Arcanum: Chaos Path

Chapter 407 Adam: Help Me, Lucifer
“You really are as fond of good people and saviors as ever.” Adam had obviously thought of Rowling’s stated principles and preferences. He shook his head, took a big gulp of champagne, and then said, “So, what about Adam 2.0?”

"As for Adam 2.0, it's barely passable?" Roland chuckled and continued his commentary: "The humanity of the Imaginary Angel was injected into that empty shell, bringing some pleasing changes. Adam 2.0 finally understood what love is. He even apologizes and has a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, sometimes he overdid it when imitating the Imaginary Angel, which was a bit offensive!"

“I thought I had already apologized for that.” Adam glanced at Rowling, his expression seemingly helpless yet somewhat frank, and said, “What I possess is the humanity of an imaginary angel, and in order to be more human, I will naturally imitate Him.”

"But to be fair, your imitation was really hard-pressed, making you look like a fake, exhibiting a kind of uncanny valley effect." As he said this, Rowling put down his wine glass, then picked a piece of apple cut into the shape of a cat from the fruit plate, cruelly biting off the cat's head with a single stroke, and said:
"But it is undeniable that Adam 2.0 worked very hard, which is why you are who you are today, Adam 3.0."

Rowling looked up at Adam and smiled, saying, "I won't ask Adam 1.0 if he wants to live, because it's meaningless. An empty shell of a puppet will still be an empty shell of a puppet even if it lives. But Adam 3.0, it's worth asking you that question."

Luo Lin thought that he probably had a certain fondness for the Sun God, after all, the other party perfectly fit his definition of a good person, with noble enough character, and had truly saved the world, and was also his most powerful tool.

Therefore, Rolin often showed more patience towards beings related to the sun god and was willing to lend a helping hand when he could.

Of course, Rowling does not deny that this is also related to Adam's consistently sensible behavior.

“...It is my honor.” Adam smiled at this moment, looking at the young man before him, and said, “But whether I can survive is not important. What is important is whether a God willing to protect the world can be born in this world.”

He appeared cold again at this moment, but this coldness was not directed at others, but at Himself.

Upon hearing this, Luo Lin raised an eyebrow, then snorted coldly and said, "Never mind what's important or not, I'm just asking if you want it or not."

At this moment, he forced Adam to look him in the eye, his expression becoming less casual and more serious than usual.

"..." Adam fell silent again. It was hard to say what Adam was feeling at this moment. He just suddenly recalled some things from the past.

For many years, Adam's standards of conduct had nothing to do with "whether he wanted to or not." The cold-blooded divine machine only acted from the perspective of the "optimal solution," never caring about the wishes of others or his own.

Even earlier, before the divine machine was born, when the Imaginary Angel was still a vibrant embodiment of the sun god's hopeful side, the Imaginary Angel did not often think about problems from the perspective of the "optimal solution".

Back then, the angel of fantasy would consider both the consequences of the action itself and the feelings of others before taking action. He was used to finding a balance between the two, and in some unimportant matters, he would even lean towards the latter.

It may sound unbelievable, but the illusory angel may have cared more about the feelings of others than the sun god himself. Although he was not as gentle as Sasriel, the other represented the sun god's humanity and all his softer sides, representing those sorrows, those hesitations, those vulnerabilities, and all the negative aspects that might hinder the sun god from saving the world.

The Imaginary Angel is more obsessive and cold-hearted, but unlike the original being who is deeply troubled by God, the Imaginary Angel is more optimistic and energetic. He always looks at the world with an optimistic attitude, so when doing certain things, he is more willing to take into account the thoughts of others.

Because, in the eyes of the angel of imagination, things will always turn out for the better.

Adam once found it difficult to understand this mindset. The divine machine was neither pessimistic nor optimistic; it simply coldly weighed the possibilities of how events would unfold and prepared for the worst in order to ensure the final outcome.

Therefore, in the Fourth Age, Adam killed Medici. He certainly knew Medici's loyalty, and he also knew that if he told Medici everything truthfully, even if Medici was unwilling to give up his uniqueness and Sequence One trait, he would most likely back down and stop pursuing becoming Sequence Zero. But Adam could not ignore the extremely low possibility that Medici might not be willing to submit and might betray him.

In this situation, an optimistic, idealistic angel might choose to believe Medici directly, but a cold-blooded divine machine would take things to the extreme to prevent any accidents.

Perhaps I finally understand what I have lost. I have lost not only my humanity, but also my optimism for the future... Adam thought in a daze. He could not deny that when Rowling asked him if he wanted to live, he did not think optimistically like the angel of imagination. Instead, he coldly weighed whether his survival would affect the birth of God.

Adam knew that He could never become the idealistic angel He once was. His thoughts and actions had become ingrained over the past few thousand years, and He had become accustomed to that ruthless way of thinking.

There's nothing wrong with that; in this shaky world, overly optimistic thinking isn't necessarily a good thing.

But... Adam looked up at Rowling and suddenly said, "Being too rational in thinking doesn't mean it's completely correct."

Just as in the Fourth Age, He thought He had made the right decision to prevent the birth of a Red Priest corrupted by the City of Calamity, but the result was that He supported Thothor, a madman, who almost brought about the end of the world.

"So why not try thinking in a more emotional way?" Rowling seemed to have seen through Adam's thoughts, and even though the other man's words were rambling, he naturally continued:

"Try to be optimistic, Adam. After all, I'm already here in this world. No matter how rational you are, you can't stop me from going my own way. You might as well be optimistic!"

“...You’re really quite frank.” Adam couldn’t help but remark this several times. He then smiled and said, “But you’re right.”

Adam looked up at Rowling, and at that moment He finally learned to think about the possibility of something from an optimistic perspective, just like the angel of imagination He once was.

So He said, “But on the bright side, I am probably the only one who can stop you. Sasriel is too gentle. He always finds it hard to be ruthless and is easily manipulated by you.”

"After all, He represents the soft heart that was abandoned by the Sun God!" Roland said with a smile.

Adam looked at Rowling, his expression equally serious, and said, "So I want to live, Adam should live."

"Remove 'should,' and say it again," Luo Lin said with a smile.

Adam did not hesitate at all; He remained completely calm and looked at Rawlin, saying:
"I want to live, help me, Lucifer!"

"Although you still don't understand... well, at least you have the most basic survival instinct." Roland smiled, nodded, and said:
"I agreed."

(End of this chapter)