The Seven Realms of Heaven | A Sequel to the Queen's Harem

Prologue

Surrounding the North Kingdom, the Northern Ocean stretched endlessly, its vast expanse embraced the moonlit waves. The night sky had hues of indigo, adorned with sparkling stars. As the moon cast its silvery glow upon the water, a figure emerged. He was a tall and lean merman of unparalleled beauty with iridescent scales that glistened like the moonlit sea, long dark hair that looked like silk, and abs and muscles that looked like were sculpted by an artist.

"Welcome, curious souls, to the realm of the supernatural beings. I am Han Haejun, guardian of the Northern Kingdom, and I hold within me the tales untold." His voice sounded like a melody as he continued, "Let me explain this world to you all. The human realm has four kingdoms, the North, South, East and, West Kingdoms, surrounding which lies the supernatural realm where the four guardians live, the East kingdom's guardian is Myeong, a two-tailed cat, I am the guardian of the North Kingdom, the South kingdom's guardian is a nine-tailed male fox, and the West kingdom's guardian is a bulgae or a fire dog. Above the supernatural realm lies the 7 realms of heaven, ruled by demi-gods of diligence, chastity, charity, patience, humility, temperance, and gratitude, and above those seven realms, lies the abode of God. Below the spiritual realm, lies the 7 realms of hell ruled by the demons of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, and below those realms, lies the realm of the devil king," He looks up at the moonlit sky and then continues, "If I have to say more about me....then yes, I am the one whose scales were used to kill Queen So and yes, I am the one who handed over the spiritual stone to King Sian...but I am not a bad person..."

With a flick of his tail, Haejun descended into the mysterious waters. As he swam deeper inside the water, a realm of vibrant coral gardens and schools of iridescent fish became visible. Mermaids and mermen bowed to Haejun when they saw him. With a smile, Haejun swam straight inside his pearl palace and sat on his throne as he began the tale................

*Flashback*

King Sian looked down at Queen So with a smirk as Sir Eunsang joined him and wrapped his arms around King Sian to support him as he was injured. "I feel happy today so I am willing to fulfil your dying wish! Speak what you want?!" King Sian said while looking at her.

There was a pool of blood around Queen So now and she struggled to keep her eyes open and felt out of breath as she spoke in a low voice, "D-Don't...ki...kill....m-my....hus....husbands....p-please.....re-re-release them...."

"I shall consider that! Rest in peace!" King Sian smirked and Sir Eunsang guided him out of the room to treat his wounds.

Queen So grabbed the dagger that was stabbed in her back and pulled it out in one go while crying in pain, "AHHHHHHH!!!!!" Her trembling hand held the blood-soaked dagger, and with sheer determination, she carved a "7" into her wrist, symbolising her seven beloved husbands.

She dropped the dagger and gasped for breath as her vision grew hazy, and her pain faded into numbness. Her fingers weakly touched her chest, as if trying to seek solace in her memories of her husbands. The room was filled with silence as the queen's breaths became shallower, and she closed her eyes and got flashbacks of the sweet moments she had with her husbands. The queen's life slowly faded away, and with a final, peaceful sigh, she succumbed to her wounds. Her eyes closed for the last time, and her body grew still.

*Flashback ends*

"The queen was lonely during her last moments and soon after her death, the room began to fill with white smoke and her body started to levitate and eventually vanished into thin air. Her mother, Myeong is a two-tailed cat, the guardian of the East Kingdom, I am positive that she went back to her realm..." Haejun said, looking at a distance, "I am like her...half human and half supernatural being. My merman father and my human mother were attracted to each other even though my mother was a consort of the Northern King. One day, she found out she was pregnant but not by the king, this made her anxious and she tried to reach my father but she couldn't reach out to the spiritual world being just a mere human. After my birth, the king obviously got to know that I wasn't his son because I looked different. Thus, he executed her for her infidelity but he was kind enough to adopt me and give me the life of a prince because he believed that a poor baby shouldn't suffer due to his parents' actions. My name was given by my adoptive father and it means the 'handsome ocean'" Haejun paused as he recalled his memories, "I always felt detached from the human world and as I grew up, I became aware of my true nature and my own kind by cultivating my spiritual energy. I also came to know that the only way I can return to my realm is if I get my hands on the spiritual stone..." He sighed, "That time the stone was with the Western king and he was planning to gift it to King Sian. On the day of King Sian's wedding, all the royals from the four kingdoms were invited to visit the East Kingdom and I knew that was my chance to get the spiritual stone. However, when I saw the king for the first time, I was distracted and lost in his beauty....he was an attractive man and his aura radiated a dark energy for he was the son of the devil...."