The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3)

by Con Template

  She appraised the coffin in a newfound marvel.

  Yoori had expected to see an ordinary black coffin. What stood before her was a coffin fit for royalty. The outer surface of the coffin was made of pure gold. With the light beaming down, it illumed like a golden casket meant to bask in the heavens. The grandiose of this coffin astounded her. Who would lock her in something worth millions of dollars?

  Her eyes perused the mysterious room to unearth the answer.

  “Hello Soo Jin,” said a voice from somewhere above.

  Yoori moved to the end of the room where she noticed stairs that led to the upper portion of the estate. She climbed up, vigilantly grazing her fingers over the railing. Her breath hitched when she saw a familiar face.

  “You,” she whispered incredulously.

  Shin Jung Min, one of the Underworld’s three elder Advisors, stood on the balcony in a dark gray business suit. He was a middle-aged man whose hair was a mixture of blonde and gray. He had an upper mustache of a similar hue. Her attackers stood close to him, their hands respectfully behind their backs. Behind them was a projector with a grainy video reel of a group of people fighting in an enclosed space.

  Yoori growled under her breath. It made sense that the one who arranged her kidnapping was an Advisor of the Underworld. She evaluated the room again, the extreme coldness bringing forth an unpleasant memory. She had been here before. Yoori hypothesized that this room was part of Seo Ju Won’s massive estate. The meeting room where her initiation was held was just one small part. The other rooms were what held all the Underworld secrets.

  “My name is Yoori,” she corrected crossly. She stood up straighter, refusing to appear weak.

  Jung Min smirked patronizingly. “My mistake. Hello Yoori. How was your nap?”

  She stared at the men behind him. They were all cleaned up. Despite the souvenirs she left on their skin from the fight, they still looked like a million bucks. “They’re yours?”

  Jung Min’s voice became warm in the air-conditioned room. “You may not recognize them, but they were all Soo Jin’s trainers. They were a part of everything that made Soo Jin legendary.”

  “Why did you have them attack me?” Yoori looked at the grainy video recording. She belatedly realized that it was a recording of the fight in the limo. She turned to him, anger revving inside her. “And you had the audacity to record the whole thing?”

  Jung Min did not even blink at her accusation. “Look closely,” he directed calmly.

  Yoori faced the screen again. Her eyes widened when she discovered something strange about the video. She moved to examine the faces more closely. What she saw surprised her; it wasn’t her just a few hours ago in the video recording. It was a younger version of herself: a younger version of herself fighting all five men in the limo and a younger version of herself who looked like a God doing so.

  What the hell?

  “You are strong, but you are weaker than your twelve-year-old counterpart,” Jung Min stated, staring at her in a chastising manner. “How do you expect to wage war against the favored King if you cannot even stay conscious on the ride here?”

  Yoori looked at him sideways. The disbelief she felt from seeing a younger version of herself was eclipsed by his statement. Heat infiltrated her voice at the implication behind his words.

  “I am not waging a war against him,” she grated, feeling like she was back at the teahouse holding a similar conversation. He had done everything in his power to turn her against Tae Hyun back then, and as it appeared, was far from giving up.

  Jung Min laughed patiently. “Which is why you received a limo instead of a town car.”

  Yoori smirked coldly, grasping what was happening here. This was Jung Min’s punishment to her for discounting his advice when they had tea. This was his way of punishing her disobedience.

  “Are you that bored with your life that you have to find entertainment in screwing with mine?”

  Yoori barely had time to scream when Jung Min viciously kicked her in the stomach and sent her flying across the room.

  Bam!

  Pain exploded inside Yoori after her head hit the railing of the stairs. She was barely able to hang on to the railing when she stumbled down, her flesh slamming against every hard step of the stairs. Every impact rattled her bones, making it hard to breathe. Her world spun, nothing but agonized groans marring her existence. Mercy was only granted when she landed on the ground floor.

  “Ugh.”

  She laid motionless on the bottom of the stairs, breathing in agony.

  Soon after, she heard sounds of footsteps descending peacefully down the stairs. She peered up and saw that Jung Min’s men, Soo Jin’s former trainers, were coming down the stairs in a single file line. As she regained her bearings, Jung Min’s men merely stepped over her unmoving body and walked out of the room, leaving her alone with the Advisor.

  Seconds later, Jung Min descended down the stairs.

  “Amnesia does not give you the right to disrespect your elders, my child,” he whispered, calmly walking down toward her. His left hand smoothed over the railing as he took step after step. “That is the primary difference between you and Soo Jin. No matter her status in life, she would never forget respect. You have a lot to learn if you hope to fill her shoes.”

  “She can fucking stay dead for all I care,” Yoori gritted through her teeth. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and leaned against the wall for support. It took all her control to not lose consciousness. She did not want to give Jung Min the satisfaction of blacking out from his assault.

  Jung Min chuckled when he strode off the last step. “So much anger since the last time I saw you. Did things not work out with the King of Serpents?”

  Yoori remained quiet. The reminder of Tae Hyun’s betrayal hurt more than the aches in her body.

  Jung Min’s expression became all knowing. Her silence was a deafening confirmation to his assumptions.

  “I warned you,” he stated simply.

  “I know you did,” she whispered, looking down at the floor in shame. Despite the fact that it had been weeks since it happened, she still felt embarrassment (and hurt) resonate through her. He had. Jung Min had warned her about all of this. But like a fool, she didn’t listen. Now she had to pay for her foolishness.

  “This is your own fault.”

  “I know it is,” she concurred again.

  “Good,” he said, moving back up the stairs. “Remember this moment. Remember how pitiful he made you feel.” He stopped midway up the stairs and stared down at her. “Let this feeling sink in and when you are ready, stand up.”

  Yoori regarded him with inquisitive eyes. She wondered what he had up his sleeves. Did he want to punish her more for disobeying him? Did he want to rub salt in her wounds?

  She tried to read his face, but he merely stared at her while waiting patiently on the stairs.

  Although she did not trust him, Jung Min did not feel like a threat at the moment. He felt like a mentor. At a time like this, she needed a mentor.

  Yoori stared back down at the area where she landed. She allowed the humiliation to inundate her, to remind her of how much she resented Tae Hyun. If she had never met him, then she would not have been in this dreadful place in life. She would not feel this broken and she would not feel less than human. After Yoori was done despising her own existence, she did as Jung Min commanded and stood up. As if she had done this countless times in the past, she followed after Jung Min, leaving behind her pitiful state.

  “Do you want to know the wonderful gift of your training?” he asked as she stepped back on the stairs and climbed toward him. “You may have fallen as a God, but the beautiful thing about falling is how powerful you are when you rise again.” His lips spread into a smile when she reached him at the middle of the staircase. “Have you ever wondered why Soo Jin had three Advisors?”

  “Why?” Yoori asked, genuinely curious.

  “Although Ju Won knew that he could turn you int
o a God, he also knew that the human in you needed to be strong as well. This was where my brother and I came in. Dong Min was your political Advisor. He was your sounding board in matters pertaining to influence, politics, and business.” Jung Min motioned her to walk with him up the remaining portion of the stairs. “Do you know what I was?”

  She shook her head.

  “I was your spiritual Advisor.” He chuckled at the skeptical look on her face. “I may seem far from someone you’d turn to, but while you were growing up, I was the one you turned to when your human self got the best of you. I was the one who reminded you of your greatness, and I was the one who would never let you fail.” They reached the top landing. Slowly, they returned to the circular balcony. “The beauty of being more superior than human is our resilience. Once we fall from grace, we stand stronger every time.” They moved toward the railing of the balcony that overlooked the spotlighted coffin. “You will rise again. No matter how hard you fall from your throne, you will always rise again.”

  Yoori couldn’t take her eyes off the gold coffin as she listened to his last words. “Whose coffin was that?”

  “Soo Jin’s.”

  Yoori gazed at his profile. She recalled the “dream” she had before rising out of the coffin. She wondered now if it was truly a dream or a memory from the past. “You made her sleep in that coffin?”

  “Yes,” he said without guilt. “Every night she failed as a God, we would throw her in that coffin and make her sleep there for the night.”

  His confirmation unsettled her. “Why would you do that to a young girl?”

  “So her weaknesses would not become a habit.”

  “Why the coffin?”

  “So she could be reborn.” Jung Min faced her, his expression purposeful. “We all fall as Gods. No matter how invincible we may appear, at one point or another, we have all fallen as Gods. The coffin was to remind Soo Jin of her fate every time she fell from grace.”

  “Where did she sleep when she succeeded as a God?”

  He pointed to an area adjacent to them. “On that throne.”

  Surprise entered her eyes. She hadn’t realized there was another balcony up here.

  Yoori followed him on to the other balcony.

  There, she saw something that made her heart hammer. Standing alone on that balcony was a regal looking throne. Like the coffin below, it was made of pure gold. Elaborate gold carvings swam over the throne, protecting the red velvet cushion with a sense of valor and richness. There was not a single scratch or malady on this enticing chair. The throne looked grand, powerful, and divine. It was, simply put, perfection.

  A sense of longing filled her when she approached the throne in a hypnotized state.

  “Soo Jin loved this throne. She was the most peaceful when she slept here.”

  Yoori’s eyes ran over the elaborate embellishments on the throne. She could sit here for days examining every individual carving and never get to the “end” of the story this throne was trying to tell. Legends before her sat on this throne, and as it appeared, their secrets would die with it.

  “You used this to remind her of her fate if she was better than human,” Yoori provided. She swallowed uneasily and reverted her attention back to the coffin. She came out of her hypnotized state. In place of awe came incredulity. Everything came together in the most horrific way. “And you used the coffin to remind her of her fate should she fail as a God.”

  The Advisors had conditioned Soo Jin to seek nothing but power. If she succeeded, then she was rewarded with this throne, thereby meaning that she would not have to suffer. She would be above all the suffering—figuratively and literally. Yoori peered down at the coffin. But if Soo Jin failed, she would have to be punished like the rest of the humans; she would have to endure what humans feared the most in life—a glimpse of death.

  Yoori recalled the horrific scene she dreamt about. She wished it wasn’t reality, but she had a distinct feeling it was.

  Almost apprehensively, she voiced her speculation. “What else did you put in there with her?”

  “The body parts of the people she killed.”

  Any magnificence she saw from the golden coffin evaporated. Her stomach heaved with nausea. Yoori felt like she was going to be sick. “You’re all sick.”

  “Perhaps, but that did not mean our tactic did not work.” Jung Min pointed at the screen. The younger version of Soo Jin was still fighting her trainers in the limo. Although the film was grainy, it was clear she was winning. “Look at how perfect she was. Look at how much power she exuded by simply existing on that screen.” He turned to her. “Now look at you. Look at how pathetic your current state is. Do you think Soo Jin would ever be in this appalling state? Do you think she would ever be as pitiful as you?”

  Yoori lapsed into a thoughtful silence. She knew the answer as clearly as she knew the sun would dawn once morning came. Despite her hatred for her past self, Yoori knew that Soo Jin would never be in this disgraceful condition. And if she was, Soo Jin would not only conquer this pathetic affliction, she would also punish those who brought her down this road to begin with.

  Doing her best to keep Soo Jin’s mental state out of her own mind, Yoori moved the conversation along and asked a question she had been curious about for the longest time. “Why did you choose her out of all the Underworld children?”

  “What do you mean?” he said, patronizing her.

  Yoori gazed at him, knowing well that he was playing with her. He knew exactly what her question meant. Nevertheless, for the sake of getting the answer, she patiently elaborated. “There must’ve been countless Royals for all of you to choose from. Why did you choose Soo Jin? She was the second born heir and a female. As much as I like the idea of equality, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that this is a male-dominated society. Why her?”

  “Because you have Royal blood.”

  Yoori blinked at Jung Min in confusion. “I thought all the heirs have Royal blood.”

  “Your blood also belongs to that of the Royal family in Japan. Your mother isn’t like Tae Hyun’s mother or Ji Hoon’s mother. She is not an outsider; she is a Royal from the Japanese Underworld. No matter how powerful Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon’s blood may be, your blood will always be more powerful than theirs.”

  “Soo Jin’s brother has the same blood as her,” said Yoori. “Why wasn’t he chosen?”

  “Because he was already chosen by the eldest Advisor in the Japanese Underworld.” Jung Min smirked. “Plus, he and Ju Won did not see eye-to-eye. Ju Won has always favored you over your brother.” He sighed before bringing them back on topic. He no longer had the patience to waste time with her. “How much longer will you continue to deny your fate?”

  Yoori sighed as well. Her patience with this subject was quickly dwindling. “If I have already failed as a God, why do you insist on trying to resurrect the dead?”

  Jung Min permitted himself a small smile before he touched the armrest of the throne. “Do you know how Gods rise again after falling?”

  “How?”

  “They wage war against those responsible for their downfall.”

  Yoori clenched her jaw and shook her head. After all this time, he was still trying to pit her against Tae Hyun.

  “I will not let you resurrect her nor will I wage a war against Tae Hyun,” she told him adamantly. “I am done with them—both of them.”

  “Is he really done with you?”

  Yoori didn’t miss a beat. “Yes.”

  “Then why are his men with you every second of every day?” he asked, causing her to freeze in place. “Why are you driving his car and why are you pining after him?”

  “I am not,” she whispered, only able to answer the latter part of the question.

  “You are.” He smirked knowingly. “You have broken free from him physically, but not emotionally. It will only be a matter of time before you go back to him and be at his mercy again.”

  “I am done with him,” Yoori repeated throu
gh clenched teeth. The pain ached inside her. It felt like she was attempting to convince herself more so than Jung Min.

  “He is not done with you,” Jung Min pressed on without mercy. “You are his favorite toy, and Kings like Tae Hyun do not let go of their favorite toys easily. He will figure out a way to win you back, and when he does, the next time he breaks you, you will not be able to rise from your fall.” He tilted his head. “Follow my advice as your past self once did. I did not steer her wrong. Look at what she became in this world.”

  “She died,” Yoori said tightly, fighting to keep the emotions buried deep inside her. She could not show it; she could not show Jung Min her weakness.

  “She became an immortal in this world,” he corrected immediately. “She is now a crowned jewel in this unforgiving society.” He stood closer to her. His voice became softer, more mentoring. “Do you really not see how incredible that type of power is? How can you choose this shameful state in life when you can have all the power in the world?”

  “I do not yearn for power.”

  Jung Min grinned, gesturing a hand to the throne. “Sit on the throne.”

  Yoori shook her head, refusing to budge even though deep down she wanted nothing more than to sit on that throne.

  “It’s not for me,” she said with difficulty.

  “It doesn’t belong to anyone right now. Sit.”

  Yoori could no longer deny herself. The throne was beckoning her and she no longer had the strength to deny its enticing call. Slowly, she moved towards it and sat. At once, this surge of euphoria came over her. The tightness that once plagued her body eased. After weeks of feeling like a lost soul—like a pathetic soul—everything in the world finally made sense.

  “Close your eyes.”

  She closed her eyes.

  “Imagine a room filled with the most powerful men and women in the world. Imagine the ones who have the power to control a city, dictate the laws of a country, and shift the fate of a world any which way they like. Imagine all of them packed into this room. Now imagine them falling to their knees when they see you sitting on this throne. Imagine how euphoric that feeling is, to know that the most powerful Kings and Queens in the world are kneeling before you because you are their God—because you are their Lord. There is no feeling greater than power; there is nothing more desirable than this throne.”