Genesis, along with his friends, stepped through the golden gate together. When they accessed the other side, they saw arrays of various forms of beauty.
Out layed many futuristic ships for them to sail. They were spaceships, all having different colors and features than the others. Then they saw the dome. A thick material made for them to breathe in the vast expanse of space.
The true beauty came when their eyes laid upon the stars. The blackness of space was illuminated by the many collections of stars. They saw shapes and color, brightness and prosperity. They saw stars of many sizes, form galaxies and many other shapes that one could dream of to see so close.
This was the paragon of marvel. Their jaws widened as they saw the astonishing bright lights. This was truly spectacular.
Kappa spoke up once more.
"As you can see before you we have spaceships for you to sail. Each one comes equipped with materials you need to flourish in this new world. You can also find different spaceships and put them into your Evolution Point as Genes. Your ADAMs and EVEs will now explain what your Evolution Point is."
Like clockwork, Genesis heard the now familiar voice of Adonis.
[Your Evolution Point is basically your inventory. You can also see it as your Soul Sea. It gives you access to Genes. Otherwise known as equipment, there is no limit to the amount of Genes one can have.]
'Good to understand. Is there more Adonis, more about this Evolution Point?'
[Your Evolution Point also grants access to your powers. You have to complete your First Major Adaptation to use your unique powers.]
'What is the First Major Adaptation?'
[The First Major Adaptation is the starting place for your path to Evolution. There are two main ways to directly develop your Evolution. The first way is by evolving, which comes when you complete the quests given by Instances. You can also develop your Evolution via Major Adaptations.]
'Is that all?'
Genesis genuinely questioned.
[There are also other methods to evolve, but those are for you to find out. There are also Summons. They are more rare than gaining a Gene. Once summoned, you become a Summoner. They listen to your every command and have many various abilities. They are also Soul Bound, so they are not easy to steal. Genes can be destroyed and damaged, but all damage is reverted when you put a Gene back in your Evolution Point for an adequate amount of time, similar logic applies for Summons.]
[You will be entering your First Major Adaptation in 5 minutes.]
'Why was that so sudden?!'
Adonis did not reply.
'Adonis, are you there?'
The ADAM again did not respond to Genesis's call.
Genesis then stopped talking to his microchip friend as he saw his comrades entering one of the many ships. He followed them as he stepped up quickly and entered the spacecraft.
Genesis's ears were met with a degree of "oohs" and "ahhs." The spaceship they chose had a brown exterior and an ivory interior. The ship came equipped with exactly what they needed, as it had enough rooms for them all and even a cradle for the infant.
The baby giggled as he saw the inside of the spaceship. He clapped his hands over and over as a sign of happiness. Genesis watched the baby in Jae's hands as he saw Jae play with the child.
It looked surprising to see Jae so free. The spacecraft had a command deck where one could pilot the ship and use many parts of the shuttle. The command deck came with an amazing view and a radar to spy out all the nearby Instances.
When Genesis heard Kappa say, "Sail the stars." Genesis thought it meant it metaphorically, but after the countless times it had said it, Kappa must have been sure to be hinting at something. Genesis watched as his friends explored the rooms, but when they were all done, they knew what was to come.
"I'm assuming you all got the same warning?"
A silent array of nods answered Jae.
"Well then, good luck to you all. May we come back even better than before."
They all agreed that they would come back. Most of them tried not to look at the baby, but reality dawned on them. The reality that the child might never come back. They tried to ignore it, but it was always there.
Genesis had kept some track of time when Adonis had said his final words before going radio silent. It was approaching a challenge of worthiness.
When Genesis calculated when 5 minutes was over, 5 minutes was over. They all were encapsulated in different colored bubbles and they were in their First Major Adaptation.
***
Genesis found himself in a dark cavern. He was exploring with a few people he did not even recognise. He knew where he was and who he was. He knew about what he had done and what he was fighting for.
This was a good start. He still had all his memories, and he hoped it would stay that way.
Genesis and his band of explorers scavenged through caves and tight entrances. Surprisingly, Genesis was not claustrophobic.
'I wonder if Adonis is still there?'
There was no response. It seemed like in this First Major Adaptation, it was just Genesis, himself and he.
Genesis led his cohort with a map and a bright flashlight, where they finally reached what they had been looking for. They entered another cavern it was similar to the ones they had seen on their way here, but it had marking and paintings on the walls.
They had their decoder understand and tell them the meaning of the written history. The drawing had a bright scarlet hue to them. It almost looked luminescent.
The slightly ardent drawings depicted a person fleeing from a shadowy terror. The terror was not painted properly, as if some of it had been washed away. Next to the drawing, there was a language Genesis had never seen before.
"It says that we should beware of the ones who rule the caves of void. For they are ravenous beasts who will devour."
A quiet, but bold female voice translated, for some reason Genesis knew her name, it was Jamie.
Jamie had translated a morbid warning from the walls, yet Genesis felt the need to push on. A will that was not his, yet his own at the same time.
Genesis ordered some demolition experts to explode the huge boulder in their way, as they were now so close. They did as told and they blew up the boulder.
The demolition revealed a bright gem. It was ebony in color yet still light radiated from it. Genesis, his greed pushing him forward, took the gem and the ground gave way.
***
Genesis and Co awoke in a lower layer of the massive cave they had once been in. They instantly turned on their flashlights but were met with a surprise.
The ceiling of the slim pathway was layered with bats. No. They were not bats they were something else, something the White Room could think of and create.
Instead of having eyes they had flaming embers. Their fur was fully bleak, as if they were attempting to blend in with the snow. Their talons were horrifying as they had flesh and bone on them. So much flesh and bone one could not see what the talons truly were. Their noses were replaced with black holes, small miniature black holes. Genesis did not even have to hear the words to flee.
"Run away!"
Genesis's team saw this and they fled. The bats were not many but they were big. Almost half the size of an average person. Their wingspan took up the entire pathway.
Genesis was ahead of his entire team and saw them getting mauled. The cameramen tried to fight back with their equipment... futile would not begin to describe their effort.
The ivory bats talons were painted with a new shade of red. Blood rushed down the hallways and the blood illuminated, the blood painted the same warning they had seen before, yet Genesis chose not to listen, here he was now.
Genesis did the occasional glance back to see his crews hands getting taken by the black holes. They were too strong and too fast. But all they could do was run.
Genesis and his crew did many twists and turns, until Jamie stumbled upon a torch. She recklessly threw the torch at the bats and it spread like wildfire. It was not natural, the way the fire spread. It defied logic. The fire lunged onto them even if they were not even close as if the fire tracked them.
But it killed the bats so Genesis did not complain. They hunched over. Hands on their knees, they panted. They had finally escaped the terrible bats.
"Do you know what this is?! Did you do this on purpose?!"
One of Genesis's crew members screamed out while pinning Genesis against the cavern walls.
"I lost one of my friends back there. All because of your greed. You couldn't control your fingers, you couldn't listen to warning and now he's dead."
"Stay quiet you could attract the bats."
Genesis replied coldly.
A punch came flying into his gut.
"You don't even care, do you? You don't care as long as you survive nothing matters. "
His subordinate was right. Genesis didn't care because they weren't, well real. Maybe they still had their own sense of reality to them. Maybe he should've treated them more than he did.
But for now Genesis had to move on. He sighed as he gestured for his team to come along with him to find an exit.
The first place they cautiously searched was from where they had fallen. But the hole was mysteriously patched.
They tried to attack it with the power of explosions. But explosions don't solve every problem. Genesis wished they did. Their demolition proved ineffective, if they had more experts alive maybe they could succeed but Genesis looked at the dead bodies and knew they weren't coming back.
But now Genesis felt a longing. He hadn't known them, yet he felt as if they were comrades for years. His First Major Adaptation self was overpowering his normal self but Genesis didn't mind.
He felt the surge of emotions and he now knew that these were people too. As a divine being he had made a promise to protect those less fortunate than himself and he always kept his promises that he had truly meant.
A tear fell down his face as his vision was blurry. Genesis was crying. He was crying as if he had spent days in the White Room training with and knowing a sick bird who eventually died. He looked at the blood stained walls and vowed he would be their hero.
He asked his comrades to trust him once more and to follow him to a way out of here. Most were reluctant at first but they wanted to live and right then Genesis looked like the sun itself.
He took a torch and led the way. His dark skin shone as he discovered the intricately made lower part of the cave. If this cave was truly natural then he must have been in the greatest cave ever.
Genesis however did not admire the white bats. Most were sleeping so Genesis made sure they would stay like that forever.
He raised his torch and watched as the fire danced between the white bats. Once it finished burning a target it would latch onto another one. The embers in their eyes seemed to attract the flames to them, but it seemed the only fire they withstood was the one in their eyes.
The fire did its job and took out a squadron of bats. All was somewhat well until Genesis heard the familiar sound of excavation. Something or someone was digging. The more Genesis heard it the more he knew it was coming right to them...