Chapter 2: The Role of a God
“Purina… Purina…?”
“Huh, what? Who’s calling me…?”
“Don’t worry, there’s nothing to fear. I’m right in front of you.”
Gods are cruel.
“What, what, what’s that? You… you’re me in the mirror…?”
“Yeah, that’s not a bad way to put it. I’m the you in the mirror.”
“The me in the mirror… What kind of….”
Gods are not omnipotent.
“Have you heard… about the prophecy?”
“What prophecy…? Wait, I get it. I don’t know why, but it feels like it’s already in my head.”
Gods cannot understand the suffering of their creations.
“All shall dissolve into the sea, and only the God of Water will remain on the divine throne, shedding tears. Only then will the sins of Fontaine’s people be washed away.”
Because they cannot understand, they cannot save.
“Good, you know it well.”
“What’s going on? My memories are all blurry, but that prophecy is crystal clear… Will it really happen as foretold?”
Thus, gods cannot save humanity.
“Yeah, that’s why I came to you. Fontaine’s catastrophe will happen someday, inevitably. It’ll unfold exactly as the prophecy says, and there’s no escaping it.”
“Then we’re in big trouble. Will everyone die? Will I, a person of Fontaine, dissolve too?”
“Don’t worry. Strange encounters always bring opportunities. Like how you met me today.”
Yes, gods cannot save humanity.
“I’ll tell you how to save everyone. But… it’ll cause you ‘a bit’ of pain…”
“What, there’s a way? Phew, you scared me, being so firm about it.”
But.
“Feeling pain… My first thought was, why me? But if the prophecy comes true, I’ll die anyway, right? And this unexpected meeting has already found me.”
Humans are different.
“If one side of the scale holds the lives of all Fontaine’s people, and the other holds my pain… it’s obvious which way it’ll tip.”
“As expected, you’re the perfect human, the ‘ideal’ I dreamed of. That’s your ‘justice,’ isn’t it?”
“Huh…?”
“Never mind. Listen, Fontaine just lost its God of Water. I need you to take on the ‘role’ of the new God of Water.”
“The role… of a god?”
If they’re human, if they’ve endured the same pain, they can comfort each other’s wounds.
“Yeah, you’ll act so no one can doubt your identity.”
“If you succeed, I can defy the prophecy. But if your identity is exposed, the last hope will vanish.”
“But how is that possible? Acting as a god with a human identity, and not getting caught…”
“Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to become a real god, just to act like the god humans imagine. Since you’re human, you know what that looks like.”
When they comfort each other’s wounds and fill the empty spaces.
“Forget about finding ‘divinity.’ Your real challenge is resisting ‘humanity.’”
“Hmm… I don’t fully get it yet, but… I’ll give it a shot.”
And if their wounds heal completely.
“How long do I have to play the God of Water?”
“To complete this task, it’ll take a very long time. You won’t even age until it’s over.”
Then they’ll face a parting.
“But I promise. In a grand, dramatic judgment, when it all ends, everyone will be saved.”
“Judgment… Somehow, that sounds thrilling and exciting…!”
In a truly dramatic judgment.
I became the God of Water.
My inauguration nearly fell apart on the first day, but I pulled it off with my acting. Day after day, I played the God of Water.
At first, it wasn’t bad.
Even if it was acting, I got to be the God of Water.
But after a month, a year, ten years, I started to wear out.
A tightrope walk.
One misstep, and not just me, everyone would die.
That’s the tightrope I walked daily.
But I have to endure.
To save everyone, I must persevere.
Even if it hurts, even if I’m exhausted, even if it’s hard.
I have to endure.
Because I’m the God of Water.
I have to be the God of Water.
“…”
Still…
“I’m so tired now…”
Words spilled out, worn down by endless acting.
At that moment, as if answering me, a voice identical to mine echoed in my head.
‘Purina.’
Somehow sad, yet warmly embracing me, that voice.