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Alchemy of Souls – My Theories

Hello everyone. There are some theories I have written and are scattered in all the “Alchemy of Souls” threads of B.o.D. that have been proved to be correct.

I would like to thank @Packmule3 for giving me free space to write a more detailed post about what I have been thinking about A.o.S. ‘s plot.

So far, we have seen fragments of the past that in every episode reveal vital information on what happened and why. Every little scene that has been shown to us has a meaning, every single time, even though it is in a flashback.

So, I will start from the beginning and then I will go to the present timeline. I am going to use tidbits from Greek mythology and the Archetypical Hero, based on the myths of Heroes, like Heracles / Hercules and Jason and the Argonauts. The first one is known for his labors and the second one is known for his Quest for the Golden Fleece.

As I have written before, Jang Uk is the true Hero of AoS, doing several labors so far. The labors for him represent an esoteric revelation of his true purpose / strength / destiny as a Hero and highlight more of his Quest in the series.

Α.

200 years ago, in Daeho there was a severe drought that made the Kingdom seek the first Jin Matriarch to perform a rain ritual. The woman was blind. We do know that Jin Seol Ran succeeded in her rain ritual. The Heavens gave her not only the requested rain but also the Ice Stone.

As it seems the Ice Stone was found by the Choi Family that were not that powerful as the rest of the Mages, so it makes sense that they used it to their own benefit, bringing havoc in the Kingdom.

Master Seo stepped up. He was also the founder of Songrim and the first powerful mage we know that had the King’s star on his naval chart. Master Seo brought peace to Daeho. Jin Seol Ran also helped him with that labor. They most likely punished the Choi’s and cut them off from doing harm again. We don’t know what actually happened between them or how they died.

As Aristotle said: “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Master Seo hid and didn’t destroy the Ice Stone. We don’t know why he hid it and didn’t destroy it, but my guess is that it has to do with Jin Seol Ran.

Master Seo definitely didn’t give it to Jinyowon. He had seen how the Ice Stone’s power corrupted the Choi’s and he couldn’t trust any other family to have it in their position.

Mage Park Jin asked Master Lee if Master Seo destroyed the artifact. Park didn’t know his whereabouts. So, I take this statement that Park Jin, as the leader of Songrim, didn’t know where the Ice Stone really was. If it was in Jinyowon, everyone would know that. That means that the Ice Stone was never in Jinyowon.

Master Lee, who is Master Seo’s pupil, knows everything, but he is revealing only what he wants to say and to whom.

Since yesterday, we know that the soul who inhabits the Queen’s body is a Shaman from the Choi family. I made a suggestion yesterday, that the Choi’s are not that powerful themselves. So, they want to soul switch bodies, in order to gain access to more stronger bodies aka stronger gates of energy to perform magic.

The Queen is the strongest of them so far. I guess that is Lady’s Seo body that does the work, along with practicing with Ice Rock for so long. That doesn’t mean that they haven’t become stronger after all these years and those souls’ swaps.

Perfect example? Jin Mu.

Jin Mu is not a Jin. His father was married in the Jin family, but his mother should be from the Choi family. That’s why he is loyal to the real Gwangu aka the Shaman. We also found out that the husband of the current Jin Matriarch is Choi himself. In the beginning I believed he was a soul shifter, but it is most likely he changed his identity and entered the family. If he is a soul shifter, the Jin Matriarch would have spotted the blue mark, but she didn’t.

Β.

Jang Kang and his quest for ultimate knowledge made him commit Hubris.

Here is my favorite topic, how the most brilliant student ever became the most unethical character in AoS.

Jang Kang was learning everything too fast for his own good. When the known knowledge was reached, he then tried to seek the untouchable aka the Ice Stone and its sorcery.

What a fool.

The moment Jang Kang had performed the first Alchemy of Soul, that was the moment he started spreading havoc again. In the beginning, it boosted his ego, everyone was coming to him for help. @Packmule3, made an excellent list with his “clients” in Episodes 11+12’s thread.

We do know that the woman in episode 1 had a problem with her son, then Naksu’s father got in the mix as well, but we don’t know why he wanted to soul shift and lastly, the revelation was Jin’s matriarch plea to save her unborn daughter from death.

That girl is BuYeon or MuDeok, who was the outcome of her parents’ lovemaking, but the reason she has affinity with the Ice Stone, is that BuYeon was touched by it and altered forever. I won’t be surprised if BuYeon holds a part of the Ice Stone in her body as a result. I also believe that the Ice Stone “talked” to BuYeon for her destiny, but I will analyze it further below.

When did Jang Kang stop to perform the Alchemy of Souls?

After his foolish soul switch with the late King, had as a result his beautiful and kind wife Do-Hwa become pregnant with Uk. That was the moment when he most likely came to his senses, but it was too late. The Furies have visited him, making him almost mad from guilt. He was responsible for everything he created, but also, he let loose Jin Mu to do more harm in his absence. His downfall was fast and mostly broke him in his psyche. And like the coward he was, actually he ran away, leaving his son behind to fix everything.

C.

Jang Uk and the King’s Star.

Jang Uk is the Hero of the Show. Not only because he has the King’s Star on his naval chart, but because everything that happens to him, brings him towards his destiny.

He is the person who everyone looks down on, when in reality he is the one who can fix everything. So far, his labors are activated by his Master Naksu. Those labors are making him stronger, in order to succeed in his Quest of finding the Ice Stone and keep in check the “monsters” in the room / Daeho.

His labors are not for others to see, but mostly for himself to realize that he is indeed capable of doing something great in his life. His faith in himself is multiplied when he is thinking about Naksu, e.g., HOW to save her and prove something to her and when he begins to love her.

What is his difference with Jang Kang? Everything. Jang Uk is not like his father(s).

The late King might be his Soul father, Jang Kang may be his father in the gene department, but his real father is Songrim’s Park Jin and his mother who raised him Maidservant Kim Do Joo. He grew up in great turmoil, because his gate of energy was closed. Everyone was pampering him, but dared not to cross his father’s order. Everyone looked down on him. Everyone is looking down on him, even though he is getting stronger every single day.

Jang Uk won’t become like his father and won’t reach the Dark Side.

He will not do so, because his love for those people he loves, like Naksu and Kim Do Joo is his driving force. He doesn’t have an Ego like his father did. Jang Uk only wants to prove to everyone that he deserves his father’s position in Cheonbugwan.

Jang Uk is the most ethical character in AoS, a total contrast with his father Jang Kang who is the most unethical.

His Master Naksu is the only person who started to train him and little by little because of his determination and luck, she has started to believe in him. She is also the only one who pushes him towards “his death that changes the level he is in, every single time”.

On the other hand, Kim Do Joo showed him that she can see when he is truly happy and that is what she really wants from him. Her remark showed how much she loves Uk as her own son. Only a loving parent would want her child to be happy.

In the latest episodes of AoS we found out that Master Seo also had a King Star on his naval chart, making stronger the assumption that Jang Uk could be his reincarnation. Up until now, I was certain that Jang Uk wouldn’t want to become a King. This was justified by the scene where the Crown Prince said to Uk to become the best mage in Daeho, while Uk returned to compliment for CP to become the best ruler of Daeho. I am glad that Master Lee came to the rescue by pinpointed that it is not necessary for the King’s Star to become a King. He could become a savor, a hero like Master Seo was.

So, Jang Uk is the archetypical Hero based on the evidence in Greek Mythology who is going to defeat the Bad guys in his Quest. He also has loyal companions and a love interest that is more than a love interest and part of his destiny.

Naksu / Cho Unknown

We don’t know her given name, only her assassin’s one. Her father was Mage Cho who was a constellation mage in Cheonbugwan. We know that he was a soul shifter but we don’t know with whom he changed his soul.

My guess is that Jang Kang used Mage Cho and the body of another Mage in Cheonbugwan to retrieve Jang Uk’s naval chart with the King Star and then Mage Cho returned to his own body. It is the only logical explanation. The thing is why did he run wild after he came back to his own body? What went wrong in his case? This is something that puzzles me because it doesn’t make sense.

Jin Mu took the little girl, a grand mistake of the Four families in my opinion. Jin Mu manipulated her for years to believe that the Four Families killed her father. He used her as a scapegoat, killing the older bodies that were used in Alchemy of Souls and the souls Jin Mu and the others had discarded.

I am glad that Park Jin realized that Jin Mu was behind her training and used her for so many years. Park Jin should leave her alone because it was his responsibility to raise that child. They killed her father and they didn’t search for her as they should. I am glad that Master Lee is protecting her as well, and most likely he will clear her name in the meantime.

Master Lee knows more about the cohabitation of Naksu / Mudeok in the same body and I think that it had happened before. 200 years ago, to be exact.

BuYeon / Mudeok

Her birth is the result of her mother’s plea to Jang Kang. She was not supposed to be born. She was dead in the womb, so her affinity with the Ice Stone and how she understands Energies around her, since is blind herself, means that she is altered and special indeed.

I believe from the beginning that she is part of Prophecy along with Jang Uk and Naksu.

She might be holding a part of the Ice Stone in her Avatar / Body. I also believe that BuYeon knows why she has to step up against the Choi’s. Since she and the Ice Rock are connected, BuYeon knows what is happening that is bringing imbalance and havoc.

Her action to go and sacrifice herself when Naksu performed AoS, reveals that she sensed that Naksu was that powerful. I believe that BuYeon wanted Naksu to take over the Avatar MuDeok, in order to become more resilient. She has to fulfil her Destiny. Naksu’s fate is aligned with BuYeon’s Destiny. There is a chance that Jin Seol Ran’s soul resides to them both, making their duo more powerful that we know.

Questions to answer:

Is Naksu running wild?

The answer is no. She is not running wild. BuYeon is the secondary soul and took over MuDeon’s body – their Avatar – when the primary soul Naksu lost her consciousness and almost died. They were going to die if BuYeon didn’t stop the Eunuch.

How did BuYeon stop the Eunuch?

BuYeon most likely is holding a part of the Ice stone herself in her Avatar aka her body. She was taking back the energy the Eunuch tried to absorb from MuDeok.

Naksu, though, believes she is running wild and she tries to push away Jang Uk who took her in his arms in an embrace. Her posture showed to Uk that she indeed loves him and she doesn’t want him to perish. That is a contradiction with Episode 11 where Naksu says things she doesn’t believe to herself and to Jang Uk as a bravado.

Are they going to split at one point?

Yes. At some point, BuYeon needs to take back her body and go and save Jinyowon, while Naksu has to do the same and finish her own mission. She has to follow Jang Uk, since they are stronger together.

BuYeon has an affinity with the Ice Stone, she can easily bring back Naksu’s body, whether it is burned or not. So BuYeon will be in Season 2, along with Naksu.

With whom Jang Uk is in love?

With Naksu from the very beginning. Naksu and Jang Uk are endgame. He calls her MuDeok because that is the name BuYeon has been using for the past ten years.

Lastly, there is a reason Master Seo wrote in the “Words of Heart” about:

“The faint blue light makes me sigh”

The first thing Jang Uk noticed in MuDeok’s eyes were those blue marks that made him realize that she is indeed a soul shifter and most likely the shadow assassin Naksu, based on the attack movement she did with that crab leg.

So, what does Master Seo truly tell us about his love Jin Seol Ran, that we haven’t deciphered yet? I think this revelation is important and it is also linked to our current OTP. What was her secret?

 

Gifs from liveasbutterflies’ tumblr

source: liveasbutterflies’ tumblr