Chapter 205 - Episode 27. Mad God (7)
Chapter 205: Episode 27. Mad God (7)
──────
Karavan, who had listened to the story up to that point, spoke.
“So that was the beginning of the Three God War.”
[It was.]
“I know a little about what happened after that. 《Big Brother》 appeared right after that war, after all.”
Jaehwan silently listened to Karavan and La-Hamad’s story.
From the flow of the conversation, the gist was that the Three Ancient Gods had been annihilated in the Three God War 210,000 years ago, and 《Big Brother》 had become the master of the 《Abyss》.
La-Hamad spoke.
[We separated from Gestalt at that time. More precisely, it would be better to say that we were stripped away.]
That was when Runald, who had been quiet until then, cried out.
“Argh, I still do not understand!”
“Understand what?”
“What are Clothes, anyway? And what does it mean to wear Clothes even though you are naked?”
“You were still thinking about that?”
Karavan muttered as if Runald were pathetic.
“I do not really understand it, but it feels like something incredibly important!”
Jaehwan nodded in agreement with Runald.
“Runald is right. If we do not understand that, we cannot understand why the Longevity Clan became what they are now.”
“Exactly! That is what I have been saying!”
A god and his Follower truly were in sync. Watching the two of them, Karavan’s lips twitched with displeasure.
Runald turned to Jaehwan.
“What exactly are Clothes? Could you define it more simply?”
“Defining it would make it meaningless.”
Of course, it could be roughly explained through words such as ego or personality. Still, that would only be a crude translation. No matter how it was explained, part of its meaning would be lost.
Runald nodded as if he vaguely understood.
“Then I will change the question. You said earlier that the Clothes we wear determine our existence.”
Karavan cut in.
“You mean that thing about looking like you are back scrubbing when you wear a back scrubbing mitt?”
“Yes. I understand that the ‘Clothes’ Jaehwan-nim and the Great Warrior are talking about do not simply mean physical objects. But the more I think about it, the less I understand. For example.”
Runald paused for a beat before continuing.
“Just because Jaehwan-nim is holding a sword does not mean he is a swordsman. Jaehwan-nim could cook with that sword, or commit robbery with it. In that case, is Jaehwan-nim a swordsman, a cook, or a robber? If Clothes truly determine existence, how can that be explained?”
[What an interesting Ouroboros.]
Runald’s eyes widened.
“Pardon?”
La-Hamad continued.
[You are correct. How could a single set of Clothes determine one’s existence?]
La-Hamad’s words completely contradicted the logic that had been laid out so far, and Runald was briefly left speechless.
After a pause, La-Hamad spoke again.
[Even so, Clothes determine existence.]
“What does that mean? Are you playing with words?”
Runald could already guess where this conversation was heading. This person would say something cryptic again, then mutter “Ouroboros” at the end.
A moment later, Runald realized that his prediction had been wrong. La-Hamad looked at him and made a declaration.
[You are a naked boy.]
Slightly bewildered, Runald accepted the statement.
“Yes. I am a naked boy.”
[At the same time, you are Jaehwan’s Follower.]
“A kind and faithful Follower.”
[You are also the friend of the prisoner, Karavan.]
“What nonsense is that? How am I friends with this little brat? I am far older than him!”
La-Hamad continued.
[And you are also the Longevity Clan’s great Ouroboros.]
“That is a little…”
[And you are…]
La-Hamad continued speaking.
It was a list of relationships whose meanings Runald could not understand.
When had Runald, who had steadily answered back, fallen silent?
When had La-Hamad stopped speaking?
When Runald suddenly came to his senses, a thrilling sensation filled his mind.
He muttered in a hollow voice.
“My God. I see. Why did I not know something so obvious?”
Why a prince could still be a prince even when dressed as a beggar.
Why Jaehwan could be a swordsman, a cook, and a robber when he held a sword.
Why no one could become “completely” naked.
Why La-Hamad had listed so many relationships.
As though a view hidden behind dark fog had cleared away, light began to enter Runald’s mind.
“We do not wear only one set of Clothes.”
La-Hamad nodded.
Only then did Runald feel as though he was beginning to understand what Clothes were.
Clothes were not ego or personality. Even so, Clothes were a crucial element that made up a person.
To put it somewhat broadly…
“We are beings made up of countless sets of Clothes.”
Runald looked as though he had received a divine answer after a long Prayer.
La-Hamad did not respond.
La-Hamad only quietly murmured, “Ouroboros.”
“Then what it means to be Gestalt’s ‘Clothes’…”
“It means exactly that. They are Gestalt itself, split into countless pieces.”
La-Hamad looked at Jaehwan with an unreadable expression.
At last understanding everything, Runald’s lips trembled as he failed to hide his shock. That was why they were Gestalt, yet not Gestalt at the same time.
Jaehwan spoke.
“La-Hamad. Why did Gestalt disappear after stripping all of you away?”
[That is…]
“Does it have something to do with Gestalt’s Part?”
Even while listening to the long story, Jaehwan had not overlooked one important fact.
There was one thing La-Hamad had not mentioned during the lengthy history of the Abyss. The final Part of the Three Ancient Gods, never explained even when Deus’s Deus Ex Machina and Catastrophe’s Void Sword had been mentioned.
Jaehwan now understood why Andersen had sent him here.
Two months ago, he had lost to Maiad, who possessed Deus Ex Machina. In the 《Abyss》, only the Three Divine Artifacts could stand against the Three Divine Artifacts.
[You always exceed expectations. Yes. We became like this because of 「Gestalt’s Eye」.]
The last Part of the Three Divine Artifacts, 「Gestalt’s Eye」.
Jaehwan realized that the end of this long philosophical exchange was finally in sight.
Then La-Hamad spoke.
[This time, I will ask the question.]
La-Hamad’s words felt unfamiliar to Jaehwan. Jaehwan had always been the one asking questions.
When Jaehwan nodded, La-Hamad asked,
[What do you think Molting is?]
Jaehwan could not answer. Molting was one of the things he still did not understand. He had come to somewhat understand what Clothes were and what Ouroboros meant, but he could not grasp the meaning of Molting.
“Is it not literally taking off Clothes? It could also be called dividing one’s existence.”
Jaehwan remembered the voices he heard within himself whenever he successfully performed Clothes Shedding. They were the voices of countless sets of Clothes dwelling inside him.
La-Hamad continued questioning him.
[Then do you know why we practice Molting?]
Jaehwan thought about it.
The reason for Molting. If he had to find one, it was to increase World Force, but that could not be the answer.
[You still do not understand. Let me ask this instead. Why does World Force rise when one Molts?]
Why did World Force rise through Molting?
It was a question Jaehwan had never found an answer to.
If Clothes truly were part of one’s existence, as La-Hamad had said, then Molting, the act of shedding Clothes, should reduce World Force rather than increase it. Dividing one’s existence should not raise World Force.
As though noticing Jaehwan’s deep thought, La-Hamad said,
[The answer is this. Molting does not increase World Force.]
“What do you mean?”
[To put it in your terms, Molting is nothing more than dividing one’s existence.]
“Then why does World Force increase?”
[There are only two ways to increase World Force in the 《Abyss》. Kill other gods and take their World Force, or gain Followers who believe in you. There are no exceptions.]
It made no sense. If those were the only two ways to increase World Force, how could Jaehwan’s World Force have increased through Molting?
That was not his only question.
“If that is truly all there is to it, then how did you, how did Gestalt become so strong?”
Jaehwan remembered his conversation with Andersen long ago.
The song of the Naked God who killed no one.
If that song was true, Gestalt was not the type to kill gods and take their World Force.
“Did Gestalt gain World Force through Followers?”
La-Hamad did not answer Jaehwan’s question immediately.
Instead, La-Hamad and the Longevity Clan began singing a short song.
The lonely Naked God
Without even a single friend
Without even a single Follower
The lyrics were like a requiem, but La-Hamad and the Longevity Clan’s voices were incomparably clear. Perhaps because of that, the discord between the lyrics and their voices had something truly Ouroboros-like about it. They seemed to be trying to tell Jaehwan something through that contradiction.
Yet Jaehwan only grew more confused.
“Without Followers too?”
[Belief can exist even without Followers.]
At that moment, something flashed through Jaehwan’s mind.
Every god received Belief from their Followers and increased their World Force.
And Belief could only be received from another.
A pure emotion given by a being unrelated to oneself.
That was why Belief held noble value.
Then what was another?
Simple.
A being that was not “me.”
Jaehwan looked at La-Hamad with bewildered eyes.
La-Hamad was smiling sadly.
There could be no sadder smile.
Gestalt. A god who took no one’s world and forced no world upon anyone.
How could such a god increase World Force?
Jaehwan now knew the answer.
How could anyone be more cruel to themselves than this?
For a long time, Jaehwan looked at each member of the Longevity Clan. They resembled one another, yet were clearly different beings. He considered the vast ages it must have taken for those who had once been one to become complete others.
“Gestalt split itself apart and made itself into its own Followers.”
The loneliest faith in the world.
A way to grow stronger without harming anyone or taking anyone in.
This was the secret of Molting that Gestalt, one of the Three Ancient Gods, had hidden for so long.
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion