"EXCUSE me? Is anyone home?" I blink a few times as I drag my eyes away from the balcony. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ji Hyun noona shrugs as she smiles widely. I roll my eyes playfully at her, and without even thinking about it, I turn my attention to the balcony once more.

"Everything seems to be happening much faster than I expected," I hum nonchalantly as she speaks. "You really like her don't you?"

"I do not," I quickly flash her a solid look, "what makes you say that?"

She puts her rather messy hair up in a bun then leans on the counter. "Let's see; maybe it's the way how you helped her get her shoes off when you got here, or it could be the way how you gave me the stink eye when I tried to shake her hand."

I frown, "I'm just being cautious, I don't know if she has fully recovered just yet."

Ji Hyun nods her head at me, "as long as she keeps drinking that, she should be fine in about six months or so."

I sigh dejectedly, "six months? So will she need to depend on me right now?" The engineer nods her head at the question, "damn, I'll be too busy to be with her everyday. This is the first time we're seeing each other since three weeks ago."

"Well, she can't go outside without you, I hope she left her stubbornness in the past." I roll my eyes, "anyway, I went through hell and back just to get those herbs, she better put them to good use."

When we first arrived, Ji Hyun offered Ri Na tea, and it wasn't until after the artist took to the balcony that I learnt how the herbs used to make the tea, have medicinal properties. "Yeah, where have you been all this time?"

"Physically, I was here in this apartment," she gives me a weird look, "however, my soul was all over the damn place, trying to find answers for you both."

I clear my throat as I lean in closer, "wait, I'm confused."

"An aunt of mine taught me how to astral travel when I was sixteen," she sighs, "so basically, my soul separates from my body, and when that happens, I get to travel the universe."

I snicker like a school-boy, "you're making that up." She tilts her head as she looks at me, her face void of any expression, "sh*t, noona."

"And that explains why I look like I was ran over by a train," she smiles softly at me as she tries to lighten the mood. "Anyway, after visiting vodouists in Haiti, witches in New Orleans, and Macumba practitioners in Brazil, I finally have an answer to the Crown Princess' predicament."

I blink rapidly, "she'll be okay right?" 

She shrugs as she folds her arms across her chest, "honestly, I have no idea." My shoulders deflate at the news, "because she was in the Spirit World for such a long time, it's hard for her completed soul to adjust to this world. That's why she's having such a strong reaction to the light here, but like I said, the sachet of herbs I gave her should fix that."

I give her a serious look, "somehow I can't feel relieved."

She throws her head back with a groan, "remember how Bin's journals mention that the Crown Princess' soul was blessed by the gods or whatever?" I nod my head, "well, it wasn't a group of powerful spirits, but just one nameless God, let's call him the Creator to make it more easier to understand."

I lean back in my chair, "this is all too much."

"Tell me about it," she sigh softly, "all three regions that I visited has basically the same story about this Creator. After making this world, and the very first humans, He sort of left them to their own devices for a long while. However, the Creator became curious about how the first humans were living, and so he disguised himself as a human and came to earth."

I look at her with furrowed eyebrows, "how does Ri Na even fit into this story?"

She hisses at me, "you'll know once you stop interrupting." Ji Hyun clears before continuing, "it's said that the first humans treated him kindly, they took him in as one of their own. He was impressed by this, and before leaving, he blessed the first humans, as well as their descendants."

"Wait..." My eyes trail to the balcony, "...do you mean..."

I can't even ask the question, "if Ri Na were to die tomorrow, her soul would be immediately reincarnated. She'll never stop existing, and I think the same applies to you Baek Hyun-ah."

I run my hands through my hair with a sigh, "yeah, you mentioned something like that to me a while back."

"The story isn't finished though." I look at her and she opens to continue speaking, "due to environmental changes, and food shortages, the first humans split up. Only a few families kept that pureness of their ancestors, while others turned to much weaker gods. Luckily, Ri Na's descendants kept away from all that drama. Then came the Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Roman, Hindu, Aztec, Celtic, Japanese, Mayan, Chinese, and Babylonian gods."

I blink rapidly at the long list, "is this where everything goes bad?"

She nods her head with a soft hum, "followers of these gods fought among themselves, the Creator basically was ashamed by the people's behavior so he disappeared. Somehow it became common knowledge about the families that he blessed, and so they were hunted by fanatics, and warriors of those lesser gods."

I sigh deeply as the story comes full circle, "and I'm guessing that's how Ri Na's soul got broken up?"

She nods her head, "turns out the Creator granted those he blessed that ability. At any hint of danger, the souls of these blessed humans will break up. The dominant piece will always remain in the Spirit World, a place where no human, or lesser God can go."

"I feel like I need to ask this again, she'll be okay right?"

Ji Hyun noona gives me a sad look, "you're unable to see, but it hit me the moment I opened the front door. Ri Na's soul glows, and it's f**king majestic." I furrow my eyebrows, "and because of that, she will attract things that are too powerful for me to handle. I'm banking on this Creator returning to take care of things, but that's highly unlikely at this point."

IT'S happening again.