Before Andersen had yet to become a âhigher beingâ, this part of history was all the same for all Gods. It was a nightmarish time that required them to put a countless number of [Products] into a tower.
Andersen admitted to the fact.
[Yeah, I was a Cultivator. All Gods are.]
âEveryone doing it doesnât make you less guilty of it.â
[âŠI know.]
Andersen did not deny her wrongdoing.
[I donât intend on justifying what I did to become a God.]
Her voice did not have the slightest hint of guilt. Jaehwan grew angry, but he knew it was no use. He once read the following memory from Mulack:
-There are spirits who are born with one purpose. Demons and Angels are like that. These unfortunate âhigher beingsâ are born to become only âCultivatorsâ and nothing else.
And unlike humans, they live solely for the purpose and are required to live for that purpose. The choice is not given to them.
So, in some sense, Jaehwan knew that there wasnât anything Andersen could do.
And Jaehwan had let Sirwen, a Nightmare, live for similar purposes. He knew it wasnât right to press moral issues on these beings and realized it was the system that was the problem. But knowing it didnât make him less angry.
Jaehwan was human. He was a human who was once a [Product] that was cultivated.
He couldnât understand why he was angrier against Andersen then Sirwen. Maybe it was due to the interaction he had with the âCultivatorâ that made him more angry at them than the creator of the tower itself.
Andersen continued,
[I wonât ask you to understand me. But⊠donât let the fact that I was once a Cultivator cloud your view on my relationship with my [Follower].]
ââŠ.â
[Maybe itâs weird for you to see an Ex-cultivator that was once so close to the [Product].]
That was the most confusing part for Jaehwan. He could clearly feel her feelings toward Runald as he became one with Andersen.
How was this feeling possible? Andersen wasnât lying. The feeling was strong enough enough to shake Jaehwanâs view on them. Andersen considered Runald as a very important person to her, and she valued him more than herself.
[You can kill me, but donât say that my feeling is a lie.]
That made Jaehwan hesitate. He knew he could kill Andersen anytime, but he couldnât do it. He knew that it would be very painful for the boy in front of him.
âUg⊠arghâŠ!â
Thatâs when Runald began to twist and scream in pain. Jaehwan quickly grabbed Runald and found the world power within him storming around.
ââŠWhat is wrong with him?â
[Already?! NO! Runald!]
Andersenâs memory quickly seeped into Jaehwan, and Jaehwan knew what was going on.
[Heâs becoming a Lost One!]
Lost One. After losing their Gods, they would turn into monsters. Jaehwan had heard about them from Eniac from the Void Factory. Overseers were, in fact, those Lost Ones.
-Only the ones who have a conscious as Daeusâ [Followers] are us. Most became monsters. Youâll meet them once you go to .
The Lost Ones felt extreme despair through the loss of their world and their Gods. Jaehwan knew that this boy would turn into a monster.
âI see⊠because his link between his God is brokenâŠâ
[Save him! Please!]
Andersen quickly begged him.
[You can kill me if you want! Just save him!]
âWhy should I?â
[Youâre a human! Please!]
That was weird. A Goddess who was once a cultivator was reminding him that he was human, but Jaehwan repeated that question to himself.
Am I still a human? Is it really okay, to consider myself a human?
âWhat do I need to do?â
[Take him as your [Follower].]
âAnd what do I get?â
[âŠIâll get out of your head.]
Jaehwan knew what this meant and nodded.
ââŠOkay.â
Jaehwan then followed Andersenâs explanation to accept a new [Follower]. A faint line between Jaehwan and Runald was drawn, and through it, Jaehwan felt Andersenâs presence fading away.
[Followers] were allowed to see the unique world of their Gods with their own eyes. Depending on how the God saw their world, their [Followers] were forced to share their view.
When Runald came back to his senses, he knew he was inside a new world.
âNew world⊠is this the God Jaehwanâs world?â
Runald felt the linkage and looked around. The only world he knew was Andersenâs fairytale-like world. What would be the new world? Young Runald looked around in excitement, and he was shocked.
âE-eye?!â
There was a gigantic bloody eye watching down from the sky. It was the Eye of Asura. Black crows circled around it, screeching eerily. Runald grabbed himself in fear. But it wasnât the end. He looked around and found something else.
âC-corpses?!â
There were corpses with maggots all over their bodies, flinching while slowly moving toward Runald. They cackled maniacally as they walked.
âI-impossibleâŠ!â
And in the new world, Runald the [Follower] fainted.
Andersen spoke as she watched Runald faint right after he woke up.
[Gosh, what have you shown him?]
ââŠItâs his fault for coming into my world.â
[Eye of Asura, crows, and corpses⊠nobody will want to come in.]
Jaehwan smiled bitterly. He remembered hearing once that his world wouldnât be popular.
âI didnât ask him to become my [Follower].â
Silence fell. Jaehwan grabbed Runald and picked him up. Andersen also saw everything through Jaehwanâs eyes. Her relief was shared with Jaehwan, along with her frustration.
[âŠWhy did you stop me from perishing?]
âProve yourself.â
[What?]
âProve that I donât need to kill you.â
Andersen became silent, but particles of complicated feelings stormed within Jaehwanâs head. Appreciation? Excitement? It was hard to describe. Andersen then spoke with a small voice.
[I will prove it.]
Jaehwan began to walk as if he didnât hear it. He felt like he could see a crying girl in front of his eyes as walked forward.