(A few Months before Lilith won the duel)
"To leave the Garden?" Eve said, tilting her head as she listened to Adam when she asked him about why Lilith was so determined to land a strike on him, "…But why?"
Her confusion was understandable, her flaming hair burning, crackling like small popcorns in her befuddlement.
Adam himself shrugged as he and Eve laid against a tree that provided them shade on a hill that surveyed the stunning valley below.
"It's complicated, but I suppose to easiest way to describe it…Lilith is like a bird that feels cage, and is filled up with wanderlust for the outside world," He explained to his wife—it felt weird to think that…and pleasing—on the complex mess that is sister Lilith.
Eve blinked a few times, on neutral expression on her face as she digested the information, leaning on his arm.
"…Is that why your're worried at times after you fight?" She curiously asked, looking up at him with a hum and raised eyebrow, recalling several times where Lilith was steadily making progress, "You're worried how she and Samael will fair outside of Eden?"
Adam grunted, "They should be…theoretically fine, Sam being an angel means there's shouldn't be anything that would be capable of hurting him, let alone damaging," Angels apparently came with prebuilt, if conditional, invulnerability.
Meaning only someone as celestial or as divine as him should be capable of bypassing his heavenly grace and making him bleed.
"But it's not as if Samael is unstoppable, whether distracted by a threat or his attention is drawn elsewhere could be dangerous with the just the two of them,…especially with the news on what is going on out there,"
Apparently according to Sam whenever he popped over to Heaven for a bit to report, he kept stumbling into angels who could only talk to one another about the happenings of Earth.
And they are apparently developing far more dangerously than they should have, beyond what was expected according to the Morningstar.
It only made him more worried over the fact it didn't seem to disway Lilith and Samael from going.
He almost wanted to deny them that, despite the fact he could hardly do anything to Samael, or at the very least go-
"What do you want to do?" Eve suddenly interrupted his thought process, still looking up at him, prodding him for a answer.
"…What do I want?" Not entirely sure what she was referring to, as he stared down at her with a blank look.
She twirled her finger on my chest, as she looked away from my gaze, "You always seem to be concerned, on one hand you are always calm and collected, you always know what to do, you make something new seemingly every week, while also looking out to what makes the four of us happy…" she started out, giving out what she herself observed and her thoughts.
"A pleaser, other than your hobbies of random creations, you take priority of when everyone has fun over what you would rather do" 'Eve did you just diagnose me with Caretaker Architype?' As Adam raised his eyebrow at her?
He retorted, "I don't feel that is entirely fair, a lot of the activities I come up with ARE my ideas, that the others followed along with," he lightly defended himself, a amused small smile as he stared.
"Samael is not that hard to entertain," she said with a straight face as he internally laughed at that truth. He once told him a cloud looked like a lizard and he spent the next fifteen minutes lying on the grass trying to find other creatures in the sky.
Eve continued as her hair that was literally fire waved down her back, "While Lilith is bored at most times and is willing to burn time when she isn't figuring out how to poke you harder and faster with that stick of hers you gave,"
"You're worried, and yet other than a sentence or two of concern that she rolls her eyes on, you never seem to want to argue and debate her on, and so comes to my point…you would rather compromise and try again later, " she concluded as she nodded.
"So your saying I should be more controlling?" Adam jokingly raised an eyebrow at her, making sure she understood he didn't actually mean it.
"I'm saying you should be more stubborn," she corrected as she picked up a flower, twirling it in her finger, harmlessly unburnt by the flames it passed by.
"What do you want to do?" She repeated her question.
"…I want to make sure they are safe, while I am happy in the garden, it is not as if I am not too curious what the outside looks like compared to here, but I don't want you-" He started rumbling in concern before he was interrupted.
"Then let's go together, all four of us," she said with a small smirk on her face as she looked back up.
He just stared at her, mouth opening and closing, "But-"
"Truth is, Adam,…" she started, as she placed a hand on his cheek affectionately, "I want them to be safe too, if I watched them leave I would feel very conflicted…but ultimately would have stayed if you wanted to stay,"
"So my worry wort of a man~" she lightly giggled as she teased, "Your worried about them, you expressed that you do have interest for the wild, and not even your own wife is objecting…so wha do you want to do?"
"…But you're not-" words died in his voice as he wasn't too sure what he should even respond with, she wasn't strong? She couldn't defend herself? All of those didn't sound particularly good.
She however, could already put together what Adam was thinking, "You're already training with Lilith right?…train me," she gave what was in her mind a simple solution.
"Adam…do what you want, and be more stubborn and grounded in your choices," she advised, while Adam snorted in amusement.
"I have a feeling that that sort of advice isn't typically good for others,"in fact it was typically the opposite…he truly did embody the mindset of a Airbender, free spirited, finding an easy solution, and redirect it if there is resistance, "You yourself will probably be the direct victim of it~"
"I would imagine…but I have full faith that your intentions will always be good, we will most likely argue at some point, but that is an obstacle I am more than ready to face,"
Be more stubborn eh?…I suppose I could stand to be more proactive and vocal…I couldn't exactly deny it, Introspection is making it all too clear that she was right.
Ding! Strengthen your resolve with the advice of a loved one. Bronze Random Ticket!
[Library Mind]
|Uncommon Trait|
Your mind is like a library, organized and efficient. Your memory, mental clarity and speed are slightly faster.
And apparently the Gacha agrees
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A lot of things have changed over that time since he had that questionable advise.
Adam's fists were harder than steel, capable of crushing stones into dust, digging tunnels into the bedrock of the earth and be unwinded, as he felt his Hanma blood in him boil and his bones hardened like steel coil.
Lilith now with skill equivalent to her spirit, both in spear and in fists, while not on my level, she was by no means a liability, though on a weaker end she makes up for it in cunning and tricks.
Eve was now capable of all sorts of Pyrotechnics ranging from breathing fire to general fire generation and manipulation, reaching degrees in her control that she could now more or less make her hair not burn.
Samael…ok admittedly, he didn't really change much, he didn't exactly come across anything that is a problem, literally nothing in creation under God can hurt him with the exception being holy light from similarly ranked angels.
He was our personal mcguffin, our last resort, and pretty much everything we needed if…by some ungodly reason…there's something that can't be stabbed by Lilith, punched by Adam, or burned by Eve.
…All that nuke attached to a Angel equivalent of a hyperactive Squirrel with ADHD, high on DMT and Caffeine.
Adam and Eve, fully packed with all the essentials ranging from his multi-tool, fire starter, super fishing rod, extra clothing alongside the winter garb, and two types of buff drinks that Adam made sure to pull a few days before in the form of Melee Macchiato and Deadshot Daiquiri and store, and so much more.
All under the dead of night, just after Sera asked Samael to come over to report to her…which ironically meant no angels would be watching them leave for quite a bit.
Now no longer naked, we were all properly dressed, or so he assumed, he was expecting Lilith to be with Sam doing her own preparations while wearing it.
With the help of all the spiders and moths, in the course of many months to more than a year Adam had access to a good supply of silk and grass fiber for our clothing.
And what came out…well it was doable, more than impressive for someone back before even the Stone Age, with access to his All-purpose Tool that was a sewing needle, Seamster and Ambidextrous.
…The only real downside is that it was really muffling the range on how far I could feel with Airbending, but still…it looked very sweet.
It was very hard to actually keep track how long it had been with no change in seasons, but now thanks to Library Mind that wasn't all that hard anymore as he recalled quickly each and every day of his second life.
More than three years…it don't feel like it, but Adam had been busy simply enjoying himself day after day, there were many time consuming projects he started and began.
But there was just as many where he was fully content to lay on the grass and simply enjoy the sun while he was surrounded by Junipos and various animals that slept by or on him.
Arriving back to the large, two story cabin Adam has spent no small amount of time on, they could see Samael and Lilith shuffling around the house, gathering a variety of their things.
Walking back inside, him and Eve could see that indeed Lilith was already dressed in the clothing after being warned countless times by Adam that the cold was a very real thing, enough so every time he even remotely began retelling her it she would start rolling her eyes to the back of her head and groan in displeasure.
"Eve, Adam, welcome back, myself and darling are just about fully packed to lea-," she started as soon as she heard us come in, probably with some goodbye ready, before she spotted our own wardrobe and bag.
She paused not sure what to say, as our resident angel walked into the room humming carrying clothing only to blink as he spotted us.
"…What is all this?" Lilith asked in confusion as she processed our appearance.
Eve smiled teasingly, "I suppose you are slow in some aspects it seems~" as she chuckled and hugged Adam side and pulled him a little to her, matching her smirk, "We're coming with you,".
Samael looked delighted, a big smile on his perfectly white teeth, Lilith looked stunned, unsure of what to make of this, not even caring to retort to Eve's jab.
She looked at him, Adam, as she replied, "…I though you loved the Garden?".
Adam snorted, "Yea? I do, but I'll be damned if you two go out there without a stable head with you~" as he tossed a stone spear at Lilith, who caught, it was new, freshly made without sign of usage.
Adam's smirk widened, "It's yours, take it, consider it a graduation present for passing my boot camp, the first one at that~" openly laughed as he raised the rather large bag up behind his back.
"All four of us lived together under the same roof for quite some time…I like to consider us family, where you go, I want us all to be together," Eve followed up as she nodded and clapped her hands together in finality.
"Are…A-are you sure?" Lilith unsurely asked, eyes narrowed as Samael joined her side, holding her hand, "I was sure that you were completely uninterested of what's out there,"
A moment, before Adam sighed heavily as he rubbed his white hair that for a brief moment shifted to a variety of color, the brightest being orange annoyance before it faded back to white.
"To be perfectly honest? I would prefer if we all stayed here, enjoying many more years of pure bliss and safety, but I'm going to ge honest? After hearing so many nights you yelping about your dreams an wanderlust?….well it did spark a curiosity into me, if not, I probably would have tried harder to convince you to stay,"
His smirk sharpened predatory-like, "So you better prepare yourselves! We are going into the very heart of wild! To the treacherous depths of the caves and seas! To the heights of Mountains and tundras, to the coldest reaches of the North and snow! And you BETTER BELIEVE YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET IT AT TIMES!" Adam roared his fist in the air, back up with Samael who was giving his own roar (read:squeak) Eve gigging behind her hand.
Lilith looked touched, tears welling up at the corner, her lips quivered for but a second before she wiped them, a joyful look in her eyes.
"Then let's go!" After all we only had so much time before another survey.
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Adam stood before Atess Fohn Esotrikaot, the chimera sitting as she stared at me with complete seriousness as he placed a large hand on her snout.
"Atess, we will be leaving now…I place upon you the important task of watching over the Garden of Eden, I don't know why…but I feel like you are at your strongest when guarding something, a special someplace, something sacred to us all," Adam spoke as he caressed the soft fur of the chimera, the Sanctury Guardian.
Said chimera's glowed as she listened intently to him, as Adam affectionally smirked "Do your best~ though we will be back…it's going to take a while, don't wait up," Before the beast pushed her head to my chest, nuzzling it as she purred.
Petting her gorgeous white mane, he whispered, "Ya…I'll miss you too," already missing the lazy Sunday's of just sleeping, laying on her side.
"Adam? Where are you? We are heading our way to the gate ," Eve called out to him a distance away that was indeed to the direction she told him.
Giving one last pat to the chimera, before turning to the Junimos that have grown by numbers, that went over 200 hundred, forming two lines as they cheered with Julie and William cheering from the front.
Snorting at the lovely sight, he started making his way over.
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"Sera! SERA!" Jophiel screamed as she burst through the doors of her sister's office that had an assortment of angels reporting their assignments.
Sera, after a significantly stressful night sighed as she looked at the Archangel, "what is it Jophiel?" She could only imagine what may have upset her sister.
But it was also at times quite a toss up what it could be, as it could at times range from two lower rank angels having a minor squabble to Heavenly Father himself telling her something important that she didn't know what to do with.
"THEY'RE GONE!" Jophiel said with tears in her eyes, which immediately crossed out the most distressing option, but enough to make her cry was…admittedly not that high of a bar considering a fight between friends may just do just that to the Beauty of God.
"Who is? Use your words Jophiel, you know I will not read your mind," as it was rude as she finished off assigning something off to a Dominion for the angels of the lower ranks.
"Adam, Eve, and Lilith are gone!" Something in the angel's head snapped as she processed what Jophiel just said, as she looked at her sister with a horrified dropped jaw.
Apparently the second most distressing thing happened.
"What!??" She flew to Jophiel and (gently) grasped her sister's head, her palm in each cheek as she panic, "Where's Samael?! I just spoke to him a few moments ago!"
"HE'S GONE TOO!" Jophiel sniffed and whined out her response.
"WHAT?!?" Once more, louder, as Sera's heartbeat sped up in anxiety.
She immediately called upon her holy magic and summoned herself down below to the Eden Texture of the universe to the wooden structure Adam has built.
Landing on the front yard, spooking the white creature of all sorts of parts that Adam inadvertently created, who growled awake before she realized it was Sera and went back to sleep, grumbling at being started.
Sera paid no mind to it, as she dashed into the house, "ADAM! EVE! Where are you!! LILITH? BROTHER?" As she quickly, desperately, searched the house in each room for the humans.
Only after a solid two minutes, her chest was heaving as she started to slightly spiral, before she noticed a a parchment on the dining table.
Writing, looking at it, she didn't even need to figure out what she was looking at as the concept of "Language", she suddenly understood the idea of a "written form" of what was spoken.
As the works slowly unraveled before her.
"Sup, Sera,
…Man, a little awkward, I am…just gonna assume that you can read this because angel stuff, and so I will just have to say…thanks. Love the Garden, but I think me and the gang will explore for a bit…tootles!
P.S. hopefully you can read this or else I jus waisted some hard earned ink
Signed, Adam.
WHY!?
Adam, you are the sensible one! What possessed you to go out the safety of the Garden.
Sera started pacing around the room, all signs of grace and serenity gone in her lonesome as worry and fear poured out of her.
"What if they get cold? What if they all get hungry?! WHAT IF ONE OF THEM GETS HURT BY THE FERAL BEASTS?!?"
Possibilities started rolling off of her head, as she panicked for minutes on end, before she realized she needs to actually do something.
Returning back to Heaven, "GET ME URIEL! ALL OF THE VIRTUES, DOMINIONS, AND AVAILABLE POWERS!! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!!!"
Heaven was very much in a panic.
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(Play: Goldfinger - 99 Red Balloons (Official Video)) (a few hours ago)
It was light stepping through a doorway into a new world…which it was, one moment it was soft and light under the moonlight…and the next it was like everything grew hot and thick.
It was a jungle of sorts, filled to the brim with tall trees with vines, with his eye spotting small creatures and insects Adam could vaguely recall being extinct in a book once that Library Mind brought up.
Looking behind himself, and sure enough , there was only a golden gateway, no garden to be scene, as if they stepped down from a higher texture of the world into a lower one.
He started floating off the ground, pulling out a parchment that was mostly blank, "Let us go! We have much to see and explore you guys!" Being joined up by Samael who screamed "WooHOOOO!" A comical sight of a short guy carrying a large bag as big as Adam's.
Lilith was far ahead of him, her spear out with her eyes sparkling, "You're too slow!"
Eve called out as she giggled, running to catch, "Hey! Wait up!"
"Adventure calls! WE ARE GONNA HAVE SO MUCH FUN!"
"Calm yourself darling you're going to hyperventilate again,"
"Careful now! We need to actually put some distance between heaven and us, guys,"
"I wonder what we will come across first?"
"…You know what we are missing?" Adam sudden said pulling his head away from the starting of a map while he was flying with the group.
"""What?""" They all said in unison. Adam smiled brightly, as an idea came to him, "A Name! A TEAM Name!"
"WE SHALL BE KNOWN AS TEAM EDEN!"
Ding! Introduce English, truly the universal language! Bronze Skill Ticket
[Novice Blacksmithing]
|Common Skill|
You are about as skilled as a Blacksmith's apprentice. You can make basic weapons and tools, but you can't guarantee their quality, at least you can accurately gauge the quality of metalwork you are given.
Ding! Officially form a adventuring party! Bronze Random Ticket!
[Soylent Green]
|Trash Item|
Soylent Green - A tin of Soylent Green, it is not appetizing, but it is nutritious enough to not let you starve; the taste generally varies from person to person. Restock Timer: 1 Hour
Ding! Leave the Garden of Eden for the dangers of the world! Silver Random Ticket!
[Sapling]
|Uncommon Ability|
You are able to create, communicate with and control plants in your range. You can make grass grow on fertile dirt, make roots dig through concrete, ripen plants, change their shape slightly, make trees grow fast enough to create natural barriers and harvest the bounty of nature.
Ding! Very nearly give Sera the High Seraphim the first (if ever) case of Angelic heart attack! Gold Random Ticket!
[Snap Out of It!]
|Rare Ability|
You can clear negative mental conditions such as fear, panic, or even mind control from people by firmly slapping them. The effectiveness scales with your physical stats.
Ding! Cause all of Heaven to go into a state of panic! Platinum Random Ticket!
[Somas Winemaking]
|Epic Skill|
Danmachi - You are as great at making wine and other alcoholic products as the god Soma. But you still need experimentation to figure out the wines you can make with the resources. Even god does not succeed every time.
…Well now I just feel bad.
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All while, unbeknownst to them,…Roo, she stared from the distance, from the shadow of her tree, smirking for her own time to come, smiling at Adam…frowning at Eve.
At this currently moment…she knew three things, The Bright One was too strong of an obstacle to face anywhere on the current timescale, she loved Adam and wanted him all to herself, her actual self, and Eve, an aspect of Adam, connected to him by his literal bone…represented an wonderful opportunity.
To her, no one else existed.
All she needed to figure out…was the when, and the how, as her horrifically wide smile revealed nightmarish teeth.
However…
In the cosmos, "ten" figures…asleep in inactivity long awaiting for the one to leave the Garden…have awoken.
Two beings in one, sisters of sand and wind.
A large snake, made up of malevolence and shadows.
A bipedal dog of white and black, of steal and an unbending will.
A beast that roamed in the space between space, a not-dog that chases through time.
A flying bird of flame and rebirth, to scorch the earth below
A Ape of great size, wielding great strength and lightning howling at the storms.
A black dragon, one that crackled with destruction and foretold calamity.
In the deaths of the Ocean, a creature of ridiculous might and oceanic power.
Deep in the Earth, a creature of outstanding size laid to be risen, smaller like it were below, laid like piled rice awaiting for its call.
And the last…a entity of carnage and blood, of concept of such visceroul violence and gore in its black, blood-stained armor, that God himself who was upholding reality, at the slightest minuscule sense of him in the void, frowned in its direction.
All have started waking up one by one.
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AN: well here we are…end of Arc 1, and officially where the adventure begins
Sorry it took a little longer, be it work or otherwise, I was a tad bit preoccupied.
Hope you liked it and it's extra long-iness
I may just take a break for a bit until things settle