Adam : From a man to a God

A man stood in the woods by the side of a dirt road. Behind him was an old Toyota Hilux, its front cab designed to seat only a few passengers. The open bed in the back, ideal for hauling tools and equipment, was empty today, suggesting he had been out in the woods for some time. He zipped up his jeans after urinating, but a sudden noise in the distance made him turn around, alerted by the sound. "Let go of me," a distant voice cried out.

He opened the passenger door of his truck and grabbed the gun off the dashboard. "Shut up," was the next thing he heard as he cautiously approached the source of the sound. He saw a woman with short black hair ending just above her ears, dressed in black with matching boots. She was kneeling over an unconscious girl who had a bruise on her head. The man's finger trembled on the trigger, and he accidentally fired, hitting the woman in the shoulder. The bullet tore through her skin, and she fell, groaning in pain, turning to face the man holding the gun.

"What am I doing?" the man thought, his voice shaky. "You, let her go."

Zee, lifted her arms in surrender. "Get up, slowly," the man ordered, his hands trembling as he tightened his grip on the gun. Zee slowly rose to her feet. "Remove the mask," he demanded. Zee's red mask hit the ground as soon as she dropped it, and she vanished into thin air.

"What the fu—what the fuck is this?" the man exclaimed, panic-stricken by the unnatural occurrence. He spun around, desperately trying to locate her, but she was nowhere to be seen. He tried to run but stopped, remembering the unconscious girl lying on the ground. As he turned back to help her, a blow struck the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious. His body fell to the ground, and Zee reappeared, seemingly out of thin air.

"I should kill him. Anyone who sees my face should die. That's how it's supposed to be," she muttered, breathing heavily as she bent over, hands on her knees.

"Okay," she said to herself. She turned the man's body over and heard something clink in his pocket. Fishing out a set of car keys, she smiled. "Awesome, that means you must have a car around here," she said, still breathing heavily and scanning the area. She spotted footsteps in the dark soil, likely the man's tracks from earlier. "I don't think I can run anymore," she thought.

She went to the unconscious girl, Anna, and lifted her onto her back. Glancing at the man on the ground one last time, she dashed off, following his tracks. It wasn’t long before she found the car on the dirt road. Sighing in relief, she carefully placed Anna in the passenger seat, then walked around to the driver's side.

"What is it that they want with you?" she wondered, glancing at Anna as she started the car and drove off.

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**DMR (Portal World)**

"About seven years ago, I worked as a geography professor at a school. One evening, I left late, having stayed behind to finish some tasks. Just a few months after transferring to that school, I was driving home when I was hit by a water truck at a four-way intersection. I barely survived. They rushed me to the hospital, but the doctors could only do so much. My left hand had to be amputated, and my right leg was broken," Kim said, staring down.

Adam and Tilda looked at him with sincerity. "I forgot to mention that I lost an eye too. I was partially blind in my right eye. The first thing that came to mind was that I wouldn't be able to teach anymore. I thought my life was over," he continued.

Adam sensed the sadness in Kim's voice and knew better than to interrupt. "Then, a stranger visited me—a red-haired woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She told me she could heal me. I laughed, thinking it was a sick joke. But then, she extended her hand, and it glowed green. Suddenly, I could see clearly again, even without my glasses. I was speechless, unsure if I should thank her."

"She then said she wanted to take me somewhere and offered to heal me completely. She told me to think about it and that she would return in three days for my answer. I spent those days in disbelief, but eventually, I realized I had nothing to lose. I decided to agree."

"Three days later, she was there, waiting for my answer. I agreed. I don't know how she convinced the hospital to let me go, but soon I was in a car with her and another man—a slightly muscular figure with short blonde hair."

"Instructor Gabriel," Adam interjected.

"Yes, that was the first time I met him. We didn’t talk much, but he told me he had lung cancer and only four months to live," Kim said. Adam began to understand where this was heading.

"They took us to a two-story building in Rose Garden, isolated from the village. Inside, a man offered us a deal: serve him until he achieved his goal, and he would heal us. Refuse, and we wouldn't be healed. After serious thought, Gabriel and I accepted. The woman handed me a silver cup, slightly rusted. When I touched it, the cup incinerated and entered my body. My arm began to regrow, and my leg healed. It hurt, but it was also relieving. Gabriel was shocked," Kim said with a weak smile.

Adam listened intently. "The same was done for Gabriel. We were brought here and taught to use our powers. There weren't many people then, and the academy didn’t exist. Then, he revealed his plan: four god power holders created an object to siphon powers from others and take them for themselves," Kim explained.

"Wait, that’s possible?" Adam asked.

"Yes, remember when I told you he founded this place 80 years ago? He’s been doing this for 70 years," Kim replied.

"After extracting powers and dividing them amongst themselves, the power holders die," Kim continued.

"They die?" Adam asked, shocked.

"Yes, extracting the power also takes the power holder’s life force. He plans to do this in three months. Everyone will die," Kim said. Adam thought about the others—Akira and Eddie—and felt a growing bond with them.

"We have to stop him. Adam, will you help us?" Tilda asked.

"Of course I will," Adam responded.

"Then you must grow stronger in three months. We don’t need you to become as strong as him—that's nearly impossible. He’s been stealing powers and growing stronger every year. We need a strategy," Kim said.

"For now, you and Tilda must train together," Kim continued. "That’s what I wanted to discuss with you."

"Wait, what about Ragna?" Adam asked.

"Yes, about that. I want you to come here and sit on the chair in front of me," Kim said.

"Huh? Oh, okay," Adam replied, moving towards Kim. He turned a chair to face Kim and sat. "Adam, I’m going to seal Ragna inside you for the time being. Are you ready?" Kim asked.

"You can do that?" Adam questioned.

"Yes, that’s how I helped Tilda with her relic’s will," Kim said, placing a hand on Adam. His eyes began to glow faint white, and Adam’s eyes mirrored the glow.

In a completely dark place within Adam, Ragna noticed a huge white glowing hand approaching his glass prison cell. He stood up and smirked as he approached the hand. Adam’s eyes shifted from faint white to faint blue. Tilda felt the aura emanating from Adam. An invisible force burst from Adam’s body, striking Kim and sending him crashing through the wall of the house and outside. Tilda rushed to help as Adam collapsed, unconscious.

"Adam! Adam!" she cried, shaking him.

Kim sat up on the grassy ground, stretching his neck as it cracked. "Yeah... I had a feeling this was a bad idea," he muttered, slowly standing. "I can’t seal higher entities."

Adam opened his eyes to find himself in a dark place with a slight bluish light. "Where am I? How am I back here again..." he wondered, standing up. A voice echoed before him. “So you wanted to seal me. Foolish mortal, now kneel...” Ragna chuckled. Adam felt an overwhelming pressure, forcing his knees to the ground. An image appeared before him—a figure that looked like him, wearing the same clothes, but with red eyes and slightly spiky red hair. The figure was Ragna.