The Glorious Evolution

Shia, Nurah, and Jojo had never been this silent, nor this shaken to their cores... Although Levi had shown them merely the tip of the iceberg, it was enough to rattle their hearts.

Yet, when they turned around and saw Arthur and Jasmine’s slightly laid-back reactions, they realized that these two might already know the whole truth, which explained their peculiar reactions when they concocted the plan to ambush Levi for the truth.

Normal teens would have been pissed off in such a situation, feeling like they weren’t as trusted as their friends... but these three knew fully well that Levi’s intentions came from a good place.

Void.

Sun.

Anything related to these Laws without permission brought nothing but destruction upon its owner... The fact that he still gave them a choice to back out made them understand that Levi trusted them wholly enough to bring them in, but he didn’t want to weigh them down with responsibilities beyond their capacity.

Now... it was up to them to decide whether they truly wanted to be part of Levi’s squad... not Heliodor’s Raiders Squad, but his own inner circle.

”Obviously, truth. Don’t insult me.”

Nurah was the first to answer... her chin raised stubbornly, and her eyes affixed to Jasmine. She was more bothered by the notion of Jasmine earning Levi’s respect before her.

”Truth,” Shia followed immediately afterward, having no plans of being left behind.

Then, almost naturally, everyone’s attention shifted toward Jojo... She remained seated with her hands clasped tightly around her prayer beads. Unlike those two, she properly thought about it, and it was well within her right to do so.

But then, she glanced in Arthur’s direction and saw him staring at her wishfully... like he wanted her to join them, but at the same time, he didn’t.

Seeing this look, Jojo’s mood shifted, and her decision was made.

”...Truth.”

Hearing this, Levi’s mouth split into a faint smile... his friends hadn’t forsaken him. Whether this was a good idea or not, at least... it was their choice to make, not his.

”Before I tell you anything,” Levi said, ”you have to reclaim the past.”

The girls and their nightcrawlers had no clue what he was talking about... their expressions covered in confusion as they watched six threads of darkness emerge from his fingers and reach toward their foreheads.

Their first instinct was to recoil and block the threads, but coming from Levi... they didn’t. As the threads touched their skin, the veil of darkness encasing the real memories of their time in the Ashora Empire was pulled away... retracting from their memory centers back into Levi’s fingers.

Everyone’s eyes were affixed to Levi’s fingers, but their pupils were already gone... rapid flashes and scenes rushed back in full, leaving them frozen in place, taking in memories that felt like they had been part of a dream, but at the same time... their bodies remembered every single one of them, reacting in real time.

The Ashora Temple’s Throne Chamber.

Alzhukar’s Awakening.

His fearsome aura that froze them with a mere gaze.

Finding out that Arthur had the Radian Bloodline coursing through his veins.

Being kidnapped inside Alzhukar’s Dominion.

Jasmine’s secret identity as the Inkrith Trueblood Heir and her sudden collapse.

The collapse of the Ashora Empire’s planet into the Hungering Dark.

And finally, Levi revealing himself in his Void Form.

The last thing on memory lane ended with:

”My apologies... but what happened in this ancient site must stay here, for everyone’s sake.”

The instant the memories stopped flooding in, light returned to the girls’ eyes... Silence engulfed the camp as they stared at Levi, Jasmine, and even Arthur.

They realized at once... it wasn’t only Levi who was a freak... half their squad was, and they had been completely oblivious to it.

Because Levi had made it so... and this... hurt them more than Levi hiding his secrets. In their eyes, he had every right to keep such secrets to himself; however... invading their minds to hide and manipulate their memories without their knowledge?

Understanding how they felt, Levi sighed deeply. ”I am sorry, but it had to be done... The Supervising Radian of our Dimensional Sector was behind our mission. He sought a treasure Alzhukar owned, and we returned without it. Naturally, all of us would have been questioned about the report... and if I had kept your memories intact, my life, Jasmine’s, and Arthur’s would have been over the moment we fell on the Supervising Radian’s radar.”

Hearing this, the girls’ emotions died down as logic prevailed again... They recognized that Levi had done what needed to be done to ensure their survival.

As for why he had delayed the return of their memories? Well, based on what they had seen, they understood that Levi didn’t want to burden them with such memories unless he was ready to share the whole truth with them.

That moment was now.

”Agh... I am starting to regret this.” Shia rubbed her temples, suffering from a light headache. ”What even are you? I still don’t understand anything...”

”Count me in...” Jojo sighed.

”...”

Even the knowledgeable Nurah felt her intelligence lacking, as everything she knew and understood had been completely shattered by Levi’s existence.

Understanding their confusion, Levi decided to start from the beginning instead of throwing more unfamiliar terms at them, explaining that most of what they had seen from him originated from three Origin Seeds residing within his body, each belonging to a completely different branch of power.

The first was connected to the Nine Senses and served as the foundation for most of the abilities they were already familiar with, including his spiritual senses, the Soulleech Maw, and the strange Aetheric Green Flames that had appeared several times throughout their missions, while the remaining two were connected to the Laws of Sun and Void, respectively.

Naturally, Nurah immediately questioned what these Origin Seeds even were... The dimensional network’s public data was limited to Shadowlife Seeds.

Levi explained it to them patiently... Unlike Ash’Kral, he believed such knowledge was more useful in one’s possession, as it could define their decisions moving forward.

Instead of believing that Shadowlife Seeds were the limit, now the wall had simply been pushed further ahead.

After he was done, the girls’ heads practically seemed to steam at the notion of Levi holding not even one Origin Seed, but three... and each one belonged to an ancient Ancestral Tree.

Of course, he didn’t forget to expose Jasmine as an Origin Seed holder as well.

But this drove them to ask how either of them was even alive, since possessing even one was something far beyond what ordinary Rifters could accomplish.

Levi admitted that this was one of the many questions he still couldn’t properly answer... He preferred keeping such details to himself since they were related to the Three-Body Problem and his survivability.

So far, only Jasmine’s nightcrawler, N’ibby, knew about it.

Levi swiftly changed the subject by bringing up that cursed night and its relation to his Radian bloodline.

”All of this started the night my parents died.”

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Arthur lowered his gaze... Jasmine’s relaxed expression faded... Even Nurah, who had been preparing herself for another world-shattering revelation, turned quiet.

”What does that have to do with your powers?” Shia asked.

”Everything,” Levi said calmly. ”You already remembered what happened in Ashora... Alzhukar recognized something inside Arthur.”

”The Radian Bloodline,” Jojo murmured.

”Exactly.”

Levi pointed toward his brother and then toward himself.

”Both of us are considered Half-Radians... though Arthur has yet to awaken it.”

The girls glanced between the brothers, feeling like they were suddenly in the presence of royalty... Their reaction was understandable, as humans and Half-Radians occupied two completely different societal statuses in the universe.

”Heh... now that you know, you better treat me with respect.” Arthur rubbed his mustache cockily.

”You wish.”

The girls’ expressions returned to normal as they gave Arthur a side glance before ignoring him.

”Before you ask...” Levi added, ”We don’t know how. We don’t know where it came from. We don’t know who in our family carried it before us. We don’t even know whether our parents knew... We basically know nothing about our true origins, but someone might.”

Shia immediately caught the cold shift in his voice.

”Who?”

Levi went silent for a moment before replying with a deep exhale.

”One of the Seven Bishops... the Head of Africa’s Eternal Empire... the largest nightcrawler nest on our continent... Bishop Na’thir.”

With their rich and resourceful backgrounds, the name wasn’t foreign to them at all... which only intensified their reactions.

Nurah’s expression hardened... Her mother, Ysara, had told her about the Seven Eternal Empires and the Bishops behind them to keep her informed about the state of her planet. She had no idea she was going to hear one of their names so early in her life.

”What does a Bishop have to do with your family?”

Levi’s face became frighteningly still.

”He killed my parents.”