My theory is that the stairs next to the gong lead up to a plateau on the side of the volcanic mountain

at the top there is another set of destroyed puzzles and artifacts (no fishing here...alternative food supply must be found) and there is another artifact of great power such as a magical chalice

when the chalice is peiced back together, the villager who drinks from it gains enormous powers, but also great greed

he seeks to increase his powers so he return to the gong and rings it, but instead of more pwwer, the gong awakens the idol from VV1 who goes on a rampage destroying the villages and the remaining villagers are cast out to sea on rafts with no memory of their true past and land ashore and begin again