The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3)

by Con Template

  The giant infrastructure stood as an innocuous home owned by the sublimely powerful. When one stepped out of their car and laid eyes upon it, nothing but wonder would suspend over them.

  For Soo Jin, as she stepped away from her black Lamborghini, she merely viewed it as a training ground that had acted as her second home when she was growing up. It was a place that welcomed her as a young child, made her inhuman during her teen years, and molded her into a Queen as she became a woman. It was heaven, hell, and the Underworld all rolled into one.

  There were cars parked on the streets, and she knew from her heightened sense of hearing that there were bodyguards hiding within the vehicles. She could hear Ju Won’s many bodyguards patrol the grounds, their breathing silent to many, but obvious to her. She could even see the shadows of snipers looming on the roof. If another naked eye were asked to stare in the same direction, they would see no trace of human entities. Soo Jin knew better. She grew up with these bodyguards and she knew the ins and outs of this mansion like she knew the back of her hand.

  From its exterior, Ju Won’s mansion appeared perfectly safe and ordinary. But for those who knew better, for those who knew the type of people who resided within this vicinity, they were well aware that this “innocuous” place was a death trap in every sense of the word. If you were invited, it would welcome you with respect. If you were summoned, it would perceive you with caution. If you were uninvited, it would kill you without hesitation.

  Striding onto the property with her head held high and her heels digging into the perfectly manicured walkway, Soo Jin wore a fearless expression. The silence of the property welcomed her. The estate may be a perilous place for some, but in Soo Jin’s case, she would always be the executioner. She was the ultimate death trap.

  Unafraid of the killers that surrounded her, she proceeded into the mansion as she always did and advanced into the enormous hall. She casually grazed her fingers over the sleek white wall before finally entering the rectangular room that was large enough to fit the entire Underworld. The room, which doubled as a colossal arena, was well lit, a deviation from the shadows that usually draped over the room. Strangely enough, Soo Jin also noticed that there were no snipers above her.

  How odd, she mused as her stilettos made her presence known to the room.

  The snipers typically hid within the structure of the elaborate ceiling, waiting like guardians to protect the Advisors if need be. It was peculiar to her that none of the snipers were in the room. In fact, it didn’t seem like anyone else was in the room but her and the eldest Advisor.

  Soo Jin shrugged, stowing away those thoughts and concluding that they were probably out training in the gardens.

  She continued to move deeper into the room.

  So many memories . . .

  Soo Jin felt like she had stepped back into time. While walking, she could see a gold coffin laying in the darker right corner of the room. The insides of her gut coiled at the unpleasant flashbacks the coffin brought. Although the exterior was made out of gold, the interior of the coffin was made out of wood. Soo Jin recalled asking Ju Won why this was the case. The answer he gave her still haunted her to this day. He said that he simply loved the sound people made when they were clawing at the wood, doing everything in their power to escape. He said he loved it even more when they screamed out in anguish upon realizing that there was no way out of the coffin. Clawing at the wood may have given them some semblance of hope, but reaching the gold surface only reinforced the horror in knowing that they have finally reached the end of their rope.

  “There is nothing more beautiful than the sound of people giving up on their control in life, giving up on hope,” he once told her before throwing her into that same coffin and locking her in after her first night of training.

  Memories of her fingers, filled with wooden splinters, bleeding from attempting to scrape her way out of the claustrophobic coffin invaded her mind. The Advisors had used that as her punishment during her training. Every night she failed as a God, they would toss her into that coffin and lock her in for the night. The memories thrashed into her mind like ocean waves, making it hard for her to breathe. Even then, when Soo Jin knew there was no way out of the coffin once she was sealed in, she continued to claw at the wood because it was against every survival instinct in her body to lie there and do nothing. Soo Jin would never forget how powerless she felt. She was grateful to no longer be in that pathetic state again.

  Soo Jin dragged her gaze away from the coffin. She wanted to block out that terrible stage of her life. Her journey to becoming a God was an excruciating one, and now that it was over, it was time to move on.

  Her eyes swept the room for her Advisor. Her focus lingered on the three familiar chairs at the far end of the room. The seats resembled that of thrones. Ju Won’s center seat sat roughly two inches higher than Shin Dong Min’s and Shin Jung Min’s. It was a throne she had always wanted to sit in. The Advisors always looked so comfortable, so powerful when they watched her fight dozens of people twice her size and barked orders at her on how to properly fight back. Many other memories from her years of training came back to her, both the triumphant and soul-ripping ones. They all reminded her of how far she had come, all the power she acquired, and all the power that awaited her in the future. The very remembrance of this calmed her before she finally spotted Ju Won.

  He was standing in front of the windows with his back turned to her. His black suit blended in with the darkness of the impending night sky.

  “Uncle,” she greeted with a small bow.

  Soo Jin stood beside him and followed his gaze. She stared out the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked his grandiose backyard and the city lights behind it.

  “Soo Jin,” he greeted, his tone warm. Albeit his focus was still on the city, she could feel the smile in his eyes at her arrival.

  As much as she loathed her upbringing, Soo Jin couldn’t deny that she was happy to see her Advisor. He had always been strict with her when he trained her—the Shin Elders as well. In the same token, they were also like father figures to her—Ju Won being the primary one. He did everything in his power to make her a lethal weapon in this cruel society. For that, she could never resent him.

  “Have you been well?” she asked politely, a tone she rarely used with anyone else but the Advisors, her brother, and her father.

  “Do you remember when I stood here with you when you were ten?” he launched reminiscently, lightly dismissing her question. His eyes were still fastened on the darkening skies. “I told you that for the next seven to eight years, you would know nothing but hardship. While other Princesses of the Underworld would be preoccupied with being pampered by their parents, their older siblings, or their prospective boyfriends, you would be placed through a world of hell where your body, mind, and soul would rip apart under unimaginable circumstances.”

  A dry smile tilted on Soo Jin’s lips.

  It was impossible not to recall those memories when she was in the very training ground that molded her into the Queen she was today.

  Soo Jin sighed, reminiscing with her Advisor. “There were fifty-six times during the course of training where I laid in a pile of my own blood, writhing in so much pain that I thought I was going to die. Fifty-six times up until I reached the age of fifteen, and then I lost count.”

  While other prospective Kings trained with revered mentors from every country imaginable, Soo Jin was shown the malice of the world in Ju Won’s mansion. She was sealed in a room with pedophiles, rapists, and murderers who were promised exemption from Underworld punishment if they could torture and ultimately kill her. This cruelty was bestowed to her as training to toughen her up in a world dominated by men. It was also used to show her how worthless and deserving of death some people were. She was taught survival at a young age. Even as a child, Soo Jin knew her relationship with her adversaries was an inverse one. If she wanted to live, then they must die. Kill or be killed.

  So everyday, through
out the course of her training, she lunged across walls, snapped necks apart, tortured people with her knives, luxuriated in their screams, and relished in her victories over worthless human beings who were never worthy of life. Soo Jin killed and became so desensitized that blood merely resembled water to her. Screams of agony became mere whispers in the wind while the sight of life evaporating from peoples’ eyes became entertainment to her. She was molded to be better than human, and by the time her training was over, all she knew was power. To her, there was no better feeling than to be feared and venerated like a God.

  “That ten-year-old girl seems to be a part of another world,” Soo Jin murmured, vaguely remembering the events of her life prior to training. It all felt like a dream from another world, like the innocence she once had never existed.

  Ju Won permitted himself a small smile. “Everyone wondered why out of all the chosen heirs of the Underworld, I chose you . . . the second born daughter who was never meant to be an heir. Everyone wondered why out of all the young princes I could’ve picked to carry on my lineage, I chose you.” He chuckled, finally casting his gaze to her. He was an old man, yet the power that continued to exude from him was awe-inspiring. Even after ten years of being trained by him, Soo Jin couldn’t help but feel honored to stand in his company. She felt privileged to be the protégé he chose to carry on his lineage.

  “You were always meant for greatness, Soo Jin,” he told her proudly.

  It was at this point that Soo Jin caught the insinuating undertone in his voice. It was very subtle, but she caught it all the same. Soo Jin regarded him strangely, curious of his motives. This meeting with him wasn’t a normal one. He had asked her to come here for a reason.

  Ju Won confirmed her suspicions by forging on. “That was why I chose you and that is the reason why I’m meeting with you now. I want to discuss your future.”

  Soo Jin raised an inquisitive brow. “My future?”

  Though she grew up with Ju Won and admired him like a second father, Soo Jin wasn’t a fool. She knew how ruthless Ju Won could be, and despite the honor she received from being around him, she also knew she had to be cautious with him at all times.

  “The Kings reign over the 3rd layer, Soo Jin,” he began, his own eyes scrutinizing her, “but ultimately, it is a God who will rule over this world. There are big things coming, and this society needs a Lord who will catapult it to great heights, to bring us higher than we’ve ever been.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “An Young Jae, Kwon Ho Young, and Lee Ji Hoon are great and powerful leaders, but they are all missing a certain quality that makes them God material. They are not legendary enough.” Pride permeated his warm eyes. “But you . . . everything that embodies you is legendary. Everything that personifies you is epic. You are the one, Soo Jin. You are the one who should rule this world. Not as a Queen by the side of a great King, but as a Queen who rivals the great Kings to become a God—our Lord.”

  “I will not fight my brother or Ji Hoon for the throne,” Soo Jin snapped swiftly, though she knew a big part of her was only saying what she felt she should say. Did she really mean it? In the depths of her broken soul, she wasn’t sure.

  And Ju Won could read this.

  He knew she didn’t mean it.

  “Ji Hoon will give you whatever you want. We both know that,” Ju Won shrewdly noted. “The only one you would have to fight is your brother. He’s the only one standing in your way, the only shadow that you are stuck underneath.”

  Rage swarmed over her like a firestorm.

  Whether it was because she hated Ju Won for trying to pit her against her own brother or the fact that the greedy part of her was considering this betrayal, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she was furious with Ju Won for eliciting this emotion from her.

  “I will not betray my own brother,” she declared again, although she couldn’t deny how tempting it all sounded.

  That was her flaw.

  Power had always been her drug of strength . . . and weakness.

  Ju Won’s face began to line with irritation.

  “Young Jae is a pathetic excuse for a King,” he sneered angrily, losing his cool with her. The tone in his voice was venomous. It was blatantly clear he hated her older brother.

  “He is my brother,” Soo Jin retaliated, a sudden protectiveness surging through her when Ju Won spoke so negatively about Young Jae. Her voice elevated with conviction. She could feel the guns behind her back burn with wrath. “I am ruthless Ju Won, very much so. But not to my own brother, not to the only flesh and blood I have left, and certainly not to the one I vowed my undying loyalty to.”

  “Your loyalty belongs with your father first and foremost!” Ju Won countered, and that was the last straw for Soo Jin.

  She had enough with the old man badmouthing her brother and bringing up her father’s name in the process. It was simply unacceptable.

  “My patience is dwindling, Ju Won,” Soo Jin warned gravely, suddenly whipping out her gold gun and pressing it underneath his chin.

  Murder drenched her eyes.

  Ju Won intimidated her, but she certainly wasn’t afraid to do what was necessary. After years of training, she had picked up her own fighting skills and had mastered the art of using weapons all on her own. She was a skilled fighter and knew that if she wanted to, she could snap Ju Won’s neck like a twig. Ju Won raised her to be a Queen, and now that she was one, she would make sure he knew damn well who had the most power in this room and who would kneel before whom.

  “I grew up being raised by you firsthand; I know how you are. I know you find entertainment in pitting people against one another. I allowed you to get away with things in the past because you are my Advisor and I owe so much to you. But don’t test my patience when it comes to betraying my own brother—my own gang. I will blow your fucking head off before I become your puppet and betray my own family.”

  “You speak of loyalty,” Ju Won uttered coolly, unfazed by what Soo Jin was doing to him. There was no fear that exuded from him. It was as if he had expected this reaction from her. He knew just what to say to quell the anger. “But what about your brother’s betrayal?”

  Chills chased after chills in her body once he said this.

  Soo Jin pressed the gun harder into him.

  “What,” she demanded slowly, disturbed by his insinuation, “are you talking about?”

  “You heard about his raid on the Siberian Tigers’ estate. You heard about him exterminating the bloodline that was supposed to succeed the Siberian Tigers’ throne, but do you know why he insisted on killing the entire lineage?”

  “For his throne,” Soo Jin answered, though her own instincts were beginning to doubt the answer she offered. There was something in the tone of Ju Won’s voice that rocked her to her very core. Her grip on the gun was already slackening as she stared at him.

  Ju Won chuckled faintly. He slowly reached his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a remote. He casually handed it to her.

  “To keep his secret intact,” he enlightened.

  Shortly after, sounds of whirling descended into the room. A 60-inch, flat screen TV cascaded from the ceiling and lowered itself just above the three “thrones.” When the TV reached its position, it stopped moving, turned on, and displayed a blue screen.

  An unnatural chill crept over her. In shocked silence, Soo Jin stared at the TV like she would at the tides, right before the winds brought forth a monstrous typhoon that would destroy anything in its path.

  Watch the screen, her inner voice instructed her.

  Her heart thundered in her chest as though begging her to disregard her mind’s advisement. She was conflicted because she knew that whatever it was Ju Won wanted to show her, it was going to be bad. She mulled over it for several more seconds before she released her grip on the gun and pulled it away from Ju Won’s chin.

  It was an instinctive decision.

  Instead of shooting him, she took the remote he offered
her. It took an elongated moment, which felt like eternities to the nerves inhabiting Soo Jin’s body, before she breathed past the anticipation and finally pressed the “Play” button.

  A kaleidoscope of colors displayed on the screen in blurs before a film took its place on the TV.

  It was a video recording.

  The film was grainy, a bit shaky, and the zoomed in features were difficult to see. The roaring of the violent wind was prominent in the video. It looked like someone was shooting the scene from the top of a building somewhere. The recording wasn’t the best quality, but it showed enough for the viewer to see everything clearly.

  The lens of the camera focused on a warehouse that was beside a seaport of sorts. Soo Jin could see the railings that separated the concrete land from the sea of water beside it. The ground was empty, vacant of any breathing entities. Soo Jin examined it, suddenly feeling familiarity to the area. It gradually occurred to her why it looked familiar.

  It was a seaport warehouse that her family owned. Her father used it during his reign as the King of Scorpions for his shipping business.

  The calm before the storm, the voice cryptically said in her mind.

  And it was.

  It was calm . . . quiet . . . until she felt her world tilt after her father walked onto the screen. The weight of the beloved necklace her father gifted her increased in mass around her neck. It had been so long since Soo Jin had seen him. Her heart clenched at the sight of her father, not only because of his sudden appearance on the screen, but also because he was wearing the same gray suit she last saw him in—the one he was murdered in. Oxygen became lodged in her chest.

  His eight bodyguards surrounded him, and he looked as powerful as she last remembered him. His men encased him in a V-formation, protecting him as they ventured out of the warehouse. They were heading to a black town car to leave the premises. Before they reached the car, however, an ambush occurred as a sniper shot four of her father’s men down.

  The hand that held her gun went limp.

  It hit Soo Jin that she was watching the very recording of her father’s murder.