Little Pink Starfish

After finishing my schedule, I returned to the dorm.

Changing into comfortable clothes, I sat on the bed, lost in thought.

The image of faith that Saetbyeol had shown me remained vivid in my mind.

Naturally so, since to humans, faith had always been something invisible.

“Hey, don’t drop chocolate crumbs on the bed.”

I narrowed my eyes as I spoke.

Saetbyeol was lying on the bed, unwrapping a piece of chocolate.

<Why?>

Saetbyeol tilted his head.

<Whenever crumbs fall, they disappear after a while.>

“They disappear because I clean them up, you idiot.”

I let out a sigh.

Turning my gaze away from Saetbyeol, I sank deeper into thought.

As I had learned, the existence of gods had long been one of humanity’s central debates.

Philosophers devoted countless arguments to proving or disproving the existence of gods. But now that the constellations had appeared, surely they must have watched those philosophers from above and laughed.

Gods exist. That fact had been proven.

The once endless question of “Do you believe in God?” now had a definitive answer.

But even with the question resolved, a problematic issue remained.

Gods exist. But are they worthy of belief?

With the existence of The Savior Who Is One and All confirmed, religions that had preached a singular god with similar attributes rapidly gained immense power. Though The Savior Who Is One and All wasn’t exactly the same as the god they preached, many of their characteristics overlapped.

This also led to social issues, with fanatics running amok in their zealous fervor.

The Savior Who Is One and All did not welcome this.

Though he had revealed himself in response to the unprecedented crisis of the Demon God opening a Gate to hell, dealing with the aftermath of that incident was another matter entirely.

<Religion…>

Saetbyeol chewed on his chocolate as he spoke.

<Once a god reveals himself, religion can no longer exist.>

He was right.

Religion is a group that accepts the existence of gods more fervently than any other, but the moment that god appears, their fervor loses direction.

Desire burns hottest when it’s unattainable.

<That’s probably why the power of religion in your society is gradually weakening.>

After the Gates closed and the constellations’ existence was confirmed, religion—which had once boiled over with zeal—had now significantly lost its momentum.

“So… they turned to the entertainment industry.”

I rested my chin on my hand as I spoke.

<You could say that.>

Crumpling up the chocolate wrapper, Saetbyeol chuckled.

<Creatures, constellations are far from perfect beings. Perfection can only be attained in ways that are unseen. Once revealed, constellations are merely called powerful beings.>

That was true.

In this era, we couldn’t regard constellations in the same way as ancient gods.

Especially considering that the Saetbyeol in front of me right now was stuffing his face with chocolate. If the people of old who feared Satan saw this, they’d probably want to gouge out their eyes.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

I scratched my neck as I spoke.

“Um… is The Savior Who Is One and All someone you can trust?”

Asking whether I could trust his “father” felt like crossing a line, but I decided to ask anyway.

<Why are you wondering that?>

One of Saetbyeol’s eyebrows rose.

“You said you saw The Savior Who Is One and All when you gave me power.”

Strictly speaking, I hadn’t seen his true form. The Savior Who Is One and All had taken on my own appearance.

“It just… didn’t feel god-like.”

It felt less like a god and more like a program.

More precisely, a system.

That’s what it felt like.

The Savior Who Is One and All seemed to view me like an intriguing variable. Like an AI exploring new data after scanning countless pieces of information on the internet.

<What does ‘god-like’ mean?>

Saetbyeol shrugged.

<Wasn’t it human uncertainty about god’s existence that shaped the very image of what a god should be?>

“Well… that’s true.”

A god cherishes humans.

They love their creations, but sometimes punish them.

They show great interest in governing the world, but sometimes destroy it with their own hands.

That’s how gods have been described.

<You’re asking if Papa is someone who can be trusted unconditionally.>

“To be honest… yeah.”

Can I blindly believe in The Savior Who Is One and All?

That’s what I was wondering.

<To answer bluntly… there’s no being that should be trusted unconditionally. If I were to use a metaphor, The Savior Who Is One and All is the father and mother of everything. But even between parent and child, unconditional trust should never be forced.>

What Saetbyeol said was true.

Children don’t blindly trust their parents. While they may fully believe them in their early years, as they grow, they start to question their parents’ decisions, and eventually, after answering those questions themselves, their trust becomes either genuine or lost.

That is called trust between parent and child.

<Humanity spent a long time questioning god’s existence. Then god’s existence was proven… and without completing that process of questioning, people simply chose to believe and follow.>

Well, doubt all you want.

Murmuring, Saetbyeol turned over.

<…Though you won’t find any clear answers anyway.>

Is he mocking me?

Somehow, his tone carried a hint of pity.

Or maybe not. That guy rarely shows such emotions.

I sighed.

As Saetbyeol said, it was a question unlikely to yield any clear answer.

---

Late at night.

Han Iro sat on his bed with a sigh.

Ordinarily, he should have been asleep by now, but Jeong Noeul was busily preparing to go out.

“So….”

With his arms crossed, Han Iro spoke.

“For the past few nights, you’ve been pulling some weird stunt on me and sneaking out afterward, right?”

“Weird stunt? That’s a bit harsh.”

Zipping up his jacket, Jeong Noeul responded.

“I put a lot of effort into casting that spell, you know. Even though it got dispelled instantly.”

He scratched his head and then reached out his hand to Han Iro with a grin.

“Wanna come with me? It’s actually pretty fun. Eunyul hyung rolls around, I shoot fireballs…”

“No thanks.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Of course I’m curious. But it’d be weird for all five of us to suddenly show up together…”

Han Iro averted his gaze from Jeong Noeul.

“It feels like my imagination is constantly being tested. I guess I’m just not mentally ready yet.”

Though people once debated whether constellations existed, Han Iro had grown up in a world where their existence was common knowledge, so he had accepted it without resistance.

The problem was that in the past few days, much of what Han Iro thought he knew about the world had collapsed.

Even Jeong Noeul, sitting wide-eyed in front of him, was supposedly someone who once turned all of Jeju Island upside down. Just by wearing a crown he conjured up, he could wield magic.

And there was an angel in the next room. Though he called himself merely an apprentice angel, Han Iro couldn’t tell what difference that made.

‘I’m already way beyond my capacity for processing this.’

The manager being Satan was the final blow.

“Well, if you want to rest, that’s fine…”

With his hands in his pockets, Jeong Noeul stepped closer.

“You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

“What…?!”

Han Iro frowned. Jeong Noeul’s expression annoyed him.

“Are you teasing me right now?”

“Of course not.”

Jeong Noeul smiled softly.

“I’m just checking. If you were afraid of me, maybe it’d be better to erase your memories. It’d be painful for both of us otherwise. I could ask Saetbyeol-nim to do it. He’s strong enough that even your constellation probably couldn’t stop him.”

“No. I’m not scared. And don’t talk about erasing people’s memories like it’s nothing.”

It’s weird enough that it’s even possible.

Han Iro pouted.

According to what he’d heard, a man called Jung Hangyeol had erased himself from everyone’s memories before vanishing. That man was the real Aiden, and the current Aiden was a fake who was sacrificing others to restore Jung Hangyeol.

He couldn’t understand it. What the hell did that mean?

Because fragments of his soul were scattered, they were gathering them to revive the dead?

Was that even possible?

There were too many things that made no sense.

But one thing he was sure of…

“So… Eunyul told me.”

Looking straight at Jeong Noeul, Han Iro spoke.

“You went around exorcising spirits on Jeju Island during the third preliminaries, right?”

“And?”

Feigning nonchalance, Jeong Noeul answered.

It was a defense mechanism. He was genuinely concerned that Han Iro might be afraid of him. While Eunyul and Madojin had accepted him easily, Han Iro was different. If Han Iro came to fear him, he’d need to find a solution.

“…And I heard you took a hit protecting Eunyul when some angel tried to kill him.”

“I really almost died back then.”

Jeong Noeul sighed.

“Must be resentful of your past life, huh?”

At Han Iro’s question, Jeong Noeul shook his head.

“I used to be. Up until right before CYB. But not anymore. There are plenty of others with more reason to resent. Not that I pity them either. Between me and that guy—it’s just that. We’re completely different beings. Only our souls are the same. Our names, parents, even our lives are different.”

“Yeah.”

With a sigh, Han Iro spoke.

“Honestly, it’s hard for me to keep up with whatever you guys are doing. I try not to show it, but I need a bit of time to process everything.”

But…

Han Iro murmured.

“I’m not doubting you or anything. I’ve seen who you are all this time. That’s proof enough of my faith.”

“I could’ve been faking everything, you know.”

“No. You’re not smart enough for that.”

Han Iro said firmly.

“So I trust you.”

“Ah…”

Jeong Noeul let out a helpless laugh.

Fair enough. Honestly, he didn’t have the ability to deceive anyone.

“Alright. I’ll head out.”

Placing a hand on his chest, Jeong Noeul spoke.

“And thanks.”

His gaze turned to Han Iro.

“…For believing in me.”