Chapter 15
In the mists of time, in a nameless deep forest, a bloodline walked on four legs—
It howled, it climbed, it gnawed, and it feared lightning.
No one knows when its curiosity sparked a flame in its eyes…
That was the beginning of change.
Evolution didn’t grant wings or magic. It gave time and endless trials.
From apes using sticks to dig roots,
To beings who farmed grain, built machines, and gazed at stars, asking, “Who are we?”
Humans are apes who never stopped questioning.
And that is this species’ greatest weapon.
Their spines, once curved, now stand straight. Fingers that clung to branches now grip pens, writing the laws of the universe.
Cries of warning became words, poetry, songs, and oaths.
But never forget:
Behind the veil of civilization lurks the shadow of starving ancestors in the wild.
The blood in human veins still pulses with animal instinct.
When reason’s light fades, the ape in the dark returns.
Humans haven’t escaped nature.
Humans are nature, wearing civilization’s mask.
Darwin C.
Year 7444, Luminus Calendar.
“Is he saying all humans came from monkeys?”
Dan’s question burst out, shocked and bewildered.
He knew what “monkeys” were—creatures in Zentinel and Luminus. Casca once mentioned that calling someone a monkey in Luminus was a scathing insult.
So for Professor Darwin C. to claim humans and monkeys were linked in his book was outrageous, deserving its ban.
Still…
“It’s not exactly that we came from monkeys,” Thomasin countered.
“We didn’t descend from them, but we share a common ancestor. At one point in history, there were no humans or monkeys, just… something that birthed us both. Not human, not monkey, but something entirely different.”
“…This time period you’re talking about… how many years are we talking?”
“Millions.”
“Millions?!”
Prince Fury’s eyes widened.
“You’re saying those creatures walked the earth longer than the Ophilis dynasty?”
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“Longer, and gone longer than the Ophilis dynasty.”
The Ophilis dynasty spanned just over hundreds of years.
But this… millions.
And those millions were after they’d vanished, not when they lived.
Imagine how far back their existence stretched?
It was like another universe entirely—a past world, a different book, severed by the thing called “time.”
We could look back at them… but they couldn’t look back at us.
“This image is misleading…”
Thomasin flipped to a page showing a monkey on the left, gradually transforming into an upright human on the right.
“It suggests monkeys became humans, which isn’t true. Evolution’s messier, chaotic. Humans and monkeys are like two paths that split apart at some point in time.”
Dan ran his hand through his hair, tilting his head back, stunned.
Impossible…
After hearing Thomasin explain evolution, he was utterly blown away.
When had he realized that in all his life—through wars, among people around him—no one had ever asked, “Who came before us?”
“Professor Darwin was the first to spark that question…”
Thomasin leaned forward, hands swaying as she explained.
“He studied finches in the Swansea isles. His theory suggests if one day a flood wiped out nectar-producing plants, leaving only walnuts, finches in later generations wouldn’t have slender, straw-like beaks anymore. They’d grow larger, thicker—maybe like parrot beaks.”
To eat walnuts.
“That’s my question!”
Dan slammed the table, making Thomasin jump. He pointed at her.
“Why do their beaks just change? I don’t believe birds are smart enough to decide that.”
“No one knows how it happens… It’s still being studied.”
“…There’s stuff like this?”
“A few years ago, Mathema made a new discovery.”
“What discovery?”
“Offspring inherit mana flow patterns similar to their parents. Humans share mana flow patterns with monkeys. By analyzing mana flow, we can date remains—mana’s in everything, and related creatures share similar mana patterns.”
“There’s a method like that?!”
“Yes… That’s how we know dragons are distant cousins of lizards. Their mana flow patterns are over 95% identical.”
“Seriously?!”
“Evolution is about passing traits to the next generation.”
Thomasin swept her hand from left to right.
“But if we trace back along evolution’s path, we can find our ancestors’ remnants… their remains, underground.”
She paused her hand mid-table.
“From them to us… it’s not a snap and transform. It’s a gradient, like a spectrum of colors.”
We’ll never know what they endured to become us.
Studying evolution means filling those gaps in time, discovering how “they” became us.
That’s the heart of paleontology.
“So… how much do we know now?”
“A decent amount, but…”
Thomasin scratched her cheek, chuckling dryly.
“This field… doesn’t get much funding.”
“!”
The quiet, lonely office was proof.
“Why not?”
“Because other things are deemed more important.”
Like magical research, crafting enchanted devices, or supporting knight students.
“But I’m glad someone’s interested, heh.”
Evolutionary studies, a mere offshoot of magical engineering, got little support and no fame at Artheris.
Everyone saw it as useless, better funded elsewhere.
“I don’t want to compete with others. My health’s not great anyway… Staying quiet here is fine. We keep making new discoveries.”
For a first meeting, her spending hours explaining this to the prince late into the night was already too much.
“Thanks, Miss Thomasin.”
Dan nodded.
“You ask detailed questions. You really into this?”
“Well…”
Dan scratched his head.
“You could say that.”
“You’re a first-year, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Come be a TA in your third year.”
Thomasin handed him a business card.
“I don’t know if you’ll still be interested by then, but think about it, Dan.”
“Thanks.”
It was just a cheap card.
But to Dan… it felt like a golden ticket.
Thomasin Mayfield.
I found her—the one who can lead me to answers.
