"...But that's the short version," I finished, exhaling heavily after my long story.
Eve and I had already managed to get out of her head and were now inside the Blue Lock. Time flowed differently here, so we weren't expecting any major issues with it—Sar really outdid himself. I'll never get tired of saying that he's a fucking genius when it comes to artifacts; I've got a long way to go to reach his level.
Thanks to this temporal buffer, we could calmly discuss everything that was bothering us. Right after my son died, I was shattered, and any pity I had for Eve at that moment simply evaporated. But here's the weird part: while I was literally piecing her mind back together, I was somehow putting myself back together too. It would be logical to assume that plunging into a millennia of someone else's insanity would damage me, but it turned out differently. The emptiness in my heart didn't disappear completely, but it stopped multiplying all my thoughts and emotions by zero. The nascent hatred toward Eve dissolved without a trace, returning that very same desire to help that had been driving me forward this whole time.
I often wondered: could I have done things differently? Could I have wiped out those tens of thousands of infected cherubs in one fell swoop so I wouldn't have to risk my friends, my comrades, my family? I could have. But I didn't want to. It's too easy to stray from the right path—anyone can slide from hero to anti-hero, and from there, it's a short step to being a villain. But it's exactly those difficult, agonizing decisions that define who we really are.
Do I regret the deaths of the angels who fell in this battle?
Yes.
Am I ready to give my own life to bring them all back, to bring Abel back?..
Yes.
I don't know exactly when I became who I became. Nor do I know the exact cause of this transformation from a cunning survivor into a Forefather willing to sacrifice everything for his "family" (Adam Toretto, is that you?), but the change happened, and now I have to act with that understanding.
The first step of the plan the guys and I discussed beforehand was repairing relations with Eve. Lilith's stories about the "evil creators" were great and all, but words alone aren't enough. I needed to hear directly from Eve why she drew those conclusions and what her plan actually was. For obvious reasons, I didn't really need proof anymore, but I still wanted to hear her version of events. She, in turn, was eager to learn more about how I lived.
We spent at least thirty hours talking—and that's just based on internal feeling—and we didn't even have time to get sick of each other. At first, it was hard for Eve: she stumbled over her words, lost her train of thought, jumped from one idea to another, and sometimes stopped mid-sentence, as if she was afraid of what she was about to say or of my reaction. But I didn't rush her or judge her, so eventually, thanks to my jokes and subtle support, she finally started coming back to herself completely, relaxing, and sharing stories from her long life.
I was able to pour out my soul a bit too. I usually vent to Lute—she knows more about me than anyone else, and that was true even before my "transmigration," so it's just a continuation of the tradition of our relationship. But with Eve, it was a little different. In her, I saw a strange, fractured reflection of myself. Plus, after literally funneling her fears through myself and living through all the evil that drove her insane, a completely different kind of bond formed between us: I understood her feelings, and she, having finally regained her clarity of mind, understood mine.
"Alright," I slapped my knees and got to my feet. "I think it's high time we wrap up this heart-to-heart. Our armies have been waiting for us out there—we should probably calm them down before kicking down the door to the main 'mommy and daddy' and asking them questions..."
Eve gracefully rose to follow.
Even now, with her mind cleansed of the corruption of thousands of foreign agonies, she was very different from the Eve I remembered. After so many years in the role of the ultimate evil, she no longer resembled the simple girl and loving mother she was eleven thousand years ago. But the role of the Queen of Darkness definitely suited her—the dignity, the calmness (even if only external), and the majesty had stuck to her permanently.
"Are you sure they'll listen to you?" Eve asked, frowning.
Not "us," but "you"?
Heh. Apparently, I'm the only one who wants to ask questions.
"Who cares what they want?" I scoffed. "They've considered themselves omnipotent beings for far too long, so if they don't want to give back what I lost and have a heart-to-heart, we'll just have to show them exactly what they raised." I paused for a moment and held my arms out to her. "Hug?"
Eve froze.
To leave the Blue Lock, Sar had set one single requirement: I had to hug the prisoner, and the hug couldn't be forced. Why that condition? Ask him! That psycho created a fucking seal capable of locking away God in the shape of a soccer ball! A hug isn't even that weird. Knowing him, it could have been literally any random bullshit.
(///0_0///)
"Hey, we already sorted out all our issues..." I sighed, seeing her embarrassed-yet-shocked face.
I knew it wasn't exactly right of me to just throw up boundaries between us like that, but I wanted to avoid any misunderstandings, and in my amateur opinion, this was the only normal way to do it. Right now, we're just comrades. Maybe friends. But there are no romantic feelings between us, and there can't be.
Not until I discuss this with Lute...
Fuck!
Harem, stop stalking me!
I won't give in!
"I just..." Eve averted her gaze in embarrassment, but then took a step forward and hesitantly, as if afraid of getting burned, wrapped her arms around me. I patted her on the back, feeling the tension finally leave her body. "Thank you, Adam. For everything," she whispered, barely audible, into my shoulder.
In that exact second, the space inside the Blue Lock vibrated. Massive cracks spiderwebbed across the walls of the artifact; they flared with a blinding blue light and crumbled with a deafening crunch, dissolving into the air...
We were back.
Reality hadn't changed at all during our absence: the frozen legions of Heaven, thousands of demons and cherubs unconscious on the ground after the Cleansing... And yeah—all eyes were turned toward us, as if not a single second had passed since we vanished.
Right, I'll need to ask Sar how much time acceleration he cranked that thing up to...
"Ahem..." I couldn't take it, breaking the silence that was starting to get awkward. "Total success." I then held out a hand and gave a thumbs up. I wouldn't exactly say everything went successfully, but hey, it can all still be fixed—two omnipotent bitches will definitely patch everything up...
"Adam?" Lute's worried voice rang out.
A golden streak cut across the sky, and the girl crashed down next to me, panting heavily and staring into my eyes. Her armor was heavily dented in multiple places, golden blood had dried on her cheek, and she was still gripping that same frying pan in her hands (which made me mentally scramble to remember if I had done anything to piss her off... shudder).
My valkyrie, apparently noticing something in my gaze, immediately rushed to me, frantically checking me over for new injuries. When she didn't find any, she abruptly stepped between me and Eve. Just like before, she shielded me with her body and bared her teeth fiercely at the Queen of Darkness.
"Just twitch, you bitch," Lute snarled, waving her unorthodox weapon... Unorthodox means deviating from generally accepted rules, traditions, classic methods, or strict dogmas. You know, just in case you didn't know.
I gently placed a hand on my valkyrie's shoulder, making her turn around.
"It's okay, Lute, don't worry," I said quietly, rubbing her back soothingly. "She's not an enemy anymore."
Lute shifted a distrustful glare to Eve. She trusted me, sure, but she trusted Eve absolutely zero percent.
The Queen of Darkness looked at Lute with a long, thoughtful gaze, in which I managed to discern some ancient pain. But then Eve simply offered her a warm, slightly sad smile and bowed her head slightly in a gesture of respect.
Lute, not expecting that reaction, blinked in confusion, but she did lower the frying pan a bit.
I took a deep breath and headed toward where Abel lay. The crowd of angels parted before me in reverent silence. Approaching my son's body, I dropped to one knee and, frowning involuntarily, gently folded Abel's hands over his pierced chest. I then lifted a heavy gaze to my sons standing nearby. Abaddon was breathing heavily, his fists clenched until his knuckles were white—he had gone all out in his first battle. Seth was grim, and tears stood in the eyes of the "independent rockstar." I completely understand him.
"Seth, Abaddon..." Michael flew down to join them. "...Michael," my voice, magically amplified, echoed across the plaza. "Keep his body safe until I return."
"Father..." Abaddon started hoarsely, taking a step forward, but I stopped him with a gesture. I need to give orders first—I don't want any unnecessary casualties.
"The battle is over!" I barked, standing up and addressing everyone else. "Eve's forces have been Cleansed of Darkness, and she no longer desires the destruction of Heaven. Everyone lay down your weapons and tend to the wounded. If anyone wakes up and decides to keep fighting—tie them up, but don't kill them."
"Adam? What the hell?" Lucifer couldn't contain himself, stepping forward in his battle form. "What happened over there? How are you even holding up?" the King of Hell continued bombarding me with questions. He's worried, the tailed bastard. It actually warms my heart a little, heh...
"We discovered some mutual interests, to keep it short," I smirked grimly, casting a sad glance at Abel. "I'm going to bring my son back, along with everyone else who died, and to do that, I need to meet with someone... So you guys handle the aftermath, and we'll be back a bit later."
"Bring back?" Michael frowned. Right! The Seraphim aren't in on our plans... With all due respect to them, I can't trust them when it comes to fighting God Himself, so it's best they stay in the dark until the very end. "What do you mean?"
"It's time to deal with the Darkness, if you catch my drift." I mean, what? I'm not lying—Eve and I are going to deal with the Darkness, and then with the Light, or vice versa... Or maybe both at once... Assuming we have the strength for it, as they say.
Without giving anyone a chance to object or ask more questions, I nodded to Eve, who was standing beside me. She smoothly raised her hand, and the space in front of us didn't tear open like it usually does for portals. Instead, it literally melted, revealing something I couldn't fully comprehend or describe.
This "something" consisted of the Light and Darkness I was used to, but floating within it were hundreds of different, unknown... energies? Elements? I don't know what it is—I've just never seen anything like it in my life, which is why I can't come up with a better name for it. In the general "sludge," I noticed another vaguely familiar energy—death. Not Death, as a concept derived from Light or Darkness, but the actual "death" I felt when I was transmigrated to this world... Maybe it's Chaos? Like, a mixture of every energy that exists? Yeah, I definitely didn't expect that from a gate leading beyond the Three Worlds.
"Come back," Lute whispered quietly, squeezing my hand tightly in farewell.
"Count on it," I winked, forcing my usual arrogant smile, and turning around, stepped into the portal after Eve.
The In-Between World greeted us with a complete lack of the laws of physics and streams of "chaos" constantly trying to "merge" into our bodies. The In-Between World looked like an infinite space filled with thick, multi-colored fog, occasionally illuminated by bright flashes of unknown origin. During my "seizure" after eating the Forbidden Fruit, this place looked completely different...
We flew through this void, leaving trails of golden Light and the blackest Darkness behind us.
"It's funny," Eve suddenly broke the silence, not looking at me. "If someone had told me a couple of days ago that we'd be flying together like this to kill the creators... Even in that state, I wouldn't have believed it."
"Life is generally a weird thing," I replied philosophically, peering into the multi-colored infinity ahead. Something out there was bothering me, something kindred and full of familiar energy. "And we don't necessarily have to kill them. What if they offer us tea and we can get what we want with a simple conversation?"
"They won't talk to us, Adam," Eve shook her head, turning instantly serious. "You don't understand. Everyone back there," she nodded behind us, "are just toys to them. And we are outright mistakes. And mistakes are meant to be erased."
And, as if to confirm her words, the space in front of us suddenly warped unnaturally. The multi-colored fog of the In-Between World rippled violently, and a moment later, the ripples collapsed, after which our path was blocked by... a figure.
I braked sharply, manifesting a blade of Light in my hand, while Eve immediately formed a spear of Darkness.
Hovering before us was something that vaguely resembled an angel, but mostly just triggered anxiety and the uncanny valley effect. The creature wasn't made of flesh; rather, it looked like a robot cast from some strange metal. Strange, because it was an alloy of Light, Darkness, and some unknown energy that wasn't connected to the Concepts I was familiar with. The figure was about two and a half meters tall and had no face—instead, there was a smooth plate bearing a cross that shone with white Light. Three pairs of steel wings clanked behind its back, and in its hand, it held a spear made of a very familiar metal (you can guess which one!).
"Attention," the all-too-familiar, emotionless, multi-tonal robotic voice echoed out, and the cross-face flashed red for a second. "Anomalies detected. Entities 'Child-1' and 'Child-3' have left the confines of the Domain. Erasure protocol initiated."
Is this a fucking Evangelion reference? What a lazy attempt, esteemed creators. Couldn't you come up with something more creative? And hey, I am not "Child-1"! We don't even look alike!
I threw a sidelong glance at Eve. She was glaring at the steel guardian with pure fury, her Darkness swirling inside, expanding and growing denser.
"So much for tea, huh..." I smirked predatorily, feeling the adrenaline boiling inside and the return of that exact same anger I hadn't been able to direct anywhere this whole time. I tightened my grip on the glowing sword. "You're right—talking isn't going to help us here."
"I'm always right, Adam," Eve scoffed. "And don't argue, I already know," she added, slightly embarrassed, noticing I was opening my mouth to object. Her eyes filled with impenetrable Darkness, mine blazed with golden Light, and we charged into battle.