I Can See Evolution Paths

The Frosthorn Behemoth came first, its bulk shaking the frozen corridor as the Glaciermaws surged in behind it.

"It’s the same one," Arthur said, tightening his grip on Dusk.

"From the river?" Vedas asked.

"Looks like it."

The Behemoth lowered its horns and accelerated, and Arthur and Vedas met it together, King Aura flaring around Vedas as Arthur swept Dusk in from the opposite side, both spears finding their mark, one through the shoulder, one through the flank. It went down.

For a second everyone assumed that was the end of it. Then black threads started crawling out of the wounds, not spraying or bursting, just crawling, almost like roots reaching for each other, stitching the broken body back together piece by piece. The Glaciermaw rose again, crimson eyes flickering open.

"It wasn’t dead?" Arthur stared at it.

"It was," Athena said, studying the threads twitching under its hide. "Something else is bringing it back."

Kong smashed a second Glaciermaw into pieces, and the same black threads shot out of the wreckage, dragging the fragments back together in front of him. "I broke it," he said, sounding personally offended.

"Apparently not enough," Sun said.

"I broke it a lot."

"...That’s actually a fair point."

Another one charged and Mithra cut it into pieces mid-stride, Melo’s tails pinning the sections down, and the black threads surged out of them almost instantly. "They’re coming from inside," Mithra said, jaw tight.

"Holding the pieces together," Melo added, ears flat.

Athy ran Analyze while Athena worked See-Through World in tandem, one reading the mana and one reading beneath the surface, and between them they found the same answer: nothing about the creature’s mana was circulating the way it should. The threads were doing all the work.

"These aren’t behaving like living Beasts," Athena said.

"Because they’re dead?" Arthur asked.

"I think so." She studied another one. "The bodies still hold their shape. But there’s almost no natural mana left in them at all."

"The black energy’s supplying the movement instead," Athy said.

Athena’s face went grim. "Then these aren’t corrupted Beasts. They’re corpses. Something’s puppeting them."

The weight of that word settled over the corridor before anyone spoke again.

"So how do we actually kill something already dead?" Arthur asked.

"We destroy everything," Sun said. "No body, no corpse, no puppet."

Kong cracked his knuckles at that with real enthusiasm.

"Of course you like that part," Sun muttered.

Kong grabbed the nearest Glaciermaw by the head and drove it into the stone, pinning it down through every attempt it made to rise, and Sun finished it with a point-blank Nova Burst that left nothing large enough to reconnect. The threads lashed out searching for a piece to grab and found nothing. They just dissolved.

"That worked," Sun said.

"Again," Kong said, already reaching for the next one.

Athy split into clones while Athena covered them with Aegis, weaving the group through the pack. "Don’t attack the bodies separately," Athena called. "Cut through the joints." The clones caught on instantly, Brave Light tearing through corpse after corpse in golden flashes while Athena redirected one Beast straight into another clone’s path.

Melo flooded the corridor with dream mist, and the Glaciermaws started swinging at illusions while Mithra slipped between them, Kusa flashing once, twice, three times, except she wasn’t just cutting them down anymore, she was cutting them into smaller and smaller pieces on purpose, letting Melo’s tails pin the fragments while she hunted the threads themselves the instant they emerged. Eventually nothing crawled out at all.

She landed, and Melo’s tails retracted slowly behind her. "Nothing came out that time."

"Then I think we finally got it."

The Behemoth came at them a second time, the last and strongest corpse left standing, and Arthur and Vedas met it together again, War Shout disrupting its charge just long enough for Arthur to slip beneath its guard, both spears driving in at once. King Aura lit both weapons gold, and Magic Burst tore straight through it, crystal horns shattering, black threads exploding out across the corridor floor.

Everyone waited. The threads twitched, reached for each other, failed, and shriveled where they lay. The hallway went quiet.

Nobody celebrated. Weapons lowered slowly around the room, and Vedas was staring at his own spear like it had told him something he didn’t want to hear.

"What’s wrong?" Arthur asked.

"I didn’t get any mana. From the Behemoth. Nothing."

"Me neither," Kong said.

"Neither did I," Melo added, ears drooping.

"Nothing here either," Athy said, glancing at Athena. "You were right."

"They’re not living Beasts," Athena said quietly.

"No natural mana left in them at all," Athy confirmed, looking at the remains.

"Corpses."

"Puppets."

Arthur looked down at the black residue soaking into the stone. "So someone’s controlling dead Beasts."

Luna had gone very still, staring at the residue like it had reached out and touched her.

"Luna?" Athena said.

She didn’t answer right away, fingers twisting into the fabric of her sleeve. "...I’ve seen this before. My village." That got everyone’s attention at once. "When we were running, my grandfather and I. There were people moving through the wreckage. Red eyes. Wrong movements, like their joints didn’t line up right. I thought they were hurt, or drugged, or..." She trailed off. "I didn’t understand what I was looking at. Now I think I do."

Melo looked from her to the black threads on the ground. "Rokkaku."

Luna’s fingers tightened around her clothing until her knuckles turned pale. "If those were the same..." She swallowed before continuing. "Then he wasn’t just attacking my village."

Arthur looked at her. "He was using the people he killed."

Luna’s voice became quieter. "I thought they were still alive."

Mithra’s expression softened, and she stepped closer to Luna. "You couldn’t have known."

Luna lowered her gaze. "I should have."

"You were running for your life," Mithra said gently. "You weren’t supposed to understand something like that."

Luna remained silent for a moment before nodding.

Arthur watched her carefully, then rested a hand lightly against her head. "You understand it now." Luna looked up at him. Arthur gave her a small smile. "That’s what matters."

"Still... it’s a bit absurd he can use corpses," Sun said, his expression becoming more serious as he looked at the remains scattered across the corridor.

Athena continued studying the black residue that remained where the Glaciermaws had fallen. "We don’t know how strong the corpses have to be, how long he can control them, or whether there is a limit to how many he can use at once."

Sun’s expression tightened. "That sounds like a lot of things we don’t know."

"It is," Athena admitted.

Mithra looked toward the darkness ahead. "And if Rokkaku has been inside this mountain longer than we have, he may have already found more corpses to use."

Vedas slowly tightened his grip around his spear. "Not just Glaciermaws."

Athena nodded. "That’s what concerns me." She glanced toward the enormous remains of the Frosthorn Behemoth. "If he can control a corpse without needing its natural mana, then its original strength may not matter to him. A powerful Beast could die here, remain behind, and become something he could use later."

Luna’s face paled slightly. "So even the Beasts that already died here could become his weapons?"

"Potentially," Athena said.

Mithra’s expression hardened as she looked down the corridor. "Then the longer he stays inside this place, the more dangerous he could become."

Vedas nodded. "And we don’t even know what he’s already collected."

Arthur looked at the black threads slowly disappearing into the stone. "Which means we shouldn’t assume that what we’ve seen so far is the strongest thing he has."

Nobody answered.

The silence that followed was enough to make the implication settle over everyone, the corridor suddenly feeling smaller than it had a moment ago.

"And he’s already ahead of us," Arthur said.

Luna looked toward the darkness. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

Arthur didn’t answer immediately. He continued staring down the corridor, his eyes following the path Rokkaku had most likely taken.

"If he’s ahead of us, then he has to deal with everything that’s waiting for us first."

Athena’s expression slowly changed. She understood where his thoughts were going. "You’re thinking about the corpse puppets."

Arthur glanced toward her. "Partly."

"If Rokkaku is using them to clear the mountain..."

"Then he’ll have to reveal what he’s capable of."

Athena’s eyes narrowed further as she considered it. "And whatever he encounters, we’ll eventually know that it was there."

"Exactly."

Mithra looked between them. "You’re saying that Rokkaku being ahead of us might actually give us an advantage."

Arthur smiled. "That’s what I’m thinking."

Sun folded his arms. "I don’t like the way you’re smiling."

"Why?"

"Because whenever you smile like that, we’re usually about to do something ridiculous."

Eden tilted her head. "Arthur does like ridiculous things."

Star bounced happily against Arthur’s arm.

Arthur looked down at the Slime and chuckled. "See? Star understands."

"Star understands nothing," Sun muttered.

Kong nodded seriously. "Arthur ridiculous."

Sun pointed at him. "Thank you."

Arthur laughed before turning his attention back toward the darkness. "Think about it. If Rokkaku reaches the Mirror before us, he’ll have to deal with whatever is protecting it. He’ll either expose himself, use his strongest puppets, or reveal something else about his abilities."

Vedas’s eyes narrowed. "And if we arrive afterward..."

"We’ll know more about what we’re walking into."

Mithra stared at Arthur for several seconds before a faint smile appeared on her face. "You really aren’t worried that he’s ahead."

Arthur shook his head. "I’m worried." He looked toward the darkness again, his smile returning. "But I just think that might be useful."

Athena sighed quietly. "That is such an Arthur way of looking at things."

Arthur chuckled. "Come on. Isn’t it obvious?"

Eden blinked. "What?"

Arthur’s grin widened as he started walking forward. "We should hope Rokkaku reaches the Mirror first."

Everyone stared after him.

Sun’s expression slowly changed. "That sentence is making me very uncomfortable."

Arthur didn’t turn around. "It should."

He continued deeper into the ancient mountain. Because if Rokkaku reached the Mirror first, Arthur might finally get the opportunity he needed.

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