I Can See Evolution Paths

The world disappeared. Arthur barely had time to understand what was happening before the cavern, the ancient ruins, and the five glowing Mirrors vanished from his sight.

For a moment, there was nothing. No ground. No sky. No sound.

Then, THUD! Arthur hit the ground hard and rolled across wet earth before catching himself with one hand, mud splashing across his clothes. "Ugh..."

Sun landed several meters away and immediately grabbed his shoulder. "My back."

Kong bounced off his head, flew through the air, and landed face-first in the mud.

Sun stared at him. "...You okay?"

Kong slowly lifted his head, then shook himself violently, sending mud everywhere.

Sun wiped his face. "I’ll take that as a yes."

Nearby, Vedas landed on his feet with Dusk already in his hand, and he didn’t complain about the landing, his eyes immediately sweeping across the forest. "Everyone accounted for?"

Mithra pushed herself upright. "Yes."

Athena stood and checked her surroundings. "Melo?"

"Here."

"Athy?"

Athy nodded.

"Kong?"

Sun pointed at the muddy monkey. "Unfortunately."

Kong glared at him.

Sun grinned. "What? You’re fine."

Eden appeared beside Arthur a moment later, looking around in confusion, while Star rolled several times before finally stopping against Arthur’s leg. He reached down and picked the slime up, and Star immediately bounced once.

"You’re okay too," Arthur said, and Star bounced again.

For several seconds, nobody moved. The forest was silent. Too silent.

Mithra slowly looked around. "Where are we?"

"No idea," Athena replied.

Sun looked up through the canopy. "We’re definitely not in the ruins anymore."

"Obviously," Melo said.

"I was confirming it."

"You were stating the obvious."

"I can do both." Melo sighed.

Arthur barely heard them. He was staring at the fog. Purple fog. It covered everything, thick layers of it hanging between the trees, drifting across the ground and curling around the roots, the air itself seeming stained purple.

Arthur’s expression hardened. "The Miasma..."

The small argument immediately died. Everyone became serious. They knew that name. They had already seen what it could do. They had watched beasts lose themselves to it. They had fought creatures whose bodies had been twisted by corruption.

Luna’s expression changed as well. "Miasma..." She slowly looked around. "But this..." Her voice trailed off, and Arthur knew exactly what she meant. This wasn’t the same. There was far more of it.

Arthur took a few steps forward. Purple markings covered the trees, and they weren’t random stains, spreading across the bark like veins, branching from the roots and climbing toward the highest branches. Some trees had completely lost their original color, their trunks dark and twisted, purple light pulsing beneath the bark.

Sun’s expression became grim. "That can’t be normal."

"It isn’t," Athena said.

Mithra approached one of the trees. "Wait." She crouched beside the roots. Purple veins ran through the soil, spreading in every direction, some disappearing beneath the roots, others continuing toward the distant forest.

Her eyes narrowed. "It’s not just on the surface."

Arthur looked down. The entire ground was connected. It looked as though something enormous was growing beneath the region. "Whatever happened here," he murmured, "it reached the land itself."

Mithra slowly stood. "Can the Miasma really spread that far?"

"We’ve never seen this much before," Sun said.

Vedas looked toward the endless purple fog. "Then we shouldn’t stay here."

Before anyone could respond, SCREEECH! A horrible scream tore through the trees, and everyone turned as something crashed through the undergrowth. A beast. Or what had once been one, its body covered in purple growths, one of its horns split into several crooked branches, purple veins covering its face.

"It is corrupted," Athy said quietly.

Three more beasts came charging after it. The first tried to escape. It didn’t make it far. One of the pursuing creatures slammed into its side and knocked it to the ground, and the others immediately attacked, claws tearing through flesh. The wounded beast screamed and bit directly into its attacker’s throat, blood splashing across the grass.

Melo’s face tightened. "They’re killing each other."

"Not even hunting," Athena said. "They’re just attacking anything nearby."

Another beast emerged from the trees and immediately attacked one of the others. Then another appeared. Then another. Within seconds, the forest had become a battlefield.

Sun stared. "How many are there?"

Arthur didn’t answer. He was watching. Some beasts attacked anything that moved. Others wandered aimlessly through the purple fog. A few simply stood in place, their bodies trembling while purple energy pulsed beneath their skin. The corruption wasn’t merely affecting them. It had taken control.

Kong climbed onto Sun’s shoulder and stared into the forest, pointing toward something in the distance.

Sun followed his finger. "Yeah." His expression became serious. "I see them too."

More glowing eyes were appearing between the trees. One pair. Then another. Then five.

Arthur’s gaze hardened. "The entire region is infected."

Eden quietly moved closer to him. "Arthur..."

"I know." He looked around. There was almost nowhere safe. The Miasma wasn’t concentrated in one area. It was everywhere. Above them. Below them. Inside the trees. Inside the beasts. Even the air was saturated with it.

He slowly exhaled. "This place is worse than before."

Vedas tightened his grip around Dusk. "Then we leave." He pointed toward the opposite side of the forest. "We move through there."

Arthur followed his gaze. A wall of purple mist stood between the trees, with no visible path through it.

Sun frowned. "That doesn’t exactly look like an exit."

"Maybe the Miasma is only this dense here," Mithra suggested.

Athena shook her head. "Look at the trees." Everyone looked. The purple veins continued in the direction Vedas had indicated. Her expression darkened. "It’s everywhere."

Silence settled over them again.

Mithra finally looked toward Luna. "Luna?"

Luna hadn’t spoken. She was staring at the Miasma, her fingers tightly wrapped around her Mirror.

"Can your Mirror help us?"

Luna looked down at it. "I think so."

Sun blinked. "You think?"

"I’ve never used it against something like this." She raised the Mirror. "But there’s only one way to find out."

Arthur stepped closer. "Everyone, stay near Luna."

The Mirror began to glow, golden light spreading across its surface, and Luna lifted it higher. "Stay close."

The moment the Mirror fully activated, WHOOM! Light exploded outward, a golden sphere expanding around them, and the purple fog touching its surface immediately recoiled. Hissss! Purple smoke twisted backward as if it had encountered something poisonous, the corrupted plants closest to the barrier withering as the Miasma withdrew several meters.

Everyone stared.

Sun slowly lowered his staff. "...Well." He looked at Luna. "That worked."

Luna stared at the barrier as well. "I didn’t know it would be this effective."

Mithra smiled faintly. "Neither did I."

Vedas looked beyond the golden boundary. "Then we can move."

Arthur shook his head. "Not yet."

Vedas looked at him, and Arthur pointed toward the edge of the barrier. "Look." The Miasma hadn’t disappeared. It had only retreated. Beyond the golden light, purple fog continued moving through the forest. It surrounded them. Waiting.

Arthur stepped toward the edge. The Light Zone wasn’t large, maybe thirty meters across, and beyond it was nothing but corruption.

A low growl came from the forest. Arthur looked over. Two purple eyes appeared between the trees, and then a massive creature crawled into view, resembling a crocodile except its body was covered in thick purple scales, its jaws grown far beyond anything natural.

Sun’s expression changed. "That’s a big one."

The creature lowered its body. "It sees us," Mithra said.

The beast suddenly charged. "Arthur!" Eden shouted.

The creature lunged, its front claw crossing the boundary, and Hissss! Smoke immediately rose from its flesh, and the beast screamed and recoiled, stumbling backward.

Everyone stared.

Sun’s eyes widened. "It can’t enter."

Athena nodded. "The Light is damaging it."

Arthur looked at the smoking claw, then at Luna, then back toward the forest. "So that’s our safe zone."

Luna looked toward the surrounding darkness, her expression remaining serious. "For now."

A deep roar suddenly echoed through the distance, and everyone froze. The sound was enormous, rolling through the forest like thunder. The trees shook. Birds exploded from the canopy. Even the corrupted beasts stopped fighting for a moment.

Sun swallowed. "That..."

Mithra looked toward the direction of the roar. "That wasn’t one of these beasts."

"No," Vedas said, his grip tightening around Dusk. "Something much larger."

Arthur watched the Miasma. It was moving. Not randomly. The purple fog surged toward the source of the roar.

His eyes narrowed. "Something’s coming."

Vedas stepped forward, Dusk appearing fully in his hand. "I’ll handle it."

Arthur raised a hand. "Wait."

Vedas looked back, and Arthur pointed toward the forest. "Not just one."

The forest erupted. One corrupted beast burst through the trees. Then another. Then five. Then ten. Dozens of creatures began moving through the purple fog, some small, others enormous, all of them heading toward the golden barrier, their eyes glowing purple, their bodies covered in corruption.

Sun slowly raised his staff again. "How many?"

Mithra looked around. "Too many to count."

Athena drew her weapon. "They’re surrounding us."

Melo moved closer to Athy and Kong. "Stay behind us."

Athy nodded. Kong immediately climbed onto Sun’s head.

Sun glanced upward. "Seriously?" Kong pointed toward the approaching beasts. Sun sighed. "Fine. Just don’t fall off."

Vedas lowered his spear, his eyes fixed on the horde. "They’re not attacking each other anymore."

Arthur noticed it too. The corrupted beasts had stopped fighting. Every one of them was facing the Light Zone. Every one of them was coming toward them.

Eden moved closer to Arthur. "Why are they all coming here?"

Arthur didn’t answer immediately. He watched the Miasma. Then the beasts. Then Luna’s Mirror. "They can sense the Light."

Luna’s expression tightened. "And they want it gone."

The first beast slammed into the barrier. BOOM! Golden light rippled, and the creature recoiled. Another immediately replaced it. BOOM! Then another. BOOM! The entire Light Zone began shaking.

Sun stared. "They’re actually trying to break through."

Mithra tightened her grip. "Then we need to stop them."

Vedas smiled faintly. "Finally."

Arthur glanced at him. "Don’t get carried away."

Vedas looked toward the horde. "There are quite a few."

"You say that like you’re happy."

"I am."

Sun gave him a strange look. "You’re terrifying."

Vedas glanced at him. "Thank you."

Sun blinked. "...That wasn’t a compliment."

Before anyone could say more, Flicker. The golden light around them dimmed, and everyone stopped. Luna looked down. The Mirror trembled in her hand. "Wait..."

Another flicker passed through the barrier, and the Miasma immediately pressed closer, purple mist gathering against the golden wall from every direction.

Luna’s expression changed.

Mithra noticed. "Luna?"

Luna tightened both hands around the Mirror. "Everyone..." Her voice was quiet.

Arthur turned toward her. "What happened?"

Luna stared at the approaching horde. "The barrier is weakening."

The corrupted beasts roared. The Light Zone flickered again. And the Miasma began pushing against the barrier from every direction.