The Five Evolution

『"Not coincidence. Providence."』

Flip.

A Sword no older than fourteen was surrounded by a nest of headless vampires. He smiled despite the blood running down his face, then collapsed to the floor. "...Worth it."

*

No crack.

Flip.

*

Another scene.

"It’s the Multitude!" Someone screamed as a buzzing cloud of something covered the face of the Earth and devoured everything in their path.

*

Tink.

Another crack.

At this point, whatever neutral expression Ethan had been holding finally disappeared.

*

They all stared blankly into the montage as infinite deaths spawned infinite cracks.

Flip.

*

Five identical individuals were locked inside of a room.

"Hey, it’s us." Raj pointed. "Why do we look pissed?"

Alternate Amara stood up and banged repeatedly against the door. "Let us the fuck out of here!" she shouted.

Director Hale, or at least an alternate version of him, walked over to the other side of the door. "This is for the good of everything."

He pressed a button, and the room was immediately flooded with a colorless gas that slowly killed them all.

Amara’s eyes widened in shock as she watched another version of her bleed from her eyes and ears before dropping dead. Around her, everyone watched with the same horror.

"What the fuck!" Raj voiced his own horror loudly.

The Book gave them no time to react. They were yanked from the transition altogether and dumped back into the Before.

"Do you get it now?" It asked them.

Hiro slowly got up. He staggered and dropped to one knee, then he pushed himself up again, this time managing to stand.

Amara, who was already on her feet, didn’t realize tears had gathered in her eyes until she blinked them away.

Sophia tried to keep it together for about three seconds before placing both hands on her knees and throwing up violently.

Amara rushed over to her and quickly gathered Sophia’s hair, pulling it back.

"Oh god..." Sophia muttered as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Really?" The Book tilted toward Sophia. "How would you like it if I threw up all over your house?"

Amara rubbed Sophia’s back and shifted her gaze to the Book briefly before returning to Sophia. "Do you have water here?"

The Book looked almost flabbergasted. "Do I have water?" It paused, only to repeat, "do I have—"

"Well, do you?" Amara cut it off.

The Book sighed, and Amara was suddenly holding a bottle of water.

"Thank you." She handed it to Sophia, who took a gulp and spat it out, repeated two more times, then finally drank to swallow.

Ethan looked at both of them. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Sophia said weakly, running her fingers through her hair. "Fuck..."

"We’re good," Amara added.

Sophia took another drink, this time managing to keep it down. She drew a long breath before lowering the bottle.

Ethan waited until she nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

"Good," he said quietly. "Now let’s talk about what we just saw."

Hiro’s fingers tapped rapidly against his lips. "So whenever El’s pulse directly or indirectly causes a death of the Five, it weakens his cage."

Raj folded his arms. "You know, I don’t think it was intentional at first."

"Yeah." Sophia frowned. "But after the first gazillionth death, it definitely was."

Ethan’s voice came quietly. "He isn’t trying to destroy everything at random anymore."

"No." The Book slowly closed. "Now he knows exactly where to target."

Amara looked at Ethan. "You were right." She went quiet for a moment. "It’s what we represent."

"So..." The Book’s pages turned slowly as it lowered itself. "We’re at the last story. The one that brought you all here." It tilted toward each of them in turn. "Do you want to continue, or call it quits?"

It then floated back up. "Because either way, I get my favor."

Amara looked at her team, searching their faces. They hadn’t endured all this just to walk away before learning the truth about the Apostles.

"What are you waiting for," she said to the Book.

The Book fluttered, amused. "If you insist..."

***

They suddenly found themselves inside a small, dimly lit cottage. A white-haired woman lay exhausted upon a simple bed, while an elderly midwife held her hand.

"Just one more push." She squeezed the hand of the pregnant lady.

Hiro immediately cleared his throat as his eyes found the ceiling.

"Come on, love. Just one more," the old midwife encouraged her once more.

Her white hair was plastered across her face with sweat as she took in several deep breaths. "Hah... hah... hoo..."

Then she pushed with one final scream. "Aaaaaarrghhh!!!"

The midwife carefully lifted a tiny, white-haired infant into the world. Then she quickly cleared the baby’s mouth and nose.

A small knife flashed once past the umbilical cord as she cut it cleanly. And with a warm smile on her face, she wrapped the infant in a soft linen cloth.

"There you are, love..." she whispered, handing the woman her child. "Such a beautiful boy."

The woman cradled the newborn child against her chest, and outside, the sky suddenly thundered. Moments later, rain began falling gently upon the roof.

The infant opened his eyes, revealing swirling pupils. Amara felt like she was staring into the heart of a universe.

"The eyes of Grace..." the Book said.

The moment the midwife saw the child’s eyes, she froze.

Her hands began trembling. Then she slowly sank to her knees as tears streamed down her face.

The mother smiled weakly, not understanding the reaction of the midwife. Almost all her attention was focused on the baby held against her chest. "...My beautiful boy..."

She held onto his tiny finger, took a deep breath, then turned toward the still crying midwife with a smile on her face. "His name is Kai."

The child never cried. Instead, two tiny tears rolled silently down his cheeks.

No one in the room understood why a newborn was crying without making a sound. But it was as though he mourned something no newborn should have known.