Infinite Genetic Evolution in a Game-like world

"You don’t qualify yet," Mona said, her voice flat and final.

"What does that even mean, qualify?" Morden said while he felt something cold settle in his chest.

"That seemed like a direct statement, didn’t it?" Mona replied curtly, not willing to back down at all.

"There are things that require a certain standing before they’re shared. You’re not there yet; what am I even saying? you are nowhere close."

"I’ve earned enough answers tonight," Morden said with frustration finally breaking through the exhaustion weighing on him.

"I got half-answers from a Genetic Beast about the exact thing that’s apparently marking me for erasure.

"I think I’ve earned the right to know about my own family."

"This isn’t about what you are allowed to know; it is about what your rank has given you access to," Mona said.

"This is an organization and not just a random place where information and rewards are passed out."

"So I will tell you again, you are not eligible."

"That’s not your call to make."

"It absolutely is," Mona said, her voice sharpening slightly.

"And right now, my call is that you go home and rest. You’ve had more than enough in such a short period of time, and pushing further isn’t going to change the answer."

"Lady Mona—"

"Go home, Morden," she said, cutting him off completely, her eyes hardening in a way that told him further arguing would get him nowhere.

"That’s not a request."

He wanted to push further, wanted to argue until she gave him something, anything at all, but the look in her eyes told him clearly enough that this particular door wasn’t opening tonight, no matter how hard he pushed against it.

. With a frustrated breath, he turned and left the room without another word.

He found Darlus and Lisa waiting near the reception area, both of them looking almost as drained as he felt after everything the journey had thrown at them.

"So?" Darlus asked, straightening up as Morden approached.

"What did she want?"

"Nothing important," Morden said, deciding against explaining the whole exchange right now.

"Just a little more debriefing."

Darlus scanned him for a moment to show that he didn’t quite believe that, his eyes narrowing slightly, but he still let it go without pressing further.

He pouted a little and looked the other way.

"We’re heading back to the room," Lisa said.

"You should get some rest too; return home until further notice."

"Yeah," Morden said. "I will."

They stood there for a moment; none of them felt quite ready to say goodbye after everything they’d been through together in the last few moments.

It felt strange, standing there in the quiet aftermath, like there should have been something more to say, but none of them could quite find the words for it.

.

"Hey," Darlus said finally, a small, tired smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"We made it through all of the chaos. All three of us, and in my opinion that counts for something, doesn’t it?"

"It does," Morden agreed, managing to show his friends a small smile on his face despite how exhausted he felt.

Lisa gave him a small nod; it was almost gentle in her expression despite everything unresolved still sitting between the three of them.

"Get home safe," she said.

"You two should also have a great night."

With that, they finally parted ways, Darlus and Lisa heading off toward their own quarters while Morden made his way out of the underground space and back toward the crowded top area known as the Bearer’s organization.

The Elevato ride back up felt like the moment of calm before the storm, a moment of silence before he actually arrived in the flooding crowd of people.

The Door to the elevator opened, and Morden stepped out; he walked through the corridor before finding himself in the main hall.

His appearance didn’t attract any unwanted attention, he was able to keep his head low, and he walked like that back home until they eventually got back home.

By the time he stepped back into his own house, the sun was already climbing over the horizon, casting soft light across the living room exactly as he’d left it almost more than a day ago.

Nothing had changed.

The furniture sat undisturbed, the silence familiar and welcoming in a way he hadn’t realized he’d missed until right now.

Morden didn’t bother with any other things; he made his way to the kitchen and threw together a simple meal, and it was nothing elaborate, just enough to settle the hollow feeling that had been sitting in his stomach since before he’d even entered the Omnisphere.

He carried the plate to the couch and ate slowly, letting his mind finally go quiet for what felt like the first time in days.

For a while, he just sat there, savoring the stillness, the normalcy of it all. No possessive shadow. No Bellowing Hugeman. No riddles wrapped in half-truths. No lions demanding answers or offering them just as sparingly.

Just a plate of food, the soft creak of an old house settling around him, and the simple, uncomplicated act of existing without anyone hunting him for a few short minutes.

Eventually he finished his food and stood to his feet, all while stretching out the stiffness still lingering in his limbs, and made his way toward the kitchen to drop his plates and grab the watering can sitting by the sink.

His mother’s roses hadn’t been tended in a while, and despite everything else demanding his attention lately, that was one thing he refused to let slip for long.

He stepped out into the small garden, can in hand, and approached the familiar patch of roses lining the side of the house, the same ones he had seen his mom tend a hundred times before with a smile on her face.

He approached it for a bit, and then he stopped.

Something was wrong.

The roses weren’t sitting still the way they always did, undisturbed by anything but the occasional breeze drifting through the yard.

They were moving, though it was slowly; it was deliberate, in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with wind at all.

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