"You really do stick to your thing for good people and saviors," Adam said, clearly recalling Alaric's well-known principles and preferences. He shook his head, took a large gulp of champagne, and asked, "What about Adam 2.0?"
"Adam 2.0? Barely passable, I'd say," Alaric replied with a laugh, continuing his critique. "The Visionary's humanity was poured into that empty shell, bringing some likable changes. Adam 2.0 finally started to grasp what love means, even apologized, and had a touch of OCD. But sometimes, in imitating the Visionary, he overdid it, coming off a bit… off-putting!"
"I thought I'd already apologized for that," Adam said, glancing at Alaric with a hint of helplessness but also candor. "What I have is the Visionary's humanity. To seem more human, of course I'd imitate him."
"But let's be real, you imitated him hard, and it made you seem like a fake person, giving off some uncanny vibes," Alaric said, setting down his wine glass. He plucked a cat-shaped apple piece from the fruit platter, cruelly biting off its head with a crunch, then continued, "But you can't deny Adam 2.0 tried hard. That's how we got you now... Adam 3.0."
Alaric looked up at Adam, smiling. "I wouldn't ask Adam 1.0 if he wants to live, because it's pointless... a hollow puppet stays hollow even if it survives. But Adam 3.0? You're worth asking."
Alaric figured he had a soft spot for the Ancient Sun God. The guy perfectly fit his definition of a good person... noble in character, genuinely saved the world, and was his most powerful asset.
So, for anything tied to the Ancient Sun God, Alaric tended to show a bit more patience and was willing to lend a hand when he could.
Of course, he didn't deny that Adam's knack for staying on his good side helped.
"…My honor," Adam said, smiling as he looked at the young man before him. "But whether I live or not isn't important. What matters is whether this world can birth a God willing to protect it."
In that moment, he seemed cold again... not toward others, but toward himself.
Alaric raised an eyebrow at this, letting out a huff. "Forget what's important or not. I'm asking if you want to."
He locked eyes with Adam, his usual laid-back demeanor giving way to rare seriousness.
"…" Adam fell silent again. It was hard to pinpoint his emotions in that moment. He suddenly recalled fragments of the past.
For many years, Adam's actions had nothing to do with "want." The cold, divine machine operated solely on the "optimal solution," caring neither for others' desires nor his own.
Long before that, when the divine machine didn't yet exist, when the Visionary was still the vibrant embodiment of the Ancient Sun God's hopeful side, he didn't always think in terms of optimal solutions.
Back then, the Visionary considered both the outcomes of his actions and others' feelings, striving for a balance between the two. In less critical matters, he even leaned toward the latter.
It might sound unbelievable, but the Visionary cared more about others' feelings than the Ancient Sun God himself. Sasrir represented The Ancient Sun God's humanity... all the soft parts, the sadness, hesitation, and fragility that could hinder saving the world.
The Visionary was more obsessive, colder, but unlike The Ancient Sun God, plagued by divine burdens, he was more optimistic, brimming with vitality. He always viewed the world with hope, making him more inclined to consider others' thoughts.
Because to the Visionary, things would always turn out for the better.
The old Adam struggled to understand that mindset. The divine machine was neither pessimistic nor optimistic, just coldly calculating probabilities, preparing for the worst to ensure the best outcome.
That's why, in the Fourth Epoch, Adam killed Medici. He knew Medici's loyalty, knew that if he'd been upfront, Medici would likely have stepped back from pursuing Sequence 0, even if he didn't want to give up his Uniqueness and Sequence 1 characteristic.
But Adam couldn't ignore the slim chance that Medici might refuse, might betray him.
The optimistic Visionary might have trusted Medici outright, but the cold divine machine eliminated risks by taking the harshest path.
Maybe I finally understand what I lost. It wasn't just humanity, but that optimism for the future… Adam thought, dazed. He couldn't deny that when Alaric asked if he wanted to live, he hadn't thought like the Visionary, optimistically. Instead, he coldly weighed whether his survival would affect God's birth.
Adam knew he could never fully return to being that Visionary. His thoughts, his actions, had been shaped by millennia of cold calculation.
That wasn't necessarily bad. For a world teetering on the brink, overly optimistic thinking wasn't always wise.
But… Adam looked up at Alaric and said, "Overly rational thinking doesn't always mean correct."
In the Fourth Epoch, he thought he'd made the right call, preventing a Red Priest corrupted by the City of Calamity. But instead, he propped up Tudor, a madman who nearly ended the world.
"So why not try thinking more emotionally?" Alaric seemed to read his thoughts, picking up on Adam's vague words seamlessly. "Be optimistic, Adam. I'm here now. No matter how rational you get, you can't outstubborn me. Might as well look on the bright side!"
"…You're awfully upfront," Adam said, a recurring sentiment. He smiled faintly. "But you're right."
Adam met Alaric's gaze, finally trying to think like the old Visionary, considering a possibility with optimism.
So he said, "Optimistically, a living me might be the one to stop you. Sasrir's too soft, too hesitant to be ruthless, easily swayed by you."
"He's the soft heart The Ancient Sun God cast aside, after all!" Alaric said with a grin.
Adam looked at Alaric, his expression equally serious. "So I want to live. Adam should live."
"Drop the 'should.' Say it again," Alaric said, still grinning.
Adam didn't hesitate, meeting Alaric's eyes candidly. "I want to live. Help me, Lucifer!"
"You still don't quite get it… but fine, at least you've got the basic will to survive," Alaric said, laughing and nodding. "I'm in."
***
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