Alchemy of Souls

There is love. There is hatred. There are hidden desires. There is a struggle for power. There is fantasy.  There is sorcery. There are rebirths. There are martial arts. There is thrill. There is suspense. Not a single dull moment. And if you ask me to describe all this in just 3 words, then my answer is "Alchemy of souls". Complete entertainment package.

The story starts with the ailing King of Daeho and Gwanju Jang Gang exchanging their bodies by performing alchemy of souls. The King in the body of Jang Gang spends quality time with Do Hwa (Jang Gang's wife) impregnating her and then dies leavimg behind an heir for the throne. The child is born under the King's star. 

Naksu is a shadow assasin and a soul shifter. She is a terrific and accomplished fighter and already mastered Jipsu, Ryusu and Chisu (refer glossary). Tansu is her speciality. Songrim leader Park Jin is on the trail of Naksu and injures her badly in a battle. She manages to perform alchemy of souls before she dies. Her sword and dead body is found.

The child born under the King's star, Jang Uk is left in the care of Park Jin of Songrim with clear instructions that his gate of energy should not be opened at any cost. So far Jang Uk has changed 12 masters and he is enduring ridicule from everyone as he has not managed to open his gate of energy. He is in search of a master. 

Naksu's soul has entered into a body of a very frail and blind girl Mu-deok. Even though Naksu is an accomplished fighter, she is not able to use her powers due to very weak body of Mu-deok. But after Naksu's soul enters into her body, she is able to see. She is trying to find ways to gain back her powers. 

Jin is one of the most powerful matriarchal mage family led by Jin Ho-gyeong and is a guardian of many powerful magical relics. Her elder daughter, Jin Bu-yeon, who is blind but is a very powerful priestess, is missing for 10 years. Ho-gyeong is still searching for her daughter. 

Jin Mu along with his accomplice the Queen (Shaman Choi) are the biggest and most wicked villains. The central theme of the drama is finding and possessing ice stone for becoming immortal and getting extra power. This is also a journey of elite fighter Naksu to Mu-deok to Jin Bu-yeon and Jang Uk fulfilling their destiny. There are many more characters who have their part in the story. Their fates get entangled due to performing forbidden magic alchemy of souls. 

The drama is fast paced and action packed. Whether Naksu gets back her powers?? Who is Mu-deok?? What's Mu-deok's relationship with Bu-yeon?? Whether Jang-Uk is able to open his gate of energy? Who helps Jang Uk in mastering various skills? Whether ice stone is found?? Whether Jang Uk's true identity is discovered? Will he get a love of his life?? Who wields the ice stone?? With so many powerful characters coming together with varied motives, the end result has to be either chaos or action packed drama. In this case, it is action packed drama pickled with all human emotions - love, hatred, greed, thirst power, urge for knowledge, sense of achievement, happiness, sorrows, wickedness... Not a single dull moment. Tune in to "Alchemy of souls" 

You will come across a lot of new jargon throughout drama. So giving the glossary for easy reference:

Alchemy of souls: This is name of sorcery/ spell by which souls switch their bodies snd it is a forbidden magic. 

Mage: Mages are the magicians who have abilities to manipulate energy, wield spells, and perform various types of magic. 

Jipsu: The ability to gather the energy of water.

Ryusu: The ability to gain energy from the flow of water. This ability is a must skill to unsheathe a mage sword.

Chisu:  The ability to control the energy in the atmosphere.

Hwansu: It represents a state of mastery over one's energy and allows for the seemingly effortless execution of alchemy of souls.  The ability to perform soul-shifting, specifically the conversion of water to fire and vice versa, or near-perfect elemental control. 

Tansu: Tansu is an advanced technique of fighting which involves manipulating water, allowing for a variety of magical feats, including gathering water energy, drawing energy from water flow, and controlling atmospheric energy.

Ice Stone: This is a powerful, ethereal entity with the ability to manipulate the energy of the sky and earth and is a source of immense power. The Ice Stone is not a fixed object but rather a manifestation of energy that can shift between different forms and states, like fire, wind, water, or even change its size. 

Show in a Nutshell: 

Audio: Korean, English,  Japanese,  Thai

Subtitles available in: English, Korean, Arabic,  Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese 

 

Year: 2022

No. of episodes: Part 1: 20, Part 2: 10

Where to watch: Netflix

Category: Fantasy, Romantic, Thriller