Chapter 241
[Does the believer feel no emotion?]
"What are you suddenly talking about out of nowhere?"
It was the fourth day since parting from Shan and Tika.
Aphoom-Zhah, who was watching him lying sprawled on the grass, asked.
[In other times, I remember you couldn't be this cold. Has my believer changed?]
"Really? How was I back then?"
[You were emotional.]
"So I'm not like that now. But back then, there must have been reasons to live emotionally. Now there's no benefit to doing so."
[Are you saying humans can selectively choose the emotions they can feel?]
"Looking at the situation, that's the only way it can be. ...What's so funny?" [Nothing. Believer.]
Even though it was an obvious statement, Aphoom-Zhah laughed pleasantly.
He wondered what it was. As if he knew something that only he didn't know.
Talking with Aphoom-Zhah reminded him of when Shan had told him that he loved Yurik.
"Let me ask one thing. Do I look strange to you too?"
[In what way?]
"I don't really know either. But something seems strange. Things I thought were natural originally weren't like that."
[Hmm.]
"I need to know this in detail. But even when I try to look back at past cycles, I can't tell well. Of course I can remember. I know what happened and how. Because they were things I experienced. But somehow."
He thought it felt like it wasn't him who had been there.
Had it really been him who had gotten so vividly angry and cried?
If the current him was strange, it seemed better to fix it somehow.
Before he could ask that, a cool body temperature fell over his closed eyes.
It was Aphoom-Zhah's hand.
[Foolish believer, you think too much.]
"......"
[The past is the past, and since you've crossed many timelines, it's natural you'd feel disconnection. It's only natural that your past self differs from your current self, so why do you torment yourself saying the present isn't like the past?]
"Is that so?"
[That's right, believer. You ignorant human. Whatever the past was like, there's only one believer here and now. So wouldn't that be fine? In this world, only the fact of existence is truth.]
"...Is that so?"
[Believe it, since your god is personally telling you this, believer. This being liked the old believer too, but I'm very fond of you as you are now.]
"You say disgusting things too."
[Being consistently impudent is truly admirable.]
Aphoom-Zhah withdrew his hand.
The lingering cold made it difficult to open his eyes immediately, so he couldn't know what expression Aphoom-Zhah had made when saying those words.
But perhaps this was Aphoom-Zhah's way of comforting him.
His anxious feelings subsided somewhat at those words.
"If you find me admirable, help me a lot from now on."
[I'm already doing that. You're probably the only believer who uses a god so thoroughly.]
"Can I use you even more from now on?"
[What kind of extraordinary thing are you planning to do?]
"For instance."
When he swept the ground, the grass blades caught in his hand were ticklish.
"Going to find Idra's avatars who are probably in a bad mood right about now with my own feet."
[That would be quite a radical move.]
"Right?"
[Believer.]
"Yeah."
[You're serious, aren't you?]
"Of course. Would I joke about something like this?"
[I like it, believer. Let's say you safely meet Idra's avatar. How will you oppose it? It will crush you before you can even blink once.]
He had a good idea for that.
He extended one hand to Aphoom-Zhah. Now that he looked, he was still smiling.
[Really?]
"I've done it once before. The second time won't be that scary. Even if the Pnakotic doesn't exist in this era, I haven't forgotten what I saw in Gallo. That too is part of the truth."
[Believer, my foolish and impious little believer.]
A hand of ice identical to Leandros's, yet not completely the same, grasped his hand.
Intense cold traveled up through his blood vessels.
In the pain of ice piercing beneath his flesh, Aphoom-Zhah whispered.
[I like you best as you are now after all.]
*
In one corner of the planet was a mountain peak that wouldn't break despite countless winds.
The barren mountain where not a single blade of grass grew was also treacherous in terrain,
So climbing it once required the resolve to throw away one's life.
At the summit of the mountain that no living creature could carelessly approach, there was only one giant bird.
The bird didn't build a nest. When it slept, it looked down at the world from the highest rock.
For hunting, it spread wings massive enough to cover the sky and descended to the ground.
Eyes that flashed as if seeing through all things,
Sharp beak and hidden teeth that would make any enemy retreat.
The mountain's herald that dominated the vast empty sky where no one existed yet.
...Such a monster had an uninvited guest visit after a long time.
A person crossing rocks where one wrong step could mean a fall.
Wind blowing from the heights greatly inflated a worn white cape. Red hair was also scattered about.
What he held in his hand was just a stick being used as a walking staff.
But the man hummed as if in a good mood.
"Believer, can you feel it? You climbed all the way here with your scrawny arms and legs. Didn't you say you absolutely couldn't climb up? ...No, I wasn't particularly saying your body was useless."
Another big laugh burst out.
The man asked and answered by himself as if someone was beside him.
His worn sandals dangled pitifully as if the straps would break, but the man paid no mind and continued jumping around.
"That's right. Was this the fourth one? Not much left now. The humans you left behind are also faithfully praying and devoting themselves. Did I tell you they made an altar for me? ...No, that's strange. At most they just offer living fish or flowers. You're too surprised, believer."
Anyone who saw would surely have doubted the man's mental state.
However, while chattering, the man stubbornly climbed the treacherous mountain and reached near the summit.
At a height that seemed to touch the clouds, looking down revealed a wondrous sight.
Aphoom-Zhah, wearing the body of Yesung, a god who had never seen such things with human eyes, asked himself.
"How is it? ...Of course it would be beautiful. You couldn't have climbed to such a place to see it with your wretched body."
Aphoom-Zhah laughed after a brief pause.
"Enjoy it to your heart's content. But before that."
A shadow crossing the blue sky was flying from over there.
What had seemed tiny grew larger and larger as it approached. The eagle-like head had fierce and savage eyes.
"Idra's avatar has come out to greet us."
Massive wings that covered the sun.
If that thing landed here, it would surely be crushed to death by the weight.
However, he maintained a leisurely attitude.
"So, have you decided? I hope it won't take long."
Because this being's believer would probably die before then.
The god who added that listened quietly to his believer's voice, then suddenly showed a satisfied expression.
"As expected."
The descent form of the god who had received a promise of appropriate compensation reached toward the sky.
The hand, white without a trace of blood, gleamed palely in the sunlight.
Cold wind blew and changed direction.
The bird's body tilted slightly in the sudden gust.
But that was only momentary.
When the powerless hand pointed at the monster bird, the sky shook.
By the time the bird realized something was wrong and began to turn, it was already too late.
The clouds brought by the wind descended, and what was full of moisture was torn apart piece by piece under the god's will and solidified.
Transparent as ice and light as water vapor in appearance, but each strike was deadly.
The descent form with transparent bladed weapons aimed at the bird with only his index finger and thumb extended.
Unlike his white eyes that showed a cold expression, a playful smile crossed his lips.
"Bang."
An action that seemed to come from another world.
Using that word as a signal, thousands of bombardments began pouring down on the bird.
Sharp ice embedded in the bird's body.
Ice blocked by hard feathers exploded as is, scattering sharp fragments in all directions.
Fragments embedded between feathers never melted.
Amid the roar like gunpowder and shells exploding, the bird shrieked.
-Keeeeeeeeeeeeek!
"So it can be used like this too. Believer, can you see? I imitated the weapons of the world you spoke of. It seems not bad."
The bird that could no longer fly crashed down.
The man who confirmed this sight still closed his eyes with unabated excitement.
The very next moment, his legs buckled and he swayed greatly,
Someone grabbed his thin arm to support him.
[Believer, trying to collapse at just this point. This is faithless.]
Surely when climbing the mountain there had been only one red-haired man.
Before he knew it, another person painted entirely white stood beside him.
He dragged the red-haired man who was staggering without strength in his body and laid him down anywhere.
The god looking down at the man who seemed about to breathe his last kindly poked his cheek.
[Believer.]
Silence.
[Believer?]
No one answered.
The god clicked his tongue.
[My believer's vessel is large but utterly weak. At this rate, you'll die first before eliminating all of Idra's avatars.]
"...Won't die."
[Are you awake? This being's believer has a tenacious life force.]
"Just want to rest..."
[That's not possible. Who knows when Idra's other manifestations might devour other things and seek out your humans?]
The god asked while bending at the waist.
It was a casual question, but his eyes were sparkling.
[Besides, you definitely said you had a past to settle with the snake-people too. Believer, not even 500 years have passed since you parted from the humans. Will you dawdle like this?]
"Leave me alone for a bit."
[They'll devour the planet before you go find them. What about Leandros? Will you be able to find him?]
"Fuck."
A crude curse burst out.
The lying man supported his trembling arms and barely sat up.
500 years since leaving Theem'dra.
The life had long disappeared from the man's gentle brown eyes.
He sat blankly staring at the horizon and asked.
"...Only 500 years so far?"
[Still 500 years. Quite a lot left, isn't there?]
"If I go crazy later, kill me quickly..."
[That won't do. Believer, aren't you selling memories to me to avoid going crazy? I find it interesting, and you can forget painful memories and maintain your sanity, so it's good.]
"Why are you only picking such shitty things to say today?"
[Because it's amusing.]
His believer acted particularly violent right after experiencing descent.
But that too was equally interesting to watch.
While the god watched, the red-haired believer struggled to stand on his own.
The human who had walked an immeasurably long path still had more road ahead.
The believer muttered things like 'so sick of this,' but the god knew he would never give up.
After spacing out for a while, the believer turned and began looking for a path.
The god asked from behind.
[So what's next?]
"Next is obviously snakes. I've been preparing for that until now."
The believer was comparable to a large stone.
While keeping distance as if no one could touch him,
He would start rolling as soon as he incited him a few times.
Once momentum built up, even he couldn't stop himself.
He didn't know whether the journey's destination would be hell or heaven,
But this being's believer never betrayed expectations.
The god wore a broad smile.