Beast Evolution Forge - Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Cain 5
The guardian’s body crumbled into ash, leaving only wisps of mana floating in the air. He absorbed them quickly, feeling the ancient power flow through him. His eyes glowed brighter as he processed the guardian’s memories and knowledge.

[That was… different. Usually you play with your food longer.]

“No time to waste,” he muttered, turning toward the new staircase. This one was wider than the last, carved from black stone that seemed to absorb light. “Something bigger is waiting.”

He began climbing, his footsteps echoing in the silence. The walls here were different – smooth and polished, like black glass. He could see his reflection, distorted and strange, moving alongside him as he climbed.

The air grew colder with each step. His breath formed small clouds in front of him. The sword in his hand hummed softly, responding to the increasing pressure of magic around them.

[The mana density is getting worse. Whatever’s up there, it’s powerful.]

Vell nodded, but kept climbing. His muscles should have been tired after all the fighting, but the guardian’s absorbed power had refreshed him. He felt stronger, more alert.

After what seemed like hours, he reached another landing. This one opened into a massive circular room. Unlike the library below, this chamber was almost empty. The only feature was a large mirror that covered the far wall, from floor to ceiling.

“Hmm, what interesting mana I feel, its so pure, so smooth.” He said, walking closer to the mirror, as if mesmerized.

As he approached the mirror, its surface began to ripple like liquid silver. A figure emerged – a woman with striking features, her long hair the color of jade and skin like moonlit porcelain. She moved with ethereal grace, each step leaving shimmering footprints on the black stone floor.

“My, my,” she purred, her voice melodious and hypnotic. “Such power you possess.” Her eyes, the same jade color as her hair, fixed on Vell’s face. “I can feel it radiating from you.”

Vell’s eyes glazed over, his posture becoming slack. The sword in his hand lowered slightly as he swayed on his feet.

[Something’s wrong. Your mana is—]

“Shhhh,” the woman whispered, pressing a finger to her lips. “No need for that voice in your head. Just focus on me.” She reached out, her delicate fingers tracing the line of his jaw. “Men are all the same, aren’t they? So easily swayed by a pretty face, by the promise of…”

Her words cut off abruptly as Vell’s hand shot up, catching her wrist in an iron grip. His glazed expression vanished, replaced by his characteristic smirk.

“Sorry,” he said, “but I am not swayed by beauty.”

The woman’s beautiful features twisted in shock. “How—”

His fist connected with her stomach, enhanced by a burst of concentrated mana. The impact sent her flying backward, her perfect form distorting as she crashed into the mirror. Instead of shattering, the mirror’s surface rippled violently, swallowing her back into its depths.

A shriek of rage echoed through the chamber as cracks spread across the mirror’s surface, each one leaking tendrils of sickly green light.

“Deception only works if you don’t telegraph it,” he said, rolling his shoulders. “The mana signature of your glamour was about as subtle as a tavern brawl.”

[You could have warned me you were playing along.]

“And ruin the surprise?” He grinned, raising the sword as the mirror’s surface began to bubble and distort. “Besides, I wanted to see what she was hiding behind that pretty face. Though, I am surprised that she heard your voice, must be part of her power to get in someone’s head.”

[I think you should be careful with her.]

“I may not show it but I am always careful…eh, most of the time at least.”

The mirror exploded outward in a shower of razor-sharp shards, revealing what lurked behind the woman’s illusion – and this time, there was nothing beautiful about it.

From the shattered mirror emerged a creature that defied logic. Its body was a twisted mass of glass and flesh, with shards of the mirror embedded in its skin like scales. The jade beauty’s face was split across multiple fragments, each showing a different expression of rage.

“You dare?” The voices came from every shard, overlapping into a chorus of fury. “No one has seen through my illusion in centuries!”

Vell kept his smirk, but his eyes narrowed as he studied the creature. Its body was constantly shifting, mirror shards floating and rearranging themselves like a deadly kaleidoscope.

“First time for everything,” he said, then had to dodge as mirror shards shot toward him like bullets.

He deflected several with his sword, but the shards didn’t fall – they hung in the air, multiplying and forming a dome around him. Each piece reflected his image, but the reflections were wrong. They moved independently, stepping out of their mirrors with swords drawn.

[This is new. She’s using your own image against you.]

“Copying me?” He chuckled, “I’m flattered.”

The mirror clones attacked as one. Vell spun, his sword leaving trails of light as he fought himself from every angle. Each clone moved exactly as he would, matching his style perfectly.

He destroyed three with quick strikes, but where they fell, more emerged. A clone got inside his guard, its mirror-sword scoring a line across his cheek.

He froze for a moment, touching the cut. A drop of blood stained his finger – bright red and very real.

[You’re bleeding. When was the last time—oh boy.]

The creature laughed, its many voices echoing. “Oh? Did I break your perfect record?” The shards shifted again, forming into a towering figure of mirrored glass. “Let’s add a few more scars to that pretty face!”

Vell’s smirk vanished, replaced by an expression of cold calculation. The cut on his cheek sealed itself as his mana surged, but his eyes had lost all trace of amusement.

“You know,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that somehow carried through the cacophony of shattering glass, “I was going to make this quick.”

The mirror entity’s laughter faltered as Vell’s mana signature changed. The playful, swirling energy crystallized into something sharp and predatory.

[Uh, maybe calm down, master?]

He didn’t respond. Instead, he drove his sword into the ground, sending a wave of violet energy across the floor. The mirror shards trembled, their reflections distorting.

“What are you—” the creature began, but Vell was already moving.

His hand shot out, fingers curling like claws. The mana he’d absorbed from the guardian responded, transforming into tendrils of pure force that grabbed the floating shards. With a gesture that was almost gentle, he began to crush them.

The creature screamed as its mirror body cracked, each breaking piece sending spasms through its form. “Wait! Please! I can offer you power, knowledge—”

“I’m taking those anyway,” he interrupted, his voice devoid of emotion. The tendrils tightened, and more shards shattered. “But thank you for teaching me something valuable.”

“What… what did I—”

“That I’ve been too theatrical.” His fingers closed into a fist. “Too playful.”

The remaining mirrors imploded, their fragments turning to dust. The creature’s screams became discordant, its many voices breaking apart. As its form collapsed, he stepped forward, his free hand raised to catch the swirling essence that tried to escape.

[You’re not even going to toy with it?]

“No point wasting energy,” he said, absorbing the creature’s power. The mana was different from the guardian’s—older, wilder. It tasted of forgotten reflections and broken promises. “We have more floors to climb.”

He retrieved his sword, noting how the blade’s glow had intensified. The weapon was evolving with each battle, drinking in the power of the tower’s guardians.

“Hey, is this a ranked weapon?”

[Huh, how do you-, you got some of your memories back?]

“Just a little bit, nothing special.”

[That’s still progress and yes, that is a ranked sword, its only meant to be wielded by heroes but its yours now.]

“Hmm, ok…” He gave the sword one more glance, “it feels so familiar for some reason.”

Looking up at the ceiling, he could feel the next presence waiting. It was massive, its power pressing down like a physical weight. But now, with two guardians’ worth of mana coursing through his veins, jhe felt only hunger.

“Let’s see what else this tower is hiding,” he murmured, heading for the next staircase. Behind him, the chamber’s mirrors lay in ruins, not a single reflection remaining to witness his ascent.

The playful predator was gone. In his place walked something colder, something that had remembered its true nature. The tower shuddered slightly, as if recognizing that it had inadvertently awakened something far more dangerous than its guardians.

And somewhere above, in the darkness of the upper floors, ancient eyes watched with growing concern as their defenses crumbled before this unexpected threat.

“seems I have underestimated you, but if that is the extent of your power, you are still not enough, do not disappoint me, Vell. Come to me.”