Chapter 104 - Episode 14. The Naked God (4)
Chapter 104: Episode 14. The Naked God (4)
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Jaehwan looked down at his biceps and forearms, their bulging lines on full display. His muscles seemed to exhale as though they were breathing, and even at a glance, they gleamed with an extraordinary sheen.
It felt like he had gotten a little stronger.
By his estimate, his Strength had increased more than tenfold compared to when he had been in 《Chaos》. He had known from Mulack’s memories that the 《Abyss》 possessed techniques like this, but experiencing it for himself was different.
Just as Mulack’s records said. Spiritual power is gone.
As Jaehwan slowly breathed in the air around him, he realized he could no longer sense the spiritual power that had filled 《Chaos》.
The 《Abyss》 was a completely different world from 《Chaos》.
Unlike 《Chaos》, where one could take in spiritual power and use it to manifest Skills, the 《Abyss》 had extremely limited resources available.
It was a place where one could only wield power through the World Force latent within one’s own soul.
When he carefully examined the surface of his muscles through 「Doubt」, he saw World Force taking the form of complex Setting formulas.
Strength Enhancement... Is that the power of that 「Stripped Naked」 or whatever Setting?
[It’s “Naked,” okay? It means you take your clothes off yourself. Taking them off and getting stripped are completely different!]
...
[Are you ignoring me right now?]
His head already started to throb.
The girl who kept babbling about how he had eaten her or whatever had refused to leave his head since earlier.
The girl was not the only problem.
“God! God!”
Jaehwan barely managed to catch the head of the boy who kept rushing at his naked body.
“God! Why are you rejecting me?”
“I told you. I am not your god.”
“You are my god now!”
What the hell was this mess the moment he arrived in the 《Abyss》?
This is worse than a crowded market.
Jaehwan let out a deep sigh. Meanwhile, the pretty boy Runald could not stop admiring the imposing appearance of his new god.
Holy World Force radiated from that bare body!
On top of that, there was the sheer brutality of sending the Followers of the intermediate god Belkain flying in a single blow!
Even if the 「Naked」 Setting was a Law-type Setting with an advantage over enhancement-type Settings, that monstrous strength far surpassed the Andersen Setting Runald knew.
“God Jaehwan!”
“I said I am not a god.”
“Please make me your Follower!”
Andersen’s voice rang through Jaehwan’s head.
[I did not think Runald was like this... He was acting like he would die without me until just now, and he is already committing God Severance?]
“I am sure Andersen-nim will allow me to become your Vicegerent!”
[I did not allow it?]
“I know she will! God Jaehwan has already become one with Andersen-nim. I can tell just by seeing you use the 「Naked」 Setting. So following God Jaehwan is not a betrayal of Andersen-nim!”
[...Hey, do not accept this brat as your Follower. Got it?]
“Both of you, shut up.”
The majestic World Force spreading from Jaehwan’s soul made Runald and Andersen clamp their mouths shut at once. Startled by the pressure, Runald let out a hiccup.
Jaehwan slowly opened his mouth.
“Let’s start with the basics.”
* * *
If the 《Great Realm》 was the territory of Lords, the 《Abyss》 was the land of gods. The difference was that the gods of the 《Abyss》 managed their “territories” far more thoroughly and carefully than the Lords of the 《Great Realm》.
In the 《Abyss》, the domains of gods were called Sites.
Their scale varied, from the Large Sites of supreme gods who ruled much of the 《Abyss》 to the Small Sites of low-grade and intermediate gods, some no larger than villages.
For example, there were eight Large Sites in the 《Abyss》, each with its own name, from 〈Babel〉, the First Site, to 〈Caspion〉, the Eighth Site.
“So a Site is basically the same thing as land?”
“Land? Um, it is similar, but not quite the same.”
“Explain.”
Jaehwan’s 『Record of the Abyss』 had been created from Mulack’s memories, so it often lacked even basic information.
Fortunately, Runald began explaining without any suspicion.
“A Site is not simply a unit used to divide areas. How should I put it? If I had to describe it, it would be a kind of sanctuary...”
“A sanctuary?”
“As you said, for low-grade and intermediate gods, a Site is similar to land. But it changes once they become high-grade gods. They can materialize their Unique Worlds through their Sites. To high-grade gods, a Site is practically a weapon itself.”
Jaehwan thought of Catastrophe.
Perhaps 《Chaos》 had been a single Site to Catastrophe.
Catastrophe had wielded power close to omnipotence in 《Chaos》. Did that mean there were others here who could use power like Catastrophe’s?
“Of course, even for high-grade gods, exercising World Force across an entire Site is burdensome, so most use the form of 「Settings」. The ‘Naked’ Setting God Jaehwan possesses is one of them.”
Watching Runald rattle on so smoothly, Jaehwan thought this kid who worshipped him as a god might be more useful than expected.
Still, he could not easily decide whether to take Runald with him. He had already been dragged into trouble after making Allies in 《Chaos》 for no good reason. Besides, Runald looked like an innocent child no matter how he looked at him.
“Um, God Jaehwan.”
“Leave out the god part.”
“Jaehwan-nim.”
“What?”
“You can hear Andersen-nim’s voice, right?”
“I can.”
“Then, um...”
“What?”
“You will not kill Andersen-nim, will you?”
Only then did Jaehwan understand why the kid had been following him around. Runald kept talking about serving him as a god, but in truth, he was saying all that for the god named Andersen.
The boy was afraid of losing his god.
But Jaehwan knew.
[You are going to kill me now, right?]
In the end, the boy would lose his god.
[Yes, I expected it. I felt it the moment I entered you. I never expected you to be the rumored “Lord Slayer.”]
The moment Jaehwan absorbed Andersen, they came to share some of their memories. Andersen looked into Jaehwan, and Jaehwan looked into Andersen.
As a result, they learned things about each other. Some of those things were not easily forgiven.
At least, not by Jaehwan.
Among memories spanning nearly ten thousand years, Jaehwan had precisely read a tiny fraction within Andersen.
They were memories from the moment Andersen had been born as a god.
“You were a Cultivator.”
[Yes, that is right.]
“Why did you do such things? Did you want to become a god that badly?”
[It sounds cowardly when I say it this way, but honestly, I do not know either. As you saw, all gods lose every memory from when they were Cultivators.]
Through Andersen’s memories, Jaehwan learned a little more about what gods were.
Just as Jaehwan, an Awakened One, had shed the shell of an ordinary human, all Higher Beings who became gods lost their memories from when they had been Cultivators.
But just because they had forgotten did not mean everyone else had.
“Does something you forgot become something that never happened?”
Jaehwan still vividly remembered what had happened in the Tower of Nightmares. Yet the being responsible had become a lofty god and forgotten every nightmare they had inflicted.
[I know what you are trying to say.]
“I doubt it.”
[I have no intention of denying what I did to become a god. Mutation does not erase what I did.]
There had been a time when Andersen had driven countless Products into the nightmares of the Tower in order to be reborn as a god. Andersen did not deny the history she could not remember.
[I will not ask you to understand. But do not decide what my relationship with that child is just because I was once a Cultivator.]
Hearing those words, Jaehwan remembered a passage from Mulack’s 『Record of the Abyss』.
「There are souls born for a single purpose. Angels and demons are such beings. These unfortunate Higher Beings are born solely to become Cultivators.」
Unlike humans, they were creatures born with a purpose from the beginning. Higher Beings who spent their entire lives serving that purpose, forced to live that way.
Perhaps they had never had another choice to begin with.
Jaehwan understood that.
But understanding and accepting were entirely different matters.
Jaehwan was human.
A human who had been a Product and suffered under Cultivators.
He himself did not understand why he could overlook even Sirwen, a Dream Demon, yet remained so harsh toward this small girl god. Perhaps it was a matter of emotional distance. Compared to the Dream Demons who created the Towers, the Cultivators who cultivated those Towers stood far closer to Jaehwan’s hatred.
Whether she understood Jaehwan’s feelings or not, Andersen continued.
[It must be strange to you, an Awakened One. The relationship between me, once a Cultivator, and that child, once a Product.]
“...”
[Still, there is at least one thing I can say. Not every god is what you think they are.]
Andersen was not lying. Since Jaehwan had allowed Andersen into his Unique World, he knew for certain.
Surprisingly, this small girl god cherished her Follower, even more than she cherished herself.
[You may kill me. But my feelings belong only to me.]
Andersen had been consumed by Jaehwan’s Unique World. In other words, Jaehwan could erase her from his world at any time.
Even so, he could not bring himself to do it. He could not imagine how much pain that would cause the boy before him.
That was when Runald began twisting his body grotesquely and crying out in pain.
“Ugh... Ngh...!”
Jaehwan hurriedly checked Runald’s pulse. World Force was running wild at random inside Runald’s body.
[No, already...! No, Runald!]
Andersen’s memories flowed into Jaehwan’s mind.
[He is becoming a Lost One.]
A Lost One.
A monster created when someone was forcibly separated from their god.
Jaehwan had once heard ENIAC explain Lost Ones in the 「Strange Factory」. The Factory Masters, including ENIAC, had also been Lost Ones.
―Among Deus’s Followers, only a Few, including us Factory Masters, have retained our sanity. The rest had their World Force run wild and became monsters. You will probably see them if you go to the 《Abyss》, Jaehwan-ssi.
The loneliness of losing one’s god. The despair of losing one’s world. Monsters born from those things, Lost Ones.
If he left Runald like this, the boy before him would become one as well.
[Please save Runald.]
“...”
[You can kill me if you want, so please save him.]
“Why should I?”
[You are human. Please, please save this child!]
It was a strange thing to say.
A god who had once been a Cultivator was appealing to his humanity, a human’s humanity.
Ironically, that question made Jaehwan question himself.
Am I still human?
Could I still say that?
“How do I do it?”
[Accept him as your Follower.]
“What is the price?”
[I will leave your head.]
Jaehwan immediately understood what she meant.
After considering it for a moment, he nodded.
“...Fine.”
Following Andersen’s explanation, Jaehwan carried out the process of accepting a new Follower.
Then, a faint Thread formed between Jaehwan and Runald.
It was a link connecting a god and a Follower.
Within that firm connection, Jaehwan felt Andersen’s presence in his head gradually fading away.
* * *
Followers came to see the world through the “Worldview” their god saw.
Depending on how a god viewed the world, their Followers were forcibly made to share that vision.
A short while later, Runald regained consciousness and realized he had entered a new “Worldview.”
...A new world. Is this Jaehwan-nim’s world?
Feeling the reassuring connection, Runald looked around. The only Unique World he knew was Andersen’s, which reminded him of a fairy tale.
What would this new Unique World look like?
With a strange sense of anticipation, young Runald looked up at the sky.
Then he froze in horror.
“An... eye?”
A gigantic eye stared down at him from the sky, dripping blood. Black crows flew around it. At the ominous cries pouring from the crows, Runald unconsciously hugged his shoulders.
That was not the end.
When Runald saw Belkain’s Followers sprawled around him, he cried out as if screaming.
“C-Corpses?”
There were corpses crawling with maggots.
The corpses twitched as though they might rush Runald at any moment, and damp, sinister laughter leaked from their mouths.
The corpses came closer, one step at a time.
“N-No way.”
In the new world created by his new god, Runald, the Follower, fainted with foam at his mouth.
* * *
As Runald looked around once and immediately lost consciousness, Andersen spoke.
[What the hell did you show a child?]
“...”
[A giant eye, crows, corpses... What Follower would want to enter a world like this?]
Jaehwan’s lips twitched. He remembered the Dark Fragrance Lord saying something similar once. Something along the lines of his world not being popular in the Abyss.
“Who told him to become a Follower on his own?”
Jaehwan lifted the collapsed Runald to his feet. Andersen also watched through Jaehwan’s eyes.
[...Why did you stop me from disappearing?]
“...”
[You promised. If you saved that child, I would disappear from your world...]
“Prove your value.”
[What?]
“Prove that I have no reason to kill you.”
At Jaehwan’s words, Andersen remained silent for a long time.
Then, after a while, Andersen’s emotions reached Jaehwan’s mind.
Gratitude? Willingness? How could he describe it?
The last feeling Andersen conveyed to Jaehwan was something close to divine helplessness.
Andersen mumbled weakly, then barely forced out the following words.
[I will prove it.]
Pretending not to hear her, Jaehwan carried Runald on his back and began walking through the brush.
For some reason, he thought he saw the image of a little girl sitting before him and bursting into tears.
And so, the journey of the Naked God began.
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