#4. Idol
Originally, he had planned to stay at Grandma Sun-ja's house until morning.
But that wasn't possible.
Revelation will descend soon.
100 Divine Power consumed.
An emergency had arisen.
"I'm beat, so I'll head out first. Take care of the rest, yeah?"
He excused himself to the Yeonok-dong residents staring at him in a daze. Heo Jae-su, who had witnessed true Divine Power, and the others from Yeonok-dong just blankly saw him off.
For the record, he really was tired. Naturally, when Divine Power hit rock bottom, exhaustion set in—especially mental fatigue.
His Divine Power had indeed been at zero. Add up the power spent on daytime Heals, the blessing on the dementia-stricken grandfather, and the revelation deduction, and it added up perfectly.
He didn't even have time to check follower changes before hurrying to his nearby Yeonok-dong lodging. There, he sat cross-legged in the center of the one-room and began to pray.
He'd only checked his Divine Power before starting prayer. In that short time, it had recovered a bit. There were two ways to recharge Divine Power: resting while praying, or followers praying while thinking of him. This recovery was the latter.
"I come before the Mother of All Things."
Confirming the restored Divine Power, he closed his eyes and lightly tapped his forehead, nose, lips, and solar plexus with his slightly clenched right fist. It was the otherworldly sign of the cross from his past life. As he made the sign and prayed, he naturally drifted into the world of imagery.
The world of imagery was familiar. A rooftop room at the top of a hillside slum overlooking Seoul's nightscape.
"You've come?"
A girl who looked about five years old waited at the rooftop railing. Barefoot in a white dress, with silver hair and pale gray eyes—an enigmatic child.
"Mother."
Seeing her, he knelt reverently without a shred of doubt.
"Yes, it's been a while since a revelation, hasn't it?"
"Yes."
"The last one was... a week before your past life's death, right?"
"Yes. You praised me for my hard work, Mother."
"That's right."
Gazing at the goddess in the form of a young girl, he smiled faintly. In his past life, the goddess hadn't been a girl. She'd appeared as a warm, benevolent middle-aged woman.
"Is Earth still unsettled?"
He could guess why the Mother of All Things, Weaver of Providence, appeared as a child now.
"Yes. Too few followers."
"I see."
"You know what kind of followers to gather, right?"
"Of course. I will gather the righteous and true-hearted."
Followers weren't just about numbers. Only the righteous who believed rightly counted as followers.
"Do you need anything?"
The girl smiled in satisfaction at his answer, gazing at Seoul's night lights as she asked.
"I need an idol."
"An idol... Not the kind of dead teachings I forbade, I hope."
"No. A literal symbol to direct faith toward."
Humans could never escape idols. Jesus was nailed to the cross and became one himself; Buddhism worshipped Buddha statues. Islam idolized the city of Mecca. Cults idolized their leaders. Even the irreligious had diverse idols—politicians, celebrities, stocks, coins, real estate, money. To establish a church on Earth, an idol came before doctrine.
"Like the Holy Lights in Icadia?"
"It won't work well on Earth."
He replied to the girl's question, gesturing at the nightscape.
"True enough."
In his past life in Icadia, clerics who could wield Divine Power created fist-sized glass orbs filled with glowing Holy Lights and hung them in churches and on staves. In mana-filled, demon-haunted Icadia without science, Holy Lights that banished darkness and repelled low-level monsters made perfect idols. But on modern Earth, flooded with LEDs, they wouldn't cut it.
"What would work, then?"
"For the record, I don't want to be the idol."
"Saying that doesn't make it so, does it?"
The girl grinned mischievously at his words.
"You'll job-change soon and start baptizing the faithful on Earth, right?"
"Yes. I can't expand alone, after all."
"In that case, this'll do!"
"Pardon?"
"I found the perfect idol for Earth—perfectly perfect!"
The goddess exclaimed brightly.
"What...?"
"You'll know when you wake!"
With that, the imaginal world went dark.
"Hah!!"
Back in reality, he gasped for the breath he'd held, panting heavily for a while.
Chirp chirp chirp chirp.
Birdsong drifted from the window, dawn breaking. Just a short talk with the goddess, and night had flown by. Yet his body felt refreshed, brimming with energy, as if he'd slept deeply. It was always like this after meeting Mother—a little service bonus. Nothing surprising.
"What idol did she give me, exactly?"
More importantly, the idol.
"...?"
Nothing had changed in the room.
Right! Follower count.
Lost in thought, curiosity about his followers suddenly struck.
Let's see...
As he willed the Status Window to appear, as always—
Status Window
Before he could even imagine it fully, a window popped up like augmented reality right before his eyes.
Skills:Heal (C): 10 Divine Power / Bless (C): 20 Divine Power / Warm Conversation (C_Passive) / Luck (C_Passive): 5 random daily activations / Emotion Reading (C_Passive)
Next Job Change:Priest (B), Chaplain (B), Monk (B), Partner (NEW).
Followers Needed for Next Job Change: 100 general, 10 devout, 1 fanatic.
Current Followers: 105 general, 12 devout (NEW), 0 fanatic.
He jolted up in shock.
"This... is the idol?"
The Mother of All Things had apparently chosen the Earth-style idol: the Status Window.
*****
A funeral home fifteen minutes' drive from Yeonok-dong on Seoul's outskirts. The funeral for Kim Chang-su, Kim Sun-ja's husband from Yeonok-dong, was underway.
Given his long battle with dementia, few acquaintances showed up. Or so he'd thought. But no—Yeonok-dong residents poured in to see off the deceased.
As the first night drew to a close—
"Sorry I'm late."
Lee Seop appeared, now an indispensable presence in Yeonok-dong. A faint Faint Halo glowed behind the young, handsome man's head—visible only to the devout.
"You've come."
"We've been waiting."
Lee Seop-nim! Lee Seop-nim!
Heo Jae-su and the Yeonok-dong elders reacted first at his arrival.
"What's with those old folks all of a sudden?"
"Why're they speaking formally to Seop?"
"Whoa, Sun-ja's even bowing?"
"What's going on? What happened?"
The other Yeonok-dong funeral-goers were baffled.
****
Familiar, yet burdensome. Including his past life, he was older—but in this life, as Lee Seop, not Pope Saint Hyers I, Confucian respect for elders screamed discomfort.
"Elders, call me casually like before."
"No, how could we..."
"Exactly. Lee Seop-nim is clearly a messenger from God—how could we?"
"It makes me uncomfortable. Feels like I'll end up in hell."
His plea for casualness fell on deaf ears.
"Then, formal only when we're alone together. Casual in public, like before."
"There must be a reason."
"The time isn't right. Drawing attention now wouldn't help."
They compromised thus.
"Ahh... I see."
"Makes sense. Some still doubt Lee Seop-nim's divinity. They might drag him off and harm him."
Thankfully, Heo Jae-su and the elders nodded understanding. Their faces openly beamed with chosen-one pride: Only we know Lee Seop-nim's true face!We're the first!Not even Jesus's Twelve Apostles have it better! Human nature, he shrugged it off.
"..."
"..."
"Ahem..."
Agreed on casual public address, no one spoke to him. As awkward for them as for him.
"Seop-ah."
Kim Sun-ja broke the ice first.
"All I've got left is that house in Yeonok-dong. When I go, take it at least."
"No, we're past the 100-year lifespan era—now it's 120. Don't talk like you're dying yet. Hold onto it. Give it to your kids anyway."
"Kids? The ones who didn't even show for their father's funeral? You're my only child, Seop."
"...I'll accept the sentiment."
Chatting with Grandma Sun-ja, he checked the Status Window.
Overnight, 12 general followers became devout. Rumors must've spread—generals increased too. But fanatics stayed at zero. Devout like Sun-ja would gladly donate fortunes. Fanatics sacrificed lives and families. Zero fanatics stung.
Still, gathering this many so fast is impressive.
Of course, Divine Power made it possible. Without it, bare-handed religion-building? He'd be lucky for 10 generals.
How to make that last fanatic?
With Divine Power, no rush to expand sloppily—half-hearted converts didn't count. Yet he itched to hurry. One fanatic meant job change.
"Lee Seop."
Lost in thought, Heo Jae-su called.
"Is your goal founding a religion?"
Heo Jae-su didn't use full formal honorifics like before, nor casual. This seemed his compromise.
"Yes."
"I see. Who's the god? Can you share the doctrine?"
"Doctrine's in progress. But the one I serve is like those in Earth's good religions."
"Like? Christianity or Islam's God?"
"She is the owner of all things. Thus, all Earth's religions are Hers. Just different ways of serving."
"Your way is the most right?"
"No way is most right. Faith that harms none and satisfies you is valid. But to receive and perform Her miracles, follow me as your beacon."
"Follow you as beacon, and heaven after death?"
"Heaven, hell, reincarnation—decided solely by the Weaver of Providence. I don't know."
"Any specific name for... Her? Like God, Allah, Buddha."
"Call Her anything. I call Her Mother of All Things, Weaver of Providence, or Mother."
Funeral hall corner. impromptu Lee Seop religion seminar.
"So, to sum up: our Providence Church is the legitimate heir. Right?"
Heo Jae-su nodded at Lee Seop's summary.
"Providence Church?"
"We made it while you were gone. 'Lee Seop' backward is 'Providence.'"
"Providence..."
"Don't like it?"
"No, it's good. Fits the Weaver of Providence as Her title."
******