"What question?" Adam raised his eyes to meet Alaric's gaze.
"Has Adam ever existed?" Alaric asked with a smile, looking at him. "I mean the original Adam. Did he truly exist?"
Adam paused, clearly caught off guard by the question. He didn't hide anything, replying, "If you mean an independent personality like Sasrir, then yes, he existed. But he is also me. There's no essential difference between us."
"I'm not here to debate the distinction between an avatar and the main body... that's a fruitless discussion." Alaric said, looking at Adam. "I just have one more question: how much of Adam remains?"
It was clear that the True Creator was formed with Sasrir as the primary component, leaving little to debate. But what about Adam? In this hollow puppet's shell, how much of the original Adam lingered?
Adam fell silent, a rare occurrence. After a few seconds of thought, he shook his head. "I don't know."
He looked up at Alaric, a fleeting trace of confusion in his golden eyes. "I possess all of Adam's memories, but as you know, I lack emotions and humanity. So, I can't judge how much of this shell truly belongs to Adam."
"Perhaps, as you said, I'm just a salvation machine without a self."
Alaric raised an eyebrow, studying the golden-haired priest before him. He suddenly smiled. "Maybe we can conduct an experiment."
"Like asking Adam himself?" Alaric said with intrigue. Summoning the Death Consul hadn't drained too much of his spirituality, leaving him with ample energy to summon another Adam.
"What's the point?" Adam asked, puzzled.
"The point is, by understanding how much of you is Adam, we can try to separate you from him." Alaric said, smiling at him. "Not now, of course, but after you ascend to Sequence 0. Then, the Sun God can be the Sun God, and Adam can be Adam."
"Wouldn't that be better for forging a pure Sun God?"
Adam seemed to ponder this. After a few seconds, he looked at Alaric and asked, "I know this is your primary plan. But how would you separate us? You don't currently have that ability, do you?"
"To be honest, I don't have a clear idea yet. But on this matter, I think you might be the expert." Alaric said, smiling at Adam. "You've dismantled yourself more than once. I'm curious... can you still do it? If not, can you offer some useful advice?"
"I can no longer dismantle myself. That was the price I paid back then." Adam said, shaking his head before nodding. "But I might be able to offer some insights from experience." He then began sharing his knowledge on dismantling himself, unhurriedly.
Given the highly technical nature of the discussion, Klein, standing nearby, was utterly lost, feeling like a struggling student who shouldn't be there.
Alaric, however, followed perfectly, offering suggestions as they spoke, his expertise evident.
Of course... when it came to avatars, Nyarlathotep was the professional.
After a fruitful discussion, both gained something. Alaric nodded, still eager, and said, "Now, let's see what the real Adam is like!"
With a snap of his fingers, using the Adam before him as a medium, he summoned the true Angel of Imagination from history.
A figure strikingly similar to Adam, yet younger, appeared in the small chapel. The youthful eldest son of the Creator opened his eyes in confusion, then froze.
Because the Angel of Imagination saw himself.
No, not quite... but almost… The Angel of Imagination was bewildered. He looked at the Adam before him, then at Alaric and Klein, hesitating for half a second before saying, "Excuse me, where am I? It seems I'm no longer in my original time."
Why was the Angel of Imagination certain he wasn't in his original time? Mainly because he could no longer sense his main body. Combined with information Sasrir had shared, he had a guess about his situation.
"This is the Fifth Epoch. You might know of it." Alaric said, studying the Angel of Imagination with interest. Unlike the seemingly compassionate yet emotionless Adam, the youthful Angel of Imagination exuded vitality, his golden eyes brimming with curiosity and exploration of this future world.
"So it is here." The Angel of Imagination said, understanding. He smiled at Alaric. "I've heard of you and this era. Sasrir mentioned you. You're Mr. Lucifer, correct?"
"You can just call me Lucifer." Alaric said with a smile.
"That would be too disrespectful." Adam replied, shaking his head. "Though you may know my essence, I am still Adam, the Creator's eldest son. As your junior, it wouldn't be proper to address you so casually." His words were formal, almost rigid, but not stiff... just stubbornly principled.
Alaric glanced at him, chuckling. "No wonder Medici calls you a fanatic. You never doubted your identity before learning the truth. You've probably been this stubborn since childhood."
"So Medici gave me that nickname? He's still fond of nicknaming everyone." The Angel of Imagination said with a sigh, as if recalling something. He looked at Alaric earnestly. "But I don't think being stubborn is bad. At least, once I set a goal, I never waver."
"Perhaps that's why the Sun God chose you to bear his divinity. You're indeed better suited than Sasrir to be a salvation machine." Alaric said, smiling. His tone was gentle, but the content was anything but.
The Angel of Imagination listened quietly, his expression unshaken by Alaric's depiction of his future. He said, "If I'm the most suitable, then it should be me. I only regret…"
He paused, a trace of sorrow crossing his face as he met Adam's emotionless golden eyes. "Divinity isn't the best answer for saving this world. A being like me might bring suffering to many. Even if the world is saved, sacrifices are inevitable."
***
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