A low rumble echoed from inside the cave. The whole place was completely dark, swallowing every bit of light that tried to enter. Even the air near the entrance felt heavy, like the shadows were alive.
"Space and darkness," Silver said beside me, arms crossed. "As expected from Knight."
"There’s more," I added. My perception slipped easily through the darkness inside. "There are wind blades hidden in there too and small pockets in the space. He’s mixing everything into his domain."
Silver let out a soft whistle. "Show-off."
The cave stayed silent after that. Knight’s darkness hid everything, even sound. Only the faint prickling of Essence told me the evolution was reaching its peak.
Then suddenly, the rumbling stopped.
Completely.
The darkness inside went still, almost calm. And then we heard something.
Footsteps.
Someone was walking toward the exit from deep within the cave.
A shadow moved in the doorway.
At first it was only a faint silhouette, tall and lean, blending perfectly with the darkness behind it. But as it stepped closer, the faint light from the sky touched its surface, outlining the shape.
"That’s..." Steve whispered.
I narrowed my eyes. A humanoid frame. Broad shoulders. A pair of faint red eyes opened, glowing softly from within the black silhouette.
Knight was no longer the pure black panther I had known all this time.
He stood tall, almost as tall as me, with a lean, sleek body covered in smooth black fur. His muscles were carved and controlled, built for speed rather than size.
His hands were still hands, but long curved claws slid out from his fingertips. His feet were the same, powerful, silent, shaped for sudden movement.
And on top of his head, two small horns curved slightly backward, black and smooth, as if they had grown naturally with the rest of his new form.
And behind him, his tail swayed lightly.
The end had transformed into a sharp, smooth blade, black like obsidian, with a faint silver line running through the center. One swing of that thing could probably cut boulders like paper.
Knight stepped forward, and the air around him warped slightly. A ripple of darkness followed each footstep, bending the light around his body.
He tilted his head, the faintest smile appearing on his new face.
"It seems," he said in a deeper, smoother voice, "that I finally look as dangerous as I feel."
Ragnar huffed. "Humanoid, huh? I knew you’d pick something dramatic."
Knight glanced at him. "And you picked ’large man with club.’ Very original."
I looked Knight up and down again.
"You look strong," I said.
He nodded once. "And faster."
Knight’s tail-blade flicked behind him, slicing a thin line across the stone floor without making a sound. The cut was so clean it looked like someone had drawn it with a ruler.
"Check this out," Knight said as he lifted his palm.
Spatial ripples spread from his hand like waves on water. A small spinning sphere of compressed space formed above his palm, humming softly. Then, before any of us could blink, the sphere vanished.
And appeared right in front of Ragnar.
Ragnar didn’t even have time to grunt.
The sphere hit him square in the chest and the next instant, he disappeared.
A heartbeat later he popped into existence high up in the sky, spinning wildly.
"Cool, right?" Knight chuckled, clearly pleased with himself.
"Damn..." Steve muttered, squinting up at the sky. "How high did you teleport him?"
A furious roar answered him.
"KNIGHT!"
Ragnar was falling fast, yelling all the way down.
"Guess not high enough," Knight shrugged.
Before Ragnar hit the ground, Knight vanished into thin air. One blink later, Ragnar slammed into the ground in front of us, creating a crater. Dust shot up everywhere. When it settled, Ragnar stood there with a face full of rage.
I hid my smile and casually turned my perception around.
Knight was right behind Ragnar, hiding inside a thin fold of space, just like Dante used to do. Only a few feet away, completely invisible to normal senses.
"Show yourself, Knight!" Ragnar shouted. "You coward!"
"Childish," Silver said, adjusting his hair with a dramatic flick.
Knight stayed silent, clearly enjoying himself.
I stepped forward. "Alright, enough. You can chase him later."
Ragnar scoffed.
"Lyrate is the last one," I said. "She’s about to finish her evolution."
Then I brought everyone into the middle of the forest range where Lyrate was sitting on a tree stump. She stayed in a meditative position, eyes closed, completely silent. No lightning, no storms, no explosions like the others. Just calm.
Butterflies floated around her, landing on her hands and hair without fear.
"She is beautiful..." Silver whispered, staring at her with an expression that made him look like he was ready to walk over and propose immediately.
I sighed inwardly. Ever since their evolutions, I had noticed subtle personality changes in all of them, just small shifts, but noticeable. Their natural traits were a bit stronger now.
And if that was true...
I wondered what would happen to the "Mad Queen" of our group.
"Is her evolution finished?" North asked as she stepped closer beside me.
"Yeah," I nodded. "She’s done."
"Then what is she doing?" North asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Trying to look beautiful, I guess," I said casually.
North shot me a sharp glare.
I cleared my throat quickly. "I mean she’s trying to form her law construct."
"She is?" Ragnar asked, suddenly serious. "Where?"
I pointed at the ground beneath Lyrate.
"Way underground," I said. "She’s doing something deep below the surface. But honestly... I think she’s going to fail."
Ragnar blinked. "Why?"
Before I could explain, I gestured with my hand. "Let’s step back a little. Create some distance."
Space folded, and I moved all of us nearly five hundred meters away from Lyrate in a single shift.
Primus whistled. "That far? You’re expecting something big, aren’t you?"
"Yeah," I said, eyes fixed on Lyrate. "Big... or very messy."
Because with Lyrate, there was never an in-between.
A few seconds passed quietly... and then the ground trembled once.
Silver’s wings shot open immediately. "Uhoh," he muttered as he floated a few meters into the air like a nervous bird.
The ground trembled again, this time harder. Small cracks started forming around Lyrate’s stump and began spreading outward like little snakes racing across the earth straight toward us.
Ragnar snorted. "Here we go..."
He stepped forward, lifted one foot, and stomped lightly.
A silver ripple spread out from him like a calm wave. The cracks froze instantly, stopping just before reaching our group.
"Keep your messy situation to yourself, lady," he said, crossing his arms proudly as he stood in front of us like a shield.
Steve whistled. "Yeah, Ragnar. You tell her. Show her who the boss is."
"Of course," Ragnar replied, chin high. "She’s too far up in her head to understand unless someone reminds her."
A deeper tremor rolled through the forest, shaking leaves from the trees.
I shook my head. "Just stay alert. She’s pushing her limit."
North squinted in Lyrate’s direction. "What exactly is she trying to do underground?"
"Something extremely Lyrate-like," I said. "Which usually means trouble."
Ragnar cracked his neck. "Good. I’ll handle it."
Steve chuckled. "Yeah, until she—"
A massive pulse suddenly burst from the ground, cutting him off.