Missing Link (1)
Omega Year 666.
Because of Anke Ra's purification, two Gaians boarded the ark and left Heaven.
With the aid of terraforming tech, those who landed on a remote planet were named Adam and Lilith.
"This is our land."
The atmosphere was similar to Heaven's, and the ecosystem was no less vast.
"Let's call it Eden."
Adam was satisfied, but Lilith worried.
"Ultima's power has weakened. Can we really carve out a new life here?"
"It'll be fine. We're a people who fought the gods. You and I—we'll be happy here forever."
Time passed, and the ancient city of Eden prospered until it could be called humanity.
16.8 billion Gaians.
The reason the population exploded was their extraordinarily long lifespans.
After finishing his farm work, Adam kissed Lilith as she curled up in his arms.
Their love, which transcended time, must have been part of why they were chosen as passengers of the ark.
"Another peaceful day."
Gazing down at the city of Eden, Lilith smiled contentedly.
"There's nothing more joyful than watching the children live happily."
Lilith felt as if she had everything.
"They're all my children."
Any parent with 16.8 billion offspring would understand Lilith's feeling.
"Huh?"
At that moment the sky suddenly opened, and a brilliant flash illuminated the land.
All the Gaians in the city fell to their knees while Adam wept with gratitude.
"A-ah."
"Beloved Adam."
It was Geffin, who would later become a god with a heart.
To win the war of the gods, he decided to take the Gaians from here.
Adam, who had once fought in Heaven, willingly complied—but Lilith did not.
"No! Absolutely not!"
She even abandoned Ultima in an attempt to change Geffin's mind, but in the end the Gaians left Eden.
Left alone, she cried for three days and nights.
Any parent who lost 16.8 billion children would understand Lilith's grief.
When her tears were nearly spent, Lilith heard footsteps approaching.
"Honey."
Adam was walking toward her.
"Why?"
"They sent me back to take care of you. This is the land we're meant to live on…"
Lilith sprang up and slapped Adam's cheek.
"Why did you send the children away! How did I raise those children, how did I build this city!"
"You know why. We have to fight! Did you forget your Gaian pride just because you abandoned Ultima?"
"Of course I know. I know how dangerous Heaven is, how strong the gods are! Ah—those children will all die!"
Adam was saddened.
He understood what their confrontation portended.
"So you really did abandon Ultima." Lilith spat the words viciously.
"No. You stole it. You took my will, my children, Ultima, my pride in being Gaian!"
Her once-clear, gentle face began to twist into something cold and cruel.
"I'm sick of it."
The hair that had evolved in Heaven—soft and fine—snapped off at mid-length.
"What have you done!"
New hair grew in—organic fur, a trait of Eden's native life.
"Never again…"
Lilith said through narrowed eyes.
"You will not take anything from me."
A hatred of Gaians and an obsession with preserving her species birthed a reverse evolution.
She became the first Eve.
"She was beautiful."
Cain spoke and smiled as he continued.
"Though her temper was rather sour." In the hushed Hall of Malice, Iruki turned to Shirone and asked,
"Why would Mitochondrial Eve be the one to judge good and evil? What did she do, exactly?"
Shirone answered.
"Lilith abandoned Ultima and became Mitochondrial Eve. She still had children with Adam afterward, but those children weren't what Adam had wanted."
Iruki studied Cain's face.
"…They weren't Gaian, then."
"No. Their abilities hadn't fully awakened. A Gaian who had mastered the heart altered her genetic traits with a desperate wish. Naturally the couple's relationship deteriorated. They argued daily and sometimes became hostile."
Cain's gaze deepened.
"Lilith hated Adam for treating her like a breeding tool. That hatred turned into misandry, and she apparently treated her sons harshly. But the real problem was…"
Shirone paused.
"If two people—a man and a woman—were stranded on a planet and then grew apart, what would happen?"
A vast loneliness.
Shirone asked again.
"Who would they love?"
"Aaahhhh!"
Lilith fell into depravity.
Having renounced the Gaian laws, she made love to countless species on that planet.
A witch of lust.
Accused by Adam, she was finally abandoned; Adam left the house.
Lilith didn't care.
"I want to love. I want to be loved." The more she chased pleasure, the more hollow her heart grew—and the more she chased pleasure in a vicious circle.
Yet even that lustful witch upheld one rule.
"Mother."
When she left home after a long time, she watched her hard-working children with detached eyes.
"What brings you here? Is something the matter?"
She had not felt human warmth for over a hundred years and was withering from lack of love.
Seeing her son Abel's strong body made saliva trickle down her throat.
'Hah.'
Her body burned hot; she felt dizzy with the urge to throw herself on him.
'I mustn't.'
Lilith forced herself to hold back.
Maybe it was a last scrap of pride she wanted to protect even as a fallen Gaian.
'Beasts are one thing. But my child—never. If I step into that even once…'
There would be no return.
Once that single taboo was broken, desire would carry on through generations and drag everything into ruin.
Lost in thought, Lilith saw her daughter Luluwah kissing Abel.
'…Is that so?'
It wasn't strange.
When they first arrived on this planet, all the Gaians had been Adam and Lilith's children.
'Yes, it can't be helped. But Luluwah had been close to Cain since childhood.'
Cain stood where Lilith glanced, watching his sister sadly.
'It can't be helped.' Lilith thought Cain should give up.
'Luluwah ought to be paired with Abel. It's right to be with the one you love.'
No matter how fallen, the Gaians' sense of reason still remained in her.
But Cain—who had once mastered the heart—cried every night.
"Why?"
Cain asked himself.
"Why can Abel, but I cannot!"
He wanted to love.
He only wanted to marry the woman he loved, to build a home with his beloved sister and live forever in happiness.
"I loved her first! I loved her before Abel did!"
Why should Luluwah be with Abel and not with Cain?
The law of this world—that for Abel to be happy, Cain must be made unhappy—was monstrous.
"O God."
Cain cried out to the world.
"Why Abel? What did I do wrong? Why must I be the one to suffer!"
The gods... were indifferent.
"Damn it!"
If only Abel weren't here...
'It'd be better if he had never been born, if that bastard didn't exist in this world!'
Did Luluwah ever love him?
At that moment Cain had a terrible idea.
'What if Abel didn't exist?'
His heart pounded as if it would burst, like the first time he felt love for Luluwah.
From their birth until now, no one had ever died.
At the same time, Lilith stood in a fetid room and studied her naked reflection in the mirror.
"Am I turning into an animal?" The more she chased pleasure, the denser and more provocative her flesh became.
Reverse evolution was still progressing.
"Would Abel… like this body?"
'He would. He'd like it, Luluwah.'
To be loved by two strong men—Cain and Abel—in one body.
'If I were my daughter…'
Lilith's head spun with the thought, then she spat a curse and turned away coldly.
'No.'
It had to end with her.
Instincts pass down to future generations; they cannot run backward up the line.
'Should I die?'
Maybe that would have been better. Even now, Uorin looks back and thinks it would have been preferable—if she had known she would have to endure an eternity.
One day.
The sky was so clear and vast that thunder seemed to split the world.
It became a night of torrential rain.
While Eden's brothers rested in their homes, one man walked through the downpour.
Cain was uneasy.
'Can I really do this?' He had left his house as if possessed, even though he knew he could still turn back.
'To kill Abel…?'
His heart convulsed with a strange anticipation of what might come.
'No. Killing Abel isn't possible. Why would I do that? He's not food.'
In an age when no one died, the concept of murder scarcely existed.
'It's the same as hunting anyway.' Lilith's children had survived by slaughtering countless plants and animals.
So if killing Abel were a sin, then merely being alive would be a sin.
This would become the original sin humanity later bore.
'I'll be sad without Abel. He's dependable and strong. The brothers will feel bad too.'
Cain hesitated.
But the moment his resolve slid toward giving up Luluwah, his hand tightened on the dagger he held.
'I can't do it!'
He wanted to be happy with the woman he loved, and he hated the idea of her being happy with his brother.
'It's only that Abel disappears. So many lives are gone already, after all.'
As he saw his sister's house in the dark distance, Cain felt a terrible chill.
"Arrrgh."
He wanted to scream.
'Why do I feel so strange? Loving Luluwah means this. The world won't make two people for her. If the roles were reversed, would Abel have…?'
Would Abel have tried to kill him?
Startled, Cain quickly forced the thought away and stopped dead in front of his sister's door.
"Ah, Abel."
A thunderclap shook the sky.
As his resolve trembled, Cain clenched his fist and hammered on the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Having driven himself past the point of no return, all that remained for him was the judgment of fate.
'Don't come out, Abel.'
Maybe he wouldn't hear.
'Don't come out, ever. It's just thunder. Sleep through it like always.'
"Ugh, what is it in weather like this…"
And fate—
"Who's there? Huh? Brother, what's wrong?" someone called, and the door opened for Cain.