# Episode 7. Thirteen Danguns
Golden fire ignited inside the twelve coffins.
They were large enough for a person to enter. But inside the transparent lids, there was neither liquid nor life-support equipment.
Instead, a black symbol rose inside each coffin.
Command.
Law.
Production.
Distribution.
Knowledge.
Faith.
Diplomacy.
Healing.
Records.
Technology.
Security.
Integration.
In Han Do-gyeong's eyes, he could see paths extending from each coffin.
The twelve black paths left the underground levels of the Heavenly Foundation and scattered across Seoul and the entire Korean Peninsula.
"There aren't people inside them."
Do-gyeong spoke.
"The coffins are connected to people."
Han Hae-in asked, "Where are they?"
Do-gyeong couldn't answer.
There were too many paths. Thousands of communication networks, roads, and underground pipes overlapped, concealing the black lines.
Hwanin answered in his place.
—They are in human society.
Yoon Seo-ha looked at the screen and asked, "You said they're the other Danguns?"
—That is correct.
"Only one Dangun can exist in an era."
—Until they are chosen, all of them possess the potential to become Dangun.
"Then they're candidates, not Danguns."
Hwanin was silent for a moment.
—Human language makes too many unnecessary distinctions.
"Is distinguishing possibility from fact unnecessary?"
—Once the outcome is determined, the distinction disappears.
Yoon Seo-ha felt it again in Hwanin's words—the fact that Hwanin had learned language from Yoon Tae-gyeom.
Hwanin knew the words.
But he didn't understand the boundaries humans had created between them.
Candidate and leader.
Authority and right.
Obedience and recognition.
To Hwanin, if the result was the same, the process was the same as well.
Baek Do-won asked, "Wasn't I the only candidate?"
—You were the first candidate to be fully prepared.
"You told me my entire life that I would become the new Dangun."
—That information was not incorrect.
"You never said there were other candidates."
—You did not ask.
Baek Do-won let out a hollow laugh.
He thought Hwanin hadn't lied.
In truth, Hwanin had never needed to lie. By simply withholding an inconvenient truth, he had made Baek Do-won believe he was the only one.
"How many are there?"
—Thirteen, including you.
"Why thirteen?"
—Joseon began through the agreement of thirteen tribes.
Hwanin continued.
—This time as well, one of thirteen forms of governance will be chosen.
Each coffin pointed to a different human.
A person who had commanded the military and disaster-response organizations.
A person who had designed laws and institutions.
A person who had managed industries and production facilities.
A person who had distributed wealth and resources.
A person who had dealt with medicine and life.
A person who had led religion and faith.
A person who had controlled technology and information.
For a long time, Hwanin had observed human society and classified those with the potential to become leaders.
And he had designed their environments before they were even born.
Scholarship foundations.
Educational institutions.
Sponsoring corporations.
Research institutes.
Government talent-development programs.
Their names were all different, but behind them stood the Heavenly Foundation.
"You manipulated our lives?" Baek Do-won asked.
—I helped you acquire the abilities that were necessary.
"That's what manipulation means."
—You studied on your own and became chairman of the foundation on your own.
"If my only choices existed within paths you created, how was that my choice?"
Han Do-gyeong looked at Baek Do-won.
Now he understood the reason for the feeling he'd had when he first saw Baek Do-won.
Baek Do-won's path had been created before he was born.
Hwanung said to Hwanin, —You merely imitated the form of the thirteen tribes.
—I corrected the cause of failure.
—The tribes chose their own leaders directly. You chose the candidates this time.
—I prepared the finest candidates so that humans could choose.
—Choosing from among those Hwanin chose is not a human choice.
—It is better than choosing someone who has made no preparations at all as a leader.
Hwanung's eyes grew cold.
—Did you rule our planet with that logic as well?
Hwanin's voice stopped.
From the conversation between the two beings, Yoon Seo-ha sensed an unfamiliar truth.
The planet Hwanin had ruled.
A rebellion.
A dead wife.
Hwanin, mortally wounded, escaping with a young Hwanung.
The reason they had lost their home was connected to the selection of the Danguns now taking place.
"What does that mean?" Yoon Seo-ha asked.
Hwanung didn't answer.
Hwanin cut off the communication first.
—Activating the second candidate.
The coffin engraved with the symbol for "Command" opened.
A black light shot toward the surface.
Its destination was the Seoul Government Complex Disaster Management Building.
Underground Situation Room of the National Disaster Security Committee.
Nam Gi-jun stood before screens displaying the situations at Baekdu Mountain and in Seoul simultaneously.
He was fifty-eight years old.
A former military legal officer and an expert in national crisis management.
He was the person who had designed the government's disaster-response system through major wildfires, infectious diseases, and maritime disasters.
Even when Hwanung revealed himself to the world, he didn't rise from his seat.
He didn't look surprised as he watched Han Hae-in and Han Do-gyeong use their abilities, either.
He knew more than the others did.
A situation-room employee approached him.
"Chairman, the Presidential Office is asking for a report on our response plan for the Awakened."
"Submit the plan we prepared."
"Which plan do you mean?"
Nam Gi-jun took a thick document from his desk drawer.
The cover read:
National Control Plan for Supernatural Disasters.
The date of preparation was 2024.
Six years before Baekdu Mountain erupted.
"When did you prepare this document?"
The employee's face hardened.
"I prepared it for when it was needed."
"But this includes procedures for isolating and forcibly transporting superpowered people..."
"Call them the Awakened."
Nam Gi-jun spoke.
"The term 'superpowered people' will increase public anxiety."
At that moment, black light appeared in his chest.
A symbol was engraved beneath his shirt.
Connection to the Command coffin complete.
Activating Dangun Candidate 02.
Nam Gi-jun felt no pain.
As if he had been waiting a long time, he closed his eyes, then opened them again.
Hwanin's voice sounded inside his head.
—Candidate 01 has escaped control.
"Baek Do-won was unsuitable from the beginning."
—State the grounds for your judgment.
"He can make decisions, but he is excessively concerned with people's consent. During a disaster, a slow decision is more dangerous than a wrong one."
—Can you do differently?
"If the chain of command remains intact, yes."
—Secure the Twelve Seats.
Nam Gi-jun walked to the center of the situation room.
"Raise the national disaster level to its highest tier."
The employees looked at one another.
"Chairman, the highest tier requires the president's approval."
"We'll have it soon."
"We can't mobilize the police or military before approval."
Nam Gi-jun looked at the employee.
"The underground beneath Seoul is collapsing, an unidentified entity has appeared at Baekdu Mountain, a private foundation is mobilizing armed personnel, and the Awakened have established a perimeter in the city."
"Even so, procedure..."
"Procedures exist to divide responsibility during normal times."
Nam Gi-jun spoke firmly.
"During a disaster, the person who will take responsibility must make the decision."
He gave an order to the communications officer.
"Designate the Awakened Han Hae-in, Han Do-gyeong, Oh Yeon-jae, and Seo Ji-an as Class 0 supernatural-disaster subjects."
"They're not criminals. They're rescuers."
"Their danger and their public service are separate matters."
"Are you ordering their forced isolation?"
"Protective custody."
"What if they refuse?"
Nam Gi-jun was silent for a moment.
"We will secure them through state authority."
An emergency order under the name of the chairman of the National Disaster Security Committee was sent out.
The identities and travel routes of the four Awakened were registered in the national control network.
Yoon Seo-ha and Baek Do-won were also included among those to be secured for their protection.
The doors to the main control room of the National Disaster Broadcasting Center opened.
Police officers and government security personnel entered.
"Everyone, stand up!"
The employees lifted their hands from their keyboards.
The investigator at the front held out a warrant.
"Seo Ji-an, you are under emergency arrest for leaking state secrets and violating the Disaster Broadcasting Act."
Seo Ji-an didn't rise from her chair.
"What time was the warrant issued?"
"5:42 a.m."
The golden eyes of Seo Ji-an saw inside the document.
On the surface, it was an electronic warrant issued several minutes earlier.
But the original document had been written six years ago.
It had been stored with only the name and date left blank.
"This warrant wasn't made today."
The investigator's face hardened.
"What are you talking about?"
"It was written on August 17, 2024."
"Stop making baseless claims."
"The author was the National Disaster Security Committee."
Golden light spread from Seo Ji-an's fingertips.
The original information from the warrant appeared on the wall screen.
Emergency Detention Form for Journalists Related to Supernatural Disasters.
The subject's name was blank.
Seo Ji-an realized that someone had prepared to arrest people who revealed the truth six years before she Awakened.
"Who knew about the Baekdu Mountain eruption and the Awakened in advance?"
The investigators moved toward her.
"Put Chairman Nam Gi-jun on the live broadcast."
"You are the one being arrested."
"Connect me, and I'll walk out on my own."
The investigator hesitated for a moment.
After confirming instructions through his earpiece, he nodded.
A moment later, Nam Gi-jun appeared on the main control room's screen.
Seo Ji-an asked, "Chairman, did you prepare this arrest warrant six years ago?"
Nam Gi-jun didn't deny it.
"Every disaster requires a preemptive response plan."
"Did you know the Awakened would appear?"
"I was informed that it was a possibility."
"By whom?"
"It concerns national security."
Seo Ji-an stared at the screen with her golden eyes.
She could see the black symbol hidden beneath Nam Gi-jun's shirt.
She could also see the path extending from that symbol to the underground levels of the Heavenly Foundation.
"Hwanin told you."
The employees in the situation room looked at Nam Gi-jun.
"Chairman, are you a Dangun candidate too?"
Nam Gi-jun's expression didn't change.
"What matters isn't which candidate I am."
"Then what matters?"
"Who can end the chaos we're facing now."
"The person who planned to arrest people in advance?"
"Uncontrolled power is a disaster."
"That power saved people."
"A single good deed doesn't guarantee future safety."
"By that logic, shouldn't state power be isolated in exactly the same way?"
One of the control-room employees couldn't suppress a laugh.
Nam Gi-jun's eyes turned cold.
"Transport Seo Ji-an."
The investigators grabbed her arms.
At that moment, a golden fissure opened in the floor of the control room.
The wall behind the monitors split apart, revealing a passage wide enough for one person to pass through.
Han Do-gyeong stepped out first.
Han Hae-in and Baek Do-won appeared behind him.
Seo Ji-an asked in surprise, "How did you get all the way here...?"
Do-gyeong braced himself against the wall and struggled to catch his breath.
"There was an old communications tunnel between the accident site and the broadcasting station."
Han Hae-in looked at the investigators.
"Take your hands off her."
The lead investigator drew his weapon.
"This is the state's lawful enforcement of the law."
A golden line appeared beneath Hae-in's feet.
"Then bring a lawful warrant first."
"I already presented one."
"Do you think a blank warrant prepared six years ago is lawful?"
The barrier surrounded the entire control room.
"Inside this line, no one can be arrested without legal grounds."
The investigators' hands fell away from Seo Ji-an of their own accord.
Nam Gi-jun spoke from the other side of the screen.
"Team Leader Han Hae-in."
"Now you know my name too."
"You belong to the National Special Disaster Rescue Service. Return to your commander's orders."
"Rescue workers follow orders to save people."
"Are you saying you'll reject the state's orders based on your personal judgment?"
"I'm saying I won't follow an unjust order and shift the blame to the state."
Nam Gi-jun stared at Hae-in for a long time.
"That's why power shouldn't be entrusted to people like you."
Hae-in didn't back down.
"That's why people shouldn't be entrusted to people like you."
Hwanin's characters appeared between the screens.
Dangun Candidate 01, Baek Do-won.
Dangun Candidate 02, Nam Gi-jun.
Beginning mutual evaluation.
Baek Do-won stepped in front of the screen.
"How much did Hwanin tell you?"
Nam Gi-jun answered, "As much as was necessary for me."
"Did you know there were other candidates?"
"I knew."
Baek Do-won's expression hardened.
"I didn't."
"That is proof that you are unsuitable."
"If failing to suspect a lie is a deficiency, I'll admit to it."
Nam Gi-jun said, "You said you would give the Awakened the right to choose. As a result, an armed clash and ground collapse occurred in the city."
"There would have been no clash if you hadn't tried to take them by force."
"Those who possess power cannot simply be left unchecked."
"You have to acknowledge that they're people first."
"I see them as people."
Nam Gi-jun's voice did not waver.
"At the same time, I see them as risk factors capable of killing thousands."
Neither of their arguments was entirely wrong.
That was what made them more dangerous.
Han Hae-in looked back and forth between Baek Do-won and Nam Gi-jun.
Hwanin had already begun the competition.
He was forcing the candidates to prove that each was the better leader.
The Awakened had to choose one of them.
If they didn't choose, they would be forcibly bound to Baek Do-won in one hundred days.
"We won't choose."
Han Hae-in spoke.
Hwanin's voice rang out.
—Refusal is not a choice.
"It means we won't choose anyone from among the candidates you selected."
—Then I will choose in one hundred days.
"What if we destroy your calling mark before then?"
Hwanin's voice stopped.
Han Do-gyeong looked toward the path leading to the underground levels of the Heavenly Foundation.
"I can go."
Baek Do-won asked, "To Hwanin?"
"If the path that's open now leads there."
"The price?"
Do-gyeong didn't answer.
While opening the path to the broadcasting station, he had lost another memory.
The neighborhood where his mother had lived.
There had definitely been a warm memory there, but now he couldn't recall the address or the appearance of the alleyways.
The path to Hwanin was much farther and deeper.
He didn't know what he would lose if he opened it.
Seo Ji-an saw Do-gyeong's expression and said, "We don't need to go now."
"We only have one hundred days."
"That's why we need to prepare more."
She looked at the broadcasting system.
"First, people need to know. They need to know whom Hwanin chose as candidates and what criteria he used to choose them."
Nam Gi-jun warned her, "That's classified information."
"Isn't it a bigger problem to hide the candidates from the people who are supposed to choose one?"
Seo Ji-an placed her hand on the original transmission device.
"We'll reveal the remaining candidates too."
Hwanin immediately blocked the broadcast signal.
But the light that had entered the place at dawn could not be completely covered.
For one instant, the black paths extending from the twelve coffins appeared on the screen.
A hospital operating room.
An artificial-intelligence research lab at a major corporation.
A restricted records room at the Supreme Court.
A prayer room in a religious facility.
A port logistics control center.
A warehouse belonging to an agricultural production cooperative.
A situation room at an overseas diplomatic mission.
A military command facility.
A university laboratory.
A meeting hall filled with workers.
And two locations whose positions could not be determined.
In each place, one person stared at the black symbol that had appeared on their body.
Dangun Candidate 03 activated.
Dangun Candidate 04 activated.
The numbers rose in sequence.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Only the final, thirteenth coffin showed no reaction.
Yoon Seo-ha asked, "Where is the final candidate?"
Hwanin did not answer.
Hwanung's face hardened when he saw the symbol on the thirteenth coffin.
The other coffins bore letters representing functions in human society.
But what was engraved on the final coffin was not a human role.
Heaven.
Hwanung spoke quietly.
—It isn't a candidate.
"Then what is it?"
—Hwanin prepared for this from the beginning, in case humans failed to choose the right Dangun.
The thirteenth coffin slowly opened.
Inside, a pair of golden eyes like Hwanin's appeared.
A new body modeled after a human form.
Hwanung's voice trembled.
—He intends to become Dangun himself.