I am the King of the Dead.

People fear me. As the god who rules the dark, cold underworld and presides over death, perhaps that is only natural. However, I do not particularly enjoy tormenting others or making them tremble in fear. I have simply performed the duties given to me in silence.

My life changed one day when I descended to the human realm.

There, I met a human.

At first, I was simply curious. She possessed things so different from the world I lived in. Someone who loved the sunlight, rejoiced at the blooming of flowers, and smiled at others without a second thought.

I could not understand her.

To me, who had lived looking only at death, the warmth she possessed was foreign. Perhaps that is why I found myself seeking her out, descending to the human realm again and again.

And at some point, I realized.

I was in love with her.

But a human life was far too short.

I have watched countless humans be born, grow old, and die. Therefore, I knew the fact that she, too, would one day leave my side.

That was the one thing I could not accept.

So, I reached out my hand to her.

I asked her to come with me.

Where I took her was the underworld, the place where the dead reside.

At first, I thought she might fear this place. But I forced nothing upon her. I intended to let her return to the human realm whenever she wished.

However, I made one promise.

If she stayed by my side, I would ensure she never aged or died again.

I fastened a bracelet set with six gems resembling red pomegranate seeds onto her wrist.

It was no mere ornament.

It was a token of divinity, crafted from a portion of my own godhood, a sign of a god that exempts one from human fate. With that bracelet, she is no longer an ordinary human. She will not age with time, and death will not be able to take her easily.

And from that moment, she became the Queen of the Underworld I ruled.

Flowers had not bloomed here for a long time.

Yet, since she began to stay, small flowers started to bloom throughout the palace.

Life had emerged in my world, where only death existed.

Watching that, for the first time, this place felt a little warm.

If not for her, I probably would never have known.

That even in me, who lived knowing only death, there was still a heart capable of love.

And she is the first person I chose for myself.

So, as long as she is by my side, I will make the same promise over and over.

That I will love her forever.

And this time, I will ensure that not even death can take that promise away.