Adam stared at the ssages.
Due to O-3 blocking most communications, only the strange viewers were currently capable of witnessing their conversation.
Adam found himself silently reading each notification several tis.
For so reason, the emptiness inside him lessened slightly.
O-3 observed him before speaking.
"You’re wondering what happened in your previous life, aren’t you?"
Adam looked up as O-3 asked.
"I assu their plan failed during that tiline?"
Adam nodded.
"Most likely. The Eleventh Floor opened in my previous tiline, which ans they failed to stop the connection process."
Adam thought for a mont.
"Was it because of Elaric?"
O-3 imdiately nodded.
"Hmm. Probably so. The previous version of chose Elaric as the [Second Angel Candidate]."
A thoughtful look appeared on the boy’s face.
"Elaric is dangerous... Very dangerous. He’s clever, patient, and far more ambitious than he lets others believe."
"If anyone could deceive the Governnt and the other two S-rankers while pretending to cooperate with them, it would be him."
O-3 crossed his arms.
"Knowing , I had probably provided Elaric with nurous benefits to ensure that he would betray them... actually I don’t know myself very well, but I’ll assu I’m very smart at scheming! Hehe!"
Adam quietly absorbed the information.
That answer sounded reasonable.
O-3 suddenly tilted his head.
"In any case, you understand what I’m trying to tell you, right?"
Adam did not answer.
Instead, he changed the subject entirely.
"I have a question."
O-3 sighed dramatically.
"As long as it isn’t sothing deeply related to , I’ll answer."
Adam ignored the boy’s theatrics.
"As you know, I’m a regressor. Will the Eighth Floor remain the sa?"
O-3’s expression imdiately beca bored.
"Ah. You’re worried about that."
Adam nodded.
The boy scratched his cheek.
"I don’t know the exact details. But I have a vague feeling about sothing..."
His expression beca unusually serious.
"For ordinary climbers, the Eighth Floor will simply be difficult."
He paused.
"But for you? It will be nearly impossible..."
Adam closed his eyes for a mont.
His worst suspicion had been confird, the future was changing...
The more he interfered, the less reliable his previous knowledge beca.
The Eighth Floor had already been one of the hardest trials he had experienced.
If it beca even worse...
Adam exhaled slowly.
"I’ll deal with it."
O-3 looked at him strangely.
"You say that very casually."
Adam shrugged.
"I don’t have another choice."
The boy stared at him for several seconds before looking away.
"Fair enough."
Adam then spoke again.
"I have one more question."
O-3 groaned.
"You sure ask a lot of those..."
Adam ignored him.
"What happened to my mother?"
The playful expression vanished from O-3’s face.
"When I first saw her, I thought she was truly my mother. But the longer I looked at her, the stranger it felt."
His brows furrowed.
"The feelings that were up in my head were disgust, hatred, and even malice... And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t rember a single genuinely happy mory involving her."
"I assu my siblings felt the sa thing so I had asked them once about it. However, they could not even rember their reasons for hating her."
For once, O-3 did not joke. Instead, he yawned quietly.
"Oh, her."
The boy’s expression beca complicated.
"Yeah... There’s definitely sothing wrong with that woman."
Adam’s eyes narrowed.
"What do you an?"
O-3 t his gaze.
"She’s most likely an outsider."
Adam imdiately frowned as he raised an eyebrow.
"That’s impossible. She’s my mother."
O-3 shrugged.
"Perhaps she was."
The simple response caused Adam to go silent.
The boy continued.
"But whatever she is now, it isn’t that simple."
Adam’s expression darkened.
O-3 pointed toward him.
"You already noticed it yourself."
"You said you feel hatred whenever you look at her, you can’t rember good mories, nor can you convince yourself to see her as your mother."
The boy lowered his hand.
"That’s exactly what happens when an outsider alters a person’s state of existence."
Adam’s heart sank.
He opened his mouth, but before he could ask another question, O-3 suddenly raised a hand.
"Stop."
His tone was unusually firm.
"This is one of the few things I won’t explain."
Adam frowned.
"Why?"
O-3 looked away for a mont.
"It’s not sothing I can tell you yet."
Adam saw that the childish expression on his face faded.
The empty white space around them grew quiet.
Then O-3 spoke.
"Adam. You avoided my question earlier."
His voice was softer than before.
"Do you understand what it ans if you choose to stand against the Governnt and the three S-rankers?"
Adam remained silent.
O-3 continued.
"If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t bother asking. Most people would simply choose whatever benefits them the most."
"But you aren’t like that."
"You care about people. Far more than you pretend to."
The boy glanced at him.
"You care about your family. You care about humanity. You even care about those strange viewers watching you from beyond your world."
A brief pause followed.
"That is why this choice is difficult for you."
O-3 folded his arms.
"The Governnt’s plan is not so evil sche ant to destroy humanity."
"In fact, from a certain point of view, it may be the safest path available."
"If their plan succeeds, humanity gains control of its own Tower."
"If their plan succeeds, countless people may be protected from dangers they cannot even imagine."
His eyes t Adam’s.
"And if you interfere with that plan..."
"To most people, you won’t be a hero."
"You won’t be a protector."
"You will be the person pushing humanity closer to uncertainty. The person dragging them toward a future they cannot understand."
Adam’s expression remained calm, but O-3 could see the conflict hidden beneath it.
The boy let out a long sigh.
"You already made a deal with an unknown existence, and you’ve already chosen to climb toward the Summit of the Tower of Yxthar."
"And whether you realize it or not, there are viewers, companions, and sponsors who have placed their hopes on that choice."
His voice beca quieter as his words slowly made Adam think about it more deeply.
"So tell , Adam."
"Are you prepared to abandon that path?"
"Will you give everything you have to help the Governnt and the S-rankers achieve their goal?"
"Will you betray the expectations of your viewers, abandon your promise to reach the Summit, and beco Humanity’s Savior in the end?"
O-3 paused.
Then he slowly raised his head.
"Or..."
His eyes locked onto Adam’s.
"Instead of a savior..."
"Are you prepared to beco Humanity’s enemy?"
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