Endless darkness. A person floated suspended in the void.
Short golden hair scattered freely. Pale skin. Naked, unremarkable. Sky-blue eyes, gentle gaze, refined face.
"Who are you?"
"I am Adam," the man answered.
"You're Adam? Then… who am I?"
"You're still who you've always been."
His eyes drifted downward. The scar on the back of his hand—childhood's mark—stood out clearly. He had become Lin Xuan again, the man from before his transmigration.
For a moment, Lin Xuan had no words. The golden-haired man claimed to be Adam, the Adam who had lived decades here. Yet the identity of Lin Xuan—his original self—felt strange in comparison.
As Lin Xuan, he had spent over twenty years in another world. As Adam, nearly forty years.
The two floated, eyes locked. Around them, only darkness.
"Hello. Nice to meet you. I didn't expect you to still exist. I've been using your body for many years."
"I exist—or I don't," Lin Xuan replied.
"What do you mean?"
"No desires. No dreams. No goals. No sense of existence. Here, outside… it makes no difference. That's why Lilith ate the apple and left Eden. I regret it. I should have eaten it with her."
So that's why. In the Bible, after Eve ate the apple, Adam followed. But here, Adam already understood desires, dreams, goals, and existence. He could read minds.
"I read them from you. You've lived a spectacular life these years. I envy you."
"Who is Lilith?" Lin Xuan asked.
"My sister—or rather, your sister now. She was meant to be my wife."
"Wasn't Eve your wife?"
"Eve? Right… the one Father made from your rib. She was supposed to be Lilith. Father created us simultaneously. But she couldn't endure Eden's loneliness. She ate the apple and left."
Lin Xuan realized the gravity of the statement. "When you say Father…"
"You call Him God. Or the Lord," Adam said with a smile.
"You call Him Father? He made you, but not the angels?"
"That's different. I—or rather, I truly—am His son."
"True son…?"
"Eden is a cradle. And you… the baby inside."
Adam's next words stunned Lin Xuan.
God didn't just create this world. Gods existed within it—maybe many. Yahweh was one of them. Gods were lonely. Endless time and space.
Time weary, He wanted a successor. So He created Eden, angels, and Adam and Lilith as companions. He split the key to divine authority—primary half in Adam, secondary in Lilith.
But Lilith ate the apple. She gained emotions, existence, and demanded power beyond Adam. God rejected her. She left, carrying the other half. His plan failed.
God forbade humans from eating the apple afterward. Adam became tolerated, even indulged, because he was His son. A father's love.
Lin Xuan asked, "Why care so much about bloodlines?"
Adam hesitated. "I can't answer that. You'll have to discover it yourself."
"Where?" Lin Xuan smiled bitterly. "I'm trapped with you. A dead soul. What's left?"
"You're not dead. Sleeping. When Father brought death, He cursed you. You're immortal."
Lin Xuan considered that. Punishment or love? Perhaps both. An elderly father punishing a child, yet unwilling to lose him.
"And Lilith?"
"Hell. The Dead Sea. Whether she remains there… I don't know."
"If I find her, can the plan continue?"
"I can't say. But perhaps, to Father, it would be enough to forgive all you've done."
"How long will I sleep?"
Thoughts of Erin surfaced. The shooting star she'd become. If he ascended as a god, reviving her wouldn't be impossible.
But first… Uriel awaited. He'd tear him limb from limb. Right now, Earth still called.
"I don't know. You can only wait. Soon, maybe long, maybe never. Until then… keep me company."