"Aaaargh!"
Every time a brilliant light sliced through the darkness, the grotesque creatures spawned by Eve shrieked. This marked a thousand. It was Eve who, with just a thousand of these beings, had slaughtered hundreds of thousands of humans. Kang Sihyun silently observed her.
Creak.
The hand holding the bowstring twitched. A complex torrent of emotions sullied his reason.
Sympathy, compassion, jealousy, resentment, longing. A mix of emotions swirled as Kang Sihyun looked at Eve with confused eyes, while the eyes of the beings devoid of self were chillingly empty. Even when their gazes met, nothing was reflected back.
Void.
That was the only way to describe it.
Kang Sihyun slowly raised his bow, letting go of the faint hope he had harbored. He stripped away the shallow hope that he could return to the past, to a peaceful time without having to kill Eve, and nocked an arrow. The bow had become familiar in his hand due to repeatedly shooting arrows at Eve’s remnants and attacking Eve ever since he was endowed with power.
"Eve."
Kang Sihyun called out softly to the black being.
This was the last chance.
If she answered, she would be spared. If there was even a sliver of self left, a chance for persuasion, she would be spared. But if there was no answer.
Then.
"......"
Eve, who had been staring at the dying life beneath her, turned her head at the sound of his voice. But that was all. She said nothing, showed no emotion. She was nothing more than a slaughterer, moved only by the energy of life to raise her head.
"Eve..."
The soft call turned into a sigh. Hesitation flickered at his fingertips, but just as his heart was about to weaken, a small cry was heard. It was the last human left by a woman who had hidden her child in a storage room while dying. Sparked by the soul's cry, Kang Sihyun erased his hesitation.
Strength entered the hand drawing the bow.
The moment of familiar brilliance lingered at the tips of Kang Sihyun’s fingers.
"Stop there."
"......"
"...Hasn't the situation been dealt with enough already?"
It sounded like a stern reprimand yet emotionally appealing. Unable to ignore such a powerful voice, Kang Sihyun’s hand, about to release the arrow, froze. He turned his head. There, blocking the path to Eve, stood a god.
"Father."
"...Her power has weakened; she will be calm for a while."
"Father."
"I will try talking to her again."
"Father!"
Finally, Kang Sihyun raised his voice. As he called out, peeling back the robe and revealing the god's face that had been hidden, their eyes met under the gradually rising sun. The sorrowful eyes met his, and Kang Sihyun fell silent before the creator of such a pitiful expression.
Slowly.
As if hearing the creaking of his own limbs, Kang Sihyun slowly lowered his hand. After a brief silence, the robed figure covered Eve's body with his robe. It was to protect the woman who had started burning under the sun since her fall.
Footsteps were heard.
Walking away from him.
Not just one, but two sets of footsteps.
Until the footsteps faded away, Kang Sihyun kept his head bowed, then slowly lifted his gaze to look into the distance. He saw the god and the woman moving away from him. The events of a moment ago swiftly passed through his mind.
Himself, who had tried to kill his sister, and the father who had tried to protect her.
And the woman, who had lost her mind and knew nothing but gluttony and murder.
Kang Sihyun bit his lip as he surveyed the surrounding scene. Corpses had piled up. The clear, blue river had turned red, and a foul stench assaulted his nose.
Kang Sihyun stood in the midst of despair.
Even after bestowing power, the god had taken Eve from Kang Sihyun's hands several times. The humans created by the god had fallen to the calamity known as Eve as soon as they gained power, leading to millions of deaths. The endless cycle of calamity seemed to have no end.
Weary of the relentless repetition, Kang Sihyun grew tired. The compassion he once felt for Eve had long turned into resentment.
"Why!"
"......"
"Why won't you allow me to kill her completely? She is clearly a calamity! Redemption is impossible!"
When he faced the dawn for the ten thousandth time, Kang Sihyun finally protested to the god. The god looked at him with a sorrowful expression, causing Kang Sihyun’s shoulders to twitch. He should have been used to that expression after seeing it thousands of times, but the sadness the god expressed always made him feel weak.
"Do you want to kill Eve?"
"It's not that I want to kill her; it's that she needs to be killed."
"My gift to you was not for destruction, but for salvation."
"......"
"And still, you want to kill Eve?"
The words sounded like regret or perhaps a sigh. Yet, the voice never lost its tenderness, making Kang Sihyun clench his fists. He felt like he had become a pure villain.
"I say this because my role is to bring salvation."
Leaving Eve would result in nothing but destruction. Initially, he denied this fact and wished for Eve’s redemption alongside the god, but as the wars continued, he realized.
She had already lost her self, and she was not the Eve they once knew. When Kang Sihyun did not waver, the god sighed softly.
"That's why I sealed her away, isn't it?"
"Who knew she would break the seal and awaken? It seems you've forgotten about the first war. Well, it was me who fought back then, not you."
Worn out, Kang Sihyun’s sharp words came out more harshly than intended. Even though he was startled by his own words, he soon grimaced. Showing any sign of being upset would surely make the god capitulate again.
He had always lived yielding.
Understanding and retreating.
He could retreat no more.
"I will perform the salvation you have commanded. To do so, she must be killed."
"Do you think her death will save the world?"
"Yes."
In the beginning, Eve was the only threat to a world that was once peaceful. It was Eve who dared to harm the divine, rebelled against God, and started the destruction of the world.
The disappearance of Eve, the root of all evil, naturally meant the disappearance of evil itself.
God's expression darkened at the unwavering statement.
"Then who can save that child?"
Kang Sihyun did not respond to the voice heavy with worry. It was inevitable. Despite wanting to empathize and comfort God, who was deeply saddened, the repeated wars had changed Kang Sihyun's mind.
There was no salvation for evil.
As if reading his thoughts, God's voice came through. At the same time, a giant hand reached over Kang Sihyun's head.
Rustle.
The touch that ruffled his fine hair was gentle. Kang Sihyun, feeling an affectionate touch after a long time, caught himself before his heart could soften. The dispute over Eve's problem had persisted for years. It was time to put an end to it.
"Adam."
"Yes."
"I loved that child."
I know.
It was the fact that Kang Sihyun knew best.
You loved her more than anyone else.
Even if the world you created crumbled.
"Once you asked me if I knew everything. Would you be disappointed if I said yes?"
That disappointment had already become a thing of the past, known only to God. Kang Sihyun swallowed the resentment that rose to the tip of his throat. He didn't want to add to the burden of God, who was already carrying a heavy load.
"I knew the child's future and her despair. That's why I created you. I thought that by creating you, the child could be saved."
God continued in a faint voice.
"However, even you, who was ordered to save her, could not do so. Should I not become the child's salvation?"
His breath hitched at the muddy voice. Kang Sihyun blankly stared at God, who spoke such cruel words nonchalantly. Sadness dwelled in God's eyes, an emotion that existed solely for one being.
It meant there was no place for him.
Despair crushed Kang Sihyun. Overwhelmed by negative emotions that felt like they would burst out of his body at any moment, he barely moved his lips before leaving his spot. Facing God any longer, he felt like he would spill all the resentment accumulated in his body.
The fruitless conversation ended emptily, and time passed in silence. God silently repaired the world, and Kang Sihyun quietly eliminated the remnants of Eve.
Then, one day, the seal that God had placed on Eve was broken.
Just as when she had sprung from prison, Eve, after numerous attempts to break the seal, finally succeeded and was released into the world.
The world, which had been at peace for a short while, faced disaster once again. Kang Sihyun, who hadn't picked up his bow for a long time, now confronted Eve.
Kwaang!
Life fled as the clash continued and the noise was incessant. Morning and night came at once. When Eve's power crushed Kang Sihyun, the color of the night deepened, and when Kang Sihyun repelled Eve, the light of morning strengthened. In the end, Kang Sihyun was defeated after a fierce battle.
It was an unavoidable situation.
Kang Sihyun had to face not only Eve but also the creatures she had created while imprisoned, and he had to ensure that the humans created by God were not harmed. With his attention constantly divided, defeat was inevitable.
Darkness enveloped the sky, and the dawn disappeared.
Eve, having devoured everything, was not satisfied and even picked up Kang Sihyun, who lay wounded from the battle.
As if a being reminiscent of the abyss opened its mouth wide, Kang Sihyun's body was swallowed. Half of his body disappeared into the black maw. When a scream burst from Kang Sihyun's mouth for the first time despite all his wounds, God, who had finished repairing the world so it wouldn't collapse, returned.
God did not expect Kang Sihyun to be defeated and was shocked at the sight, soon becoming enraged. Kang Sihyun had never seen God so angry before.
Enraged, God pressed down on Eve and grabbed her throat. Or, it might not be accurate to call it a throat. Except for the mouth, everything else about Eve had crumbled, leaving her unrecognizable as a body.
God turned to look at Kang Sihyun, whose half body had disappeared, and gritted his teeth. Kang Sihyun moved his lips, feeling the excessive strength used by God.
It must be stopped.
Ever since sealing Eve, God's power had been weakening. Whether it was because of repairing the world or sealing Eve, Kang Sihyun had noticed that God was becoming weaker. Perhaps the weakening was due
to the powers granted to him.
That's why he tried even harder to protect God, but if God exhausted his power in such a manner, it was all in vain.
Muttering that it couldn't be, Kang Sihyun tried to rise, but his half-remaining body did not move as he wished. God looked at the twitching Kang Sihyun with a heartbreaking gaze and, engulfed in anger, strangled Eve. The expression of someone erasing their last bit of regret was pitiable.
Unbelievably so for an enraged being.
"Eve."
"Grrrgh."
"...Take back the Eve I bestowed upon you."
"!"
Shocked by the pronouncement, Kang Sihyun realized that taking back the name meant stripping away the power. Erasing the meaning of one's existence was no different. As he stared at God with wide eyes, God, with a twisted expression, delivered the punishment he had deferred for the one who had disturbed the world.
"You are no longer Eve."
"Grrrgh..."
"You are merely Tam."
The voice became lower and deeper. Kang Sihyun realized that emotions were gradually being erased from God's voice. Longing disappeared, affection disappeared, and finally, only resentment remained in the quietly muttering voice.
"Gula."
"Grrk!"
"That is your sin."
As the pronouncement flowed, Eve's body sparkled and completely melted away. Her body, now so destroyed it could not even be called a living being, lost its form and oozed on the ground.
The one who could not overcome greed and turned her back on God, committing sin.
Gula.
The first original sin.
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