why does the golden one follow equality when he goes into exile

Equality asks her why she came, and she says in a whisper that she has found him. He asks again, and she raises her head and proudly telling him that she followed him. She tells him that everyone in the City had been speaking of how he had entered the Uncharted Forest, so she ran away in the night and followed his trail into the forest.

Her tunic and arms are torn by the branches, but she does not seem to care, and she tells him that she will follow him, even if it means danger, death, and damnation. In a low but bitterly triumphant voice, she compares his eyes to fire and his proud mouth to granite and says that the other men lack hope and fire and that they are too soft and modest. Saying that she would rather be damned in his company than be blessed and remain with the others, she kneels before him.