Episode Seven: The Ghost Queen's Betrayal
Jib-Hap Valley shook violently. For the first time, the proud god, Gwon-Yook Thanatos, prostrated himself before his mother, Eon-Nyeong. He asked for a potion or magic that could make Aurelienne Myung-Hee love him without coercion.
However, Eon-Nyeong, the faceless ghost, felt deep hatred. He hated Aurelienne because she was the only creature capable of making his great son weak and begging.
"You have become a slave to mortal beauty," Eon-Nyeong hissed, the sound of her shroud sounding like the scrape of a knife. "You want to know whether your love is pure or just lust for his albino face? Let me test it."
1. The Curse of the Rotting Face
Without Thanatos' approval, Eon-Nyeong cast the most vicious Sukma Witchcraft spell. That night, as Aurelienne fell asleep, a black mist crept into her room. The mist doesn't bring nightmares, but rather brings a curse of exfoliation.
In the morning, Aurelienne woke up and looked in the mirror. His albino skin, which was as white as porcelain, began to turn black. Her curly eyelashes fell out, and her beautiful thin lips began to crack and ooze foul-smelling green pus. In an instant, the most beautiful girl in Korea turned into a creature more terrifying than a mountain ghost.
2. God's Test
Eon-Nyeong brings Thanatos to the front of Aurelienne's house. "Behold, my son," whispered the ghost mother in a mocking tone. "That's the woman you worship. Do you still want her now that she looks worse than a Jib-Hap pillar?"
Aurelienne came out of her house with a broken face. The villagers who usually worshiped her now threw stones at her, calling her a cursed witch. Aurelienne didn't cry. He just stood in the middle of the road, waiting for death to take him.
Thanatos was stunned. He saw the face he once adored so much was now devastated. His arrogance as the god of water and ice stirred. However, when he looked into Aurelienne's eyes—dark brown almond eyes that were still calm and cold—he realized one thing: Aurelienne's soul had not changed.
3. Wounded God's Anger
Instead of turning away, Thanatos stepped forward. He took off his luxurious robe and covered Aurelienne's body. Gently, he touched the rotting skin on Aurelienne's face.
"Mother," Thanatos' voice boomed, shaking the sky until black clouds gathered. "You're trying to destroy what's mine."
Thanatos releases the power of his Eternal Ice. He doesn't freeze Aurelienne, but rather freezes the decay process. With the power of blue electricity, he burned away his own mother's curse. However, Eon-Nyeong's power is too strong; Aurelienne's face couldn't return to its original perfection.
4. Mother and Child Fight
Enraged that her son would choose a disabled human over power, Eon-Nyeong orders Jib-Hap to attack. The 100 meter giant started to stride, flattening small mountains to crush them both.
"If you want to be with him, then die with him!" shouted Eon-Nyeong.
Thanatos stood in front of Aurelienne, facing the giant Jib-Hap and his own mother. For the first time, he does not use his powers to scare humans, but rather to protect a life.
Aurelienne, who saw the god's sacrifice, finally touched Thanatos' hand. "Why are you doing this? I'm not beautiful anymore."
Thanatos turned his head, his handsome face looked sincere for the first time. "Because when you wiped the blood on my cheek with your handkerchief, you didn't see a god. You saw a man. And now, I don't see a beautiful girl... I see my world."
Next Episode: Thanatos must fight Jib-Hap and his own mother. However, their power comes from the prayers of misguided humans. Will Aurelienne use her albino blood to break the mystical bond between Thanatos and his mother?
The Jib-Hap Valley shook violently, as if the Korean earth itself was rejecting what was about to happen. On a throne of pulsating flesh, Gwon-Yook Thanatos kneels before his mother, Eon-Nyeong, the faceless ghost.
"Mother," Thanatos' voice was thunderous but full of pleading, "I will sacrifice everything. Take my divinity, take my power over storm and ice. Let me be a mortal for Aurelienne Myung-Hee."
Eon-Nyeong was silent, a disgusting cold coming out of the pores of her flat face. He hated his son's love, so he prepared a test that would not physically harm the handsome face, but would torture his soul and existence forever.
The Ghost Queen's Three Impossible Conditions
Eon-Nyeong raised her gnarled hands, and the giant pillar Jib-Hap bowed in submission. He whispered an ominous requirement:
1. Soul Prison Inside the Jib-Hap Pillar (The Soul's Submergence)
"First," hissed Eon-Nyeong, "you will not lose your skin, but you must enter the heart of the Jib-Hap pillar. There, the millions of souls you slaughtered will penetrate your mind. You must bear the burden of sin and the memory of every face on that giant's body. If your soul cracks due to insanity, you'll be stuck there forever as an extra face."
2. Drinking "The Gall of Fate" (The Gall of Fate)
"Secondly, you must drink the thick liquid from the stomach of this giant—the juice of thousands of years of hatred. This liquid will not damage your face, but will burn all the godly power in your blood. You will feel every drop of your electric power and ice evaporate out of the pores of your skin like a torturous hot steam, until you are completely empty."
3. Vow of Eternal Exile (The Veil of Silence)
"Third, you can live with her, but you can never touch her with your hands. Every time you try to touch Aurelienne's skin, you will feel an electric shock of thousands of volts hitting your own heart. You will be by his side, seeing him, but you will be a stranger suffering from an unattainable longing."
Divinity-Shattering Trials
Thanatos stepped into the core of Jib-Hap's body. There, he was not tortured physically, but mentally. Millions of memories of victims—the cries of babies he ignored, the curses of knights he froze—stormed into his head all at once. His handsome face was covered in cold sweat, the veins in his neck tightened, but he endured for the sake of the image of the indifferent but charming Aurelienne.
After leaving with a nearly destroyed soul, he drank the cup containing the Bile of Destiny. Instantly, blue lightning exploded out of his body wildly. It was an extremely painful process of retracting godly power. Thanatos groaned violently, his marble body shaking in the snow, but he maintained his consciousness until the last drop of strength disappeared.
Scary Peak
Lastly, Eon-Nyeong approached and placed her cold hand on Thanatos' chest, planting the "Vow of Exile" curse.
"Go away, human," Eon-Nyeong taunted. "You're still handsome, you can still see the world, but you will be tormented by an inch of distance that you can never cross."
Bitter but Beautiful Ending
Thanatos woke up in Aurelienne Myung-Hee's arms. He is still the most handsome god with a sharp nose and white skin, his eyes are still a deep dark brown color (no longer electric). However, when Aurelienne tried to caress his cheek, Thanatos gasped violently, his heart seemed to stop because of the sting of his mother's curse.
He looked at Aurelienne with a gaze that was very loving but full of suffering.
"I'm here," whispered Thanatos in a hoarse human voice. "I no longer have the storm, but I have you... even though I can't hold you."
Aurelienne, the calm albino girl, looked at him understandingly. He doesn't need a hug; the presence of Thanatos who had banished his throne was enough for him. They stood together under the moon, two beautiful creatures bound by impossible love.
Episode Nine: Wedding on a Snow Throne
The year 1500 AD witnessed an unreasonable event. In an ancient temple on a mountain peak shrouded in mist, a grand wedding took place. Even though Thanatos was no longer the god of storms, his aura of splendor as the most handsome man on the peninsula remained unrivaled.
Aurelienne Myung-Hee appears with a grace that transcends human limits. She wore a blood red Hwarot (royal wedding dress) with gold thread embroidery with dragon and phoenix motifs. Her pale white albino skin shone under the Jokduri headdress studded with black jewels.
They stand facing each other in a Gyobaerye (bowing to each other) procession. However, the atmosphere that should have been happy felt tense. Every time their fingers nearly touch while exchanging Jungjong's cups, a flash of purple electricity appears between them—a reminder of Eon-Nyeong's curse. Thanatos had to endure excruciating pain in his heart just to stand that close to his wife.
Episode Ten: The Moon's Prayer to the Sky God
Aurelienne couldn't let her husband suffer forever in emptiness. He knew that Thanatos had sacrificed everything for him. As a descendant of a great shaman, Aurelienne decided to perform a ritual that had not been performed for two thousand years.
He went to the highest altar on Mount Baekdu, the place where the Korean Sky Gods (Haneullim) reside. Under the freezing snowfall, Aurelienne fell to her knees. He did not use pellets or black magic like his ancestors, but instead used the sincerity of his pure soul.
1. Albino Blood Offering
Aurelienne slashed her palm. His bright red blood fell on the white snow. "O Lord of Heaven, I do not ask for riches or long life. I ask for the return of the glory of the man who threw away his divinity for love."
2. The Appearance of the Lord of Heaven
The sky split. Golden light descended through the black mist that had been covering their bloodline. The Korean Heavenly God appeared in the form of a dazzling light.
"Little girl," the voice echoed in Aurelienne's soul. "Your husband is a descendant of a foreign god who brought destruction. Why do you want him to become strong again?"
"Because he no longer uses his power to oppress," Aurelienne answered firmly. "He used it to protect me. His love has washed away the sins of his past."
Episode Eleven: The Awakening of the Perfect God
The Sky God was touched by Aurelienne's courage. With one breath of heavenly breath, Eon-Nyeong's curse was broken. The electrical bonds that tormented Thanatos' heart shattered into pieces.
In the valley below, Thanatos felt a tremendous flow of power returning into his bone marrow.
Her face, which had been bruised from her mother's exam, was now perfect marble again, even more radiant than before.
His powers of Water, Ice, and Electricity revived, but now the color was no longer a scary dark blue, but a pure crystal blue.
Thanatos flew to the top of the mountain in the blink of an eye. He landed in front of Aurelienne. For the first time, he could touch his wife's cheek without pain. He hugged Aurelienne, and this time, her body temperature was no longer icy, but warm like spring.
Epilogue: The Legend of Princess Lightning Snow
Hundreds of years have passed since the grand wedding at the top of Mount Baekdu, but their traces have never completely disappeared from Korean soil. From the union of a repentant storm god and a pure beautiful shaman, a daughter was born who was the pinnacle of all beauty and power: Aera Thalassa Myung-Hee.
Aera was born when a huge snowstorm met a golden bolt of lightning in the sky. Since his birth, he has become a living legend who combines his father's Greek heritage and his mother's Korean mysticism.
A Manifestation of Beauty and Power
Aera grows into a figure beyond ordinary human description:
Physical: He inherited his albino mother's pale white skin which seemed to glow in the dark. His long, flowing hair was silver white, but within it he could often see small electric flashes dancing around.
Eyes: Unlike his parents, one eye is a dark brown as deep as the ocean (Aurelienne's inheritance), while the other eye is a piercing electric blue (Thanatos' inheritance).
Power: From a young age, Aera was able to summon snowfall whose flakes were made of electricity. He could walk on water as if it were a glass floor, and his speech was a command obeyed by nature.
Balance Keeper
Unlike her great-grandfather who was feared for his cruelty, Aera was a protector. He often appears in the midst of major wars in Korea, descending from the sky riding on the shoulders of Jib-Hap who has now transformed into a giant wearing crystal armor.
Whenever there is injustice, Aera will stop time with her ice powers, then give a fair trial to those who are oppressed. People no longer ran away in fear at the sound of their family name; they prostrated themselves with respect and admiration.
The Throne Above the Clouds
In a hidden palace made of eternal ice and solidified clouds, Gwon-Yook Thanatos and Aurelienne Myung-Hee sat side by side watching their daughter. Thanatos no longer needs prayers from human fears to feel strong, because his greatest strength now comes from Aurelienne's hand, which he can always hold.
And it is said that, to this day, if you climb the highest mountain peak in South Korea during a snowstorm and see crystal blue lightning in the sky, it is a sign that the Lightning Princess is watching over her world, ensuring that the love they fight for remains eternal inearth and sky.
THE END