The Love That Remains

Since there is life, there is death.

Arius is the god of death. A primordial god. A high tier god. Even the other gods are afraid of him. He hates anyone who cheats him i.e. the Death itself. Recently, he came out of his home to check out the earthlings. It's been fun so far.

He has been keeping watch on things. His aloof brother who keeps disappearing. His crazy sister who is currently cleansing the accumulated karma in heaven. In hell, he sees his brother's pawn diligently cultivating. It looks like she has found a solution to her problem. The esper boy is interesting.

But, there is another character who turned out to be interesting. Reis has planned this. What is it that his brother want? Now, Sung Jun has memories of other life. He didn't follow Fang Aisa as Arius expected him to. He is actually going to meet Dabria.

Arius doesn't like Dabria, though she is his ardent worshiper. He is death. She keeps cheating him. That doesn't mean that he would let a measly human kill his precious, but an annoying follower. He will take care of her by himself.

"This..." Arius looks down at his feet. He has walked into a trap. A trap to catch a god. Sung Jun stops walking and turns around with a straight face.

"You caught me." The mouse has caught the cat.

"It was easier than I thought it to be." Sung Jun crosses his arm. "Why is the god of death following me?"

"I was merely taking a stroll." Arius tries to break free of the trap, but he can't. Heaven's energy is blocking his path like a barricade of thorns. That's why he strongly dislikes heavenly blessed individual. Heaven is unfair. It gives them too much power. They can even trap a god and make them do whatever they want. Heaven bends its laws for its beloved and blessed individuals.

"I see." Sung Jun turns around. "Carry on."

"Wait!" If this boy leaves like this, he can never get out of this trap. Sung family has been heavenly blessed for centuries. This boy is born with extra blessings and love from heaven. The trap has a pure and angry spiritual energy. If he tries to fight it, it will become stronger. The other gods can't free him either.

"Aren't you going release me before you leave?" Arius asks with a bright smile.

"No." Sung Jun's answer is straightforward and short. He takes another step.

"I will tell you about Fang Aisa," Arius yells. "I will tell you about my siblings' plans."

Yes, he will rat out his siblings. Anything for freedom. He has no interest in being stuck in this trap until moody heaven decides to free him.

Sung Jun turns around and shows him the same bright smile. "Now, we are talking."

Arius is death. God of death. He usually creeps other people out. His siblings are afraid of him. This is the first time that someone's smile is creeping him out. This is how it feels. He won't try to creep others out...much.

Sung Jun looks at him with expectation. His looks are clearly saying, 'Start talking. Why are you staring at me and wasting my time? I have to go and take care of my evil mother in law. I don't have much time to play with a God who has infinite free time on his hand.'

'I am a god of death.' Arius' lips twitch in annoyance. 'A measly human is treating me like this. If he wasn't heavenly blessed, I would have taken his soul and threw him in the deepest pit of hell.'

"Will you talk?"

"Yes." Arius takes a deep breath. Patience. "Fang Aisa is in hell. She has passed the two circles of hell."

Sung Jun nods after hearing him. He has expected something like this. He has tried to trace her energy in the world, but he couldn't find her anywhere. After getting his memories of other life, he understands somethings. The gods are deeply involved in their lives.

Arius tries to read Sung Jun's emotions, but he can't sense anything. This guy is blocking him from reading.

"Why did the god of time send her to hell?" Sung Jun asks with a quiet voice. "She wasn't prepared. He made the decision suddenly."

"He didn't want her to commit sins. Dabria had sent someone to observe her. If they met, there was a high chance that Fang Aisa would commit a mistake accidentally. My dear sister was also planning to use Fang Aisa to kill your father to make you the council's president faster," Arius tells him nonchalantly.

"Fang Aisa was perfect for that role. She was planning to kill her after she killed your father. Heaven has already abandoned your wife. If there was another mistake, it would become impossible for her to enter heaven later."

"Fate." Sung Jun remembers her from the other life. "She is the one."

"Yes, she is the one who screwed your life. You see, Fang Aisa was not supposed to be born. Fang Qi should have died in the accident. But, my sister cheated me and Fang Qi survived. The seal was broken. He met Dabria and she was born. Your father hated her because of her demonic blood. Then, it was a tragic love story...." Arius makes a sad face. He likes tragic love stories.

"It's easier to control a heartbroken tragic hero. Your previous life was entirely orchestrated by her. She gave me a quite a show...until Reis interfered and turned back time."

Arius shows him a toothy grin when he sees his pained expression.

"He protected Fang Aisa. He is even sponsoring her to become a god. You know what that means, right? If she survives and crosses the hell, she won't be able to come back to earth before she reaches godhood. If she fails, she will die and her soul will disappear completely. That's the contract between her and Reis."

Sung Jun sucks the cold air. "She doesn't know that yet, does she?"

"He didn't tell her the terms completely. I will tell you why she agreed to the contract."

Arius is delighted to see the distress in Sung Jun's eyes. Finally, he is showing that he is only a human.

"Eight years ago, she agreed to the contract in rush. She wanted to run away from the council and her mother before they found out about her broken seal. If Dabria came, she would use the people who are close to Fang Aisa. " He adds, "She asked Reis to take the curse away from the Fang bloodline and show her the truth of her previous life. In return for something that small, she agreed to such a contract. "

If she fails to become a god, her soul will dissolve into the oblivion. She will completely disappear.