The Glorious Evolution

The usually emotionless Omnithar Genie couldn’t help but show a slight reaction at Levi’s drastic change... he knew that Levi wasn’t faking it, as a Radian’s overbearing aura could never be copied... only inherited.

With Levi being a natural-born half-Radian, his current arrogant persona seemed to fit him as naturally as the original one. Still, the Omnithar Genie followed along with the plan... in the face of a chance at freedom, it couldn’t care less if Levi shared the bloodline of its imprisoners.

It listened to Levi’s tunes and applied the Valence Cipher to its emotional reactions... it controlled them to perfection, sending a flood of mixed emotional signals like a Morse code.

Because Levi was in his Sun Form, he didn’t feel the weight of it... Instead, he watched the wavelengths and translated them into the code without a change of expression.

First came a long, shaky wave of Nostalgia, followed by an instant burst of Zeal... when mixed with three other emotions, the full meaning was achieved.

’The Wish...’ Levi noted.

Following a head nod, the Genie sent a strange mix of Awe and Dread... it was a blueprint for a transformation.

”You want to change your physical form?” Levi checked for confirmation since he could speak normally.

The Genie responded with a long, flat wave of Serenity, and then followed with a quick flash of Panic... after ten more signals, three words appeared in Levi’s mind.

the code said.

Levi knitted his brows in confusion, not following its thought process... first, it mentioned a wish and then a transformation, which was related to Iithorien Inscriptions.

It felt more like a code. Yet, Levi understood that he had yet to mention the key to this whole dilemma...

”What does it have to do with the Lantern?” he asked sternly.

The Genie swiftly sent a combination of emotional wavelengths, which translated at the end to: Merge... Become the Technique.

’Become the Technique?’

Levi frowned for a moment, and then it hit him... the dots connected at once. He realized at last that the Genie wanted him to use the wish to turn itself into conceptual Iithorien inscriptions that could be merged with the Lantern’s inscriptions!!!

”This... crazy.” Ash’Kral raised a brow in surprise. ”It actually has something!”

”What do you mean?”

The Titan wondered; this situation wasn’t in his realm of expertise... even Levi kept his ears perked up in silence, too proud to show his ignorance on the matter.

He might have realized the Genie’s request, but he failed to understand how it would work exactly.

”If the Genie turned into these inscriptions and merged with the Lantern, it would become part of the technique itself... I have heard that according to the laws of the universe, no one can see inside the Unburdened Warden’s Lantern except the owner,” Ash’Kral shared. ”If our assumption is right about your Lantern, then the laws apply to it as well. In simpler terms... if the wish were to work, the Genie would be invisible to the system, Nocturn’s Administration, and even the Higher Ups!”

Levi softened the tune and remained silent, his golden tattoos glowing nonstop... even with his Sun Soul’s pride, he had to admit the plan was perfect if the Genie’s words were honest.

’Is it even possible to make such a wish?’ he asked. ’Let’s say it works, won’t the system detect me as the culprit behind your disappearance instantly?’

Levi believed it was too great a risk to make such a wish... he didn’t know the exact details of how the system worked, since it wasn’t public information, but logically, it should track all Genies’ wishes across all platforms.

Meanwhile, the Genie ended the message with a heavy feeling of Resignation, followed by a tiny hopeful wave of Desperation.

When combined with other emotions, it was coded as such:

Hearing his response, Levi wouldn’t say he was satisfied... he could tell the Genie wasn’t lying to him, since the Genie had nothing to gain by setting both of them up for punishment.

After all, if he were to get caught, the Omnithar Genie wouldn’t be spared... he could only imagine the severity of the punishment. He knew that the system would make an example of it for the rest of the Genies to kill any sliver of hope at getting freed.

Still... Levi had no plans to risk his life on the Genie’s words. The only one who could back up the Genie’s answer was Ash’Kral.

’What do you think?’

Ash’Kral held his chin thoughtfully, going through his vast library of memories to find anything that supported the Genie’s claim. After a moment, Ash’Kral raised a brow in surprise.

’The Omnithar is basing the plan’s success on the automation of the system,’ Ash’Kral disclosed with a solemn expression.

’Hmm?’ the Titan asked. ’In what way?’

’At the beginning of the CRS Platform’s creation, most processes were handled manually by Nocturn’s Administration... after all, everything was still fresh and chaotic with many loopholes and problems popping up each second.’

Levi and the Titan nodded in understanding... they couldn’t imagine how difficult it was to kickstart either the Nocturnal Ring or the CRS Platform in the earlier days.

No one knew anything, and yet, these two platforms were founded to structure an eternal conflict, which meant they were here to stay. This forced everyone to adapt and accept it, whether they liked it or not, until it became the universal culture.

’As time went by and everything started to make sense... Nocturn’s System was born,’ Ash’Kral continued calmly. ’You can think of it as a dimensional automaton creature born out of a library of rules used to manage both platforms in their own way. It follows Nocturn’s rules and manages even the Four Murinori Clans if they broke their own creator’s laws... once it was created, both Platforms became systemized and followed a rigid set of rules that kept everything streamlined and in order: from the network, the dimensional gates, punishments, rewards, accepting new games, streaming rights, Genie rules, your dimensional profiles, rooms ”AI,” and more... it’s all managed under that dimensional creature, which is operated by the Murinori and the Administration at a limited capacity based on their authority.’

Ash’Kral paused for a moment.

’Without it, the platforms wouldn’t have been as great a success even if Nocturn’s Administration never got tired.’

’I see...’

Levi nodded in understanding while holding his chin... he already knew some stuff about Nocturn’s System, but he didn’t think that the system was an actual breathing creature.

After all, everyone called it the System! Though considering Nocturn’s eccentricities, it made more sense.

’However, this powerful, knowledgeable creature has a fatal flaw,’ Ash’Kral smirked. ’It reacts only to already written rules and registered loopholes... it never acts out freely.’

The moment he heard this, Levi’s gleaming tattoos dimmed slightly before burning bright again... it was like a heart-skip for Radians.

He realized at once that the Genie was telling him that the system would never find out about its disappearance if they went for the plan... all because no one had ever wished for a Genie to transform into Iithorien inscriptions and merge with a technique protected under the laws of the universe!

After all, no one in the universe owned the real Unburdened Warden Lanterns besides them and... Levi!

This unique situation was the very reason the Omnithar decided to attempt an escape from its chains, understanding that it was literally given a once-in-a-trillion-years opportunity.

’Since the system has been reliable for millions of years, no one in Nocturn’s Administration will even notice the glitch... except,’ Ash’Kral uttered, ’Nocturn.’