In this chapter I tried to explain things a little bit. I hope, it worked.
By the way, I love writing Kyungsoo and Hakurin interacting with each other, but it is better in my head... I wish I were better with words and I hope, you like their interaction as well.
Please be so kind and write a review after reading.
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While Hakurin led the way to her brother's current bedroom, she told the black king everything she knew about Hakuyuu's illness. It wasn't much, but she needed someone to talk about it with. Until now she had only heard others talking about it, but no one had felt the need to explain it to her. Probably because no one could explain it. The black king listen to her silently. From what she said, he was sure that this illness was not a real illness, but the doing of a certain sadistic, idiotic and annoying wannabe god, who unfortunately was very powerful. He felt like it was his duty to help those people out, but there was nothing he could do. Although his son had gone through the same – in case it really was that wannabe god's doing – he could not do anything for Hakuyuu. The young man had to save himself, the only help the black king could provide was keeping an eye out for any disturbance and he could try to explain things to Hakuyuu's family. Although he had the impression that the people around here did not believe in magic, but magic was a very important part in Hakuyuu's recovery. First things first, he had to confirm whether Hakuyuu still had a chance of waking up or not. Of course there never was a hundred percent guarantee that Hakuyuu would come back to life, but he could see whether the boy was already dead – in the real sense – or not.
The room, in which Hakurin had led him and his guard, was very cold. Someone had opened the window and hadn't closed it again. If Hakuyuu hadn't been dead before, he would surely be dead by now – or it was just Kyungsoo being an old man and too sensitive to the weather. The young people nowadays were all so hot blooded, a few cold temperatures wouldn't harm them. Hakurin for example didn't seem to notice the cold and was already arranging the chairs, so she and her new friends could sit down next to her brother's bed. His guards also didn't seem to mind the cold, but she also was a cold hearted person – she knew no mercy for her king –, so this kind of weather just suited her personality.
"Hakurin, is it alright for you, if I close the window? It is really cold in here", he asked her.
He disliked it when people opened or closed a window without asking other's if it was alright for them, so consequently he always asked – although he already knew the answers, at least when he was with his kids.
"Sure, I don't mind and Hakuyuu wouldn't either", Hakurin answered with a smile, while sitting down on her chair.
Kyungsoo was very happy about her answer and without any delay he closed the window. While doing so he took a glaze outside. It was a nice view. One could see a small grassland with a few colorful flowers – only the grey wall was not so pleasant to look at. Once when he had been a child himself and had been sick, he had to look at nothing but a grey wall all day long – it had been very depressing and never in his life before had he been so happy when he finally was well again.
"Hae Soon, Kyungsoo, you two should sit down too", Hakurin said and offering the two empty chairs to her guests.
Hae Soon sat down on the one at the end of the bed. At first she had not intended to do so at all, but the look of her king made her change her mind. It would have been rude towards Hakurin, if she had declined. Kyungsoo on the other hand was happy that he could sit down. Despite him loving taking strolls, he easily got tired and standing around had never been one of his favorite activities. After everyone sat down a short moment of silence followed. Hae Soon had nothing to say, Kyungsoo was busy with inspecting Hakuyuu and Hakurin was unsure what to say. Hakuyuu hadn't moved an inch since yesterday and his chest wasn't moving up and down anymore. Tears welled in her eyes and she pressed her plushy tighter against her chest. Before she started crying Kyungsoo placed his hand on her head and tenderly stroke over it.
"Don't worry Hakurin, your brother is still fine. Although he does not look like it."
"Are you sure? His chest is not moving like it was, when I had visit him yesterday. This is bad, isn't it?"
"Normally it would be bad, but you know, when someone dies then there are more signs of his death than just his chest not moving."
Hakurin took a closer look. Hakuyuu looked just like he had yesterday. His skin was still very pale, but she was somewhat used to it already, and cold – the same temperature as when he was still alive. One could think he may only hold his breath, because nothing else had changed.
"Um, his heart beat! If his heart his still beating, then he his indeed fine, right? A human cannot live without his heart beating."
She was genius! This was the best way to proof whether her brother was dead or not!
Without waiting for an answer Hakurin made her way on Hakuyuu's bed, so she could check whether his heart was beating or not.
"Under normal circumstances you would be right again", Kyungsoo said.
Hakurin stopped in her doing and looked at him with a disapproving expression. She was unsure whether this was a good thing or not. And how the hell should she now check, whether her brother was still alive or not, if things were different than usual? Why was this so complicated?
"What do you mean with normal circumstances?", she asked.
"Well, I am sure, when you check on Hakuyuu's heart beat you will find out that he has none. And as you said yourself, a human cannot live without a heartbeat. Consequently this would mean he is dead."
Kyungsoo made a short break to give Hakurin the time to process his words and ask questions, in case she already had one – children usually had a lot of questions. Hakurin on the other hand took the small break to check Hakuyuu's heartbeat and much to her dislike there was none. So her brother could be considered dead under normal circumstances.
"Does that mean Hakuyuu is still alive?"
"No, he is dead. However, there is still a chance for him to come back to life. His body is still functioning, despite his heart not beating."
"That does not make any sense at all. Is he dead or not?"
This was too complicated for her to understand. On the other hand, she hadn't received an explanation yet, so maybe it wasn't so difficult.
"To make it simple: Yes, your brother Hakuyuu is dead. To make it complicated: He is not completely dead."
Hakurin disliked complicated things and preferred it to keep it simple, but this time the complicated part sounded better.
"And that means what? How can he be dead and not dead at the same time? And how can we bring him back to life?"
She had placed herself at the edge of the bed and directly looked Kyungsoo in the eyes.
"The answer to your questions is complicated and involves magic, so you will not find a rational answer. Do you believe in magic, Hakurin?"
As far as he knew, children did believe in magic, but this also depended on how they were raised and somehow he had the feeling that the people here did not believe in magic and therefore would not tell their children to believe in it. His children believed in magic and everything else would be extremely strange, because they were surrounded by it since they were born.
"I do", Hakurin confirmed.
"Alright, I will try to keep the explanation as simple as possible. You probably know that humans need the heartbeat to stay alive. For example it is responsible for transport the needed blood, oxygen and energy to your brain. Your brain is needed to give your body orders what it has to do or to process information. If you brain does not receive its nutrients it will stop working sooner or later and consequently your whole body will stop working. So, if someone dies his whole body stops to work. However, as I said before, this is not the case with your brother."
Hakurin looked at him as if she wasn't sure if she should believe his words or if she should call a doctor to check on him.
"Why is this not the case for Hakuyuu?"
"Because someone else is "commanding" your brother's body. That someone does the work of the brain and the heart."
"And why does the person not let my brother's heart and brain do the job? They have worked perfectly fine until now."
"Good question. Very good question. Unfortunately, I cannot give you a prober answer. I don't know how it works. All I know it that the person is using magic to change your brother's body to fit their needs."
"Who is this person and for what do they need Hakuyuu?"
Hakurin sounded angry. Understandable, who would like to hear that someone else was messing with a loved one just to use the person for something – probably something bad!
Kyungsoo had loved to answer with "that person is a despicable, sadistic asshole, who hopefully dies soon", but this would raise more question than it would answer, so he stayed silent. Another problem was that he did not know what that person wanted to do with Hakuyuu. To be honest, there was only one reason, why that person would actively do such a thing, but there was no need for it.
"I am very sorry, but I cannot answer your question, because I do not know the answer myself. In my country it does sometimes happen that someone, who had died comes back from the dead. Your father probably heard of the story of my son. My son was an expectation, because normally it's only babies, who were born dead that returned. This happens because of said person, so they can find a suited replacement, in case something happens to their current body. For my people it is an honor to be selected as next vessel, but I don't think this is the case with your brother, since that person already has a suitable vessel."
"Who is that person?"
"My people refer to that person as God."
A stupid, but loved god.
"Shouldn't a god be merciful towards humans? Why does he kill my brother?"
Kyungsoo had to laugh about Hakurin's naivety. Gods and merciful towards humans, as if. Gods were the cruelest creatures out there.
"Gods are not merciful with humans. They are cruel and unforgiving. For them humans are nothing but toys, with which they play when they are bored. I guess this is the case with your brother. I don't see a reason, why the god should kill your brother. Maybe in the future there will be something happening for which that person needs Hakuyuu, but I cannot say for sure, because I don't know the future."
Silence followed his words. The little girl had to process the newly received information. To her everything sounded strange and like a story made up to suit her. Her gaze shifted from the man in front of her to her own feet that were dangling in the air. So, her brother was dead, because of a god, who seemingly had no reason to kill her brother. Because of that god her brother was dead and not dead at the same time, which meant he still had a chance to come back from the dead somehow.
"What if my brother comes back from the dead?"
He wouldn't be the same anymore, because the god had changed something inside of him, something about him. What kind of change was it?
"Well, then he is alive again and everything is fine."
Not a satisfying answer, but this was probably everything she would get. Sulking she wanted to get down from her brother's bed. This was all so stupid.
Helplessly Kyungsoo looked at Hae Soon. He wasn't sure what to do now. It was obvious that Hakurin was more lost than before. It would have probably been better for her, if Hakuyuu was simply dead. Something like this was easier to understand and accept that his lukewarm explanation, which could not even be considered one. The problem in all of this was simply that Kyungsoo himself didn't understand what was going on. This kind of thing happened in his country and many scientists had already tried to explain it, but until now they hadn't come to a satisfying result. He and his people had accepted things the way they were, but for the people of this country it was a totally different matter. For them death was the end of life and there was no returning. This might also be the reason, why the emperor had not approached him by now – Hakutoku probably did not believe in returning from the dead, which was not surprising, since it really sounded more like a dream than reality.
Kyungsoo helped Hakurin down on the floor, where she stood looking helplessly up to him, just like he had looked at Hae Soon just a second ago. And just like his guard he could only remained silent. Hakurin had placed her hand on Kyungsoo's trouser and played with the fabric a bit.
"Why did your son die? And how did he return? What can Hakuyuu do to return?"
There was no chance she was giving up on her brother.
"Alright, now I feel stupid, because I have to answer with "I don't know" again. I think he did it to save my son's soul. Honestly, I have never asked myself, why it had happened. I have just accepted this little wonder."
"You really don't know anything. How are you supposed to help us, if you don't know anything at all! That's stupid."
Hakurin was sulking again.
"I am sorry, Hakurin. I wish I could be more help to you, but sometimes it is better to accept the things the way they are and not ask question. One does not have to understand everything."
With a soft smile he placed Hakurin on his lap, who looked at him skeptically. She probably thought he was using an excuse for his nescience.
"Back then, when my son died, there was a war going on in my country. My son had been one of the many, many victims the war had claimed. I was so happy, when he finally returned from his imprisonment. Years before he returned he had been kidnapped by the enemy. He never told me, what had happened to him during this time and maybe it is better not to speak or think about it anymore. All I know is that he looked more dead than alive, when he returned home. So, when he died we all thought it was due to his injuries. That he might have died because of the god, was a thought I only had years after, but still I did not ask why. Maybe because a part of me still fears losing him again?"
Kyungsoo didn't like to think about the time his son had been dead. Although it had been only a few days, those days had been the worst of his live – and he had had a lot of bad days.
"When he came back to life he told me that for him everything felt like a dream. There had been a voice, which he had followed for a long time. This voice was telling him a lot of things and at first he hadn't responded, but later on he would give his opinion or ask questions. At the end of their conversation, the voice said that he now needed to wake up again and this was what he was doing. For him it was waking up, for us it was coming back from the dead. Maybe your brother is also talking to a voice right now. Maybe he will soon wake up."
"Does the voice belong to the god, who killed Hakuyuu?"
"No, I don't think so. Of course, it could be that the voice my son had heard and the voice your brother hears are different ones, but from what my son told me, the voice was a nice one. It sounded like a curious little kid, asking others about the world. That god is not a kid nor is he curious about anything. His voice is not a pleasant one."
"Is there something I can do to help Hakuyuu getting better?"
"No, not really. But you can make sure that no one is interrupting him getting better. When you led as here, I saw some strange people, who hid their faces behind a mask or some white clothes. You should make sure that they stay away from your brother. They are up to no good."
"I understand. But those people already were near my brother. My uncle had brought them with him one day and since then they are here. When Hakuyuu was still alive they had used their magic to make sure he does not starve."
"Don't worry about that. As long as they do not get near him now, everything is fine."
"Will you help me?"
"Sure. And Hae Soon will help as well. Am I right, Hae Soon?"
While Kyungsoo smile at Hae Soon, she looked at him as if she was about to commit murder. She was here to protect her king, not some little dead princeling. But what could she do? If the king ordered her to protect the prince, she would protect the prince.
"Yes, you are right, my king. I will help protecting prince Hakuyuu from the masked people as well", she said in her sweetest voice, trying to hid her disapproval. She was in no position to stand up against her king's orders – even when said orders are not worded like ones.
