I was a little speechless after binging this show over 3 days. Not many show affected me this way but it did and I was surprised.
On paper it is a low profile web drama of 24 episodes running about 30mins each. Short by c-drama standard. It started off as a decent rom-com with a dose of fantasy. It centred around characters in a story written by the FL coming to life on her 24th birthday and interacting with the FL and her friends. Lots of zany shenanigans as those fantasy characters tried to adjust to modern life (they were from ancient Babylon). Similar storyline has been used before but the show did a good job drawing us in and keeping our interests. The casting was very good. You don't have to suspend your disbelieve. They hired a number of good actors with mixed heritage and one main character even spoke Akkadian during the entire show and that is respect to the source material.

Around mid show, the tone changed and it became a bit of a thriller with a touch of the supernatural. It was a rollercoaster ride from that point on. The show swung back to romance then back to thriller plus historical intrigue and some light-hearted moments and back again. Yes, it is a bit manic and hectic when you look at it from a distance but if you are still watching by the 2/3 point, you are shipping the CP's and the story would have hooked you.

Speaking of romance, they weren't sugar coated fluff but love that transcended time and the great divide. I have to give the writer full credit for the teleport to Mount Wu running gag. It is next level! The last few episodes are heavy with the feels and the pace finally slowed. A sense of melancholy and reflection coloured the later scenes.

The writing is no doubt a key element of this drama. It is good, surprisingly good for a short drama. It dashed around both time and space but the core promise was always solid. Layers of revelations are peeled away. Yes, it can look messy but the ground work for later development was laid well in advance and it is more about gathering all the threads and pulling at the right time to turn chaos into cohesion.

The ending was bittersweet and not your typical 11th hour miracle. I accept and appreciate that because it would have betrayed the whole narrative and destroy any pretence of logic (but I was torn, damnit). We did get some kind of closure for the protagonists. We can derive some comfort in knowing that they were not forgotten and they are learning to live with the hands they were dealt. There is hope after all.

Production value is good. I heard that it was a labour of love with years of post production. They actually filmed on location in Morocco and Paris which is rare even for big budget dramas.

I'll admit that the transition is not always smooth, there are the odd plot holes and some scenes towards the end were contrived and heavy handed (aka burying the mask) but I'll accept the flaws in exchange for the complete package.
OST was good. I still can't get the opening bars of the theme song out of my head.

This show is not for everyone. The whiplash change in story telling and layered plot might put off or confuse some. If you are expecting a fluffy rom-com or an action thriller then watch no further.

It is a wild ride to be sure so test the water with your toes. Be warned, the water is deep and quite murky. :)

>>>>>P.S. There is a bonus ep.25. It is not an alternate ending but it extended the show beyond the end of ep.24. It provide some extra fan service scenes so if you are happy with the original bittersweet ending then please ignore this episode. Otherwise, it is a must watch for the fans of this show. :D The link to a Chinese only video is the comments section in MDL for this show. Thank you to cyn lynn for the heads-up. :)