I Can See Evolution Paths

The group entered the enormous chamber they’d seen beyond the damaged Guardian. The room was clearly the aftermath of a battle, icy pillars shattered, stone scattered across the floor, several ancient formations damaged, deep cuts running across the walls.

At the center floated the Water Mirror, its surface constantly moving like a deep ocean despite staying perfectly vertical, and standing beneath it was a familiar figure. Black robes and a demon mask. Black threads drifting slowly around his body like living smoke.

Rokkaku.

Luna froze instantly. "T-That’s Rokkaku."

Her voice pulled every head toward her.

"So we finally found him," Arthur said, expression hardening.

"That’s the one who destroyed Luna’s village?" Vedas asked, tightening his grip on his spear.

"Yes."

Mithra moved slightly in front of Luna without looking back. "Stay behind us."

"But—"

"No. You don’t need to fight him."

Arthur studied Rokkaku, who wasn’t moving, head slightly lowered beneath the mirror. "Look at him."

"What?" Sun looked over.

"He seems lost in thought." Arthur pointed. "He must be going through the mirror trial."

Athena studied him a beat longer. "Yeah, I see it. You were right."

"Then that means—" Sun’s eyes widened.

"We can take him out," Kong said, clenching his fists.

"Exactly." Arthur raised Dusk. "Everyone unleash your strongest attack, all together."

The group fell into position at once, Vedas lowering his stance, Mithra gripping Kusa, Sun raising Long, Athena setting Aegis, Athy spreading her wings, Eden’s golden light gathering, Melo’s tails fanning out, Kong crouching beside Sun, Arthur readying Guardian Strike. For one brief moment it felt almost too easy. They’d found him. He was distracted. They had the numbers.

Then Mithra grabbed Arthur’s arm. "Wait."

"What?"

She pointed at the ground around Rokkaku. "He might have prepared something before touching the Mirror."

"A trap?"

"Or a barrier."

"She’s right," Athena said, eyes narrowing. "If he knew someone might follow him, he wouldn’t just stand there in front of it."

"Of course he wouldn’t," Sun groaned.

Arthur exhaled. "Then let’s check."

He activated Reality Sight, and the world shifted, faint lines appearing across the floor and walls, some like cracks in glass, others overlapping in strange geometric patterns. He turned his head slowly, and the lines continued right behind Rokkaku, a massive structure of distorted space wrapped around the area behind him.

His eyes widened slightly. "You’re right, Mithra."

"What do you see?"

"I think he built a barrier behind himself."

"So attacking from the front would be useless," Athena said.

"Probably."

Sun grinned. "Then we hit him from every direction."

"Exactly."

"Now that’s a plan," Vedas smiled.

Mithra vanished first, Melo right behind her, Athena and Athy spreading out, Sun and Kong moving to one side while Vedas took the other, Arthur staying dead ahead, Eden and Luna held back with Star bouncing between them.

"Stay close," Eden told the slime, and it wiggled in agreement.

"Be careful," Luna said, watching everyone spread out.

Arthur glanced back at her with a smile. "Don’t worry. We’ll bring him down."

He thrust Dusk forward, golden light erupting behind him as the enormous image of King Mu appeared. [Guardian Strike]. The guardian spirit swung its massive spear down at the exact moment Vedas threw his own, Sun unleashed Ember Shock, Kong launched himself forward, Athena charged with Aegis raised, Athy sent clones circling in, Mithra flashed across the chamber, and Melo’s dream mist spread through the air.

The attacks converged from every direction. Rokkaku didn’t move.

Then the entire chamber shook. A massive explosion swallowed him whole.

Arthur didn’t wait to see the result before pulling out the Frostheart Bow.

"You’re using that already?" Sun asked.

"Figured I’d get some practice," Arthur said, nocking an arrow and firing. Thoom. Another. Thoom. Another, each tearing through the smoke one after the next. "Let’s see if you’re still standing."

Clang. His eyes narrowed. Another impact, then another. "He’s blocking them."

"Then hit him harder!" Vedas raised his spear.

Black markings raced across the ground a heartbeat later. "Move!" Arthur shouted, and everyone scattered as the markings spread across the chamber, Mithra leaping clear, Sun yanking Kong back, Athena raising Aegis just before a violent explosion tore through the floor and threw them all backward.

Arthur landed on one knee, staring into the smoke. "Did we get him?"

It cleared to reveal Rokkaku still standing, but badly hurt, robe torn, blood running down one side, mask cracked.

"He’s hurt," Sun grinned.

"Very hurt," Mithra agreed.

"His magic’s working overtime," Athena said, watching the shield flicker.

"He’s using it to stay standing," Arthur said, noticing the wounds already closing.

"Then we have the advantage," Vedas smiled.

"That’s what I was thinking." Arthur stood.

For the first time, Rokkaku lifted his head. "I didn’t think—"

Arthur cut him off. "War Cry!" The sound wave tore through the chamber and Rokkaku visibly flinched, giving Arthur the opening to fire four Magic Burst arrows at once. Black threads shot out to intercept them, clang, clang, clang, clang, but frost was already spreading along the threads by the time they stopped, freezing them solid.

"Arthur!" Sun’s eyes went wide.

"Got him," Arthur smiled.

"Nice!" Sun laughed, and Kong slammed his fists together. "Now!"

The group charged as one. Rokkaku raised a hand, and the frozen threads exploded apart, something enormous stirring in the dark behind him, a gigantic creature with a spider’s lower body and a humanoid upper half, a mask over its face, black threads running from its limbs straight to Rokkaku. It let out a roar loud enough to shake the walls.

"Well." Sun gripped Long. "Guess we found his Beast."

Arthur didn’t slow down. "Doesn’t matter. We’re still winning."

"The fact that he tried to speak earlier bothers me," Athena said.

"Why?"

"He wasn’t trying to attack us."

"He was buying time," Mithra said, eyes narrowing.

"Exactly." Arthur pointed Dusk at Rokkaku. "Don’t give him any."

"Then we keep pressuring him," Athy said, wings spreading.

"Everyone," Arthur said, and the whole group attacked at once.

The Spider General fired hundreds of black threads. "Behind me!" Athena planted Aegis, a golden barrier expanding just in time to absorb the impact, boom, boom, boom, her feet sliding backward under the weight of it. "They’re strong!"

"Then let me open the way!" Vedas charged past her, spear igniting with [Blazing Spear], cutting through several threads at once, and Mithra flowed through the gap he made, a blur of motion, slashing across the creature’s limbs before it could react. Melo’s dream mist spread in behind her, and the Spider General hesitated, its movements slowing.

"Melo!" Mithra called, and the tails waved back. "Good." She vanished, and a moment later blood sprayed from the creature’s arm.

"They’re actually pushing it back!" Sun laughed, and Kong leapt onto the Spider General’s leg, refusing to let go no matter how hard it shook him. "Hold it!" Sun shouted.

Kong dug his feet into the stone. "GRAAAH!"

Sun thrust Long forward. [Ember Shock]. The shockwave threw the creature backward hard enough that Arthur saw his shot instantly. "Vedas!"

Vedas understood without a word, throwing his spear across the chamber for Arthur to catch. [Command Authority]. Golden energy exploded outward and Vedas reappeared behind the Spider General, fist crashing into its back, staggering it in place.

"Now!" Arthur raised Dusk, and the two of them struck simultaneously, driving the creature straight into a stone pillar.

"We actually did it," Sun said, staring.

"Not yet," Arthur answered, looking past the wreckage toward Rokkaku, who sent a fresh wave of black threads at them. Arthur activated Guardian Shield, a golden dome absorbing the impact in three heavy hits.

He gritted his teeth. "He’s still controlling everything."

"Not everything." Athena’s eyes had dropped to the floor, and Arthur followed her gaze to see the threads weren’t only attacking, they were connecting to the corpses scattered throughout the chamber. "He’s using the dead."

The bodies began moving, one, then another, then ten, then dozens, crimson eyes igniting one after another.

Luna’s face went white. "Those... those are the same."

"From your village?" Mithra asked.

She nodded, unable to say it out loud.

Arthur’s jaw hardened. "So that’s how he does it."

"You understand now," Rokkaku finally spoke.

"Not really." Arthur raised Dusk, smiling anyway. "But I don’t need to."

The fight turned chaotic fast, Kong smashing one corpse into the ground, Sun destroying another with a shockwave, Athy’s clones swarming through the wreckage, Mithra cutting through puppet after puppet, Melo’s illusions scrambling the ones still standing, Athena’s shield covering Luna and Eden while Arthur fired Frostheart arrows through every gap he found. Somehow they kept winning ground. Rokkaku’s healing was visibly slowing now.

"He’s running out of magic," Arthur said.

"Then this is the end," Vedas said.

"You think so?" Rokkaku asked, and Vedas paused just half a second too long.

Rokkaku raised a hand, and black symbols bloomed beneath everyone’s feet at once.

"Move!" Mithra jumped, but it was already too late, the first formation activating, movements growing heavy and slow. Arthur felt it press against his whole body. "A movement restriction!"

"Break it!" Mithra cut through the symbol beneath her, and Athena smashed Aegis into the ground until it cracked, but another activated immediately after, this one wrapping around the entire chamber instead.

"That’s a barrier," Sun said, looking around.

"No," Athena said, expression darkening. "It’s stopping us from leaving."

"So he prepared more than one," Arthur said.

Rokkaku raised his hand a second time, and thin black lines appeared in the air. Mithra jumped backward on instinct and a stone pillar behind her sliced cleanly in two. "Invisible cutting lines!"

Arthur triggered Reality Sight again, and hundreds of faint lines lit up across the battlefield. "Don’t move randomly! There are cutting lines everywhere."

"How many?!" Sun’s eyes darted around the room.

"Too many."

"Then we’ll make our own path," Vedas laughed, already charging, and Arthur followed right behind him. "That’s the spirit!"

They cut through the battlefield around the invisible lines, still advancing despite everything Rokkaku threw up in front of them.

His expression finally cracked. "You are more troublesome than I expected."

"I’ve heard that before," Arthur smiled, right before Rokkaku formed another seal and a black symbol appeared beneath him, his power vanishing all at once.

"What?" Dusk grew noticeably heavier in his hand, Guardian Strike gone. "He sealed my ability."

"Arthur!" Vedas stepped in front of him immediately as Rokkaku’s threads rushed in, blocking them with a hard clang, Athena joining him a second later, Mithra cutting through another wave, Sun firing Long, Athy sending clones, Eden using Charm, Melo spreading Dream Weave, the whole group closing ranks around him while the seal held.

Arthur looked around at all of it and smiled despite himself.

"Why are you smiling?" Mithra asked.

"Because he just showed us everything he has."

"And he’s still losing," Vedas grinned.

The seal cracked a moment later, and Eden caught it first. "Arthur!" He looked down at the fracturing symbol. "Looks like it isn’t permanent," he said, right before it shattered entirely, golden light erupting around him again.

He grabbed the Frostheart Bow. "Then let’s finish this."

Everything came at once, Vedas throwing Blazing Spear, Mithra flashing forward, Sun unleashing Ember Shock, Kong charging in, Athena raising Flame Aegis, Athy’s clones swarming, Melo’s illusions spreading, Eden’s Vision Sharing tying it all together. For one moment every attack synchronized, driving the Spider General backward while Rokkaku threw his threads up in a last, desperate defense.

Arthur saw the gap. "Now!"

Everything hit at once. The chamber shook hard enough to feel through the floor, the Spider General thrown backward, Rokkaku dropping to one knee, mask cracking further, blood dripping onto the stone.

Silence settled over the chamber.

Arthur slowly lowered his bow.

"Did we...?" Sun was breathing hard.

"He’s down," Mithra said.

"We won," Vedas smiled.

Arthur didn’t answer right away. He was looking at the floor instead, Reality Sight still active, his expression shifting as something enormous moved beneath them, the formations they’d assumed were just Rokkaku’s traps actually threading down into something far larger, a massive pattern beginning to glow beneath the entire chamber.

"Wait..." he whispered.

"What is it?" Athena asked.

"This isn’t just a formation."

The Water Mirror began to glow. Rokkaku, still on one knee, slowly lifted his head, and for the first time, he smiled.

"You finally noticed."

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