Yifan was an innocent god. A god that was protected heavily by his own mother, kept in his own garden of every plant, flower, shrub, and tree that he could ever yearn for. He was the creator of the spring time, the reason for the blossoms on the trees, the reason for the growth of the juicy and luscious fruit that bared on vines and limbs. If he wanted it, he could simply speak it into existence. 

And while he contained miraculous power when it came to the budding of a tree or the blossoming of a flower, he was very naive when it came to the outside world, the lengths of land beyond the greenest grass that surrounded his gardens. Due to his mother’s overprotective nature of him, he wasn’t allowed outside the garden in hopes of keeping him from harm. 

No individual was allowed entrance into the gardens unless his mother granted it.

He was left to his own devices, left to the beauty around him, left to the colors and vibrancy of nature, left to his loneliness.  

The suitors that tried to pursue him were quickly deterred by his mother, not even making it to the edge of his garden to even introduce themselves to him. Yifan caught glimpses every now and then of some suitors, and the one that stood out in the darkest clothes he’d ever seen. They reminded him of a moonless night. But the suitor was also turned away by his mother, and it appeared as if his mother had an even greater dislike for this one individual.

And today, as Yifan looked over the small dark purple lilies that were struggling to bloom, he was reminded of the dark individual. He bent down, fingers cupping the bud gently as he kissed it into full-bloom, a breath of life was all the encouraging it needed.

But once he’d done so, the earth under him began to rumble. It began to shake and tremble underneath his bare feet. The grass felt cooler than usual, turning almost an ice-cold as the ground began to split open around him, a crack that was growing and when he tried to move, to cry out for help, to cry out in confusion, he was swallowed up by the great hole opening up. 

And he fell.

Upon waking, he noticed that everything around him was dark, it was cold, the certain lighting he saw was tinged in a blue hue. But he noticed that whatever he was lying on was soft as feathers of a bird, or perhaps a cloud. He raised up to find the softest and silkiest sheets under him, a bed of nothing but black. 

He panicked, looking around frantic at his surroundings to find nothing but darkness and cold. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen, it was scary, and he began to cry out for his mother. 

In the sounds of his cries, he did not hear anyone enter the darkness nor see anyone enter until a hand cupped his face, fingers wiping at the tear-streaks, a soft and deep voice shushing his cries, “Shhh, you need not cry, you’re safe here, my fair one.”

Yifan looked up, eyes widened when he saw the dark individual with clothing that almost blended in with the shadows around them, the only thing that wasn't dark was the pale face. His hair was dark, a blue-tint to it, his eyes were dark but held a fire in them, the same shade of blue that his hair held. While he appeared scary, there was something in those eyes that comforted Yifan, a softness in them as he stared at the teary-eyed face of the nature child.

“Who are you? I’ve seen you before–where am I? What happened?” Yifan asked frantic.

The dark individual’s thumb caressed Yifan’s cheek where he held him, “You’re in the Underworld, my home, I have captured you from your mother’s watchful eye. You saw my flower in your garden and kissed it… I saw in your eyes, you thought of me. You wanted me, so I brought you to me. I am the ruler of the Underworld, Suho.” 

Yifan’s eyes widened, “The purple lily?” 

The dark individual smiled softly, nodding, “That was my flower. Sprouting up and budding in your garden.”

Yifan looked down, his hand coming up to cover the cold hand on his cheek, “What… what were you proposing? The flower, bringing me here, why am I here? I have to return to my garden… my mother… I must return to her.” 

Suho the nature god’s cheek, but Yifan kept gaze down, “I won’t keep you against your will, beautiful being, I’m merely proposing a new life for you. I saw how confined you were by your mother in your garden, so beautiful, so radiant… and so lonely,” at that, Yifan’s head rose, gaze wide as he looked into the dark individual’s eyes, finally seeing something that he’d missed seconds ago. 

A familiar longing in those eyes, the same as the one in his when he looked upon his reflection in the ponds in his garden.

He was curious, the words had caused a confusion and a desire for more knowledge at the life that this suitor could give him. He’d learned little of the past suitors that had come to his mother about him, but she spoke only small details, and they didn’t look as though they had the power or strength to create the earth to tremble under his feet. 

“What kind of life are you proposing to me?” 

The blue fire in Suho’s eyes lit up, a wicked grin taking over his features as he turned away from Yifan to snap at their surroundings, everything lighting up into a blue haze. A throne of two seats, an army of shadows, and fiery blue flames burning behind them the shadows. 

“I am offering you a life with me… as mine, as a ruler, as someone that will be free to do as he pleases, you may come, you may leave, you may stay, you may have the freedom to whatever it is that your heart desires… as long as you come back to me in the end. A caged bird that has never sprouted their wings, I understand the offer is much, but there’s the yearning for a taste of freedom in your eyes that I wish to grant you, and I have the power to do and so much more.” 

Suho turned back to Yifan, everything around them fading from view again, returning to darkness. The look in Yifan’s eyes was uncertainty but also intrigue. The caged life that his mother had put him in, the only world he’d known since birth, it had made him hesitant, but he wanted it.

“All you have to do is say yes,” Suho’s wicked grin faded into a soft smile. “I promise no trickery, you’d be free to do anything you wish… the only exception is that you return to me to show your bright and shining face.” The blue fire in his eyes faded into a soft flame, “I merely wish to have a little sunshine in this dark place.”

And Yifan, knowing nothing but the cage of his garden, knowing only the borders of the hedges and greenest of grasses that stopped their growth at the edge of his garden, he had yearned for the steps beyond those blades of grass, the ground beyond that of the hedges. 

Seeing the softness in Suho’s eyes, Yifan was still hesitant and uncertain, but the taste of freedom that seemed like it was dangling right above his tongue was too great to resist. “Yes, I want that freedom… please, give me that freedom.”