"Hah! Bold move." Alaric sneered. He was used to poaching others' allies, but to think someone would try to poach his... the audacity!
Looks like he hadn't bombed the Mother Goddess of Depravity enough lately.
As for how the Mother Goddess of Depravity had set her sights on the people of the Forsaken Land, there were many possibilities. The Five Seas were already within her sphere of influence, and the people of the Forsaken Land were undeniably unique. Whether it was Moon City, tasked with guarding the Western Continent's seal, City of Silver, holding a Sealed Artifact formed from Omebella's remains, or Amon's special treatment of them, any of these could have piqued her interest.
Of course, the original story didn't have such a plot, but…
"The original story didn't have the Mother Goddess of Depravity getting bombed this many times either." Alaric muttered to himself, a theory forming in his mind.
If his guess was right, the Mother Goddess of Depravity's targeting of the Forsaken Land's people might be tied to him. A cornered rabbit bites, and the Mother Goddess of Depravity was no pushover. After being bombed repeatedly by Alaric and with two of her controlled entities showing signs of breaking free, it was only natural she'd take action.
"The Mother Goddess of Depravity, God Almighty… I'll take you all down eventually." Alaric said, glancing skyward as if seeing the colossal entity lurking on the moon through the invisible barrier. With a cold huff, he turned to Amon. "Arrange for everyone to come to me for a check-up."
"Sure, no problem." Amon replied, nodding with a smile. "No need to worry too much. I caught it early. They've only been slightly influenced by the Mother Goddess of Depravity's power... nowhere near fully corrupted."
An Outer Deity's power couldn't instantly corrupt someone, not through the barrier. Even the Mother Goddess of Depravity could only seep her influence in gradually, or the Temperance Faction of the Rose School would have been wiped out long ago.
"When it comes to a Pillar, no amount of caution is too much." Alaric said. Despite his usual flair for bombing, he didn't underestimate a world Pillar. Glancing at Amon, he suddenly added, "Rare to see you step out from under your wild dad's protection."
He hadn't noticed earlier, but now he realized this wasn't one of Amon's avatars... it was the real Amon, the one usually holed up in the Forsaken Land.
"There's been too much fun in the real world lately. Even I can't resist joining in." Amon said with a grin, adjusting his monocle.
Alaric looked at him, a smile tugging at his lips. "Amon, have you seen Adam recently?"
"Adam?" Amon blinked, clearly out of the loop.
"With my help, Adam has reclaimed some of the humanity that once belonged to the Angel of Imagination." Alaric said, smiling at Amon. "You should meet him. The current Adam might interest you."
Amon frowned briefly before a smirk curved his lips. "So Adam really existed?"
"If you believe Sasrir existed, then Adam existed." Alaric said with a chuckle. "It depends on how you see it."
Amon lowered his eyes, lost in thought for a moment before speaking. "When I was younger, I always had a gut feeling. Whether it was Father, Sasrir, or Adam, they shared a secret. They were so close, like a real family, and I was just the stray they picked up."
"Is it possible you were picked up?" Alaric interjected, his tone serious.
No mistake there. Amon, born from the Marauder's Uniqueness, was essentially torn from the Celestial Worthy by God Almighty. In a sense, to the Ancient Sun God, Amon was indeed a stray.
"..."
His complex emotions faltered, and he gave Alaric a long, exasperated look before sighing. "Mr. Lucifer, has anyone told you you're really good at ruining the mood?"
"You're welcome." Alaric said with a smile.
Amon didn't know how to respond. Adjusting his monocle again, he chose to ignore Alaric's interruption. "Now I'm sure my instincts weren't wrong, but I still don't see them as my father."
"My father is only the Ancient Sun God. Sasrir, Adam... they might be parts of him, but they're not him."
Clearly, Amon was a firm believer in the idea that different personalities meant different people.
Not surprising. If Amon thought a shared soul made them the same, he wouldn't reject the True Creator so vehemently.
Still, Alaric glanced at him, a spark of intrigue in his smile. "Sometimes I wonder how you came to think this way. You're a collective-thinking mythical creature... shouldn't you believe a shared soul makes you one person?"
The Marauder's mythical form, the Worm of Time, was a quintessential collective-thinking creature. Each worm had its own thoughts, yet together they formed Amon as a whole.
"It's because I'm a collective-thinking mythical creature that I understand the difference between personalities." Amon said, looking at Alaric. "Don't you also refuse to see Sasrir as Father? Otherwise, why bother poaching his allies?"
Alaric chuckled, meeting Amon's gaze. "What's fascinating is that, despite this belief, you never fear your avatars rebelling. You even endorse the idea of a avatar taking over if the original dies."
"Is that strange?" Amon asked, giving him a puzzled look before stating matter-of-factly, "Only the one who survives is Amon. That's just how it works. Right now, I'm the strongest, so I'm the original. If I die, the next Amon takes over."
"Even if it's not you?" Alaric asked, curiosity piqued.
"They're Amon, I'm Amon, we're all Amon." Amon said, adjusting his monocle.
"The one who survives is Amon."
Alaric looked at him, a sudden smile breaking out as if struck by a thought. "Is that a trait of beings with many avatars?"
His own original self never cared about avatars rebelling either, sometimes even encouraging it... though no avatar had succeeded yet.
Amon glanced at him, a flicker of contemplation in his eyes.
Alaric didn't dwell on Amon's thoughts. The topic had been a casual one, and his attention soon shifted back to the people of City of Silver and Moon City.
After thoroughly checking each person and neutralizing the Mother Goddess of Depravity's influence, Alaric sighed, looking at the half-built island. "I'd planned to settle them here, but now… we'll need a new spot."
***
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