Heresy (5)
The Abyss seeks to swallow the world whole. By uniting all things into one, it erases deficiency. Thus it is infinitely perfect, unlike humans who are forever driven by lack—chasing and being chased. Therefore, follow the Order that has fully embraced the Abyss and lead the world into its depths. Only the Abyss can guide a world tormented by deficiency into perfection.
The Abyss seeks to swallow the world whole. By uniting all things into one, it erases deficiency. Thus it is infinitely perfect, unlike humans who are forever driven by lack—chasing and being chased. Therefore, follow the Order that has fully embraced the Abyss and lead the world into its depths. Only the Abyss can guide a world tormented by deficiency into perfection.
The Abyss seeks to swallow the world whole. By uniting all things into one, it erases deficiency. Thus it is infinitely perfect, unlike humans who are forever driven by lack—chasing and being chased. Therefore, follow the Order that has fully embraced the Abyss and lead the world into its depths. Only the Abyss can guide a world tormented by deficiency into perfection.
The Abyss seeks to swallow the world whole. By uniting all things into one, it erases deficiency. Thus it is infinitely perfect, unlike humans who are forever driven by lack—chasing and being chased. Therefore, follow the Order that has fully embraced the Abyss and lead the world into its depths. Only the Abyss can guide a world tormented by deficiency into perfection.
The voice repeated endlessly, growing faster, more frantic, the words crashing together until they became a single unbroken roar inside my skull.
“UAAAAAAAH———!!”
My ice-cold mind suddenly split with pain. The ceaseless brainwashing voice brought unbearable agony. I roared, snapped back to consciousness, and found myself hanging limp from the ceiling, both wrists bound in chains. The skin beneath the manacles had turned an angry red; I must have been like this for hours. Cold sweat poured down my back as I frantically scanned my surroundings.
A completely sealed room. Only a thick iron door broke the blank walls. A prison cell.
I twisted and yanked at the shackles chaining my hands to the ceiling, desperate to break free. But no matter how hard I pulled, nothing happened. The Divine Power that should have flowed through the link in my heart had grown faint and unresponsive. Even though the connection to Shinryong still remained, I couldn’t feel her at all.
All I could do was kneel there, chained, brow furrowed against the horrible voice that kept hammering into my ears. It sounded like a broken radio, an echo of the Abyss itself, relentlessly grinding down my sanity.
Then the iron door creaked open.
Several priestesses filed into the narrow cell. I let out a dry chuckle.
“How many of you does it take to bully one tied-up woman? This place is going to get cramped…”
Even as I mocked them, my eyes carefully assessed their armament and the degree of Abyss corruption clinging to them. Focusing with the eyes that could perceive Divine Power, I saw it clearly. Their corruption levels were extremely high. Every one of them had been swallowed by the same darkness that had claimed Yu Ara, yet it carried a slightly different texture.
Is this mental-corrosion type darkness, or something else? I wondered, waiting to see what they would do.
The last priestess to enter slowly removed her deeply pulled hood and looked down at me. Her face resembled Yu Ara’s, but it was deathly pale. When I continued glaring at them, she gestured to the priestess beside her and accepted a small bottle.
The instant I sensed the pure Abyss darkness swirling inside it, I understood exactly what they intended. But with my body bound, I couldn’t resist.
“Ugh—don’t… you bastards…”
The priestesses surrounding me grabbed my head and shoulders. I couldn’t even twist away.
“You really think a tiny bottle of Abyss can corrupt me? You’re delusional, you idiots…!”
The pale priestess who looked like Yu Ara forced the bottle to my lips. I had no choice but to swallow the darkness. Yet even that amount wasn’t enough to shake my mind. I simply clenched my teeth and endured.
“Do not worry, Priestess,” the pale woman said, addressing me with that title.
“There is still plenty of Abyss prepared just for you.”
She took another bottle from a different priestess—this one noticeably larger. My suspicions had been correct.
“How many people… have you corrupted, you bitches…!”
It was corruption. Artificial corruption, different from the natural fall I had once experienced. They slowly administered measured doses of Abyss acquired through countless means, gradually transforming the subject into a new kind of darkness. Those who reached this state could retain their ego and consciousness, but they would suffer endless, body-scorching pain while gaining limited control over Abyss power.
I hadn’t known the details before. It had only been a vague suspicion since the moment I first stepped into the church. But seeing Yu Ara’s power, the darkness these priestesses wielded, and the way they were trying to corrupt me—I was now certain.
I grimaced in pain as they forced more Abyss down my throat. I kept trying to spit it out, brow furrowed in concentration.
“Krrrk—! Ugh, uuup———!”
Every time I tried to expel it, they clamped my jaw open. The pale priestess shoved the next dose in. I thrashed with all my strength, body jerking violently.
“Uup—ugh, krrruup…!”
They held my arms, my legs, my entire body. I was helplessly drenched in Abyss.
“Cough—cough…!”
After forcing roughly six bottles into me, they finally released my bound form and stood up. I glared at them with pure hatred, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes as the pain of corruption wracked my body.
Once all the priestesses had left, the last one—the pale woman—remained. She smiled faintly.
“As expected, your acceptance is remarkably quick.”
Her voice was satisfied.
“Shut up, you blasphemers…” I snarled, denouncing these heretics who had covered their original faith with their own twisted beliefs.
But she showed no reaction. Tilting her head, she studied me with eyes half-lidded in unmistakable desire.
“If only I could do whatever I wanted with your body… but that pleasure will have to wait until you become a fine member of the Order.”
With those words, she left the room.
I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth, desperately trying to suppress the Abyss now boiling inside me.
“Hngh… hnnngh…”
My breathing had grown ragged and uncontrollable. Still, I fought with everything I had, determined to suppress the corruption and escape these restraints. Yet the Abyss they used was far more violent than ordinary darkness. I realized the erosion was progressing at an alarming speed.
“Ugh… haaah…!”
The pain felt like it was flaying my flesh. I couldn’t hold on any longer. My head drooped as moans spilled from my lips.
Then the mysterious voice of the Order returned, joined by echoes of the Abyss itself, burrowing deeper into my mind. My heartbeat grew louder, faster. Cold sweat dripped from my tightly shut eyes. I couldn’t even wipe it away. My body simply grew colder and colder.
“Shinryong… nim…”
Why? The sensation of the heart-link that connected me to Shinryong had grown terribly dull long ago. What had they done to her? What exactly were they planning?
Fear and dread swelled inside me. Then I felt it—the seal containing the Abyss within the shrine was weakening. They had reached even that far.
So I gathered every ounce of my will. I pictured the Abyss that must never be released. I swore I would return to Shinryong’s side no matter what. I clung desperately to my scattering consciousness.
Once more I bit down hard, grabbed the sturdy manacles binding my wrists, and pulled with everything I had.
“UAAAAAAAH———!!”
I poured in every last drop of strength, even the power I’d used to suckle at my mother’s breast, determined to shatter the ceiling fixture along with the chains. Lifting my arms would have let the manacles slip off the shackle, but the spring mechanism made the fixture rise with them. The only option was to break it.
Yet despite my frantic effort, the manacles refused to break.
“Hnnngh… uhaaaah…!”
The Abyss devouring me from within kept interfering, disrupting my concentration. In the end my strength gave out. I collapsed with a heavy thud.
I have to go back… I have to go back…
That single thought repeated endlessly as I helplessly slipped into unconsciousness.
Shinryong had warned me to be careful. Had I been too careless? Was this all my fault?
I couldn’t cry. I couldn’t laugh. I couldn’t even get angry. I simply surrendered to the oncoming tide of darkness.
But at that final moment—
“····.”
Just as I was losing consciousness, I felt someone gently pouring something into my mouth. The touch was kind. Covered in cold sweat, I slowly opened my eyes and met the gaze of the unidentified figure.
“…Drink. It will help a little.”
The one cradling my face and feeding me the medicine was Yu Ara.
The instant I recognized her, I clamped my jaw shut and turned my head, trying to avoid the drug. But my strength was gone. She easily pried my mouth open again and forced the liquid down.
“Ugh…”
“This isn’t dangerous. It’s simply… a painkiller I made by processing my own power.”
With nowhere left to retreat, I gave up and began to swallow properly. Yu Ara looked satisfied. She fed me another full bottle, then gently stroked my cheek as if it were something precious.
“Good… Miss Niyu…”
Exhaustion must have finally caught up with me. The pain faded. A comfortable drowsiness began to pull me under. Her hand kept caressing my face with open affection.
“Please stay with me. You must…”
Why? Her voice carried a desire different from the other cult members. It wasn’t simple lust directed at me. It felt like a longing for salvation—yet a salvation unlike anything the others sought. Something deeper. Something she craved with all her heart.