I Can See Evolution Paths

The next morning, Arthur woke up thinking about only one thing. The Everglades. Ever since he returned, he hadn’t stopped wondering about it since it’s the next clue to the next evolution for Vedas. He was walking out of the door with Vedas walking next to him and Eden on his shoulder.

Then Athena appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his sleeve. "This way," she said.

Arthur blinked. "Hm?"

"The Evolution Archive."

Arthur looked toward the familiar building. "We haven’t been there in a while," he said.

Athena nodded. "It’s been almost two months. We’ve spent nearly all of that time inside the Ruins of Evolution." She smiled. "I’ve missed it."

Arthur chuckled. "You really do treat it like home," he said.

"I do," she said.

Arthur laughed. "Alright."

As they began walking, Arthur suddenly paused. "Oh."

Athena looked back. "Hm?"

Arthur scratched his cheek. "Can you help me find everything the Archive has on the Everglades?"

Athena blinked. "The Everglades?"

Arthur nodded. "It’s a place I heard about, and it got me curious."

Athena smiled. "Sure," she said.

The Evolution Archive felt exactly as Arthur remembered. Students quietly reading. Researchers organizing returned journals. Archive attendants sorting books. The calm atmosphere immediately contrasted with the chaos of what they had just been through.

Arthur smiled. "It’s nice," he said.

Athena nodded. "It never changes," she said.

As they walked toward the Secret Realm section, several students noticed them. "They’re finally back."

"I heard they disappeared during their expedition."

"Almost two months."

"I still can’t believe that."

Another student quietly watched Arthur. "Look. He’s already heading toward the research shelves."

"I wonder what he’s looking into this time."

Arthur never noticed. He was already searching the catalogue.

Athena led Arthur toward the Secret Realm shelves. Arthur stopped. One entire section was dedicated to a single Secret Realm. Shelf after shelf. Expedition journals.

Survey maps.

Handwritten notes.

Sketches of native Beasts.

Plant records and ancient observations.

Arthur quietly whistled. "That’s a lot," he said.

Athena gently ran her fingers along one shelf. "The Everglades has been explored for generations," she said. She smiled. "But nobody has ever fully understood it."

Arthur’s curiosity immediately grew. "Now I definitely want to read these," he said.

Athena laughed. "I expected that," she said.

Arthur began pulling journals from different years, while Vedas carefully chose a different shelf. "I’ll start over here," he said.

Athena nodded. "We’ll cover more ground that way," she said.

Athy hopped onto a nearby table. "I’ll remember anything important," she said.

Arthur smiled. "Perfect."

Eden landed on a stack of books. "I’ll help too!" she said.

Everyone naturally split up.

Arthur reached for another journal, and at exactly the same time Eden landed on top of it. "Mine."

Arthur blinked. "You can’t read."

"I can help."

"How?"

Eden looked down at the book, carefully turned one page, then another. "Still helping."

Arthur laughed. "I suppose you are."

Athy quietly walked over. "I’ve already finished twelve."

Eden puffed out her tiny chest. "I’ve turned fourteen pages."

Silence.

Arthur nodded seriously. "You’re both contributing."

Eden beamed. Athy actually looked pleased.

Across the room, Vedas slowly closed another journal. "Humans have too many books."

Athena looked up. "This is only one section."

Vedas froze. "Only one?"

Athena pointed deeper into the Archive. "There are six more floors."

Vedas stared. "How do humans remember anything?"

Arthur smiled. "We don’t." He pointed toward Athena. "She does."

Athena quietly adjusted her glasses. "Correct."

Even Vedas couldn’t argue with that.

Hours passed. Arthur compared expedition journals. Athena studied maps. Vedas read explorer reports with genuine curiosity. Athy memorized dates, names, and locations. Eden wandered between everyone asking questions.

Vedas slowly closed another journal. "There’s a lot."

Arthur looked over. "What is?"

Vedas gently held up the journal. "They wrote down everything."

"The weather."

"The roads."

"What they ate."

"The monsters." He blinked. "Even the mistakes."

Athena smiled. "So the next expedition doesn’t repeat them."

Vedas quietly looked back at the page. "That’s smart."

A short silence followed. Then he looked toward Arthur. "Maybe Utopia should do that too."

Arthur blinked. "Write journals?"

Vedas nodded. "If someone discovers something, the next person shouldn’t have to discover it again."

Arthur’s eyes lit up. "That’s actually a really good idea."

Vedas scratched his cheek. "Really?"

Athena nodded. "It’s one of the reasons civilizations continue improving."

Vedas smiled a little. "Then let’s remember that."

Arthur paused while comparing reports. "Again," he said.

Athy immediately spoke. "It’s the ninth report," she said.

Arthur blinked. "You counted?"

She nodded. "Every report mentioning a retreat."

Arthur smiled. "Good catch."

Eden landed beside Arthur. "Did you find treasure?" she asked.

Arthur laughed. "Not yet."

She thought about it. "Knowledge is treasure too," she said.

Arthur gently patted her head. "I think Athena’s rubbing off on you," he said.

Athena smiled proudly.

Hours later Arthur suddenly spread several expedition reports across one table. "They’re all different," he said. "Different years. Different explorers. Different routes." He pointed toward one sentence.

The partner Beast refused to continue.

Another report. Same sentence. Another again and again.

Arthur quietly said, "It wasn’t the explorers. It was always the Beasts."

Athena immediately began checking the reports. Her expression slowly changed. "You’re right," she said. "I’ve read these before. I never connected them."

Arthur continued thinking. "Whatever exists inside the Everglades, the Beasts noticed it before the people did."

Then Vedas quietly walked over carrying three journals. "Arthur," he said.

Arthur looked up.

"I found something too," he said. He placed the journals beside the others. "Every expedition that turned back," he said, pointing toward each map, "reached water first."

Athena quickly checked. She was surprised. "He’s right," she said.

Arthur smiled. "So every Beast became afraid after reaching the water."

Arthur closed the journals. "Reading isn’t enough," he said.

Athena smiled. "I know," she said. She led everyone toward the Memory Crystal. Rows of Memory Crystals quietly floated within the room, each containing memories recorded from contracted Beasts that had survived expeditions.

Arthur gently picked one up. "Let’s see what they saw," he said.

Arthur walked toward one of the floating Memory Crystals. Golden mist drifted slowly inside it, like tiny clouds trapped beneath crystal.

Eden’s silver eyes widened. "So pretty"

She flew closer until she was almost nose-to-nose with it, tiny golden particles drifting from her wings as she circled it once. "What is it?"

Arthur smiled. "A Memory Crystal."

Eden tilted her head. "It remembers?"

Athena nodded. "It preserves fragments of a Beast’s life."

Eden blinked. "Like a diary?"

"A little." Athena gently rested her fingertips against the crystal. "Except instead of reading words, you experience their memories."

Eden gasped. "We become the Beast?"

"For a short while."

Arthur chuckled. "It feels very real."

Eden immediately turned toward him. "You’ve done this before?"

Arthur nodded. "The first time" He looked at the crystal with a nostalgic smile. "I forgot I was Arthur."

Eden’s mouth slowly opened. "You forgot?"

"Only for a little while." Arthur laughed. "I thought I was a tiny reptile trying not to get eaten."

Eden stared at him. "That’s amazing!" She flew another excited circle around the crystal before stopping beside Athena. "Can I see too?"

Athena smiled. "You can but tell me if something happens... The memories can be overwhelming."

Eden nodded so enthusiastically that her silver hair bounced. "I will!"

Arthur gently picked up the Memory Crystal. He already knew what was about to happen. The warmth. The rush of another life. The feeling that, for a few moments, someone else’s memories would become his own.

He smiled toward Eden. "Ready?"

She puffed out her tiny chest. "Ready!"

Arthur activated the crystal. Golden light spilled across the room. The books disappeared. The shelves vanished. Cool swamp air brushed across Arthur’s face, and Eden let out a tiny gasp. The Evolution Archive faded away. For the next few moments they weren’t reading history. They were living it.

A giant crocodile swam peacefully. A hawk flew above endless marshes. A wolf walked through flooded ruins. A snake slithered beneath enormous roots. Everything seemed calm. Then each Beast suddenly froze. Its ears twitched. Its entire body stiffened. Without hesitation it turned around and ran.

The memory ended.

Eden landed on Arthur’s shoulder. "I was scared."

Arthur smiled. "So was I."

She looked toward the crystal again. "Can we thank it?"

Arthur blinked. "Thank it?"

Eden nodded seriously. "It shared its memories."

Arthur gently touched the crystal. "Thank you."

The Archive attendant quietly looks over. "I’ve worked here for twelve years. Nobody has ever done that before."

"It just means me and Eden are amazing."

Eden beams and cheers while the attendant chuckled before walking away with a huge smile.

Athena came over with Athy and asked, "Did you notice anything else?"

Arthur nodded. "None of them even tried to fight," he said.

Athy quietly added, "Right, you noticed that as well. I also saw none of them saw anything either."

Arthur looked toward her. "You’re right. They reacted first, then looked."

Athena quietly whispered, "So they sensed something. Could it be fear?"

Vedas frowned. "That wasn’t fear."

Arthur looked over. "Hm?"

"It was respect."

Silence.

"The Beast knew it shouldn’t challenge whatever was there."

Arthur slowly looked back toward the crystal. "Respect"

Another piece of the mystery fell into place.

As everyone quietly thought, a familiar notification appeared.

[Level Up!]

[Time Fairy]

[Level 1 → Level 2]

Golden light briefly surrounded Eden. She spun happily. "I got stronger!" she said.

Arthur smiled. "Congratulations," he said.

Eden beamed. "I learned lots today!" she said.

Athena giggled. "I suppose learning really does suit a Fairy," she said.

Vedas smiled warmly. "Then next time we’ll discover even more," he said.

Eden immediately nodded. "Yes!"

Night fell.

The Archive was closing.

Arthur stood before the giant Everglades map. Almost every section had notes. Except the center. Completely blank. Only one sentence.

No expedition has ever successfully surveyed beyond this point.

Arthur quietly studied it, then smiled. "Tomorrow," he said, "I’m not going there."

Athena blinked. "You’re not?"

Arthur shook his head. "Not yet." He lightly tapped the blank center of the map. "Tomorrow, I’m going to figure out why nobody else could."

Athena laughed. "I expect nothing less from you. Alright, let’s keep checking tomorrow, who knows. We might discover another earth-shattering secret like we did for the Dawn Kingdom."

"Ahh, I hope we do."