The woman was too ignorant and pure to believe she was a deity. She wanted to learn about the world and desired to absorb knowledge.

Noah accepted her wishes and began traveling with her, from lavish banquet halls to the poorest back alleys.

The woman showed endless curiosity about everything in the world.

“Why are those people suffering so much?”

Among all things, she showed the deepest interest in those who were suffering. When seeing people plagued by poverty and disease, she would sink into profound sadness. Even having lost her divine power, she rolled up her sleeves without fear of being soiled.

However, she simultaneously grieved over her inability to truly help. During such moments, she often gazed at the sky with distant eyes, resembling someone desperately searching for something lost.

“If I hadn’t lost my divine power, I could have helped more people, right? If I hadn’t broken the taboo…”

At the woman’s words, Noah momentarily recalled the red-haired boy. Though she hadn’t explained everything, this was the moment when he understood how she had lost her powers.

“Do you regret it?”

If the woman regretted her choice, Noah was prepared to do anything. Even if it meant actions he couldn’t speak of to her.

But the woman firmly shook her head.

“No. Even if I could go back, I would make the same choice.”

The woman knew she had lost her divine power by breaking a taboo, but she had no regrets about her decision. Her only sorrow came from the fact that losing her power meant she could no longer help as many people. Despite losing everything, she still wished to help others.

In that moment, Noah was overwhelmed by an inexplicable emotion. The woman created ripples in his coldly hardened interior. She was much like a gentle breeze, continuously blowing and slowly changing solid rock.

Eventually, Noah decided to reopen the temple doors. This wasn’t simply the act of opening doors; it was choosing to follow the will of the deity he served. Dedicating his power according to the woman’s wishes.

The priests rejoiced at Noah’s decision. The reopening of the Grand Temple signified a new beginning. The emergence of a new deity could become a powerful symbol against royal pressure. Moreover, Noah’s direct involvement in solving problems presented an opportunity to strengthen the temple’s position. The priests accepted Noah’s choice as divine will.

Thus, the Grand Temple doors, firmly closed for so long, opened again to the world. People flocked to encounter divine devotion and make their wishes.

The woman listened to people’s troubles, not asserting divine authority but meeting them at eye level, sharing their pain and promising help.

All of the woman’s promises were fulfilled, and the temple’s prestige grew higher each day.

However, the actual resolution of these hardships fell to Noah. He poured all his strength into granting people’s wishes, or rather, doing everything the woman wanted.

But Noah was not a deity and had limitations. He restricted access to the woman, quietly excluding tasks beyond his capabilities. His desire was not for people’s happiness but for the woman’s satisfaction.

Even so, Noah’s body and mind gradually grew weary. His power wasn’t infinite, while people’s expectations grew boundlessly.

Nevertheless, Noah didn’t stop. Recalling the hunger and disease-stricken people that saddened the woman during their world exploration, Noah devoted himself day and night to researching potions like fertilizers and remedies.

All for his deity. Simply to see the woman’s joyful face.

Noah’s efforts finally bore fruit. The fertilizer he developed through sleepless nights opened possibilities for making barren land fertile, while his remedies could bring new hope to people. 

They contained possibilities for changes previously unimaginable. However, before these innovative achievements could spread throughout the world, strange rumors began to circulate.

‘The woman is not a deity.’

‘The temple is worshipping heresy.’

The rumors began undermining the temple’s authority. People had long worshipped only Pathos as the sole deity. The emergence of a new deity naturally aroused distrust and suspicion.

The temple was certain all rumors were royal conspiracies. The royal family would never simply watch the temple’s power grow.

Then one day, the woman said she met a strange man in the garden.

“He… asked if I was really a deity.”

The moment Noah heard her words, he immediately recognized the man’s identity. The only person who could freely roam unauthorized areas within the temple, the one chosen by Pathos, the king of this country.

The king had come to personally confirm the woman’s existence.

“What did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything. Strange, isn’t it? A person who doesn’t wish for anything. Not even once, despite meeting several times.”

Noah pressed his lips firmly together at the fact that the royal family had been watching the woman. For quite some time already.

Not long after, debates about the woman’s existence intensified within the temple. Some priests belatedly began questioning whether she was truly a deity. They were the group fearing temple pressure from the royal family due to the king’s frequent visits.

Amid the chaotic atmosphere, several priests decided to hold a trial within the temple.

The trial proceeded under the pretext of preserving authority within the temple, but in reality, it was a choice made out of fear and confusion. Some priests accused Noah of heresy to deny the woman’s existence, and internal turmoil grew ever larger.

The woman believed all this was happening because of her. She blamed herself for being unable to prove her divinity after losing her power.

Meanwhile, long and tedious interrogations continued. The priests read passages from thick scriptures Noah had never seen, claiming the woman wasn’t a deity. Their argument was that there was no deity other than Pathos, who created this world.

Noah partly acknowledged this possibility in his heart. The power the woman once possessed might actually have belonged to someone else, not herself.

After all, no true deity would lose power simply for breaking a taboo.

Despite these facts, Noah paid no attention. Rather, he thoroughly ignored them. Even if she wasn’t a deity, even if she were evil’s devotion sent to bewitch him, it didn’t matter. For him, the only deity worthy of service was the woman.

After the interrogation, Noah firmly stated:

“Whether she is a deity or not is for me to judge. Who among you besides myself can discern that?”

The priests couldn’t refute his arrogant voice. Debates surrounding the woman continued endlessly, but no one within the temple could surpass Noah’s authority. Eventually, the priests released him.

Thus, when Noah returned, what awaited him was an empty space. The temple priests bowed their heads and informed him:

“She left the temple and hasn’t returned.”

Noah showed no reaction to the priests’ words. He immediately looked around the temple interior. The place where the woman had been was empty. Only the priests’ indifference and relief filled the space where she had disappeared.

The priests considered her absence insignificant. There was even an atmosphere suggesting they were fortunate that the source of their problems had vanished. Noah felt cold anger watching the temple’s behavior.

“Then I have no reason to remain here either.”

Noah left his position and departed from the temple. To find his deity.

After a long journey, Noah discovered the woman. She was staying in a dark, damp forest far beyond human territory, reeking of decay.

The forest of Grimnoir. The hiding place of Tarkars, beings Pathos defined as evil.

It was a place with heavy, humid, and cold air that felt suffocating. In the darkness where not a single ray of sunlight penetrated, Noah illuminated the path with his divine power. Light flowing from his fingertips pushed back the darkness, creating a path.

However, countless eyes watched him from the darkness beyond the light’s reach. Hostility and wariness covered the entire forest. But Noah didn’t stop.

The woman he finally found appeared different from Noah’s last memory. Her silver hair no longer shone like before, and her face was deeply shadowed with fatigue. She resembled an ordinary human who had lost all hope from endless exhaustion.