Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 47: The Fundamental Law of Evolution

The glass doors slowly closed behind him as he exited the Mystic building.

Now that everything had been handled, mostly, he’d have to plan his next moves. Though the clerk’s information kept lingering in the back of his head.

Almost all students started at Line 2 and trained their main element for two years. On paper, it sounded good, but it’d be a waste for Aren, who’d already reached Line 3 and had the choice of another element.

Though he’d pretty much made up his mind already. Aren was going to choose the Lightning Element as his second.

The choice felt almost inevitable the more he considered it. The Lightning Element was by far one of the hardest elements to cultivate as Lightning resources were notoriously difficult to come by.

People couldn’t exactly just stroll into lightning storms and start cultivating. Instead, they relied on natural objects inside said storms that were soaked in Lightning energy.

These objects were sold at exorbitant prices, becoming treasures worth small fortunes.

Aren thought about it for a bit longer.

By the same side of the coin, wouldn’t the Fertile Core be considered a man-made treasure.

He shrugged, returning to the practical side of the decision. If Aren registered Lightning as his major...he’d be able to use the school’s resources instead of his own.

The more he thought about it, the more it became a no-brainer. But in the back of his mind, just the very thought of breaking the fundamental law of evolution had made him hesitate.

He needed a straight answer, and the only person he knew who probably knew it—

Was Professor Voss.

Aren shifted his path slightly, angling away from the rest buildings. The Mystic facilities would still be there tomorrow, so would the registration portal. Understanding the rules he was about to operate under mattered more.

Aren slipped his hands into his pockets as they crossed the courtyard, gaze drifting toward the domed structure of the Research College.

As soon as he entered the building, Aren could tell immediately that the space was far quieter than the Mystic side.

Clusters of students were gathered around small tables with tablets shared between them.

On the surface, the atmosphere seemed welcoming enough. But there was a slight pause when someone looked over at him.

Even civilians who weren’t battle Mystics still had the ability to sense trace amounts of ether.

As he passed through, a pair of students shifted half a step to give him room, not to be polite, but to create distance. It didn’t have to be said that there seemed to be a clear hierarchy, even if no one mentioned it.

Though Aren kept his face neutral, he wasn’t here to fix generational squabble. He was here to find Professor Voss.

He slowed near the central atrium, glancing upward as the interior opened so many floors that he couldn’t begin to count.

This...is gonna take a while.

It was absolutely a labyrinth, which was probably why they had orientation for freshmen.

There were directories at certain points, each listing the various different departments, but none of them mentioned individual offices outright.

Because of course they wouldn’t.

Aren stepped toward the nearest display and scrolled through the faculty registry. Mirelle Voss appeared after a brief search,

Department: Mystic Biology and Anomalous Bloodline Study

Office Location: Sector C — Upper Research Ring

He stared at the man projection for a moment before turning in the indicated direction. For a building dedicated to clarity and structure, it was impressively disorienting.

Eventually, after three separate glass bridges that he had to cross through, Aren finally made it to her office.

He adjusted his posture subtly before giving the door a knock and pushing the handle forward.

Her office was nothing like the cluttered faculty rooms he’d seen in older academies. It was precise and neat, almost like she was a clean freak. A wide desk sat near the center, a hovering projection of what looked like a multi-layered evolutionary tree floated nearby.

Voss didn’t look up immediately. She adjusted a node in the projection with a small gesture, before sighing and pushing her chair back.

"Close the door," she said calmly.

Aren stepped through into the office and did what she asked.

"You’ve already completed registration?" she asked, tone neutral.

"Yes, Professor."

"So what are you doing here?" she questioned. "Go explore the facilities."

Aren stepped forward just enough, calculating his words carefully.

"Well, I am gonna," he added. "But I just wanted to pop by and ask a question."

The professor fiddled with her tools some more before putting them aside and turned to face him.

"Alright? Go ahead."

"Professor, what if...hypothetically of course, someone could bypass the fundamental law of evolution?"

The question went unanswered for a while before she finally said at last.

"It’s not possible, even hypothetically."

Her fingers tapped once against the desk.

"The Fundamental exists only for one purpose..." she paused before changing the projection into a timeline. "To stop humans from becoming demons."

She took a finger and pointed it at the start of the timeline.

"The Era of Influence. I assume you’re familiar?"

Aren nodded. "That’s when the barrier broke, when humans were influenced by divine power...ether. Humanity adapted and that’s how we got Bloodlines, right?"

"Exactly," the professor said quickly. "But do you know what happened afterward?"

Aren shook his head. He was more focused on the present rather than the past.

Professor Mirelle pointed on the very next dot on the timeline.

"The Demonic Era," she continued.

"Tell me," she continued, gaze flicking back to him, "what happens when you give a population power it doesn’t understand?"

Aren considered it for a moment, the answer forming as he spoke. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Well? They use it. On each other. They push its limits. They experiment—"

"—And lose they control," Voss finished evenly. "Becoming Demons."

"A great war broke out, Aren," she explained. "The world was almost destroyed."

The timeline expanded, fragments of data flashed briefly before she continued. "Clans annihilated themselves trying to out-evolve one another. Cities fell not to external enemies, but to their own Demons."

"Until finally...a single Bloodline conquered them all."

"How did they—?"

"We don’t know who or how they did it," the professor continued. "All that matters, was that they were strong enough to replicate the influence and create a new rule for the world."

"One powerful enough to restrain humanity, to stop them from destroying themselves."

"No...are you talking about—?"

"The Fundamental Law of Evolution."