The Great Igogodon!
The fact that they had figured out where he was made them feel as though they were being elevated to a higher plane.
Evolution. By recognizing God, they were transforming into beings of a higher dimension!
Igogodon!
[Everything is to fulfill the words of God.]
God’s word must be fulfilled, for it is destined to come to pass.
However, there was still much to prepare before the “word of God” could be realized.
In a situation where even the world’s time could not be properly controlled, it was only natural that they could not dare to challenge God’s domain.
To make such an enormous task a reality, they still lacked the teachings and divine power.
Once it becomes clearer… Once they gain more power… One day, they would surely be able to make God’s word a reality.
When God willingly bestows “divine power,” it means He is sacrificing Himself to give the world to them.
The more their existence becomes clearer through this power, the more they feel God’s love—how warm and magnificent it truly is.
[All they wanted was God’s continued support.]
The only thing needed to fulfill God’s word was divine power.
As long as God continued to provide “divine power,” there was no need to go against God’s will.
They all agreed.
It was more of a resonance than a mere expression.
[So that Igogodon may cherish our world.]
So that Igogodon will not forsake us.
[Long live Igogodon!]
Everything is for the sake of Igogodon!
The fateful day.
The day they realized Igogodon’s existence and understood that He cherished and loved them.
Eirene had been revisiting that moment—the moment that had completely transformed her—over and over in her heart.
Now, she no longer denied the existence of God.
God existed, and they called Him “Igogodon.” For Eirene, He was a slightly more special existence.
The one who could claim her entirely.
It felt like waking from a dream, but Eirene did not want to dismiss it as merely a sensation from a world of illusions.
‘Was it really… just an illusion?’
Even now, when she closed her eyes, it felt as vivid as yesterday.
***
The rainy day when she held hands and escaped from the Igogodon Castle.
The moment she heard the words, “Well ripened,” and blushed deeply.
The happiest and most peaceful time she had ever spent at the monastery, the one she arrived at with Igogodon and Igon.
She realized those things were illusions the moment she returned here.
Still, the emptiness she felt was undeniable.
Even now, she could clearly feel Igogodon’s breath deep within her heart.
If it was all just a “divine experience” shown to her by God…
At that moment, a thought flashed through Eirene’s mind like lightning.
‘That’s right. Maybe… Maybe it exists…!’
Once she had the thought, she knew she had to act on it.
Eirene immediately stood up from her throne and hurriedly began walking.
“We’ve just left the castle gates, Your Majesty,” said her aide.
Nodding, Eirene replied, “We’re not far from here. Keep moving as instructed.”
“Yes!”
Her choice was to go directly to the Eigerden Monastery.
Since the emperor’s movement required dealing with various troublesome matters, Eirene decided to wait until nightfall.
Since it was a covert mission, darkness was more comfortable for her.
Although it was dark, the monastery was not far from the Igogodon Castle.
She had only visited it once, but the path was naturally etched in her memory.
After all, it was a path she had walked with no one other than Igogodon and Igon.
After climbing a few hills, Eirene halted the procession, stepped down from the carriage, and commanded her aide.
“Stand guard around here and wait. From here on, I’ll go alone.”
With a slightly raised chin, Eirene looked down with an authoritative stance, and the soldier lowered his head, shouting loudly.
“Yes! Understood!”
The reason she decided to go alone was simple.
She could not show any signs of weakness in front of the soldiers.
After all, just approaching this place had made her heart race uncontrollably.
Thump, thump.
“You’ve ripened well.”
“You couldn’t possibly be disappointed. Quite the opposite. It’s good, isn’t it? You’ve ripened well. There’s a beautiful resonance that can only be made with time, I think.”
Just thinking about that voice made her stomach churn uncontrollably.
She couldn’t help but twitch her legs.
That tender voice had burrowed deep into her being.
It was as if it was leaving a clear proof that this person, Igon, and Igogodon existed here, constantly invading her being.
Igon was God.
Of course, she knew that meeting him was impossible.
But still… why did her heart race so uncontrollably?
‘I miss you… Igogodon…’
After taking a deep breath, Eirene continued her steps.
After passing this hill and turning left, the view ahead would—
Eirene stopped in her tracks, unable to move forward.
It was inevitable.
There was… nothing there.
No trace of the monastery anywhere.
There were just a few trees.
Trees that had stood beside the food stand during her volunteer work with Igon.
Upon seeing the tree, her belief that her memory was wrong shattered.
Eirene wandered around the empty land, feeling defeated.
[I had expected this.]
I knew this was an illusion.
It was a kind of magical place that God had created to give her enlightenment… I knew that much.
When she regained her senses, the fact that Erin had leaned on the Bible was the greatest proof.
Still, why had she come here?
What had she expected?
She had been fortunate to receive God’s love, realized His existence, and served Him as her master—perhaps that was all a creature like her could desire.
So why had she come here, running, searching for His traces…?
Tears welled up in Eirene’s eyes again.
She had been the one everyone called cold-hearted for never crying.
But whenever she thought of Igogodon, her tears flowed helplessly.
Her one and only master.
The one she wanted to serve with body and soul…
‘Igon… Igogodon…’
Eirene quietly prayed in the empty land.
“Thank you for loving me. I will live my life for you, Igogodon. I will work with the Guodun Church to spread the simple truth of Igogodon to the whole world.”
***
‘…Huh?’
At that moment, a sound reached her ears.
It was quiet, but clear.
The sound of flowing water.
Eirene followed the sound with her steps.
Pushing through the bushes and trees, the source of the sound led her to—
·A massive hot spring.
She couldn’t even understand why this hot spring was here.
And Eirene knew that this was not her first time seeing this hot spring.
She had been here before—
“Your Majesty?”
Turning at the sound of a woman’s voice, Eirene saw none other than the chosen virgin of God—the saint Erin.
“Saint Erin…?”
“How did you come to this place, Your Majesty?”
“Well, I… “
Eirene, flustered, was silent for a moment.
Erin pondered for a while and then smiled widely with a graceful curve at the corner of her mouth.
“Would you like to join me?”
The two women stepped in, and the hot spring water spread out, almost as if the entire basin were about to run dry.
However, it was clear that the water would not run out.
This place was no ordinary hot spring.
Saint Erin. Was it truly the case that she had been chosen by the gods? She possessed an overwhelming amount of divine power that could not be found in others of her age.
Her fair skin, and her platinum blonde hair that shone as brightly as her complexion, radiated a sacred beauty that even someone with no prior knowledge would immediately recognize as that of a saint.
And beside her, sitting in the place of the Empress of the Empire, was Empress Eirene von Einsberg.
Despite her age, she had skin that was as taut as Erin’s, and perhaps because of her age, her body gave off both a seductive and oppressive aura.
Her chest, which was as large as Erin’s divine power pouch, was an extra feature that added to her presence.
A gathering of women chosen by the gods, each with grand chests.
If the gods were to witness this scene, surely they would let out a pleased “Heh-heh.”
“Is this true, Saint?”
“Yes. This hot spring was granted to me by Lord Igogodon.”
Erin said that the hot spring water surged forth as a result of her prayers to Lord Igogodon.
Normally, such a claim would have been dismissed as religious nonsense, but Empress Eirene knew well that Erin was not someone to speak falsely.
“I see…”
“This place has been unknown to everyone until now. Only I have been able to perceive it.”
As Erin had said, “there was not a single trace of life around them.”
At the same time, she could instinctively sense that no one would ever be able to reach this place.
It was an occurrence that could only be explained by divine will.
“Then, for Her Majesty to have arrived here… it must mean…”
“Her Majesty, too, must be chosen.”
“Chosen?”
“Yes. Just like me… It is a sign that you too are receiving the love of Lord Igogodon.”
Erin slowly moved closer to Eirene and gently adjusted the wet strands of her hair.
“I’m glad to know that Her Majesty is also receiving the love of the gods. Heh-heh…”
“Lord Igogodon’s love?”
Eirene’s heart began to race again.
“Saint Erin… I have a question.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Does that mean… everything you shared with me—the divine truths—are just illusions?”
The idea of her own deposition, of being a sacrifice for a new era, and of the brief manifestation of the god to save her from it…
“Are all of those… just illusions?”
Erin closed her eyes without a word.
Then, she clasped her hands in prayer.
The Saint’s prayer—perhaps the only prayer that could reach the gods.
“The gods do exist.”
“Yes. Now I know that too.”
“I cannot know what your experience was, Empress Eirene, as I am only a proxy of the gods… But whatever it may be, it cannot simply be dismissed as an illusion. And as proof…”
“You entered this hot spring, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“This hot spring… the one that seemed to hold the starry sky about to fall… it exists, just like reality!”
“If so, everything I have experienced… truly happened.”
“Everything is the will of the gods, Empress Eirene.”
“Saint Erin…”
Eirene felt a warmth spread within her heart again.
This… was the divine truth.
now, in this moment, her body and heart were being filled with the pure, simple truths of Lord Igogodon.
“…Until I saw Lord Igogodon’s face in the portrait, I couldn’t know. Whether I could believe in the gods… or whether I could trust people beyond that.”
“But now, it’s different. After meeting Lord Igogodon, I can now trust people. Even if I am betrayed in my faith, I know that believing in someone is not a sin… Lord Igogodon taught me that.”
“When you can trust someone, you can move forward…”
Eirene lifted her gaze to the sky.
Countless stars were sparkling.
In her blue eyes, the stars were reflected.
One star symbolized faith, another symbolized love.
“I will establish the Igogodon faith as the official religion of the Empire.”
“I will announce it tomorrow. So that the simple truths of Lord Igogodon may be spread throughout the world…”
Eirene turned and smiled at Erin, who had become her benefactor.
It was a smile that resonated deeply.
A smile that could only have been born after 36 years of solitude and enlightenment, a smile that was beautiful and warm.
“I look forward to working with you, Saint Erin.”
Without a word, Erin smiled and took her hand.
This was the moment when the greatest barrier to spreading Lord Igogodon’s message was overcome.
Indeed.
This moment was the moment of crossing that barrier.
For Erin, who had made spreading the will of the gods her greatest purpose, this was a deeply meaningful moment.
But Erin could not enjoy this moment entirely.
She could not feel unreserved joy or look ahead to the future.
The words she had spoken with a happy face, as if she were a lovesick girl, still lingered in her mind.
“…Until I saw Lord Igogodon’s face in the portrait, I couldn’t know.”
She had seen the face of Lord Igogodon?
Her Majesty had seen it?
The face of Igogodon that even Erin had never seen?
Why…?
‘Give it all to me.’ That was the word of the god.
Erin had never once thought of defying it.
And yet, a single phrase continued to haunt her thoughts—
‘Why… why did Lord Igogodon show his face to someone else before me?’