Adam felt his new body; the ape body felt similar to the human form, with a few differences in head shape and hair covering his entire body.
The memories he shared with Asura and Apex were mostly inconsequential. The memories he received from Apex were of thousands of years of battles with aliens, gods, and demons. The memories from Asura were of growing up in Tokyo and being summoned as an otherworlder.
Along with these memories came two sets of memories of Adam Sinclair, right up to the moment of his unfortunate death.
These memories were identical to his own, with no noticeable differences. Adam wanted to find out if these memories truly belonged to Asura and Apex, so he promptly entered the Chamber. There, he found Asura and Apex.
"So you both are Adam Sinclair? I find this more bizarre than the whole reincarnation ordeal," said Adam, looking at Apex and Asura.
"I wanted to tell you in the beginning, but remembering how we usually react to this kind of information, I thought it would be better if you found out through the memories," said Apex, glancing at Asura, who wore a sheepish smile.
"We are Adam Sinclair. So, you both come from another universe?" Adam asked.
"We were Adam Sinclair up until our deaths; our lives diverged from that point onward," said Asura.
"I still don't know what's happening to us, but I know for sure that at our core, we are Adam Sinclair. Even if I fought for thousands of years in an alien body, and even if Asura lived an entirely new life in Tokyo, we are still Adam Sinclair," said Apex.
"So, what should I do now? I can't find a general idea of where I am. This body looks like an ape, and the place seems to be some kind of forest," Adam said.
"Let's share our memories again. The memory-sharing function in this space allows us to experience all memories from the moment of birth; it's like a limited amnesia," Asura explained while extending his hands toward Apex and Adam.
The trio—Adam, Apex, and Asura—held hands as memories from each of them began to flow through the others. All of their memories emerged, including those of the mummudrai, which had attacked and fused with Adam.
The three didn't stop the memory sync. Adam shared memories he had kept to himself during the first sync and more actively tried to digest Apex's years of combat experience. They broke off after all memories had been shared.
"You seem to have merged with something strange, Adam," said Apex.
"Damn, why do weird things always happen to me?" Adam muttered, while Apex and Asura looked at him with deadpan expressions.
"That's not the main thing you need to worry about. We're not in immediate danger, but if anyone here is in a sketchy situation, it's you. You should start looking for food, water, and some shelter," advised Asura.
"Get yourself a weapon, like a stone or sharp stick. You'll need it to fend off any beasts that may attack," said Apex.
"Okay, I'll meet you again once I'm in a safe place. See you then, Adam Sinclairs," Adam said as he willed himself to appear outside the Chamber.
Adam's consciousness returned to his Homo erectus body without a second passing since he'd left it.
He looked around patiently, finding the scattered limbs and guts of beings that looked similar to him.
He found the body of the female Homo erectus from which he had emerged and touched her head. In that moment, new information entered his mind.
As he placed his hand on the body's mother, an intuition arose, and he acted upon it.
Adam nudged a metaphorical limb as the torn stomach and other damaged parts of his dead mother's body grew tendrils of flesh, reattaching themselves as they had been before.
This act of tissue reattachment disturbed a well of power within him.
He investigated the strange sensation coming from the depths of his body. He looked at his mother's now-uninjured body, stood up, closed his eyes, and searched for the source of this feeling of power.
In the depths of Adam's psyche, he saw flashes of a purple realm with phantoms roaming around. As he went deeper, he saw a lone ember burning in the darkness. He reached for the ember, and the moment his hand touched it, he unknowingly utilized the mummudrai's DNA manipulation powers to activate latent genes bestowed by the Celestials.
Adam's body grew in size, instinctively using the DNA manipulation powers from birth. He expanded from the size of a newborn to that of an adult in a few seconds but now was actively using it to unlock his full potential.
The mummudrai held a special power: they could replicate the DNA of their twin-born and materialize a body for their corporeal forms. As astral beings, they could use psionic energy and even unlock latent potential in others by kickstarting their DNA.
As a half-human, half-mummudrai hybrid in soul, Adam could access all the power of his mutant genetics, reaching his full potential.
The fur on his body ignited, burning brilliantly without harm as he bathed in flames.
The burning Adam opened his eyes and looked at the corpses of the Homo erectus around him. He approached one corpse after another, stacking them into a pile. While handling the bodies, the genetic information of each flashed in his mind before disappearing.
Among the corpses of Homo erectus, he found a green-skinned corpse belonging to a Deviant and briefly learned its genetic makeup before forgetting it.
He set the pile of corpses on a funeral pyre with his newly awakened mutant power.
The fire consumed the corpses without difficulty, spreading their ashes into the air and leaving no remains. He looked at the sun setting in the sky, absorbing its rays, and set off in search of survival.
On this day, the first mutant on Earth was born—a mutant at the alpha level.