I Can See Evolution Paths

Nobody spoke at first.

The battlefield was simply gone.

No collapsed cavern stretching overhead, no crushing weight of stone that had pressed down on all of them minutes earlier. Instead, fresh wind moved across an open sky, rolling hills stretching toward a distant mountain range.

Arthur blinked slowly. "We’re outside."

Even Leon looked genuinely thrown. "The attack from that thing couldn’t alter the area like this."

Murmurs spread through the gathered Goblins almost immediately. "Where are we?"

"How did we get here?"

Athena adjusted her glasses, already turning in a slow circle to take in the full scope of it. "Dawn Sanctuary didn’t only protect us." She paused. "It moved the entire city."

Silence.

Arthur turned around fully, staring back at the walls behind them like they might explain themselves. "...It teleported an entire kingdom?"

Even he thought that sounded ridiculous saying it out loud.

Sun slowly looked behind him and then back at Arthur. "Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

Arthur nodded. "I do."

Sun looked around again. "And somehow it’s true."

Arthur scratched his cheek. "...Halburn really left out some important details."

Athena adjusted her glasses. "He had a habit of doing that."

He sighed. "I’m beginning to notice."

...

Nobody wanted to wander blindly into unfamiliar territory, so Vedas started organizing people almost immediately.

"We verify our surroundings first." He pointed toward the gates. "The injured stay inside. The children stay inside. Healers remain with them."

He turned toward the assembled Goblin combatants. "We scout."

Before anyone could move, Raku suddenly knelt beside a cluster of flowers growing near the outer wall. "...Wait."

Everyone paused.

He picked one carefully, turning it over in his hand, eyes widening. "...I’ve seen this before."

Mara walked over immediately, kneeling beside him, touching another bloom herself. "...Me too."

Raku said quietly, "This species doesn’t grow anywhere in the northern region."

Luka had already wandered closer to the treeline, running a hand along the bark of the nearest trunk. "The trees. They’re familiar too."

Everyone looked around again, and the atmosphere in the group shifted noticeably.

Vedas raised an eyebrow. "You know this place?"

Raku stood slowly. "...Not exactly." He looked out at the hills stretching beyond the wall. "But I think we should investigate."

Vedas nodded once. "We’ll split up."

...

Arthur turned sharply, already grinning. "Leon!"

Leon looked over.

Arthur pointed at Mephistopheles, who was stretching his wings lazily nearby. "...Can I borrow him?"

Leon blinked. "...For what?"

"I want to see everything from above."

Leon laughed and patted the dragon’s neck. "What do you think? Willing to lend Arthur your eyes for a bit?"

Mephistopheles snorted, a plume of smoke curling from his nostrils. "...Just don’t scream."

He grinned wider as he climbed onto Mephistopheles’s back. "You’re taller."

Mephistopheles snorted. "I’ve always been taller."

Arthur looked at Leon. "...He’s gotten cockier too."

Leon shrugged. "That’s normal."

Mephistopheles spread his wings proudly. "It comes with being magnificent."

Arthur laughed. "Definitely Leon’s partner."

Before Leon could get another word in, golden flame erupted beneath Mephistopheles’s wings. Then he launched skyward in a single explosive burst, wind tearing past Arthur hard enough to steal the breath right out of his lungs. He laughed anyway as the ground was already shrinking beneath them.

...

Down at the wall.

Vedas watched Arthur and the dragon shrink into a small golden speck against the sky, his mouth twitching into something between amusement and exasperation.

"..."

Then he looked around at the gathered group. "...Where’s Eden?"

Nobody answered right away.

Athena laughed after a moment. "She probably climbed into Arthur’s shirt again."

Sun grinned. "...She’s getting sneakier about it every time."

Vedas rubbed his forehead, unable to sound genuinely upset even as he tried. "...She really likes following him around."

He shook his head once, already moving toward the treeline. "...Let’s move."

...

High above the ground, Mephistopheles kept climbing, higher and higher, the wind roaring past Arthur’s ears until his grin slowly faded into something quieter.

Not fear.

The view had simply taken the breath he had left to laugh with.

Below them, entire forests stretched out endlessly in every direction, broken by rivers wide enough to look like silver ribbons from this height.

Floating rocks drifted slowly through open air, untethered from anything below them. Ancient ruins peeked out from beneath dense tree canopies here and there, half-swallowed by centuries of growth.

Somewhere in the distance, waterfalls appeared to be running upward along a cliff face, defying every instinct Arthur had about how water was supposed to behave.

Clouds drifted lazily between distant mountain peaks, catching the light in shifting colors.

Arthur whispered, "...This is the Ruins of Evolution?"

Mephistopheles’s chest rumbled with something like pride. "Told you. The sky’s better up here."

Arthur laughed. "I’ll admit, you’ve got a point."

Then a small voice piped up from somewhere near his collar. Eden peeked out from inside his shirt, stretching both tiny arms overhead.

"...Pretty."

Arthur nearly jumped clean off Mephistopheles’s back. "Eden?!"

She smiled up at him, entirely unbothered. "I came too."

Arthur sighed, already resigned. "...I should’ve known."

She giggled, tucking herself more comfortably into his collar.

They kept flying, and the wonders below only multiplied.

Giant crystal lakes glittered under the sun, wide enough to swallow entire towns.

Herds of enormous beasts drank peacefully at the water’s edge, unbothered by the two figures passing overhead.

A whole valley bloomed with flowers that glowed faintly even in daylight. Massive stone arches, older than anything Dawn had ever built, rose out of the hills like forgotten monuments.

Birds the size of houses wheeled overhead in slow, lazy circles. Giant turtles moved with glacial patience across the plains below, entire miniature forests growing on their backs.

Arthur kept pointing at everything. "...What’s that?"

"And that?!"

Eden bounced excitedly against his collar. "I want to see everything!"

Mephistopheles chuckled, banking slightly to give them a better view of the turtle herd. "You two are impossible."

Then Arthur went quiet all at once. "...Hold on."

He squinted south, past the last of the turtle herd, toward something on the horizon that hadn’t quite resolved into shape yet.

"...That’s..." His expression shifted slowly, disbelief creeping into it. "No way."

He didn’t say anything else, eyes fixed on whatever waited further south.

...

On the ground, Mara led a small group through the nearby forest, several Mu Riders and their direwolves fanning out alongside Raku and Luka.

Mara stopped almost immediately, crouching beside a set of deep claw marks gouged into a tree trunk. "...These." She traced one groove with her fingers. "I’ve seen these before."

One of the Riders crouched beside another marked tree further along. "...Me too."

Raku knelt beside a moss-covered stone half-buried in the undergrowth, brushing decades of growth away with careful hands. His breathing caught. "...This trail."

Mara came over and blinked. "...It’s impossible." She pointed further into the trees. "That tree."

Everyone turned. It rose out of the forest floor at an angle no ordinary tree should have managed, bark shot through with veins of gold, its twisted trunk wider than a house.

Raku’s voice dropped to barely a whisper. "...Southern Elder Tree."

One of the Mu Riders froze in place. "...Wait." She looked around at the forest, at the claw marks, at the tree. "...That means..."

Nobody finished the sentence out loud.

The realization spread through the group in silence, each of them arriving at the same conclusion a few seconds apart from the others.

...

Everyone reunited outside of the city a short while later.

Arthur landed first, Mephistopheles touching down with a heavy thud that shook loose dirt in every direction, Arthur still practically vibrating with excitement.

"I found so many strange beasts and structures!" He was already talking before his feet fully touched the ground. "I also found—"

"Arthur," Mara cut in.

Something in her tone stopped him mid-sentence. "...What’s wrong?"

Raku stepped forward slowly. "We know where we are."

Silence.

Vedas looked over at him. "Where?"

Raku took a breath before answering. "The Southern Region."

Luka nodded beside him. "Mara and the other Mu Tribes saw too many familiar things for it to be a coincidence."

Mara finished quietly, "We’re in the southern section of the Ruins of Evolution. It’s also close to where the Mu village is."

Silence held over the whole group.

Even Arthur blinked, all his earlier excitement momentarily forgotten. "...The entire city teleported here?"

Athena nodded slowly, adjusting her glasses again out of habit. "It appears so."

Nobody had anything else to say for a long moment.

Dawn Sanctuary hadn’t simply protected them during the fight.

It had moved an entire kingdom.

Raku was the first to speak, kneeling in the grass just outside the city wall, rough fingers brushing over the blades like he needed to confirm they were real.

He smiled. "...We’re home."

The words came out quiet, but every member of the Mu Tribe standing nearby heard them clearly.

Several Riders looked around at the hills, the trees, and the sky. One of the Elders laughed, tears catching at the corners of his eyes. "I never thought we would be back so soon."

A Cronwall Tribe Goblin inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. "The air. It really is different here."

Even the direwolves lifted their heads, sniffing the wind before their tails started wagging in unison.

One Rider laughed. "They recognize it too."

"So do I," another said quietly.

...

Nearby, the Su Tribe looked out over the unfamiliar landscape with something closer to cautious wonder.

One hunter shook his head slowly. "So this is the Southern Region."

Voro had described it countless times back home, but standing here in person felt like an entirely different thing. Most of them never venture down to the south, as there was no reason to and it was a bit dangerous.

An Elder smiled. "...Beautiful."

Another Goblin laughed, crouching to examine a plant none of them recognized. "There are so many plants I’ve never seen before in my life."

Their surprise slowly softened into curiosity instead of fear. Rather than retreating, they wanted to explore every inch of it.

...

Nearby, the Yan Tribe quietly surveyed the surrounding forests.

One Hunter frowned slightly. "...There aren’t many predators around here."

Another slowly nodded. "Compared to the north... this place feels almost peaceful."

An older Goblin looked across the endless trees before smiling faintly. "...Living here wouldn’t be so bad."

Several members of the Yan Tribe nodded in agreement, already imagining what it would be like to raise the next generation somewhere they didn’t have to constantly watch over their shoulders.

...

The Cronwall Tribe gathered closer to Vedas, Gruk grinning with obvious pride.

"Our King has already brought us farther than we ever dreamed of going."

Suri laughed beside him. "When we first met Arthur, we were just trying to survive one more day." She looked around at Dawn’s walls, at the surviving Goblins moving freely through the streets. "Now we’re standing inside the greatest Goblin Kingdom in history."

The other hunters nodded along, even the direwolves barking proudly at nothing in particular.

Vedas looked at every member of his tribe gathered around him, his expression softening. "...Thank you."

The Cronwall Tribe immediately shook their heads as one. "No."

"Thank you, My King."

...

Sun stretched lazily against a nearby wall. "...Well. I thought we’d finally get to relax for once."

Kong burst out laughing beside him. "You? Relax?"

Sun clicked his tongue. "I had hope."

Kong grinned wider. "And then you followed Arthur anyway."

Everyone within earshot laughed at that.

Melo’s tails swayed gently behind her. "...It’s peaceful here."

Athy looked out toward the endless forest stretching beyond the walls. "There are so many places left to explore."

Eden bounced excitedly on Arthur’s shoulder. "So many! I want to see everything!"

Arthur laughed. "I figured you’d say that."

Leon crossed his arms, a small smile creeping onto his face. "The expedition report is going to be interesting to write."

Arthur couldn’t help laughing at that. "I want to see Steven’s face when he reads it."

Leon chuckled. "I think Vice Principal Elaine might break the desk before Steven even finishes the first page."

Even Mephistopheles let out an amused snort behind them.

"Oh? You met the Vice-Principal?" Arthur blinked in surprise. "What is she like?"

Leon titled his head and said. "A strict person who cares a lot about us."

"Oh? I can’t wait to meet her then."

"You... Really don’t."

Athena adjusted her glasses one more time, looking out over the walls at the strange new horizon. "There are still countless mysteries left unanswered." She glanced toward Arthur. "I can’t wait to figure them all out."

Arthur looked around at Dawn, at the damaged walls still standing despite everything, the shattered greenhouses, the broken forges, the surviving Goblins already laughing together again, children chasing each other through the streets like nothing had happened at all.

For a long moment, he simply smiled. Then he chuckled. "...We can figure out why Dawn Sanctuary brought us here later."

Everyone looked toward him.

He pointed back at the city behind them. "For now, you guys have a kingdom to rebuild."

Silence held for a beat.

Then Vedas smiled. "...You’re right."

He drew his sword, raising it toward Dawn’s silhouette against the sky. "Our home needs us."

The Mu Tribe roared their approval.

The Su Tribe raised their weapons overhead.

The Yan Tribe straightened with visible pride.

Goblin Riders swung up onto their direwolves. Hunters lifted their spears high. Healers laughed among themselves. Even the children cheered at the top of their lungs.

"YES!"

The roar rolled out across the Southern Region, carrying farther than any single voice could have managed alone. It wasn’t the cry of survivors anymore. It was the first declaration of a kingdom that had returned.