The Glorious Evolution

Four Boundless months later...

Two months had passed on Earth, most of which Levi had spent consuming high-grade Growth Totems and cultivating under sunlight... then sneaking close to a Holy Pillar in a distant region after nightfall, taking advantage of Abyssal Filtrum’s presence-erasure mutation to stay hidden.

The expenditure was painful, but his Nine Senses Seed had finally reached the Pathfinder-rank evolution stage.

Only the Thousandflavor Orchid Nectar remained missing.

His application to the Myriad Treasures Exchange had been accepted, and the Black Slime request had produced nothing better in the meantime.

With the park’s grand opening approaching as well, tonight’s gathering had become an opportunity he couldn’t afford to waste.

His brother and friends hadn’t wasted those months either.

Three successful Raids under Nurah’s command had brought them resources and experience, while Rayan had earned his replacement spot and proved capable of keeping up. Taking advantage of the previous bets’ winnings, he made sure to invest heavily in his evolutionary path and training until he became a Warden Daywalker.

Levi’s conversations with them had gradually shifted from asking what they should do to discussing decisions they had already made... and this kind of independence was Levi’s goal.

Arthur, Shia, Nurah, and Jojo had yet to enter their first Nocturnal Ring games. Between the Raids, training, and research into their next evolutionary formulas, they had enough to occupy them for now.

Which explained why, when Levi returned to the camp to pick up Jasmine, nobody else was there.

The training grounds and research appointments had claimed the others... leaving him with an empty dining table and the soft movement of fabric from the nearby house.

Jasmine’s promotion to Teraowner had raised her Omnipotence to Level Two, allowing her to spoil them with decent small houses instead of huts... still, the houses remained in a circle around the camp.

Levi’s spiritual vision followed Jasmine as she slowly approached the door.

He turned toward her, a smile already forming on his lips... but as she stepped through the doorway, his Harmonic Spine painted her before him, and the words caught in his throat.

For a moment, he simply stood there, his lips parted around a greeting he had forgotten how to finish.

Branches?

His Harmonic Spine traced them up from the hem, following the tiny leaves stitched into the black fabric... with each step she took, the long folds gathered them together, then let them spread again.

He followed their movement for a moment, quietly fascinated... it was as though she carried a little silver garden around her.

The gown fitted neatly at her waist.

His attention lingered there before he caught himself and followed the embroidery farther up.

’So beautiful...’

The fine lace along her arms, the neckline curving beneath her collarbones, even the slender ornament holding her hair loosely behind her head... he kept discovering little details he wanted to appreciate properly before she reached him.

A few strands had escaped beside her face, falling over one eye.

He knew the white hair threaded with black, the shape of her cheeks, those ink-dark lips... he could have recognized her among thousands, and yet, he found himself taking her in all over again.

Jasmine angled her face toward him, leaving her uncovered eye directed his way.

Silver, with a white pupil... he knew that, too.

For some reason, remembering it now made him more conscious of the attention he was giving her.

Could she tell? His blindness usually spared him the embarrassment of being caught staring, but he wasn’t sure the advantage counted when he had gone this quiet.

She raised her hands, and his senses followed the lace slipping back from her wrists.

Only then did Levi remember the greeting still waiting on his lips.

-Am I late?- she signed, smiling.

Levi had arrived with a few things to tell her. The invitation had been confirmed, her name as well, and they would be traveling directly to the venue’s reception coordinates.

But now... none of that was what he wanted to say anymore.

-You look beautiful.-

His hands gave her the answer before he could reduce it to something less personal.

Jasmine touched the silver ornament in her hair, as though she had suddenly become aware of it again, then signed back.

-Thank you... Yours suits you too.-

She indicated the silver embroidery at his collar... his fitted black coat matched her dress, emphasizing his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He followed her advice and removed several decorations from the original design without giving it much thought, leaving the silver branches to stand out against the dark fabric.

A black fox mask covered his eyes and the bridge of his nose. Its pointed edges gave him a slightly mischievous look, while his mouth and jaw remained exposed, revealing the faint smile he gave her.

Fashion never mattered to him before... but as Jasmine examined his collar, he found himself hoping she liked what she saw.

And now he appreciated the matching embroidery for another reason... anyone who saw them would know they came together.

That thought pleased him more than he expected.

He remembered the question she sent when he invited her.

’You mean... as your date?’

At the time, he answered with explanations about the gathering and the other nobles. Now, with her standing beside him in matching clothes, he wished he could have simply said yes.

Levi knew she cared for him. He understood that much when she rushed into his arms outside his room... and he knew why her attention pleased him more than anyone else’s.

Tonight only made it harder to leave those feelings unspoken.

He wanted to take her somewhere without a missing ingredient deciding their destination. To ask her out properly, then spend the evening thinking about where they might go next.

He wanted what his parents shared... the freedom to love someone and show it without hesitation.

Then Heliodor came to mind.

People still searched the ruins of their homes. Funeral processions passed through the capital and fallen settlements.

Families buried people they expected to grow old with.

Levi understood their grief too well... and Na’thir’s servants slaughtered those people because he couldn’t reach him.

He sent donations and hired mercenaries, yet the monsters responsible still lived. They could do it again and again, until he finally got rid of them.

And even if he succeeded... the Three-Body Problem still threatened his life with a ninety-nine percent chance of death.

How could he ask Jasmine to share his future when he barely controlled it himself?

An exclusive relationship? He already shared a toxic one with four entities who refused to leave him alone until he solved a problem proclaimed impossible even by Nocturn himself.

The thought almost drew a bitter laugh, but Jasmine’s fingers paused against his sleeve.

She seemed to notice his hesitation. For a moment, Levi expected a question he didn’t know how to answer.

Instead, she gently turned his wrist and straightened his cuff.

’You folded this part inward.’

Levi followed her fingers as she smoothed the fabric, uncovering the silver leaves.

’I thought it looked fine.’

’You also thought the extra shoulder decorations looked fine.’ She chuckled.

’They came with the coat.’ Levi mumured.

Her quiet teasing drew a smile from him.

Jasmine checked his other cuff, taking her time... she asked whether the sleeves felt comfortable, then adjusted one when he admitted it pulled slightly at his wrist.

She gave him no troubled questions, no disappointed withdrawal... just the same gentle attention as before.

Levi couldn’t know how much she understood, but she seemed willing to let him find the words at his own pace.

That made him want to stop searching for reasons to hold himself apart.

’Maybe... just for one night.’

He could take her on a real date. Enjoy her company, make her smile, and let himself want the evening to last without wondering whether he deserved it.

He didn’t need to settle the rest of his life before holding her hand.

Jasmine finished with his sleeve and lifted her hands, signing again.

-There. Ready?-

Levi nodded, then signed before she could turn away.

-I’m glad you came with me.-

-So am I.-

Her answer came easily.

Levi held out his hand, and Jasmine placed hers in it without hesitation.

For once, he let that be enough.

He activated the destination attached to their invitation, and the camp disappeared around them.