[EVE]

I was stunned for a moment and refused to move. It may as well be a test. I kept my eyes on the ground when I saw him move, dropping onto one knee in front of me and right when he did it; the team behind him followed. I turned to see Jackson with his jaw hanging open. The male in front of me reached out and laid a hand on my shoulder and I was pulled up to stand in front of him.

“I’ve been waiting for this day,” he told me, his eyes becoming small with the amount of smiling he was doing. “My name is Lai Guanlin, the acting monarch of Eve. Your twin.”

My twin?!

I coughed, my body doubling over and I saw Protector Park Jihoon look over at me warily. I had a twin? Maybe this is what Gemini said when he said “I’m very honored to be part of your making.” I thought that my ascending or venus would be a Gemini but I didn’t expect for me to have a twin! My mind was reeling—then again, he did tell me that all twins were of his making. Why couldn’t I connect the dots?

“H-How can you speak so many languages?” I found myself asking in Korean, Guanlin chuckling.

“We’re all polylingual. You must have so many questions,” he observed my friends behind me with no malice. “Though we must take precautions. Sister, I have to bring both of you into the lab for check-up.”

“C-Check up?” I asked, suddenly scared. Things were going too smooth. Maybe he wanted to experiment on us! “What check up?”

He must have seen the sudden wariness on my features, Guanlin telling me that it was just procedure before adding. “I know they all call you Harin, a very pretty name I must add.”

For my twin brother, he was very polite. The guy named Park Jihoon stood beside him with such a brooding demeanor, it almost made me think that maybe he was the monarch and this Guanlin guy was trying to act his way through to con me. I had trust issues.

“How do you even know my name? And what does Guanlin mean?”

“We have our ways,” he replied. “It’s Chinese. A lot of our culture is shaped by different cultures around the four worlds.”

“Oh. My name was given to me at birth,” I told him softly and he nodded. “I never studied Chinese.”

“How about I give you a Chinese name?” He asked with a hint of excitement, giving a little bounce. “How does Hualin sound?”

“S-Sounds great,” I replied, feeling three behind me. Mark, Jackson and Baekhyun had took a step closer and stood close to me. When I looked at them, they made a shocked pikachu face that made me feel a little better. At least if something ever happened, I had these three idiots.

“Let us head to the labs,” Guanlin said, motioning to the man beside him. “Protector Park Jihoon, lead the way.”

We were in a cave and I didn’t know what to expect. I followed Guanlin close behind as we marked down the cave and we were met by a cable car. I know I always thought that it was filled with banshees and dark creatures, but I didn’t expect to see so much… technology.

We were ushered into a cable car and Guanlin settled comfortably beside me, Jihoon waiting for Mark, Jackson and Baekhyun to sit down before moving in after them. He barked orders and they closed the cable car door behind him. The cable car walls were made of glass and as it began to move, I saw that it was dark and the lights were from buildings. It looked like night time Korea.

“We live underground,” Guanlin told me, his gaze onto the city outside the cable car. “We can’t settle above ground because of the acidity. We invest all of our time into knowledge. Everything here is cultivated and filtered. The air we breathe, the fish we eat and the plants we grow. The light you see there are lights put up on the cave so our people won’t live in the dark.”

I found myself engrossed in my surroundings. “So, you don’t have night and day?”

“We do, but it’s simulated. Our weather as well. Our history was a dark one, and we started off as a small tribe. But to survive, we had to quickly develop skills and to us, that was knowledge,” he said this simply as the cable car went into a halt. I still had so many questions but I knew it wasn’t time to ask them all just yet.

I found myself in front of a lab, a man in a suit cleaning the table aggressively. Guanlin greeted him in Korean and to my surprise, the man looked up and greeted him back before switching to a language I didn’t understand. I guessed it was Evian. They talked for awhile and the man bowed down to me, speaking in Korean.

The way they switched between languages so fast was impressive.

“My Queen,” he greeted. “My name is Hwang Minhyun, in charge of sanitation and security in Eve. I have to run a few tests on all of you.”

[Hwang Minhyun, sanitation and cleanliness]

“Our people are sheltered,” Guanlin told me. “We have lived underground for all our life. Without proper fresh oxygen, the Vitamin D you would get from the sun and almost all the nutrients a normal human would have to have to be strong; our people are very weak. We give them daily injections but if a virus were to break out, it would wipe us out very easily.”

“So, this is what you mean, precaution,” I murmured, when I heard a yelp. I jumped to see Baekhyun backed against the corner with Hwang Minhyun with a pin in hand. He wanted to prick Baekhyun’s finger to extract blood but the light mage wasn’t having any of it.

Behind him, I saw two people do it to Mark and Jackson; their blood then being put under the microscope. I saw the people shake their heads. I was also asked for my blood, giving it to them without any complaints. Guanlin lounged around us and for a king, he seemed very… lenient. He joked around and hummed to himself, Park Jihoon tense beside him.

Baekhyun ran over to me after giving them his blood with much difficulty and it took a few minutes to process when Hwang Minhyun called out the results.

“Ah, we must put the Earthlings into quarantine,” he sighed. “Nothing serious. Their genes are different than ours, they may bring something in. I need a few days to process it.”

“Quarantine?” Jackson asked, his eyes widening when the people began to circle him and Mark with an orange suit that was made of a certain material. “Are you going to put us in a cell?”

“I can assure you that you will be treated as a King you are, King of China,” Guanlin assured him and Jackson looked surprised at Guanlin’s words. Now, how did Guanlin know of that? I was sure it was a thing only on Earth and I don’t recall Jackson introducing himself. “You’ll be quarantined in the Royal Castle, don’t worry. Hualin will be right by your side, though I do want you to take a tour around. Your people are going to be very excited to meet you.”

“The King has advertised it on the screens of the metro train system for a whole month when he was given the information that you may be coming,” Park Jihoon spoke, deadpan.

How did he know?

“Well, to the Royal Castle we go,” Guanlin said, Mark and Jackson, walking towards us in a big orange suit that made them look like human sized oompa loompa’s. I muffled a laugh but Mark bounced a bit and told us that it was weirdly comfortable. We were sent back onto the cable car and I sat next to Guanlin, suddenly noticing that he was staring at me.

When I turned to him, I realized that we had a lot of resemblance. Except that he was really tall and I was considered tiny beside him—we had the same almond eyes and the pale skin. He blinked at me and his eyes fell onto my hands that were on my lap. I tried to figure out what he wanted; my hands clasped together on my lap.

“He wants to hold your hand,” Park Jihoon said with a bored voice from beside Baekhyun, Mark and Jackson. I looked at Guanlin who looked at me hopefully and I offered him my hand, my twin holding it and beaming. “That’s not very kingly, Your Highness.”

“Oh, give me a break! I just got my twin back!” he complained to Jihoon and his hand tightened around mine. “You don’t know, you don’t have a twin!”

“For good cause. You’re enough of a handful, I don’t need siblings,” Jihoon replied and I chuckled. I looked out of the glass cable car to see that we were nearing a castle. It was big and the fact that it was underground was even more impressive.

“Protector Park Jihoon here is my right hand. He handles almost everything for me,” Guanlin told me and I nodded. “Similar to Keepers on Exodus.”

I really had to ask how they knew of the other worlds while the other worlds knew nothing of Eve. When we reached the castle, Mark and Jackson whooped up in happiness when they saw how beautiful it was. The walls were exquisite, made by marble and how it looked inside looked nothing like the outside. It was decorated in gold and the curtains were glittery.

“Your friends will be kept in the castle for a while,” Guanlin told me, Mark and Jackson waving excitedly from afar. They didn’t seem at all bothered that they had to wear orange suits, following the people that were talking to them. “They’ll be taken care of, I promise.”

When they disappeared, it was Baekhyun and I left with Guanlin and his Protector; the light mage quiet. I guessed he was awkward and when I asked him if he was okay, he simply nodded. Of course, if you grew up with a certain image of Eve, you’d end up starstruck seeing how it was really like.

“I’ll have to handle a few things,” Protector Park Jihoon said to Guanlin, my brother raising a hand to dismiss him. “I’ll be back. Don’t give your twin a tour of the city without me. It’s not safe.” He told Guanlin and I realized that he seemed much more dominant than Guanlin was, and my twin brother nodded.

“I got it, go. Go,” he told Jihoon. When Jihoon left, he turned to me. “Shall I show you and your friend the castle?”

We began walking down the long hall, music filling the castle. It was the sound of violins and Guanlin hummed under his breath, Baekhyun beside me. As we headed down the hall, Guanlin brought us to a room that had photos up on the wall. Right in the middle, there was a painting of a woman holding two infants.

She was a spitting image of me.

Or I was a spitting image of her.

My heart stopped and my eyes ran over her sweet smile, her eyes turning into crescent moons. Guanlin peeked at look at me, his hands going behind his back.

“Our mother,” he told me, calmly.

“Do you know why I was sent to Earth?” I asked him, Guanlin not tearing his eyes away from the painting. He nodded, heaving a sigh.

“Your story is widely taught as part of Evian History,” he told me. “We live underground, Hualin; and our family was the second generation of monarchy on Eve.”

“What was it before?”

“Democracy,” he replied. “But democracy wasn’t fit for Evian people. We go through too much risk, too much uncertainties so the first generation of our family were chosen by the Elves. We were born on the second generation. Monarchy is still relatively new.”

He continued talking.

[Guanlin, Harin]

“At that time, Eve was going through population control,” he told me. “One family could only have one child but then we were born as twins so our father, may the zodiacs send him to hell—Sorry,” he muttered. “Our father wanted to kill you. He believed that to have people listen to him, he would have to set an example. Of course, that’s understandable but then the tyranny! That was the time he began to kill those who had more than one child. It was a massacre.”

Guanlin shook his head.

“Mother wanted to save you, because she knew between a female and a male; he’d choose to kill the female. When you were born, there was also a prophecy on your head made by the Elves that you would be the savior the Zodiacs have chosen and the portal wouldn’t activate itself without a saviors blood. I guess Father couldn’t handle the fact that you were a girl and you’d save the worlds. Your existence was threatening his power. She ran away and she sent you to Earth to save you.”

“What happened next?” I asked, afraid of what I may hear.

“Mother came back and the war happened. She was a strong woman.” Guanlin tilted his head, looking at the painting. “It was Eve’s most famous war. It was Mother and the civilians against Father and his army.”

“They both died fighting. Mother killed him and he killed her. Eve was then left without a monarch, without a leader. The Elves took care of me with my uncle. I was appointed as the acting monarch of Eve until you came back after reuniting the worlds.”

“Uncle? And how do you know of the prophecies? Are Evian Elves similar to Seers?” I asked him. He was about to reply when a grumble sounded and a man entered the room. He was tall with beady little eyes, wearing a track suit.

“Uncle,” Guanlin greeted him and his uncle looked around warily. “Uncle Ophy, did you take your pills?”

His uncle ignored my twin’s question, staring at me before breaking into a laugh. “Is this your twin?”

Guanlin nodded and his uncle studied me. “I still don’t see why the Zodiacs chose you as the savior, have you seen them? How’s Leo and Virgo?”

“Uh… They are fine, I guess. I understand why Virgo said he blessed Eve with knowledge,” I answered back politely, Guanlin crossing his arms sternly at the man.

“This is Uncle Ophiuchus,” he introduced and my eyes widened. Ophiuchus? The deity? He looked very… human. Ophiuchus rolled his eyes, wagging a finger at me. “Speak in Exodian, Uncle. Say hi to our guests.”

“I know what you are thinking!” His voice rang out dangerously. “I’m a deity on land!”

“Uncle!” Guanlin warned, switching from Korean to Exodian. “Did you take your pills?” The deity grumbled and I heard people running into the room. They were wearing lab coats and looked like doctors. Ophiuchus pressed his lips together stubbornly. “Come on, now. You need to take them. You know how crazy you get when you don’t.”

Baekhyun flickered his eyes to me and I gave him a reassuring smile. The light mage watching as Ophiuchus let out a wail, a doctor putting a pill onto the palm of his hand.

[Ophiuchus; Uncle Ophy]

“I need !” He said to Guanlin who gave a firm shake of his head. “I suffer from PTSD, anxiety and depression! I need it!”

“We have gone the recreational drug route and it just made you dependent on it,” Guanlin told him, the doctors going up from behind Ophiuchus and shoving the pill in his mouth. Ophiuchus hiccupped and I saw his Adam’s apple gulp.
“Check if he drank it.”

The doctors were quick under orders, slamming their arm against Ophiuchus’ back. It took the deity by surprise, the pill flying out of his lips and he looked at my twin meekly.

“Oops?”

Guanlin gave an exasperated sigh, the doctor giving him another pill. This time, Ophiuchus seemed to have swallowed it and almost immediately he seemed calmer. Guanlin was satisfied, telling him he did good in listening when Protector Park Jihoon stuck his head into the room.

“Your Highness,” he called and Guanlin looked up as if to ask him what happened. The two shared a look before Guanlin excused himself. The doctors stood by the door to keep a close eye on Ophiuchus who was staring at me. I realized I liked him more when he was loud and loopy—like this, he was too intense. Too scary.

“Savior,” he spoke, his voice different from a moment ago. He mused, a grin travelling over his features. “So, you’ve been to all four worlds. Are you ready to reunite them as my siblings want you to?”

I didn’t know how to communicate with him. He was different from the other deities. He seemed more… volatile.

“I’ve been only to Earth, Exodus and now Eve. I haven’t set foot on Euren,” I told him. Honestly was the best policy. “I honestly don’t think I’ll reunite the worlds. All I want to do is to be with my loved one.”

“Your fiancé, the Exodian,” Ophiuchus mused. “Euren—I miss the place. The city of Agrabah was once my playground. It was after I ventured into Euren that they locked me up here.”

I looked at him and could tell he was reminiscing. He looked like he desperately needed to talk about it so I asked. “What happened?”

“Happy you asked. Not many people ask me around here, except maybe your brother. Sweet child.” His mood brightened up a bit and he began to talk. “You know of Aladdin?”

“We all know of Aladdin,” I answered back and the deity made a face.

“Ugh. I know, you Earthlings made it into a movie.” He shuddered. “The genie was blue! How very unrealistic.”

It was foreign to hear people call those who come from Earth as “Earthlings” instead of Gaians. Ophiuchus began to speak, shoving his hands inside the pockets of his expensive looking tracksuit.

“It started when I began to recruit people to take over the worlds. I know—,” he said as he saw my expression change. “I’m a deity, it’s not my duty to rule the worlds and meddle with humans. I learned it the hard way.”

He mimicked the words from a memory. “There was a mage named Jafar. He was a mage on Euren, one of the very few. His power was mind possession. I recruited him the same time as Gemini O.”

“Jafar was the bad guy in the Aladdin movie,” I told Ophiuchus and he nodded.

“I know, I watched it,” he told me. “The thing is, Jafar was actually the genie. In the movie Jafar was evil, and the genie was good but that’s not true. Jafar was an incredibly greedy man. He killed for his own benefit. He was murderous! So, when the deities decided to punish me by locking me up in Eve, punish Gemini O with him being controlled by Gemini X with the rings; they punished Jafar by putting him into a lamp and making him into a genie.”

“The only way Jafar would be able to come out would be if he granted three wishes and if someone wished for his freedom. And then comes Aladdin!” Ophiuchus chuckled, shaking his head. “Aladdin was one of the saviors chosen by the Zodiacs. He was the first savior from Euren.”

“Let me guess,” I said, turning to Ophiuchus. “Aladdin found Jafar and asked him to grant him three wishes?”

“Exactly. Aladdin was a savior, but he didn’t exactly have the mindset for it. Eurenic people are too impulsive. He was so smitten with love he used his first two wishes to win Jasmine’s heart,” Ophiuchus sighed. “I should go easy on Disney. They did get a few things right in the movie.”

“He used the third wish to free Jafar, didn’t he?”

“He did. But to a contrast that the genie was his friend, Jafar left the lamp and began to terrorize Euren. His soul was repressed after being inside a lamp after so many years. Aladdin had let out a monster.”

“But Jafar was a soul, wasn’t he?” I asked. “How did he terrorize Euren without a vessel?”

“He used Aladdin’s body,” Ophiuchus replied. “His powers were of mind posession. He took over Aladdin’s body and the ground burned with fire as people began to get murdered left and right. So Aladdin did all he could to fight against Jafar.”

“What happened?” Baekhyun whispered and Ophiuchus jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Oh, took me by surprise! Jesus, child. You should speak up more," he told Baekhyun, Baekhyun turning red. “He killed Jasmine. To become a genie, you must kill someone you love. It’s a ritual. And to sell your soul to a genie, you must kill someone who loves you.”

“Why would someone ever become a genie?” I asked, frowning.

“On Earth, you call them Djinn’s. But of course, they are slightly different. When you become a genie, you can grant wishes but when you merge your soul with a genie—you will become a supernatural creature. Your body will change and you’ll will no longer be human. The amount of power you will be able to possess will increase.”

“Hualin—,” Guanlin’s voice called and all three of us jumped, turning to see him standing there. “Shall we go on a tour? Jihoon just finished training his subordinates.”

“S-Sure,” My voice cracked, Ophiuchus making a face at Guanlin.

“Now, what am I supposed to do now that you won’t be around?”

“Uncle, you have to go to therapy,” Guanlin replied, Ophiuchus scoffing. With orders, the doctors stepped in and he was taken away. “He may be a deity but mental illnesses are not selective. Our people are very susceptible to depression and mental instability. We don’t get sunlight, we don’t have a proper circadium rhythm. Because of the lack of space, all people work in shifts, and Eve is a world that never sleeps.”

“I see,” I found myself mumbling, Guanlin grabbing my hand bravely this time.

[Guanlin, my twin]

“Shall we?” He asked and I nodded. We went out of the room we were at and Protector Park Jihoon stood there, waiting. We walked down the hall when Guanlin took an exit, all of us now at a different part of the castle.

It was less gold and more silverly, and I saw little creatures standing in front of the entrance. Looking closer, I recognized these creatures.

“Leprechauns!” I exclaimed and Baekhyun looked excited to see a creature he recognized. “We have those in Exodus.”

The leprechauns must have heard me and they all stood in a straight line, growling menacingly. In contrast with the ones on Exodus, they all were wearing a black cloaks and instead of small forks as their weapons; the leprechauns had guns. Small mini guns propped in their arms and they stood in position.

“Leprechauns on Exodus are a disgrace!” One of them chirped. “Such fools! What an embarrassment!”

“Now, now. Mercury Red,” Guanlin said to the one who spoke. “Let us not be impolite. This is your Queen.”

“Why didn’t you say so? Zinc Silve