Im quite frankly getting really sick of the lack of understanding people have of Vercion in their intent to paint him out to be this ultimately evil individual. You guys are failing to consider the entire context of the story while also trying to absolve the main character of their crimes against Arboria.
Let's examine Vercion. Vercion was a child that was in absolute destitution and nearly froze to death and starved in the harsh wintry climate of Arboria. It was through god that he was able to find salvation and survive. He devoted the entirety of his life to the teachings of Arborias god and dedicated his time and effort into upholding the religion. When Sunwon wakes in Arboria and is beheld to be a god Vercion has nothing but the desire to worship him and do well by him.
Sunwon, takes an advantage of someone who he believes to be his "number one fan" (his words, but truly, he means his most devoted follower), and INTENTIONALLY DECEIVES VERCION into believe that worship, devotion, etc is through SEXUAL INTIMACY. He tells Vercion that giving him a handjob is the holy ritual of "cleansing" his holy body of mortal unholiness and specifically APPOINTS VERCION to be in charge of this "duty". Vercion is none the wiser and believes him.
We have to acknowledge the vast power imbalance there is between Sunwon (a perceived god) and Vercion (his most devout follower) is a victim. Yes, he did enjoy it BUT if he knew all the information (Aka Sunwon not believing he's god, intentionally deceiving followers, lying about getting off being a ritual) and was able to view the situation as it truly was one can only wonder if he'd even be with Sunwon to begin with or be comfortable with that situation.
People think its okay because Vercion, Albis, and others are into Sunwon but even if Vercion DIDN'T enjoy what happened, would it be correct to say that he was in an educated position to say no to the one being he views above all? How could he say no? It's very apt to say that Sunwon used his unique position of power to coerce Vercion into this act and its borderline predatory of Sunwon to do this with Vercion or any other individual in the kingdom.
For example, the tan servant, Im forgetting his name. He is most certainly NOT into Sunwon and yet Sunwon tried to coerce him into sleeping with him and even put him into sexual situations he was clearly uncomfortable with. Its treated as some sweet or lighthearted humorous thing because it isnt OVERTLY predatory but Sunwon in his own right takes advantage of others for his own gain. The servant DOES NOT HAVE WORDS FOR IT but Sunwon does and he does not care for the servants feelings surrounding it. He views it as cute and laughable. As them being "prudes" but he never truly tells them what sex is, the importance of it, the importance of consent, how its NATURAL and not anything religious and how it doesnt have to be anything religious.
He does not truly respect them or their faith as he routinely lies and uses his position to manipulate them into doing what he wants. He acknowledges this when he's finally forced to grapple with the existence of the sun god of Ryeo and his practices and how much they reflect his own. He acknowledges that he has been fostering essentially a "sex cult". Still, he makes no move to correct this even after clearly being weirded out by the sex god. Only begrudged feelings of admiration for how he managed to do everything before him.
Now, from Vercion's perspective, all he knows is that his god appointed him to be in charge of a sacred duty and then became enamored with a non-believer so much so that he instead attends to worship with them instead all while neglecting him and increasingly going to great lengths to undermine their faith. He, the one who is the most devout follower, is being cast aside in favor of a non-believer being granted the chance to "worship" Sunwon. He even finds out they're doing even HIGHER forms of worship.. without him! And he hasn't been privy to it at all! The most DEVOUT follower of his god and he's slacking on his worship.. and being upstaged by an ATHEIST who has proudly proclaimed he hates Sunwon and doesn't believe in his abilities as god! He views Albis' "worship" of Sunwon as purely worship and an attempt to curry favor with his literal own god.
Vercion's thinking is that he is just going to worship Sunwon harder. He is going to prove that he is the most devout follower and he was taught that one of the highest forms of "worship", a piece of knowledge his god told him himself, is through sex (an intimate moment of sharing vessels or whatever Sunwon calls it). He decides he is going to "worship" Sunwon better. We all know that Arborians knowledge of sex is poor and there's no doubt that concepts surrounding consent and rape is too. Albis doesn't even have the words for it when he finds Sunwon and Vercion in the chambers of repentance. He doesn't even know that prep is essential. When we acknowledge all of these things it makes complete sense that he is the way he is and the story played out the way it did.
Sunwon doesn't bother to explain what enthusiastic consent is or how integral it is to sex. He doesnt invent the concept of "mutual worship" and introduce the concept of worship being a two-sided thing in which god must accept this worship from the follower in order for it to count. In fact, Vercion is under the impression that worship is a one way street and it doesnt require any such permission. His views on the "worship" being a one way street is clear with the way he views Sunwon as benevolent of sorts for accepting Albis despite his transgressions against their religion. As though Sunwon has no choice but to be "worshipped" by Albis in that way. It's only after he realizes that he's hurt Sunwon and become a figure of fear for him that he begins to ask, repent, and truly consider that he has hurt Sunwon and doesn't want to do it again.
WAS WHAT VERCION DID WRONG? YES. SHOULD HE HAVE DONE IT? NO. But yall need to consider all the facts and how he was misled by Mr. Sex Is Worship and Im Gonna Coerce My Followers Into It With Me himself because this would've never happened had he not have introduced sex the way he did to them. Its very weird how no one else seems to realize how weird Sunwon is and has been. Like if you're gonna wish death on Vercion or view him as terrible lets keep that same energy for Sunwon and the sun god who have been using their positions of power to sleep with everyone under the guise of it being holy.
If this happened irl and yall heard that there was a sex cult and someone was claiming to be god and using that as an excuse to coerce their followers into sex (even the enthusiastic participants) you'd be weirded the fuck out. So lets stop the fuckery.
Im quite frankly getting really sick of the lack of understanding people have of Vercion in their intent to paint him out to be this ultimately evil individual. You guys are failing to consider the entire context of the story while also trying to absolve the main character of their crimes against Arboria.
Let's examine Vercion. Vercion was a child that was in absolute destitution and nearly froze to death and starved in the harsh wintry climate of Arboria. It was through god that he was able to find salvation and survive. He devoted the entirety of his life to the teachings of Arborias god and dedicated his time and effort into upholding the religion. When Sunwon wakes in Arboria and is beheld to be a god Vercion has nothing but the desire to worship him and do well by him.
Sunwon, takes an advantage of someone who he believes to be his "number one fan" (his words, but truly, he means his most devoted follower), and INTENTIONALLY DECEIVES VERCION into believe that worship, devotion, etc is through SEXUAL INTIMACY. He tells Vercion that giving him a handjob is the holy ritual of "cleansing" his holy body of mortal unholiness and specifically APPOINTS VERCION to be in charge of this "duty". Vercion is none the wiser and believes him.
We have to acknowledge the vast power imbalance there is between Sunwon (a perceived god) and Vercion (his most devout follower) is a victim. Yes, he did enjoy it BUT if he knew all the information (Aka Sunwon not believing he's god, intentionally deceiving followers, lying about getting off being a ritual) and was able to view the situation as it truly was one can only wonder if he'd even be with Sunwon to begin with or be comfortable with that situation.
People think its okay because Vercion, Albis, and others are into Sunwon but even if Vercion DIDN'T enjoy what happened, would it be correct to say that he was in an educated position to say no to the one being he views above all? How could he say no? It's very apt to say that Sunwon used his unique position of power to coerce Vercion into this act and its borderline predatory of Sunwon to do this with Vercion or any other individual in the kingdom.
For example, the tan servant, Im forgetting his name. He is most certainly NOT into Sunwon and yet Sunwon tried to coerce him into sleeping with him and even put him into sexual situations he was clearly uncomfortable with. Its treated as some sweet or lighthearted humorous thing because it isnt OVERTLY predatory but Sunwon in his own right takes advantage of others for his own gain. The servant DOES NOT HAVE WORDS FOR IT but Sunwon does and he does not care for the servants feelings surrounding it. He views it as cute and laughable. As them being "prudes" but he never truly tells them what sex is, the importance of it, the importance of consent, how its NATURAL and not anything religious and how it doesnt have to be anything religious.
He does not truly respect them or their faith as he routinely lies and uses his position to manipulate them into doing what he wants. He acknowledges this when he's finally forced to grapple with the existence of the sun god of Ryeo and his practices and how much they reflect his own. He acknowledges that he has been fostering essentially a "sex cult". Still, he makes no move to correct this even after clearly being weirded out by the sex god. Only begrudged feelings of admiration for how he managed to do everything before him.
Now, from Vercion's perspective, all he knows is that his god appointed him to be in charge of a sacred duty and then became enamored with a non-believer so much so that he instead attends to worship with them instead all while neglecting him and increasingly going to great lengths to undermine their faith. He, the one who is the most devout follower, is being cast aside in favor of a non-believer being granted the chance to "worship" Sunwon. He even finds out they're doing even HIGHER forms of worship.. without him! And he hasn't been privy to it at all! The most DEVOUT follower of his god and he's slacking on his worship.. and being upstaged by an ATHEIST who has proudly proclaimed he hates Sunwon and doesn't believe in his abilities as god! He views Albis' "worship" of Sunwon as purely worship and an attempt to curry favor with his literal own god.
Vercion's thinking is that he is just going to worship Sunwon harder. He is going to prove that he is the most devout follower and he was taught that one of the highest forms of "worship", a piece of knowledge his god told him himself, is through sex (an intimate moment of sharing vessels or whatever Sunwon calls it). He decides he is going to "worship" Sunwon better. We all know that Arborians knowledge of sex is poor and there's no doubt that concepts surrounding consent and rape is too. Albis doesn't even have the words for it when he finds Sunwon and Vercion in the chambers of repentance. He doesn't even know that prep is essential. When we acknowledge all of these things it makes complete sense that he is the way he is and the story played out the way it did.
Sunwon doesn't bother to explain what enthusiastic consent is or how integral it is to sex. He doesnt invent the concept of "mutual worship" and introduce the concept of worship being a two-sided thing in which god must accept this worship from the follower in order for it to count. In fact, Vercion is under the impression that worship is a one way street and it doesnt require any such permission. His views on the "worship" being a one way street is clear with the way he views Sunwon as benevolent of sorts for accepting Albis despite his transgressions against their religion. As though Sunwon has no choice but to be "worshipped" by Albis in that way. It's only after he realizes that he's hurt Sunwon and become a figure of fear for him that he begins to ask, repent, and truly consider that he has hurt Sunwon and doesn't want to do it again.
WAS WHAT VERCION DID WRONG? YES. SHOULD HE HAVE DONE IT? NO. But yall need to consider all the facts and how he was misled by Mr. Sex Is Worship and Im Gonna Coerce My Followers Into It With Me himself because this would've never happened had he not have introduced sex the way he did to them. Its very weird how no one else seems to realize how weird Sunwon is and has been. Like if you're gonna wish death on Vercion or view him as terrible lets keep that same energy for Sunwon and the sun god who have been using their positions of power to sleep with everyone under the guise of it being holy.
If this happened irl and yall heard that there was a sex cult and someone was claiming to be god and using that as an excuse to coerce their followers into sex (even the enthusiastic participants) you'd be weirded the fuck out. So lets stop the fuckery.