Queen Sooyoung had to lie in bed to gather her wits and heart.

Did I just sleep with The Lord of Death?

Did I fight for life earlier?

Did I just exchange myself for ten more years as a queen?

Am I in a dream?

Will this change when I wake up?

She had no answers for these questions.

But then reality kicked in.

She was starving.

She washed herself and wore a clean dress, before exploring the Chinese Palace.

First, she went to the throne room.

Her friends, the ministers, were still in the throne room, frozen in their latest movements.

Her red dress and robe she took off before offering herself to the Death Lord were still on the floor.

She picked them up.

Her guards were frozen in time as well.

Everyone was still, as if they were dolls.

Sooyoung put her finger under Lady Yerim’s nose. She wasn’t breathing.

It terrified her.

The Lord better returned and made all her ministers alright again.

The palace was so still. It unnerved her.

She had to use her memory to find the palace’s kitchen.

Chefs and servants were frozen while cooking, pouring soup and washing the dishes.

Even the water and fire froze.

Sighing, she put some food on a plate, sat down on the kitchen table, and ate on her own.

Is this going to be my reality for the next ten days?

It’s too quiet.......

And lonely.........

****************************************************

She couldn’t tell whether each day had passed or not, because it was exactly like when Sungjae stopped the time, all the time.

It was sunset. The sky was a mix of orange and purple.

It stayed that way for ten days.

Since there was no other way, Sooyoung learnt to tolerate it.

She read books, had long walks, wrote pages and pages about what she thought of the situation, of herself and of everything.

Then slept when she’s tired.

She returned to the kitchen when she got hungry.

The fruits and meat didn’t spoil. So she’d never starve.

It’s still very quiet and very lonely, but she had learnt to embrace it.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had so much peace and quiet.

********************************************************

On the fifth day, not that Sooyoung knew the count, she arrived from her walk and entered the palace’s library only to find white smoke everywhere.

Is another deity coming?

Like a fog, the smoke spread, then joined, before forming a very wide sheet of white silk.

The white silk slowly formed a figure.

A human figure.

A woman figure.

Then Sooyoung was standing facing a woman wearing white. She seemed to glitter and shine from within.

“What are you, his opposite?” she asked.

The woman smiled.

“My, my. My brother is right. You are indeed different.”

“Tell me who you are, and what do you want?”

“How cold, Lady. People usually worship me as a greeting.”

“I can’t worship an entity that I don’t recognize.”

“Fair enough. I’m The Lady of Life.”

“..........I see.”

The lady in white then stood directly in front of Sooyoung.

“So beautiful. But my brother is tired of facades. It's what you have inside that changed him. There’s so much fire in your eyes and heart. So much bravery. So much pain, too. It gets lonely to be at the top, isn’t it?”

“Why are you here? He promised me ten more years of life.”

“I know. And I’m not going to betray him. If he cares for you that much, I won’t defy him. But I don’t think you even have any idea how much he loves you. While he’s—there, you’re here, all peaceful and calm.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s in hell” the lady said matter-of-factly.

“Is it.....his home?”

“Oh, no. His home is in heaven, with me and our father, The God.”

Sooyoung raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

“Contrary to popular belief, Death has never been evil” the lady began.

Sooyoung chuckled in disbelief.

“If you think I’ll be so naive to believe you—“

“I’m telling the truth, Stubborn Girl. There will be no life without death. If every beings are immortal, there will be no meaning of life. Death exists so life could have value. Sickness happened so humans could value health. The ends happen so new beginnings could start.”

“We exist merely to keep universes in balance. We have existed since existence itself started. But he—he pinpoints you from billions of beings, and decides he loves you.”

“So.....you’re the supposed sister in-law who will discipline the bride?”

“Oh my, you have acknowledged it?”

Sooyoung bit the inside of her own cheek, mortified.

“I’m here because I’ve been watching you since he went—there. I don’t like how calm you are.”

A chill ran down her spine.

She was unarmed. Fear built inside her.

“How do you want me to be? Pining over The Lord of Death’s return?”

“That might be better. Or at least—fair.”

“Well, I’m not someone who—“

The Lady of White raised a hand and Sooyoung was quiet. There’s an aura about this deity that made Sooyoung wanted to be quiet and listen. As if she’s in front of a teacher, or a strict mother.

“Do you know where my brother is right now?”

“You told me already, he’s in hell.”

“But do you know what he’s doing?”

“...........whatever the Lord of Death usually does?”

“No. It’s as far as can be from what he usually does.”

“Then what is he doing?”

“He’s undergoing a thousand years of torture in hell in exchange for letting you live ten more years.”

Sooyoung was speechless.

It sounded majestic and pitiful indeed, but she couldn’t comprehend it. It was beyond her understanding.

“He, the God and I are bound by our duties. We exist because of that. You make him broke the rules for the first time. And his wishes—your wishes—cannot be attained without sacrifices. Massive ones.”

“There are lots of universes. More than you can imagine. They live on their own. These universes, they are the real Gods. We are merely—officers. Deities that help organize everything to be in balance.”

“None of us was ever meant to fall in love. Let alone to a mortal. But he—he had never wished for anything of his own. Until you. And you don’t know what he’s sacrificing. So I’m here to let you know that.”

Sooyoung was quiet. All of those concepts of universes and the deities, with the rules, it was beyond her comprehension.

“Seeing is believing, right?” The Lady of Life asked rhetorically, before waving her hand.

The wall in front of them was suddenly covered by white smoke.

Then Sooyoung saw a hideous, burning field, full of giant, red devils with horns on their heads.

The Devils of Hell.

The air was full of people screaming in pain, begs of mercy, and the sound of whips exploding on skin.

In the middle of the burning chaos, Sooyoung saw The Lord of Death was lying on the ground.

His hands and legs were tied to four different black carriages.

On the signal of one devil, the carriages ran in four different directions.

And his body broke into four, scraps of his skin and spurts of his blood flying in the air.

His body rejoined again, and he's alive again.

Then he’s pulled into a cliff, and pushed down.

 He drowned in molten lava.

When he’s alive and intact again, he’s pushed to lie on a board of nails, stabbing his body.

Next was getting impaled, a thick and sharp spear in his heart.

And finally, death by hanging.

“Time is liquid. We can change it to however we want, or need. For you, it will be a ten days wait. For him, it’s a thousand years of torture. Over and over again.”

Sooyoung stood in horror all the time, her hands were fists, her own nails digging into her skin.

Tears of disbelief and anger flew.

“Why did you let him do this???” she screamed.

“He asked for it. It’s the only way he could have what he want.”

“How can you be so cruel to your own?”

“He’s breaking his own vows to do his duties, unbiased, no matter what.”

“I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS!!! I DIDN’T ASK FOR HIM!!!”

“I know. But he chose you. And maybe you can learn to appreciate him a little. He’s been watching you ever since you were cursed. He loves you. Maybe too much. I just need you to know that.”

“Is there a way to stop his punishment???”

“No. But now you know, what he’s willing to sacrifice for you.”

With a sad smile, The Lady of Life disappeared.

*****************************************************

I’m not supposed to worry about him!

I don’t know him until a few days ago!

He was going to kill me, and I had to offer my body to stop him!!!

Still, no matter how her logic told her to not care, she cared.

She was disturbed with nightmares, seeing him tortured and getting back to life over and over again.

She woke up crying.

She began praying.

She started to miss him.

She wanted, needed to see him again, all arrogant and rude and selfish and—free of pain.

*********************************************

Life went on.

She was still alive, and continued to live, despite being able to talk to no one and having nothing to do.

She continued her days with eating in the kitchen—she’s so bored with cold meat, but there’s no other choice—reading books from the Emperor of China’s library, and taking long walks.

One day, she sat reading on a cliff.

There was a field of grass on top.

It was always sunset, but still bright enough for reading.

When her eyes got tired, she lied down on the grass and looked at the orange and purple sky.

Where is heaven, she wondered.

Is it up there, in the sky?

And where is hell, is it down there, inside the earth?

She didn’t know.

It’s all so quiet.

An immortal will never die no matter how he’s tortured, right?

She wondered about it as she looked up at the sky.

The sky was of course, silent.

Tired, she then fell asleep.

It was a dreamless one.

She woke up because the air turned colder.

She sat up, brushing her own hands for warmth.

She looked around, and remembered where she was.

She was reading on this grass field atop a cliff, but she grew tired, and fell asleep.

But the sky wasn’t orange and purple anymore.

It was inky black.

She stood up.

Then she saw stars. In the sky, all over the blackness.

She was standing on a cliff, she felt as if she was also standing in the sky.

She then could see the moon, shining brightly.

And black clouds, swirling around the cliff.

The clouds joined, became black smoke, and started to form into the figure of a man.

Then she saw him, appearing from the black clouds, walking on air, to her.

He looked the same.

Viciously handsome, mysteriously unexplainable and with the darkness of the whole universe following him.

She looked more beautiful than he remembered, wearing a dark blue dress, her long hair free of jewels, her hands grabbing handfuls of her own dress.

“You’re crying,” were his first words. “These are tears of contempt or joy, Lady?”

With a shaking hand, she touched his cheek.

It felt cold, but it also didn’t break to a hundred pieces.

“Was it horribly painful?” she asked.

He frowned.

“Your sister visited.”

Understanding dawned on him.

“Ah. Did she show you hideous things?”

Her tears fell, “Oh yes, very.”

“I’m sorry, I would never show you what I experienced. Did it give you nightmares?”

“That’s not the problem.”

“No? Then what is?”

“Why did you do it?”

“I have no other choice.”

“But why???”

“I want to give you ten more years to live, as a queen.”

“I never asked for you” she sobbed, her hands grasping at his black robe.

“I have” he replied. “I prayed to find a way to be with you.”

“I hurt so many people in my life......”

“And I know everytime someone died due to your curse, you are hurt because of it as well. I’m an immortal. Your curse won’t kill me.”

“But you’re tortured because of me!”

“I chose to.”

“Are you my destiny, then?”

“Do you want me as your destiny, Lady?”

“Yes.”

“Then I am.”

“Wait. What if I answered no?”

“Then I’ll fight universes to be yours. I insist.”

She smiled.

And he smiled back.

“Would death hurt, ten years from now, My Lord?”

“For you? Never.”

“What’s beyond that?”

“Immortality. With me.”

“Will you return time back to normal?”

“Of course, or else how will you expand your empire? But before that, I need to make love with my bride. I think I earn that, don’t you?”

She answered by kissing him.

His hands immediately held her, pulling her closer, kissing her deeply.

When she opened her eyes again, they were already on her bed.

Isn’t it strange? Death was holding her, but she felt safe.

“Bride of Mine” he murmured on her skin, hot and burning despite his cold breath. “Wife. Love. Mine.”

She held him close with her hands and legs.

“Love me” she said, half an order, half a begging.

“Love me” she gasped, as his lips glided along her curves.

“Love me, Lord, love me.”

“I’m here, Bride, I’m here. I’ll be with you forever.”

The time was still stopped, but they were moving furiously, claiming each other.

She had been so afraid to love.

But love was empowering.

Love could move heaven and earth.

Love was him.

Love was them.

*******************************************************

Author’s Note:

^_______________^

I hope you like the finale.

I might come back and write an epilogue.

Please tell me if you enjoy this short fic.

See you around!