His feet sunk into the ground, the smell of freshly peeled apples called upon him,
His legs begging for release and his stomach begging for energy.
Callon don't remember what happened after he passed over from the barren lands to the marching clouds, Cassian was nowhere to be seen and he himself couldn't navigate around.
His wandering soul was besides him, walking in silence while he panted and gasped for air,
Thirst gripped his throat like never before.
'Is he alive?'
Instead of worrying about himself, he was worried about Cassian.
No it can't be called 'worrying', more like...
He didn't know.
He wouldn't be sad if he died but preferred him to be alive.
Is that considered being 'worried'?
He didn't know.
The cloudy surface was cold, gentle fog brushed past his skin, the cloud statues frequently reminding him of the dangers of these lands.
Food and water.
Essential for living.
A luxury given to humans by the gods themselves.
A luxury that Callon and Cassian can't experience right now.
Or anymore.
The marching giants and their threatening steps were both fascinating and terrifying.
Those lumps of clouds vaguely forming a leg.
Callon joined the veteran Elgor for benefits.
But all he got was the cold reality.
He was humbled.
The ember of greed in his heart has been humbled.
The greed of validation has been humbled.
But not extinguished.
He just needed to add fuel, so the fire can burn.
Burn brightly.
Either it burns out or it burns forever.
Depends on the fuel.
Will he himself be a good enough fuel for this fire?
He didn't know.
But it's worth a try.
And he can't turn back now, can he?
He had only been starving for 5 days, Cassian? More.
Water isn't hard to get, mana can make it.
Food? Mana can but he can't.
If he isn't wrong, he can go maximum two weeks without food.
And after that?
Death.
There's no getting around it.
No luck, no willpower, no endurance.
Death by starvation.
'So is he dead?'
Cassian's regeneration wasn't a secret anymore.
Although it suprised Callon that Cassian was a blessed.
Natural mana doesn't support healing.
If something was supposed to be injured or dead, they should stay injured or dead.
But regeneration? It's a god's gift.
Cassian was blessed by a god.
But his regeneration doesn't seem all powerful.
He still needs food, water, shelter and everything a mortal needs.
He is still a mortal.
And he has seen his condition during the blood well fight.
And he can vaguely guess his current condition.
Marching on without purpose..
Most people would break, they would surrender.
But not Cassian.
He lives, he survives.
He may not win, he may lose but he will survive.
Surviving for purpose.
Which leads to the question.
If Cassian never got food, would he died from starvation?
Or would his body eat himself due to his regeneration keeping him alive.
And at the end there's nothing left, only a corpse with consciousness.
Would that be considered 'death'.
Eventually the consciousness would go crazy and it would 'die' too right?
Would it be considered true death?
Alive yet dead.
Would Cassian end up as a husk or would he shine?
It depends on how he uses his regeneration.
Callon kept on walking, he will try to find Cassian on the way and if he can't find him even after reaching the area's edge, he will give up.
And thus he kept on walking.
********
I glanced at the woman kneeling infront of me,
Her eyes glaring at me with disgust.
To which I can understand but never sympathise.
She looked similar to a human, incredibly beautiful too except for those two goat horns sticking out from her forehead.
I leaned back against the throne, her throne.
The smell of blood still remained fresh inside the temple of Lilith, the plan went smoothly and I..
I succeeded.
Edom has fallen.
And yet a hollow feeling remains in my heart.
Lilith remained silent, kneeling, her eyes glancing at the surviving demons, maybe thinking of a way to save them.
Too bad, they're all going to die.
It was necessary for the demons to be eradicated.
Not because they threatened the rise of humans, even if they tried they can't.
It's because, the mother, doesn't allow their race to exist anymore.
The will of the universe is my will.
The universe birthed humanity for balance and balance it shall receive.
That's my, Adam's, promise.
Lilith tried to speak up, commendation considering that I ripped her throat away a moment ago for trying to speak.
The regeneration factor of demons are really interesting.
Regeneration..
Why does that ring a bell?
"Adam.."
A raspy voice called out, Lilith raised her head and I could see disgust in her eyes for calling me by name.
Hmm? Although she regenerated her voice isn't back completely.
And she feels it's humiliating to beg huh?
A ruler never begs their subjects.
Quite unfortunate.
She continued, the pain broke her voice a couple of times but she still finished her sentence.
"I know you despise us..but as your former bride, I ask you this favour...please let the remaining demons escape.."
Wrong.
She was wrong.
I don't despise them.
I am indifferent towards them.
I stared at her face with my blue eyes, I could see her helplessness, exhaustion and genuine concern for her species.
Oh..
No.
A certain feeling rose in my heart, pity.
A feeling I never had beforem
I felt pity towards her and the demons.
Doubts invaded my mind.
Why did I do this?
Why would I betray them for a universe that never cared about me?
Thoughts which went against my code intruded my mind.
It felt like blasphemy to have such thoughts of the mother universe.
I wasn't supposed to have these kinds of thoughts.
Oh wait.
These thoughts aren't mine.
These thoughts aren't supposed to be Adam's.
Adam is a bland character.
He has no ambition, no resolution, no personal opinions.
A puppet made by nature to eradicate the demons.
When the demons get eradicated, humanity will rise.
And more importantly, the fog will be released.
The empty throne of the end could be claimed.
These thoughts he just had weren't his, these were from another person.
Another human.
He frantically looked around, the throne room looked normal but something felt off.
The shadow and the light didn't align, the corners looked crude, the demon's started to loose their features, he looked towards the far off door which seemed to be drawn onto the wall.
Someone was observing him, as a vision.
A descendant maybe.
Maybe someone was watching the past from his perspective.
Only three humans were present by now, so only a human of the future can see him.
Why was he sure it was a human?
He don't know..
He is merely a vision from the past.
A past long forgotten, long hidden by the fog.
A past humanity never wants to remember.
A past of bloodshed.
Then let it be forgotten.
But don't invade my mind.
For my descendant who is watching this, I will something to you.
When the empty thrones are usurped,
When the false kings are freed,
When the throne of the end is claimed,
The universe will go back to its slumber.
As the weights of these words settled in, the temple disappeared, the kneeling Lilith turned into a pile of flesh, the remaining demons turned into undeads.
The throne room remained the same but forgotten.
Adam stared at his hands, they weren't the pristine soft hands he had, they were rough and tough as leather.
His soft blond hair had turned black.
He sighed.
Cassian sighed.
Starvation had already made him go crazy.