|Doom's Gibel|

Chapter Twenty Four

[The forgotten tale]
A/n: All the historical things stated here are fictional. Pls take into consideration that the material provided here are solely for entertainment purposes and thus no proper research has been done
If I by chance have offended any one of the readers my apologises.
I do not intend to falsely accuse or state anything

Unedited

✿

This story takes place long time ago, around 57bc, when Korea's first dynasty- the famous "Silla dynasty" had come to being in the land of the mortals.

Geumsong [the capital of Silla back then], a place filled with festive, liveliness and of course home to many higher rank nobles and aristocrats would always have its streets with buzzing shops, crafty merchants and gossips of no basis.

However, there came a time where it no longer received rain.

It didn't take long for the land to lose its remaining moisture and to turn from a fertile soil to a cracked dried up patch of land.

Crops had no chance of growing and the supply from the neighbouring villages was only sufficient to feed the higher upper ranks; the privileged ones, however that too wasn't sufficient as time stretched by.

With lack age of water as well as food maximum of the population in the village under grew famine. Loads fell ill or died from malnourishment.

People began to grow frustrated and began demanding food for their survival. They gathered around the house of the head of the village head and pressurised them.

With desperate situation a desperate action had to be made. Out of no solution as to what must be done to calm the villagers and to solve the problem they decided to hold a holy ritual to satisfy the water god Habaek. In order to do so a sacrifice had to be made; a human sacrifice.

The villagers agreed to this idea, believing that the water god must have been upset with them. However, there was no household who was willing to offer one of their members for the ritual.
So, selfishly they choose 15 years old Park Chaeyoung; the poor orphan of the village, to be the bait.

The following day the young lad was bathed, given clean hanbok and hair plated into a neat braid.
Oblivious to the entire scenario she obediently did what was asked of her.
It was the very first time she was treated this grandly and so her heart poured with gratitude.

Everyone gathered around the big oak tree situated at the centre of the village where the ritual was to be held.

Prayers were read aloud, drums were played. The gigantic picture of lord Habaek was surrounded with the remaining food they owned along with a pot of fresh water.

They had decided to leave the lad in the jungle and let nature devour her and send their sacrifice to their lord.

Chaeyoung was led into the dense forest with two elderly men.

Chaeyoung:

I had a very sickening feeling as we went into the denser region of the forest. This was the area everyone was told not to enter.
I of course was extremely thankful for their nice treatment, that too towards an orphan like me.
Despite having no household or background they choose me to be the main part of the ritual, it was very generous thing to do, but this unsettling feeling won't just go away from my chest.

"Ajushii may I ask where are we going?", I asked one of the escorts

He nervously laughed, "The place we are going......um how should I put it? Ah it's a holy site where not everyone can enter you see. Since you were the chosen one you have to go there and pray to lord Haebek for having mercy on us and bless us with rain. You can do that right?"

"Yes. Of course"

Reaching the unknown part of the forest we stopped.

"This is where you will pray to the lord", he stated
"Here?"
"Yes. Now close your eyes and begin praying. Remember to pray earnestly okay?"

There was something off about this entire thing, but rather than listening to my instincts I did what I was asked to do; after all it was for the betterment of the village.

When I opened my eyes my face formed a big frown.
The ajushiis who had brought me here were nowhere to be seen.

I called out for them several times only to feel the rustling of the trees.
I sat under the tree, hoping for them to come any second to take me back, but there was no sign of it.

I was alone in the middle of the jungle, not knowing my way back home.
I had been tricked, wasn't I?

How foolish of me to think that they had picked me out of all the eligible people as the main person leading the ritual. I was nothing but a sacrifice they needed.

The reality knocked the breath out of my lungs.
I am so naive.

Hope you enjoyed it!