A dream of caution
As Adam and Merlot strolled through the vibrant streets of Menagerie, the lively atmosphere surrounded them.
The market stalls were bustling with activity, showcasing exotic goods from across Remnant.
The scent of fresh seafood mingled with the aroma of tropical flowers, creating a blend that perfectly encapsulated the essence of this diverse place
The silver-haired boy paused for a moment, glancing at a group of children playing nearby, their laughter ringing out like a melody.
With a thoughtful expression, he turned to Merlot's spider body
"Hey, Merlot… What do you think is the meaning of life?"
Merlot- robotic limps twitching, was caught off guard by the sudden profundity of the question. He remained silent for a few moments.
The blue spider eyes of the robot scanned the surroundings, perhaps searching for an answer among the colorful sights and sounds of Menagerie.
"Interesting question," Merlot finally responded. "If I had to answer, it would be the ascension of oneself—the evolution to something higher, something better."
Adam's brow furrowed slightly 'Is this guy an inferior male version of Mobius?'
He mused to himself. But after a brief pause, he continued on his walk
"What about you? I am curious to see what you would answer."
The questioning sound came out of the robot
The boy took a deep breath, his gaze distant. "Well… the meaning of life is to find the meaning of life."
"....."
[.....?]
The mad scientist's robot went stiff "What?"
Merlot's voice echoed, but he could imagine that the person behind the robot was arching an eyebrow
"Everyone's life is different," The silver-haired boy explained, rolling his eyes "Every individual will have a varied life trajectory. And because of that, a universal meaning of life wouldn't make sense. There is no inherent meaning in existence. We, as people, develop our meaning ourselves."
Adam's eyes met Merlot's, his voice steady and sure. "So, trying to find a meaning in life is a meaning in itself"
His gaze shifted to the people around him, who were engrossed in their daily lives
He continued "For those who actually found it, good for them. However, for those who haven't found a meaning in life even after approaching death… well, the journey itself was also a kind of meaning."
Merlot considered Adam's words, robotic limps twitching, and blue eyes staring at him
"Great answer. However, that was too philosophical for my tastes."
There was a thoughtful tone in his voice- even though the scientist brushed aside his answer as 'too philosophical'
Adam chuckled softly. "I suppose for a mad scientist like you, evolution and the pursuit of knowledge itself would be a sufficient meaning for your life."
"Exactly," Merlot agreed with a nod. "I don't need to overthink or bother to have a journey for meaning. I just have to continue what I pursue—what my heart desires."
A comfortable silence befell them as they continued their walk. The conversation didn't continue afterward, as each was lost in their own thoughts.
"By the way, how is your experiment progressing"
Adam interrupted their comfortable silence
"....."
"I have prepared the required instruments"
"And?"
".... I am just a normal human with cybernetic enhancements. Do you think I am so fast as to have made progress already?"
The silver-haired boy looked at the spider on his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the robot
"Right…."
He shook his head- because it did make sense
After all, Merlot wasn't the Flash…. And he was also not as fast as Shiraori
Maybe he was getting a bit impatient?
But well, Adam didn't have to worry about Finality in this world, so it didn't matter if Merlot was being a slow old man
….
…
..
.
Adam gently opened the door
What greeted him was the warm, golden light filtering through the gauzy curtains that covered the large window, offering a view of the bustling streets and the distant, shimmering sea.
The walls were made of a smooth, reddish-brown wood, polished to a soft sheen, adorned with intricate carvings that seemed to be… in Menagerie style?
He didn't exactly know those specific details of Remnant. Besides, this was an Inn, a place where he temporarily stayed
While this room gave off a homely vibe, it wasn't anything luxurious
Stepping inside the room, the silver-haired boy looked around
A plush, woven rug covered the center of the wooden floor, its patterns a swirl of earthy colors.
In one corner, a low, wide bed is covered with soft, embroidered linens and an assortment of pillows.
Beside the bed, a small nightstand held a delicate oil lamp with a stained glass shade, casting a multi-colored glow that contrasted with the darkness outside
"By the way, won't you remove these ears of yours?"
The annoying voice of the old scientist reached his ears as he closed the door behind him
"Haah"
Adam sighed, grasping the spider on his should, and throwing it
Tak
A collision sound echoed throughout the room as the metallic spider landed on the nightstand
"Tch, why are you so rough-"
Snap
Adam snapped his finger lightly, a deadpan expression on his face
Zzzzzz
The metallic spider twitched, exuding the sound of a machine malfunctioning. The blue electric light of the mad scientist's robot turned dim, as if dead
It lay there, just like a toy for children.
"What an annoying old man"
The silver-haired boy sighed once again.
Now that he disabled the robot and Merlot couldn't peek at him like a pervert, Adam put his hand on his head
His fingers went through his glistening hair, touching two animal-like ears
Adam's expression was a bit weird. He didn't really know what type of ears these were
Were they fox ears…. Or were they donkey ears?
He had no clue
"I suppose copying Yae Sakura's animal ears wasn't a smart move…"
He shook his head.
Initially wanting to 'blend in', he opted to have animal ears. It wasn't like he would be in trouble if he had the appearance of a normal human in Menagerie….
But he could get the full experience, so why not?
Besides…. The female Faunus of Menagerie were friendlier to him when he also had animal appendages
What? Even though Adam didn't think with his lower brain, he was still a pervert (and a man of culture) deep down
"Still… Maybe I should have gone with cat ears"
While musing out loud to no one in particular, the silver-haired boy focused his attention on the bed of the room
And like what every normal person would do at late night…. He jumped
In the air, he twisted his body, landing sideways on the bed with natural ease
"...."
Nobody was here to judge him… So the desire to do something cool couldn't be suppressed anymore
[...]
Was it childish of him? Well, who cares? Adam is 16 years old anyway, so it is normal for him to do stuff every other teen his age would do
…..
….
…
..
.
A dream began in a haze. Colors and shapes swirled around until they coalesced into the recognizable form of a dense forest.
He felt the damp earth underfoot, the cool, moist air brushing against his skin. Birds chirped in the canopy above, and the scent of pine and fresh rain filled the air.
He looked down and saw Adam Taurus, his youthful face unmarred by the mask he would later wear.
He was running, his breaths coming in sharp, quick bursts, his heart pounding in his chest. Every thud of his heart, every burn of his muscles, and the raw determination that drove him forward-
-It was all felt by him
The scene shifted, and Adam was no longer in the forest but in a grimy factory. The clanging of machinery was deafening, the air thick with the acrid stench of oil and metal.
Adam, now a few years older, stood amidst a group of Faunus workers, his eyes blazing with anger and resolve.
He could feel the heat of his rage, the bitterness of his resentment, and the steely edge of his resolve.
The surroundings faded to black- the dream progressed
He felt a tug of confusion as the scene changed again.
Adam was now in the heart of a White Fang rally, the air electric with fervor and anticipation.
The crowd's cheers reverberated through their shared consciousness, a symphony of voices unified in purpose.
Adam's voice rang out above the rest, his words fiery and impassioned.
He felt the rush of adrenaline, the intoxicating power of leadership, and the fierce pride in the Faunus' heart
But beneath the pride, there was a darker emotion, a cold, gnawing sense of isolation.
He felt it too- a chilling emptiness that Adam tried to fill with his cause, but which only grew with each passing day.
Scene fading to clack- the scene shifted once more, and he found themselves standing on a blood-soaked battlefield.
The stench of death was overwhelming, the screams of the dying piercing the air. Adam was in the midst of it all, his blade flashing as he cut down his enemies.
He felt the solid resistance of each strike, the jarring impact of each blow.
They shared in Adam's physical exhaustion, the burning ache in his muscles, and the heavy weight of his guilt.
As Adam looked around, his gaze fell upon a familiar figure: Blake Belladonna.
He felt the sharp pang of betrayal and the lingering ache of lost love that stabbed through Adam's heart.
Blake's eyes, filled with sorrow and disappointment, seemed to pierce right through them.
He shared Adam's desperation, his unspoken plea for understanding, and the crushing realization of the chasm between them.
The surroundings shifted to a dark, empty void. Adam stood alone, his mask in hand, its cold metal a stark contrast to the warmth he longed for.
He felt the suffocating weight of his loneliness, the crushing burden of his choices, and the haunting echo of the lives he had taken.
From the darkness, a soft light emerged, warm and inviting. Adam reached out, and he felt a flicker of hope, a fragile thread of redemption.
The light grew brighter, enveloping them in its warmth, and for a moment, he felt a sense of peace.
But the peace was fleeting.
The dream shifted again, and he found themselves standing in the abandoned warehouse where Cinder had made her offer.
Adam stood before her, the air thick with tension and unspoken promises.
He felt the pull of temptation, the desire for change, and the heavy weight of the decision Adam faced.
As Adam accepted Cinder's offer, he felt a mix of emotions: the thrill of change, the fear of the unknown, and the bitter taste of compromise.
Once again, there was a shift-
It was constructed anew. Adam Taurus found himself in a desolated place, with ruins around him, and his past lover- Blake Belladonna under him, at his mercy
"Do you think you can rule above humans, animal?"
Sight blurred. His position immediately changed, as if time was skipped. He found himself lifted into the air, a hand clasping the air a few centimeters in front of his neck
Eyes widened, he looked upwards
-Only to find himself facing himself
"Struggle all you want, animal"
Eyesight blurred once again-
"Disappointing"
A dismissive voice echoed throughout the surroundings
"You are not worth it"
The Faunus trembled in anger
All his determination, all his sacrifices, all his efforts, all of his hard work…. Would end, just like that?
NO
Fury surged into his veins, anger clouded his mind, unwillingness gushed outwards-!
All for naught
An abyssal vortex approached him, wanting to devour him whole
And as if time had paused, everything around him slowed down. But despite his unwillingness-
It was all for naught
And so- all that remained was pure raw emotions that overwhelmed his mind
And then-
Everything stopped
Reality cracked like glass, the surroundings slowly began to dissolve, the edges blurring as he was pulled back to consciousness.
…..
…
.
Adam jolted upright in his bed, his heart pounding like a drum echoing in an empty chamber.
His breath came in ragged gasps, the remnants of the dream still vivid behind his eyes.
For a moment, he just sat there, staring blankly into the inky darkness of his room, trying to shake off the lingering influence of the emotions he experienced.
The dream had been so real, so terrifyingly lifelike, that it felt as though he experienced that guy's life all over again
He ran a hand through his silver hair, calming himself down.
Sleeping again didn't seem appealing. Sleep wasn't a necessity for the silver-haired boy in the first place, so it didn't matter
With a heavy sigh, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and planted his feet on the cool floor, hoping that a moment of quiet contemplation would help banish the remnants of the emotions he experienced
He stood up, padding softly toward the bathroom
Once there, he looked in the mirror, watching himself
"[Great Sage]?"
[Affirmative]
Came her quick, yet robotic reply
"What was that?"
Adam asked with half-lidded eyes, staring at the mirror intensely
He had a rough guess himself. However, in such a matter, he wanted confirmation
[Analyzing….]
[Detected anomaly in mind space]
[It is possible that-]
"Enough"
His gaze turned cold, eyes glowing in a chilling light as he interrupted [Great Sage]
[...]
Eyes closing, he focused inwards
There were many possibilities and speculations regarding this matter.
However, he didn't intend to theorize after her confirmation
Adam has run out of mercy, he would never tolerate anyone messing with his psyche
Perhaps he didn't notice it before…
-But now that he has realized, he will utterly, thoroughly, outright, mercilessly cut out anything that dared twist his thoughts and emotions
…
..
.
In the void that was his mindscape, Adam found himself confronted by a familiar, yet foreign, presence.
".... Hello there" The silver haired boy greeted the person in front of him, voice devoid of any emotions
No, it wasn't himself, nor was this 'being' an alter ego or a villainous personality.
It wasn't something that had emerged from the evil or contradictions within his heart, either
Adam, as someone who had consumed plenty of fiction, knew that even if such a phenomenon was possible, it wouldn't happen to him.
He wouldn't let it.
And…. if something like that did occur, [Great Sage] would take action.
Despite often needing prompting, the silver-haired boy trusted her on matters like these.
[ ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ ]
He looked at the person- no- at the being in front of him
Its form is of an amorphous silhouette, devoid of any discernible features. It is a void-given shape, a patch of darkness that seems to absorb all light, exuding only a hollow, oppressive presence
The being's outline is constantly shifting- fluid, ever-changing. It has no eyes, no mouth, no face to speak of, just an eerie, smooth expanse where a visage should be.
This being was-
"Dear me…. I never thought that you, Adam Taurus, would persist inside of me"
This being was Adam Taurus, the Faunus that was easily dealt with and devoured by the silver-haired boy.
Truthfully, he had expected this
…
That is right, from the moment he entered Menagerie, Adam suspected something was amiss.
The [Father of Humanity] template had never affected him much. Sure, it caused him to act chuuni sometimes, but that was the extent of its influence.
But…. feeling at peace while watching other creatures go about their day? Feeling satisfied that they weren't being attacked or harassed?
That was a huge abnormality.
While Adam wasn't a genius, that didn't mean he was stupid
This abnormality might have happened because he had devoured Adam Taurus's soul.
After all, neither [Gluttony] nor Vishnu's [Devour] were specialized for consuming souls.
Perhaps the crude way he ate the Faunus' soul with [Gluttony] and Psionics had resulted in Taurus's emotions bleeding into him.
But, all that has happened has already happened
Now-
"You….."
He looked at the grotesque, twisted image of the previous leader of the White Fang- whose form was now unrecognizable
"Haa"
Adam sighed, palm on his forehead. More out of exasperation than anything else
This Faunus was just a shell of his former self. The only reason it existed was because of Adam Taurus' deep obsession
"Having such a deep obsession…. And persisting after death"
The silver-haired boy walked slowly toward this twisted monstrosity
Reaching the dark visage of the Faunus, Adam put a hand on its shoulder.
This dark monster—something that looked like it came straight out of a nightmare—didn't resist.
A violet five-pointed star emerged in his eyes as Adam stared deeply at this being.
Again, it didn't resist. It made no move of defense, and it didn't even make the effort to attack.
With a flick of his finger, the abomination twisted, freezing in place, and—
Splitting into two smaller abominations.
With another gesture, those two beings split again—
Becoming four little dark monsters.
Again—
A mere thought from Adam and the four dark creatures split, becoming eight.
He watched with cold detachment as they continued to divide, his will driving them to smaller and smaller forms.
Again—
Eight became sixteen. Sixteen became thirty-two. The abominations continued to multiply, each iteration shrinking in size, yet maintaining their dark, twisted forms.
Again—
The process continued, relentlessly, until the abominations became microscopic.
Adam's power pressed on them, crushing their essence into infinitesimal pieces, each one a fragment of the nightmare that once stood before him.
He finally released his grip, the violet star fading from his eyes. The remnants of the dark monsters were now too small to see, scattered and powerless.
The boy raised his hand, palm spread out-
And he clenched it into a fist
The void around him seemed to come alive, an unseen force swirling and converging upon the scattered pieces.
It devoured the fragments, consuming the remnants of the nightmare.
This was the unique skill [Degenerate]
Although rarely used, this skill is considered one of the best tools one could have besides [Great Sage]
However, the effect in other worlds was limited. He couldn't define everything as skills, so he also couldn't merge these skills with [Degererate]
But besides that function, the most basic one also remained-
The ability to split and fuse physical and magic matter
Its usage on this dark monstrosity was effective. Adam basically used this skill to split the 'dark' Faunus into many pieces and dramatically weaken its influence and power in order to finally devour it completely
Was such caution necessary? Perhaps not
But…. throughout this whole process, the hollow self of Adam Taurus made no move to defend or attack.
It just calmly stared(?) ahead, as if nothing was happening to it
….
Adam was a bit confused as to why this dark visage made no move to resist- even instinctively
It just didn't make sense. Judging from the way it affected his thoughts, even though it shouldn't have any consciousness, it should at least have some power here
"[Great Sage]?"
He called out to his most trusted partner
[...]
"It's not that I blame you" He shook his head "However, be more careful, okay? I didn't notice this dark guy. So it is your job as my partner to cover my back and detect that which I don't"
Adam didn't intend to blame her for this oversight.
It was quite his fault for not detecting his mental changes sooner, and he also never warned [Great Sage] to pay any special attention to such threats
He was also quite reckless. He brought Adam Taurus into his mindscape/[Stomach] in order to devour both his body and soul.
But he didn't think of the consequences. It was his first time doing such a thing, so absolute success wasn't guaranteed
…. Should he also be wary of Cinder just popping out of nowhere?
'Nah. Now that I know of this, I am sure it would be fine'
Besides, now that this happened, [Great Sage] also learned, and she will never let something like this happen in the future
[....]
[A-affermative]
[.....Preminaly analysis is completed. It is most probable that the template of [Father of Humanity] had subtly influenced Master's thoughts, thus allowing entry to this anomaly]
"...."
Adam put his hands in his pockets, his face thoughtful
'It sounds bullshit'
It did
Asterios Adam Tempest and Adam Taurus were beings on completely different levels
They differed vastly in power- both physical and mental
So how could mere obsession and feeling bridge that gap and affect him?
"It's that templates fault"
His face twisted into a frown
CC's template didn't affect him much beyond giving him relief and making him more handsome….. Well, he also had some occasional cravings for Pizza
But he didn't get lonely…. After all, how could he get lonely with the lovely Kiana-chan and the gentle Mei?
But obviously, the same didn't apply to the template of [Adam, The Father of Humanity]
"Bah, screw this"
Adam shook his head once again, blocking out these thoughts
Obviously, integrating templates had side- effects. And recklessly doing it would certainly mess up his mental state
He wanted to say that mere templates wouldn't affect him, but…. It was only partly true
If an enemy subtly exploited this influence brought by the template, then the result wouldn't be good
"....."
A grimace formed on his face
To be honest, he didn't want to rely on [Great Sage] for most things
[.....]
And now that he is aware of this threat, he is sure that such a method won't work on him again
But…. Adam is still uneasy
"Well then, I guess if something similar happens again, and I don't notice it….. I will leave it to you"
The silver-haired boy sighed. In the end, even if he has Psionic powers…. It would be useless if he doesn't notice it early enough to take action
[Affirmative!]
And perhaps he can finally get around to having actual mental defenses?
Previously, he thought this lonely void of infinite nothingness was enough… But apparently, it was not
Maybe he could practice his mental defenses with Jean Grey. But she is incompetent….. So maybe the mischievous Senti-chan would be a better sparring partner?
....
...
..
.
---------
A/N:
Again, a longer chapter, but truthfully... I didn't particularly like how this one turned out
I had foreshadowed this, but I don't think I made it clear enough
Of course, I have no plans to make something like this happen again. This was just a way for Adam to be wary of templates and mental 'attacks'
Still, what do you think?
Oh, by the way, I have been writing a honkai impact omake. It was more for myself, but I think it tuned out interesting- though a bit unpolished
Should I publish it? We are in the Rwby arc, and I don't think it fits... But then again, it won't affect anything, so I don't think it matters