The Five Evolution

『"I see."』

The crack was barely visible. A thin black line no wider than a strand of hair, stretched across one of the bars of El’s prison. But the problem was that it shouldn’t have existed at all.

The Cage had been forged from Primordial Darkness, Primordial Water, Primordial Light, and the Substance of Eternity itself.

Nothing inside Creation possessed the authority to leave so much as a scratch upon it.

Yet... there it was.

Amara swallowed. Without realizing it, she let go of Ethan’s hand and folded both arms beneath her chest.

The cold here was different. It wasn’t the cold of winter. Nor the cold of deep water. It was the absence of everything that made warmth possible.

Even sound seemed reluctant to exist.

Ethan’s eyes drifted to her as she hugged herself. "He can’t see us," he reminded her.

Amara looked at him and nodded. "I know..."

She appreciated the concern. But even as the words left her mouth, she didn’t believe them for one second.

Far ahead, the Firstborn remained exactly where they had last seen him. Still seated, imprisoned, and surrounded by endless black water that reflected absolutely nothing.

Eventually, El moved. He lifted his head slowly and settled his gaze upon the crack.

The movement alone made every instinct inside Amara scream, and her arms curled even tighter around her body.

El kept staring at the crack, but he made no attempt to break free. In truth, he made no reaction whatsoever.

He simply looked at it as minutes passed. Or perhaps centuries. Time meant nothing in the Outside of the Outside.

Finally, one pale hand rose and touched the fracture. The instant his fingertips brushed the crack, a faint sound echoed, like glass settling, and the crack widened.

It wasn’t by much. Barely enough to notice. Negligible, even. But they noticed.

Raj inhaled sharply, and the Book drifted beside them without speaking.

El withdrew his hand and his fingers lingered in front of him as though replaying what he’d just felt. Even as this happened, his black eyes never left the fracture.

Amara frowned. "I don’t like that look."

"Like he’s got something on his mind," Ethan whispered.

Silence settled over them because they all knew. Thinking was infinitely more dangerous than raging.

"Why are you showing us this?" Ethan finally spoke.

"You’ll have to figure that one out on your own," the Book said. "But we’re approaching the climax of this story. It should be easy enough."

Hiro started pacing. "The Cage, the weapons, the Five, the Shield lady dies... and now a crack..." He stopped moving and looked up at the Book. "We still have more walking to do, right?"

Amara’s expression went distant, like she was thinking. Then she turned to face Hiro. "You think Eida’s death had something to do with it?"

Sophia sighed. "I don’t think I like what you guys are implying."

"Me neither," Ethan said quietly as his jaw tightened.

"See?" The Book’s pages began flipping. "Told you it was easy." Its pages flipped faster. "Brace yourselves... because we’re about to do a montage."

Raj’s brows furrowed. "A montage?"

"Aaaand..." Its pages seemed endless as they flipped faster and faster. "...cut scene."

***

Somewhere, back in another world, a tentacled, winged creature rose from a rift in the ocean that connected to God-knows-where.

One moment, it was tearing through armies of Awakeners, the next, it was dragging a winged Helmet bearer into the ocean despite his telekinesis pushing against it.

"That brings back some unpleasant memories," Sophia said dryly.

***

Tink.

The crack lengthened and the Firstborn looked down once more as his hand returned to the fracture.

After a long silence... they heard the first word to ever leave his lips since his inception.

"...I see."

Before they could process any of that, the story lurched sideways, like someone flipping through countless pages at once.

Reality blurred, and the current Five barely had time to steady themselves before another scene slammed into place.

***

A stone fortress. High upon a mountain.

Banners carrying the Sword’s sigil rippled in the wind as hundreds of Awakeners filled a massive courtyard. Children. Adults. Veterans. Every one of them was training.

Raj folded his arms. "Weirdly reminds me of the Institute."

"That’s because it is," the Book said. "A different one, at least."

Below, a young Sword wielder crossed blades with a Boots user. Nearby, the Helmet instructed dozens of recruits.

Meanwhile, the Breastplate corrected another student’s stance as the Shield watched over all of them.

Different faces. Different era. But the same five weapons.

The scene lasted only seconds.

Flip.

Snow.

A Sun branch carved directly into a glacier.

Flip.

A floating city suspended above the clouds.

Flip.

A civilization built entirely inside the roots of a tree so enormous its branches disappeared beyond the atmosphere.

The scenes accelerated. Faster and faster. Each reality lasted only moments. Each one different, yet familiar.

With every story they zoomed past, the Five were either training, fighting, living, or... dying.

**

Another Sword fell, but not in battle. Old and gray-haired, he died peacefully, surrounded by family.

His eyes closed one final time and the scene vanished.

**

Nothing happened.

No crack.

**

In this reality, the Sword was walking through the halls of the Machine. Around him were four ladies, each of them hosts for the other four Spirit Weapons.

Raj and Hiro suddenly had goofy smiles on their faces.

"What is it?" Sophia asked, curious.

Ethan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Don’t ask."

Sophia looked at him, then at Amara, who shook her head. "Seriously, what?"

"I know." The Book looked past Sophia, past all of them, as though it was addressing someone else. "I bet some of you would’ve preferred this version."

Its pages folded smugly. "Unfortunately..." It paused. "...this isn’t that genre."

Raj scratched his head and leaned over, his voice dropping. "Uh, who’s the Book talking to?"

Sophia circled the space around her temple with her index finger as she whispered back, "You forget it’s loco."

Flip.

A Breastplate held apart two colliding worlds long enough for trillions to escape. Then his body finally gave out.

**

Tink.

Another crack.

Flip.

**

Another reality.

"You’re safe now," a Boots host said while carrying children away from a collapsing city. Then a spear came out of nowhere and pierced his chest.

He fell with a smile still on his face.

**

Tink.

The fracture widened by a hair’s breadth, and Amara’s breathing slowed.

"It can’t be..." she whispered.

The stories no longer unfolded one after another. They crashed into each other as the five of them stood motionless while reality flipped around them faster than thought.