failures IIII » kpop ✓

prologue

I've always been told that you can't choose your fate: your fate is the one who chooses you.

And to that I say: Screw you.

If my fate is to hang in front of a crowd of lost souls and lesser gods, then I shall impolitely refuse to go through with it. I would say that I'm sorry, but I'm not - if anything, I am the opposite of that. The gods who controlled my thread of fate were surely having a laugh, but I was starting to grow seriously sick and annoyed of all the trouble that I was running in to these days.

It wasn't my intention to get in the way of a rebel and steal the soul that he was planning to release from the Underworld, but work was work and I had to do what I was paid for. He was the one who was being petty and completely unreasonable when in return, he made so that I got captured by the king's guards and thrown in jail.

You know that you seriously messed up when you find yourself behind prison bars in the realm of the dead. This world as a whole was already a prison, but jail was reserved only for the worst type of criminals. And no, not for murderers and other vile souls like that, but those who challenged the rule of the king of the dead.

There were five of us that were supposed to hang that day and I purposely placed myself at the end of the line, as if that would buy me more time, like there weren't five nooses already waiting for our necks. I was debating on faking a stomachache or doing something else stupid like that, but even if that would prolong my life for a few more minutes, I had no plan what to do afterwards. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but it seemed like this time, I was truly heading towards an inevitable death.

The sound of a trumpet echoed through the vacant streets of Elys and more souls gathered in front of the tall dark grey walls of the king's palace. This was supposed to be the nicest part of the Underworld, but we still never got to see the light of day. Dark clouds were always looming over the buildings, all covered with thin layers of ash and the streets were infested by hunger, misery and evil. Most souls came to the Underworld with nothing and it was difficult to survive without straying far away from the right path and descending in to immorality.

'' On second thought, why can't I join the execution that's scheduled for tomorrow? '' I blurted out when one of the guards raised his spear and used it to shove me ahead. The other prisoners already made their way up the steps that lead on a platform, set up especially for the public display of murder. The shackles on their ankles were rattling when they placed themselves on their designated spots, right where the wood was still scorched and covered with black swirls, left behind by the souls that were executed the previous week. '' This really isn't fair! I was caught only a few days ago! I barely became friends with my cellmate! I'm sure that you've got someone else who's been sitting in jail for a lot longer than me! ''

'' How about your cellmate? '' one of the guards asked and smirked, clearly enjoying the panic that he could see on my face and hear in my voice.

I eagerly nodded and exclaimed: '' Yes! Go ahead! She's kind of a bitch anyway. ''

The guard smirked and shook his head, seemingly amused by how fast I decided to sell the prisoner out, even if that was something normal for an individual like me, a soul searcher from the Underworld, who did anything that needed to be done in order to survive. And here, sometimes you really had no other choice but to betray people. That was why it was better to have as little true allies as possible. It was easier to stab someone in the back when they weren't your friend. '' Nice try. Move on now, prisoner. ''

My heartbeat, the one thing that separated me from most other inhabitants of the Underworld, rapidly increased as I made my way up the wooden steps and joined the others on the execution platform. A pickpocket who targeted the wrong person, two brothel owners who killed a god's favorite succubus and a pirate - we were an odd combination, there was no denying it. Three of them looked like they were close to tears, while the pirate kept lazily whistling to himself and curiously eyeing the small crowd that gathered to watch our execution. His gaze held a certain intensity and sharpness that was rare to see in this world. The only time that I saw his eyes darken, was earlier when one of the guards tried to take his hat and I caught a glimpse of his grey hair.