The Glorious Evolution

Tyrese understood that without a map, finding the treasury inside the Pyramid was going to take days if not more... the Pyramid was at least five times bigger than Khufu.

With the threat of Ashfall hanging above their heads like a judgment sword, he couldn’t afford to split his party from Arthur and the girls... they were the only ones with a map, and he preferred getting to the throne chamber at least to search for artifacts and other treasures born out of the Shadow dimension’s corruption-twisting nature.

So, although the situation sucked for them, he had no interest in whining or giving Levi’s team a hard time about it... the fact that they were still active in the site was thanks to them, and he wasn’t one to forget someone’s goodwill.

As for Evangeline and her teammates? Their eyelids kept twitching, feeling like their good morals were being wasted on a bunch of sly pricks... who wanted them gone the second they entered the pyramid.

”Please lead the way.”

She uttered with an irked expression; if it wasn’t for getting saved by them, she would have been less tolerant of their shenanigans.

In her eyes, if they came clean to her, neither she nor her teammates would have touched a single treasure from the treasury even if they accompanied them.

That’s how strong her sense of honor was... but how could Arthur and the girls trust her? In front of true riches, even the strongest-willed shall be tested.

”Cough, on second thought, I believe Levi will be fine on his own.”

Shia manifested a saved-up, minimized holographic picture of the map and led the way. Nurah chased after her with a faint giggle after noticing everyone’s lips twitching in annoyance.

Tyrese chuckled and followed their lead, not weirded out by Shia leading the way without a map in hand.

He knew that all of them had access to offline services of Neuralens like recording, taking pictures, and such... however, they couldn’t share the holograms, which was the main reason Levi’s team couldn’t communicate with Jasmine.

As for the data? It would remain in the Neuralens device until a connection was established with the network on Earth.

***

While Jasmine, Levi, and the others were going through their own quests, they had no clue a harrowing situation was developing next to the fallen Grave’Maw’s nest.

The Hound.

Seraphis’ golden shimmering spiritual tree was already riddled with small cracks all over... but, as the supervising officers gazed at it closely, their expressions turned grim after noticing that the cracks were suddenly increasing at an alarming rate.

”Shit... the Hound is getting close to devouring Sir Seraphis’ spiritual tree.” One of them uttered gloomily, ”Let’s get out of here and report it.”

Without hesitation, they summoned their mounts and swiftly cleared the area, understanding that the moment the Hound left the Rift of Binding Laws, he would start with them... but first, they sent a warning to the High Chancellor.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Rift of Binding Laws, which was drenched in blood and silence, the Hound sat still upon a golden throne in the center.

He was still surrounded by the endless sea of crimson water and the thick stench of iron and rot belonging to thousands of corpses floating across its surface.

He had his head lowered, eyes closed... his expression unreadable... he had been in this state ever since the day he fought against Seraphis, his buttocks affixed to the throne.

But suddenly, the still reflection of his hideous face was ruined by a slow ripple on the waters... the ripples started increasing in volume bit by bit until the entire sea of blood transformed into a raging sea, rotting corpses hurled everywhere, but not a single one dared to enter the throne’s vicinity.

Then... snap!

The Hound’s eyes opened... they were fully blood-red before, but now? A tint of golden hue was seen in them.

His sealed shut eyes opened for the first time since that day, exposing a yellowish set of hound-like teeth. Then, he spoke, his voice echoing through the Rift.

”Fallen king... the burden that crippled you, the weight that made you forsake the struggles of your own people...” He paused, his gaze cold, ”... is now mine, and I deem it unworthy of turning a blind eye on us.”

As he slowly rose from the throne, the bloody water shook violently even more... waves surged upward, swallowing the golden seat whole until it vanished beneath the surface. Then, the entire Rift quivered as if recognizing a new sovereign.

Before him stood the great Tree of Pride, its golden roots trembling under the pull of the crimson flood... the blood climbed its trunk, soaking into the bark until the gold dulled and turned dark red.

Its branches twisted and writhed wildly, intertwining with the stem and roots, breaking and merging until the entire tree condensed into a single, blood-soaked crown with thorny edges.

The crown floated through the air, droplets of red dripping from its edges as it drifted toward him... gently, it settled atop the Hound’s head.

Behind him, his own Crimson Tree... the manifestation of his Aspect... shook hard before growing even larger, its roots digging deep into the sea of blood below.

Then, a new golden fruit was born from its branches... The Fruit of Pride.

It was hanging at the very top of the crimson tree, glowing with a dull yellowish light that made it stand out from everything else around it.

Its surface was smooth and reflective like polished glass, with thin purple veins running across it... the veins squirmed once in a while as if the fruit was alive. It was shaped like an upside-down heart, with a sharp tip at the bottom and a thick stem connecting it to the branch.

Its existence felt weird while attached to the crimson tree... anyone would instantly point out that it didn’t belong there, like seeing an orange tree give birth to an apple.

Illogical... yet, this was the reality of the universe’s power system that was born out of Shadowlife seeds.

Under the laws of the Shadowlife seeds, anyone entering the Rift of Binding Laws risked their lives by offering their mature spiritual tree to be devoured... subjected to a spiritual trial shaped entirely by the tree’s own laws.

However, not many presented the chance as they would rather die inside the Rift than allow their powers, hard work, and everything they had gone through to be earned by their enemy.

Seraphis was the same as them... in fact, it was tougher for him since his pride would never let him do this.

But, when his students’ lives or death were involved, nothing else mattered but their safety... even if it meant putting everything on the line to be won if it bought them time to survive the Hound’s wrath... if it wasn’t for him committing to it, Levi and the others might not be alive today.

Alas... everything that Seraphis had spent a lifetime building with his Shadowlife seed now belonged to the Hound after succeeding in the spiritual trial through a process called Knowledge Transfer.

This process was accessible only to owners of Mature Trees and Dominions... it was also the only exception allowed to grow the Shadowlife seed without an evolutionary formula or sunlight, since everything about the target’s seed was devoured: stored sunlight used to grow the seed, personal library, knowledge, everything besides the weapons and the mutations!

In other words...

”I never thought my breakthrough to the Blazewarden rank would come through the fallen king’s downfall...” The Hound said coldly, his fingers brushing against the bloody crown resting on his head. ”But so be it. A man who’s forsaken his own pride has no right to command such powerful laws.”

Then, with a single thought... the Rift of Binding Laws collapsed, and the Hound emerged from the cracked golden tree, a single step forward enough to shatter it into light particles.

”Slaughter and Pride...” He muttered, lifting his gaze toward the bright sky. A faint, cold smile manifested on his face as he added, ”Seraphis... you won’t find peace in the afterlife. The world shall know real pain... because of you.”