To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

“Why, why is Liv Hamelsvoort there…”

He must have seen incorrectly. Why would Liv Hamelsvoort, beloved by the gods, be in this prison?

He moved his transparent body in an unfamiliar manner, approaching closer to Liv Hamelsvoort.

She was gazing vacantly into the empty space. Her once-white dress, now turned yellowish, was close to rags. Her white hair, appearing ashen in the darkness, was tangled in disarray. Dried tears clung to the corners of her eyes, and her lips were cracked and parched.

More than anything, what made her seem so unfamiliar was the utter lack of vitality in her eyes, which had always regarded him with a sparkling light. No, she was seated in an awkward posture and wearing an unfamiliar expression, to the point where he could hardly believe she was human.

As he surveyed her with a perplexed gaze, he noticed something strange.

First, she didn’t seem like someone newly imprisoned here. She looked like someone who had spent an extremely long time in this prison.

Secondly, she appeared younger than the Liv Hamelsvoort he knew. While her severely emaciated body contributed to her youthful appearance, her bone structure itself looked different from what he was familiar with.

Perhaps because his body was transparent, Liv Hamelsvoort didn’t seem to notice him as his lips parted wordlessly in confusion. Then, the voice of a god rang out once more.

You have come to the past Abgrund.

“The past Abgrund?”

Then did this mean Liv Hamelsvoort had been imprisoned in this prison in the past? It was even more nonsensical. He had never heard any story of Liv Hamelsvoort being imprisoned here. If that were the case, he surely would have known about it as well.

Since the current Emperor August’s ascension, he had never imprisoned any criminal in Abgrund. No, the same was true even during the previous Emperor’s reign, and the one before that. Abgrund was a prison to confine only those who committed the gravest crimes bordering on treason. In recent times, imprisoning a human in Abgrund was considered a dreadful punishment that would prevent them from ever being saved, even after death. So Abgrund itself had gone long unused.

This place is Abgrund, a realm the gods’ power cannot reach.

As if sensing Emmett’s doubts, the god’s voice continued.

We wish to save the child we love, but can’t. So we brought you here under the pretext of divine punishment, through a bit of trickery.

“Ah.”

Save our beloved child from this place. That is the divine punishment we inflict upon you.

As the voice seemed to recede once more following those words, Emmett hastily called out:

“Wait! Why is Liv Hamelsvoort imprisoned here?”

My child is here.

The god’s voice descended upon his head.

Because her existence alone threatens someone’s position.

Leaving behind those words, the god’s voice faded away once more. Emmett could only sit there with a blank expression.

“Someone’s position, you say… Only His Majesty the Emperor has the authority to imprison people in Abgrund.”

Then it meant Liv’s existence threatened the Emperor’s position, and for that reason, the Emperor had chosen to imprison her here.

‘His Majesty the Emperor imprisoned Liv Hamelsvoort here?’

Why? Confusion began to insidiously consume Emmett.

* * *

The child lay on the floor, rolling around. When she felt her clothes starting to tear from the friction against the ground, she sat upright again. But soon, unbearable boredom overtook her, and she crawled towards the small hole below the ceiling.

The underground prison she was confined in had no exits, but there was a tiny hole in the ceiling. Just large enough for a finger to barely fit through. Of course, the ceiling was too high for her stature to actually reach and insert a finger into the hole.

As she sat beneath the hole, bright light streaming down from the sky landed on her head. The warmth on her crown brought her comfort, and she let out a soft giggle.

“Are you there?”

We are always by your side.

Our beloved child.

From a time long before she could remember, she had been continually imprisoned in this underground prison. To be precise, she had been confined here since the moment of her birth.

Originally, Abgrund was a place the gods’ power could not reach. Fortunately, thanks to the single hole in the ceiling, she could converse with the gods.

“I want to try eating food.”

She mumbled those words.

“What does it feel like? Is it very different from swallowing saliva?”

Of course you will experience it in time, child.

You will encounter it in the future.

She had never consumed food or drank water, yet she could still sustain her life. That too was thanks to the gods’ power. Through the small hole, the gods exerted their weakest power, which was keeping Liv alive.

Thanks to that, the child could live in the underground prison without any physiological functions. However, she wanted to try eating food. While occasionally drinking raindrops falling through the hole was enjoyable, she had heard food provided an even more wondrous sensation.

Suddenly feeling gloomy, she pouted her lips. When would she ever be able to leave this prison? From her earliest memory until now, she had been continuously confined here. Would she ultimately meet her demise in this place?

“Why do you love me?”

She petulantly asked that question, and the gods collectively transmitted their voices.

Because you were born in the lowest place.

“Mm…”

According to the gods’ claims, this place unreachable by the gods’ grace was the lowest realm in the world. And all the gods loved the one residing in the lowest place, so they naturally came to love her.

In fact, her earliest memory was of the gods calling her ‘my beloved child.’ At that time, she hadn’t even understood the meaning behind those words.

It hadn’t been many years since she began using language. Through thousands of repetitions, she had deduced that the word referring to herself was ‘child’, this place was called a ‘prison’, and they were ‘gods.’

They explained what terms referred to the things she turned her gaze towards. Among them, she liked the word ‘light’ the most.

The gods also described things she had never experienced. For instance, they said ‘eating’ involved putting food into one’s mouth, moving the lower jaw, and then swallowing. But she still couldn’t quite grasp the concept, as she didn’t know what ‘food’ was.

And the gods told her there were various types of languages, and the one she had learned was called Hilysid. Since she lived in the Holy Hilysid Empire, the gods’ words were naturally conveyed to her in Hilysid language.

“Why am I imprisoned here?”

Though she knew the reason, she still asked the gods that question. The child enjoyed the ancient tales the gods told her, and this was essentially her daily routine.

In response to her question, the Supreme God of the Holy Church answered:

It is because the one who presumes to rule over humans fears you.

Previously, the gods had explained that the human ruler was called the ‘Emperor.’ However, they didn’t refer to him as Emperor, instead using names like ‘traitor’, ‘aberrant one’, ‘vile one’ – basically, anyone the gods spoke of negatively could be assumed to be the Emperor.

That evil one made your mother give birth to you in this place. Because he feared you would receive my blessing. He tried to kill you, but ultimately couldn’t. For I used every ounce of my power to protect you. If he tried to stab you with a blade, the blade would deflect. If he tried to drown you, the water would evaporate. If he dropped you from a height, leaves would sprout and cushion your fall to save you.

“What’s a blade?”

A sharp tool used to kill people, child.

“If it’s sharp, like my nails?”

Yes, far more painful than that.

After answering her question, the god continued explaining:

Unable to kill you through any means, that vile one decided to imprison you here, never to open the prison door again.

“Mm… So does that person think I’m dead?”

He likely knows you are an undying existence.

She blinked as she thought about the ‘Emperor.’

The child didn’t particularly dislike him. Unable to easily imagine life outside the prison, she couldn’t even grasp how much he had taken from her. She simply lacked any friendly feelings towards him, as the gods seemed to hate the Emperor.

I expended all my power protecting you, so I can’t let you leave this place.

“But that’s okay! This is enough for me. To begin with, I don’t really know if any space exists outside of here… In fact, even if you lied to me and said only this prison and I exist in the world, I could believe that.”

My good child.

Seemingly satisfied with Liv’s response, the god’s voice sounded softer than before. The wind blowing in through the hole caressed her hair.

The moment you first cried in this place, all the gods came to love you.