Ch. 1: Death and Rebirth
Song Joong Woo sat at the front of the funeral hall, where he gazed over at the now-dead body of his wife lying in the coffin. She looked at peace for the first time in their nearly fifty years of marriage. No longer wearing that constant scowl or boarish bravado, she used to walk around with. Now she just looked still, like she was truly asleep. Now, his ears could rest for the first time in a long time. No longer were they ringing from her constant yelling caused by her forced mood swings. Song Joong Woo never truly loved his wife, and she never loved him. They were never in love, not even for a moment, and it took him years to realize this.
Now he could rest…seemingly. Despite the brief respite of relief, he could hear four of his five children arguing in the background over who gets what from his wife in the inheritance. Although the service hadn't ended and he was still alive, they still griped about who was entitled to more of what. This was inevitable, and he knew it from the moment the news of his wife's death reached their ears. They acted like they cared about his emotional state…for a moment, all before showing their true colors in the end. Song Joong Woo never loved his children, and they never loved him. His children never cared for their father, which took him years to realize.
As he sat there and contemplated everything happening around him, he began to do so about his life and everything that led him up to this point. Throughout his life, he was controlled by his parents, who groomed him to be a businessman and take over the family business. Because of it, his youngest brother suffered as he was given no attention. His youngest brother despised him for it, but in truth, Song Joong Woo was just as miserable as he was. His parents controlled every aspect of his life well into his adult years. From there, he was put into an arranged marriage with his now-late wife in order to join hands with another business.
His wife acted like she was initially interested, and for what it was worth, he was happy during that brief time. But once the vows were said, she changed-and changed for the worse. She was cruel, harsh, manipulative, and abusive throughout their whole married life. He tried to get his parents to break it off, but they never did. They told him to deal with it and become a husband she would have to respect, but she never did. Even after five kids, even after both of their parent's deaths and inheriting everything, and even after growing both family businesses into the largest in the country of Korea. She constantly belittled and yelled at him to get what she wanted or just cause she could.
The only reason he never divorced her was because he had grown complacent and numb to it, even after he had the chance during his parents' deaths. He stuck with her because, in his mind, he was honor-bound to be with her and nothing else. Even so, she still liked to point out she was a heiress and that if her parent's company stopped business, his would go down. All in an attempt to get what she wanted and to get her way nearly all the time.
Even though, many years ago, her family's business nearly went under until he bought it out, making it his own. This information went unknown to her until the end, as she kept the same demeanor. This attitude was her undoing as she yelled at him one morning like she always did, but then dropped to the floor and never got up.
Then there were his kids, kids he barely knew despite making them. Due to his work, he was rarely home, thus leaving his wife or the maid she bossed around to do the child-rearing. As expected, his kids turned out exactly like his wife. Constantly yelling at him, belittling him, and abusing him to the point he became numb to it. The few times he tried to discipline his kids, they would run to his wife, where she would cry to her parents, and they'd give him an earful. After only a few failed attempts at parenting, he entirely gave up and allowed his wife to take over.
Only for his children to become terrible people, marry other horrible people, and start to raise more terrible children. Children…his grandchildren. He never knew his own grandchildren, but he was numb to things like that. He was always numb to things like this. But in his numbness, seeing one of the leading causes of his woes finally gone, something clicked inside him.
And for the first time in his life…he shed a tear. Wiping his face, he saw the droplet and was surprised by it. He never thought he could cry again. He hasn't in so long that he felt he couldn't anymore. He took a shaky breath as his mind began to think for himself for the first time in a long time, and when he concluded, he said it aloud in a hushed voice.
Strangely enough, his children noticed this; all eyes were on the old man. His oldest son spoke up through the now-silent room and asked, "What?"
So Song Joong Woo took another shaky breath and said a bit louder, "I've wasted my whole life."
His son raised an already high brow as he marched over, grabbing a fist full of hair as he exclaimed, "Huh!? The hell are you saying, shitty old man!?"
Once again, he spoke, this time more clearly, as he explained in more detail, "I've wasted my whole life. I let everyone around me use and manipulate me. I married a woman who hated my guts. I made children who turned out terribly. I toiled away at a thankless job that I never wanted to do. I didn't just waste my life; I completely failed at it.", Song Joong Woo stood up before a stunned crowd of his family, his oldest releasing his hair in surprise at his father's words, as he said to all of them, "But now I have a second chance. And I'm going to take it. I will restart my life with what little time I have left."
Song Joong Woo began to walk past his family and towards the door, where he said to his children, "Do with your mother's body as you wish. It's no concern of mine anymore."
However, his oldest ran up and grabbed him by his suit collar as he yelled, "Hold it, shitty old man! What about the money!? What about Mom's inheritance and the business!?"
Song Joong Woo sighed at his son's predictable reaction, a sound his son was used to hearing, but this time holding far more weight behind it. So the old man told him, "I bought out your mother's business years ago. Anything that belonged to her became mine. I also sold out both businesses long ago and gave nearly all the money away. What's left is mine by law. There's nothing for any of you."
His son was so shocked to hear this that he released his father and fell to his knees in shock. Taking the opportunity, Song Joong Woo left the funeral home, leaving his family behind for the last time. Walking into the parking lot, he felt lighter and happier with every step. As if a great weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders, and he was finally breathing for the first time in his life. But as all things go for him, they never last.
Lost in his mind, Song Joong Woo heard a car engine roar to life, followed by the sound of rubber tires screaming across a road, but due to his habit of short-sightedness, he took no mind to it until it was far too late. He looks to the side only to see the front of a car racing straight towards him! He has no time to act, and before he can do much so as blink, BAM! Everything goes into a white haze, followed by a sharp, icy-hot pain running throughout his whole body! Everything was blurry, precise, silent, and yet on full volume as he tried to look around to see what happened and figure out how it happened. With the ringing in his ears, he couldn't hear a thing apart from two voices.
The first was his oldest, who yelled, "What the fuck!?"
The second was his youngest, who yelled in excitement the last words he heard, "I got him! Now the inheritance is all ours!", all before everything turned black.
xXx
When Song Joong Woo woke up again, he wasn't where he had expected to be. He appeared to be nowhere at all. He looked around and saw what looked like a bright, shining galaxy all around him. It was like looking at a hyper-colored picture of the Milky Way Galaxy in a photograph. Colors of all kinds swirled and danced around him in a display of awe-inspiring beauty. Lights shined and glistened off from things he couldn't see or make out. As he looked off at these many colors, he noticed an innumerable number of strange orbs floating around, clustered together, forming, and disappearing all around. It was so beautiful, so alien, and yet so unusually calming. He tried to move around to join the other orbs but could not move or feel anything! Then he realized something when he woke up. Had he even opened his eyes? Can he close his eyes? What was going on? Where was he?! What was this place?
"You are in the Soul Forge." a prominent, booming, powerful, yet peaceful voice spoke.
Halting his panic, he looked around as he asked, "Who…Who said that?"
Suddenly, a light brighter and full of more colors than the ones that danced around him exploded from above and all over, bathing him in something he couldn't explain in words or feeling. The colors danced like a kaleidoscope The light was so intense he wanted to shade his eyes, but at the same time, he could easily look at its center and not feel any burning. Only one guess came to mind as he wondered who this…thing was.
"God?", he questions the great beaming light.
The voice gives a small yet warm chuckle, like a grandfather amused with their grandchild, and so it answers, "In a manner of speaking, I am. I have gone by many names throughout the countless ages of countless worlds. I am god, king, primal, first, last, and so much more. But in truth, I am the One Being. I have created all worlds and lives to have ever lived. All of creation and reality came from me and me alone."
"So…that means I'm dead. Doesn't it?", Song Joong Woo asked back in a sad yet melancholy tone.
"I'm afraid so, and for that, I apologize.", the One Being told him.
Confused by his words, Song Joong Woo inquired, "Why are you sorry? It's not like you killed me….right?"
"I did not. I would never harm any one of my creations. In truth, my lack of presence allows my creations and worlds to thrive better, as they don't depend on me so heavily. But in your case, I should have intervened more.", the One Being told him with a sober and self-disappointed tone, leading the light around him to dull into hues of darker tones as he continued. "I saw how you suffered from your earliest memory to your final. You lived a life of pain and sadness.", The One Being summarized, making Song Joong Woo silent as he realized he honestly did know everything about him. "In my experience, hardship allows one to overcome adversity. But for you. You have experienced far too much. You were about to start your new life until it was taken away. I should have intervened but didn't, and for that, I apologize.", the One being apologized.
If this genuinely all-powerful being had a physical body, Song Joong Woo would think he was bowing in front of him to apologize. And for what it was worth, it was pretty strange to have what was quite literally God apologizing to him.
So Song Joong Woo broke the awkwardness and asked, "So what is this place?"
Noting his awkwardness and attempt at breaking the ice, the One Being gave a slight chuckle and informed him again, but this time with more detail, "This is my home domain that I call the Soul Forge, which lies at the edge of reality. Here, I keep a vigilant watch over all the worlds I have crafted and create living souls to inhabit them. When a living being dies, its Soul comes to me, where I review its life. If it lived a life of good deeds, then it is reborn into a new life. If it lived a life of wicked intent, it is destroyed and thus has its remains to be reused into a new soul in the hopes it can be reborn a pure one."
"Wow.", Song Joong Woo mused in wonder.
"Which is why you are here. You have done much good and faced many adversities but never once performed any ill intent. So I give you a choice.", the One Being vaguely offered.
"A choice?", Song Joong Woo questions back.
"What is it you desire most? Do you want to try restarting your life, or do you wish to forget the past and be turned into a new soul? One with a much better life than the last.", the One Being explained a bit further, a neutral and unbiased tone reverberating throughout the Soul Forge.
Song Joong Woo was silent for a time, a very, very long time. He thought, and as he thought, he remembered his past. He remembered those lonely nights he spent in front of the TV and watched what he wanted without anyone getting on his case. He remembered reading books when his controlling parents were fast asleep. He remembered the one desire, the one thing he wanted more than anything but never got the chance to reach for it.
So, with a teary voice and a force from his gut he didn't know existed, he proclaimed with his whole heart, "I WANT TO LIVE MY LIFE AS A BAKER!"
Song Joong Woo breathed heavily, looking up at the One Being, who said nothing in return. Then the One Being chuckled and expressed, "A truly pure desire. I expected no less from you. Very well, I shall grant you your wish. You will be reborn in a new but dangerous world where you can achieve this goal. But fear not; I will give you the tools necessary to thrive and survive."
Song Joong Woo thought this over for a while until he finally blurted out in shock, "Wait, so I'm going from one life of hardship to another? Why!?"
"I still believe that adversity builds strength. And with all you have experienced in your past, you should find this world quite simple if you play your cards right.", the One Being told him, much to Song Joong Woo's displeasure.
To which he asked back, "And if I fail?"
The One Being gave another soft chuckle and said with a kind, fatherly tone, "I have faith and knowledge that you won't.", a new light began to engulf Song Joong Woo, and the last thing he heard the One Being say was, "Goodbye my child and good luck."