At a time when all the humans were captured by monsters and systematically consumed by them, other humans also witnessed the monsters' unspeakable cruelty firsthand. As they observed countless humans being devoured by monsters, they felt overwhelming despair and crushing helplessness. This went on for what felt like an eternity, until their hope was completely erased, their expectations shattered, and a terrible realisation struck them. They started to perceive something beyond their normal comprehension.
As they comprehended all the hidden meanings through their prolonged imprisonment, their awareness of the world began to expand, and they started to see through the illusions. That's how they lost their final desperate grasp on hope. As all the humans witnessed human beings being eaten alive by monsters hundreds of times or perhaps even thousands of times, in that brutal process, they gradually lost all emotion and any attachment to anyone. They came to understand that if they formed attachments to anyone, those people would inevitably die before their eyes, and they would be forced to witness their screams and the desperation reflected in their dying eyes.
As they all reluctantly accepted their fate to be eventually eaten or consumed by monsters, one fateful day they saw something impossible—all of the monsters were lying on the ground, dead. Corpses were scattered everywhere, and blood was spilled all over the place. As they looked at all the dead monsters surrounding them while still confined in their prison cells, they noticed that their cell doors were standing open. However, they initially had no power or will to step out from those prison cells, but at that pivotal moment, their feet somehow took them out from their cages. They finally escaped from the slavery imposed by their fate.
As they emerged from their prison, they walked among the scattered monster corpses, observing all around the devastated area. When their eyes finally found Aeren, they saw him standing triumphantly above the mountain of monster corpses. As they observed him more closely, they could finally see it clearly.
The fundamental truth of the universe, existence, reality, and freedom itself. As they perceived all of this profound revelation, they started tearing up uncontrollably, feeling overwhelming awe, and kneeling reverently before Aeren. As they could finally see true freedom embodied before them, they started worshipping that freedom after being enslaved for hundreds of years with monsters cruelly controlling every aspect of their lives.
They started worshipping Aeren as the living embodiment of freedom, which they could see radiating from him. Their absolute devotion granted them a fraction of freedom through divine revelation. And that's how a new concept of freedom was born from the depths of slavery, as they bowed to their profound realisation.
***
Kavin lifted his head defiantly and looked directly at Aeren, noticing immediately that Aeren was not paying any attention to them whatsoever. It seemed as if he considered them completely invisible, beneath his notice. Kavin felt insignificantly small in comparison to Aeren's overwhelming presence, but he stubbornly believed he could eventually reach heights that Aeren had not even contemplated yet. However, he knew strategically that he had to wait patiently and bow before Aeren for now, working slowly and steadily to achieve his ambitious goals. He understood clearly that if he wanted to succeed, he needed to make Aeren his stepping stone; without that crucial foundation, he would remain like everyone else—nothing more than another blind worshiper.
"My Lord, we also wish to walk the path of cruelty like the others," Kavin said carefully, fixing his calculating gaze on Aeren as he expressed his desire to follow the path that Aeren had described earlier. Yet, Kavin could not see any actual cruelty in their chosen direction based on what he'd observed, so there was nothing to genuinely fear. He wanted to embrace this supposed path of cruelty merely as a means to eventually surpass Aeren.
Aeren smiled knowingly as he listened to their request and looked down at them with understanding. He could see through their yearning for power; it was not truly their own desire but rather the world's insidious expectations that compelled them to speak in such a manipulated manner. Looking at the four of them carefully, he noticed that three were still focused humbly on the ground, while one met his gaze with defiant eyes.
"You won't be able to reach that path at all. You are far too filled with worldly desire for it," Aeren explained simply in a single line. He didn't expect them to understand the deeper meaning behind his words at all.
Kavin listened to Aeren's dismissive words, and he could tell instantly that Aeren had rejected them completely; Aeren saw nothing of value in any of them. However, Kavin knew with certainty that he possessed something even Aeren could not perceive or understand. Despite this hidden awareness, Kavin felt rising frustration as he heard Aeren speak so dismissively. He had never been genuinely loyal to Aeren because he wanted to achieve his own selfish goals through whatever power Aeren had given to the humans around him, which they were now using to kill monsters so effectively. If Aeren was unwilling to reveal the true source of his power, then Kavin felt there was absolutely nothing to bind him to loyalty toward Aeren anymore. With that liberating realisation, Kavin stopped pretending to be respectful.
As Kavin stood up boldly before Aeren, the others noticed his defiance and quickly positioned themselves supportively behind him. "Fuck off, bastard. I will show you the true extent of my power, and then you will be the one forced to kneel before me," Kavin declared angrily, glaring directly at Aeren with hatred. Yet, Aeren remained completely unfazed, showing absolutely no interest in Kavin's bold proclamation.
"Let's go, guys," Kavin said, his anger still burning as he spoke confidently to his loyal companions. The three hesitated momentarily, glancing uncertainly between Aeren and Kavin before ultimately choosing to follow Kavin, leaving Aeren behind alone in his tent.
Once outside the tent, Kavin stood amidst the surroundings, his intense anger gradually dissipating as he looked up at the peaceful blue sky and took a deep, calming breath. The three companions joined him quickly, looking at him expectantly and waiting for direction.
"What should we do now, Kavin?" Sarah asked nervously as they all realised collectively that they had gained nothing from their confrontation and were now losing all hope of obtaining power. They had finally reached a point of deep despair, cutting the last fragile strings of hope to gain the mysterious power they had witnessed in their other companions. "We will die like this if we don't act. We need to find the source of his power somehow, or we will surely perish," Sarah explained anxiously. They understood clearly that if they wanted to survive in this dangerous village of monsters, they had to somehow harness the power their companions possessed; otherwise, they would lose their lives before they could take their rightful revenge.
Kavin turned his gaze towards Sarah with determination. He understood completely the dire situation they were trapped in, but he had no way of knowing the true source of Aeren's power or discovering whatever artifact he was hiding from them. Still, he believed firmly in his own natural strength to survive, even without the supernatural powers that other humans relied on so heavily.
"Don't worry at all—I will protect you all with my life. We will take our revenge on them for killing our people," Kavin said with conviction, his determination blazing evident in his eyes. He wanted desperately to assure them that he was their only realistic hope for survival in this ongoing nightmare. At his confident words, the two men looked at him with genuine admiration, while Sarah felt herself blushing at his heroic declaration.
"Yes, man! We trust you completely. We know that the Lord is incredibly strong, but I've always believed that you will surpass him in no time," Paul said enthusiastically, his eyes shining with absolute loyalty as he spoke to Kavin. Despite knowing rationally that Aeren possessed great strength, he had unwavering faith that Kavin would eventually overcome that power.
Kavin looked at everyone gathered and smiled warmly, saying, "Thank you, guys. I will definitely prove myself worthy to you all." His happiness was clearly evident as he continued passionately, "I will reveal to everyone that this guy has been using some kind of trick or artifact to manipulate them all. Although he appears completely invincible, he is not truly so. He is just a human like us, but he happens to be strong through deception. I know with certainty that I will surpass him and expose the truth about his manipulation."
Kavin was referring to Aeren, who had deliberately not revealed his name to anyone, and no one had dared to question him about it either. Since Kavin and the others had arrived at the village much more recently, just before Aeren appeared, they had not witnessed everything related to the monsters' true cruelty; they had only lost a few companions. In stark contrast, those who had lived imprisoned there for hundreds of years had experienced the full, devastating range of human suffering and loss, which fundamentally set them apart.
This crucial difference is precisely why Kavin and the others could not recognise or comprehend that Aeren was fundamentally unlike the others. They were completely blinded by worldly desires and personal ambitions, and had not witnessed the true depth of slavery that their circumstances represented, which thoroughly obscured their understanding of what genuine freedom actually meant.