Chapter 4: Evolution

The sun is just beginning to rise, casting a warm glow over the island as Azure makes his way to the dome. His footsteps quicken, anticipation building with every step. He can't help but wonder—what kind of creature would be the first to emerge? Would it be small and insignificant or something extraordinary?

As he reaches the edge of the miniature world, his eyes widen at what he sees. The pace of life inside the dome is surreal. The trees, which once stood tall and vibrant, wither and die within milliseconds, only to be replaced by new saplings sprouting instantly from the earth. Entire life cycles of plants and ecosystems are playing out in the blink of an eye.

"By the heavens…" Azure whispers, leaning closer, his heart racing. The sheer speed at which time moves inside the dome is overwhelming. Everything is alive, yet constantly dying and being reborn. Rivers carve new paths through the land, only to dry up and vanish, while mountain peaks erode into valleys and rise again. The ground itself seems to pulse with the rhythm of time, a chaotic dance of creation and destruction.

"Host, observe carefully. The culmination of countless cycles is approaching. The first creature is about to emerge."

Azure's gaze shifts from the land to the miniature ocean within the dome. The water, which had been calm, now ripples and churns slightly. Something is stirring beneath the surface. He crouches down, pressing his face closer, trying to see what's happening beneath the waves.

At first, there's only the faintest movement—barely noticeable, like a shimmer beneath the surface. Then, slowly, a jelly-like creature begins to emerge from the deep. Its translucent body undulates gently, its shape amorphous, constantly shifting and pulsating with an otherworldly glow. Even with time moving at 1,000 years per second, the evolution of this creature seems slow. It's not like the rapid plant cycles above ground—this is more deliberate, as if the ocean itself is trying to figure out what it wants this life form to be.

Azure leans in closer, his eyes widening with fascination. "It's… alive," he mutters to himself, captivated by the jelly-like being's slow transformation. "But it's so… primitive."

"Life in the ocean progresses differently, Host," the Nexus comments in its calm, neutral tone. "The conditions are harsher, the evolution more complex. It will take longer for advanced forms to develop. Even at this accelerated rate."

As Azure watches, the jelly-like creature slowly begins to change. Over what must be hundred thousand years inside the dome, its structure becomes slightly more defined. Long tendrils start to form, extending outward, and faint patterns emerge on its transparent body, marking the beginning of some biological complexity. But still, its movements are sluggish, almost aimless. It drifts in the water, pulled by currents it has no control over.

"Strange…" Azure murmurs. "It doesn't even move on its own. Just floats there, like it's at the mercy of the ocean."

The Nexus responds, "Early life forms often lack advanced locomotion. Adaptations are gradual, and in many cases, survival depends on simply existing within the environment. Movement may come later, if it is necessary."

Azure watches as more of these gelatinous creatures begin to appear, all evolving at their own pace. Some are slightly more advanced, their tendrils longer, more purposeful. Others remain simple blobs, drifting aimlessly. One of the larger ones catches his eye. Its body is still jelly-like, but there's a strange beauty to it—its translucent skin glows faintly in the ocean's depths, its tendrils waving gently as if testing the waters around it.

Yet, some of the creatures seem even stranger. Azure notices a few that appear to have evolved wrong—misshapen, with too many appendages or none at all, floating lifelessly, unable to move. Some of these deformed beings pulse once, then go still, as if they failed to survive even the fast-forwarded process of natural selection.

"Not everything's making it," Azure mutters, feeling a strange mix of disappointment and fascination. "Some of these things… they're just stuck, floating endlessly. It's like they don't even know how to live."

"Evolution is not without failures, Host," the Nexus remarks, ever calm. "Many forms of life will attempt to develop. Only those best suited to their environment will thrive. This is the process of natural selection within the world you've created."

Azure leans back, taking in the scene. The ocean is now teeming with these strange, jelly-like creatures, each in various stages of evolution. Some are more advanced than others, some less so, and a few appear doomed from the start. It's a chaotic, yet mesmerizing, process.

He exhales slowly, his eyes still glued to the ocean. "It's incredible, really… to watch something like this. Life struggling, evolving… even failing."

As Azure continues to watch the miniature ocean, a thought crosses his mind, and he feels a strange chill run down his spine. These creatures—these blobs of life slowly evolving before his eyes—they came from him. From his blood.

"It's so weird…" he mutters, a mix of amazement and unease stirring in his chest. "Some of these things… they're made from me. My blood." He shakes his head, half smiling. "I never thought I'd be… creating life like this."

The Nexus chimes in, breaking the silence in his mind. "That's right host. Your blood made the evolution in the small world faster. The system provided the environment and conditions necessary for evolution. The creatures are their own entities now, developing according to the natural laws of the miniature world."

Azure nods absently, still focused on the unfolding drama in the ocean. As more creatures evolve, he notices that some are growing more complex. A few of them have developed what appear to be primitive fins, allowing them to glide through the water with more control than the blobs that still float aimlessly.

"Tomorrow," the Nexus continues, "these life forms should have evolved further. The first creature to be born on land might even emerge. Evolution is progressing rapidly in this world, Host. You may witness land-dwellers sooner than anticipated."