In this chapter, the reader is introduced to the protagonist, who is called "Bhikkhu" or "the first dead soul" by the villagers. He explains that his name is different from that of other gods because he is not born in paradise, and he is also not immortal like other gods. He is imprisoned in the forest for killing witches. Before his execution, the woman who was to be executed committed suicide, and the protagonist accompanies her to the bonfire to watch it burn. The protagonist feels a "subtle emotional connection" between himself and the woman, but it is not until many years later that he begins to become numb to everything. He remembers her saying that the woman he was responsible for was his mother, and that she was supposed to have been his birth mother. He also dies in the fire.