Rejection

"Your turn." The way Adam's eyes turned to Lumina scared her. She took a deep breath.

"Wait… Are you feeling okay?" The girl noticed something was wrong the moment 'it' appeared.

The golden sword her brother was now possessing as his vessel was bleeding into Adam's physiology.

She wasn't the only one who noticed it…

The heaviness that washed over him made his body's skeleton feel like it was going to collapse.

However, he was able to power through with just willpower. Though this would likely bite him later.

Weight was something that needed consideration.

Especially when it reaches a frankly absurd level…

But that didn't stop him from thinking: 'What did I just create? This thing… is not useful to me.'

It felt different from a Spirit Essence.

Even though he added the materials with some changes to the result in mind, what he actually got out of it was unexpected. The 'Golden Gram' of his new Semblance seem intricately linked to his flesh.

He could feel an E Rank Qi Centre connected to the newly formed sword, yet independent from him.

However, he'd still held back on using the sheath.

Adam had other plans for it in mind.

His eyes shifted to Lumina once again. Then grabbed the 'Deity Rank Blood Immortality' stat.

*Woosh*

Both the materials of the Black Wand and the what he'd like to call the 'Perfected Superior Mortality Sword' flew into the empty void in the fog. The hammer was lifted once again to recreate Lumina.

His 'children' went in there to seep into the Gift…

This time, he used the forging method that created the weapon known as 'Balmung'. A weapon of the same German hero that was also sometimes referred to as 'Nothung'. The cursed holy blade that changes temperament. The slayer of Fafnir.

['Echidna' has been awakened.]

Maybe because it shared the same attributes as Gram, the new blade seemed to Solaris deeply.

Or maybe that was just Lumina's nature in play.

Whatever the case may be, Adam found the new armament being crafted at a steady pace by him.

When the remnant flames given off by the Golden Gram engulfed the sword and changed it drastically from the run-of-the-mill blade, a holy weapon was created. And it hovered in emptiness.

Although the name of his 'Empty' Semblance didn't change, one could see a difference in the feeling.

Rather than being closer to existential horror, it was more the kind of emptiness felt by a serial killer.

The lack of empathy…

The lack of sympathy…

Coldness incarnate. Giving off a chilling magical power that seemed to arise from the darkness.

The silver glowing edge was finally complete.

'With this, we can finally kill…!' Adam decided to pat himself on the back for a job well-done.

"Let's go." He reached out to them, asking for them via his willpower to come forth and assist.

However, none of them moved…

"Solaris… Lumina? What's wrong?" He asked, only to see them poke their heads out of the swords.

Then ask him an important question to them:

"Are you planning to fight?" Solaris asked him first.

"Obviously. Didn't she kill us?"

"'Us' does not include you."

"…What? Huh? I think I'm hearing things."

"You're not. We're just sick and tired of all the fighting." Solaris turned his head away from him.

When Adam turned to look at Lumina, he saw a similar pitiful expression painted all over her face.

A distance was formed between them…

"Do you think so too?"

"He's not entirely wrong. Besides, how long are you going to let yourself be literally weighed down by us." The masked figure in a dress above the new vessel he created for her sighed. It was too much…

"…I can take it."

"This isn't a matter for if you CAN or not. Should you?" When she asked this, it made his lip twitch.

"Why not…? She killed me… She killed 'us'. Isn't that enough reason to take on this responsibility?"

"You see avenging us as your duty?"

"I am your creator. I am both of you. It's normal for me to want to avenge you." His eyes eased up for the first time in a while. Yet… his persuasions only made her feel cold. Unable to feel his sincerity.

"We aren't part of you."

"Nonsense… We share the same memories. What are we if not the same?" Adam had a bad feeling.

"Can you hear our thoughts?" This question made the landowner realise what had been missing.

His eyes shifted between the two of them. Unable to break the silence rising from all of their hearts.

One that flooded their world with awkwardness.

The more this quietness contented, the more the landowner felt like the world was against him.

"So what?! I created the both of you offshoots! Is this really happening? Are you SERIOUSLY rejecting me? Why?! We're the same cluster. If we stand together, then no one could stop us…!"

Despite the passionate words, the two now separated counterparts didn't say anything.

When he saw their reaction, his face started to drop. Unbelieving. Unable to comprehend them.

"We're… family." These words were like a raindrop that rippled into Solaris and Lumina's conscience.

Though their connection was cut, it wasn't hard to perceive where Adam had his misgivings for them.

The landlord continued to monologue:

"Why is it after coming to this world, nothing goes my way. When I just want to laze around doing nothing, I'm told to find my path in life. And when I'd finally found what I want to do, I'm denied."

"What's wrong with this path?"

"Is getting revenge for you two wrong? Even if not connected anymore, we're all still family… right?"

"Isn't that what we are?"

"Don't reject me like this. I literally gave up my existence for you. This… is a goddamn betrayal!"

"It's a fucking betrayal!"

"Accept me for as me. Let me share in your pain and get happy when we finally avenge ourselves."

"Isn't that enough for 'us'?" The moment they heard these warm words, they just shook their heads. Even those scorching and frozen faces couldn't find dragging him along to be 'right'.

This time, it was Solaris who took the lead:

"And what about Adamanthea?"

"You know he doesn't exist. That guy was just me but hyper. Why bring someone that doesn't exist?"

"He does… If you're able to say that so easily, then you don't understand our anger. It's just a phase."

"Am I kid or something? I don't have 'phases'." It didn't make sense his counterparts thought this.

"Adam…"

"What?"

"You can't use us as an excuse to have some meaning in your life. We're not your playthings."

"I never thought like that."

"Me and Lumina have already decided that we're leaving. You can't stop us." Solaris spoke blandly.

"Leaving? To where? You have nowhere to go. I'm your home now. So stay… Stay here with me!"

It was at that point a portal started to open up within this inner world in accordance to their wills.

"Sorry." "Sorry…" These were their last words before fading out of existence. Even if this was a dreamworld inside him, they had a method of getting out that wasn't possible for him to pursue.

Adam stood in the misty wasteland, feeling like the world had already ended. Why were things wrong?

This shouldn't be happening…

Maybe this blacksmithing gig wasn't his power, but he had put a lot of effort into recreating them.

It wasn't like the process of using a mythical refinement process was easy. He'd even reformed his Innate Semblance. Burnt his 'House' down. Did all he could… but they still adamantly rejected him?

What did he do wrong?

Time continued, and Adam turned around to finish reforging stats, and even the 'Fate System' itself.

His eyes were dull…

When everything was finished, Adam walked out of the dreamworld while coming to grips with it all.

Hephaestus Terran watched him exit the forge…

The hammer was dropped to the ground, and two new weapons were created and holstered on him.

But they weren't swords…

When the landowner finally came out, he seemed like a different person. No longer the same man.

"Did everything go well?" There was meaning in the man's eyes, as well as inquiry from the heart.

Adam looked at his chest, feeling the absence of the duo who had been with him for a long time.

The weight that had been weighing down his shoulders were no more, and so were his weapons.

At least, the primary sword he was so proud of.

"Hey. Terran…" Adam sat down with a blank expression. He seemed unable to understand it all.

"What's wrong?" It was a little informal, but alright.

This was just how Adam tried closing the distance.

"You knew what would happen if I was given your hammer, right…?" The moment he asked this, the divine blacksmith merely smiled. His silence was enough of answer… and needed no explanation.

"What happened?" This wasn't the face that Terran was expecting to see after giving the hammer.

He thought an 'Avenger' would be born today…

But now, Adam seemed more lost than ever before.

"Solaris and Lumina… They left." The landowner thought back to the scene in his inner dreamworld.

After the two blades were formed, they left.

It was as if he had been abandoned by his family.

And he couldn't understand why. Their hatred… It was still burning strong the way he'd expected.

However, they excluded him in their revenge plan.

The two weapons became lost in the Imaginary Realm, leaving him with only the two sheaths left.

Even his 'children' went with them, never to be seen again. Why? Why didn't they include him?

Weren't they a family…?

"Did you say anything? Or maybe… one can't create a family with only himself." Hephaestus Terran couldn't really judge this. The situation was too odd for him to have any clear understanding.

"No… They WERE my family."

"You can't really call them your 'family'."

"They were."

"They're not."

"You wouldn't understand it."

"Right… I don't. To me, a 'family' isn't the perfect thing you're looking for." Terran shook his head.

He continued to ask more about it:

"Where did they go exactly?"

"To the Imaginary Realm."

"Ah…" The dwarf-like man figured that it would be impossible to find them anymore. They were truly gone now, and beyond his reach. They gave up their opportunity to revive, and decided on 'that'.

Going through the same process Adamanthea went through, but instead becoming more complete.

"…Do you think I can find them if I went there too?"

"The Imaginary Realm has no form or shape. The lands there are infinitely changing by the thoughts of those sentient in the Myriad Realms. If a spirit doesn't want you to find them, then you never will."

"That's insane…" Adam found my figure out why they went of like this, leaving him with just a mask.

"So… are you going to become their avenger?" The divine blacksmith decided to change the subject.

"I've thought about it."

"And?"

"I'll… think about it more."

"That's fine."

"Really…?"

"No rush." Terran didn't force him to go on any particular path. The path had to be chosen by man.

Since there was still some things he wanted to check before being done, Adam decided to ask:

"If so, then… I need actually your help."

"For what?"

"Sparring. I need to test a few things personally." A smile appeared on Terran's face when hearing this.

"Then don't be too disappointed. Gods aren't weak even if they lack association with battles." A fiery grin appeared on the dwarf-like man's animalistic teeth, but stopped after taking a smell of the guy.

He held his nose…

"But first, you should go and bathe." The divine blacksmith continued before taking him away.

Adam quickly found himself alone in a shower.

The cave of Hephaestus Terran's dimension seemed pretty nice. Had a lot of rooms and places.

But his thought were occupied by recent events.

'Did I think of them as playthings?' Adam couldn't really answer this. Some parts… were right.

He did 'use them' to find meaning in his life.

But wasn't that how people found their meaning?

He'd seen protestors put on banners and work as a single unit. They acted as one to stick it to society.

So what's wrong with his way of finding meaning?

Weren't they just overreacting?

Adam tried to sense their location through the link they had with his Innate Semblances, but nothing would work. The only thing that happened was that he was even more certain they'd never meet again.

He opened up his new stat window. One that had he'd remade using 'Life Comprehension (Taboo)'.

The status of his body came into his view.