"Sure thing!" Amon nodded with a smile. He knew Medici was nursing a grudge, and coincidentally, Amon hadn't forgotten being ganged up on either.
Previously, Alaric's disapproval and his protectiveness over Medici, who hadn't yet regained his King of Angels status, had kept Amon from settling that score. Now that Medici was back at that level and Alaric wasn't standing in the way of a private brawl, Amon wasn't about to miss his chance.
After all, Amon knew that soon enough, Medici might become the true Red Priest, while his own best outcome would likely be retaining one Sequence 1 characteristic, a mere Sequence 1 angel.
If Amon didn't take this chance to thrash Medici now, he might never get another.
With a mutual understanding, the two gleefully headed to the Spirit World to duke it out.
Before they left, Alaric's gaze shifted to another uninvited guest in the corner. "Who do you think will win?"
Adam sat quietly on an unassuming chair, sipping champagne at a leisurely pace. At Alaric's question, he looked up, smiling. "I just hope neither of them gets hurt."
"A very diplomatic answer. Should I say, as expected of you?" Alaric raised an eyebrow, then said, "You know, you're the real culprit behind their feud. Medici got cooked in a hot pot because of you, and Amon only followed you in that mess because he trusted you. Yet both of them let you off easy."
"Because they both love me," Adam said candidly, his golden eyes fixed on the champagne, unfocused but tinged with gentleness. "Medici sees me as a father. He suffered from my betrayal and even hated me for it, but he still loves me, like a child loves their father. That's why he forgave me so easily."
"Lil' Red's got some serious daddy issues," Alaric quipped, propping his chin on one hand. "Kids always forgive their fathers quickly. All it takes is a slight nod and a bit of love."
Adam didn't argue. He continued gazing at the champagne. "And Amon…"
He paused, letting out what seemed like a sigh before continuing, "He refuses to acknowledge my role, but he instinctively sees me as a brother. We relied on each other for millennia. Amon doesn't say it, but he's never forgotten those years."
"…Favoritism, huh?" Alaric shot Adam a look, bluntly calling out his bias toward the two.
"I'm not exactly fair, no," Adam admitted openly, not denying his partiality. He downed the champagne in his glass and said, "Divinity is a shadow of the self. The Ancient Sun God was never fair, so naturally, I'm not some perfectly impartial being either."
"But I can't deny that I try to love them, as a father, as a brother." Adam set down his glass, smiling, his sun-like golden eyes showing a hint of warmth. "Though my humanity isn't yet rich enough to let me love deeply."
"…Looks like you've quietly leveled up again," Alaric said, glancing at Adam with a raised eyebrow.
Compared to their last meeting, Adam's emotions were noticeably richer. Alaric even caught glimpses of The Ancient Sun God in him.
Which wasn't surprising, considering Adam was The Ancient Sun God's divinity.
"The True Creator's condition is improving. I can't be the one holding things back. God must be born, and for that, I need richer humanity," Adam said with a smile, momentarily resembling the old, emotionless Adam who would stop at nothing to protect the world.
Alaric stared at this Adam for a few seconds, then laughed. "Do you remember our first meeting?"
"I remember every meeting with you," Adam replied.
"Back then, you called Medici's fall a necessary sacrifice," Alaric said, unsurprised by Adam's response. He smiled. "Do you still think that?"
"I thought I already answered that," Adam said, glancing at Alaric. "If I could do it again, I'd use gentler methods... like talking to Medici beforehand, convincing him to forgo ascending to Red Priest."
"Yeah, I know your answer," Alaric nodded, smiling. "I'm just saying, you've changed a lot since the beginning, Adam."
"Isn't that what you wanted?" Adam's golden eyes met Alaric's, neither warm nor cold.
"Of course it is," Alaric nodded again. He leisurely picked up the champagne bottle, refilling both his and Adam's glasses, then said, "I have a question for you."
"What?" Adam looked at him, puzzled.
"Do you want to live, Adam?" Alaric took a sip of champagne, gazing at him calmly.
Adam met his eyes, sipped his own champagne, and said, "Does the answer to that matter?"
"Of course it does. It decides whether I'll pull you out in the future. Not to let you dominate in a merger with the True Creator, but to preserve your personality in some special way," Alaric said with a grin. "You know my principle... I respect others' choices."
In other words, if Adam had no desire to live, Alaric wouldn't bother saving him.
Adam fell silent, a rare occurrence. After a few seconds, he said, "No matter what, I will live."
Alaric understood. The "I" Adam referred to wasn't his personality but the True Creator or The Ancient Sun God.
"That's not Adam!" Alaric countered.
"I'm asking if Adam wants to live... just Adam, not The Ancient Sun God, not Sasrir, not the True Creator."
"…I thought you didn't like Adam," Adam said after a pause, meeting Alaric's gaze candidly.
"I didn't like Adam 1.0. That version was just a shell, a machine programmed by the old Sun God. It seemed powerful, but its soul was empty, nothing there," Alaric said, propping his chin on one hand and sipping champagne. "A cold machine gets a zero from me. Though, since Adam was earnestly trying to save the world, I didn't exactly hate him... just didn't like him."
***
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