When Adam followed behind Eve, he was surprised to realize that as they 'left' the library, they entered a seemingly infinite white void with nothing but a bed, a TV, and a fridge lined up one after another.
In fact, looking a bit closely, he was able to see that all the elements that constituted a modern house were present in the white void, but there just were no walls to separate the spaces.
'What is this place?'
"This is my bedroom."
Adam pinched his eyebrows as he heard those words, "So you have an entire universe as a bedroom?"
Eve laughed under her breath for a while and shook her head, in the end, "Nothing so fancy. This place only gives the illusion of being infinite. In terms of width, I'd say it's only equal to a small continent on Earth."
"Only?"
"Trust me. When you visit the Astral realm, you will understand just what I am trying to mean here."
"I see."
He mused and looked at the fridge, "Speaking of this and that, I am a bit curious. Do you even need to eat? Where does this food come from?"
Eve approached the couch and snapped her finger as popcorn, soda, and chips appeared in front of her on the table.
"The food is not real. It tastes good but it has no other effect than just tasting good."
She invited him to take a seat next to her on the couch as she continued to explain, "My current body is by no means human. In fact, it's not even a physical body in the truest sense but a concentration of energy and the concept of physicality. For all those reasons, I do not need any form of energy to sustain myself."
"So you eat just for fun?"
"Yes."
She chuckled at the look of wonder that was plastered on Adam's face. It had been a long time since anyone had shown any curiosity toward her existence.
"Most Celestial Supernatural entities are energy-type beings who work on a different wavelength from humanity. If the human world is made of physical particles, you can say this one is made of spiritual particles. This is why you can touch me and also touch the books here.
"The problem is… Many of the Celestials were actually mortals before their ascension or death. So, what do you think happens when they become gods?"
She clenched her fists, "They forget the fact that they were once humans."
For the first time, a slight sense of anger could be seen on her face. "Forgetting their roots, looking at humans from above like they are ants and making them suffer. Truly, they are merely ridiculous and pitiful children lost in an illusion of splendors."
Her anger did not last for long though, returning back to her usual expressionless visage, "But you see… I cannot blame them."
Her voice was filled with bitterness and helplessness, "How do you think adults look at their past selves when they were children? Immature, stupid, ignorant, naive, weak and so many more."
"When you can walk in space, erase entire continents, see the past or the future, realize wishes, and be revered by hundreds of millions of people… Is it really possible to see humans as humans?"
"So this is why you eat?"
"Yes. I am a human. No matter what I am now, I will always be a human. This is why I eat and try different things to retain that feeling. All of this to never let the ember of humanity in me vanish completely."
She chuckled, "I am perhaps one of the last true guardians of humanity. I cannot let my own humanity waste away in the process now, can I?"
Adam fell silent. He looked at her as she worked on the remote controller. Eve was a beautiful woman. Her long silver gray hair gave the feeling of facing someone both old and young at the same time. She had a certain softness to her which gave the impression that she was weak and gentle.
In short, she looked like a pushover.
But now, even though she was still smiling, her firm and strong will were still perfectly conveyed to him…
"I think I managed to understand you a little more. But there is something I am curious about… Just why?
"Why do you wish to keep your humanity? Why do you choose to walk the difficult road even though there is an obviously easier one that would make things easier for you? Why keep fighting for people who in reality only vilify you and did so for thousands of years?"
"Haha, Lilith also asked me the same question. She said that I am a dumb and naive woman. But you see…"
She looked at Adam and placed a hand on his head once again, gently ruffling his hair. Her smile was so beautiful that one could only be dazzled by it. The gentleness in her eyes could melt the heart of even the coldest man in the world.
"...Why would a mother need a reason to help and protect her children?"
Adam felt like he could see stars dazzle in her eyes as she spoke, "I am nothing but a poor ghost of a forgotten past. I cannot intervene in the dispute of humanity itself. But I will always make sure that humanity never perishes."
Adam stayed silent. He remembered his discussion with Medusa. The fact that every time humanity needed it, a hero would rise to the occasion to bring victory to them.
Adam did not know much about all the heroes in myths and mythologies.
But… If there was one undeniable fact, then it was that the woman in front of him was without a doubt both one the greatest hero and one the greatest sinners of humanity at the same time.
"Well… We were supposed to watch something interesting, right?"
She smiled as she took out a CD from who knows where, "Let's start with some comedy to bring up the mood, shall we?"
Adam only nodded his head.
For the next few hours, the two watched anime side by side. Sometimes laughing or sometimes clapping in excitement at the ever-changing scenes that portrayed the story of different individuals.
There was no deep discussion between them and nothing particularly memorable. But Adam was now able to understand the woman called Eve far better than before.
She was many things. Not all of them were necessarily good. She was not a perfect being and she had many flaws.
But if someone asked her who she was. Her answer would be clear.
She was a mother.
A mother who watched out for her misbehaving children even though she did not need to and wished nothing but the best for them.
———
(AN: Initially planned to only write one chapter today. But I noticed I have 169 priv readers today. So I thought heh. Why not. CH 169 for 169 priv. Good coincidence. Also, I will stream from Twitch and/or YouTube tonight. Time is 8 pm GMT+1; Twitch: https://m.twitch.tv/hikaru_genji9/home
You should join my discord server for easier access to information: https://discord.gg/CevcNQTPgT
I have like 3K people on the server but only a few talk. Don't hesitate to manifest yourself and get your Priv reader role. )
