To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

“I don’t like the rain. It blocks the light from coming in.”

Liv began conversing with the gods again.

“But I do like water! Drinking water feels good.”

With a flushed face, Liv sat beneath the hole, waiting for the rain. Soon after, raindrops began falling, the pitter-patter of drops striking the stone walls echoing.

Shhhhhaaaaa.

The raindrops falling through the hole grew larger and larger. It seemed a heavy downpour was coming.

After some more time passed, a continuous stream of water flowed relentlessly through the hole, raining down upon Liv.

Liv opened her mouth and sat beneath it, catching the raindrops with her hands. She then brought her palms to her lips, murmuring as she savored the taste before tilting her head in puzzlement.

“It has a bitter smell. Similar to blood.”

Soon after, puddles began forming on the floor, and Liv splashed about playfully in the small pools.

“It’s cold, but feels nice. The wet sensation is so novel. They say this is called playing in the water?”

Meanwhile, Emmett could only observe Liv with a blank gaze. He no longer knew what emotion he felt towards her – guilt, pity, regret, or perhaps even affection. Why did his heart ache so much seeing her overjoyed by mere rain?

Then Liv suddenly knelt beneath the hole where the rain fell.

“I want to pray too. The gods are always by my side, but I still want to pray.”

She knelt with her hands together and said:

“Is this how you do it? They all differ? Ah, this should be similar enough?”

After contemplating the various prayer methods across different religions, Liv seemed to compromise on the most basic posture, keeping her hands clasped. Then, exposed to the rain, she calmly closed her eyes.

“Actually, I want to see the outside world…”

Ending with those words, Liv remained silent for a long while.

The raindrops falling through the hole streamed down her face, clinging to her long eyelashes and lips, flowing over her exposed cheek as her hair stuck to her skin. Seated in the puddle, her white dress was soaked transparent.

At that moment, sunlight pierced through the hole from outside.

Though it was still raining, the sun must have emerged from the clouds, bathing Liv’s head in radiant light that caused her to squeeze her eyes shut more tightly.

In that instant, Emmett couldn’t even blink as he gazed at her. Liv praying in the rain, with light shining upon her head.

Witnessing that sight, Emmett finally realized.

He had come to love Liv.

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when – whether it was before the divine punishment in his original time, the moment he saw her imprisoned in Abgrund, or when he observed her sleepwalking.

But the timing didn’t matter.

He felt love for Liv. Somehow, he had come to love this pitiful girl.

‘This can’t be.’

He recalled the wounds he had inflicted upon Liv, but the poignant feeling welling up inside did not dissipate. No, it seemed to grow even stronger.

“Liv.”

It had begun as pity. He couldn’t bear her miserable state. He wanted to care for her, to protect her.

But now, he realized his feelings had deepened beyond that. As a man, he desired this pitiful girl from the lowest place.

To feel love for the one he had wronged so.

This was truly divine punishment.

The moment he became aware of his love for Liv, Emmett crumbled to the floor.

“No, this shouldn’t be like this…”

To love her now, after treating her so cruelly? Moreover, his love had stemmed from pity. Some might find his love strange.

Yet he could no longer deny it…

He was drawn to her lovely appearance and innocent, eccentric personality. Even if his love began from pity, Emmett wanted to help her, to keep her by his side forever. No matter how he viewed it, this was undoubtedly love.

As he gazed at Liv, still praying in the rain, he let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, he felt too immoral.

“Just how old is the current Liv?”

Of course, the Liv he had come to love was the grown woman he had last seen. But no matter if it was the same person, this was years in the past.

‘No, the Liv I’m fond of is the one I saw last.’

He tried justifying himself by recalling Liv’s age from when he last saw her, but she had just become an adult then, not too far removed from her current appearance.

‘There is a bit of an age gap between us.’

No matter that Liv was an adult, he had never imagined himself loving someone so much younger. If he had known this would happen, he should not have remarked ‘Are you a thief?’ when Count Klein had married a woman who had just come of age. He regretted some of his foolish past remarks as he reflected on his actions until now.

Then he recalled Liv’s appearance the last time he saw her. At that time, Liv had slit her own throat for his sake. It was the face of someone who knew the world’s time would rewind if she died.

-Your Grace, everything will be alright… Although you’ll have to suffer a bit, it’s okay… If you go back, you won’t die.

The ‘suffer’ Liv referred to must have meant the divine punishment. Still, Liv had judged living to be better than dying.

‘For my sake, to that extent…’

Death was a fearful thing for anyone. Even knowing one wouldn’t truly die, the agony of death was not something one could easily accept. Yet Liv had died once for his sake. Despite how coldly he had pushed her away.

“You’ve suffered so much because of me…”

Having just realized his love, the wrongs he had committed against the woman he loved were too numerous. Would he even be able to maintain a proper relationship with Liv if he returned to his original world? What if Liv had grown to dislike him and pushed him away?

‘A dreadful thought.’

He resolved that if he returned, he would somehow mend their relationship. He would treat Liv well and provide her with good things. Now that he understood Liv better than before, could their relationship become like that of an ordinary couple?

As he steeled that determination, Liv stopped praying and whispered to the gods as if sharing a secret:

“Well, do you think my prayer got through?”

While Liv continued conversing with the gods, Emmett approached closer to her. Although he still couldn’t do anything, even if his heart didn’t reach her, he wanted to be by Liv’s side.

“Miss Liv, please wait a bit longer. Soon, you will be able to see me too.”

If the gods regained their power, Liv would be able to perceive him, and perhaps even converse with him.

“Then you will no longer have to feel so alone.”

Perhaps the gods’ intention in telling him to save Liv meant this. The gods were absolute existences, and their will would surely be realized. In other words, Emmett would be able to save Liv.

* * *

“Why is the sun out while it’s raining?”

When the sun shines during rainfall, it is called a ‘fox’s wedding’.

“A fox’s wedding, what a lovely name!”

Conversing with the gods, she rolled around on the damp floor, her wet hair sticking to her. Being able to experience the sensation of ‘damp’ was a novel feeling she enjoyed.

“While occasional rain is nice, I still prefer the sun. I like the light.”

That is the grace we bestow upon you.

Such a good child.

Soon, all the light in the world will shine upon you, my child.

As always, the gods spoke affectionately to her.

At that moment, something fell through the ceiling hole. When she approached directly beneath it, there was a strangely shaped black object.

“What is this?”

It is a creature called an ‘ant’. It seems to have fallen through the hole by mistake.

Humans refer to small beings like this as ‘insects’.

“Ah, so these small things are called insects!”

After nodding, she held it in the light to carefully observe it. Having never seen such a shape before, it felt alien. But she didn’t feel afraid or wary of it.

“It has such a unique form. Are there many strange things like this outside?”

Rather, she was quite curious about the outside world, delighted to see anything from the outside realm, no matter how small.

She rambled on about the new conversational topic of the ant for a while, but soon her interest waned and she fell silent. In Abgrund, the underground prison unreachable by the gods’ grace, no lifeform could survive. The ant that had fallen through the hole was dead and unmoving. She was truly the sole exception, able to breathe and live in Abgrund.

“Please tell me an interesting story.”

When she said that, a familiar voice reached her ears – that of Lufahisha, the god of the Lufahidism faith.

Let me tell you a myth. Long ago, there was a woman named ‘Asha’.

“Asha…”

Absentmindedly repeating that name, she suddenly sprang to her feet as if struck by a realization.

“Wait a moment!”

Her heart began racing, as if she had made an astonishing discovery.

“Actually, I have something to ask.”

What is it?

“Why don’t I have a name?”