Adam recounted his recent experiences at a leisurely pace. It had to be said, he was a being of remarkable action, never procrastinating, always diving straight into whatever he set out to do.
"I lived among these ordinary people, blending in with them, living as a true mortal. I observed them, and through them, I reflected on the past me," Adam said. "Gradually, I realized how mistaken some of my former ideas were. I learned to face each of these faces, to see their pain, and to feel anger on their behalf…" His expression was a complex mix of pain and fury. "This has further awakened my humanity."
"That's good. And then?" Alaric nodded, looking at him expectantly.
"Then I began to ponder what version of me this world needs most," Adam continued. "The ideal would be something like the Sun God, but I can't become that kind of existence. Even with my humanity partially restored, I can't return to that state."
"So you decided to emulate the Angel of Imagination?" Alaric asked, his expression odd.
"Is that not a good choice?" Adam countered, looking at Alaric. "Wouldn't you all prefer me as the Angel of Imagination?"
"Well, that's not entirely wrong," Alaric admitted, choosing his words carefully. "But isn't there a chance you're rushing things? False performances won't enhance your humanity. You can act, but it needs to be more genuine... like infusing real emotion into it. For instance, blend one part true feeling into nine parts acting. Otherwise, it's just a performance. Only by incorporating authentic emotion can you better understand and evoke those feelings, aiding the recovery of your personality."
That last part sounded like the voice of experience.
Adam's expression turned thoughtful.
Medici's mouth twitched. Unable to hold back, he interjected, "Can you two patients stop swapping case notes? Can someone tell me why you're both here?"
In Medici's eyes, these two were peas in a pod... equally abnormal. Adam might not be entirely normal, but was Alaric any better? Despite his abundant humanity, Alaric was arguably more twisted than Adam.
Adam turned to Alaric. "I'm here for Sasrir."
Indeed, Adam's primary reason for being here was to see if Alaric could make Sasrir a permanent fixture in this era... a matter of immense significance.
"Sasrir?" Medici looked at them suspiciously.
Alaric smiled at him. "Oh, it's nothing major... just an experiment to see if Sasrir can remain in this era permanently."
Medici froze, his usual nonchalance vanishing. He fixed Alaric with a serious look. "What's this all about?"
Alaric didn't intend to hide anything. In a few brief sentences, he explained the situation, then looked at Medici with a grin. "So, if the experiment goes well, Red, you might end up working alongside your 'mom'!"
Medici didn't even bother protesting the "mom" comment this time. He just gave Alaric a strange look, paused for a few seconds, and said, "Why not go all in and recruit the Lord of Storm, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, and the God of Combat while you're at it?"
Pulling in four of the seven orthodox gods? Even Medici didn't know how to judge that kind of track record.
"No rush with the old pigeon. Sasrir can talk to Him later. As for that dragon, I'll wait for Him to come to me. And the God of Combat? He's doomed to die sooner or later... no need to waste time on him," Alaric said, waving a hand dismissively.
"Suddenly, Sequence 0 doesn't seem like such a big deal," Medici remarked, unsurprised by Alaric's plans. As Alaric's chief tool, he was privy to plenty, but he couldn't help sighing. "Around you, I get the feeling Sequence 0s are as common as human."
"Not quite," Alaric said with a smile. "A single Sequence 0 isn't much, but if you all teamed up, I'd have a real headache."
Medici shot him a sidelong glance, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "A headache about whether to drag everyone down with you?"
"Of course! My sunk costs are piling up, and I'd hate to see them go to waste," Alaric nodded candidly.
"Then I'd better pray your sunk costs keep growing," Medici said, his words unclear whether sincere or sarcastic. He paused, then suddenly thought of something and looked at Alaric. "Your sunk costs never seem to include your own death. I'm curious... what's your attitude toward your own life?"
If Klein had noticed this, Medici certainly hadn't missed it. He'd just never bothered to ask until now, prompted by the moment.
"It's not that I don't factor it in. I do have a survival instinct, but…" Alaric shrugged. "My view on life and death is a bit unique. Simply put, death is a straightforward concept to me. I don't look forward to it, but I don't fear it either. To me, death is like drinking a beverage I don't particularly like. I won't go out of my way to drink it, but if I have to, it's not the end of the world."
Perhaps due to his unique nature, Alaric had never felt much fear of death. His perspective on it was, in many ways, abnormal.
"You probably get it, right? After all, Red, you're not afraid of death either. What you fear is meaningless death," Alaric added, glancing at Medici.
Medici didn't argue. This was why he'd never pressed Alaric on the subject before. Compared to Klein, who valued life more deeply, Medici's own stance on death was similarly nuanced.
Take the hot pot incident... Medici held a grudge not out of fear of death, but out of anger at the betrayal and frustration at being forced into failure.
"See? We're not so different in that regard!" Alaric said with a laugh, then continued, "Alright, enough chit-chat. Let's get to business!"
The "business" was, of course, summoning Sasrir's avatar.
At that, both Medici and Adam perked up.
Alaric was equally eager to see the results of the experiment. He deftly began preparing to summon Sasrir using the necessary medium. His eyes lit up almost immediately.
The power of the Shadow of Time told him that this time, he had an additional option for summoning.
Without hesitation, Alaric chose to summon Sasrir's avatar. With a crisp snap, a figure rapidly took shape in the air.
---
Hi guys, I just wanted to let you know that the rewrite for the Supreme Overlord project is officially ongoing now. If you want to read it, feel free to check out my second account.
Since this account got shadowbanned and I can't really interact with anything anymore, I decided to upload it on my second account instead: Elenea. (I'll leave a comment under this post so it's easier for you guys to find my second account.)
---
[Father of the Evil Gods]
Synopsis:
In Zoroastrianism, the Mother of the Evil Gods is the source of all sin and darkness!
It is said that she created the Six Archdemons: Malice, Chaos, Aging, Betrayal, Weakness, and Destruction!
After obtaining the Authority of the Mother of the Evil Gods in the Little Garden, Saigou became the Supreme Being in the world of Overlord;
Surrounded by the Overlord, the Witch of the Void, the Archon of Teyvat, the Sage of Gensokyo, the Satan of DxD, and the Creator of the Demon Pillars;
Saigou was certain that he had firmly established his name as the Evil God;
And so, he must shout at the top of his lungs - God is dead!
---
If you're curious and want to read it, feel free to check out my second account.