Chapter 353: The Future of the Beast Tamer

Arthur remained beside Vedas as the last golden sparks from Eden’s manifestation disappeared. Across the chamber, Ronin had withdrawn behind a wall of corrupted roots, but the purple light pulsing through the gaps told Arthur that their enemy was doing more than recovering.

The artificial core in Ronin’s chest continued drawing energy from the World Tree, and each pulse made the five golden streams tremble.

They had forced Ronin to defend himself, exposed part of his corrupted network, and nearly created an opportunity to sever his connection. Yet none of that mattered if they could not repeat the process without exhausting Eden first.

"How are you feeling?" Arthur asked Vedas.

Vedas straightened his armor and rolled one shoulder, checking that his ordinary strength had returned. "Like someone allowed me to become extraordinarily powerful for a few minutes, only to remind me how much stronger I could eventually become." He glanced toward the place where his future manifestation had vanished. "It was an interesting experience, although I would have preferred to keep that strength long enough to finish the fight."

"Believe me, I would have preferred that too."

"Then perhaps we should focus on making the next attempt more successful instead of regretting the first one."

Arthur smiled faintly. Even after the battle, Vedas had managed to turn disappointment into something practical. However, the Goblin King soon noticed Arthur’s thoughtful expression and narrowed his eyes.

"What are you considering?"

Arthur looked toward Eden. "You said Future Manifestation can synchronize a living being with a possible future state. So far, you’ve only used it on Vedas. What would happen if you synchronized me with a future version of myself as well?"

The question silenced the immediate conversation.

Eden slowly turned toward him, her wings still dim from the strain of her previous manifestation. "You want me to manifest a future version of you?"

"Not necessarily a separate version. If I understand the ability correctly, you’re bringing a possible future state into the present. Could you synchronize my body with that possibility in the same way you did with Vedas?"

"I don’t know." Eden hesitated, and that uncertainty immediately caught Arthur’s attention. "When I manifested Vedas, I was connecting his current existence to a possible future version of himself. I could maintain that connection because I understood his present state well enough to establish a stable reference. But you’re different."

"Because I’m a Beast Tamer?"

"Because you’re not just a single existence that can be measured through your body and mana." Eden’s gaze moved briefly toward Vedas before returning to Arthur. "Your strength depends on your own development, your bond with your Beast Partners, and the way you synchronize with them. If I reach into your future, I might encounter several possible states that depend on how those connections develop."

Arthur considered that carefully. His recent breakthrough to Gold Rank had already changed how he perceived his own strength, and his upgraded Mirror abilities had given him a level of control he had never possessed before. Yet those changes were only the beginning of what he might become.

"So the problem isn’t that you can’t find a future version of me," he said. "It’s that you might find too many possibilities, and you won’t know which one you can safely manifest."

"Exactly. And the farther I reach into the future, the less stable the connection becomes. A possible future isn’t a fixed destination waiting for me to retrieve it. It’s something that might happen, and the choices you make can change it."

Sun scratched his head. "Let me see if I’ve understood this correctly. We want to borrow power from the future, but the more powerful the future version is, the harder it becomes to bring that power into the present. Meanwhile, Ronin is trying to turn the entire tree into his personal weapon."

"That is a surprisingly accurate summary," Athena replied.

"Thank you. I have occasional moments of brilliance."

"Occasional is the important word," Mithra added.

Sun pointed his staff at her. "I am beginning to think this team has a serious problem with appreciating my contributions."

"Your contributions are appreciated," Kong said, his deep voice carrying across the chamber. "But if you want us to appreciate them more, perhaps stop talking and help us find a way to keep the tree from dying."

Kong folded his massive arms, his crimson markings glowing faintly beneath his golden fur. Despite his blunt words, his gaze remained fixed on the trembling streams. He understood the danger better than his usual jokes suggested. Every time Ronin forced more corrupted energy through the roots, the World Tree’s heart seemed to struggle against him.

Athy crouched near the eastern stream, studying the shifting light. "Kong is right. We keep treating the five streams as separate targets, but they’re connected. When Ronin attacks one, the others react. If we don’t account for that relationship, cutting a connection could destabilize the whole structure."

Athena nodded. "The barriers we established can protect individual sections, but they cannot completely isolate one stream from the others. Whatever we do must preserve the balance between all five."

"Which means we need to create the opening and sever the connections almost simultaneously," Luna concluded. She looked toward the heart, her expression growing serious. "The five Mirrors were built to stabilize the World Tree’s connection to the Secret Realm. If we can activate them together, perhaps they can hold the network steady long enough for us to separate the corruption."

Arthur turned toward her. "Can they really do that?"

"I can’t promise it. My grandfather’s records explain their purpose, but they never described a situation quite like this." Luna paused, then added, "Still, the Mirrors are responding to the heart. Their power is already flowing through these streams. We need to find a way to make that response deliberate."

Melo’s five tails swayed behind her as she studied Eden. "Before we decide how to use the Mirrors, we should settle whether Eden can safely perform the manifestation again. I can help conceal her position and disrupt attacks directed at her, but I can’t protect her from the consequences of pushing her own power beyond its limits."

"She’s right," Mithra said. Her usual teasing expression had disappeared. "We can defend Eden from Ronin, but we can’t fight her exhaustion for her. If she collapses halfway through the operation, all our preparation becomes meaningless."

Eden lowered her gaze. "I know. I thought I could maintain Vedas’s manifestation long enough to expose the connections, but the resistance was stronger than I expected. If I attempt to synchronize two people, I need to account for the additional strain before I even begin."

"Then we don’t ask you to do it until we have a clear plan," Arthur said.

Vedas looked at him. "And what part of that plan involves you volunteering to become the second manifestation?"

Arthur didn’t answer immediately.

The Goblin King sighed. "I recognize that expression, Arthur. You have already decided that if there’s a risk worth taking, you should be the one to take it."

"That’s not what I’m thinking."

"Then tell me what you are thinking."

Arthur met his gaze. "If I can synchronize with a future state, I might be able to use my abilities at a level that allows us to hold Ronin’s connections open longer. Vedas could concentrate on exposing the network, while I control the space around it and prevent Ronin from rearranging his defenses. We wouldn’t need to overpower him completely. We’d only need enough time to sever the connections."

Vedas listened without interrupting, but his expression grew increasingly stern.

"And what happens if Eden cannot stabilize your manifestation?" he asked. "What happens if the connection between your future state and your present self becomes unstable while you’re fighting?"

"Then we end it."

"That is not an answer. You cannot assume you will be able to withdraw safely when you are in the middle of an attack."

Arthur opened his mouth, but Vedas continued before he could respond.

"You have spent this entire journey protecting us, making decisions for us, and taking risks because you believe you are the one best suited to handle them. I understand why you do it, and I have never asked you to stop being the person you are. But I will not stand here and watch you treat yourself as a resource that can be spent whenever the situation becomes difficult."

His voice was firm, yet there was no anger in it. That made his words harder for Arthur to dismiss.

"I’m not trying to throw my life away," Arthur said.

"I know. That’s precisely why I’m telling you this now, before you convince yourself that the risk is acceptable simply because you can endure it."

Vedas placed a hand against Arthur’s shoulder. "If you are going to take this step, then we take it together. You will not carry the entire burden alone, and you will not proceed without understanding what it could cost you."

For a moment, Arthur said nothing. Then he nodded.

"All right. We’ll establish the limits first."

Eden looked relieved, although the concern in her eyes remained. "I can test the connection with you, but only briefly, and without attempting to manifest a powerful future state. I’ll begin with a possibility close enough to your present condition that the difference should be manageable. If the connection becomes unstable, I’ll terminate it immediately."

"And we don’t push farther just because the first test works," Athena added. "We need to know where the limit is before we approach it."

"Agreed," Arthur said. "No reaching for some distant future where I’m strong enough to solve everything. We use the smallest increase that gives us a meaningful advantage, and we stop if the connection becomes unstable."

Sun raised his staff. "I’d also like to propose that nobody attempts to become strong enough to solve everything. It sounds like a terrible habit."

"You’re not wrong," Melo replied. "For once."

Sun stared at her. "Was that a compliment?"

"Don’t make me regret it."

Their brief exchange eased some of the tension, but the reprieve ended when a deep groan rolled through the chamber.

The golden heart shuddered.

Arthur turned sharply as the corrupted roots around Ronin began moving inward, drawing him deeper into the mass surrounding the heart. The purple core in his chest sank into the golden structure, and the surrounding roots tightened around his body. Golden light surged through the chamber, only to dim wherever the purple corruption spread.

"He’s moving into the heart!" Luna cried.

Ronin’s voice echoed through the chamber, distorted by the roots surrounding him. "You keep trying to separate me from this power as though I am an intruder. You still don’t understand. The World Tree has already become part of me."

"You’re forcing it to accept you!" Arthur shouted back.

Ronin laughed, but the sound carried a strain that had not been present before. "Acceptance is irrelevant. Power belongs to whoever can control it."

The artificial core pulsed again, and the five streams faltered. Arthur watched as the corrupted channels extended deeper into the golden heart, disappearing beneath its surface. Ronin was no longer merely drawing energy through the network. He was forcing himself closer to the center, making the connection more difficult to reach without harming the Tree.

Athy rose to her feet. "If he gets any deeper, the corrupted channels may become inseparable from the heart’s own structure!"

"Then we can’t wait until we’re completely ready," Mithra said.

"We also can’t rush in without knowing how to separate them," Athena countered. "If we damage the heart, we could destroy the entire Secret Realm."

Kong clenched his fists. "So we have to act before he gets deeper, but we can’t act carelessly. I hate enemies who make every choice difficult."

"Join the club," Sun muttered.

Arthur stared at the five streams. Their light was weakening, but it had not disappeared. The Mirrors were still connected to the heart, and Luna’s theory offered them a way to stabilize the network long enough to attempt the separation. Eden could potentially synchronize both him and Vedas, giving them the strength and control they needed, but only if they coordinated the manifestation with that stabilization.

He looked at Eden. "Can you synchronize us both if the five Mirrors are active?"

Eden considered the question carefully. "I can’t guarantee it, but the Mirrors could provide a stable framework for the manifestation. Instead of trying to maintain both connections while the World Tree’s energy fluctuates, I could use their combined resonance as an anchor. It wouldn’t remove the strain, but it might keep the connections from becoming unstable as quickly."

"And if it works," Vedas said, "we use that time to expose the channels and sever them in the correct order."

Luna nodded slowly. "I’ll work out how to coordinate the Mirrors. We need all five to respond together, not one after another."

Arthur turned toward the group. "Then that’s our next objective. We prepare the operation around the simultaneous activation of all five Mirrors. Eden will test the synchronization under controlled conditions, and we won’t attempt the full manifestation until the Mirrors are ready."

His gaze returned to Ronin, whose body was disappearing deeper into the golden heart.

"We may not have much time left, but we’re not going to waste our only opportunity by rushing in unprepared."

The five streams flickered again. Somewhere beyond the chamber, the ancient Mirrors answered with a faint resonance, their combined light traveling through the roots toward the heart.

Arthur felt it beneath his feet.

The World Tree was still fighting.

And now, they finally had a way to fight alongside it.