The Glorious Evolution

Soon, Ash’Kral taught Levi the appropriate breathing technique to relieve a bit of the Ancestral Tree’s exhaustion. It wasn’t really to relieve it, but to match it and show that he was there for it... that he was there for it, to experience it together.

As Levi repeated the breathing technique, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washed over him. It was so heavy he felt he could do nothing but grovel on the ground and remain motionless...

”What is this crushing weight? Is this what the Ancestral Tree feels each day?” Levi murmured with great difficulty.

”In your dreams, if this were its true burden, your heart would be crushed to death in an instant,” Ash’Kral said calmly. ”This is less than 1%.”

The moment Levi heard that, the connection he’d worked so hard to maintain faltered at once.

”1%? All of this exhaustion is less than 1%?” Levi was shaken to his core.

He knew that he could train hardcore every minute of the day, and it still wouldn’t be enough to capture the overwhelming exhaustion he felt.

”Is this exhaustion caused by your repeated evolutionary resets?” Levi asked.

”Maybe,” Ash’Kral gave a half-assed answer. ”Don’t put too much energy into this; continue working hard on the resonance until you secure a permanent 1% access to the ancestral tree’s internal control.”

Levi could tell that Ash’Kral wanted to avoid the subject as it was related to his past. He dropped it and concentrated on his improvement, knowing that his first success was nothing but a single step on a long, long road.

...

For the next few hours, Levi was consumed with the idea of communicating with the Ancestral Tree and maybe appeasing it just a little.

He wasn’t even doing it for access; he was just intrigued and curious about the life of the Ancestral Tree, knowing that if he won its trust, it could bring him deeper into its life.

This was a reward on its own.

Unfortunately, trust wasn’t gained purely through genuine emotions; it took time and consistency.

Thus, after the sun went to bless the other side of the planet, Levi decided to halt his resonance session.

”I will come back in a bit,” Levi said gently as he waved his hand at the disappearing spiritual crimson tree.

”I told you to resonate for access, not to be friends with it.”

”How about you mind your business?”

”Ouch.”

Levi ignored Ash’Kral’s chuckles and went to Arthur’s room, knocking twice before opening the door.

He found Arthur sitting in a meditative position in front of the window, absorbing whatever sunlight remained.

”Arthur, any progress?” Levi asked, sitting on the bed.

”My seed is absorbing steadily.” Arthur nodded. ”I still can’t keep my eyes affixed on the sun for too long, but I am okay for now with just average speed.”

While staring into the sun promised the best payoff, most Daywalkers cultivate by absorbing harmless, normal sunlight around them.

After all, staring into the sun for too long harms the retinas, and most low-ranked Daywalkers refuse to waste all of their precious coins on recovery totems to accelerate the absorption rate.

They had other necessities to purchase. Since they would be stuck at the peak of the third stage anyway if they didn’t have the necessary formula for their evolution, wasting too many coins on retinal recovery totems would do nothing but buy them a month or so.

Of course, this applies only to Rookies and Juniors. Pathfinders and upper-ranked Daywalkers must purchase them, since the requirement to reach the peak is ten times harsher, if not more.

That’s why having high resistance to sunlight was treated as a gift, since it lowered the number of times required to use the retinal recovery totem.

”Stop for a minute and follow me; I need you to test something,” Levi said.

”Aight.”

Levi and Arthur went to the living room, watching as the divine light slowly entered their apartment from the windows, covering each nook and cranny.

”What do you feel when you stare at the divine light?”

”Nothing? Am I supposed to feel something?” Arthur replied, squinting at the light.

’Did he not inherit the same qualities as me?’ Levi held his chin thoughtfully.

Levi knew that if Arthur shared the same genetic qualities related to the Radians, then he would be able to absorb the divine light automatically with his eyes... unlike him, who had to do it manually.

”Your brother must have inherited some physical aspects related to the Radians, not their innate stellar powers,” Ash’Kral said lazily. ”So don’t waste your breath on him.”

”I see...”

Levi wasn’t too delighted with this news, as he hoped that his brother could also absorb the divine light to accelerate his growth. He knew that in the later stages, his speed would be hindered immensely. Still, Levi hadn’t given up yet.

”If he has a Radian bloodline coursing through him, there will be a way for him to awaken it later on,” Levi hoped.

Levi understood that the Shadowlife seed might be a downgraded version of the seeds in his possession, but it also worked on the same concept of choosing the best evolutionary trait from both the nightcrawler and the human genetic pool.

If Arthur had the same genetic trait as him, but it was dormant, it might awaken later on during a breakthrough.

”Go read some books; we are done here.”

Levi sent his little brother to his room, unbothered by his grumbling. As for telling him about their origins? He preferred keeping it to himself, as he saw no value in telling him something that would do nothing but disturb his focus on his growth.

Plus, he still didn’t trust Kha’zun enough to share such an outlandish secret.

Although Kha’zun was his brother’s nightcrawler and the terms forbade nightcrawlers from sharing their partners’ secrets with outsiders, Levi preferred to stay on the safe side.

***

Three days later...

Levi spent the past three days working on his resonance, crimson’s seed growth, and some combat training.

While he was making great progress on his resonance, he still hadn’t been given the minimum 1% to start manipulating the sound element. He wasn’t anxious; he could feel it happening any moment.

Right now, Levi was sitting in Official Youssef’s office, tracing his steps by ear as he approached the totems’ shelf and picked up a wooden, winged wyvern.

Arthur had gone to continue his cultivation, wanting to push for the first stage on his own without using the growth totems delivered to him by the Morningstars. If he couldn’t make it, he would pop them off and reach it easily.

Official Youssef placed it on the desk and said calmly, ”Your nightmount is ready. Use your chosen incantation to summon it, but I highly advise you to do it under supervision by a strong Daywalker. This feisty beauty ain’t for a child to mess around with.”

”Fret not; I am not that foolish,” Levi smiled.

Twenty minutes later...

Levi was standing on the outskirts of the capital in the middle of a yellowish, dried-out wheat field while holding the AeroWyvern’s totem.

Ash’Kral was holstered on his back in his weapon form, his eye gazing from the top part of the staff. No nightcrawler or Daywalker was around; he had selected this area specifically for its emptiness.

”Are you sure about this?” Ash’Kral asked lazily. ”You may not be strong enough to tame her.”

”Don’t worry, I came prepared.” Levi smiled. ”Plus, I just want to introduce ourselves.”

”Don’t cry for my help if she bites your head off.”

”Watch and learn.”

Ash’Kral rolled his eye and stared at Levi as he threw the sealing totem in front of him, muttering the incantation.

”Winds unbound, heed my plea... Seal break, Aero Wyvern, be free!”

The moment the incantation finished, Levi watched as the sealing totem enlarged from a figurine to a monstrous size, spitting terror into weaker hearts. Then it shattered...

The Aero Wyvern released a bellowing roar into the sky and swiftly lowered her head, her dangerous black slits fixed on Levi, who wore a serene smile.

”Hel...”

Before Levi could utter a single ”hello,” the Aero Wyvern pounced on him with her gleaming claws fully extended!

”I guess we will do the introduction later, after we decide who is the boss.”

Levi smirked as he pulled Judgment’s chainstaff and charged toward his misbehaving nightmount.

Just as the claw was about to slice his face off, Levi slid underneath it and summoned the divine chain with a thought, pulling it as hard as he could!

The Aero Wyvern groaned in pain as she tried to resist having her head touch the ground. Since the divine chains were connected to a spiked collar, resistance only birthed a more intense wave of agony.

Still, she toughed it out and slammed her entire body onto the ground, wanting to crush Levi, who lay beneath her.

Too bad Levi was anticipating such a reaction; he planted his staff in the ground like a spear while crouching next to it.

This caused the Aerowyvern’s lower abdomen to slam into the tip, forcing the staff to sink into the ground for a bit, but it wasn’t enough to offset all her kinetic energy.

Roaar!

She reflexively jumped away from the staff, but the damage was already done, leaving her wincing in agony from two sides now... her neck and abdomen.

Yet Levi wasn’t done.

He jumped onto her neck and unlocked both ends of the staff. Then he whipped them around her neck, causing the chains to tighten with each spin until they dug deep into her skin.

As for Levi, he held the central piece of the staff like reins, resembling a dragon rider.

Rooarr!

”Easy, girl; I already won. Just accept it.”

Levi kept shushing the berserk wyvern while trying to stay on top of her.

Although he had combined both the divine chain and the staff’s chain, reinforcing their strength and control, the wyvern still thrashed all over the place.

She wanted to throw him off, but Levi was glued to her back. Realizing she was going nowhere, the wyvern’s slits gleamed murderously, sending a faint shiver down Levi’s spine.

Although he couldn’t see it, he felt the drastic change in her heartbeat, making him believe she was up to something bad.

Before he could brood on the matter, the Aero Wyvern flapped her wings against the pain and took off into the skies, kidnapping Levi with her!

”Well, shit...” Levi’s expression dropped.