Lucion used to listen carefully to the Bishop when he visited him.
The Bishop often talked about God and read scriptures about God.
He spoke of the history of the Light God who descended into the human world using a vessel, because divine power could not be borne by a god's true body.
That was why Lucion believed that the God before him must also be housed in a vessel named "Yuna."
His God, Yuna, asked him who "they" were and why he was imprisoned inside a cave, so Lucion explained slowly, speaking discreetly as he talked.
As he recounted his experiences, Lucion began to feel grateful for everything that had happened to him, because it allowed him to meet his God.
His God, Yuna, walked slowly toward him. She crouched down and caressed his head.
Lucion nudged his face closer, enjoying the sensation of his God's touch. When she withdrew her hand, he felt disappointed. He had quickly grown attached to her touch, and at the same time felt immense gratitude that his God would even touch someone as lowly as him.
"I am grateful to be put here, my God." Lucion ended his words like that. He hated them… truly hated them. But if it was the will of his God, he would suppress all his dissatisfaction for her sake.
Yuna looked at the child who spoke such ridiculous words of gratitude toward the bastards who had tortured and hurt him, crushing both his body and spirit.
'I really want to kill.'
Yuna felt anger—immense anger. Her head throbbed as if it were about to explode from rage. She desperately schooled her expression, refusing to show a twisted face of fury in front of the child who had suffered his entire childhood—the child who was nothing but skin and bones, smaller than her despite being older.
Yuna opened her mouth and said dryly to the child who believed those monsters to be people beloved by the Light, "They are not people of light."
What fucking light? Those monsters in human clothing. Yuna would rather believe they served an evil god.
The child's eyes widened in disbelief. "They are not…? Are they not people of the light?"
If so, then could he kill them? Could he torture them?
Lucion asked these questions silently, not daring to voice them. Even though he believed God knew everything about him, he did not want to expose his dark thoughts openly to his holy God. His God should not hear any impurity—she was, after all, his most cherished, pure, and holy God.
Yuna, on the other hand, was fully riled up by the child's belief that those monsters were good. She had no idea about the child's already twisted psychology or his increasingly distorted perception of her.
Maybe it was because the child's life was too pitiful, or because he acted so obediently toward her, or because he seemed so innocent and defenseless in front of her. His eyes, full of trust and dependence, made it difficult for Yuna to harbor any ill thoughts toward him.
…Also, the child was chained, so Yuna's vigilance was lower than it should have been. That was actually the main point. No matter how pitiful he was, one should always maintain basic vigilance.
'Don't swear, don't swear in front of a child… don't.'
Repeatedly calming herself from the urge to curse them so viciously that even their ancestors would crawl out of their graves, Yuna said, "They are not. They are evil…"
Filled with momentary righteous indignation, Yuna spiritedly began her lecture. "Light does not hurt its believers. You awakened as a light elemental, right? Those evils must have been afraid that a light believer would grow stronger, so they put you in this place where light could not reach."
'So don't blacken yourself because of them. Don't blindly believe the wrong things.'
Yuna caressed the child's oily, sticky head, not averting her gaze from him, and said slowly, "I'm sorry that you suffered."
It was a word of condolence people usually gave to the unfortunate—a default phrase.
The child, who was enjoying the gentle caress of his God once more, shook his head hurriedly when Yuna apologized.
"No, no… it's not your fault. It's because I am too weak and let myself be caught by them."
'Why should it be my fault?'
But Yuna did not ask. She was at least tactful enough not to destroy the tender moment, so she simply smiled lightly.
…And now what?
Was she supposed to stage a dungeon escape? A rescue mission?
And where exactly was she? How had she ended up here? How was she supposed to go back home?
Someone, anyone, help!
'911, I have an emergency!'
As her anger subsided, Yuna was dragged back to reality—she had to deal with her current predicament. She didn't have the leisure to conduct psychological counseling right now.
Yuna, an unknown passerby in a novel, did not have the luxury of a protagonist who could indulge in ten-thousand-word emotional healing scenes while trapped in a dangerous place.
Reality-checking herself, Yuna took a deep breath to calm down. Trying not to sink into a depressive spiral about evil people while she herself was in a dilemma, she asked the child, "What happened when I arrived here again?"
"The stone on your statue glowed brightly, and then you appeared," the child said, pointing at the statue.
"It's not my sta—"
'The fuck!'
Yuna rubbed her eyes, thinking her vision was playing tricks on her. But no matter how much she stared, the statue's facial features did not change.
The statue had her appearance. Exactly her appearance.
Even the stone embedded in it—no, not just any stone, but a smaller version of a dimension stone.
To confirm her suspicion, Yuna parted her clothes and looked down at the stone embedded in her chest.
Exactly the same.
'Fuck! This is so creepy!'
Lucion also looked at the stone embedded in Yuna's chest—a larger version of the faintly glowing stone that had given him silent comfort in the moldy, dark, damp cave. His eyes narrowed with meaning.
It was also the first time he had seen the stone statue clearly. The resemblance filled him with wild joy. It firmly confirmed that the person before him was truly his beloved God who had "accompanied" him through his darkest days.
Yuna stretched out her hand to touch the stone, and as she did, inexplicable knowledge—something that had always been there—flooded into her memory.
She understood why she had appeared in the dark, narrow cave.
She had come here because of the child's desperate call.
'What in the fucking stone is this, really?!'
Yuna also learned that she would return to her bedroom at daybreak, which eased her anxiety somewhat. As long as she could return, that was good.
But… what about the child?
She could melt the chains and destroy the iron door, but this was enemy territory.
What if she was besieged by many powerful people? She was so small and so weak. She couldn't carry out a rescue mission.
But… her conscience would not rest if she did nothing for the child. Damn her conscience.
"God…"
"Hm…?" Yuna, lost in thought, answered subconsciously.
"Will you stay with me and not leave me?" Lucion asked, expectation lacing his tone.
Yuna felt tongue-tied. She could only pat his head and change the subject. "I'm thinking of a way to get you out of here. This is not a place for humans to live. This body of mine is too weak…"
Lucion's eyes dimmed when he didn't get the answer he wanted.
"If I get stronger… can I keep you? I will protect your vessel. You don't have to strengthen it."
Once a vessel grew too strong, it could no longer accommodate divine power and would die.
Lucion wanted God close to him. If she returned to the godly realm, he would only be left clinging desperately to a cold statue. Now that he had met her in person, the statue that once comforted him became unbearable.
His yearning for God was immense, filled with endless greed. A distorted place and experience bred a distorted mindset.
The fleeting warmth and touch were so good, so addicting, that Lucion—numb to fear—became terrified of losing them forever.
"What vessel…" Yuna wanted to explain, but then she looked at the statue identical to her, which she couldn't explain at all.
Too many mysteries slammed into her at once. On top of that, she had to think of a way to get the child out before dawn. She didn't have the energy to explain everything.
Her head throbbed.
Not receiving a response, Lucion pleaded, desperation etched across his hollow, malnourished face.
"Please… God. I will get stronger. Please stay with me…"
Yuna looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. They were not on the same page at all. She was worrying about escape, while the child was fixated on God this and God that.
'God… you fucking bitch. I know you're out there somewhere. Hurry up and save your believer.'
With a headache pounding, Yuna replied lazily, "Let's see after you get stronger first."
CLICK—
The sound of the iron door opening echoed through the cave.
'Holy shit! What the fuck! I haven't even come up with a plan!'
Eyes wide, Yuna stared at the iron door slowly opening from the outside.
'I'm doomed.'
"There is light coming from the cave. The filthy orphan must have finally developed his unique light ability," a rough voice said.
When the door fully opened, the man's eyes met another person who should not have been there.
His gaze sharpened with vigilance. He moved swiftly and grabbed Yuna's hand.
Yuna regained her senses and tried to conjure fire, but before she could, a spear of light pierced the man's heart.
"You—" he gasped, eyes wide, before collapsing.
Yuna turned her head mechanically toward the child holding the spear of light. His obedient, innocent expression was gone, replaced by a sinister sneer.
"You. Are. Not. Worthy. To. Touch. My. God."
His voice dripped with contempt and rage.
Lucion was furious—extremely furious. His God had been touched by filthy vermin.
The light he had honed for years, never daring to reveal, was finally wielded for his God.
He had bided his time, knowing that once exposed, he would be used by the Bishop he loathed. He had planned to kill his torturers and then take his own life to atone for the sins of killing people he once believed to be God's followers.
That was why he lived in darkness and never dared to emit light.
That was why he had cried out desperately to his God one final time.
Thankfully, his God listened. Thankfully, those he loathed were not her believers.
"What happened?" the companion shouted as he rushed in.
This time, Yuna did not freeze. Before the man could react, she conjured a swarm of fire butterflies and burned him alive. He didn't even have time to scream before turning to ash.
Yuna ignored Lucion's abnormality. She quickly melted the iron chains, dug out the small dimension stone, and watched as the statue crumbled.
"Let's go."
Using her newly acquired wind ability, Yuna lifted the child, who was too weak to walk.
She took a deep breath.
Fire bloomed in her hand, butterflies forming in droves.
If she couldn't devise a strategic plan, she would rely on brute force.
She could not stand still and wait for death.