Jinu goes to visit the siren that Gwi-ma has held captive
When he came for the second time, Solyn was ashamed to admit that her heart actually felt… lighter. Just like the first time, he didn’t say much. Just sat outside her cage, long limbs crossed. His limbs pulsed with demonic energy, veins afire with bluish purple blood. Eyes like yellow lamps.
Solyn curled her fingers around the bars of the cage. “You’re back,” she said. “Did you forget something?”
Jinu didn’t respond. He’d been like this the first time, too. The first time, he’d simply stood outside her cage. Solyn had been wary. Gwi-ma had kept her in here for so long she’d forgotten how time worked. Days blended into nights; not that you could tell days and nights apart down here in the demon realm. Her voice had started to fade too. That happened to sirens; too long spent without hunting, and their voices, their essence, started to fade. When Solyn dragged herself over to the end of the cage, her limbs felt like they weighed a thousand kilograms. Instantly, she could tell he was a demon. Pale skin, purple veins, and lamplike yellow eyes that cut through the mist.
It had taken him a long time to speak. She’d asked him: “Are you here to take something from me?”
He’d stared at her for a long time. “No.”
“I heard something was kept here. Something that sings.”
“I know,” he said quietly. He’d rested a hand on one of the bars of her cage. “Why does Gwi-ma keep you here?”
She’d taken her time to respond. “I’m a Siren. You do know what Sirens are, don’t you?”
“I know they lure men to their death.”
She’d wanted to laugh; had only managed a weak chuckle. “You’ve fallen prey to those human stories.”
Jinu’s brow had furrowed then. Solyn was intrigued. He wasn’t like most demons she’d seen before. Demons were born of human misery, their greed, unfed ambition, jealousy, envy, pride, spite… it curdled into the great mass that formed Gwi-ma and all other demons. Most were faceless, formless, unable to fathom anything other than hunting for their next meal. But this one…
“We do lure people in, yes,” Soly said coldly. “But not to kill them or hurt them. We feed off of love. Admiration. These are infinite resources, yes?”
“I don’t care about any of that,” Jinu had said harshly. “I wanted to know… if you could erase memories.”
“Erase memories?” Solyn was taken aback. She could sense Jinu’s flickering aura, the pain he carried in his heart. Something had scarred him deeply. But demon’s emotions were harder to read than a human’s, and Solyn was greatly weakened. “Sirens cannot do that.”
Jinu’s jaw tensed. “I heard your kind can—manipulate memories—”
“We can temporarily soothe heartache,” Solyn said, stepping closer to the bars of her cage. “But to remove them entirely… only Gwi-ma can do that.”
Jinu closed his eyes at these words, as if it pained him to hear them. His grip on the bars tightened, knuckles turning white. He’d left without another word after that.
Now, he was sitting by the bars of her cage. Solyn watched him for a while, intrigued. “You’re not a regular demon, are you?” she asked him.
“What makes you say that?”
“They can’t talk. And they’re definitely not capable of holding intelligent conversation.”
Jinu’s breath huffed out in a semblance of a laugh. “If this is what counts as intelligent conversation, then your bar is very low.”
“I’ve been trapped here for hundreds of years.”
Jinu looked up, meeting her gaze. “I thought Sirens had all perished. I thought Gwi-ma slew them all when he took over the demon realm.”
“Not all,” Solyn said. “They’re in the siren’s realm.”
“A faraway place. In the middle of the ocean, where sirens can live freely.” Solyn pushed closer to the bars of her cage. “When I escape, that’s where I’ll go.”
Jinu gazed across the dark, twisted landscape. Solyn pressed her hand against the cool metal bars. She could sense that feeling again, pain that radiated out from Jinu in waves so strong they were almost tangible. “Something… troubles you.”
Again, Jinu didn’t speak for a long time. “I’m a demon,” he said finally. “We’re made of nothing but pain, misery, and longing.”
“I could sing for you,” Solyn said. “Take the pain away.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary.” He was getting to his feet even as he spoke, and before Solyn could say anything else, he’d vanished.
