Evolution Online: I Can Fuse With All Things-Chapter 47: Current Zeniths

The grand arena stretched wide beneath a domed sky, its circular floor bathed in pale light. Towering rows of empty stone seats curved around the center. Tall archways and enclosed booths lined the perimeter, silent and waiting. The air was hushed, and the sand below lay silent and still, waiting.

In the front row of the stone seats sat a man. His red eyes held a distant look, as if seeing something beyond the present moment. His long crimson hair fell in smooth waves down his back, half-tied with quiet precision.

He wore an understated dark robe over a lighter garment, and a small silver earring glinted at his ear. There was something untouchable about his expression—beautiful but remote, like a statue carved from marble and dreams.

He stared silently into the air, no emotion flickering across his face. His eyes remained unblinking—even when, without any disturbance in the air, an elegant man in a long coat materialized beside him.

The man glanced at the stone seat with slight disgust but sat down, his neatly tailored suit beneath the coat creasing as he did.

He glanced at the crimson-haired man and asked with a smooth, clear voice:

"Did you see it too?"

Silence stretched between them. Then a low voice flowed out with the steadiness of quiet wind:

"The Emperor died..."

At once, the air felt cold and dark. The other man’s blue eyes blazed with disbelief. A strand of his neatly swept-back golden hair fell across his face.

"What? How? Last I saw him, he was still radiant!"

The red-haired man sighed and spoke impassively:

"It was shortly after the quest was updated. He was attacked by his first child. Or at least Princess Irvine claims that to be the case."

The man stared, his eyes still trembling slightly.

"Irvine is your wife—do you not believe her?"

"Of course I do... but she has been consumed by her passion to make me the Emperor of Daltian. What if she is speaking from that position? As much as I have sacrificed everything to reach this point, I will not allow some superficial plan of an NPC to ruin all that I have built."

The golden-haired man scoffed and gently placed his hand on the shoulder of the man beside him.

"Shadow. I am sure you are overthinking it. She might be an NPC, but I’ve seen the schemes of that wife of yours. I consider myself a Legendary Gambler and Strategist, but I had to tip my hat to her. So, if she’s saying the first prince did it, then I’m sure she is not lying. It seems the throne has finally fallen into your lap."

The young man, Shadow, nodded his head subtly.

His friend studied him for a few seconds, and his clear voice came:

"But you do not look as though you are gladdened by this fact."

Staring forward impassively, he responded:

"Whatever caused the Emperor’s death was due to the updated main scenario. I can’t figure out why the calm and composed Prince would kill his father, and it fills me with indignation. How is it that we spent five years driving the main storyline of the game forward and have been unable to advance past the foundation, and yet, the appearance of a single player changes everything... isn’t it infuriating? You’ve spent so many years building your clan around the moving story too—why do you look less irritated than I do?"

The golden-haired man blinked once, twice. Then suddenly burst out in laughter.

Despite the strange laughter of his friend, Shadow’s facial expression remained as blank as it had been since the beginning of this conversation.

With his laugh receding, the man’s voice rang out:

"Seriously. You are quite funny in the most unlikely of ways! Have you even tried looking in the mirror?! You don’t look annoyed at all, friend—you look like the world is beneath you, like you have transcended emotional effects."

Shadow stirred, looking at his friend. He tried to frown and struggled with it for a moment.

"That’s... a lie."

The man tapped his friend’s shoulder.

"A big lie, Shadow—a very big one."

He leaned back against the stones with his hands.

"Anyway, is that why you called me? I thought it was pretty urgent."

Shadow faced forward.

"Player Cien—how is it going?"

The man leaned forward again, exhaling.

"Nothing. We got nothing at all. However..."

He grinned wickedly.

"I have gossip for you. Since you practically exist inside this game now and have no outside life, I’ll be your gossip media, okay?"

"Altair."

He chuckled softly.

"Okay, okay, I’ll stop saying that. Anyway, the amount of resources Yinhui is pouring into chasing this guy is insane. Considering how fragile his ego is, it makes perfect sense. Bro must be furious after the system compared him to a new player."

Shadow sighed.

"His insecurities are a problem."

Altair smiled grimly.

"He used to be fun in the early days though... all six of us used to be so much fun. I wonder how we became each other’s greatest enemies. You are about to become the first player Emperor in the history of Evolution Online. Yinhui is getting closer to becoming a Transcendent. I, well, I used to be the most hopeless of all, so I’m not surprised I am the most useless one. But Kai, Noir, and Cordelia... those three have gone further than any of us expected. Cordelia always had that witchy nature—you just knew she was up to something—and Noir was too dark, but Kai? I didn’t see that one coming."

He sighed, his face growing despondent. He shifted as Shadow spoke.

"This game, for five years, has been player-driven. But with recent events, the world is slowly being unveiled. Although this is also because of a player, it is something all of us were unable to do for the past five years. He is different."

A light of determination ignited in Shadow’s eyes as he shifted his gaze to Altair.

"This is why you must find him."

The gentlemanly Altair exhaled.

"It’s exactly what I plan to do. Don’t worry—we will get him first. Maybe you can have that seer daughter of yours help me?"

Shadow’s gaze darkened.

"Alright, alright, geez—you don’t even know how to take a tease."

Altair stood up, dusting his brown coat.

"Anyway, I’m guessing things will be interesting on your end for a while. There’ll be a lot of bloodshed. You cold motherfucker—I can already tell how much you will enjoy it."

Altair made a mockingly irritated face at Shadow and vanished.

Through it all, the enigmatic Shadow betrayed no emotion. He simply stared indifferently at where Altair had been and sighed.

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