To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

Child.

Beloved child.

My child.

The voices of various gods rang out in succession, but she shook her head.

“No, not that. You said names are unique things!”

In the past, she had thought ‘child’ was her name, since that was how the gods addressed her.

It was a way of referring to her, but slightly different from an actual name. They said other young humans could also be called ‘child’, ‘little one’ and so on. Even though the gods only used those terms for her. Still, she wanted to have a name.

She had heard that all humans had their own unique names. So to become like other humans, shouldn’t she have a name too?

A name is a meaningless thing.

Fleeting and transient.

Merely a futile word used by humans.

“But didn’t you say that if I leave this place, I’ll live among humans?”

She protested.

“You taught me many words, saying there’s a lot I need to know to interact with humans. You even said I’m a citi…zen of a certain country!”

She smiled proudly at using the difficult word correctly. The gods then fell silent before their voices conversed with each other.

Then let us give the child a name as well.

I prefer the word ‘Child’.

We could each continue using our preferred terms. But the child needs a name.

Do you not know the meaning of a name bestowed by the gods?

We know.

A heavy voice resounded above her head.

That our power becomes more bound to this child, weakening the gods’ abilities.

“Ah, so giving me a name is a bad thing?”

Unable to fully comprehend but sensing the grave implication, she asked with wide eyes. One of the gods then answered:

It’s alright. We have decided to give you a name.

We will bestow upon you the finest word in the world.

Ah, so she would finally receive a name? Would this bring her one step closer to being human? Excitement caused her heart to race as they continued:

You are the girl who dwells in the lowest place.

The girl beloved by the gods.

We will grant you all our love.

So bearing our love.

[Your name shall be ‘Liv’.]

In that moment, Liv could only blink wordlessly. Just by gaining a name, by having the word used to address her change, an indescribable sense of elation welled up, rendering her unable to do anything.

She felt regretful for being unaware of this feeling until now, yet joyful at becoming more akin to ordinary humans, her heart fluttering. Overwhelmed by the inexplicable emotion, Liv remained speechless for a long while before finally opening her mouth to ask:

“What does it mean?”

‘Liv’ means love, child.

“Won’t you call me by that name?”

You are our eternal child.

It seemed the gods would not address her as Liv after all. But Liv didn’t mind. Just having a unique name referring only to her made her feel like a different person from her past self. She resolved to repeat her new name to herself every night before sleeping.

Then, at that moment, something began to materialize before Liv’s eyes, an unprecedented, strange phenomenon unfolding.

“Huh?”

What appeared was an unfamiliar form she had never witnessed before. Instinctively, every nerve in her body was on alert as she unconsciously retreated from it, filled with wariness and fear. As she scrutinized it warily, Liv realized it shared similarities with herself – similar arms, body, legs… Could it be a human?

‘There’s a person right in front of me?’

Unable to comprehend the inexplicable situation, Liv tilted her head as she observed him. While she couldn’t understand the reason for this anomaly, there were still many things in the world beyond her grasp. So it would be wise for her to simply remain silent and watch for now.

He resembled Liv, yet appeared different. For instance, compared to Liv’s shabby attire, he wore neat, refined clothing.

‘His hair color and length are different too.’

He had short black hair. Moreover, seeing human eyes for the first time, his gray irises were so breathtakingly beautiful that she inadvertently gasped in admiration. Though the color enveloping this prison was a dull ashen gray, his eyes radiated an exquisite brilliance incomparable to this dungeon. Ah, so human eyes were inherently this stunning?

As Liv stared at him, unsure how to regard this human, he focused on her and slowly opened his mouth.

And the moment ‘that word’ flowed from his lips, Liv felt as if her entire body was melting into bliss.

“Liv.”

It was the first time a human voice had uttered her name.

He was the first to call her by her name.

Liv tried to say something in turn, but was rendered speechless, overwhelmed by the euphoria of being addressed by name by a human and the tension of a human’s presence before her. She retreated slightly to create distance before asking:

“Wh-Who are you? Are you human?”

While she had guessed as much, Liv considered the possibility that her assumption could be mistaken. Yes, rationally thinking, it was hard to believe a human she had never encountered since birth would suddenly appear before her. How could a human have entered this sealed Abgrund?

Liv must be experiencing a hallucination. She occasionally saw illusions and heard voices during periods of extreme melancholy and boredom, so this must be another such instance… Faced with Liv’s reaction, the man tried to speak but grasped at his throat before coughing.

“Ha… It seems I can’t speak, at least for now. I will explain later.”

“Huh?”

“I have come here to help you, Miss Liv.”

“Wow…”

Liv gazed at the man with a face beaming like twinkling stars.

“You know my name…”

“Ah, that’s…”

While she had experienced hallucinations and heard voices before, they never exceeded what Liv could imagine – in other words, she had only heard voices resembling those of the gods until now. However, this man was speaking in an entirely ‘new form’ she had never heard before. It was beyond Liv’s capacity to conceive, so it seemed this man was indeed ‘human’!

As the man tried to speak again, Liv exclaimed:

“You must be a hero!”

“Pardon?”

“I heard it in the myths. Someone who comes to rescue a person imprisoned is called a hero!”

“I’m nothing like that.”

If not, how else could a human appear before her, the imprisoned one? However, the man responded in an awkward voice:

“I am merely an ordinary human like yourself, Miss Liv.”

“Then how did you come here? Um…”

After a moment’s thought, Liv quickly found the answer. If there was a human in Abgrund, it could only be for one reason.

“Did you commit a crime?”

At those words, the man’s expression darkened as he spoke in a low voice:

“…I failed to protect someone I should have. That is my sin.”

“Is that such a grave sin? I heard only those who committed extremely serious crimes come to this place.”

“But is it not you, Miss Liv, who has committed no sin yet resides here?”

“No, that’s not it. I heard my very existence threatens the ruler of humans, which is an extremely grave sin.”

Then the man abruptly grabbed at Liv’s hand. Or rather, he tried to, as his hand simply passed through her.

“What… is going on here?”

He glanced down at his own hand for a moment before seeming to realize something.

“It appears I still can’t touch you, Miss Liv…”

Now Liv’s gaze towards the man held more curiosity than wariness. Though a fellow human, why could he not touch her? His sudden appearance in this space, his knowledge of her name – perhaps he wasn’t an ordinary human after all. Yes, maybe he was an existence akin to the gods.

In any case, to Liv right now, he seemed as great and formidable as the gods themselves, so she gazed at him with sparkling eyes.

“Then what religion’s god are you? I know all the myths.”

“…I am not a god. I am merely a human like yourself.”

“Huh? But how can a human…”

“There are special circumstances for now. As you know, the gods can sometimes work miracles.”

Liv was well aware of that fact. For instance, the gods had once suddenly created shabby clothes for her. She had heard they had to gather their power over a long period to exert influence in Abgrund and create those clothes.

She had worried the clothes would no longer fit as she grew taller, but fortunately, it seemed her growth had nearly stopped, as the clothes still fit her body.

“I have simply received the gods’ miracle to exist here in a slightly different form, despite being human. However… Miss Liv.”

As if to broach a serious topic, he regarded her with a solemn expression.

“Remember this. You have committed no sin, Miss Liv. When you go out into the world, you must hold your head high. You need not bow to anyone.”

“Go out into the world?”

“Yes, one day you will leave for the outside world, Miss Liv. And…”

He hesitated before lowering his gaze and continuing:

“Until then, I will remain by your side.”