As Park Jin and his entourage laid Ha-yun's lifeless form on the ice bed, a figure emerged from the palace's grand corridors. Prince Lee Hwan from seo's family, with a face as innocent as the morning dew, glided into the room, his piercing gaze locking onto the still form.
"Is she Ha-yun?" Prince Lee-Hwan's curiosity got the better of him. Mage Shin Moo-hyun, wise and aged, with eyes that seemed to hold a thousand secrets, nodded solemnly. "Yes, Your Highness." His gaze fell upon Ha-yun's still form, the blue mark on her body seeming to pulse with an otherworldly energy. "This mark signifies a soul shifter. Note, Your Highness, that when the alchemy of souls is performed, the mark manifests precisely over the heart." The young prince's eyes widened as he absorbed the mage's words, his mind racing with the implications.
"Does that mean her soul escaped her body?" the young prince asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Before anyone could respond, Park Jin interjected, "She seems to have attempted to, but I believe she was unsuccessful. The mark indicates her soul did escape, yet we've found no evidence of it reincarnating into another body." The room fell silent, with everyone lost in thought, pondering the implications of Park Jin's words.
The air was heavy with unspoken questions as the weight of Park Jin's words settled in. The young prince's eyes darted between his father's stern expression and Ha-yun's still form, his mind racing with the implications. "Then where is her soul now?" he ventured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Park Jin's gaze turned inward, his eyes clouding with concentration. "That's what we need to find out," he said finally, his voice low and deliberate. "Until we locate her soul, her body will remain in this state, trapped between life and death."
The silence that followed was oppressive, each person lost in their own thoughts as they pondered the mystery of Ha-yun's missing soul.
His eyes widened as he took in the scene, and his gaze settled on the bird-shaped whistle nestled in Ha-yun's pocket. The prince's slender fingers reached out, as if drawn by an unseen force, and gently plucked the whistle from its resting place.
The young prince's gaze turned stern. "It's a whistle," he said flatly. One of the cohorts raised an eyebrow. "A whistle?" he repeated, curiosity piqued. Lee-Hwan's expression turned thoughtful. "I once had one just like it when I had a pet bird," he said, his brow furrowed in concentration. Park Jin's eyes narrowed. "Did she have a pet bird?" he wondered, stroking his chin contemplatively. As Lee-Hwan picked up the whistle, examining it closely, Park Jin's curiosity seemed to grow. "This must be important," Lee-Hwan murmured, his eyes locked on the whistle. "Maybe she was an assassin, killing without a second thought."
Shin Moo-hyun's words hung in the air. "But she was still human. She must have had a story of her own." Lee-Hwan's gaze drifted back to Ha-yun's lifeless form, his expression contemplative. With a shared glance, the group began to disperse. Park Jin and Shin Moo-hyun fell into step together, their footsteps echoing off the palace walls as they made their way down the stairs. "What do you think?" Park Jin asked, his voice low and thoughtful. Shin Moo-hyun's eyes narrowed. "I believe there's more to her story than meets the eye."
Park Jin's eyes narrowed, his mind racing with the implications. "A lot of people have already seen Ha-yun's body. Words will spread about the alchemy of souls." Shin Moo-hyun's expression turned grave. "It's been 20 years since we've seen a soul shifter. If news of this gets out, it could spark panic... or worse." The silence that followed was heavy with foreboding, as if the very mention of soul shifters might summon darkness into the light.
Park Jin's expression turned grave. "Yes, it has," he replied, his voice low and measured. "Hmmm... that soul shifter ran wild and killed all those people. I fear that something like that would happen again." Eunuch Shim's eyes clouded with worry, his head shaking in despair as he contemplated the potential dangers that lay ahead. The weight of their concerns hung in the air, a sense of foreboding settling over them like a dark shroud.