Chapter 359 – Talk with Evadam
"Oh."
An exclamation escaped Virgo’s mouth as she heard Evadam’s words. She stood there, her lips forming an O shape, black sunglasses framing her red eyes, unable to stop her surprise from showing.
Noah spared her a glance, tempted to ask where she had even found those sunglasses, and more importantly, why she would wear them in a place utterly devoid of sunlight. But after a brief mont of internal debate, he decided to save himself the headache and let it go.
His mind was busy with other matters.
He sighed, then looked back at Evadam, who, after delivering those words like a judgnt blade, had fallen silent and simply watched him.
Clearly, the story had co to its end.
And yet Noah found himself wanting to hear more, despite himself. It wasn’t only that the story was fascinating, but rather the way Evadam told it. His voice carried weight, his words vivid and alive, filled with imagery and emotion so palpable that even through the cold, tallic screen, it reached Noah and refused to let go.
It was an eye-opening mont.
That... that was a level of storytelling he had never encountered anywhere. And strangely, the first thought that crossed his mind upon realizing this was to ask Evadam to teach his sister, Aurelia.
That girl dread of writing a book. And having soone like Evadam as her ntor would be invaluable.
But that was sothing he’d think through later. For now...
Noah’s mind was occupied with arranging the puzzle pieces before him. Slowly and steadily, they began to fit together, clicking into place like broken bones snapping back into alignnt.
He now had answers to most of his questions. He knew the origin of Lucie, and to his own surprise, she ca from Earth, the sa world where Brandon — his past self — had been born and raised.
She was a being created by mortals who possessed no divine skills, no laws, no extraordinary gifts. They only had their minds.
And with those minds, those fragile, mortal minds that every intelligent being across the universe shared, they had done sothing no other species had ever achieved.
It was magnificent.
It was sothing worthy of the highest praise from the Records themselves.
But all of it had turned to nothing the mont war consud Earth after Lucie’s birth.
But was Noah surprised?
He was not.
Humans were smart. So of them were so smart it was agonizing to even think about it. But if there was anything else humans were known for... it was their sins.
They were greedy. They were envious. They were prideful. They were lustful. They were wrathful. They were slothful.
They were the very embodint of the seven deadly sins upon which Hell itself had been constructed. And with those traits etched so deeply into their nature...
The fact that they caused their own downfall was no surprise to Noah. He knew well how sinister humanity could be.
Still...
"What a sha," he sighed.
"Right?" Evadam’s lips curved upward. "Do you know what they could have beco, if only... if only they hadn’t let their own twisted nature take over?"
Noah shook his head slightly. "I do not know what they would have beco," he said at last, then added, "but I do know that they wouldn’t be known as the weakest and most useless race in the entire universe."
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Aren’t you feeling a bit underwheld by that, ancestor? I bet it’s not that pleasing to hear such things about your children. Even if they are... kind of problematic."
Evadam raised his right hand, placing it gently before his mouth, and then he laughed.
Noah and Virgo, who had drifted back into daydreams, imdiately shuddered in pure dread at the sound. It was like jagged steel scraping against their eardrums.
And to make it worse, the way Evadam laughed — with his hand covering his mouth like a shy girl — twisted Noah’s insides. He frowned, doing his best to keep his insolent thoughts buried deep in his mind.
Evadam noticed their reaction. But if he cared, his expression betrayed none of it. Instead, he straightened his posture, crossed his legs, leaned his head against the palm of his right hand, and answered Noah’s unspoken question with a calm, asured tone.
"I thought you had great observation skills, Noah," he said, his voice soft but edged. "Do I look like soone who cares about any of that?"
He didn’t wait for a reply.
"I do not."
"Is that why you didn’t intervene when the humans were killing themselves?" Noah asked, curiosity lacing his words.
He wanted to know...why had Evadam simply watched?
Why would he let the end of sothing that could have been glorious unfold before his eyes?
"I gave them free will," Evadam said, his brown eyes holding a chilling seriousness. "I gave them the ability to make their own choices, whether dumb or smart, and to bear the consequences of those choices."
"I didn’t tell them to worship . I didn’t tell them to venture into outer space conquering worlds under my authority. I didn’t even show myself to them."
He paused. Noah and Virgo listened closely now, the room thick with sudden tension.
Evadam leaned forward, resting his elbows on the tallic table, eyes fixed solely on Noah. "Do you know why?"
"You’re a bad ruler," Noah said bluntly, his white eyes unflinching. "I can understand your point about giving your creation free will, I do the sa, but there must be a line." He raised a finger. "A line that, when they cross it, you act. Otherwise, no civilization will continue to flourish under the thick fog of ti."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I don’t think I need to give you an example for you to understand my point."
"You might be right," Evadam retorted. "But if I do what you suggest, it would no longer be free will."
"It would be sothing completely different."
Noah frowned. "If you were so adamant about giving them free will, then you should have at least shown them the way first."
Evadam tilted his head, curiosity flickering in his expression. Virgo stayed silent, realizing she had nothing useful to add, so she quietly unwrapped another candy, making sure not to slurp this ti, while Noah continued.
"In my opinion," he said, raising his finger again, tip pointing upward, "you made one mistake, Evadam. Only one, but a big one nonetheless."
"If I rember correctly, you said you gave both Adam and Eve knowledge and the nas of all things."
Evadam nodded.
"And those aspects were found in other humans throughout the centuries?"
Again, Evadam nodded.
"I thought you would’ve known better," Noah said, tone sharp. "How could you give knowledge to a bunch of humans without telling them how to use it? And please don’t tell ’free will.’"
He leaned forward, voice edged with dry amusent.
"That’s just dooming them. It’s like giving a lighter to a child and leaving him alone. Tell ... what are the odds the kid burns himself alive, huh?"
"...Pretty high?" Evadam admitted.
Noah nodded. "Exactly. That’s what you did with humanity. You gave them knowledge without showing them how to use it to better themselves. And that’s where your free will should’ve co into play." He shrugged. "You’d only show them the way, not force them to follow it."
"But at least that way, the probability of Earth being nuked by its own inhabitants would’ve been much lower than it was."
Noah exhaled deeply, then asked, "Do you understand , or do I need to spell it out for you?"
Evadam smiled. "I understand," he said simply, then shrugged. "But it’s too late, isn’t it? You could’ve been there since the beginning, Noah."
Noah rolled his eyes. ’Since the beginning my goddamn ass. Dude, I’m from Earth too... partly.’
He sighed, then glanced around the vast marble space surrounding them. "Let guess," he said.
"Go on."
"You said this place is a Relic of Earth. So, you an this place was from Earth during the Age of Technology, right?"
"Yes."
"How did it survive the destruction?" Noah tilted his head. "And how co Earth itself is still intact? Did you intervene?"
Evadam shook his head. "The creation of life by mortals was no small thing, Noah. The Records rewarded for that, granting the ability to make two wishes."
He smiled faintly.
"Two wishes. And whatever I wished for would co true. Do you know what I wished for?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Noah said, arching an eyebrow.
"I wished for the revival of Earth, with only half of its technological capabilities, yet still retaining a part of it. Then..."
’Oh? That was only one wish? Pretty generous,’ Noah thought.
"...Then I asked for a way."
Noah tilted his head. "What way?"
Evadam smirked. "A way toward perfection."
SLURP—!
Virgo licked her candy too hard in shock.
—End of Chapter 359—
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