With writing, the years suddenly became heavy.
People who had just begun to write were like hungry travelers who had seen an oasis in the desert, eager to record everything that happened—from sunrise to sunset.
How many wild fruits were gathered, how much prey was hunted, how many fish were caught today...
So much so that it seemed to people as if time passed very slowly.
Yes~
People
They were like a seed breaking out of its shell, destined to undergo a long period of wind and rain before growing into a giant tree.
Adam witnessed how this tribe learned to use fire, language, and writing.
He watched as the horde went from trembling, curled up in the cave, to forming the first nouns with guttural sounds like sparks, to carving flint blades with the tribe's fate, to inscribing tomorrow with wedge-shaped marks on the rock.
They were developing rapidly.
But perhaps because of the high speed of progress, some people in the tribe began to become content with pleasure.
Warm caves, plenty of food, temporarily absent natural enemies...
The three mountains that had once oppressed everyone were easily overcome.
It was normal to stop for a while.
"But that was for them."
Aging did not come to Adam.
His appearance never changed. Perhaps it was because of this race's beliefs, or perhaps because he himself was otherworldly, like an immortal in the Warhammer universe.
The years had taken nothing from him, but had allowed him to accumulate more wisdom and strength.
Perhaps sometime in the future, he could sit on the Golden Throne for the Corpse Emperor.
Ha!
He leaned on a Warhammer joke and fantasized about standing before the young Emperor of Mankind one day, asking if he wanted to journey with him across the sea of stars.
He could shed the mentality of a god who stood high above them.
After all
When the people around you constantly worship you as a god, and you truly are special.
You were a time traveler who had experienced the era of the information explosion, and the knowledge you mastered was like a miracle in this dark and mysterious age.
You were an eternal being. You would not age for a long time, and if you were alone, you might even witness the Horus Heresy with your own eyes.
In this case, it was impossible not to breed a little arrogance.
"Fortunately, I have already been arrogant."
Adam looked at the content written in figures on the stone wall and slowly read: "Humans should not be beasts, still less should they be bound to the earth. We are children of the stars, and we shall go forth into the sea of stars, to..."
This was what he had said... days after crossing over?
He only remembered
This was his first contact with the Stone Age people, telling this to his compatriots who had only seen the muddy earth during the long, dark years.
Pity that few had heard him say this, right?
Stone Age people lived short lives.
Unlike modern society, there was no good living environment here.
For example, ordinary minor illnesses in the Stone Age were no different from incurable diseases to the people of the Stone Age.
"Fire, please accept the sacrifice we offer!"
The Priest was kneeling on the ground.
Behind him were craftsmen, shamans, ax bearers...
All knelt on the ground, eyes downcast, not daring to raise their heads.
Adam did not accept their worship.
He had once taken the trouble to tell everyone that he was not a god, but just a slightly special person.
But no one believed it.
It even made the tribe people worship Fire even more.
When the coldest time on earth came, the Priest would have a small part of the tribe offer sacrifices to Adam.
Originally, the sacrifice was supposed to include living people.
But Adam refused.
Then came the sacrificial ritual of using a pure white lamb as an offering in exchange for the gods' protection.
Adam directly regarded this as a contract.
On this day, he took time to respond to the community's problems and solve them.
But this time, before the Priest could express his doubts, Adam spoke.
When he spoke, the flame flickered and leaped behind him, but did not burn his body.
"It is time to leave the cave."
Silence.
The sound of the sacrificial prayer abruptly stopped before the roaring fire.
Just moments ago, he had still been thinking about what problem the tribe had encountered, which one to ask the gods about first, and now he was plunged into dead silence.
The Priest had witnessed how Adam gave fire and created words.
But some of those following behind had never seen it.
Therefore,
Some had doubts about this.
"God, it is not that we resist your will."
"But Ereshkigal has come from the highest and farthest peaks, causing trees to shed their leaves, grass to wither and decay, rivers to turn cold, and everything on earth can only curl up in caves, hiding from the howling cold wind..."
"If we leave the cave, I'm afraid we will soon be carried away by the cold wind."
In the eyes of the tribe people,
Adam was fire, a kind and forgiving god.
Resisting the will of such a god might at best mean no longer receiving gifts.
But if they encountered a god who brought cruel cold, I'm afraid destruction would be brought upon their race.
Adam silently watched this group of people who had only just begun to accept civilization.
They had mastered natural fire, learned to store food, and recorded the wisdom of their predecessors in the form of words on clay tablets.
Perhaps they were still very weak and even afraid of thunder in the sky, roaring rivers, and howling winter winds... But in the end, the change was noticeable.
They would by no means submit to divine authority.
Although I was just that God they considered me to be, it was a good start.
Adam happily raised the corners of his lips.
But this change was not enough. They were still afraid of the power of nature or God.
Well, he wanted to guide these people.
Language should not be cumbersome, otherwise these people would have difficulty understanding what they had experienced, what they had not experienced, and what they had mastered, they did not know.
So he said to everyone:
"I did not want you to leave the cave in winter and face the cold unprepared."
"I want you to leave the cave and find a suitable place for your nation on the day the cold wind completely subsides."
Nation?
No one could understand Adam's intention.
After all, this was the Stone Age, an era when even city-states had not yet been built, so how could one speak of a nation?
But now,
Adam had coined this word.
He would teach the people of this tribe... on this land where there was nothing
To found the kingdom of humanity.