"Who are you now... Adam or the Angel of Imagination?" Alaric asked, unbothered by the brief wait, his tone laced with curiosity as he looked at Adam.
"What's the difference?" Adam countered, offering a faint smile. "I suppose I'm still Adam, but the humanity of the Angel of Imagination has indeed begun to awaken within me."
"So, success or failure?" Alaric asked, rubbing his chin.
"If your goal was to resurrect the original Angel of Imagination, it's probably a failure. But if you just wanted an Adam with a sense of self, then it's a success." Adam replied, pausing as if struck by a thought. He sighed, making a prayer-like gesture. "This humanity is questioning me, probing all I've done. I still don't regret my past actions, but if I could do it again, I'd choose a gentler approach."
Alaric raised an eyebrow. The Adam before him was indeed a blend of the robotic Adam and the Angel of Imagination... not as cold as the former, but lacking the latter's vibrancy and rich emotions.
Still, as a trial run, this outcome satisfied Alaric. He smiled and asked, "Will you apologize, then?"
Adam's movement faltered. He glanced toward a point outside the chapel, lost in thought, before saying softly, "He probably doesn't need my apology."
"Will you apologize, though?" Alaric pressed, smiling, not refuting him.
The apology was, of course, for Medici, whom Adam had once "cooked in a hot pot." Alaric didn't care about others Adam had wronged... he wasn't overflowing with sympathy, only concerned for those he cared about.
Adam finally turned to face Alaric, his golden eyes no longer flat but tinged with a faint, complex mix of emotions... sorrow, pain, and helplessness. "I'll go to him." He said.
Alaric smiled, then, struck by another thought, asked, "Let me ask you, Mr. Adam: are you now driven by interest, obsession, or your heart to save this world?"
Adam was silent for a moment before answering, "I don't know. I once sought to save the world because it was the only goal the Sun God left me, the sole reason for my existence."
"And now…" He paused, lowering his gaze, his compassionate demeanor more genuine than before. "I still exist for that purpose, but I've realized it's not just humanity as a whole that needs saving... it's every individual face among the thousands."
"You're finally starting to seem human. Maybe I should write a new chapter for you in my script." Alaric said with a laugh. Suddenly, a camera appeared in his hand, and he snapped several photos of Adam. "Click, click."
As Adam looked over, slightly surprised, Alaric grinned. "I like to capture important moments. You don't mind, do you?"
What could Adam say? He couldn't exactly snatch and smash the camera. He simply smiled and said, "Do as you wish."
Meanwhile, at an Aurora Order base in Backlund...
Wearing his Jack persona, Alaric was helping Medici sort through intelligence, mainly assessing the talents of the Numinous Episcopate's "recyclable trash" and planning how to use them. Suddenly, he looked at Medici, who was reviewing a report, and flashed a brilliant smile.
Medici, always alert even while working, caught the change in Alaric's expression. He raised an eyebrow, giving Alaric a look of disdain. "What mischief are you plotting now?"
From experience, Medici knew that the brighter Alaric's smile, the worse it was for someone.
"No mischief! I just did a good deed." Alaric said, grinning at Medici, then staring at him without speaking.
Medici felt a chill down his spine, instinctively checking himself for issues. Finding none, he irritably tossed a crumpled paper ball at Alaric. "Stop grinning! What do you want? Just say it!"
Alaric's smile was giving him goosebumps.
"Alright, alright, as you wish." Alaric said, shaking his head as if reluctant. He smiled. "I just went to see Adam."
"What?" Medici perked up, his expression turning serious. "What deal did you make with him?"
"Not exactly a deal. I just gave him a little gift. Now that I think about it, I might've gotten the short end…" Alaric said, feigning regret.
Of course, he didn't truly feel he'd lost out. A favor was a debt, and giving Adam humanity was beneficial for their side.
"Get to the point. What did you give him?" Medici pressed, knowing Alaric's ways. He might not always come out ahead, but he never lost.
"A mask." Alaric said, cutting to the chase. He recounted the events, omitting the apology part.
"So it worked?" Even Medici was stunned, not expecting Alaric to pull off something so significant.
"At least the current Adam has a trace of humanity. It's not on par with the original Angel of Imagination, but it's a good start. With the Angel of Imagination's humanity rekindled, as long as Adam isn't an idiot, he'll build on it." Alaric said, shrugging.
It was well-known that humanity could be nurtured. The old Adam had no humanity to build on, and the mask's initial spark of emotion was an external construct, hard to grow through normal anchors.
But now, things were different. Though Adam's current humanity stemmed from the mask, it was genuinely tied to the Angel of Imagination, no longer purely foreign.
In theory, this humanity could grow further with the right anchors.
***
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