It was all white. No matter where he looked, his eyes were shrouded by a bright shade of white which lay ahead of him. There were no other colors and even though he felt a strange sense of sadness and peace, the whiteness in front of him was eerie.

“Hello?” he called out. “Is someone there?” ​​

Silence.

Is this supposed to be my new home? He wondered.

“New soul.”

Startled, the boy turned around to find a stern looking man seemingly in his sixties, staring down at him. He snapped his fingers and from nowhere, a piece of paper appeared. The boy was astonished as the man kept on reading the paper.

“Who are you?” Shinho wondered.

“A white reaper who guides souls to their next life,” the man lazily replied. “Since you’re a child, I’m forced to disguise myself as a human. Otherwise I’m quite scary looking.”

The boy was not sure whether the man was joking or not but the reaper seemed not to care.

“Kang Shinho,” he read out loud. “9 years old. Dead at the hands of his own father. Status is…”

He read further, making no comment. Shinho was a little uncomfortable and tried to look around for an escape. This man was scaring him.

“You are a pure soul,” the man concluded. “Eligible for the next step. All we need is a body ready to take you in and you’ll be good to go.”

“Body?” Shinho asked.

“For reincarnation,” the man simply stated.

“How long will that take?”

“Who knows?” he said. “Seconds, minutes, years or even centuries.”

Shinho’s shoulders fell in sadness upon hearing that. There was no way he could fulfill his promise to Jina that way. She would be waiting for him and yet…

“You also have a wish you could use,” the man said. “Since your record shows nothing but good deeds. Your wish will be fulfilled in your next life.”

Shinho thought for a while. There was something he really wanted but what if they never met again? What was the point of his wish then?

“I…” he hesitated. “I simply want to meet her again and this time, protect her at all costs. And for that, I’ll need to be stronger than I was in my old life.”

The man raised his eyebrows. The little boy was smarter and more mature than his age which was intriguing.

“I wish that in my next life, I have an ability which would help and aid Hwang Jina,” Shinho declared. “I don’t care how I’ll be reborn. Human or animal, I’ll find her and protect her.”

Uh oh, the man thought. As soon as Shinho said those words, a bright yellow light shone above him. Another piece of paper appeared in the man’s hand, this time a red one.

“Well, that means you want to be reincarnated right away,” the reaper pointed out.

“Yes,” Shinho said. “As soon as possible. I want to see her again!”

The reaper furrowed his brows. There was one body which was about to be born but it was something which should never receive a soul. Especially not a pure one like this boy’s soul.

“You still have a chance, kid,” the reaper stated. “The wish you’re seeking will reincarnate you to a very dangerous body. Your memories will be reset and even if you meet this…Hwang Jina, you might not remember her.”

Shinho merely smiled and said, “That’s okay. I know we’ll recognize each other. I made a promise and I’ll keep it.”

He took a deep breath and said out loud, “If I get another chance to live, can I get the ability to protect her?”

“Careful what you wish for,” the reaper warned. “The body you’ll get will awaken a sleeping demon.”

“I don’t care,” Shinho said with determination. “A demon or a human. I know I’ll find her again and protect her. She fights dangerous ghosts everyday and I want to help her. The body doesn’t matter to me as long as I can return to her!”

The reaper groaned. There was a body which was about to be born and was still unclaimed by a soul but the reaper had hoped that no one would accept it. Even if this boy had a pure soul, there was no guarantee that his spirit would not be tainted by the dark powers that body would bring.

He peered at the boy who was still fiercely determined. There was something awfully familiar about this spirit. The reaper kept on observing the kid before realization dawned on him.

It’s him! The Reaper realized.

“You’re that soul, huh?” he muttered. “No wonder you couldn’t survive in a human’s body.”

“I’m sorry?” Shinho asked politely.

“Nothing,” the Reaper replied. He was reluctant to give this boy the body in his custody. It had been unclaimed because of its unusual power. Moreover, the Reaper read the history of this boy’s soul and this was not his first reincarnation.

Yes. This was the boy’s third life and once again, he asked for the same wish. To protect the same girl who was the reason for his death in his first life.

But the White Reaper was bound to the wishes of human souls. If the boy made a dangerous wish, then he would have to live with it for the rest of his life.

Question was, would he be engulfed by the darkness once again or keep himself in the light?

“I can only hope that this time will be an exception,” the reaper sighed. “If you can keep your promise, you’ll live a happy life. If you can’t…then this promise will become a poison for you.”

“I’ll fulfill my promise to her at all costs!”

Shinho was determined. He did not know what he was signing up for but as long as he could meet Jina again, nothing else mattered.

“If I get another chance at life, I’ll only live for her,” he stated with conviction, his dark eyes completely determined.

The reaper sighed and pointed at the light. “You better keep your promise,” he warned. “Kang Shinho.”

He snapped his fingers and Shinho’s soul transformed into a tiny speck. The speck floated towards the light, descending into nothingness. The reaper watched as the light swallowed the speck until nothing remained. In a flash, it was gone.

“The Demon Prince is about to be reborn,” he muttered. “This is interesting.”

………

In the wee hours of dusk, two pairs of footsteps broke the silence of the shabby neighborhood which was still in deep slumber. The men were dressed in completely black clothes with matching hats on their heads. Their faces were covered with hands in their pockets.

One of them stopped and sniffed the air in excitement. He could smell something which was tingling his senses.

“He’s here!” a snake like hiss came out of his thin lips. The other man could smell it too, excited by the occurrence which took place.

They followed the smell to one of the dingy apartments on the fourth floor. The two men looked at each other and nodded. Within an instant, they apparated upstairs, right in front of the apartment in question. One of them snapped their fingers and the door was unlocked.

Slowly entering the apartment, they followed the scent to the kitchen. The woman had just given birth and was quite weak. They heard the tiny wails of a baby coming from there, making them fidget with excitement. Their lord had arrived!

As soon as they entered the kitchen, a large sack of salt fell on them. Screeching in pain, the two men’s hats fell off to reveal a pair of hideous, skull-like creatures with red eyes and sharp canines. They thrashed in agony as a weak looking woman threw more salt at them.

“AHHHH!” the demons squealed. “CURSE YOU OHM BOSUNG!”

Grabbing her chance, the woman named Bosung ran out of the apartment, carrying her baby in her arms. The demons were temporarily halted but she had a maximum of ten minutes before they would pursue her again.

She staggered down the stairs. Blood was oozing out of her womb, staining her inner legs but she limped towards her car and revved up the engine. She yanked a star shaped locket from her locket and put it around the baby which was in her arms.

“This will protect you,” she gasped. Stepping on the pedal, she drove off. The two demons had regained consciousness and would follow her any moment. She sped past the traffic, driving towards the only place she could think of.

The pain in her stomach would not go away but there was no time. She had put a letter in the baby’s cloth which should explain everything. Taking out her phone, she dialed a number.

“Hello?”

A gentle voice came from the other end.

“D-Doyoung!” she gasped. “Help me!”

“Bosung?” Doyoung asked in surprise. “What happened?”

“Doyoung, I don’t have much time!” Bosung shrieked. “I need your help!”

Doyoung was alarmed by her friend’s voice. There was something terribly wrong with her.

“I’m coming to meet you at the park near the central market,” Bosung panted, ignoring the pain in her abdomen. “Please help me…It’s my last request. Please…”