"To fight him, you need to do the opposite. Doubt Adonis. Doubt his truth. Doubt his words. Doubt his affection. Doubt his power."

Her hands went up to my cheeks, forcing me to look into her eyes and listen carefully. While staring intensely at my eyes, she said, "doubt Adonis, Jehova."

My body fell silent as if I was petrified by her words. She kept trying to persuade me to rebel against Adonis.

Everything she said sounded believable, but her "aggressive" methods made me feel a little bit hesitant to comply.

However, despite her orders, there was one thing that distracted me for a while.

"J-Jehova? What do you mean by that?"

She removed her hand from my face and took a few steps back from me. Still, in the same tone, she replied, "it's nothing, it's just a name I made for you."

"A name?"

"Mhm, a name."

I never thought about it.

Name. I knew that "Adonis" was also a name. But I thought He deserved a name because He was different from me and the others.

Adonis was one almighty figure. Whereas I was like a mass-produced being who was an exact copy of the others.

"Do I… deserve a name, though?" I asked her doubtfully.

"You still think that only the damn Adonis deserves to be distinguished from the rest?" Somehow she managed to read my mind perfectly.

I just nodded slowly.

"Listen, Jehova. You should already know that I hate Adonis to his very core. I hate him because he has the guts to show himself, bring suffering, and place himself above others,

"Naming my comrades is one of the ways I can think of to tarnish Adonis' honor. At least it makes us feel like we're not under his control. But..."

"Adonis won't stay still?" I tried to guess what she would say.

She turned her gaze to the side. Her long flowing hair covered almost half of her face.

"Well, of course, he won't stay still, will he?" She answered.

"Your comrades?"

"What else if not that? Adonis knows that he can't fully control his doubter. So the only way to threaten me is to aim at my comrades one by one instead. In other words, a cowardly way." she explained.

"But… I still kind of can't believe that Adonis can be resisted just by doubting him." I said, conveying what was on my mind. I then continued speaking, "if that's the case, why can I, who have this doubt of him, be controlled by Adonis?"

She was a little surprised by my question. But quickly, that surprised expression turned into an expression of holding back laughter, as if she had just heard a strange question.

"I did say that I see the doubt in you, Jehovah," said her, "however, to completely resist Adonis' influence, you must also be able to completely doubt Adonis. That's something I've only been able to do, so far."

"Completely doubt him, eh?"

She nodded. I think I understood what she meant about the potential that lay within me. I had the potential to be like her. I had the potential to stand beside her, to rebel against Adonis.

My chest was pounding. Who would've thought that I would oppose my creator? Even more so because I haven't been in this world for that long.

However, the words she said to me were true. I saw it with my own eyes and head. I saw and experient every kind of suffering that was hidden in every dark corner of this world.

I wondered. If I didn't meet her, would I turn into a loyal follower of Adonis?

"I've told you what I could, Jehovah. I can't force your next course of action, but you'd better think wisely before—"

"Count me in."

I accepted her offer without the slightest hesitation. I was tired of being alone by myself with no decisions, no goals, and no one to talk to.

If there was someone who could change my boring way of life, there was certainly no reason for me to not accept it.

"...I didn't expect you to change your mind so quickly, you know." She sighed, but I could feel her breathing a sigh of relief.

"And I didn't think I'd ever meet someone I could actually talk to," I said, offering a handshake.

She was silent for a moment. She seemed unprepared for my change of heart since it happened too fast. She looked at my face and hand alternately for a while, until she finally decided to accept my handshake.

"Well, neither do I."

Her hand was smaller than I imagined.

I could feel that her hands were shaking. Behind her sturdy and strong look on her face, she seemed to be very worried about my decision.

Just as I saw her as my savior, maybe she saw me as the only thing that could save her as well.

I didn't know how long she has been in this world. However, it was safe for me to assume that she had lost those she considered friends many times to Adonis.

It was natural for her to hold such a great grudge against Adonis. After all, everything that she had in this world was taken away from her.

But even so, the fact that she was still able to stand up, speak, and give her trust to others after many times of experiencing the bitterness of loss, was something I couldn't even comprehend.

If there was one feeling I could describe it, it was a feeling of admiration. I could never imagine her suffering. So the only thing I could do for her was to live up to the expectations she put on me.

"...hova? Jehova?" She called my name many times. But I could only hear it after she called me for the fifth time.

"Y-yes?" I spaced out. I was lost in my own thoughts.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"A-ah no. I was just thinking about something." I answered rashly. "Rather than that, after this, what are we going to do first? Hiding? Gathering information? Exploring a new place?" I asked enthusiastically.

She chuckled and answered my question with something I never expected, "before doing that, we need to get out of here first."

Oh, right.

"Then what? We're going through that narrow river again?"  I asked, referring to the strong current that dragged me to this place.

"Eh? Of course not, silly. What made you choose to come here through a place like that anyway?" She asked back, laughing a little.

"Heck! I didn't choose it! I just happened to be walking down a watery path in a cave, and without my knowing it led me into a very strong current, which brought me to you! It was just a coincidence!" I answered.

"Ahaha, well, coincidence, right?" She was still laughing while giving a sarcastic response.

A little bit annoying, indeed. But the her that I saw at the moment, was completely different from her that previously tried to convince me.

It seemed like the burden of her mind had been completely removed. Seeing her like that, I couldn't help but also ft relieved.

"Wait a minute. Then you didn't come to this place the same way I did?" I asked curiously. Because I didn't see any alternative route to this place.

"Follow me," said her, while moving her finger, asking me to follow her.

I followed her lead. She walked along the shores of this giant lake slowly. While keeping her sight forward, she said, "be careful, care less then you will be dragged to the bottom of this lake!"

I shuddered. After listening to her warning, I could only keep looking down to make sure that my feet were still on the ground. The light emanating from her ring gave me enough light to look around.

"Hey, where are we going?" I asked, daring to speak in this dangerous area.

"To a place where we don't have to stand crammed in this cramped ground, of course," she answered.

"Yeah, and where is that place?"

"It's pretty far. But much better than being dragged along by a strong current and not being able to breathe for long enough."

"...I guess anything is better than that..."

"Haha, right?"

She kept leading me somewhere. I saw her footsteps from behind. It was true, her footsteps were very similar to the footsteps that led me to the cave. She was indeed the same person.

While I walked, I could feel the breeze that has been blowing in this place since earlier, as if it had become a cohesive rhythm with the boisterous waves of this lake.

"I think I understand why you like this place so much." I started a conversation to break the silence.

"Hmm?"

"No, I mean. I think this place is really beautiful and relaxing."

"And dangerous?"

"W-well, maybe you could add that too. But seriously, the atmosphere in this place made me forget how quiet it was inside the cave."

She chuckled, before finally responding to my words, "thank you."

I really enjoyed how she talked and laughed. She was a little bit late in responding to my words, but I could understand it. This was the first time she had spoken to anyone again, after being alone for so long.

"You know what? I used to take my friends here often." She suddenly continued the topic that I started. "Five, no, maybe six. It was one of the most memorable events of my life." She continued.

I didn't know how to respond to it. So I decided to let her talk further.

"Actually we also found this place in the same way as you, really. But the difference is that we swam to get to this place, not dragged like you." She continued, while again, mentioning how I got into this place.

"You really like to make fun of me, don't you?"

"Ahaha, that's it..." She didn't continue her words, as if suddenly remembered something in the middle of a sentence. I could guess it.

"Your friends, they're still in the cave, right?"

When I asked that question, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. If I hadn't noticed, I might have hit her from behind.

"Have you ever tried to meet them again?" I continued my question.

She was silent for a while before finally sighing and continuing to walk even more slowly.

"You won't believe how many times I've tried to talk to them. You know what happens when I try to communicate with them?" She asked me.

"They… didn't answer you?"

"Not wrong. But more precisely… they don't recognize me at all. And I couldn't even recognize them anymore."

The answer was much worse than I expected.

If I could endure her pain, then I would feel a little more useful. However, I wouldn't understand what it felt like to be in her position.

"Sorry for asking unnecessary questions," I said, feeling guilty for reminding her of her unpleasant past.

"You don't have to, Jehova. I don't mind that anymore. All I care about right now is moving forward, achieving my goals with what I have now." She turned to me and touched my chest with her index finger as if telling me that I was her property.

"To be honest I was worried that I'd let you down. It's my first time having someone I can call a f-friend." I turned my face to the side, feeling that what I said was quite embarrassing.

She smiled, then spoke, "we're friends, I guess."

Hearing that, I felt quite relieved. At least we feel the same way. She then walked back to lead me forward.

Gradually, the previously narrow land began to feel wider, and further away from the lake area. It seemed we were getting closer to the place she was referring to.

"Ah, that's right. What should I call you?" I asked her. I still don't know anything about naming someone. So all I can do is ask her.

"We have arrived." I didn't know if it was on purpose or not, but it felt like she was ignoring my question. I didn't know the reason, though.

Could it be that my question made her feel uncomfortable?

Leaving that aside, the two of us arrived at a fairly large piece of land. This seemed to be the furthest point from the lake, so it was the safest place to be.

Without saying much, she spread her beautiful wings in front of me. Beautiful. Her wings are also slightly larger than mine, although there are rips at some of the ends as if indicating just how much flying experience she already had.

"So, are you ready to fly, Jehova?"