The Glorious Evolution

’I am glad to be of some help... If you need anything else during those two weeks of preparation, reach out.’ Levi smiled while standing up. ’I will get going now... Believe it or not, I have a case to win.’

Hearing this, Jasmine and the rest raised their eyebrows in surprise.

”Case? Like a real case in court and such?” Arthur wondered.

”Yep.” Levi was brief about it. ”I’ll tell you about it if everything turns out well... You guys should prioritize your training for now.”

Since Levi refused to share the details about the ’case’ with them, his friends dropped the matter despite their burning curiosity.

However, seeing Levi pushing himself even in matters unrelated to his strength only added more fuel to the fire that yesterday’s revelations had already lit beneath them.

”I’m going shopping for some mats in the capital; who wants to come with?” Shia was the first to stand up.

”I need to search for some materials too.”

Nurah tagged along, and soon, Jojo and Arthur decided to accompany them. Jasmine wished them well and remained behind to begin her preparations for the game.

”Be careful of scams, see ya.”

With a wave of his hand, Levi stepped inside a dimensional portal connected straight to his studio... the three-day cooldown still hadn’t finished, but Levi was a Baron... and Barons were gifted with three free direct teleportations a month to any public or their own private location across the realm.

As for Arthur and the girls? He didn’t offer them money for shopping, teleportation, or such... They had their own money earned from their Raids and the faction event.

Although their currency was in Solar Aegis Coins, it could easily be converted into Nocrix Credits on the network and used to book themselves a ticket to The Void-Anchor Terminal.

After everyone left Jasmine’s territory, she remained seated at the table in silence... though nothing much changed, as silence was her world.

’How do you feel about your secrets being in their hands?’

N’ibby emerged from Jasmine’s hair in a mixture of black and white ink. Then, she sat on top of her shoulder, her expression not particularly pleased.

To be honest, she didn’t approve of having Jasmine’s secret as an Origin Seed holder placed in so many hands, despite Jasmine wanting it.

She didn’t mind Levi that much since he was pretty much like Jasmine, nor did she mind his little brother... but Shia and the others? Even if they were friends, that was different.

She had felt quite content when Levi didn’t approve of telling them the first time... but then he came back and did a complete 180, which left a bad taste in her mouth.

’I don’t mind it...’ Jasmine smiled softly. ’They are my friends, and I trust them to have my back... and I am happy Levi finally realized that he can’t have it both ways.’

Jasmine might appear gentle and silent most of the time, but that didn’t mean she was clueless.

She understood that if she wanted her friends to remain in her life and have each other’s backs as they journeyed together, then they had to minimize the lies and deceit... Otherwise, their trust would eventually be broken and might never recover.

Levi realized this the moment he figured out that he could help his friends with opportunities that were useless to him but significant for their development... like in Jojo’s case.

He couldn’t tell Jojo about the opportunity without being truthful... If he had to lie every time something like this happened, it would cheapen the gesture.

Levi refused to lie over and over again about everything going on in his life to those closest to him... especially when his death was still considered guaranteed unless he solved the Three-Body Problem.

If he were to truly die because of it, he would at least find solace in the idea that he had left his brother with a new family he could genuinely trust.

The fact that the girls were cool about everything only solidified his belief that his decision was the right one, as he couldn’t imagine what would have happened if everything had been exposed years later.

Jasmine felt the same, which was why she had pushed him from the start to tell them the truth, but never forced his hand.

’Well, I do hope you won’t regret this later on.’ N’ibby uttered emotionlessly before retreating into her hair.

Jasmine remained quiet for a few moments, her mesmerizing gray eyes staring across the colorful horizon.

’I hope so too...’ she murmured inwardly.

***

Two Weeks Later...

Levi had returned to Nocturn’s Main Hub not long ago and now found himself sitting in the same café as before, occupying the same table near the window with a fresh cup of coffee resting between his hands.

Nocturn’s Heart was as lively as ever... Conversations overlapped from every corner, strange languages mixed together in the air, and beings from worlds Levi had never heard of passed outside the windows without earning so much as a second glance.

Suddenly, Levi lifted his head and noticed that the café’s main dimensional screen was streaming a low-ranked Death Game that no one truly cared about... Taking the opportunity, Levi raised a hand to attract the waiter’s attention.

When the waiter approached, Levi requested with a polite smile, ”Is it possible to stream the Death Game on Channel 43?”

”Most definitely, sir.”

The waiter fulfilled the request without much deliberation... The culture here was more or less the same as back on Earth.

Unless there was a very important match everyone had specifically come to watch, the waiters usually accepted requests from customers.

The screen flickered.

A large golden 43 appeared for a moment before disappearing into darkness.

Then...1390 WordsSaved at 01:00

”GOOD EVENING, YOU CHEAP, GREEDY BASTARDS!”

A squeaky, overly passionate voice blasted through the café.

Several customers immediately looked up, their attention hooked by the curses.

The darkness on the screen faded away, revealing a massive enclosed auction house.

”Welcome back to another beautiful evening in the Nocturnal Ring! Tonight’s attraction is a Restrictive Attrition Game where being rich means nothing, being strong means slightly more, and being bad at mathematics means you’re probably going to DIE!”

The small squirrel laughed hysterically as the invisible camera lens swept across the entire auction house.

The House was shaped like a gigantic circular auction chamber, with ten ascending sections of empty seats surrounding a sunken floor at its center.

Everything was fashioned from dark wood and tarnished gold, lending the auction house an ancient, timeworn grandeur, as though countless fortunes and lives had been auctioned within its halls for centuries.

But its most striking features were the hands... Ten enormous stone arms emerged from the walls.

Each belonged to a different species.

One was skeletal, another covered in scales, another possessed six fingers, while one looked almost human except for the eye carved into its palm.

They stretched over the auction floor from every direction, their open palms facing downward as though ten colossal bidders were waiting to claim whatever was placed beneath them.

Directly below those hands stood the actual bidders.

Ten Rifters... Ten podiums... A perfect circle.

The participants themselves were just as varied as the hands looming over them... A bulky reptilian Rifter covered in rust-colored scales stood beside a slender, four-armed humanoid with gray skin, while farther around the circle waited a horned woman, a floating spherical creature wrapped in thin tentacles, a hunched insectoid, and several others Levi couldn’t immediately place.

The only one he recognized instantly was Jasmine... Her subtle disguise left him with a faint smile.

She wore a long black coat over a fitted black outfit, with several belts and straps wrapped around her waist and thighs... Black gloves covered her hands, while tall boots reached almost to her knees.

Parts of her coat were covered in dark ink stains, making it look as if the ink was slowly spreading across the fabric.

Her long white hair remained loose, falling past her waist and standing out like an ivory waterfall against everything black around her.

She covered her eyes and most of the upper half of her face with a thin black lace veil, hiding her identity without covering her inked lips... her entire vibe was that of a Gothic Princess descending from her castle in eons.

Levi then looked at her chosen name, which was displayed above her head to remind the viewers.

Only this name was nothing like the vicious or simple-sounding nicknames chosen by the rest.

Palimpsest.