Chapter 238
Once, Aphoom-Zhah had told him the difference between manifestations, descent forms, and avatars.
The way to distinguish the three was clear.
Manifestations were like robot avatars controlled by gods.
Descent forms were existing vessels into which a god's consciousness and abilities had been transferred.
Avatars were similar to another self of the god.
Therefore, the main body's divine nature and characteristics appeared distinctly.
Of course, avatars were also inferior versions of the main body and inevitably weaker than the main body.
Still, he had generally understood them to be stronger than manifestations or descent forms.
-Crack!
-Bang! Rummmmmmmble... [Rampaging like an avatar of 'disgusting Idra.' I wondered if it had confidence to dare attack with an incomplete body. Literally only 'confidence' was there?]
Manifestations weren't necessarily weak in power,
And avatars weren't unconditionally strong.
What mattered was the quality of the 'vessel' that contained them.
The river that had been flowing quietly beside them suddenly rose like a massive dam and struck Tika.
The river water had already frozen solid according to Aphoom-Zhah's will,
And Tika, who collided with the incredibly hard murky ice, shattered the ice thoroughly even as she fell to the ground.
Sharp shattering sounds like glass and noise like concrete collapsing echoed everywhere.
Immediately after landing, Tika rolled on the ground several times to reduce the impact, then rushed at him with her black eyes sparkling.
Aphoom-Zhah didn't even sneer.
Instead, the ice fragments Tika had broken while falling trembled minutely, then flew toward her as she charged.
Each fragment sparkled beautifully like crystal,
But in terms of piercing flesh and spattering blood, they were no different from terrifying killing tools.
[How bothersome...]
Sharp fragments blocked Tika's path.
Retreating to avoid the pressing fragments, she firmly grasped an ice chunk that flew toward her head.
A crunching sound could be heard faintly, but the ice never broke.
From the mouth of the one struggling with the ice in front of Aphoom-Zhah, a sudden scream burst forth.
The hard, smooth ice grew crystals in spiky protrusions as if multiplying. The crystals that suddenly sprouted while she gripped it tightly pierced through her palm.
Aphoom-Zhah's grayish-white eyes flashed coldly.
He didn't miss that moment.
The flowing dark red blood mixed with ice.
The ice that fed on blood began to climb up her arm in white as it invaded her body.
[This is the problem with incomplete avatars. Isn't that right, Dream Witch? All living things contain a certain amount of moisture.]
Tika let out an angry roar. Her voice no longer seemed like it could be called human.
The moment her arm with the heavy ice chunk attached was driven into the ground and she lost balance and knelt on one knee, another fragment pierced Tika's shoulder.
[Aaaaaaaah!]
[Howl to your heart's content, young avatar. The more you do, the more I enjoy it.]
Black blood poured out in streams. It was like a burst water spout rather than blood.
Aphoom-Zhah stepped on the head of Tika, who was screaming in pain.
Then he looked back at him.
[How is it, believer? Do you like it?]
Before answering Aphoom-Zhah, he ran to the collapsed Shan and lifted him to examine him.
There was a wound on his shoulder that had been buried in the grass and he hadn't noticed.
After wiping away the dried blood, tooth marks were clearly visible. Probably Tika's.
Other than that, there were no injuries.
Only after confirming that he was breathing normally could he finally feel relieved.
"...Thank goodness..."
[Believer. Am I not asking you? Have your ears become blocked in the meantime? What is that fellow that made you turn pale and run? Shall I make him kneel too?]
"What are you talking about, no! He's an ordinary person!"
[Whether in another universe or here, the believer's consistent surprise looks funny.]
"This isn't the time for jokes."
He laid the unconscious Shan back down.
Tika, still under Aphoom-Zhah's foot, was writhing in agony from the ice that had invaded her arm, making incomprehensible strange sounds instead of human speech.
"...That child."
[You mean Idra's avatar? It's not a complete avatar, but it's not human either. Understand it as being in between.]
"Can't something be done? Isn't there any way to turn her back into a human?"
[It's already too late. Foolish believer, what are you saying when the visible parts have all changed? Changing is easy, but going back is difficult.]
"Really no method at all? Do we have to leave her like this?"
[You're really demanding only troublesome things.]
Aphoom-Zhah clicked his tongue irritably.
[Have you ever seen water freeze, foolish believer? Once change begins, it cannot be reversed. Even if all water left out in winter freezes completely, you cannot melt the ice back.]
"But when global warming comes, even winter becomes warm."
[What are you saying?]
"No, what I mean is... couldn't we slow down the rate at which water freezes? Even if it will freeze someday, at least while that child is alive, couldn't we make it so she can't see completely frozen water?"
[There is some logic to that.]
He who had been stepping on Tika's head lowered his foot, thought for a moment, then answered.
[For that to happen, this thing must escape from Idra's sphere of influence. These things must live their entire lives in a place where they cannot speak Idra's name and cannot contact Idra's avatars. Complete isolation.]
"But Idra has already split up and we don't even know what's where."
[That's the disadvantage. Idra can become anything it has eaten. Even this being cannot guarantee whether there's anywhere from underground to sky that Idra's hands and eyes don't reach.]
"Then..."
[Another method is for this thing to become my believer.]
Aphoom-Zhah's believer?
As he just blinked in bewilderment at the unexpected words, Aphoom-Zhah looked at him as if he were pathetic and explained.
[If this thing becomes my believer and serves me, then I too can exert some degree of influence over it. If that happens, I could transform the smell of Idra lingering around here into my territory.]
"Wait, is that possible? Then why have you been stuck on the other side of the sea until now? Why didn't you freeze the sea and come here or something...?"
[Impudent! That lazy believer didn't call me but instead fooled around and lazed about! That disgusting Idra might live by feeding on what it eats, but a noble lord of bitter cold like this being is different!]
"Ah, I understand. I get it, so don't be so angry."
[You weren't even born on a planet I rule! You came to some strange planet and didn't even try to summon me! Do you know how much magical power is needed to come from that planet to here! If a stupid and lazy believer doesn't call, this being cannot stand here in a powerful and majestic form! What exactly does the believer know!]
"I understand, so stop nagging."
[Impudent, impudent!]
While Aphoom-Zhah was glaring at him angrily, a faint groan was heard from below.
Looking down in surprise, Shan was looking up at him with a deeply frowning face.
"Ye...sung?"
"Shan, I'll explain how this happened later. Anyway, I've returned. I'm sorry. You waited a long time."
"Ah..."
He looked at him with a face that seemed to be smiling and crying at the same time, then nodded slightly.
Then suddenly, as if coming to his senses, he sat up abruptly.
"Yesung, Tika!"
"Calm down! You have a wound on your shoulder. I haven't treated it at all yet. And Tika is over there."
When Shan turned his head, there was Tika's miserable state, making gurgling sounds.
Seeing that sight, Shan stared at her with desperate emptiness.
He murmured.
"...If only I had waited a little longer. If I had known Yesung would come today, I would have told her to wait just a little longer."
"Shan."
"Is Tika... gone now?"
From the circumstances, Tika had attacked Shan first.
Shan must have been hurt without being able to run away or attack her.
And in the process, he would have realized that the Tika before his eyes was not the Tika he knew.
He grabbed the arm of Shan, who was holding back tears and slightly shaking his shoulders.
"No."
"...What?"
"It's not too late yet. I was just discussing that with him."
"Not too late? Who is that person?"
"Shan, listen carefully to what I say. Honestly, in the current situation, there's only one option."
Shan's face was stained with fear.
"I don't want to. I don't want to, Yesung. I said no. That's the one thing that can't happen."
"How do you know what I'm about to say-"
"Don't say you're going to kill Tika! I'll beg you, please. I'm asking like this. How can you kill her? Even if she's changed like that, she's not even fifty yet - how can you say you'll kill her? That's not right, that's not right. It can't be. Yesung. That one thing, please...!"
Shan finally cried out in tears.
He silently looked at Aphoom-Zhah, who was beside Tika.
Aphoom-Zhah tilted his head and readily admitted.
[Believer, you spoke too frighteningly. It's your fault. Have you developed a hobby of making inferior beings cry? Really, believer.]
Was this his fault? Was this his fault?
*
"Sniff."
"Hmph."
He roughly pulled up a handful of grass and scrubbed Shan's face with it.
Shan's eyes and the area around them had turned red in the meantime.
"Why did you think such scary thoughts? I never had such thoughts even for a moment."
"...Because Yesung's face looked serious."
"But that doesn't mean you say I'm going to kill Tika. That's too much."
"That was my misunderstanding... I'm sorry, Yesung."
Shan mumbled embarrassedly.
While he suddenly cried and pleaded not to kill Tika, he had looked back on his past.
What had he done so wrong this time to receive such misunderstanding?
Only after he first calmed Shan down, introduced Aphoom-Zhah, and explained at length what he had intended to propose did Shan stop crying.
Seeing things like this, even if they were seventy or fifty years old, children were still children.
"So in the end, if we trust that person... Aphoom-Zhah, Tika won't become a monster either?"
"Similar. But there are several disadvantageous conditions. For example, since Aphoom-Zhah governs cold air and ice, if his influence reaches the land where Shan and Tika live, it will interfere with trees growing and plant growth."
Aphoom-Zhah had warned in advance.
The place where his power extended would become winter land.
If that happened, there could be major problems for the two's survival.
By his guess, if he told them this, Shan would probably show reluctance.
That was understandable, because this was a matter of potentially dying, beyond just liking or disliking it.
Living a lifetime fighting cold on frozen ground was a harsh thing.
But Shan, who heard his words, answered without a moment's hesitation.
"That's fine."
"Really? It won't be cold like now, but you'd have to spend your entire life in a place so cold you can't move your hands?"
"I know. I can't fully imagine that cold right now. No matter how much Yesung tells me, my imagination has limits."
"But you still say it's fine?"
"Yes."
Shan's will was firm.
He looked at him and asked.
"I like you two and hope you live long, but even I can't readily recommend that choice in the current situation."
"I know that too."
"But you still say you'll serve Aphoom-Zhah... Why?"
"If you ask why."
He had a troubled expression. He seemed to be in difficulty, or perhaps appeared unable to grasp how to put it into words.
After choosing his words for a long time, Shan said.
"The desire to see someone for as long as possible is natural. For Yesung too, and for Tika too. From Yesung's perspective, you might say I'm too immature, but,"
He smiled slightly.
"In the end, this is a story about love. Like what Yesung did for Anutara, and like what you've bestowed on us."
A story about love.
Love? What was he talking about?
He suddenly snapped to attention as if doused with cold water.
"This... this isn't love, Shan."
"But Yesung loved Anutara, didn't you?"
Did the world look warm and soft to his eyes, as if it were full of love?
This was a world where the moment you lost your mind, you'd see your own limbs being torn apart with your own eyes.
Had it seemed like he loved Yurik? He knew his attitude toward him had been soft.
But this was because he had perceived Yurik as pitiable.
Why had he thought Yurik was pitiful? What was the reason he had found it sad to see him craving affection he couldn't receive?
Someone had asked him.
Please pity other people. Please think of them with compassion. Not everyone is like you.
- Be good to things other than yourself.
He couldn't remember now. Why had he tried to grant that person's request?
Something was going wrong.
Not the world, but something inside him was turning strangely.