no longer have to carry the burden of keeping secrets from them.”
Once the God of Death finished speaking, he sat patiently while waiting for Cale’s reaction.
He didn’t have long to wait as less than a minute later, Cale practically leapt out of his chair and began cursing at him.
“What the fuck gave you the idea that you had any right to interfere any more in my life than you already have you motherfucking bastard?! You have no fucking right to decide when or even if I tell anyone else!! You and all the other gods just need to stay the fuck away from me and my people!!!”
Knowing that Cale’s anger is justified, the God of Death let him have his moment to vent and when it looked like he was coming to an end, he spoke again.
“True, we have indeed meddled quite a bit with you and those around you, but this time it’s for your own good. Everything will be alright Cale. You can rest and I will take care of everything else.”
With those words, the God of Death snapped his fingers and Cale felt his eyelids becoming heavy. He tried to fight it, but eventually lost the fight and felt himself tilt toward the floor.
Before he could hit the ground, he felt gentle hands catch him and heard the God of Death once again softly say that everything would be alright.
Looking down at the man peacefully sleeping in his arms, he smiled softly again before snapping his fingers once more and Cale’s form faded out. He has quite a lot to get done before Cale finishes his nap after all and since he is sure Cale’s family will be just as strong willed (or maybe bloodthirsty would be a better word) as he is, the god can be sure that he will have a massive headache before this is all over.