Arthur was still standing in the center of the chamber, the Fire Mirror resting in his hand while the others stared at the artifact in disbelief. Only moments ago, it had been floating above the magma-like pool at the heart of the chamber. Now it was in Arthur’s possession, its surface giving off a faint golden glow that reflected across his face.
Eden circled him once before hovering directly in front of the Mirror.
"You really have it."
Arthur turned the artifact slightly, examining its strange symbols. "Apparently."
Vedas glanced toward the empty space above the pool where the Mirror had been floating. "I still don’t understand how you actually took it."
Arthur looked at him. "Neither do I."
Sun folded his arms. "You went into a trial, fought through some strange reality, and came back holding the Mirror."
Arthur nodded. "That’s what happened."
Sun stared at him for another moment before sighing. "Of course it is."
Mithra laughed softly. "At least we got what we came for."
That made everyone relax slightly.
For the first time since entering the cavern, they had actually obtained the thing they had been searching for.
Luna, however, remained unusually quiet. Her eyes stayed fixed on the Fire Mirror, and there was something almost emotional in her expression.
This was the artifact her grandfather had spent his life protecting.
Arthur noticed, but he didn’t interrupt her.
The system notification finally appeared.
[New Title Unlocked!]
[Wielder of Reality]
[Given to the one who holds a fragment of the Reality Mirror.]
[Effect: Allows the user to perceive weak points within the surrounding environment, making it possible to exploit or manipulate them.]
Arthur’s eyes brightened.
He looked around the chamber, wondering what the title actually meant.
At first, everything appeared normal. Then he focused his attention on the surrounding environment.
The change was subtle.
A section of the stone wall that had looked completely solid now contained a faint instability running through it. One of the ancient pillars had a weak point near its base, while several cracks in the cavern floor appeared far more significant than they had before.
Arthur slowly looked around.
"So that’s what it does..."
He didn’t immediately test the ability. Instead, he began considering what it meant.
By itself, Wielder of Reality could help him identify weaknesses in his surroundings. But when he thought about Reality Sight, his interest grew. Reality Sight allowed him to perceive abnormalities in reality itself—illusions, spatial distortions, and false manifestations.
Wielder of Reality could then help him locate the weaknesses within what he was seeing.
Arthur looked toward the wall again. "Reality Sight tells me when something is wrong..." His gaze sharpened. "And Wielder of Reality tells me where reality is weakest."
The possibilities immediately began expanding in his mind.
Hidden passages.
Illusions.
Spatial distortions.
Weak points in structures.
Perhaps even things that were deliberately concealed from normal perception.
Arthur’s smile slowly widened.
"If I combine them..."
He stopped himself.
There was no point getting ahead of himself before testing the abilities properly.
Still, he was already looking forward to it.
Vedas noticed the expression on his face and gave him an amused look. "You’re thinking about something."
Arthur smiled. "A few things."
Vedas shook his head. "I figured."
Athena’s attention immediately returned to Arthur.
"Did the trial give you anything besides the Mirror?"
Arthur nodded. "A skill."
That was enough to make Athena and Athy eyes brighten.
Eden floated closer as well, clearly interested. "What kind?"
Arthur quickly explained about Reality Eyes.
Athena took out her notebook. "Reality itself?"
Arthur nodded.
Athena began writing. "That explains the trial."
Athy leaned over to see what she was recording. "That actually explains a lot."
Athena paused. "The distortions?"
"Those and the strange way the trial changed around Arthur."
Athena nodded slowly. "You’re right."
Arthur looked between the two researchers. "I haven’t tested it enough to know exactly what it can do yet."
Athena didn’t even look up from her notebook. "Then you should."
Arthur smiled.
"I plan to."
Once the excitement over the new skill settled, everyone naturally gathered around Arthur.
Athena closed her notebook for a moment.
"Tell us what actually happened inside the trial."
Arthur nodded and began explaining.
He told them how the Mirror had separated him from the others and placed him inside a strange forest, how the first stage had created false versions of people he knew, and how he had been forced to determine which ones were real.
Luna listened carefully.
"So it was testing whether you could recognize reality?"
"That was the first part."
Arthur then explained how the trial had changed after he identified the three false realities. Instead of simply showing him illusions, it had begun presenting different possibilities and forcing him to make a choice.
Athena’s expression became more serious.
"So the trial changed its method."
Arthur nodded. "It stopped asking me what was real and started asking me which reality I wanted."
Athy frowned.
"That’s much more dangerous."
"Yeah."
Arthur looked toward the Fire Mirror.
"It wasn’t really testing whether I could see through illusions anymore. It wanted me to accept one."
Vedas had been listening quietly until then.
"So you rejected all of them."
Arthur smiled. "Pretty much."
Vedas stared at him for a moment.
"And somehow that worked."
Arthur shrugged. "Apparently."
Mithra laughed softly. "That sounds exactly like something you would do."
Arthur looked at her. "I didn’t know what else to do."
"You didn’t need to."
Vedas finally smiled. "So you really couldn’t tell which one of us was real?"
Arthur glanced at him. "Not immediately."
"And you chose me because I would’ve complained?"
Arthur nodded. "It worked."
Vedas stared at him before shaking his head. "I can’t decide whether that’s insulting or impressive."
Mithra smiled. "Both."
That got a small laugh from the group.
Luna finally stepped closer to Arthur.
Her expression changed as she looked at the Fire Mirror, almost as though seeing it in person made the reality of everything that had happened finally settle over her.
"It’s strange."
Arthur looked at her. "What is?"
"I spent so long imagining what it would look like."
She carefully removed the other Mirror from her backpack and held it beside the Fire Mirror.
"But I never imagined I’d actually see another one."
Athena and Athy immediately moved closer.
Athena examined the two artifacts without touching either of them.
"They’re definitely related."
Athy leaned closer.
"But the symbols aren’t the same."
Luna looked down at her own Mirror.
"They’re different from mine."
Athena nodded. "Even the arrangement is different."
Athy opened her notebook and began sketching both sets of markings while Athena compared them.
Arthur watched the two of them work.
Luna looked between the Mirrors.
"Does that mean they’re connected?"
"Almost certainly," Athena said.
She traced the air near one of the symbols without touching it.
"But they’re not identical. Whatever each Mirror represents, it seems to have its own characteristics."
Arthur hummed thoughtfully.
"So five Mirrors, but five different authorities."
Athena looked at him.
"That’s one possibility."
Athy nodded. "And if that’s true, the Fire Mirror might only be the beginning."
Luna’s fingers tightened slightly around her own Mirror.
Nobody said anything for a moment.
The implications were obvious.
There were still four more Mirrors somewhere in the Everglades.
Arthur hummed.
While Athena and Athy continued comparing the symbols, Arthur’s attention remained on the Fire Mirror.
Then something flashed across his vision.
His Evolution Path Vision had reacted. Arthur’s eyes widened slightly. For a brief moment, a series of unfamiliar paths appeared before him.
[Steam Golem]
[Species: Steam Golem]
Evolution Path
[Molten Golem]
[Volcanic Guardian]
[Infernal Colossus]
[Steamforge Titan]
[Steam Wolf]
[Species: Wolf]
Evolution Path
[Boiling Fang Wolf]
[Scalding Howler]
[Steamfang Alpha]
[Inferno Moon Wolf]
[Steam Bat]
[Species: Steam Bat]
Evolution Path
[Scorchwing Bat]
[Steamwing Hunter]
[Volcanic Nightstalker]
[Crimson Sky Bat]
[Steam Serpent]
[Species: Steam Serpent]
Evolution Path
[Boiling Serpent]
[Scaldscale Python]
[Volcanic Wyrm]
[Infernal Steam Dragon]
[Steam Toad]
[Species: Steam Toad]
Evolution Path
[Scalding Toad]
[Steamback Toad]
[Volcanic Swamp Beast]
[Inferno Mire King]
The information continued.
Five more sets flashed across his vision, but this time the names were incomplete and the species were obscured.
Arthur barely had time to register them before everything disappeared.
[Evolution Paths Analyzed: 29 → 39]
[Evolution Paths Discovered: 39 → 49]
Arthur blinked before staring at the Fire Mirror.
Nothing happened.
Why had his Evolution Path Vision reacted like that?
Athena noticed his sudden silence. "Arthur?"
He looked toward her. "Hm?"
"You noticed something?"
Arthur paused briefly before giving her a small smile. "Not really."
Athena studied him for another second. She clearly suspected there was more to his reaction, but eventually returned to her notebook.
Arthur said nothing more.
Before Athena could ask anything else, the Fire Mirror suddenly began to glow.
Everyone turned toward it.
The symbols across its surface illuminated one after another, and a warm orange-gold radiance spread through the chamber. Arthur instinctively tightened his grip on Dusk and then the weapon trembled in his hand.
At the same time, Vedas’s spear began vibrating, Athena’s Aegis gave off a deep golden glow, Mithra’s Kusa shimmered, and Sun’s Long began radiating heat.
Sun looked at his weapon. "What is it doing?"
Athena watched the light carefully. "It’s reacting to the weapons."
The glow passed over them without touching the beasts.
Then the notifications appeared.
[Relic Upgrade!]
Arthur looked at the first notification.
[Multi-Light]
[The user can create six realistic combat clones.]
[Each clone possesses the full power of the user but can withstand only five attacks before breaking.]
Arthur stared at it for a moment. "Oh."
Eden flew closer. "What did you get?"
Arthur smiled. "Six clones."
Eden’s eyes widened. "Six?"
Arthur nodded. "Six."
Sun immediately looked concerned. "Six Arthurs?"
Arthur looked at him. "Why does everyone sound worried?"
Vedas gave him an amused smile. "Because one Arthur is already difficult enough."
Arthur laughed.
The notifications continued appearing as the others checked their own rewards.
Athena received Flame Aegis, allowing her shield to absorb heat and fire-based attacks and temporarily strengthen its defensive output.
Mithra received Warmth of Renewal, making her healing more effective against burns, heat exhaustion, and damage caused by extreme temperatures.
Sun received Ember Shock, causing his Point Shockwave to release a secondary burst of concentrated heat after impact.
Athena looked at her notification, then at the Fire Mirror. "They’re all related to fire."
Arthur nodded. "Seems like the Mirror gives rewards based on what it represents."
Sun examined his spear. "That would explain mine. Haha, I can work with this."
Mithra smiled as she examined Kusa. "So can I."
"But it didn’t do the same for our partners?" Arthur noted.
Vedas shrugged. "We’re happy you got gotten stronger."
The others nodded, making the Beast Masters smile.
Arthur suddenly remembered something.
He looked toward Luna. "Wait."
Luna blinked. "Hm?"
Arthur gestured toward the Mirror in her hands. "Did yours give you anything?"
Luna looked down at the artifact.
For a moment, she seemed unsure whether she should answer.
Then she nervously shifted her grip. "Um..."
Everyone’s attention gradually turned toward her.
Arthur waited.
Luna finally spoke. "I’m not sure." She hesitated before continuing. "I do seem to have the ability to tell when someone is lying to me..."
Athena’s eyes widened.
Athy stopped writing.
Vedas looked toward Luna with renewed interest, while Mithra’s expression became curious.
Luna swallowed. "...and who can best help me."
Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You can tell who can help you?"
Luna opened her mouth.
But before she could answer—
The entire cavern violently shook.
The question died in everyone’s minds.
Arthur’s expression immediately changed. "...That doesn’t feel good."
A deep rumble rolled through the chamber.
Dust drifted down from the ceiling.
Athena immediately looked upward. "What’s happening?"
Another tremor struck.
Crack.
A massive fracture spread across the ceiling.
Luna slowly looked upward. "The ceiling..."
Water began leaking through the crack.
At first, it was little more than a thin stream and then another fracture appeared beside it. The stream rapidly became a torrent and Arthur tightened his grip around Dusk.
"Everyone, move—"
BOOOOOOM!
The cavern ceiling exploded.
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