Evolution begins with an ant colony

After gently placing Oliver at a safe distance near the ant city, the duo of Akuns swiftly adorned their identical suits of dark silver armor. In an instant, they ascended into the night sky, their figures cloaked in the metallic sheen of their imposing armor, heading towards the distant dryad tribe.

As they soared through the night sky, the alternate Akun queried, "So, what exactly did the dryads do in the future that makes you want to enslave them?"

Akun, glancing at his alternate self as they both cut through the air, sighed deeply. His gaze fixed on the approaching silhouette of the dryad tribe as he revealed, "They slaughtered the entire ant city."

Alternate Akun was taken back, he questioned, "Wait, really? How? Weren't you there?"

"Yes, I was," Akun admitted regretfully, "but I was careless. They implanted a seed inside Oliver, and that's what started all of it."

Curiosity lingered in the alternate Akun's eyes as he asked, "Wait... What kind of seed are we talking about here?"

Akun, with a sigh, he began to unravel the tale. "It's not what you're thinking. It was an actual seed, planted in his core, that sprouted into some sort of alive ancient tree, with it's roots unleashing chaos all over the ant city." The weight of his words hung in the air as they ventured closer to the tribe of the dryads.

As the moonlit night accompanied their flight, the alternate Akun's voice held a mixture of concern and disbelief. "But you stopped it, right?"

Akun's response carried a somber tone as he recounted the painful memories. "Not until after it turned most of our comrades into flowers, siphoning off their life force and soul essence."

The gravity of the situation hung in the air, and the alternate Akun couldn't help but mumble, "Damm, that must have been brutal." The echoes of their conversation danced alongside the nocturnal winds as they approached the looming presence of the dryad tribe. Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

"It was, you can't even begin to imagine." As they reached their destination, Akun mumbled, "We're here." Both Akuns descended with such force that the impact created a massive crater, marking their arrival at the dryad tribe with an indelible imprint on the cobblestone floor of the Dryad tribe.

The arrival of the two Akuns in the dryad tribe sent ripples of fear through the nearby inhabitants, their terrified gazes fixated on the unexpected visitors.

As Akun strode towards the castle with charismatic determination, his alternate counterpart questioned, "You aren't going to do anything about the other tribesmen?"

A measured response escaped Akun's lips, "Not yet. I want to handle the princess first." The air crackled with the unspoken tension, the promise of impending actions hanging in the still night.

As Akun and his counterpart advanced toward the castle, multiple guards charged at them from within its walls.

Akun's alternate counterpart questioned, "What about them?"

A smirk played on Akun's lips as he confidently responded, "Hardly a challenge. Handle them, but no one has to die." The approaching clash was met with an air of assuredness, the impending confrontation about to unfold.

Akun, his gaze filled with determination, commanded, "but before we take any action, let's erect an impenetrable barrier around the entire dryad tribe."

His alternate counterpart questioned, "What's the purpose of that?"

Akun explained, "To ensure none of them can slip away this time."

In response, a monumental dome, woven from the ethereal threads of aspect power, descended upon the dryad tribe. The inhabitants, sensing the encroaching mystical shield, exchanged worried glances. Moonlight filtered through the translucent barrier, bathing the surroundings in a captivating and surreal purple glow.

It was as if the very fabric of reality had woven a tapestry of enchantment over the once serene landscape.

Akun turned to his alternate counterpart and declared, "Alright, I'm heading to see the princess. I trust everything here is in your capable hands." With a nod, he began his purposeful stride toward the castle, leaving the alternate Akun to oversee the unfolding events within the sealed dome of the dryad tribe.

As Akun closed in on the guards, their collective shout echoed through the night air, "Halt, intruder!" In response, Akun simply paused time, stepping effortlessly past the frozen guards. To their bewildered eyes, he vanished, prompting them to frantically search the surroundings. "Where did he go?" one of them yelled.

Unbeknownst to them, Akun had reappeared behind them, already heading towards the castle's main doors. The realization struck one of the guards, who exclaimed, "Behind us!"

Confused and alarmed, the guards turned around, only to witness Akun standing behind them, defying the laws of their perception. The unfolding events left them astonished and on edge.

As one guard attempted to voice his confusion, the alternate Akun interjected, "It doesn't really matter. I'll be your opponent, not him."

The guards, now realizing the presence of two Akuns, exchanged puzzled glances. "Wait? There's two of them?" one guard mumbled, their confusion deepening as they focused on the newly revealed alternate timeline Akun.

Alternate timeline Akun declared, "Since future me said no one has to die, I guess I'll just begin enslavement right away. Activate Taming."

The system's voice echoed in his head: [Notice player, using the taming skill on the dryads will turn it into an enslavement skill.]

Raising both of his hands, purple chains shot out, coiling around the necks of the guards up front. The chains continued their deadly dance, ensnaring each subsequent guard in a macabre display.

Meanwhile, as Akun made his way through the Dryad castle's main doors, the Goddess of Time echoed her words in his mind. "Master, you do know I know everything. If you really wanted to know why the Dryads did what they did to your people, you could have just asked me."

Akun responded, "I wanted to hear it from the princess's mouth. But if you want to be so useful, how can I successfully merge my soul with an alternate timeline self?"

The Goddess of Time replied, "Master, I'm sure you know I can't help with matters related to you because nothing about you ever appears on the Book of Existence and Knowledge, except for the fact you tamed gods and that you awakened an †Authority†."

The Goddess of Time chimed in, "And besides, do you have to merge with him? You two look like you really enjoyed each other's company, maybe because you are the same person. I don't see the reason why one of you has to no longer exist."

As the realization hit Akun, he began to backtrack. "Wait, what she is saying might be true. Let me backtrack a bit. The reason I wanted to merge my soul with my alternate self is because the system said it was 'I'll-advised' since there would be two of me in the same timeline. But it never really told me why, and I just rolled with it."

Inwardly, Akun questioned, "Hey system, why is it so wrong for me and my alternate self to exist on the same timeline?"

The system's response came promptly, [Due to the fact that both players possess the GX-CHAOS skill, it is inevitable that both players will eventually awaken †Authorities† which would be catastrophic.]

Akun pressed further, "Why exactly?"

The system elaborated, [No two gods can exist with the same name and the exact same †Authority†. The player should take the skills on their status window, for example, a single or similar skill with the same application or use can't appear twice on the status window because it belongs to one player. Most of the time, one is discarded to keep the other, or they are combined to become one.

The same goes for gods and †Authorities†. They all belong to existence, if the players don't merge themselves soon, existence will get rid of one of you.]

(A/N: The goddess doesn't know this because she wasn't able to learn anything related to Akun a few chaps back, only the system is able to answer questions related to Akun's nature.)

Akun exclaimed, "Wait! You can't be serious!" as he processed the grim truth.