Let There Be Light ✔

Mark of the Sun

Once upon a strange time there exists a world without the Sun. For thousands of years, the people of this world are submerged in complete darkness, with only their little devices of fire to light their way and the happy little stars twinkling up in the skies guiding them through their daily lives.

How mankind lost the Sun, no one exactly knew. It was said that when the Sun disappeared, a great catastrophe plagued mankind and drove human civilization to near extinction, and it was during this time that all knowledge about the Sun vanished along with it. They only knew of its existence - what it truly is has always been a mystery to them, but their ancestors starting the legacy of trying to search for it is enough to tell them the Sun was once very important to mortality and the world needs it back.

There are rumors though, about how the Sun didn't want to shine anymore and has sought refuge amongst the other celestial beings in a stellar dimension - but those were only rumors that had no definite basis for the truth.

One day underneath the twinkle of a thousand stars, the youngest boy of the Park clan named Chanyeol strays away from home and comes to a lake which was said to stand between the boundaries of the real world and the stellar realm. From the surface, the lake seems deep and scary underneath the light of his lantern. But something about it enchanted the young boy and compelled him to come closer, further into its dangerous trap.

And suddenly, with a loud splash, he falls into the cold water.

Gasping for dear life, the young boy screams for help as he flails around trying to paddle himself up back to the surface but to no avail. Something seems to be pulling him down on to that same spot, holding him in place for several seconds. The air is starting to leave his lungs, and he could feel his mind losing contact with reality. His sense of consciousness fades away, teetering at the edge until finally, everything seems to let go...

"Chanyeol!"

The next time the young boy comes back, he finds himself surrounded by a couple of adults with his mother and father hovering over him, the orange glow of lanterns reflecting on their worried faces.

"Chanyeol, my darling!" his mother cries, pulling him up the shoulders then pressing him against her chest, mindless of how the water still clinging to him wets the front of her expensive blouse. "How did you make your way to this place? We were so worried!"

"Mother..."

"Do not run away from home ever again!" she continues to chide, cradling her son's head as she kisses his forehead. "We nearly lost you! Do not cause pain to your mother and father ever again!"

"Mother! Please!"

The young boy cries out with hurt in his voice as he starts to writhe in his mother's grasp, whimpering and whining as he contorts his body around. The adults stare at him in horror, wondering what is happening to him.

"Make it stop, please!" he sobs as he paws at his mother's arms. "It is painful!"

"Quick! Take his clothes off!" Someone from the clump of people yells, and in no time, the boy is stripped down into nothing. Much to their aghast, they discover something peculiar happening to his skin.

"What is going on?" His mother murmurs in astonishment and shock as a pattern forms on the boy's chest. It resembles a bird, glowing with fiery light that burns through the pale pallor of his skin. Goosebumps and sweat start to break out across the young boy's skin as he continues to move, trying to contain the pain.

"We have to stop it!" His father shouts. "It is hurting him!"

"No," an old woman suddenly appears from the crowd.