I Can See Evolution Paths

Arthur stood in the middle of the strange forest. Three Vedas stood before him. One had his spear raised. One was injured. The third stood several meters away. None of them moved.

Arthur slowly looked between the three figures.

The injured Vedas was breathing heavily, one hand pressed against his side. The second kept his spear raised, watching the injured one with suspicion. The third remained completely still, his expression impossible to read.

None of them looked obviously fake.

That was the problem.

Arthur glanced from one to another. "So which one of you is real?"

The injured Vedas immediately shook his head. "Arthur, I don’t know what this place is doing, but he attacked me."

The armed Vedas scoffed. "He’s lying. Don’t listen to him."

Arthur’s gaze shifted toward the silent Vedas.

"And you?"

The third Vedas simply stared at him.

Arthur waited a few seconds.

"Nothing?"

The silent Vedas gave a small shrug.

Arthur scratched his cheek. "That’s weird."

The injured Vedas’s expression became more desperate. "Arthur, don’t waste time. Help me first."

"He’s trying to make you hesitate," the armed Vedas added. "He’s the illusion."

Arthur didn’t respond.

Instead, he walked slowly around them.

He wasn’t looking at their weapons or their injuries anymore.

He was looking at them.

The Fire Mirror had already shown him that it could recreate people convincingly. If that was the point of the trial, then attacking them would be pointless. He needed something that an illusion couldn’t easily imitate.

Arthur stopped in front of them. "Let’s try something simple." The three Vedas watched him. "What did we eat yesterday?"

The injured Vedas answered immediately. "Meat."

The armed Vedas said, "Bread."

The silent Vedas finally spoke. "Both."

Arthur nodded slowly. "Interesting."

None of the answers told him anything useful.

He moved on.

"What do you think about Eden?"

The injured Vedas smiled faintly. "She’s annoying."

The armed one shook his head. "She’s improving."

The third answered calmly, "She’s like a little sister."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Again, all three answers sounded believable.

He looked toward the forest surrounding them.

The Fire Mirror wasn’t simply copying Vedas’s appearance. It was using Arthur’s memories of him to construct different possibilities.

That meant the obvious answers were useless.

Arthur turned back toward the three Vedas.

"One more question."

The three waited.

Arthur smiled. "What do you think about me?"

The answers came almost immediately.

"You’re reckless."

"You’re impossible."

The third looked directly at Arthur.

"You’re my partner."

Arthur’s expression went still.

For a moment, he didn’t say anything.

He looked at each of them again.

Then a small smile appeared.

"You’re all wrong."

The three Vedas froze.

Arthur’s smile widened.

"The real Vedas would never make it that easy."

The armed Vedas suddenly lunged.

Arthur reacted instantly, bringing Dusk up to meet the spear.

CLANG!

The impact rang through the clearing.

Arthur’s boots slid backward through the dirt before he regained his balance.

"There we go."

The second Vedas attacked from behind.

Arthur twisted aside, allowing the spear to pass close enough to brush his armor. He turned with the movement and drove the shaft of Dusk into the attacker’s side.

The Vedas staggered.

Before Arthur could follow up, the first one attacked again.

Arthur blocked before another attack came and he swiftly dodged to the side. And he realized something, they weren’t random copies. Each one was built from something he already believed about Vedas.

The injured one represented the Vedas he would instinctively protect. The aggressive one represented the Vedas he trusted to fight beside him.

And the silent one

Arthur looked at him.

That one had barely done anything and then he understood.

"I get it."

One of the copies tilted its head. "Get what?"

Arthur smiled. "You’re trying to make me decide based on what I remember."

The three figures became completely still.

He looked from one to another. "You’re all things I could believe Vedas would do. You’re giving me different versions of someone I already know and asking me to pick the one that feels right."

His eyes settled on the silent Vedas.

"But the real Vedas wouldn’t need to convince me."

The silent Vedas raised an eyebrow.

Arthur pointed at him.

"You."

The Vedas blinked. "Me?"

Arthur grinned. "You’re the real one."

The other two began cracking and then the two false Vedas fractured like glass.

Crack!

Golden light spread across their bodies and then they disappeared.

The forest became silent.

Vedas looked at Arthur. "How did you know?"

Arthur shrugged. "Because you would’ve already complained by now."

Vedas stared at him. "That’s your reason?"

Arthur nodded. "Yeah."

Vedas looked genuinely offended. "That’s insulting."

Arthur smiled. "See?"

Vedas paused and then realized. "You did that on purpose."

Arthur laughed. "Maybe."

Golden words appeared in the air, carved by invisible light.

[Reality Identified: 1/3]

And then to his surprise Vedas faded away. He frowned before then forest brightened around him.

The fog thinned, and Arthur found himself standing on another path.

A familiar voice suddenly called from ahead. "Arthur!"

He turned to see Eden fly toward him. "Arthur!"

Relief immediately crossed his face. "Eden?"

She flew straight toward him. "I couldn’t find you! I was looking everywhere!"

Arthur reached out instinctively and then stopped. His hand remained suspended in the air.

Eden tilted her head. "Arthur?"

He stared at her.

Everything was right.

Her voice.

Her appearance.

The way she looked at him.

Even the worry in her expression but something bothered him.

Arthur lowered his hand. "You’re not Eden."

Her expression froze. "Why?"

Arthur smiled faintly. "Because you’re standing still."

The fake Eden blinked.

Arthur pointed toward her. "The real Eden would’ve already started asking questions."

The illusion remained silent.

Arthur’s smile grew. "You would’ve asked whether I found anything interesting. Then you’d probably ask if we were going somewhere new. And if I didn’t answer quickly enough, you’d keep asking."

The fake Eden’s expression slowly became blank.

"You didn’t do any of that."

Golden cracks spread across her body.

Arthur watched her disappear.

[Reality Identified: 2/3]

Arthur stared.

The forest changed again.

This time, Arthur found himself on a quiet path surrounded by familiar vegetation.

Someone stood ahead.

Luna.

She turned toward him.

"Arthur."

Arthur stopped.

"Luna?"

She nodded and smiled. "The Fire Mirror is behind me."

Arthur didn’t move.

Luna looked confused. "What’s wrong?"

Arthur studied her carefully.

With Vedas and Eden, he had memories to work with.

He knew their habits.

Their mannerisms.

The small things they did without thinking.

But Luna was different.

He had only known her for a short time.

He couldn’t confidently tell whether she was standing slightly differently than usual or whether she was speaking in the wrong tone.

So Arthur changed his approach. "What did your grandfather call the cavern?"

Luna answered without hesitation. "The Fire Cavern."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

The real Luna had never called it that.

Arthur smiled. "Wrong."

The fake Luna froze. "What?"

Arthur pointed toward her. "I don’t know you well enough to recognize you the way I recognized Vedas and Eden."

Cracks began spreading across her body.

Arthur continued, "So I needed something you couldn’t fake."

The illusion trembled. "Something only the real Luna would know."

The cracks spread across her face.

Arthur smiled. "You don’t know."

CRACK!

The illusion shattered into golden fragments.

[Reality Identified: 3/3]

Arthur slowly looked around the forest. The illusion of Luna was gone, but the strange forest remained. For several seconds, nothing seemed to change. The wind had stopped, the trees no longer moved, and even the fog seemed frozen in place.

Arthur waited a little longer before glancing around. "Did we finish?"

There was no response.

He looked toward the place where Luna had disappeared, then toward the forest behind him. Nothing moved.

Arthur scratched his cheek. "That’s usually when something else happens."

As if responding to his words, a faint golden light began spreading through the air. It gathered into several lines of words before him.

[Trial Stage Complete.]

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Trial Stage?"

The words remained for several seconds before fading away. Another message appeared in their place.

[The first stage tested recognition.]

Arthur studied the words carefully. "So there really is another stage."

The message disappeared.

A moment later, new words appeared.

[The next stage will test choice.]

Arthur’s expression became more serious. "Choice?"

The moment he finished speaking, the forest began to dissolve.

Arthur’s expression changed. The trees around him didn’t fall or burn. They simply became transparent, as though the world itself were being erased. The ground beneath his feet faded next, followed by the sky above him.

Within seconds, everything disappeared.

Arthur stood alone in complete darkness. "...Hello?"

His voice disappeared into the darkness without an echo.

Arthur took another step forward and then a familiar voice came from somewhere ahead.

"Arthur?"

He froze.

Slowly, Arthur turned toward it. "...Vedas?"

The darkness began to brighten and his expression changed.

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