“You may all rise,” Yongwang says with as much dignity as he can muster. Then he gazes into the horizon, striving for godly gravitas. “We have a long way to go.”
“We?” Gyun asks, rising to his feet with the rest of us.
“You do know where Hwanin slumbers, do you not?” Yeomla manages to look down his nose at the taller male.
Before the Judge of Tenth Hell can respond, Yongwang sweeps his long blue sleeve through the air and transports us without warning. I hold Sunny’s hand in an iron grip as we shrink and expand, dissipate and solidify, all at once.
“Hwanin has hidden so deeply that even we cannot sense him,” Yeomla murmurs when the four of us land on solid ground, fighting for our balance. “We will rely on your guidance, Judge of Tenth Hell.”
The gods brought us to a faded version of the Kingdom of Sky, where everything is muted and blurry, like June Gloom settled over purgatory.
“I will do my best.” Gyun bows to the two gods before leading the way. Then he nods at us over his shoulder. “It will be another taxing search.”
“Where exactly is the god of Heavens?” Hailey asks, falling into step next to the judge.
“There is no particular landmark to indicate Lord Hwanin’s sanctuary.” He pauses to glance down at her. “But we will know when we get there.”
“Must you always be so enigmatic?” Hailey side-eyes him.
“No, not always,” Gyun answers enigmatically.
I plant my hand on Sunny’s hip and pull her close to my side. She rolls her eyes at me, but her mouth curls into a pleased smile. I grin back at her like a lovesick fool, and we set out to play hide-and-seek with yet another god.
Too bad we’re alwaysIt.
Chapter Forty-Five
Sunny
How long have we been walking?
We have long since grown silent, too exhausted to talk. I trudge on, staring down at the ground, sick of purgatory’s jarring changes of scenery—one minute in the Kingdom of Sky and the next minute in another kingdom.
I am both impatient and afraid to find Hwanin, the god of Heavens. If he agrees to share hisgiwith me, I will be one step closer to my death. But if he refuses, we are all doomed. My life in exchange for the lives of every other being in the worlds is more than a fair trade.
Then why does it feel so unfair?
The watery daylight shuts off without warning. We stumble to a halt and stand in the pitch black of a moonless night. Ethan’s hand tightens around my waist, and my heart melts at his protectiveness.
I can only see the silvery-green light of his beautiful life force, but I don’t need to see his face to know that I am cherished. As unfair as it seems, I am truly blessed. When it comes time for him to save me from becoming the End of Days, I will die knowing I am loved beyond anything.
“We are here,” Gyun announces.
“This is rather dramatic of Hwanin,” the god of Water murmurs.
“And a wall of churning ocean isn’t?” Yeomla shoots back at him.
I’m beginning to like the god of Underworld. He’s an asshole, to be sure, but at least he owns it.
“Why is nothing happening?” Hailey whispers. “This is usually when the gods make their grand entrance.”
“I know, right?” I hover a grapefruit-sized ball of light over my palm. “Maybe this will wake him up.”
Ethan gasps when my light orb illuminates purgatory’s version of his mother’s garden. “Why would Hwanin choose to sleep here?”
“It reminds me of Mountains.” A lone figure with long silver hair stands, facing the waterless pond. “It reminds me of my son. Of my grandson.”
I disperse the light as the unrelenting night fades into a colorless day. When the god of Heavens turns to face us, his face is unlined and ageless—eerily beautiful like the other gods. But the desolation in his eyes almost makes me regret waking him up from the oblivion of sleep.
