Soul Breaker {Kaisoo § Chanbaek}

Chapter 2

Hell.

Hell isn't hot. It isn't burning like the movies he's seen. It isn't filled with the screams of sinners or the laughs of demons.

It's dark, lightened only by rays of blue light. Moon rays.

It makes sense in a way. Heaven has the sun. Hell has the moon.

The landscape is raw, mountains cut down by a lake and trees of an impressive height. A forest, followed by a desert, followed by foggy swamps, followed by the black earth of a dead volcano. On top of the ashes stands a beautiful castle of an impressive size. Elevated towers, elegant blue rooftops, tall windows. The geography is all wrong there, water running near the volcano, trees planted in the middle of the strong stream, desert on the other side.

Suddenly, Kyungsoo realizes the mistake people have commonly made.

Hell isn't hell because it is a nightmare of senses. Hell is hell because it is nothing. It isn't horrifying, isn't visually striking, isn't stinking of despair, isn't burning to the touch, isn't an assault of many flavor, isn't filled with unbarring sounds. Hell simply isn't. It is nature in its purest form. It is void. It is emptiness.

In comparison, Kim Jongin is full of life, a bright beacon, a powerful presence one is automatically drawn to. He navigates the path with ease, familiarity in his every move, every decision. The Devil is perfectly used to the darkness that is his home.

Kyungsoo also understands now, how someone can go crazy in this place, can worship the only form of humanity there is left. An eternity condemned to walk this empty earth, the only meaning one can find is probably the light in those blood red eyes.

"Do disregard the aspect of the Mansion. My brothers have extravagant tastes."

His brothers. Surely, he doesn't mean...

Fallen angels.

"Are you all really brothers?" he asks, suddenly curious.

The man winces a little. "No. It's... an expression. We resemble more... what is the human equivalent of this?"

"Friends?" Kyungsoo suggests.

"Yes. Friends."

Kyungsoo nods once. Then...

"Isn't... God your father?"

There is a sudden drop in temperature. Sensitive subject apparently.

"My father did not conceive us the way you humans do. He created us on his own and in the way he saw fit."

Each word is full of weight and meaning. The charming face has turned absolutely blank, emotions reigned in the blink of an eye.

The Devil is as skillfully deceitful as in the stories.

Dangerous, Kyungsoo has to remind himself.

"What happened then? Shouldn't you have stayed the way he wanted you to be?"

The question is impertinent. He is testing the limits, pushing his patience. But Kyungsoo wants to know.

"Humans... Always so fascinated by what you cannot possibly understand," Kim Jongin depreciably comments.

"You're the one who tempted us with knowledge if I remember correctly, or is that another shit we got wrong?"

Kim Jongin's face breaks, the cold façade replaced by a warm smile. He turns to look at Kyungsoo, his eyes gleaming with pleasure. "Such an interesting mind, Do Kyungsoo."

"Sure."

He looks out the window and is quite surprised when he hears the other man's voice.

"My father wanted his creations to be perfect in every way. He wanted Earth to be green and prosperous, humans to be docile and naïve, animals to behave and coexist. He wanted all things to be beautiful in a harmonious way."