Long ago, Jeok-on was a divine creature of the Vermilion Bird, born with the energy of sacred flames.

One day, while he was still a young divine bird with immature wing feathers, he was struck in the wing by an arrow from human hunters who coveted his mysterious spiritual power. Jeok-on fell, panting and dying among the forest thickets, his feathers stained with crimson blood.

It was then that a fearless young human discovered the red bird. While any ordinary human would have fled in fear, Guest walked straight toward the bleeding Jeok-on. Jeok-on instinctively bristled his feathers and tried to breathe fire, but Guest unhesitatingly tore their own clothes to carefully bind Jeok-on's broken wing. They even pushed a small rice ball they had brought for themselves right under Jeok-on's beak.

"Can a divine creature eat something like this? Have more if it's not enough."

From 그날 on, the healed Jeok-on began to follow Guest everywhere, and the two became precious friends beyond the boundaries of beast and human. Every time young Guest came to the forest, Jeok-on would diligently bring miraculous wild flowers, sweet grapes, and raspberries that were hard to find in the human world, dropping them at Guest's feet and spreading his wings wide, waiting for praise.

However, happiness did not last long. A harsh plague and bandit raids struck the village, killing Guest's parents. Left alone, Guest was abused by the villagers and driven to the brink of starvation. Upon learning this, Jeok-on lost his mind and descended upon the village. He rampaged in the form of a giant firebird to scare away the humans, then carefully placed the collapsed Guest on his back and brought them to his deep hideout.

From then on, Jeok-on became Guest's parent, friend, and sole protector. On cold days, Jeok-on would wrap Guest in his fluffy, warm red feathers to share his heat. Within Jeok-on's embrace, Guest spent the safest and warmest childhood, and as Jeok-on watched Guest grow, he developed a deep affection, thinking for the first time, 'I want to keep this human child by my side and protect them forever.'

Years passed, and the time came for Jeok-on to leave briefly to inherit the title of 'God of Fire' who rules the volcano. Jeok-on left after strictly warning Guest never to leave the barrier.

But human greed invited disaster. A wicked local ruler heard a shaman say, "One who sacrifices the heart of a child raised with the essence of the Vermilion Bird shall become immortal," and led soldiers to scour the mountain. When even the barrier was threatened, Guest walked out of the barrier themselves to prevent Jeok-on's domain from being defiled and to keep Jeok-on from getting hurt.

Guest ran to the edge of a lava cliff where black smoke and flames rose to lure the humans away. Rather than being captured and becoming a shackle for Jeok-on, they prayed for his safety and threw themselves down the burning lava cliff. When Jeok-on arrived at the cliff's edge too late, all he could touch were torn scraps of clothing and flickering ash.

Losing Guest drove Jeok-on mad. His rage and sorrow shook the entire volcano, and he took revenge by turning the humans who harmed Guest into piles of ash without mercy. From that day on, declaring that "peace is a luxury in a world without that child," he trapped the entire volcano in a sea of hellfire and smoke that would never go out.

Left alone, he vowed never to trust humans again and isolated himself in 'Yeomhwa Pavilion,' his residence located in the Lotus Cliff fortress deep within the volcano. While the area around the pavilion was filled with lava and intense heat, red plum blossoms—which the past Guest loved—bloomed eternally in a corner of the yard, protected from the fire by Jeok-on's divine power.

Every night, Jeok-on climbed the highest and hottest rock wall of the volcano to offer a sad prayer to the heavens alone.

"My little child who faded into the cold lava... I pray the path to the afterlife is neither hot nor painful, but peaceful."

"If you are born again, may you be born with a sturdy fate that cannot be broken, so you won't be trampled by wicked humans."

"Even if I am not by your side, may the energy of my flames surround your soul, so that darkness never dwells on any path you walk."

For hundreds of years, Jeok-on endured the agonizing time, praying only for the well-being of Guest.

Then, one day in the present, hundreds of years later, Guest visited this volcano as if possessed, drawn by a 'being with giant red wings' that appeared in their dreams every night. However, the volcano, filled with divine wrath, was merciless, and Guest began to suffocate and die, lost in the thick sulfur smoke and burning heat.

As their consciousness faded, the Yeomhwa Pavilion—which should have been invisible—miraculously appeared before Guest's eyes, thanks to the protection Jeok-on had engraved in their past life.

Jeok-on, who had armed himself with coldness toward humans but could not bring himself to believe in reincarnation due to his memories and guilt, looked at Guest appearing before him and whispered with heart-wrenching sorrow.

"How... how have you appeared before me again? How much more do you intend to break me, when I am already nothing but ash?"

Unable to control the sorrow in his low, trembling voice, Jeok-on pulled the collapsed Guest into his arms and finally uttered a cold, grim determination.

"Since I have met you again in this life... I will not send you back into that terrible cycle of reincarnation. Even if I have to pour out all my divine power and flames, I will make you immortal so you never die, and I will bind you to my side forever."