TW: violence, sexual assault
Ji Jeong was practicing her needlepoint when there was the knock on the door. Her mother, Hae-Yon, answered it. Ji Jeong didn't see who it was, but she heard his deep, caramel voice all the way across the hall.
"Good evening, Madam. My name is Amatsu Mikaboshi. I have a proposition for your patriarch. May I enter?"
"Yes, of course. Come in." Hae-Yon replied as she stepped aside to let the stranger in.
Ji Jeong was curious about this gentleman. She set down her needlepoint and scurried down to the foyer where her mother and the stranger stood. He was a tall man, well-built and handsome. He had short black hair, very different from the fashion of the times. But what was even stranger were his eyes. They were golden, and they bore into Ji Jeong soul when he looked at her. Gracefully, he took three steps towards her. He took her hand, and brought it to his lips.
"Good day, miss." He said as he kissed her hand gently.
Ji Jeong blushed, "Good day, sir."
"Who are you?"
Ji Jeong noticed her little sister, Chae-Won, standing in the doorway. She had her arms crossed and was glaring at the stranger.
The man turned towards Chae-Won, "Hello, young lady, how are you?"
"Fine." Chae-Won said curtly.
"Behave, Chae-Won." Hae-Yon chided, "I'll go get my husband."
As she left, Chae-Won rushed to her sister's side. "I don't like this guy. There's something off about him."
"Oh Chae-Won," Ji Jeong said as she stroked her sister's hair, "He just wants to talk to father. He probably needs Papa's assistance on a trading expedition."
Just then, Hae-Yon returned with her husband, Admiral Daeyang. He walked up to Mikaboshi.
"Good day, sir. You desire an audience with me?"
"Ah yes, Admiral, good day. May we go somewhere private?"
"Of course," The Admiral responded. He led Mikaboshi to his drawing room, where the two sat across from each other on mats on the floor. The women of the house followed them.
"Can I offer you some tea, sir?" Hae-Yon asked.
"Tea would be lovely," Mikaboshi said.
Hae-Yon exited the room, shooing her daughters away as she did, leaving the two men to their business.
"So, you're a foreigner, hm?" The Admiral asked.
"Yes, I am." Mikaboshi replied.
"Was it a long trip?"
"It went by quickly."
"Well, what can I assist you with today? I don't have any expeditions coming up soon, so if you need a captain, I'd be happy to assist. For the right price, of course."
"I'm not interested in your expertise, Admiral"
"Then why are you here?"
"I have taken notice of your eldest, the one called Ji Jeong. She is a fine young lady, and I wish to make her mine."
"Excuse me?"
Mikaboshi did not falter, "You heard me."
The Admiral laughed, "What makes you think I'd let my child, a girl of barely sixteen years, marry a man with no title or prospects."
"Oh, I'm not planning to marry her. Nor am I asking your permission."
The Admiral's laughter ended abruptly, "Who do you think you are?"
"A god."
"Ah, so you're delusional and stupid. Coming here, implying that you plan to whisk my daughter away and not even have the decency of marrying her. Telling that to my face was a dumb move, boy." The Admiral said as he rose, "Tell me, I'm curious, what would prompt you to make such a ridiculous decision. Were you dropped as an infant?"
Mikaboshi rose, "Oh no, I just like to see your reaction. It was priceless."
"Get out. You insult me with your presence."
"Not until I get what's mine. My new toy."
Fire flashed in the Admiral's eyes, "How dare you, boy You come to my house and insult me and my family in this manner. I ought to kill you right here, right now, defend my honor. If you leave now, I'll let you keep your life."
Mikaboshi laughed, a deep and boisterous laugh that shook the room. "You're cute. I wonder if she'll be as fun are you are. We'll have to find out."
Admiral Daeyang grabbed a rapier off the wall. He pointed it at Mikaboshi's throat.
"Get. Out."
Mikaboshi smiled, "Now it's time for the real fun to begin."
Hae-Yon approached the door, tray in hand. In the jade green tea pot was a special kind of green tea reserved for when guests came over. She was about to open the door when she heard a crash from inside the room.
"Darling?" She peered inside.
Her eyes widened. The tray fell from her hands and the china crashed as it hit the floor. She saw her husband, neck broken, dead on the floor. Suddenly, she felt something grab her. It was the visitor clenching what appeared to be black tentacles around her throat, lifting her off the ground. She gasped for breath but none came. Inky black spots were appearing in her vision as she struggled. They grew bigger and bigger until blackness was all she saw.
Ji Jeong and Chae-Won were sitting in the courtyard when they heard the crash. They stood up and rushed to the drawing room.
They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw their mother being held up by a creature; entirely black with tentacle like arms, one of which was wrapped around their mother's neck. Its golden eyes shifted from the woman he held in the air to the girls in the hallway.
With a sharp twist, the creature broke their mother's neck. It dropped the woman to the floor, letting her limp body crumple at his feet. He kicked her aside as he began to walk towards the two girls.
Ji Jeong stood in front of Chae-Won and the two slowly backed away. Then, the creature shot one of its tentacles towards the girls. He grabbed Ji Jeong at the waist and pulled her towards him. Ji Jeong hit him with all her might, but her blows, which were normally strong enough to strike men down, were only like autumn leaves falling upon his shoulder.
"Let her go!" Chae-Won screamed as she charged at the creature.
"No!" Ji Jeong yelled, but it was too late. The creature, with its free tentacle, grabbed Chae-Won by the waist and flung her into the wall. Chae-Won crashed to the floor, and then laid limp, unmoving.
"Chae-Won!" Ji Jeong screamed, desperately trying to rouse her sister.
Suddenly, the world went black. Ji Jeong's eyes did not close, and yet there was no light entering them. Just as soon as the darkness came it went, and Ji Jeong noticed the surroundings had changed. She was no longer in her home, but instead in a small room with walls of gold. On one of the walls was a mural of a tree painted in all black, which made it pop against the golden background. The monster's grip loosened and Ji Jeong fell to the floor, which was surprisingly soft. She quickly stood up as the creature turned towards her, watching her thoughtfully with his yellow eyes.
"Who are you? What have you done to my family?"
The creature smirked, "You don't remember me? We just met."
The tentacles the creature had slowly transformed into the shape of human hands, his black figure morphed into the shape of a human man, tall and well-built, but still with those golden eyes.
"You're…the visitor… but how…what…?"
"Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Amatsu Mikaboshi. I am the god of this world, the world underneath the universe, the eternal void that lies beyond this room."
Ji Jeong only stared.
"Here, see for yourself." Mikaboshi said as he slid open the door. Ji Jeong stared out it, looking into the inky blackness that lay outside. It seemed to go on forever, with nothing but nothingness to look at. Suddenly, the gold door closed in her face, bring Ji Jeong back to the situation at hand.
"Why did you take me here?"
Mikaboshi smiled coyly, "You see, my dear, it is rather boring being in this world for an immortal being like me. The void provides no interest. Neither does the world or the universe, for that matter. The only thing that interests me is the suffering of man and the struggle he makes to avoid all pain. So every so often, I pick a young girl to live with me in the void, from any universe I please. A beautiful girl with intelligence and grace, who serves me as I please."
"I won't serve you."
"Oh, you will. Not at first, but you will eventually. They all do. Even the most determined among them cave in the end. But you think you're different. You think you'll be the one to change things. Well you're not the first to think this way. But you do have the most potential out of all the girls I've taken here. You're the brightest, but not the strongest. You will fight, but you will fail. Just like they all do."
Ji Jeong stood for a moment, taking in her predicament. Then, something popped into her head, "What happened to my family?"
"Dead, most likely. I don't know. I didn't bother to check. I could go back if you'd like."
"No!" Ji Jeong collected herself, "No, I believe you."
Mikaboshi took a step towards her, "You're such a good girl, Ji Jeong. So sweet. It will be fun to play with you. Why don't we begin our first game?"
Mikaboshi sat upon the ground, with his legs crossed, "You may be surprised to hear this from me, but everything you need to escape this place is in this room. Resources, knowledge, equipment, it's all there. All you need to do is figure out how to use them to your advantage. You can ask me anything you like, whether they be clues to the location of a particular item or information about anything you want to learn, just know I will know that you have learnt this information."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because, my sweet, I like to watch you squirm."
Mikaboshi stood up and took a large step towards Ji Jeong. She tried to step back, but Mikaboshi grabbed her by her waist and pulled her close.
"So, am I to be your maid?"
"You can certainly clean if you like, but that's not what you're here for." Mikaboshi said as he pulled her even closer. So close his lips were resting on Ji Jeong's forehead. He lifted her head to look up to him and smiled.
"I do like this part."
He pushed Ji Jeong to the ground, and she landed with a thud. Mikaboshi straddled her and held down her arms. She struggled to free herself, but Mikaboshi was too powerful. She grimaced in disgust as he licked her neck. Then, she felt a sharp pain. She saw Mikaboshi bite her neck, blood pouring down to the floor. Ji Jeong struggled to push him off of her, shoving with all her might against his chest, but it was to no avail. He was far too strong. She was entirely at the mercy of Mikaboshi, and he was anything but merciful.