Sheto sheathed the blade and stood up.
In his memory, his father could not control the hopeless emotions, and he had tears in his eyes as he laughed..
I wanted to live. Together. With all of you.
Though, his father had died shortly after that.
He had been known for his medicines, more than being a hunter, and so all of the others mourned his passing.
‘Please live, Sheto.’
His father said as he handed Sheto the blade.
‘I want, to live. But, more than that, I want you all to live. Irusha, your brothers. Take care of them.’
He could not keep that promise. He could not protect his mother, brothers, or his lover.
Still, he was alive.
“Father… Why, am I living?”
Without any purpose in particular, he started to walk.
And with every step, the old memories came back to him.
Salia landed on the red star, and then she looked up at the sky.
The shining sun was pale, enveloping the world warmly. The wind, which had never stopped blowing, had calmed down.
“Wh-what is…this…?”
The harsh atmosphere had completely softened, and there was even a feeling of moisture in the air now.
And Salia sensed it.
“The smell of…water?”
Before she knew it, on the exposed rock surfaces, and the dried ground, colors other than red began to emerge.
As she continued to walk, it revealed itself.
Gate teleportations did not make mistakes. Besides, this world was still filled with her own divine might…
“Could it be…”
The victor of the games acquired the faith of believers and the authority to integrate the world.
These things gave the god power, which was then unleashed into the world.
It was the true nature that a god could not erase or sever.
“The faith flowed in from my brother’s world…and is healing mine!?”
As Salia was stunned, she thought of something she had once said.
‘I have nothing.’
Yesta had laughed when she said that.
‘If that is what you think, then it must be so.’
She had been laughing because she knew about this.
“Hah…”
Salia spread out her arms wide. As if to hug the world.
Her senses informed her. The rebirth of a once dead world. The cry of a newborn.
“Haha…”
She could sense it. The gradual sprouting of something, still too weak and unreliable to be called life. Embraced in the warm sea, swaying in the waves repeatedly.
“Haha, hahaha, hahahahahahaha!”
She felt all of their rumblings.
We are born.
“…Really. What a terrible goddess I am!”
Salia knelt on the ground. And as she looked up at the sky, she cried tears of joy.
“Claiming you don’t want to use innocent lives, yet here you are, enriching your own world like this!”
Upon hearing this, the world began to bubble, as if to celebrate the return of its lord.
Lord, we have been born.
“Aye, so you have. You are born.”
She muttered at her own shallowness. Still, Salia could not suppress her own happiness.
On this star where death and meaninglessness had been wiped away, and life and purpose were being born.
“What should I do, Sheto? A sinful goddess such as I?”
Before she knew it, she was thinking about how she did not want to lose a single thing. This newly born world, as well as the small monster.
The goddess lay down on the damp earth and spread out her senses even farther.
Until it reached even the stars that were once ruled by her brother.
The people were praying.
In the morning, at night. Even during the day.
In churches, at work, in towns and fields and houses.
Some prayed earnestly, some madly, while others merely hoped.
“Ah…blessings to you all.”
It was a feeling that she had long forgotten.
To think of a world, and have a world think of you. It was this connection that made you a god.
A god who was not worshiped, had no reason to exist. At the same time, a god’s purpose was to give love to the world, and have enough authority so that prayers were offered.
“Yesta.”
“I am here.”
The goddess was sitting next to her suddenly. Salia glanced at her and smiled.
“Sometimes, I think you could give me a heads up.”
“But you realize it on your own. Why should I bother you with unnecessary words?”
“I have a job for you.”
“Thank you. And what might it be?”
“Something simple.”
Salia stood up and laughed.
“I want to buy my existence back.”
While walking under the cool shadows of the trees, Sheto remembered. His father’s voice.
‘The tree. Look carefully. Then you can tell, what can be taken from forest.’
Sheto saw that the branches here were thick with wide leaves. Forests with these kinds of trees tended to have many animals. Forests with trees with narrow leaves had less life in comparison.
On the other hand, trees with narrow leaves were good as building materials for houses and making durable tools.
As they walked, his father taught him different things. In fact, he knew more about the forest than the village Ganari, and had been asked to take on that role a number of times.
‘Know the forest well. That, the secret to survival.’
His father said as he pointed to a tree trunk. He saw scratch marks where the bark had been peeled off.
‘During this season, deers are active. Expand territory, in order to pair with females.”
Even prey could be a hunter, if you lowered your guard. His father had been the one to teach him that. In fact, his death had been the result of trying to protect a younger, inexperienced hunter, by moving in front of a stag’s antlers.
Over and over, the power to live was taught to him.
Now that he thought about it, his father’s wisdom was the reason that Sheto was able to defeat the Hero.