~~Four Days Later… June 8, 1926~~

“S-Stop! If you come closer, we will shoot!” a panicked voice called out from the crowds of soldiers.

Yi Woon slowly lifted his gaze as he gripped his rifle tightly in his hands. Around him were the desecrated bodies of the Japanese police officers who had tortured not only Hae-eun and killed his comrades but other Koreans who had been captured for ‘betraying’ Imperial Japan. Wiping off the blood of his enemies from his face, the royal prince continued to walk towards the hundreds of soldiers as they shuffled backwards from the crazed man.

Woon raised his rifle when shots fired from all directions, impaling the man before he could even pull the trigger. Falling to his knees, Woon grimaced in pain as he used his rifle as his support. Refusing to go down alone, he glared at the oncoming soldiers. Grunting in pain, he aimed his rifle at them, shooting multiple soldiers before he was shot again.

Finally falling to the ground, Woon stared up at the bright sun, pleading to the gods for help...

~*~

“My child, wake up.”

Woon squinted his eyes as he gazed at the bright entity flowing towards him like a feather. She landed lightly on her toes as she smiled at the man before her. The crown prince stared at her in both fear and awe as he stumbled backwards. Not even a second had passed when he felt himself falling down an unknown tunnel with the bright figure flying next to him.

“You have the audacity to wish to be reincarnated? Watch what you have done to your country, your people… ”

The royal prince couldn’t muster a word out as he witnessed the calamity that befell his nation. His reluctance to take action had caused millions upon millions of his people to be without a leader. The once great nation of Joseon definitively fell into the hands of the Japanese, their traditions and customs lost forever. Joseon ceased to exist as thousands upon thousands of Koreans died in World War II, decimating their numbers.

He watched in horror as a small, young child around four years old, cried out for her mother as bombs exploded around her. Her screams of terror echoed in his ears as he watched the nation his forefathers had protected collapse in an instant.

“This is the future that will come to be. You have led your people to ruin.”

“... I… I caused all of that…?”

“Yes. Are you relieved now? Now that you have gotten your revenge for your beloved while abandoning your own people who fought for their liberty and country until the end?”

Woon pursed his lips as tears streamed down his cheeks. What had he done…? Why had he been so foolish and blinded by his rage?

“You abandoned your people to seek revenge for her death… leaving them all to perish. You are even worse than those who had sold and taken over your country. As punishment, the Heavenly King had ordered you to damnation and exiled from this universe, but… I, Habaek*, will grant you your wish in exchange for two things.”

Woon tearfully stared up at the goddess of the Amnok River, nodding his head vigorously. He would do anything to go back and fix his mistakes…!

“First, you will never be able to forget what you have witnessed here. If you do end up reincarnating in whatever form, whether it be a human or an insect, you will carry the burden of having to remember your past lives… Even the most painful ones that you wish you could forget.”

“Second, in each life you return to, you will lead your people to the best of your abilities and repay your debts to them.”

The goddess held out her hand as his gold coin necklace floated towards her. A flash of golden bright light consumed them as their contract was sealed within the gold coin.

“Your life from here on out will be treacherous and full of grief and anguish… But this is the price you must pay until you have saved each and every one of those lost souls…

“Good luck.”

~~~

A deafening scream rang within his ears, jolting Hyuk awake while he gasped for breath. His heart thundered and hammered forcefully from within as the brutal images of the bloody massacre of his people and comrades flashed across his eyes. He shuddered from the memory. How he wished for this torturous punishment to end…! The emperor gripped his necklace tightly in his hand, gazing at it with great fear and heartache.

Would he finally be able to put his misery to rest…? This was now his fourth, (or was it technically his fifth?) life. Although he had lived on as Yi Woon with the help of the goddess’s ability for time travel, Woon (now Hyuk) had his own share of a desolate and lonely life. His necklace twinkled in the warm light of the emerging morning sun, a reminder of his contract with the river goddess, Habaek.

“... I’m sorry Hae-eun. I’m sorry but I’ll need to keep my identity a secret a little longer…” he whispered as he welcomed the magnificent view of the morning sun, “I need to protect my people one last time…”

SIDE NOTE:

*Habaek: A river god/ deity of the Amnok (also Yalu) River. He is famously known for the origin story of Goguryeo’s (a dynasty founded in 37 BC in northern Korea) founder, Jumong the grandson of Habaek. I won’t go into details of the myth here as it is not a central focus of the story! And yes, for this story’s purposes, Habaek will be a goddess ^^”

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**