In a world where the gods keep themselves at a distance, every 100 years they choose people to be their representations on earth. It was always 12 and it was always young people.

The history records were never as clear as historians would like but these chosen would be given powers that could not be described and would bring inspiration. They would be muses for the world. They would inspire stories and art and forms of creation lost to history. 

But there would be a price. Records were not well kept but i always seemed that those chosen would die or disappear within three years. Legend had it that none of the chosen made it to their third year at any point in history. Stories said the gods would simply pull them away, but people would tend to believe differently. People could only stand that level of worship and fame for so long.

Many speculated what sort of muses would be chosen this time around. The previous generation had been poets and writers and artists. There had been sculptors and painters and political figures and actors and every position under the sun. What would be a modern equivalent? Social media influencers? Actors? Comic book artists? There were many think pieces speculating as the year began to approach, some going so far as to state it was all just superstition and myth. History and myth have always had an intertwined legacy but myth seemed to be the most likely.

All until the first of the chosen emerged.

Nobody but skeptical fans had even considered the possibility of a kpop idol becoming one of the chosen, let alone all of them. 6 female and 6 male performers, all trained under the South Korean idol system. Something an industry could only dream of.

But the first to be chosen was not a surprising choice all things considered.

He had been called a god many times before.

Lee Taemin never considered himself someone to be worshipped. Sure, he had leagues of very devoted fans that flew from all over the world to see him perform. Sure, there were women who were willing to throw themselves at his feet (and some men too). Sure, even people he would call good friends were people who looked up to him and idealized him. But that wasn’t worship. That was devotion. 

Becoming an emissary of a god is not something Taemin would have ever thought would be the next step for him, but as time passed and he really thought it seemed like this was the only logical next step.

Being a source of inspiration was nothing new. Taemin had been inspiring people to become artists for years now. Fellow idols, dancers, singers, and even fans who would draw or write with him as a subject.

It was the apparent two year timeline. Every record he can find and the gods themselves said no chosen gets to last 3 years.

He’s seen too many friends go through loss. He’s seen too many friends leave. How could he be one to add to those numbers?

Letting the world know that he had been chosen was an easy feat. Being chosen while onstage at a concert was as public as it could be. 

Taemin had been in the middle of a song when his body froze. The backing track kept going and dancers kept moving but he stood, eyes wide open. His in-ears were pumping sound still but none of it could be heard. Only the words His Goddess spoke directly into his mind.

“Lee Taemin, you have been chosen to be my representative to the world. You will be loved and hated, and you will be powerful. Now go show the crowd your strength. I am Inanna and you are my warrior.”

It was then that Taemin could feel the silence echoing around him. The spotlights still had him illuminated but the music had stopped and his dancers were nervously standing around him. The audience was still illuminated in the aqua blue of their lightsticks but he could feel the cameras recording him from every angle.

Taemin waved off the dancers before pulling himself into a bow. He wasn’t quite sure what had happened or what to say about what had happened, so just moving onto the next song seemed smartest to him. He moved into his starting position and nodded to the tech waiting in the wings. The tech seemed to just stare for a moment, realizing when happened before disappearing into the shadows of backstage. A moment later the first notes of the song started playing. As Taemin opened his mouth to sing, energy seemed to spill out of him. He knew the words and choreography like clockwork and went through the steps and notes with his eyes closed.

It was later when he looked at the videos circling social media that he realized what had happened. After Innana had spoken to him, Taemin's eyes had begun glowing gold and hadn’t stopped even now. The backing track of the song had played, but he hadn’t been singing. instead a feeling that nobody could seem to describe had escaped his mouth. People couldn’t hear anything but the sound Taemin had created, something that brought people to a euphoric state that overwhelmed them all. By the time the song ended, the whole crowd had passed out. 

By time Taemin noticed this he was already running off the stage. Something was wrong and he couldn't understand any of it.

It was only after he saw the videos and news and speculation that any of it made sense. The time was about right and everything lined up with what they knew from history.

He was the chosen of a god and he would be the inspiration of the world. And in three years he would be gone. But for now he had to play his part.

Taemin opened up his phone and opened the instagram app before taking a deep breath. He had to do this, especially before SM tried to make some sort of statement

He smiled as people quickly rushed into his live stream, the comments going wild about his glowing eyes.

“Hello everyone! its me! You’ve probably seen the videos by now so I want to say it’s true.” He paused to take a breath, a smile still plastered on his face. “I have been chosen by the Goddess Inanna!”