Prologue: At a Crossroad

A coat of perspiration mapped her skin like the planes of a new world. Into the night she screamed. Her body shook with the full force of the contractions. She had endured two hours of labor. By morning, she would be dead. Her husband had pulled over at a dirt crossroad, seemingly in the middle of nature in Korea. Every direction appeared the same. Endless ebony, blankets of tall plain grass, blotchy trees, shadowy figures. No cell service yet. No idea where the closest hospital was. Something was wrong. His worst fears unfolded before his eyes, he was going to lose both wife and baby. He scrambled out of the backseat of the hot car and shouted for help. In tears, he implored God to save his wife, his miracle baby, his precious family, his lifeline. When begging didn't work, he bargained, he would lead a good life from now on and never harm a person, he would do and give up anything, please anything.

He was met with an eerie silence.

Then an ungodly entity answered his prayers.

A well-dressed man in a monochromatic suit emerged from the darkness. It was impossible to tell whether the man was old or young; short or tall; ugly or handsome. If it even was a man. If the husband was to describe its face later on, he wouldn’t be able to. The Entity asked him if he meant every word he said. The husband hesitated. He didn't know what the Entity wanted or where it came from. As if reading his thoughts, the Entity threw its he