Lilith smiled and spoke in a soft tone, "Firstly. Absolutely never let anyone know about your book. Mortals do not and will not understand but most Celestials or Primogenitors who learn you have one of the [Keys] will come at you with everything they got and will not stop until they die or get the book from you."
She laughed heartily. "You are lucky I am not much interested in power. Otherwise, I would also be tempted to give it a try. That's how lucrative your Key is.
"Secondly, your curse has yet to show its true power. This is a punishment that Cain had never managed to get rid of even after all these millennia and still suffers from it even now. No death, no rest, and not even the right to fall into insanity. Endless and unrestrained agony. For all eternity."
She gave him a look of genuine pity before leaving once more, "I would say good luck. But luck will change nothing in your current predicament. I hope that when we see each other next time, you won't be in despair. I hope the best for you, Adam."
She waved her hands, leaving a new series of questions for Adam to ponder and wrack his brain upon.
"Oh. Wait."
Adam looked up again as he saw Lilith coming back to him with her characteristic coquettish smile.
Adam's eye twitched seeing her like this.
'Is this woman playing around with me?'
"Hahah~ Don't show such a face, will you? I am quite a scatterbrain. I have many avatars doing different things in different worlds. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to keep track of all the information they send me all the time."
'Why is she talking like some device which is running on a bad internet connection?'
Lilith laughed openly and spoke out her final thoughts, "I have one Avatar on earth doing some interesting things. So I thought about it and…"
Adam sighed, "What exactly?"
"When you go back. Meet my contractor. She is a witch."
Supernatural beings could sign contracts with humans and give them their blessings and powers.
"Earth has more than 8 billion people, how high are the chances that I will meet your contractor?"
"Higher than you would think. After all, you have already met her."
Adam filtered this information at rapid speeds. He had seen a few witches in his university but he doubted this was what she was talking about.
Suddenly, a name naturally came into his mind, "Bridget…?"
"I like smart men like you."
She grinned delightfully. "That Avatar of mine is trying an interesting experiment with little Bridget there. Meet them. I am sure she can help you. Of course, the price they will ask will be different than what I did just now."
"Why do you talk as if you and your avatar are different?"
"Because we are. Each of my avatars has its own identity and I only receive their memories every time. No matter what they do and what decision they make. I don't control them and they live a life of their own."
She looked at him with pity once again before leaving. But, not before saying some final words to him. "Trust me. After you live for a few centuries, you will start to understand. In fact, especially for you, it will be even worse."
After giving him her piece, Lilith vanished from the spot. This time she did not come again. She had truly said everything she had to say to him right now.
———
After Lilith left, Adam stayed silent for a while. He did not know how much of what Lilith had divulged to him was true. He did not know if anything of it was even true or just pure lies and deceit. And honestly, he may never be able to find out.
He understood now why Bridget had shown a sudden interest in him during her visit.
'Well, this changes nothing of my immediate goals.'
Grow stronger here. Kill the vampire and come back once again to grow stronger.
As for meeting Bridget, he would try to be careful about the eventual meeting with her. Having a witch as a mentor would certainly be useful for him. But he knew nothing about her.
'Now then, what to do…'
He was about to turn around and start training when a voice stopped him.
"Adam?"
'Why is everyone able to slip past my senses in this place?'
He recognized the voice to belong to the woman called Akasha. Though, now that he knew about Lilith, Adam had an inkling about her true identity.
He turned toward the source of the voice but was immediately left speechless at what he witnessed.
The graceful silver-haired lady with an air of nobility and mysteriousness was no more.
What he found was a woman clad in a loose and baggy T-shirt and white panty while holding onto what looked like a manga in her hand.
There were dark circles below her eyes and her hair looked like it had not been taken care of for months.
He looked around, wondering if this woman was some kind of twin of the true Akasha, but when he realized that this was not the case, he covered cupped his face in complete and utter surprise.
'Just what the hell happened while I was away?'
How did the regal woman with the air of a queen transform in this slovenly appearance?
Akasha's eyes lit up when she recognized him and she approached him with great strides before taking his hand in hers,
"Thank you!"
"Huh… You are welcome…? But… Why…?"
Adam shook his head at her sudden joy and appreciation, confused about the reason behind it…
She nodded as if she understood his bewilderment.
"I am sorry. I must have surprised you. It's just that I felt the need to thank you for having opened the gate to a new world for me."
Adam slowly began to connect the dots as a foreboding feeling rose in his chest,
'Don't tell me?'
"After our last discussion, I was intrigued by this form of entertainment called anime."
'Ah…'
"I was a little hesitant at first. I thought it was just a waste of time. But. My, oh my, what a surprise."
'Oh God! What have I done…'
"Now I realize that anime actually hides a deep and intriguing culture. I lament at my past self who ignored this wonderful creation."
Her eyes sparkled with an unconcealed feeling of joy and enlightenment. As if she had realized the greatest truth in the world.
"Humans are truly the greatest beings when it comes to entertainment."
"How… How long have you been watching and reading this content?"
"Hmmm?"
She seemed quite surprised at his question and tilted her head to ponder about the answer, "Two or three hundred years I guess?"
Adam had the urge to facepalm himself as he realized that he had most likely created the oldest Otaku in existence.
'Truly… What have I done…?'