"..."
Lucas massaged his head. It was an absurd statement. However, his scientific logic surged back, and if everything was connected through the anomalies occurring around him, then it could be possible.
After all, sapiens who evolved into modern humans once coexisted with other Homo species such as Neanderthals and Erectus.
However, back then, sapiens emerged victorious.
The question now was... would the Alhamera come out as the winners in this natural selection?
Yet Lucas wondered, when did the attack happen?
He looked around, shifting the observation screen display. Lucas had also programmed his house AI to use electroencephalography features capable of monitoring brain wave processing extensively and classifying findings into new colors.
That color appeared, marked automatically in pink, and was now concentrated in the Alhamera village.
Lucas saw what he had predicted.
The Alhamera village was now in ruins. Although the impact wasn't as devastating as what the tyrannosaurs had done, several buildings were burned, people were slaughtered, and some... the young and beautiful ones were forcibly tied up and taken away.
That's when Lucas saw the true form of the Hope. They had the same physical features as the Alhamera, except their skin was pale blue, like frozen ice, and their ears were pointed.
It reminded Lucas of something — an old book he had stored at the back of his library. A book filled with delusional tales of a different world.
And one of the creatures described there had the exact same appearance.
Elves. Wait, was the evolutionary form of the Hope recreating what I remember?
[You sure have an extraordinary confidence]
"You try to tease me again, aren't you?" Of course, the system remained silent.
Lucas began following where the Hope were taking their captured Alhamera.
The distance between the two species' homes was vast, a three-day journey on horseback.
Yes, horseback. The Hope resided in the wilder eastern region with a more diverse variety of creatures.
The domestication process there was more advanced. Perhaps the harsh habitat triggered more significant development.
Especially when Lucas noticed that some of the Hope race had already crafted armor and shields from iron, although the carvings looked rough.
Could they have already entered the medieval age?
However, that seemed like too far-fetched an expectation.
The Hope race indeed exhibited a stunning architectural style. Several stone buildings were shaped to resemble ancient monuments: inscriptions, menhirs, statues.
The most impressive was the large structure where their leader resided. It was a circular architecture with a high dome. At its center stood a high-backed chair with armrests carved to resemble a cheetah's mouth.
Seated on the chair was an ancient-looking Hope. His white hair contrasted sharply against his blue skin.
The Hope race seemed to speak a different language. The Alhamera captives were brought before him.
Around 200 were taken, but only the 20 most beautiful were presented while the rest were left outside.
Lucas wondered — why were they kidnapping Alhamera women?
Did they intend to enslave the women, or was it something even more barbaric? Like forced interspecies breeding, perhaps?
But for what purpose?
"Do they come from the same tribe as the Seeker?" the old Hope asked.
"Yes, my King."
"Then what are you waiting for?
"Treat them well, and we shall begin the ritual."
The ritual in question was only witnessed by Lucas a month later. The Alhamera women were showered with food, treated kindly like queens, and adorned with beautiful ornaments.
This hospitality, in reality, was an ancient belief of the Hope race, thought to push women into fertility and ovulation.
However, the next morning, the women were forced into a ritual mating with the most powerful-looking Hope men.
Those who resisted were immediately shackled with iron chains, their bodies dragged face down across the ground.
It was a punishment that drove the Alhamera women hysterical, with some meeting death while trying to escape.
The remaining ones had to live with their hands and necks chained, their bodies no longer their own.
This forced interspecies mating was, in fact, intended to support the existence of magic users.
Despite having advanced their technology, the Hope race could only access magic through the direct lineage of Khaovren.
And his last descendant died in childbirth, along with the mother.
For that reason, the Hope race began researching the existence of the Alhamera, considering them both a threat and a second chance.
Thus, after attacking the village and abducting most of their women, the Hope also hunted down the remaining Alhamera who had fled.
Zhaldrekh and his companions were among them, ensuring that magic users only emerged from their own kind.
This event would later be marked as the Second Extinction.
Though a few Alhamera communities survived, it was reduced to just three small families living near the former habitat of the tyrannosaurs.
Beside outnumbered the Alhamera, it was also possible that the Hope had developed a tool or method to suppress magic, either temporarily or permanently.
Observing this phenomenon, Lucas admired a species with a clear and natural evolutionary path.
However, Lucas had already entrusted the Alhamera with a significant role.
And he remained firm in his belief in only one dominant race.
So he declared, "I will annihilate the Hope race."
If morality no longer applied to him, Lucas wouldn't care whether this was an unjust massacre.
[Command will be processed shortly…]
Yet Lucas decided to cancel.
[Are you sure?]
"Hey… is it possible to grant something unrelated to the genetic or ecological structure of the Alhamera?"
Lucas waited for a response, uncertain.
He did want the Hope race to perish, but not instantly.
However, Lucas also knew that no matter how strong the Alhamera's adaptability was, the Hope had proven superior, and in the next evolutionary phase, when their interspecies offspring matured, pure-blooded Alhamera would be completely wiped out.
He… at least wanted to grant the power to make a change to one individual.
[You can do that!]
Lucas smiled.
[It will be called the <The Chosen One> feature]
[With this feature, you can grant a fragment of power from the Overseer System to one of your creations]
[How this system fragment works depends on the spiritual condition of the chosen creature]
[However, this is not a demo feature. It costs 1 Divine Intervention token.]
[Do you wish to purchase it?]
Lucas remembered tragically. Didn't I already used up all my Divine Intervention tokens?
Lucas wondered if he could be called all-powerfuk when he couldn't even 'buy' his own power.
[You have sufficient Divine Intervention tokens, though]
[You have 1 Divine Intervention token.]
"Huh? How?"
[The reproductive concept you introduced successfully created a breakthrough, allowing your creation (the Alhamera) to achieve a new evolutionary leap]
[You have unlocked the milestone: Resilience]
Lucas clicked his tongue. "And why am I only learning about this now?"
[You seemed too engrossed in your work, neglecting other details.]
[Just like your own creations]
[Like father, like children, suppose]
Lucas felt truly insulted this time.
[Please confiremd: Do you wish to purchase the <The Chosen One> feature?]
It was an easy question.