Mr. No || NCT || Completed

62 - Where Renjun attends a history lesson

"The first Xiezhi was a descendant of doublers", grandmother started.

Immediately, Renjun lifted his hand as if he was in school. "That doesn't make sense. Doublers have doubler children and that's it. How could a doubler couple have a kid of another kind?"

"Don't interrupt me." Grandmother's eyes narrowed. Renjun lowered his hand. "First of all, you need to understand that compared to the doublers of ancient times, we are nothing but specks of dust. During those times, doublers were magnificent beasts who could've conquered and enslaved all of humanity if they wished to do so and the humans who did know about us lived in constant fear. In addition to being stronger and more in-tune with the second half of themselves, the ancient doublers possessed hereditary supernatural skills, which led clans to guard their legacies rigorously. They believed that unity among the clan made them strong. Back then, no doubler married outside their own kind and clan. Not only were relationships with regular humans strictly forbidden, no doubler married an individual outside their own clan."

Renjun had thought that his family's elitist attitude towards doublers they deemed 'unworthy' was severe but it was nothing compared to the attitude problem of the ancient doublers.
The wolf was barely listening to grandmother and it would've preferred for the story time to be over already. Renjun tried not to care about its attitude.

"During those times, a clan of lion doublers had sworn to protect the emperor who was attempting to unite the nation as a whole. The clan could've overthrown the crown in a blink of an eye but instead they wished to see the country prosper under the good-hearted emperor. They prided themselves for being righteous and for seeing the true intentions of those around them and the emperor's honesty inspired them."

It took Renjun a moment to process grandmother's words but finally he lifted his hand again. "Lions?" he repeated.

Apex predator doublers were rare and especially larger ones were few and far between. Renjun knew only a handful of other wolf doublers, some feline predators, such as his grandmother whose doubler was a snow leopard, and a narrow selection of other large apex predators. He had never even heard anyone talk about lion doublers.

Grandmother ignored his surprise. "Despite the good intentions of the emperor, his authority was challenged by many but all of the attempted coups were handled by the lion doublers. It didn't take long for those rebelling against the court to realize that if they wished to as much as touch the emperor, they would have to start by destroying the lion doublers protecting him. That's what they did."

Renjun frowned. "But if the lions were so supernatural and amazing at everything, how was it possible for some humans to take them down?"
While he was speaking, the wolf was alerted by something but Renjun ignored it. The animal tended to get jumpy when it was bored.

"Oh, Jun-Jun. You're too simple-minded." Grandmother shook her head. "While they were overall extraordinary, the lion doublers, just like any of us, had their weaknesses. The lions were so focused on truth and what was right that the rebels found ways to trick them - to confuse them and make them doubt what was true and what false, leading them to false assumptions that divided them from one another. Then, one by one, the rebels were able to destroy them."

An uncomfortable feeling spread through Renjun. Using their own skills and strengths against them had been a clever but cruel move. If grandmother was right and Chaewon's abilities were connected to the lions, Renjun was certain that her zero-tolerance towards injustice leading to her lashing out was part of the deal.

Grandmother sighed. "The rebels murdered every single lion doubler only one was left - a woman who was pregnant. She had managed to get away from the rebels despite being mortally wounded but refused to give in until she had warned the emperor of the approaching coup. After she had delivered the news about the rebels, she begged for the royal physician to save her baby and, according to the ancient scriptures, she pleaded with the second half of herself - the lion - to protect her child even after she passed away."