The Jib-Hap Valley is now filled not only with the moans of the victims, but also with the smell of incense pellets burning in vain. Sera, the shaman who has lost her mind, finally sets foot on the forbidden land. He did not come as a liberator, but as a slave to the basest love.
1. Bloody Climb
Sera climbs the iceberg where Gwon-Yook Thanatos' throne is located. Along the way, millions of eyes on Jib-Hap's giant body coiled in the valley watched him. The eyes flashed with hunger, while the mouths on the giant's stomach whispered profanities in ancient languages.
Sera ignored everything. In his hand he carried a silver vessel containing a mixture of his own blood which he had mixed with the remains of African and Indian pellets. He was sure that if Thanatos drank this or simply washed his marble hands with this, the god would be his forever.
2. The Unreachable God
Thanatos sat with deadly grace. His extremely handsome face shone under the moonlight, contrasting with the pile of flesh beneath him. When Sera prostrated herself before him, Thanatos didn't even bow.
"My God... My beauty..." moaned Sera, her voice hoarse from chanting too many spells. "Behold my sacrifice. I have thrown away the light of heaven for the sake of darkness in your eyes. Accept me."
Sera tried to touch Thanatos' pure white feet. However, before his fingers touched the god's skin, an extraordinary cold hit him. Blue electricity surged from Thanatos' body, throwing Sera crashing into a pile of groaning faces on Jib-Hap's pillar.
3. Humiliation of the Lord of Destiny
"You brought trash from a faraway land to seduce a god?" Thanatos' voice sounded like calm thunder. "The pellet is useless for those who do not have a human heart. I am the storm, ice, and dead destiny."
Suddenly, Eon-Nyeong, the faceless ghost mother, appeared from behind Thanatos' cloak. He approached Sera, his scary flat face was only a few inches from Sera's beautiful face.
"My son doesn't need your love, little shaman," Eon-Nyeong hissed through the pores of her skin. "But I... I see a beautiful future for your face. You want to touch Thanatos? You want to be near him forever?"
Sera, who had gone mad with obsession, nodded quickly. "Yeah! Whatever! Just let me be with him!"
4. Final Sacrifice
Eon-Nyeong laughed—a sound that sounded like the rubbing of shin bones. "Then be a part of his majesty."
At his mother's command, Thanatos raised his hand. The power of Soul Witchcraft and Shape Change from the mother flows through Thanatos' fingers. Sera screamed, not from pain, but from insane ecstasy as she felt the skin on her face begin to magically slowly peel away.
Thanatos didn't kill him. He used his mother's strength to pluck Sera's face and stick it right on the armrest of his throne.
Now, Sera's beautiful face is eternally imprinted on Thanatos' throne of flesh. Sera's eyes could still see, her mouth could still praise Thanatos' handsomeness, and her ears could hear the electric pulse from the god's body every time he leaned his hand.
Sera has gotten her wish: Become a part of Thanatos forever, even if only as a helpless flesh ornament.
Sera's face which was imprinted on the throne of flesh was finally released by Thanatos. The god grew tired of the obsessive praise that came out of the flesh's mouth. With a snap of his fingers, Thanatos returned Sera's face and banished her back to the human world. Sera wakes up at the foot of Mount Baekdu with the remains of her shattered sanity. He gave up. His infatuation with the god died, replaced by cold emptiness.
Sera returns to her village, hiding her identity as a great shaman. There, she was matched with a poor man who had a handsome face but was completely blind in his eyes. The husband couldn't see Sera's beauty, but he could feel the tenderness of her broken soul. From that marriage, only daughters were born. It was as if the bloodline was cursed to never give birth to a man, so that no one could match Thanatos' handsomeness.
1500 AD: The Moon appears
Two thousand years passed. Dynasties changed, but Sera's blood continued to flow until it reached its peak in a girl named Aurelienne Myung-Hee.
The name is a melody of intoxicating beauty. Anyone who hears the name Aurelienne Myung-Hee will feel their heart beat faster because of her inexplicable charm. Aurelienne's likeness is a natural wonder:
Skin: Pale albino white, as smooth as royal porcelain that emits a faint light in the darkness.
Eyes: Very large almond eyes with dark brown irises as deep as the ocean floor.
Eyelashes: Very long and curly, creating a mystical shadow on her cheeks.
Lips: Thin and naturally pink, rarely smiling but exuding haughty elegance.
Hundreds of kings and nobles from all over Korea came bringing gold and jewels to propose to her, but Aurelienne was not interested. For him, the human world is too noisy and full of falsehood.
The Meeting That Destroyed God's Pride
One afternoon on the shore of a lake covered in mist, Aurelienne was washing her silk cloth. Without realizing it, from behind the shadow dimension, Gwon-Yook Thanatos was watching him. The god, who for thousands of years had only known fear and worship, suddenly felt his chest tremble.
However, what surprised Thanatos was when Aurelienne stared at where he was hiding. The girl saw the god in his true majestic form, but Aurelienne just looked away indifferently. No fear, no love, not even attraction.
For five years (since Aurelienne was 10 to 15 years old), Thanatos became obsessed. He changed forms to attract her attention:
Become a handsome wanderer in blue silk clothes.
Become a dashing knight on a white horse.
Become a poet who recites rhymes about the stars.
However, Aurelienne remained cold. To her, all men were the same: boring.
Unexpected Event: When the God Fell on His Knees
The incident occurred in autumn. An out-of-control water dragon from the eastern sea goes on a rampage, creating a small tsunami that threatens Aurelienne's village. Thanatos, wanting to show off his power, appears in the storm with lightning and ice to destroy the dragon.
After the dragon fell, Thanatos landed in front of Aurelienne with his body shining with blue electric light, expecting Aurelienne to prostrate or at least be enchanted.
However, Aurelienne actually approached Thanatos, saw the dragon blood stains on the god's clothes, and took out her small handkerchief. Without saying a word, he rubbed Thanatos's cheek which was stained with dragon blood very gently, then turned around and left without looking back.
That sincere yet indifferent human touch broke Thanatos' defenses. For the first time in thousands of years, the god who was feared throughout South Korea fell to his knees. He no longer wanted to be worshiped as a god; he wants to be owned by Aurelienne Myung-Hee. The storm god has now become the slave of an albino girl who doesn't want him.
Next Episode: Thanatos, now burning with jealousy, begins to eliminate every man who dares to approach Aurelienne. How will Aurelienne react when she realizes that every rose sent to her is stained with the blood of the suitors?
The Jib-Hap Valley, which was once filled with the groans of enemies, is now a silent witness to the god's new madness. Gwon-Yook Thanatos no longer sat quietly on his throne. He becomes a shadow that haunts every corner of the village where Aurelienne Myung-Hee lives. The touch of Aurelienne's handkerchief to her cheek had instilled a poison more deadly than her mother's witchcraft: obsession.
1. Purge of Applicants
News about Aurelienne's legendary beauty reached the ears of the King of the Joseon Dynasty who ruled at that time. The King sent ten princes and hundreds of the best knights to bring the gold.
However, not a single delivery reached Aurelienne's door.
The first prince was found frozen into an ice statue in the middle of a summer forest.
The second prince was killed by a blue lightning strike when the sky was clear without clouds.
The rest of the group of knights disappeared into the earth, leaving only Jib-Hap's giant footprints behind which could faintly smell of rotting flesh.
Thanatos had sworn: If Aurelienne did not look at him, then Aurelienne should not look at anyone.
2. Gift from Darkness
Every morning, Aurelienne finds a "gift" on her doorstep. However, the gift was not from the human world.
One day, he found a black rose whose petals were made of ice crystals that never melted.
Another day, he found a pearl necklace, each of which was a mermaid's tears frozen with electricity.
Aurelienne looked at the objects with her big, cold almond eyes. He knew who sent it. He knew the god was watching him. However, instead of feeling honored, Aurelienne felt annoyed. His freedom felt restricted by the cold air that always followed him.
3. Meeting Under the Peach Tree
One night, as the full moon shines on her albino skin, Aurelienne walks alone into the woods. He stopped under a peach tree and said in a sweet yet sharp voice, "Stop hiding. You're ruining the silence of my night."
Thanatos appeared from behind the mist. His extremely handsome face shone brighter than the moon. "Aurelienne Myung-Hee," he whispered, and the name sounded like a holy prayer in his mouth. "I have given you immortality every step of the way. Why don't you bow down? Why don't you love me like your ancestors did?"
Aurelienne looked at Thanatos, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. "My ancestors worshiped you out of fear. I don't have that fear. Your handsomeness is a curse, and your strength is just a prison. I prefer a poor, blind man like my great-grandfather, who loves with his soul, not with a show of power."
4. An incident that shook God's soul
Enraged at being rejected, Thanatos releases a bit of his power. Lightning strikes a tree beside them, and the ground shakes as Jib-Hap begins to crawl in the distance.
"I can level this country if you don't accept me!" Thanatos threatened, his eyes flashing with terrifying blue electricity.
Aurelienne didn't move. Instead, she stepped forward, so close that Thanatos could smell the scent of jasmine flowers in her hair. Aurelienne took a small dagger from her waist—a blunt meteor dagger inherited from Sera—and instead of attacking Thanatos, she aimed the dagger at her own neck.
"If you destroy one more human life for the sake of your obsession, or if you force your will on me," Aurelienne said calmly, "then you will only have a cold albino corpse. You can stick my face on your throne, but you will never have my soul."
For the first time in thousands of years, Thanatos felt real fear. This god who was feared by all of Korea was shaking. He realized that his powers of ice and electricity were powerless against the determination of a mortal woman.
The Jib-Hap Valley shook violently. For the first time, the proud god, Gwon-Yook Thanatos, prostrated himself before his mother, Eon-Nyeong. He asked for a potion or magic that could make Aurelienne Myung-Hee love him without coercion.
However, Eon-Nyeong, the faceless ghost, felt deep hatred. He hated Aurelienne because she was the only creature capable of making his great son weak and begging.
"You have become a slave to mortal beauty," Eon-Nyeong hissed, the sound of her shroud sounding like the scrape of a knife. "You want to know whether your love is pure or just lust for his albino face? Let me test it."
1. The Curse of the Rotting Face
Without Thanatos' approval, Eon-Nyeong cast the most vicious Sukma Witchcraft spell. That night, as Aurelienne fell asleep, a black mist crept into her room. The mist doesn't bring nightmares, but rather brings a curse of exfoliation.
In the morning, Aurelienne woke up and looked in the mirror. His albino skin, which was as white as porcelain, began to turn black. Her curly eyelashes fell out, and her beautiful thin lips began to crack and ooze foul-smelling green pus. In an instant, the most beautiful girl in Korea turned into a creature more terrifying than a mountain ghost.
2. God's Test
Eon-Nyeong brings Thanatos to the front of Aurelienne's house. "Behold, my son," whispered the ghost mother in a mocking tone. "That's the woman you worship. Do you still want her now that she looks worse than a Jib-Hap pillar?"
Aurelienne came out of her house with a broken face. The villagers who usually worshiped her now threw stones at her, calling her a cursed witch. Aurelienne didn't cry. He just stood in the middle of the road, waiting for death to take him.
Thanatos was stunned. He saw the face he once adored so much was now devastated. His arrogance as the god of water and ice stirred. However, when he looked into Aurelienne's eyes—dark brown almond eyes that were still calm and cold—he realized one thing: Aurelienne's soul had not changed.
3. Wounded God's Anger
Instead of turning away, Thanatos stepped forward. He took off his luxurious robe and covered Aurelienne's body. Gently, he touched the rotting skin on Aurelienne's face.
"Mother," Thanatos' voice boomed, shaking the sky until black clouds gathered. "You're trying to destroy what's mine."
Thanatos releases the power of his Eternal Ice. He doesn't freeze Aurelienne, but rather freezes the decay process. With the power of blue electricity, he burned away his own mother's curse. However, Eon-Nyeong's power is too strong; Aurelienne's face couldn't return to its original perfection.
4. Mother and Child Fight
Enraged that her son would choose a disabled human over power, Eon-Nyeong orders Jib-Hap to attack. The 100 meter giant started to stride, flattening small mountains to crush them both.
"If you want to be with him, then die with him!" shouted Eon-Nyeong.
Thanatos stood in front of Aurelienne, facing the giant Jib-Hap and his own mother. For the first time, he does not use his powers to scare humans, but rather to protect a life.
Aurelienne, who saw the god's sacrifice, finally touched Thanatos' hand. "Why are you doing this? I'm not beautiful anymore."
Thanatos turned his head, his handsome face looked sincere for the first time. "Because when you wiped the blood on my cheek with your handkerchief, you didn't see a god. You saw a man. And now, I don't see a beautiful girl... I see my world."