Evolution Alone Isn't Enough
The ground trembled with each step the monster took.
Its tentacles—black, veiny, thick as ancient trees—lashed against the ruins like living whips.
Keita, his eyes void of pupils, stood at the center of the battle circle.
He was breathing heavily. This wasn't his power. This wasn't his rhythm.
Behind him, the 17 awakened ones, still trembling from their transformation, looked at each other.
— "Anyone… got a plan?" Malik asked.
— "We attack, right? We're not just gonna stand here!" Tobias shouted.
But their steps were uncertain. They were powerful… but inexperienced.
The first assault came from the monster.
A tentacle came crashing down.
Dayo reacted, blasting it back with a burst of light.
The beast's arm recoiled… but immediately returned, faster.
Kwame tried to absorb the sound, but the creature's scream brought him to his knees.
And suddenly… a flash.
Kubira leaped onto a chunk of ruin and drove his electrified arms into the base of a tentacle.
— "Now!" he yelled.
Ayra summoned massive roots. Miro cloaked them in shadows, creating a camouflage.
Hiro, roaring, struck with all his might.
Slice.
The tentacle was severed, pulverized.
The monster screamed.
Its body swelled slightly, and its skin darkened.
— "What… was that?!" Yuna cried.
— "It… it gets bigger when we hurt it," Keita muttered. "That's not good."
And that was only the beginning.
The monster was growing more violent.
Its attacks more chaotic, harder to predict.
The tentacles whipped through the air, seeking to tear flesh and stone.
— "Group up!" Oren shouted.
But it was too late.
Leana, retreating, was grabbed by the leg. She screamed… and a second later was hurled against a collapsed pillar.
The crack of her bones echoed through the battlefield.
— "LEANA!!!" Yaretzi screamed, tears in her eyes.
Keita charged, blinded by rage.
His body surged with unstable electric aura.
He struck a tentacle—but the monster parried.
A deafening chime rang through his skull.
Meanwhile, Rhan solidified the air around two tentacles, freezing them for a few seconds.
Soojin slowed time within a small area.
— "Now!" she shouted.
Izel turned her skin to stone, leapt onto one of the creature's limbs and slammed her fist down.
Tobias, from behind, touched the tentacle—its flesh began to disintegrate.
And Hiro, once again, finished the job.
Two more tentacles fell.
But the cost was heavy.
Another tentacle shot from a blind spot… and pierced Sanae, who had stayed focused to shield the others with her spirits.
She never even saw death coming.
She collapsed, a trickle of blood on her lips.
— "Two dead…" Hiro whispered.
— "And it's moving… even faster now."
Only eight tentacles remained.
And each was stronger than before.
Oren, face dripping with sweat, turned back:
— "It's going out of control… We need to slow its growth."
But how?
Each tentacle cut made the enemy stronger.
Keita, still standing at the center, was swaying.
— "It's… it's faster than my reflexes now."
Kubira placed a hand on his shoulder.
— "Hang in there. You don't have to do everything alone."
— "But Kael…"
— "Screw Kael. You're Keita."
A shriek tore through the air.
Miro, too close, was struck by two crossing tentacles.
He flew through the air… and hit the ground hard.
He didn't get back up.
— "Miro is… Miro is dead," Rhan growled, fists shaking.
Oren dashed forward. He became a white flash.
He slipped between two tentacles and struck deep.
A blade of shadow rose from the ground—one of Miro's traps, triggered by instinct.
The fifth tentacle fell right after.
Ayra, enraged, lifted a stone pillar, and Hiro shattered it mid-swing into the giant arm.
But with every blow dealt, the creature grew.
Its breath grew louder.
Its eyes redder.
Its movements more erratic.
Oren stepped back. For the first time, he looked worried.
— "It's not thinking anymore. It doesn't feel pain. It… it's changing.
Not into a monster. Into an abomination."