The No-Longer-Great One - 2
Fervent Followers can recognize other Fervent Followers.
This is a fact proven by the other Fervent Followers I’ve encountered: Anum-Jihad and The Nameless. In the case of Anum-Jihad, he didn’t even manifest on this Earth himself; he merely used an anomaly called a Transmitter to communicate from a distance, yet he still recognized that I was a Fervent Follower.
If there is one fact to be gleaned from this, it is that a Fervent Follower recognizing another is as natural as breathing, as easy and instinctive as moving one’s own limbs.
Since I, too, am a Fervent Follower and not a human, I can recognize others of my kind. The problem is that the conditions for me to verify their information are quite demanding. I must be in extremely close proximity to the target and manifest my racial traits to confirm their details. If I were to promote to a Special-Class Librarian, I might be able to check the Omnia Wiki from a distance, but... unfortunately, my status is still merely that of a Regular Librarian of the Omnia Archive.
Therefore, I hadn’t checked the information of this thing in front of me yet. I had only speculated, "This thing is a Fervent Follower." I thought it was a certain deduction. I believed that only a Fervent Follower could possess such wide-scale cognitive manipulation abilities. But this thing—it claims with its own mouth that it isn't a Fervent Follower.
If it isn't a Fervent Follower, then what on earth is it? It doesn't seem like it's lying. Of course, I’m not an ability user like Kim Junghwan who can discern the truth or falsehood of a target's words, but I felt a conviction that it wasn't a lie.
Why hesitate? If I just reached out and used my ability, I could verify for certain whether this thing is a Fervent Follower or not. But my inner instinct—or perhaps the Shining Stars, who must be watching over this entire process—is ringing alarm bells in me repeatedly.
Never.
I must never use my ability on this thing.
[…]
The thing said nothing more. Does this mean it’s waiting for me to speak first? ...Now that I think about it, this thing calling itself [College Student] was strange from the very beginning. It was strange that a Fervent Follower dared to create a religion, and strange that it didn't receive the Price of Blasphemy for its sacrilege. No matter how much of a Fervent Follower one might be, it was also strange that it could exert cognitive manipulation abilities bordering on omnipotence. It was also strange that, despite having already descended to Earth, it was performing human sacrifices to descend yet again.
Unless I were an idiot, by now I could make a rough guess as to this thing's true identity. However, accepting that guess requires quite a lot of courage. With trembling lips, I opened my mouth toward the woman who held a universe within her.
"You are."
[…]
"No, are you too."
My mouth is bone-dry. I asked myself several times if I really had to say these words out loud, but I couldn't reach a clear conclusion. However, since I couldn't keep my mouth shut in this mysterious space forever, I opened my lips toward her.
"Are you, too, a Great One?"
[…]
For a moment, silence descended heavily upon the entire space where I stood. The universe she held began to ripple, and soon, the countless stars within it began to emit light with such intensity that it threatened to burn my retinas.
[A title created by mortals.]
[A meaningless designation.]
[You, a Fervent Follower of that Shining Star.]
[Why do you claim to be a mortal?]
Her voice didn't seem to belong to just one person. Multiple timbres overlapped and echoed.
[However, from the perspective of a mortal.]
[At least, at this moment when you are facing me.]
[No.]
[That is what you could say.]
The universe that had been radiating brilliant light from within her began to twist into a bizarre shape. It could no longer be called by the beautiful words "universe" or "cosmos." I received an ambiguous answer from her—neither an affirmation nor a denial. Suppressing the rising disgust, I countered her question.
"Does that mean... you were a Great One in the past, but you are not a Great One in the present?"
[…]
[Think as you please.]
In an instant, the surrounding space rippled like water. The twisted universe within her expanded infinitely and dominated the space. My sense of space vanished. Where I was standing, where her position was, the distance between her and me—it became impossible to perceive any of it anymore. I couldn't move a single finger, as if nailed to the spot.
It wasn't fear. It wasn't fear... it was awe. Awe dominated me. I felt the urge to kneel down right then and there and kiss her feet, but—
"Ghh... ugh..."
I endured. I endured it somehow. Even if the woman in front of me was a true Great One, if I were to kiss her feet... the Shining Stars would not forgive me. I don't know for sure, but I doubt it would end with just receiving the Price of Blasphemy.
The twisted universe, which had expanded infinitely throughout the entire space, began to be sucked back into her inner self. As it did, I felt as if the awe I couldn't even resist had faded slightly. I couldn't tell what kind of expression she was wearing. I could only guess her mood, however slightly, from the shape of that twisted universe occupying her face.
The universe churned. Is she flustered by my attitude? I gritted my teeth and opened my mouth to ask her.
"What is your purpose...!"
[You.]
[Should already know the answer to that question.]
"...The descent of a Fervent Follower. But, why on earth...?"
She is a Great One. Judging by the flow of the conversation, it seems she isn't a Great One right now, but at the very least, she is an incredible being who was clearly great in the past. If she were a being with that level of authority, creating her own Fervent Follower would be a trivial matter. There would have been no reason to adopt such a cumbersome method as "human sacrifice."
[Fervent Follower of the Shining Stars.]
[Lee Jia.]
[Do not misunderstand.]
[Intervening in the planet you oversee.]
[Was an inevitable choice.]
[I, too, find it regrettable.]
It seems like you're the one misunderstanding, not me. I’m not a representative of Earth; I’m just a mere Fervent Follower working two jobs as a Vtuber and an Awakened. There’s no need to use such cumbersome expressions as "oversee."
[However.]
[There was no other way.]
[Originally, I existed outside the laws of the macro-universe.]
[And was a being to whom even the concept of time did not apply.]
[But due to a certain causality that even I find impossible to understand.]
[Now that I have been forcibly exiled from my throne.]
[I am as one who exists, yet does not exist.]
[Only.]
[The descent of a Fervent Follower.]
[Will be able to guide me, once again.]
[To the throne.]
It was a vague statement, but I roughly understand the situation. In other words, she was clearly an incredible being worthy of the title Great One in the past, but for some reason, she lost that authority and status. And to recover that authority and status, she must manifest her own "Fervent Follower" on this planet called Earth.
No wonder, this bastard. I thought her status was far too low for a "Great One." Even comparing her to the Shining Stars right now, I can see how much her status has fallen. The Shining Stars dealt the Price of Blasphemy sharply to Anum-Jihad and The Nameless who dared to blaspheme against them. But I am still perfectly fine. Even though I went beyond blasphemy and cursed this thing out, I'm still standing.
The very fact that I am having a conversation this normally is proof that this being's status is far below that of the Shining Stars. If it were a true Great One, I probably wouldn't even be able to hold a proper conversation. ...Well, as the saying goes, "a rich man doesn't go broke for three years," and since I’m safe even after swearing at it, it seems it still boasts an overwhelming presence, but still.
So. I know the purpose, but so what? What now?
"Why did you call me out here separately?"
[A trade.]
"A trade?"
[I.]
[Will offer the human named Park Donghyun as a sacrifice.]
[And manifest my Fervent Follower on this land.]
[After the descent.]
[My Fervent Follower and I.]
[Will leave this planet.]
[We will not exert any influence.]
[Nor will we break any causality.]
[Also, I will teach you the spell to cancel the Sanctum summoning.]
[We will just.]
[Quietly.]
[Disappear.]
[So, until the offering is complete.]
[You wait here.]
"How can I trust that..."
[I will bet.]
[My lost 'True Name'.]
[If you accept this trade.]
[I will tell you my lost True Name.]
[With your status as a Fervent Follower of the Shining Stars.]
[You will likely be able to endure the weight of a True Name.]
"..."
A "True Name" is important information. Even the True Name of a mere Fervent Follower is treated as extremely valuable information; how valuable would the True Name of a being who was once a Great One be? That statement is likely the truth.
[As I said before.]
[It was inevitable that I would manifest on the planet you oversee.]
[Please do not be angry, and accept the trade with me.]
"..."
What this thing is saying is definitely a sweet offer. After manifesting its "Fervent Follower," she said she would leave this Earth. Without causing any harm or exerting any influence. Rather than doing something crazy like fighting a being who was great in the past head-on, it would be a wiser judgment to just accept the trade.
It's all good. It's all good, but... in the end, that means using Park Donghyun and the lives of the other people as sacrifices. If Yoo Iseul were here, she would have definitely said this:
"Honestly, the human sacrifice part is pretty fucked up."
I have to say what needs to be said.
"You're offering a living person as a sacrifice, and the only thing you have to say is 'Oh, sorry, please understand'? That's it?"
[…]
[How heterogeneous.]
[That a being as pure and noble as a Fervent Follower of the Shining Stars.]
[Would discuss the value of human existence.]
[So.]
[The trade.]
If I accept the trade, I become a murderer who committed murder indirectly. They could still be saved.
"Of course I can't, you asshole."
Even if you were great in the past, you aren't a Great One anymore. In that case, there is no reason for me to use honorifics or be scared of this thing.
[...Foolish.]
[So foolish.]
[That I feel disgust.]
[Fervent Follower of the Shining Stars.]
[And.]
[You foolish one.]
Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom.
The universe within began to twist again.
[Can you hear it.]
[This disgusting heartbeat.]
[That hints at your extinction.]
And then.
Snap.
With that sound, my left arm simply exploded.