Chapter Three: The Primordial Age of Darkness

Chronicle One, the Primeval Era. Life was cast upon this world, and in the endless cycles of evolution across the shifting seas and lands, primordial beings strove for survival in the unfathomable depths. There, they developed gills to breathe underwater and powerful claws and fangs to fend off predators, sparking the first light of civilization among their kind. Gradually, their race flourished and multiplied, marking the birth of the Primeval Civilization.

Fang Zhuowei pulled out his newly purchased notebook and began to record everything he observed before him.

After the third evolution, the spore creatures had become the unchallenged overlords of the aquarium. Terrifying and ruthless, they reigned at the peak of martial might in this miniature world, and not a single unicellular algae could escape their grasp. With every sunrise and sunset, through the relentless turning of the stars, they ruled era after era, presiding over an age of brilliance.

As their numbers soared, the territory of the spore creatures rapidly expanded, reaching an impressive radius of about ten centimeters. Any farther was beyond the reach of the primordial species; their lifespans and speed could not support such journeys. For one of these ancient beings, ten centimeters was already the full span of a lifetime.

Time slipped by.

In the blink of an eye, the twentieth day arrived.

The population of the Primeval Species exploded once more, reaching a staggering figure of over a million. This surge brought unprecedented prosperity to the race, but it also heralded an ominous crisis—an acute shortage of food.

After all, the food in the aquarium was not inexhaustible.

By the eighteenth day, nearly all the algae within their reach had been devoured.

Fortunately, from time to time, new algae would drift into unexplored regions of the tank. Yet, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. For a race so vast, these rare drifting algae were barely enough to fill the gap between their teeth.

Hunger descended upon the Primeval Species, spreading like wildfire, rampant and unrelenting.

Hunger, when pushed to the extreme, can drive even the most rational to madness—how much more so for these instinct-driven beings?

A boundless hunger gripped every primordial life form, taking root and blossoming within their bodies...

By the two hundred thousand and five hundredth year, nearly all the Primeval Species were crazed with starvation. Generation after generation, they endured centuries of deprivation on sheer physical might, reaching the very brink.

In the two hundred thousand one hundredth year, the first signs of cannibalism emerged.

Remarkably, after consuming the corpses of their own kind, some of these primordial beings underwent a mysterious mutation. The bone armor covering their bodies was no longer a uniform dark gray but was now streaked with faint blood-red, as if red pigment had been mixed into agate. Their physiques grew stronger, claws and fangs sharper, and their tempers more volatile.

"Primeval Era, year two hundred thousand: the Primeval Species faced their first existential crisis—the food shortage. In year two hundred thousand one hundred, the first generation of cannibalism appeared, later known in history as the Primal Fiends..."

Fang Zhuowei observed everything, recording it all.

By the two hundred thousand five hundredth year, nearly all planktonic algae in the aquarium were depleted. Only a handful drifted in regions unreachable by the Primeval Species.

The food crisis had truly arrived.

From this day forth, cannibalism was no longer a rare occurrence, but swept through the Primeval Species like a plague.

War was inevitable.

At the bottom of the aquarium, without trumpet or retreat, a brutal battle began.

Tens of thousands of spore creatures, driven mad by hunger, turned on each other in a frenzy of violence...

The Primeval Species possessed innate combat instincts, as if they were born for slaughter. Every inch of their bodies became a weapon, every movement pushed to the extreme...

It was destined to be a massacre of unprecedented savagery.

The dark gray blood soaked half a meter of the aquarium floor, the stench of death hanging heavy in the air, thick and oppressive like the dampness after a southern rain.

The war erupted at noon and did not abate until sunset, lasting nearly five thousand years.

As the blood-red dusk faded, the survivors faced each other, neither side retreating nor advancing. The sand at the bottom was littered with bodies, a field of carnage.

Those who survived such carnage could rightfully be called the mightiest of their kind. Their bodies, though not large, were clad in sharper, darker armor. Among them were many who had long since turned to cannibalism.

Through generations of such evolution, the Primal Fiends and the remaining Primeval Species grew distinctly apart.

The Primal Fiends now bore clusters of compound eyes on their backs, their armors stained deep crimson as if soaked in blood, and their mouths bristled with protruding fangs. On their faces grew dense, hive-like pustules. They were also much larger—nearly a tenth the size of an ant, more than twice as large as the other Primeval beings.

The two sides faced off, neither daring to make the first move.

At last, the Primal Fiends withdrew.

With fresh meat scattered everywhere, there was no need for further slaughter.

Evolution had reached a fork.

The remaining Primeval Species continued to hunt the rare drifting algae, their numbers now so few that what little food remained barely sustained them.

The Primal Fiends, however, gorged themselves on the corpses, evolving further along an unknown path.

Perhaps as a result of their cannibalistic ways, the Primal Fiends began to loathe daylight, preferring darkness. At sunrise, they burrowed into the sand at the bottom of the aquarium, emerging after dusk to feast on the remaining corpses...

"Primeval Era, year two hundred thousand five hundred: the Primeval Species waged their first great war. Evolution forked, and the Primal Fiends—creatures of darkness and madness—ascended the grand stage of history. The Primeval Age of Darkness had officially begun..."

The next morning.

Waking from his dreams, Fang Zhuowei hurried to the aquarium, and upon witnessing the transformed world inside, stood momentarily stunned before hastily recording what he saw.

In just one night, the world within the aquarium had been utterly remade.