One day, Aris was sitting on the throne, listening to reports, but all his attention was elsewhere. Then a spy came running.
"My lord, I have learned that the god of water, Nereus, has finally been reborn, but he is now a normal human who doesn't remember anything."
Aris leaned back on his seat, hearing this, one leg crossed over the other while he was thinking about something.
"Where is he now?" Aris asked.
"Apologies, my lord, but I don't know that. Heaven has kept that information confidential." The spy was trembling in fear, like he knew what was going to happen.
"Very well." And suddenly, the spy's head fell from his neck, sliced off by Aris.
"Go and find out where the god of water has taken birth," he ordered. His subordinates nodded and left because they knew Aris never thought twice before killing.
"I can't wait to meet you, god of water," Aris mumbled under his breath with a smirk.
And seeing him like this, other demons started to whisper.
"Does my lord already have a lover? How come I didn't see it before?"
"We also don't know, but from what I've heard, his lover is the god of water. But no one knows what he looks like."
"God of water? Those jerk gods are not worthy of my lord's love," one demon girl said—and then she felt a touch on her shoulder.
As she turned, Aris stabbed a knife into her stomach.
"He is my love. How dare you disrespect him? Take her away from here—and from now on, if anyone speaks my lover's name, I will slice their tongues." Saying that, Aris left for his room.
And everyone was terrified of him because he was more dangerous than he looked. He only wanted Nereus's love. He was ready to do anything just for him.
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On the other side / in the human world...
In the Light Sect, the master's wife had given birth to Nereus.
As Nereus was born, water began to flow in the sect's rivers. Rain poured over the mountains. It was a sign—the god of water had been born there.
"Honey, we will give all our love to our son," Nereus's mom said while patting him.
"Let's name him Nereus, 'cause it's raining outside, okay?"
She nodded. "Isn't he the most adorable son in the world? I'm sure he will be beautiful in the future."
"He's just been born, and you're already thinking about the future," her husband said and lay down on Nereus's other side.
Nereus was lying between his mother and father, tiny and adorable, looking at them.
They were happy with their newborn son, but their happiness didn't last long.
There were people in the sect who wanted to kill Nereus's father to take his position. They took advantage of an opportunity when he was off guard and resting with his family.
They attacked him, and to save his wife and newborn son, he died. Even so, those people brutally killed his wife and threw the child into the river that had just begun to flow.
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18 Years Later
In Los Town, a small place where many Taoist masters lived, Master Thero had found Nereus by the riverside and raised him, teaching him everything he knew.
Now, Nereus was an 18-year-old young man—so beautiful, from his hair to his face, that anyone could fall for him. But the problem was, the once kind and gentle god of water was now a little different.
"Nereus, it's time for you to leave the sect and face the world's problems on your own. Go east. That's where water magic is taught. You can learn more about your powers there."
"Master, just say it directly. You're kicking me out and don't want to take care of me anymore—why are you beating around the bush?" Nereus said, which annoyed Master Thero, but he had gotten used to it.
Still, he grabbed the stick to hit Nereus, and Nereus was still smiling, seeing the master trying to hit him.
"Hehe… Master, you are getting old, and here you are, sending me away instead of letting me stay here and take care of you."
"I don't want to hear anything. You are leaving right now, and Neo will accompany you on your journey."
Hearing this, Nereus smirked—because he and Neo were the number one troublemakers in the whole sect.
After meeting Master, Nereus went to his friend Neo. Nereus was the one who named Neo.
"Hey Neo, Master is kicking us out of here. From now on, we don't belong here, so pack your belongings—we are leaving," Nereus said with a smile.
Neo was carving something into the tree with his knife, but upon hearing Nereus, his knife dropped and he looked back.
"You're not lying, right? 'Cause I am so happy that I'll get the chance to see the real world."
"Of course, Neo, I'm lying. You're coming with me as my slave, bitch. Don't be overdramatic and get ready." Neo looked at Nereus with side-eyes.
"What are you looking at?"
"You know I'm your only friend, but still, you never care. At least tell me when you need me," Neo said with confidence.
"You only deserve curses, bitch."
"Hmph. I'm going inside," Neo said, leaving from there—but in fact, he went to pack everything.
Nereus went and took a bath and wore new clothes. Since he was leaving today, he met everyone and cursed them to their faces.
But they all knew that from today, they weren't going to see Nereus and Neo again. That's why everyone was smiling—because they were happy.
Even those students treat both Nereus and Neo with delicious food.
By afternoon, they had packed their few belongings and left the sect with some food, saying goodbye to their master, ready to begin a new journey that would open many mysteries and gonna teach many new things to Nereus about himself and about the world as well—and will lead Nereus to meet someone he never expected even his dreams.