The Glorious Evolution

The Borrower looked quite pleased as he lounged against one of the hall’s pillars... he was slender and long-limbed, with pale green scales covering him from his neck to his jaw.

He had a thin serpent tail curled lazily behind his legs, its tip tapping the floor as his narrow green eyes moved between Akira and Levi.

”Please... don’t let us interrupt.”

His forked tongue flicked briefly between his lips as he showed a sinister smile.

”In fact, I insist.”

Akira gave him an icy sideways glance.

”Borrower... keep your envious eyes focused somewhere else. Otherwise, I don’t mind starting with you.”

The Borrower raised his hands in front of him and waved them, appearing as if he was telling her that he didn’t want any problems... he was just expressing his opinion. Though the reaction itself didn’t seem to come from someone genuinely afraid.

Akira scoffed and turned back to Levi, who had yet to give any response... he just stayed hidden in the shadows, silent, ever observing with the Three Orbiting Stars.

A scene that left some Rifters quite uncomfortable... especially when they knew that he had unlocked his Dominion.

Although it was a mere picture, they easily confirmed that it wasn’t fabricated or a mere illusory image... The Dominion was as real as it could get.

There were plenty of resources that could verify the picture, and it was one of the reasons why it had gotten so many upvotes on the forums.

The only thing no one had accounted for... those resources couldn’t distinguish a Dominion born from Laws from one born from Aspects through a mere picture!

This was the reason Levi chose this direction to implement the illusion, understanding that the illusion would shatter only if he was challenged to a Dominion battle.

’Good thing Akira is also a Half-Radian and wouldn’t tolerate his existence.’

This thought coursed through many Rifters’ minds, knowing that Akira Sol would never let Levi leave this game alive when the loyal followers of the Radians and Oblivars were hunting him down.

Meanwhile, Levi didn’t seem bothered... the moment he found out that Akira Sol had a connection to the Radian bloodline, he knew trouble was coming his way.

Although her bloodline’s purity wasn’t as high as that of some truly fearsome Half-Radians in the upper ranks, still... it was much higher than Light Eater’s... the supposed Half-Oblivion from the Joker game.

”Let’s see how silent you will remain when I put my fist through your heart.”

Akira let out one last threat and returned to her preparations, knowing that a few other Rifters deserved just as much attention.

Amongst them was Mournful Spirit.

She stood alone in funeral-black robes, their long sleeves nearly hiding her hands, while a weathered biwa rested against her chest.

Straight black hair fell over a deathly pale face, obscuring one eye entirely, while the other remained fixed upon Levi.

Unlike Akira, she didn’t care about Levi’s bloodlines, Dominion, or such... her slender finger slowly brushed across one of the biwa’s strings.

Twang...

The Rifters felt goosebumps rise across their skin as the soft, haunting note echoed across the hall... it felt as if she had brushed her slender finger against their souls.

Uncaring about their disturbed reactions, Mournful Spirit kept her gaze fixed on Levi... hoping that he would manifest his violin, which had captured her attention the most out of everything he had done.

Alas... she was aired just like Akira.

Depressed, she went to sit in the corner and fiddle with her biwa all alone.

’... why do I always end up against weirdos.’

Levi’s brows twitched under the mask, refusing to entertain anyone in the hall... these three weren’t even the end of it, as the Taxman’s appearance would leave anyone questioning reality.

He resembled a tall, average man wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a tie... it matched well with his black shoes. He carried a brown briefcase, appearing as if he had been summoned while attending a company interview.

That was the overall feeling he gave... until their eyes landed on his head.

It was a gray-skinned, bald head with a featureless face... the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, and such? They were disorganized, randomly scattered across the back of his head, flowing around as if his head were made of liquid.

He appeared to be smiling softly, though... it was a creepy smile situated at the back of his neck, moving constantly between his eyes and nose.

Despite each race’s strange appearance, Levi took his research as seriously as possible, skipping over nothing... he knew the weirder the race, the stranger the Aspects they wielded.

However, he wasn’t scared... as he was the weirdest of them all.

...

”Ladies and gentlemen! ARE YOU READY for one of the most special events in the Nocturnal Ring’s lower ranks?!”

Gamemaster Gamble’s voice resounded across the Board of Fortune and Calamity as he stood on top of a small hovering platform, holding the same microphone decorated with dice.

The sky was already packed to the brim with a seemingly infinite ocean of eyes, each one displaying excitement.

”YES!!!”

The spectators filling the map erupted together, their cheers crashing over the enormous game board... Betting windows were already opening by the thousands, odds changing every second as the ten Rifters appeared on the same gigantic square tile.

The word START was written across its surface in massive golden letters.

The moment the viewers saw their idols, the fans chanted their names over and over again, their voices so loud that the clouds were pushed away with each chant.

Despite the chaotic noise, two names stood out the most.

The Celestial and Akira Sol!

Their fans’ chants absolutely dwarfed those of the other Rifters’ fans, splitting the sky in half... Hearing the chants, Gamemaster Gamble’s grin widened, loving every second of it.

He cupped one hand around his ear while continuing to hype them up, quite satisfied with the viewer turnout...

[Seven billion and five hundred million live viewers.]

’This is it... my promotion is guaranteed!’

Gamble laughed as two gigantic dice dropped from above and slammed onto the START tile, forcing several Rifters to step aside.

One was golden.

The other was black.

The Fortune Die and the Calamity Die.

Levi remained near the back of the group as his Harmonic Spine mapped the two dice and everyone surrounding them... he also used his newly obtained aetheric spiritual vision to map out the entire board’s dimensions through aetheric light.

Meanwhile, Akira Sol stood closer to the front with her arms crossed, her Half-Radian, Half-Elven features making her easy to distinguish among the group.

The Borrower’s tail swayed behind him with interest, while Mournful Spirit remained silent with her biwa resting against her body... still depressed.

”Before we start sending you down that beautiful road of terrible decisions...” Gamble landed on top of the golden die, still grinning. ”We need an order... all of you will roll once. Highest total goes first, lowest goes last. Ties roll again.”

Hearing this, Akira Sol stepped forward first and clapped her hands once in the direction of the dice... The dice were hit by a wave of heat, smashing against the invisible wall and bouncing back onto the starting tile a few times.

Then, they stopped on:

[FORTUNE: 6]

[CALAMITY: 5]

[TOTAL: 11]

The Rifters didn’t show much of a reaction, as their place in the turn order could either be good or bad, depending on the situation.

One after another, they stepped forward and rolled... some rolled low, and others high.

When Levi’s turn arrived, he picked up both dice with an aetheric grasp and tossed them casually across the tile.

They bounced twice before settling.

[FORTUNE: 3]

[CALAMITY: 4]

[TOTAL: 7]

Levi showed no reaction... the roll was neither good nor bad.

By the time the remaining Rifters finished, his seven placed him somewhere in the middle of the turn order, which suited him just fine.

Going first meant walking blindly into every mechanic the game had hidden from them... he would rather watch at the start.

The final rankings appeared overhead.

At the very top was one name.

1ST... AKIRA SOL

”Naturally.”

Akira glanced at the result without much surprise, pride and arrogance flowing through her as naturally as blood through her veins.

The Borrower teased her again. ”You sound offended by the possibility of going second.”

Akari ignored him and walked toward the edge of the START tile.

Gamble swiftly appeared beside her and hyped her up before the viewers, who never heard of her.

”And opening today’s game, we have the proud daughter of a High Morning Elf and Half-Radian from the Heliarch Falseborn Lineage... she is fully convinced she’s better than everyone standing behind her!”