A Miracle is a pricey occurrence, and sometimes, a whole civilization could be annihilated for one miracle to happen.
Adam's reincarnation was a miracle in itself, but God only knows what price had to be paid for that to happen.
And now, another miracle was about to occur, and the price for this miracle would be hefty, but it would increase Adam and the others' chance of survival.
"Gu…" Verte's hair glowed as she tried to crawl towards Adam.
Then she floated and touched Adam's back with her little hand.
Adam himself wasn't even completely aware of what was happening in his surroundings anymore. If he pushed his limits just a little bit more, he would have died while standing.
The Lord on the other hand looked like he knew about what he was witnessing, and for him, it was something bad. "Ignorant!" The Lord shouted.
The circumstances leading to this exact moment were anything but coincidence, and the Lord was convinced that there must be something going, a scheme that was beyond him, Adam, and everyone else.
*****
:::[Adam's POV]:::
'It-s fine n-ow.'
Suddenly, I heard a voice inside my head. It was not very clear, but I could feel something surging from deep inside of me. 'Who is there?'
I was sure that everything would end there, but I didn't want to die yet, so I continued to stand up, averting my attention from all of the negative thoughts.
If I let these thoughts invade my head, I would be consumed by regret and anger, and wouldn't be able to stand up, so it was necessary.
I didn't even think about the pain, as if my senses were becoming numb and insensitive to the agony.
The final boss seemed to be speaking to me but I couldn't even hear him. And I was wondering about it for a while now, but it felt like he was going easy on us as if he didn't intend to kill us.
I couldn't understand why he had this kind of attitude, like trying to exchange conversation with me.
The only thing that I could still feel, hear and see was the face that appeared behind me.
'Verte?'
I didn't know how she did it but she floated in the air and her voice was transmitted directly to my head.
After that Verte turned into a tree branch and then scattered into particles of light and entered my body.
When she did that, I saw Verte's memory from the day she came to life until this day.
I saw a woman that looked like her mother, but I didn't know what happened to her after Verte left with Liu.
Some of the events that I saw through Verte's eyes were incomprehensible, but from the look of it, I was just too ignorant.
Then, I saw Liu's face through Verte's eyes and her voice when she talked.
'I see, so that's why Liu came to our planet. She is a good person…'
Liu's character and the situation were more complicated than I thought it was, but she was a kindhearted person.
Liu had always taken care of Verte although she was not even related to her, and she even accepted that woman's request.
'I understand why Verte is so attached to her now.'
After that, I saw myself through Verte's eyes. 'Is that me? Why is my hair silver? I don't remember these events…'
Then, I felt Verte's emotions and her desire to live. 'Sorry… Sorry… Sorry that you had to do this.' I said.
Even though she was not a human born naturally, she was an intelligent and living being that had emotions. It was as if she was born from a miracle, and now she nullified this miracle so that Liu and everyone else could survive.
'Thank you… See you, again, Verte.'
I finally discovered Verte's true nature, but it didn't change the fact that she deserved better.
As long as Verte was alive, some individuals would target her due to her nature, and she turned to me, trying to find the protection, knowing that I was also a being like her.
In the end, I was the one protected by her.
However, my heart was calm, as if Verte's emotions affected me, and I wanted to live more than ever. 'I am always being protected, aren't I? I am grateful.'
I felt like showing gratitude rather than blaming myself, that way, these sacrifices wouldn't be wasted.
I didn't know what, but something changed in me.
I felt I understood many things, and learned new facts, but had more questions that needed to be answered.
It felt like time stopped as if I was given a break after going through a hell of a situation.
After that, I felt like my body healed but nothing else happened.
*****
:::[Third person POV]:::
"You don't even know what you are doing," The Lord continued. "Seeing ignorant people like you infuriate me."
Adam just looked like he was standing there, but something was going on inside of his consciousness, and he was changing.
His body was still covered in blood, but he was now fully recovered. A life in exchange for life.
However, what happened was more complicated than just a simple exchange.
Verte was a fragment of the Tree of life, and she fused with Adam's soul, giving him the power to take one step toward the next level of his existence.
Adam didn't feel that something had changed in him, but something had definitely changed, and soon, these changes would be apparent.
"Why are you so talkative?" Adam said, looking at the Lord.
All of that happened in just a few minutes, so Adam's power was still active all of that time, and it intensified.
The shadows that had materialized around the Lord dissipated once again, and he was surprised.
However, the Lord wasn't even fazed, and as if he had given up on what he was thinking to do, he said a few words. "You don't understand anything." Then he leaped forward.
Even though his power was limited, he wasn't completely overwhelmed and his physical ability didn't decrease that much.
And even if Adam recovered, the Lord was not weaker than him with his current power.
He couldn't even follow the Lord's movement with his eyes, despite his training and his battle with the monsters.
"Guh!"Adam tried to block the Lord's punch but it was too powerful, so he felt the impact on his stomach.
The impact sent Adam flying, but before he could crash on the wall, the Lord kicked him from behind.
Crack!
Adam felt his bones breaking and he was propelled upward, but then again, the Lord sent him slamming to the ground with an attack.
Boom!
The impact of Adam's fall created a big hole in the center of the room, and the whole place shook violently.
The Lords looked down at the crater as he landed on the ground. It was as if he was saying that he could deal with Adam with just brute strength alone even if he didn't use his power.
Nevertheless, the fact that the Lord could move despite being affected by Adam suggested that he had a power similar to Adam's. An authority related the the the primordial authorities.
And the only way to obtain such power was to fuse one's would with a fragment of the Tree of life.
Primordial authorities were different from authorities awakened by other means because they were absolute.
"If only you know what you have done." The Lord said as if he was still irritated by Adam's choice.
However, Adam didn't have the choice, even though he had amazing power.
"Kuh! Why do you talk like you know everything? It's maddening!" Adam said as he emerged from the rubbles.
Then he rushed towards Liu and Zax, then put them to a safer location, behind one of the huge pillars that supported the whole place.
The Lord didn't do anything and watched Adam. Even if Adam tried to run away, he was confident that could take him down from where he was.
Adam knew this too, so there was no choice but to settle this in the most primitive way.
"Discarding everything isn't enough." The Lord said. "The more you get powerful, the more is the price that you have to pay."
Adam didn't understand what the Lord was even talking about. "Why are you trying to talk about philosophy with me? Let's finish this!"
Adam leaped forward and tried to attack the Lord with punches and kicks, but the Lord defended against them all.
Boom! Boom!
Their exchange of heavy blows created shockwaves that sent shook the whole place and made the ground quiver.
Their power was active while they fought, but they couldn't overwhelm one another. But in terms of fighting ability, the Lord was more powerful, quicker, and more experienced, and the difference was obvious.
"Guh!"
Adam felt the Lord's fist on his face, then on his gut, and he was sent rolling on the ground before crashing on one of the huge pillars.
"Now that you have that fragment fused with your soul, I have no choice but to kill you and retrieve the fragments from your dead body. That's the only way," The Lord said. "You are not affected by my power even before you fused with that fragment, so it seems like you already had one before coming here, and now, you have two. With this, I may be able to achieve my goal."
As the Lord said, the only way to retrieve a fragment of the tree of life already fused with someone else's soul was to kill them. After all, the tree fragments became self-aware when they fuse with someone's soul and unless they die with their host, their personality wouldn't disappear.
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