False God

A False God is an artificial divine entity created through a lost method that makes use of accumulated Faith.

Unlike true Gods, False Gods are not naturally divine beings.

Their existence is artificially sustained through Faith gathered from mortal belief, worship, and devotion.

Faith

Faith is a supernatural power generated through the beliefs, worship, devotion, and sincere conviction of mortal beings.

It is one of the most important sources of power associated with the Gods.

However, Faith does not require the object of worship to actually be divine.

Origin of Faith

Faith originates from mortal belief.

Prayer, worship, devotion, and genuine belief can generate Faith and direct it toward the object associated with that worship.

The important factor is not whether the worshipped deity truly exists.

What matters is whether the believers genuinely believe.

Faith Without a Real God

A completely fictional deity can still become the target of Faith.

If enough mortals sincerely worship an imaginary god, Faith will still be generated.

This means the supernatural phenomenon of Faith is produced by the believers, not by the existence of the deity itself.

Religious Statues

Statues and similar religious objects can serve as centers toward which Faith is directed.

When believers repeatedly worship before such an object, the Faith they generate can gradually accumulate within it.

This can happen even if the statue represents a deity that never existed.

Faith Storage

A religious statue that has been worshipped for many years may eventually contain an enormous amount of stored Faith.

The identity of the deity represented by the statue is not necessarily important.

The quantity and sincerity of the worship directed toward it are far more significant.

Ancient Religious Artifacts

Because Faith can accumulate over long periods, ancient religious statues may become extremely valuable supernatural resources.

What appears to be an ordinary historical artifact may actually contain decades, centuries, or even longer periods of accumulated worship.

Such objects are therefore valuable for reasons far beyond their cultural or historical importance.

Gods and Stored Faith

Ordinary mortals are generally incapable of directly manipulating stored Faith.

Gods, however, are capable of interacting with it.

A God who obtains a statue containing accumulated Faith can absorb that Faith and use it.

The God does not need to be the deity represented by the statue.

Faith Can Be Stolen

Because stored Faith is not permanently bound to the deity represented by an object, religious statues can effectively become transferable reservoirs of divine power.

A God can benefit from Faith originally produced by worshippers of another religion.

This makes heavily worshipped religious artifacts highly valuable targets.

Mortals and Faith

Direct manipulation of Faith is normally beyond the capabilities of ordinary mortals.

Throughout known history, only one mortal is known to have successfully developed a method capable of directly using accumulated Faith.

That discovery resulted in one of the most unusual supernatural techniques ever created.

The Creator of the False God Method

The identity and full history of the mortal who created the method are not widely known.

What is known is that this individual discovered a way to use Faith stored within religious objects as the foundation for an artificial divine being.

The result became known as a False God.

Artificial Divinity

False Gods can reach extraordinary levels of power.

Their existence can approach the threshold associated with true divinity.

However, they are not identical to genuine Gods.

Their origin, continued existence, and development depend on an artificial process centered around Faith.

Faith as a Foundation

The Faith used during the creation of a False God acts as its supernatural foundation.

Without sufficient Faith, the artificial deity cannot be properly sustained.

This separates False Gods from naturally existing divine beings.

Faith as Fuel

Faith does not merely increase the strength of a False God.

It also functions as the fuel that maintains its existence.

As long as sufficient Faith remains available, the False God can continue to function.

Exhaustion of Faith

If the available Faith is completely exhausted and no replacement source is provided, the False God can no longer maintain its existence.

Its dependence on Faith is therefore fundamental rather than optional.

Without fuel, the artificial divinity eventually ceases to function.

False Gods and Worship

False Gods can interact with mortal worshippers in ways similar to true Gods.

They are capable of providing supernatural assistance or power to their followers.

Continued worship can also provide additional Faith that helps sustain the False God.

Two Main Configurations

The lost False God method allows for at least two major configurations.

These are:

• Autonomous False Gods
• Programmed False Gods

Both rely on Faith, but their behavior and development are fundamentally different.

Autonomous False Gods

An Autonomous False God possesses a high degree of freedom.

It can learn, adapt, grow, and develop new capabilities over time.

This gives it considerably greater potential than a strictly controlled artificial deity.

Influence of Believers

The greatest weakness of an Autonomous False God is that its nature is strongly influenced by the beliefs of its worshippers.

The collective perception of the faithful can gradually shape the identity of the deity they worship.

Changing Personality

If worshippers consistently believe their God to be merciful, protective, cruel, vengeful, benevolent, or possessive of other characteristics, the False God can gradually develop in a direction matching those beliefs.

Its personality and behavior can therefore evolve according to the collective expectations of its religion.

Changing Abilities

The influence of worship is not necessarily limited to personality.

The development of an Autonomous False God can also be affected by the way believers understand and describe its divine nature.

This gives autonomous entities enormous potential for growth.

The Risk of Autonomy

Because Autonomous False Gods can change over time, their original creator cannot guarantee that they will remain exactly as intended.

A religion that changes over generations may eventually transform the False God associated with it.

This makes autonomous entities powerful but potentially unpredictable.

Programmed False Gods

A Programmed False God sacrifices much of this freedom in exchange for stability and control.

Its behavior is defined by predetermined characteristics and commands established during its creation.

Predetermined Behavior

A Programmed False God does not continuously reshape itself according to the interpretations of its worshippers.

Instead, it operates according to the behavioral framework imposed upon it.

Possible Functions

A Programmed False God can be configured to perform specific supernatural functions.

These may include:

• Attacking designated enemies.
• Defending designated individuals or groups.
• Protecting its believers.
• Providing supernatural assistance to its followers.
• Providing power to selected believers.

Recognizing Allies and Enemies

The individual responsible for configuring the False God can establish which individuals or groups it should recognize as enemies.

The same method can determine whom the False God is expected to protect.

Stability

Because its behavior remains restricted by its original instructions, a Programmed False God is considerably more predictable than an Autonomous False God.

This stability comes at the cost of flexibility and growth.

Autonomous vs Programmed

The Lost Method

The knowledge required to create False Gods did not remain available indefinitely.

The original creator eventually disappeared from history, and the method was lost.

Later generations therefore lack reliable knowledge of how artificial divine beings were originally created.

A Forgotten Achievement

The disappearance of the method is particularly significant because direct manipulation of Faith by mortals is otherwise almost unheard of.

The creator of the False God method accomplished something that ordinary mortals were not believed capable of doing.

Faith and True Gods

True Gods also make extensive use of Faith.

Over time, Faith became one of the foundations of their supernatural power.

Following the catastrophic events of ancient history and the loss of their physical bodies, Faith became especially important to their continued influence.

Divine Dependence on Faith

Although Gods possess supernatural abilities independent of ordinary mortals, their later condition makes worship increasingly important.

Faith supports their ability to recover, influence the mortal world, and maintain relationships with civilizations.

Faith and Divine Influence

The importance of Faith helps explain why Gods maintain relationships with mortal civilizations.

Religions, temples, divine gifts, protection, miracles, and worship all contribute to the connection between mortals and divine beings.

Fear and Worship

Dangerous conditions can indirectly increase divine influence.

Mortals facing war, monsters, disasters, or other threats may turn toward Gods for protection.

Greater dependence on religion can produce additional Faith.

Stolen Faith and the Evil God

Faith stored within religious statues can also be deliberately stolen and offered to another God.

This becomes particularly important in the history surrounding the Evil God who begins taking an interest in Halvmen.

In the original future, a Pigman, Scar, and their followers steal religious statues containing accumulated Faith and offer them to this weakened God.

Why the Statues Matter

The primary value of the stolen statues is not their material composition.

Their true value lies in the Faith accumulated inside them.

The Evil God can consume this stored Faith and use it to regain enough influence to grant supernatural rewards to his followers.

The Evil God's Early Influence

At this point in history, the Evil God has not yet directly transformed the Devilhumans through the complete Monster Crystal system.

His influence is still limited.

The Faith collected through stolen statues helps increase his ability to act.

Scar's Reward

One of the early rewards associated with this divine influence is the incomplete crystal granted to Scar.

This semi-crystal acts as a precursor to the future Monster Crystal system.

It allows Scar to access Mana in a more violent and aggressive form while still retaining ordinary Mana within his body.

Faith Before the Monster Crystal

This sequence demonstrates that the Evil God's involvement with Halvmen begins before the complete Monster Crystal system is created.

The collection of stolen Faith provides the weakened God with the resources needed to interfere indirectly in mortal affairs.

César and the Lost Method

The lost knowledge surrounding False Gods eventually becomes relevant to César.

Through circumstances not originally expected by the ancient creator, César later encounters the principles behind the forgotten method.

This gives him access to knowledge concerning Faith that almost no ordinary mortal possesses.

Why False Gods Matter

False Gods prove several extremely important truths about Faith.

• Faith does not require a real deity to exist.
• Faith can accumulate inside physical religious objects.
• Stored Faith can be transferred or stolen.
• Gods can use Faith created for other religions.
• Mortals are not absolutely incapable of interacting with Faith.
• Artificial divinity can be created under exceptional circumstances.
• The beliefs of worshippers can influence supernatural reality.

Known Facts

• Faith is generated by mortal belief, worship, devotion, and sincere conviction.
• The object of worship does not need to actually exist.
• Religious statues can accumulate Faith.
• Ancient statues may contain enormous quantities of stored Faith.
• Gods can absorb Faith stored inside religious objects.
• The God absorbing the Faith does not need to be the deity represented by the object.
• Ordinary mortals normally cannot directly manipulate Faith.
• One known mortal discovered a method capable of doing so.
• The method can create artificial divine entities known as False Gods.
• False Gods require Faith to maintain their existence.
• False Gods can provide supernatural assistance to believers.
• There are at least two known configurations: Autonomous and Programmed.
• Autonomous False Gods can evolve according to the beliefs of their followers.
• Programmed False Gods follow predetermined behavioral patterns.
• The original creation method was eventually lost.
• Stolen Faith later becomes important to the Evil God's early activities in Halvmen.

Major Unknowns

• The identity of the mortal who originally created the False God method.
• The exact process used to transform stored Faith into artificial divinity.
• The minimum amount of Faith required to create a False God.
• The maximum power a False God can achieve.
• The exact limits of Autonomous False God evolution.
• The exact limits of Programmed False God commands.
• Whether a False God can ever become identical to a true God.
• The complete circumstances through which César later obtains the lost knowledge.

Common Misconceptions

“Faith can only exist if the worshipped God is real.”

Incorrect.

Faith originates from mortal belief. A fictional deity can receive Faith if enough people genuinely worship it.

“A religious statue is only symbolic.”

Incorrect.

A statue can become a genuine supernatural reservoir if enough Faith is directed toward it.

“Only the God represented by a statue can use its Faith.”

Incorrect.

Other Gods can absorb Faith stored within the object.

“Mortals are completely incapable of using Faith.”

Normally true, but not absolute.

At least one mortal successfully developed a method capable of manipulating accumulated Faith.

“False Gods are identical to true Gods.”

Incorrect.

False Gods are artificial divine entities whose existence depends on an artificial Faith-based method.

“False Gods can exist permanently without worship.”

Incorrect.

They require sufficient Faith to continue functioning.

“All False Gods behave the same way.”

Incorrect.

Their behavior differs greatly depending on whether they were created as Autonomous or Programmed entities.

“Autonomous False Gods remain exactly as their creators intended.”

Not necessarily.

Their development can be strongly influenced by the collective beliefs of their followers.

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