A/N: In the previous chapter, Adam learns the location of the 2 Exalted who killed his sister: Thomas and Enjiro. Thomas was near him, while Enjiro is in Japan. Therefore,he could only take revenge on Thomas. During the torture, Adam's system revealed its capability to give people memories of the past life. After Thomas died, a message flashed from Adam's arm:
...
[Special Target killed. Obtained first Penance]
Before he could even register what the system's message meant, Adam's entire world went dark.
After what felt like only a few seconds, Adam blinked as his eyes opened. Yet once he saw the sight before him, he knew that more than just a few seconds had to have passed.
Surrounding him was a familiar ruin, except it looked like it was covered with a black and white filter. The only color the place showed was the crimson red of blood and fire.
Above him, the [Leviathan] class kaiju known as an Ekegan stomped through the city. It sported two immensely powerful legs that supported its entire torso leading up to a cavernous mouth, much like a T-Rex.
Adam instinctively dug his heels into the ground as he watched the ground and rubble around him contort under this kaiju's insane gravitational pull. For some reason, this creature had a gravitational pull much stronger than something of its size should.
Out of all the different [Leviathan] class kaiju that could've spawned in this city, this was easily the worst. The reason why was evident just by looking at the scene.
People were pulled in by the hundreds, completely unable to put up any fight against such an oppressive force. Those who were lucky had their screams silenced by a floating brick or something similar. The rest...
As their bodies spaghettified as if they had just gone past an event horizon, their screams echoed into a million different fragments. Each of these sound waves was then further distorted by the kaiju's gravitational pull, giving each of these seemingly infinite screams a different guttural sound.
It was like listening to the most hellish choir ever, where instead of singing their good graces, they could only scream in agony. A unified voice separated into a million screams before being put back together again as a singular cry of pure agony.
The only thing that could hope to stand against such a beast would be those with Qi. Namely, the Exalted.
'And inheritors,' Adam thought as he considered that recent development more.
It was likely they were strong like him. Whether they were stronger or weaker, he couldn't tell. However, he knew that it was likely that these other inheritors could be a helpful force against the impending apocalypse.
If not...
'I'll think about that later. I have to research them anyway,' Adam concluded as he walked toward the immense kaiju that rose well above 200 meters.
First, he had to figure out why he was here and how to get out. Thinking back to his hand, he recalled the screen it had shown:
[Obtained First Penance]
Based on what he could recall, penance was basically another word for punishment. Was that what this was then?
Because he had killed Thomas Ahkeem in such a brutal fashion, was the system punishing him now? Taking a look ahead to the Ekegan, Adam shook his head.
No, it wasn't him that was being punished. In fact, since he showed up in this place or vision or whatever, he was the only one unaffected by the Ekegan.
So what was the deal then?
There were too many possibilities, and Adam knew there was almost no way he could pick the right one. Had the system inflicted this punishment on humanity because he had killed Thomas? Maybe, but he felt that answer was too self-absorbed.
Also, although the system had done some amazing things so far, he didn't think its earlier feats really matched something like intentionally causing a dimensional collapse. Instead, he felt that the answer could be much simpler. This simple answer could be seen by simply noticing his surroundings.
The area was a muted gray land except for 3 things: blood, fire, and screams. It almost looked like those old movies, the really, really old ones. In essence, it looked like the past.
A past of torment and despair. For some reason, the system wanted to show him this past. And he felt like the key to leaving this place was to find that reason.
...
Adam had searched through the city for only 10 minutes before he was stopped by a wilting lady. He didn't know where he heard that name before, but he knew that was the correct term somehow.
In a place filled with a monotonous gray only interrupted by agony, her radiant beauty stuck out like a sore thumb. However, that beauty was quickly fading.
Very, very quickly.
Her skin peeled away in rhythm with the surrounding people's screams, but somehow she didn't seem to notice. This was because she was too busy staring at the man in front of her: Adam.
Cold, dark, and bottomless eyes gazed at him. Shivers ran up his spine as he couldn't help but think this terror was a cold contradiction to her otherwise warm oasis.
It felt like he was staring into the soul of her humanity. Or what the creature thought humanity was.
Screams. Terror. Anguish.
Yet at the edge...
Beauty.
As Adam stared at her, he slowly realized that she was some being's idea of what humanity was. A flawed existence hiding behind a shell of beauty, a shell that needed to be peeled away. And once it was, once that shell was gone and it would be impossible for the last man to feel any more pain...
Then their penance would be over.
Their first trial, their first punishment was the apocalypse itself. A test, to see what humanity would become on the brink of extinction.
Somehow, he knew that they had failed their first attempt. He knew this by a simple fact: he had regressed after the Exalted had abused their power.
In the face of extreme danger, humanity's first heroes had shown the sin of unending greed.
Was that why there were inheritors this time around? Were they supposed to break that cycle then, to wash away those sins of the previous life?
'Is that why I'm supposed to kill those Exalted?' Adam thought as he looked down at his hand, knowing he now had far more questions than answers.
Then the woman, the fleeting humanity of this vision, completely wilted away as she hissed, "Kill them... Kill them all!"