The blue plants, the size of ants, had delicately shaped leaves. Floating on the ocean's surface, they survived even without direct sunlight by photosynthesizing the pale light of the moon.
Quickly, in a matter of seconds, the plants grew, matured, and then withered once again.
It was like an accelerated home video.
After they survived the first extinction event, the plants rapidly evolved from generation to generation. Adapting frantically to the nighttime environment, they gradually turned dark blue and took on the shapes of rhomboids and round discs. Like seaweeds, they spread across the ocean's surface to better absorb the moonlight shining on the yard.
Survival of the fittest!
Another hour passed.
As the only marine species in the sandbox, the aquatic plant that Ethan had named "Blue Moongrass" faced no competition and was soon out of danger. They began to multiply extensively in the ocean.
Soon, blue silhouettes dotted the waters, and the entire ocean turned a beautiful azure color under the moonlight.
Another hour passed. The plants evolved over tens of thousands of generations, forming various sub-branches.
There were angular types, slender types, oval types, deep-sea types, and shallow-water types. Eventually, they split into two divergent species.
One part of the species continued to absorb moonlight, evolving to enhance their photosynthetic efficiency. The other part became carnivorous, preying on other Blue Moongrasses. They still collected moonlight but used it to emit a soft glow that lured other Blue Moongrasses closer, allowing them to devour their kin.
Ethan observed this and marveled at the tenacity and wonder of life. He sighed, "Having weathered the first extinction event, this sole surviving aquatic species has developed into a remarkably diverse collective."
Such an amazing species.
Truly, a perfect example of nature's survival of the fittest!
He silently took out his pencil and notebook and started recording the sandbox's evolutionary progress.
"I'll imitate Earth's geological time scale when recording the evolution within my sandbox. The Cambrian Age's evolutionary explosion marked the origin of all life. Here, in my sandbox, following this explosion, the world now faces 5,000 years of darkness. I'll call this period the Dark Age."
He put down his pen and paper and suddenly smiled, feeling rejuvenated.
Fun.
This was so much fun!
Eagerly, he turned to the first page of his black notebook and wrote: "During the Dark Age, the world was plunged into 5,000 years of darkness as the sun set and the moon rose in the sky. This sudden change drove 99% of marine life to extinction. The Blue Moongrass, capable of photosynthesizing moonlight, became the sole surviving species. They quickly reproduced, flourished in the dark ocean, and became the masters of this era."
He set down his pen. As a terminally ill cancer patient who had been awake all night, he felt exhausted yet exhilarated.
"According to Earth's evolutionary history, life originated in the ocean. After the Cambrian explosion, the first true life-forms, aquatic plants, appeared in the ocean. Next in the evolutionary ladder, marine animals should soon emerge! What kind of sea creature will evolve from the Tyranis cells?" He gazed at his miniature primordial ocean in silent anticipation.
He stayed awake all night, waiting for dawn.
The seventh day had finally begun!
But contrary to Ethan's expectations, the first marine animals did not begin to appear in the ocean on the seventh day. Instead, another horrific extinction was ushered in!
Because the sun had risen!
The moment the sun rose, the diverse Blue Moongrass species flourishing in the ocean rapidly withered.
The plants, accustomed to the gentle moonlight, burned when suddenly exposed to the sun's harsh glare. They shriveled and sank to the bottom of the sea.
Their structure, which allowed them to absorb light with extreme efficiency and thrive under the moonlight, instantly became the cause of their extinction, setting them on a path to destruction!
Such is the thin line between success and failure.
In an instant, the Blue Moongrass began to go extinct en masse!
"The second extinction event is here!"
In just a few minutes, a large expanse of the azure ocean turned gray from the corpses of withered Blue Moongrass floating on the surface. The complete destruction of a once-thriving community was gruesome to behold.
Such is death.
The long evolutionary journey lasts billions of years. Countless species are born, only to die. Such is the epic of a vast planet.
The Tyranis spores' evolution had been a long and inspiring journey. In just a few hours, Ethan witnessed the rise and fall of a species. Turbulent emotions stirred within him.
This time, the extinction event wiped out more than 90% of marine life. The ocean withered away.
By afternoon, a blue patch appeared amidst the sea of dead plants, signaling the gradual return of life. A pentagram-shaped Blue Moongrass had mutated and evolved, successfully surviving the second mass extinction. Under the scorching sun, it was born anew.
To adapt to the strong sunlight, it quickly reproduced and evolved. In just a few minutes, countless generations were born and died, making way for the next generation. Its blue color gradually darkened, slowly taking on deep purple hues. The final result was a pentagram-shaped seaweed with a mystical deep blue color.
It had beautiful, mysteriously symmetrical leaves with a unique pentagram shape that could open and close.
At night, it opened its leaves and flattened them on the surface of the ocean to absorb moonlight. In the daytime, the leaves closed into buds to protect themselves from the harsh rays of the sun.
In that way, it was similar to the touch-me-not plant.
Extinction events brought death and destruction, but they also provided opportunities for weaker species to rise.
With no other species in the entire ocean to compete with it for resources, it began to rapidly reproduce and flourish, flooding the entire ocean with its many offshoots.
"You have survived 5,000 years of blazing sunlight and 5,000 years of darkness."
"With the passage of 5,000 years of the sun and moon, you remain the only survivor among countless species, having withstood both the fiery sun and the endless dark. You are a true champion, and so I name you Violet Herograss."
Ethan laughed, silently picking up his pen and turning to the second page of his black notebook. He began a new chapter and recorded the second extinction event that had occurred in the evolutionary history of the world he had created.
"With the arrival of the Radiant Age, the world abruptly changed. The moon set, and the sun rose. Thus began a 5,000-year-long period in which the sun blazed in the sky. The Blue Moongrass, which had dominated the Dark Age, died en masse, and one of its weaker offshoots, the Violet Herograss, rose to become the protagonist of the new era!"