The current world population is 7 billion and counting. Out of all those people, only one is meant for you.

And it was prohibited. Love was eliminated because it was the most powerful emotion, the deadliest weapon.

At least, that’s what they were taught in school. History books were filled with pages of the danger that is “soul mates”.

Jung Daehyun forlornly looked at the tattoo above his right hipbone. He didn’t understand any of it. Surely, if they were imprinted in such a way it couldn’t be a tragedy. Society had taken the phrase “history repeats itself” so seriously that they made sure people couldn’t love—not truly, anyway.

It was a system, one where it was impossible to unite with a soul mate. They were separated, oftentimes on other sides of the world. Travel wasn't typically allowed, except for those who worked for the system.

He traced over the letters of his tattoo, backwards and forward. He wondered if his soul mate ever thought about him.

In this world, every human was born with a tattoo above their right hipbone. Inscribed was a given name, and there was someone else out there who matched it. These were known as soul mates. Soul mates weren’t well understood because there had only been one documented case of two souls becoming one. It was the greatest downfall in all of history.

What was understood was that soul mates were a force unlike any other. Two souls joining together created a potent energy that could only be destroyed through death. It was agonizingly beautiful, but potentially dangerous. Lee Jeonguk and Kwon Suhyun were once two lost souls that found each other. Together, they sought to annihilate humanity. They detested humankind and loved only each other and themselves, and they killed thousands of people in their wrath. Their given name was “Devoid.” It was fitting because they were devoid of all emotion that wasn’t self-centered.

There were many theories on soul mates. The most popular theory was that with true love, one gained transcendence, and that was why it was difficult to defeat Lee Jeonguk and Kwon Suhyun. It was assumed that the natural form of the soul emerged and that it was possible to switch between flesh and soul through love.

Daehyun didn’t know if he bought any of it. The claims that people had made, that they’d witnessed the transformation from flesh to soul, were barely believable. Perhaps they were crazies, hit with bouts of hysteria from all the murders that were taking place during that time period. Maybe they wanted some kind of attention.

He sighed heavily. There was an emptiness in his chest that he often wondered the true love he’s always read about was supposed to be. “Cherished,” he whispered achingly. That was his name, and without knowing his soul mate, he cherished and loved them with all that he was.