Once upon a time
by God of Music · 2026-03-18
Night.
The dark clouds swallowed the moonlight.
The darkness covered the sky and settled down to the ground.
Even the air was pressed down by the damp silence, holding its breath.
Tonight, the palace was strange.
Even the lanterns that usually never go out were extinguished.
The king's chamber, which should be the brightest under the sky,
was now as quiet as a tomb in the darkness.
Everyone was asleep.
Except for one person.
That one word tore through the silence.
Yeonsangun opened his eyes wide.
He raised his body and scanned the surroundings.
Not a single breath.
It felt ominous.
Who dares to enter the king's chamber this night?
“Who are you! How dare you call me from where you are!”
His voice echoed in the cold air.
At that moment, a shadow slowly stood up.
It was not the king, but the presence of another being.
Even without the lanterns lit, that face was clear.
Not flesh, but an outline as if light was standing.
“I am... Hong Gildong.”
That name.
Yeonsangun's heart skipped a beat.
“What? You dare to say you are that thief Gildong?”
He jumped up from his seat and searched for his sword.
Clang―!
The silver blade was drawn, cutting through the darkness.
“How dare you invade my chamber and beg for your life!
Is there no one here! Bring this traitor out at once!”
There was no answer.
Only silence flowed outside the door.
As if the scenery had stopped,
the world was asleep.
“Your Majesty, it is in vain.”
“What do you mean!”
“All the people in this palace have fallen into a deep sleep. Right now, it is only... you and I here.”
Yeonsangun's hand trembled.
“This is your doing. Is sorcery this vile?”
“Vile sorcery? I simply... realized the truth of the world a little earlier.”
The tip of the sword touched Gildong's neck.
But Gildong's expression did not change.
In that calmness,
the king's anger exploded.
“How dare a thief not even blink?!”
“Your Majesty. I have no intention of harming you.”
“What nonsense! You dare to defile my chamber and beg for your life!”
Gildong laughed.
That laughter was cold.
“Did you think a king would be any different?”
That short sentence fell, cutting through the air.
Gildong's voice was quiet but strangely deep.
Each word carried weight.
Sharper than a sword.
Yeonsangun's eyes turned wild.
In an instant, veins bulged on his face.
His heart raced.
It was anger.
No, it was fear disguised as anger.
“How dare something as insignificant as you... mock me!”
His voice burst out but trembled.
To hide that tremor, he shouted even louder.
It was not the dignity of a king, but the instinct of a human.
He was afraid.
He felt his kingship, his authority, crumbling before the man in front of him.
Gildong said nothing.
Not a single change in his gaze.
Like the moonlight on a lake without a ripple.
His pupils did not move,
but the reflection of Yeonsangun in them was distorted.
“How dare a thief try to teach me?!”
Yeonsangun's anger exploded.
He put all his strength into the hand holding the sword.
It was not pride, but a struggle to suppress fear.
“I will kill you...! Right here!”
His sword moved like lightning.
Swish― Bang!
A shock like piercing metal surged up his arm.
His arm went numb.
The tip of the sword shot out,
and a momentary light shattered in the darkness.
“You...! What kind of magic is this!”
Yeonsangun took a step back.
His breath was heavy.
The man before him did not move.
No blood, no wounds.
His skin was harder than a sword,
and a faint light seeped from within.
It was not flesh.
Something... a different substance.
Light flowed, not blood.
“It's not magic. It's the truth.”
His voice was like the wind of midnight.
Cold and low.
“Truth?”
“Because I am the last true person left in this world.”
The eyes of Yeonsangun trembled.
‘True person?’
That word felt unfamiliar.
Yet the strange resonance within it tightened around his heart.
He instinctively knew.
That the being before him stood in a realm he could not comprehend.
And that realization soon turned into fear.
But he was a king.
The moment that fear was revealed,
it felt as if his world would collapse.
He laughed.
It sounded like mockery, but within that laughter was a mix of suppressed anxiety.
“Hmph, don't talk nonsense. How dare you mimic a god?”
Gildong remained calm.
“It's not a mimicry of a god.
I merely awakened an old memory.”
His gaze pierced through the king's heart.
The fear could no longer be hidden.
Yeonsangun raised his voice to regain control.
“How dare someone like you challenge my authority!
I am the king appointed by heaven!
Anyone who goes against heaven's will is a sinner!”
Gildong slowly lifted his head.
There was sadness in his gaze.
“You said you are a king appointed by heaven…
But Your Majesty, since when did heaven choose greed and fear?”
Yeonsangun's neck stiffened.
His lips dried, and his fingers trembled.
He gripped the hilt of his sword again, facing the man before him.
But this time, he couldn't stab.
It was not the sword that trembled, but his hand.
Gildong continued to speak slowly.
“Your Majesty, I did not come to harm you.
I merely came to bid you farewell this night.”
His voice was no longer human.
It seemed to transcend all emotions, clear and empty.
Within it was resignation.
The voice of one who was already leaving.
Yeonsangun let out a hollow laugh.
“Hmph, what kind of farewell does a traitor speak of?”
Gildong quietly closed his eyes.
For a moment, the wind blew.
The hem of his clothes fluttered slightly.
In that moment, Yeonsangun felt a strange sensation.
The man before him seemed to be shedding the texture of reality.
“Did you say traitor?”
“You stole the nation's wealth and incited the people, did you not!”
Yeonsangun raised his voice again,
but there was emptiness mixed at the end of his words.
Fear disguised as anger,
power wrapped in helplessness.
Gildong raised his head.
Compassion arose in his gaze.
“Did you say wealth…
That is not the property of the nation, but of the people.
It is their blood and tears.”
His words were not a sword, but,
they deeply pierced Yeonsangun's heart.
A moment of silence.
In that silence, Yeonsangun's breathing sounded unusually loud.
He could not continue speaking.
Despite being a king,
it was painfully clear that he was merely a human before this man.
Gildong spoke one last time.
“Your Majesty.
You called yourself I, but the current you is not I, but closer to a beast.
Do not… deny that fact.”
Yeonsangun's face turned pale.
He gritted his teeth.
With trembling hands, he raised his sword,
but his fingertips could no longer move forward.
In that moment,
he heard the sound of collapse within his heart.
Gildong lifted his head.
His voice was quiet, but,
the air resonated.
“I did not take anything.
I merely returned what was rightfully yours.”
A vein bulged on Yeonsangun's forehead.
“How dare you admonish me!”
Gildong quietly lowered his head.
“Your Majesty. I ask not as a king, but as a person.
Where are the people of Joseon now?”
Yeonsangun could not open his mouth.
What was being asked was not a question, but a declaration.
After a moment, Gildong's voice rang out again.
“Now I am about to leave.”
“What?”
“My subordinates and I will leave this land.”
“You’re leaving Joseon? How dare you leave without your belongings!”
Gil-dong's gaze deepened.
As he spread his hands, a faint blue pattern appeared in the air.
The light spread like waves.
“This is not the end.
The world where our ancestor, Hwanung's will resided.
We intend to go there.”
Yeonsangun laughed as if in disbelief.
“Nonsense! There can’t be such a world!”
“You don’t have to believe it.
But remember.
From today onwards, Hwanung's blood will no longer remain in this land.”
At those words, Yeonsangun's hand trembled.
“You’re trying to deceive me with such nonsense!
If you’re leaving, do so quietly; why do you appear before me!”
“I have a request.”
“A request?”
“I heard that my parents and siblings are suffering under your command.
Please let them go.
They are innocent.”
For the first time, a human tremor mixed with Gil-dong's voice.
He deeply bowed his head.
“Your Majesty, it is time to leave now.
Please… I wish you well.”
He turned his body.
One step, two steps.
The moment his shadow crossed the threshold—
the air trembled.
A blue light arose in the dark night.
Yeonsangun instinctively shouted.
“Is there anyone! A group of thieves has entered the palace! Is there anyone!”
But there was no response.
The soldiers were all collapsed on the floor.
Their faces were calm.
Like those who had fallen into a deep dream.
Yeonsangun tried to wake them.
There was no reaction.
Only then did he feel fear.
“Gil-dong… Where are you!”
He ran out to the yard.
And there,
he doubted his eyes.
Thousands of shadows were rising into the sky.
They were not human.
They were light.
The members of the Hwalbindang,
silver flames scattered from their bodies.
The sky was splitting like a giant mirror.
The space tore open, and beyond it, star-like patterns swirled.
At the forefront was Hong Gil-dong.
He looked at Yeonsangun and smiled one last time.
And—
the world quietly turned upside down.
All light scattered, and even the shadows disappeared.
The air sank back into darkness.
Yeonsangun could not move from that spot.
The shards of the sword in his hand grew cold.
He looked up at the sky.
“Ha ha… Am I… dreaming…”
His voice was faint.
The darkness covered the world again,
and the night deepened as before.
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