Chapter Text
Chapter 1- Prologue.
If you asked Kim Rok Soo’s teammates, there were few things that would gain a reaction from their stoic team leader because he was an old man ever since he was born.
If you asked Kim Rok Soo, there were few things that would get a reaction from him because he has been through way too fucking much.
Just like now.
He had been in his office, slaving through piles of paperwork, thinking about what he should cook for his niece, and now he was sitting in a huge room, facing a screen. Glancing around, he noted that the room was divided into three sections and he was right in front of the middle one.
'Or rather', he clicked his tongue, 'I am in the fourth section. I guess I am not the only one meeting with the God of Death today.' The slight glimmer of the barrier visible only after intense concentration.
Turning back to the front, he stared at the screen, trying to figure out why the heck had the God of Death (and it definitely was that God who liked messing with him) had brought him here when the White Star had already been killed and the Sealed God was, well, even more sealed.
In the middle of his musings, a door in the first section opened and careful footsteps resonated through the hall. Eventually a black haired man, weary looking and covered in signs of conflict entered, and Kim Rok Soo felt a chill running up and down his spine.
'Ah, I should have known nothing good will happen in this place if it's that *** God in control.' Rok Soo leaned back in his seat, hoping the comfortable sofa would swallow him because the man who had just entered was none other than Choi Han, the protagonist of Rok Soo's former world, aka the guy who beat the living crap out of Rok Soo in said former world. The man looked filled with rage and confusion, distinctly reminding Rok Soo of a core memory, and his body twinges painfully from it.
'Where is that bastard Choi Jung Soo when I need him!' Rok Soo swore up a storm internally, not removing his eyes from the other man.
Perhaps his desire to avoid any interaction with the newcomer was heard because Choi Han seemed unable to see him. But Rok Soo couldn't relax yet as more footsteps emerged from the opened door. As people entered one by one, Rok Soo checked the mental list off-
Archmage Rosalyn
Wolf King Lock
King of Roan Alberu Crossman
Cage, the Crazy Priestess
Crown Prince Valentino
Commander Toonka
Chief Harol
And a large population of other powerful looking people soon filled the room, looking around warily, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Your Majesty." Rosalyn* murmured softly to Alberu* as Choi Han* gripped his sword's hilt. Alberu* nodded, mentally checking that all their allies were present.
"This place reeks of the God of Death." Cage* softly informed them, readying her powers in case they were needed.
Everyone was on edge and ready to attack when the opening of the door to the middle section gathered their attention.
Seeing the people who enter this time, Rok Soo wonders if the God of Death had finally decided that he wanted to cease existing. Even if Rok Soo himself did not do anything, from the way things were going, there was soon going to be a guy in their midst who would wreck the God of Death and make sure he suffered a worse end than either the White Star or the Sealed God. Because the people who entered were the people from Kim Rok Soo's current world.
Members of Team 1 which Rok Soo led, other teams, and guild members entered. Rok Soo's gaze sank when he noticed that the number of people was very small compared to the first room, and the people of the second room were all who had a close link with Kim Rok Soo, both former and current.
As Rok Soo tried to make sense of what was going on, a loud sound from the first section rang out.
Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A black haired man had run into the barrier separating room 1 and 2 and was banging in it with all his might.
"You! You all are from Korea, aren't you? H-how did you get here? Who are you??"
"What is happening…"
"Who are-"
Before Kim Min Ah could finish her question, the door to the final room opened and a deathly silence enveloped the room as another Choi Han entered. Looking around at the room, he stopped when he saw the people in room 2.
"Kim Min Ah…? What are you…doing…here?" His words trailed off when he realised that while he recognised these people, they didn't recognise him.
Crash!
A thundering sound gained everyone's attention as the two Choi Hans stared at each other.
"Who are you? Are you the one who brought me here? Get me the fuck out of here! Get me oUT!!" Choi Han* screamed. Choi Han stared at his counterpart with a bitter smile before turning around towards the door through which he came. Soon a large number of people trudged inside, looking part confused and part absolutely done with whatever was going on here.
"Taylor??"
"Paseton!"
"Are those the Sun God twins?? What are they doing there?"
"Pendrick!"
Gasps and shocked murmurs rang out from room 1 as more and more people filled out room 3.
The enormity of what former Kim Rok Soo, now known as Cale Henituse, has achieved weighed on former Cale Henituse, now known as Kim Rok Soo. As more people entered room 3, the occupants of room 1 broke down a little more. These people had not only lost their loved ones, but some of them didn't even know where their family members and partners and friends had breathed their last. Seeing those faces in front of them now was like a dagger to the heart.
And yet, Rok Soo couldn't shake off that feeling that something was very much wrong with everything here. You know, aside from the fact that people of three different worlds had been kidnapped by a God, and that also, a God that reigned over death. You know, the usual.
The answer to his discomfort wasn't hard to figure. When faced with his old world and a world which he had played a part (albeit small, as he believed) in saving, it is obvious that he would first look for his former family members instead of the heroes. And the one thing common in both versions of his world was the missing red head, trashy young master of the Henituse county.
His thoughts were given words by Rosalyn. "Young master Cale seems to be missing."
That one sentence was enough to turn the atmosphere of room 3 to one of a battlefield. Every single person seemed ready to go to war.
"Human! Human!! Goldie Gramps! We need to look for human quickly. I will destroy everything if he gets hurt again!!"
'Again??? What does that mean??' Rok Soo hysterically thought about the condition of his old body, images of his last encounter with Cale making him pale a few shades.
"Cale-nya is stupid! We need to chain him down!"
"That's right! My siblings are right!"
As if room 3 wasn't unhinged enough, a black baby dragon and two cat children jumped on Choi Han's shoulders and made their firm assertions.
'...God of Death, what are you doing picking a fight with someone like Cale? There's got to be better ways to kill yourself.'
With all three sections now filled, the screen came to life.
[Welcome. If you all will take your place, we can start with why we all are gathered here today.]
"...Miss Cage, is this the work of whom I think it is?"
"Unfortunately yes, Mr Ron. This seems to be the domain of God of Death."
"I see." Ron smiled benignly, his fingers gliding along his dagger. It was a scene that Rok Soo tried to ignore because the old man had been his butler for 18 years and only now was Rok Soo realising he could. Have. Died. If he annoyed Ron anymore than he had done.
It took a while for everyone to settle down, following which a small warp in space right in front of the screen appeared, and a person emerged. Despite being dressed in all black and with a hat covering his face slightly, his identity wasn't completely unknown to the people present in the hall
"...Choi Jung Soo...?"
"What? How can that be Choi Jung Soo? Did you drink before coming here? Choi Jung Soo died years ago."
"No, that is Choi Jung Soo. I don't know how the fuck this is possible but that motherfucker is Choi Jung Soo " Park Kyung Ho's voice was stiff as he stared at the person he hadn't expected to see after so many ages. The last time he saw that face, it was lifeless and drained of blood.
Kyung Ho immediately turned to look at Kim Rok Soo, the bastard whose mental health would be the most shaken at the sight of Choi Jung Soo.
At the same time...
"Your Highness." Choi Han tightly mumbled, ready to pull out his sword, if need be. Alberu nodded, mind running at a mile a minute trying to think of ways to handle the situation if Cale Henituse's secret was to be revealed in any way. With his dongsaeng gone, Alberu had to take charge in this matter.
"Welcome to the domain of the God of Death. I am Choi Jung Soo. You can think of me as a mercenary for the God of Death."
"Mercenary?"
"God?? He is working for a God?? What-"
"Excuse me." A dignified voice ended all conversation as Alberu Crossman* flashed a polite yet irritated smile at Choi Jung Soo. "I am not sure why we have been brought here, but I would appreciate it if you could send us back. We have a war to prepare for and don't have time for any of this."
Normally, Alberu* would have jumped at the idea of getting help from powerful people but seeing his connection to Gods wasn't the most delightful one, he was rather antsy to escape.
Not even glancing at Alberu*, Jung Soo continued, as if the looks and words didn't reach him. "You all have been brought here in order to get information to save yourself, and at the same time, help save the person who has given this opportunity to you."
Getting no response from his confused audience, Choi Jung Soo waved an arm and the space next to him distorted and a huge bubble emerged from within.
"CALE!" "CALE*"
"Young master!"
"Human!"
Inside the bubble lay twin redheads, unconscious and with a black aura surrounding them. The only differences between the two were the length of their hair and that one seemed like he had been starved while the other was the poster boy of a rich and affluent young master.
"You don't need to worry, they aren't hurt." Choi Jung Soo again cut off the chatter. "In fact, all this is to ensure that they don't get hurt, especially Cale Henituse from your world." He nodded towards room 3.
"What do you mean by that? Why would Cale* get hurt?" Deruth Henituse* shouted, his eyes fixed on his son's figure.
"Before we move in with what's going on, we need to clear some things out first. Kim Rok Soo, isn't it about time you stepped up?"
Rok Soo frowned at the other man's words before sighing as the barriers around him turned invisible and the eyes of every person in the room fixed on him.
'Choi Jung Soo you son of a bitch.' Not bothering to stand up and face the others (no it wasn't because he didn't feel strong enough to see his family's faces) Rok Soo opened his mouth.
"Nice to meet all of you. I am Kim Rok Soo. In my last life I was Cale Henituse until my world was destroyed while fighting the White Star. I made a deal with the God of Death when I was forty and on the verge of death, who turned back time and then dropped me in Kim Rok Soo's body, sending Kim Rok Soo to Cale Henituse's body. All this happened a little over two years ago. Also I have given up my identity as Cale Henituse just as that guy," he pointed at the longer haired Cale "has given up his identity as Kim Rok Soo."
Having spoken everything that he had to in one large breath, Kim Rok Soo slumped down on the sofa, an attempt to hide which no one missed. He pointedly ignored the looks from the Henituse family as he subconsciously focused on the reaction of the Koreans in room 2.
Tensed shocked silence filled the room before people started mumbling among themselves at the shocking revelation.
"Wait so…so you aren't team leader?" Kim Min Ah mumbled.
"But then how…you- wait I don't understand! I understand now why the team leader was suddenly so different but even then-!" Jung So Hoon whipped his head in different directions as he focused on Cale, Kim Rok Soo and Choi Jung Soo one by one.
Park Kyung Ho stared at Choi Jung Soo silently before sighing. "None of them have ever been normal. Especially that Kim Rok Soo bastard. Of course something like this happens to that piece of shit stain."
In room 3 the Henituse family felt like they all had been struck with lightning. Cale had been taken away from them 2 years ago? And now someone else was occupying his body?? And they didn't even realise??? What did this say about them as his family? How could they ever make up for this? Stunned into silence, they could only stare at their son's body, and the man who was supposed to be their son's current body.
Room 1 has another dilemma to focus on though. They had just heard news of Cale Henituse's world facing annihilation at the White Star's hands. The other world seemed to have received a saviour. What about them then? Was all this to mock them? Or a helping hand?
"As you all heard, Kim Rok Soo and Cale Henituse changed places in order to prevent the destruction of Cale Henituse's world. To make things easier to understand, room 3 is the TCF world and room 1 is TBOAH. You don't need to worry about what they mean at the moment."
Choi Jung Soo immediately brought everyone on track as he diligently refused to answer any questions and carried on with whatever he needed to say.
"Kim Rok Soo, now known as Cale Henituse has managed to end what would have been a twenty year long war resulting in annihilation in just two years with close to no casualties. However, with everything he has faced, it has left scars on his soul. Which is the primary reason for all of you being here now."
"Wait a second." Rosalyn* interrupted. At Choi Jung Soo's arched eyebrow, she continued. "If the transmigration caused scars on Cale Henituse's soul then why is Kim Rok Soo fine? He went through the same, didn't he?"
"It's not just the transmigration which caused the harm." Choi Jung Soo's words lower the temperature of the room severely. Even to those who didn't know him well, his expression seemed highly displeased.
"What do you mean?" Raon spoke lowly, a rare display of his anger emerging.
"I can't reveal everything now as it would take too much time and energy which we don't have. Like room 1 said, they are about to face war, and the rest of you also have responsibilities to get back too. Right now the time in your worlds is being paused and for the first time, the Gods are working together to maintain this space."
"But what I can tell you is that due to the transmigration, there has been a shift in the balance of the worlds. The God of Death interfered more than he was allowed and although it saved one world directly and many others indirectly, the consequences of the change inadvertently affected the diverging points. It was easier to prevent Kim Rok Soo from being affected as this was a single issue with him. In Cale Henituse's situation, he has been in other situations before the transmigration which makes his soul very vulnerable to damage. In return for protecting so many worlds, the Gods have intervened to help him out but that takes too much power for them to be able to help the one world that is outside Cale Henituse's interference." Looking at room 1, he lets the meaning of his words sink in.
"The TBOAH world exists in a timeline before the TCF world, and so whatever Cale did cannot affect you all much. You being here is a chance for all of you to change your fate. You will gain information and in return," Jung Soo ran his gaze over everyone present there "you all will shoulder the burden on Cale Henituse's soul in order to help him heal."
A momentary silence overtook the room. Everyone tried to gauge the meaning of the situation and the explanation they had just heard.
"What about our Cale*?" Deruth Henituse* spoke up again. "You said that Kim- Cal-" Pause. A deep breath later. "You said Cale needed healing due to reasons, but why is our Cale* in that bubble? Does this mean he was affected too in our world?"
Shaking his head, Choi Jung Soo motioned towards the bubble. "Cale Henituse of TBOAH is fine. We are just making sure that he doesn't get hit by any random side effects of Cale's healing. Your Cale* will wake up soon and join us in the viewing."
"And what will we be viewing?" A low voice drawled, the tone dark and dangerous. Everyone looked at the beautiful golden haired elf who glared at Choi Jung Soo.
"Eruhaben nim?"
"Why don't you answer me, human? What exactly will we be watching? Because if it's what I think it is, the Gods had better be ready to be destroyed."
Everyone stiffened as Dragon Fear started leaking into the air.
"Eruhaben nim, what's going on?" Tasha asked.
His gaze locked on Choi Jung Soo, Eruhaben urged the Korean to speak. "...Cale Henituse's life. That's what you will be watching."
The effect of the quietly spoken words seemed to send chills down the spines of everyone in room 1 and 2.
Before anyone in room 3 could go berserk, Choi Jung Soo hurriedly spoke up. "Believe me, I hate this as much as all of you, if not more. However there's no other way. The events of Cale's life have caused more damage than anyone else knows. If there was any other way to deal with this, I would have made the God of Death do it, but this is the easiest one and has the highest success rate. Cale can kill me for it later, but for now we need to do what we must."
The occupants of room 2 and 3 turned grim as they all remembered the version of Cale Henituse they had seen and swallowed their complaints down. They understood the frustration and helplessness that gripped Choi Jung Soo and hardened their resolve to help their friend.
When no one spoke up again, Choi Jung Soo waved an arm at the bubble. "It's about time we began. But before that-"
The bubble wavered and separated into two, and Cale Henituse was moved to room 3, closer to the baby dragon and cat children while Cale's* bubble slowly dissipated in the air and he was lowered in the sofa next to Kim Rok Soo. A few moments passed before the red head shifted, waking up slowly.
"Kim Rok Soo I hope you can bring Cale Henituse* up to date about everything. We need to begin now." Saying so, Choi Jung Soo turned around towards the screen, and with a wave of his hand, melted into the shadows.
As familiar reddish brown eyes turned towards him, not for the last time, Kim Rok Soo cursed Choi Jung Soo, rubbing his throbbing temples. He had a feeling this headache would linger quite a while.