Chapter 355: Future Manifestation

The five Mirrors resonated together, sending golden light through the streams surrounding the World Tree’s heart. For the first time, the corruption could no longer overwhelm the network at a single point.

Whenever purple energy surged through one connection, the other four responded, distributing the pressure and preventing the golden heart from taking the full impact.

Arthur felt the difference immediately.

His mana circulated more smoothly, and the upgraded abilities granted by his recent Gold Rank breakthrough responded to his thoughts with greater precision. The opportunity Luna and Athena had created was real, but it would not last forever.

"Eden, we’re ready!" he called.

The Chrono Fairy floated forward, her wings spreading as fragments of light gathered around her. "Remember what we agreed on. I’m connecting you to possible future states, not creating new versions of you. The more power I try to draw into the present, the more difficult it becomes to maintain the connection."

"And if it becomes unstable?" Arthur asked.

"I terminate it. Immediately." Eden looked directly at him, making sure he understood. "I don’t care how close you are to Ronin. If the synchronization starts breaking apart, you withdraw."

Vedas rested his spear against his shoulder. "You heard her, Arthur. I expect you to follow that instruction, even if it inconveniences your plans."

"I thought you were supposed to help me fight Ronin, not supervise me."

"Those responsibilities are not mutually exclusive."

Arthur laughed, but the sound faded as Eden raised her hands. The five streams brightened around them, and thin golden threads extended from the central heart toward Arthur and Vedas. Eden’s expression tightened as she reached beyond their present states, searching for possibilities that had not yet become reality.

The first connection formed around Vedas.

Golden light wrapped around the Goblin King’s body, and his armor began to change. The plates grew thicker, overlapping across his shoulders and chest, while luminous markings spread along their edges. His helmet formed around his face, leaving only his glowing eyes visible beneath its golden surface. The spear in his hand lengthened slightly, its tip burning with golden-white light, while rings of radiance began revolving around the sword at his side.

Arthur watched the transformation with a mixture of admiration and concern. This was not simply the same manifestation they had used earlier. The five Mirrors were supporting Eden’s connection, allowing her to establish a more complete image of Vedas’s possible future rather than forcing the power through an unstable link.

Vedas examined his hands, then looked at Arthur. "Well, this feels considerably better than the last attempt."

"Does it feel stable?"

"Stable enough to fight. Ask me again after we’ve survived the next few minutes."

Eden turned toward Arthur before he could respond. "Now it’s your turn. Don’t resist the connection, but don’t try to force it either. Let me find a possible state that your current body can support."

Arthur closed his eyes.

For a moment, he felt nothing beyond the familiar flow of mana inside him. Then Eden’s power reached deeper, touching the connections between his body, his Beast Partners, and the abilities he had developed through countless battles. His senses expanded, and he became aware of the five streams surrounding the heart as though they were parts of a single structure.

He glimpsed possibilities.

In one, his control over his abilities was far more refined. In another, his connection with Vedas had developed to a level that allowed their movements to flow together without hesitation. Other possibilities appeared and disappeared before he could understand them, each representing a different path his future might take.

Eden gasped as the connections shifted.

"Arthur, don’t reach for all of them! Choose one that feels close to who you are now!"

Arthur focused on the possibility that brought his abilities together rather than simply making each one stronger. His mana settled, and the scattered impressions began aligning around a single future state.

The golden light surged.

Armor-like patterns of light appeared across Arthur’s body, not as physical plates but as luminous markings that followed the circulation of his mana. His perception expanded beyond individual attacks, allowing him to recognize how movement, energy, and the surrounding space interacted. The five streams became clearer, their connections forming a pattern he could understand at a glance.

Arthur opened his eyes.

He had not become an entirely different person, nor had he suddenly gained every ability he might possess in the future. Instead, his existing capabilities had been drawn closer to a more developed possibility, allowing his Gold Rank strength and upgraded Mirror abilities to function with extraordinary coordination.

Eden staggered in the air.

Luna immediately moved beside her. "Eden?"

"I’m fine," Eden replied, though her voice was strained. "The connections are holding. It’s just much harder to maintain both of them together."

Arthur looked at her, concern replacing his initial excitement. "We can still stop."

"No." Eden shook her head and forced herself upright. "I can maintain this, but you need to make the most of it. We have approximately five minutes before the synchronization becomes too unstable. Possibly less if Ronin forces the streams out of alignment."

"Then we’ll finish the important part before that happens."

Vedas lifted his spear. "That is the first sensible thing you’ve said since this operation began."

Ronin had been watching them from within the corrupted roots, and the moment Arthur and Vedas completed their synchronization, his expression darkened.

"So this is the power you intended to use against me." He raised his hand, and the roots surrounding his body twisted into a dense mass of purple energy. "You are borrowing possibilities that have not yet occurred, hoping they will save you from the consequences of your own weakness."

Arthur stepped forward. "And you’re borrowing the World Tree’s strength while destroying the thing that gives it to you. I wouldn’t criticize someone else’s methods if I were you."

Ronin’s expression hardened. The corrupted roots erupted from the ground, sweeping toward the two of them in overlapping waves.

"Go!" Arthur shouted.

Vedas charged first, his spear striking the leading roots with enough force to redirect them away from the golden heart. Arthur moved alongside him, using [Reality Dominion] to distinguish the corrupted tendrils from the living roots and [Adaptive Sovereignty] to adjust his movements as Ronin changed their trajectories. Instead of trying to destroy every obstacle, Arthur opened narrow passages that Vedas could exploit.

Their coordination was almost seamless. When Vedas drove his spear through a gap, Arthur reinforced the opening with [Pillars of Dominion], preventing the surrounding roots from closing around him. When Ronin redirected his attacks toward Arthur, Vedas intercepted them before they could interrupt Arthur’s control.

For the first time, they advanced without being forced to retreat.

"Arthur, the left side!" Vedas called.

"I see it!"

Arthur shifted his aura, and [Sovereign Light Aura] spread across the path ahead. The golden radiance pressed against the purple corruption, slowing its spread long enough for Vedas to sweep his sword through the exposed space. The roots recoiled, revealing the deeper network surrounding Ronin’s body.

Behind them, the supporting cast fought to keep the operation from collapsing.

Sun and Kong held the southern approach, where the corrupted roots were striking with increasing force. Kong braced himself against a massive root that threatened to break through the platform, while Sun struck the ground with Long and sent a shockwave through the smaller tendrils gathering around it.

"How many of these things does he have?" Sun shouted. "I feel like we’ve been fighting the same root for the last ten minutes!"

"Then stop counting and hit the next one!" Kong replied, wrenching the massive root away from the stream.

Sun grinned despite the pressure. "See, this is why I need you around. You always know how to motivate me."

"That wasn’t motivation."

"It worked anyway!"

On the western side, Mithra and Melo worked together to keep the roots away from Eden. Melo’s dream mist scattered false images across the platform, forcing the smaller tendrils to change direction, while Mithra intercepted the ones that slipped through. Whenever a root threatened to reach Eden, Mithra moved to cut it off before it could strike.

"Your mist is getting thinner!" Mithra warned.

"I noticed," Melo answered. "I’m trying to conceal Eden, confuse the roots, and keep you from getting buried under them. If you have a fourth task for me, I’d appreciate some warning."

Mithra smiled as she cut through another tendril. "I was going to ask you to make the entire chamber disappear."

"Wonderful. I’ll add that to the list."

Despite their banter, Melo’s gaze repeatedly returned to Eden. The Chrono Fairy’s wings were flickering more frequently, and the golden threads connecting her to Arthur and Vedas had begun to tremble. Melo could see the strain building even when Eden tried to hide it.

"Eden, don’t push yourself past your limit!" Melo called. "If the synchronization breaks, we’ll find another way!"

Eden managed a small smile. "I’m not planning to collapse!"

"Good! Because I’d rather not explain to Arthur why we let his favorite time fairy work herself into the ground!"

Nearby, Athena and Athy monitored the eastern stream while Luna coordinated the resonance between the five Mirrors. Each time Ronin’s corruption surged, Athena adjusted the barrier to keep the pressure from concentrating in one place, while Athy called out fluctuations before they could become dangerous.

"The northern stream is weakening!" Athy warned. "The corruption is pushing against the resonance again!"

Luna concentrated on the connections. "I can feel it. Athena, redirect the flow before it destabilizes the central stream!"

Athena raised both hands, and the barrier shifted. The golden light steadied, but her expression remained tense.

"We can maintain this for now," she said. "But the pressure is increasing. If Ronin keeps forcing energy through that core, even the Mirrors won’t be able to stabilize the network indefinitely."

Arthur heard the warning but couldn’t afford to look back. Ronin had realized that their coordinated attacks were pushing him closer to the exposed connections, and he began concentrating his power around the artificial core.

Purple veins spread across his chest, and the surrounding roots convulsed.

"You think you can cut me away from the heart?" Ronin roared. "This power has already become part of me!"

The corrupted energy erupted outward.

Arthur’s enhanced perception caught the shift a fraction of a second before the attack reached them. "Vedas, brace!"

Vedas crossed his spear and sword, releasing a concentrated burst of golden light. Arthur reinforced the defense with his aura, but the impact still drove them backward across the platform. The golden heart shuddered, and a crack appeared along its outer surface before the World Tree’s own power began sealing it.

Arthur’s stomach tightened.

They could not keep trading blows like this. Every powerful attack risked damaging the heart, and Eden was running out of time. They needed to reach the connections before Ronin could unleash another surge.

Vedas planted his spear into the platform and steadied himself. "Arthur, we have an opening on the right! The roots are pulling inward to protect the core!"

Arthur saw it immediately. The corrupted channels surrounding Ronin had shifted, leaving a narrow gap between two layers of roots. It would not remain open for long, but it was enough.

"Then we take it!"

They surged forward together.

Vedas drove his spear through the gap, forcing the outer roots apart, while Arthur used [Sovereign Piercing Light] to cut through the concentrated corruption shielding the channels. The golden attack did not sever the connections, but it stripped away the outer layer of purple energy, revealing the dark conduits beneath.

Ronin’s eyes widened.

"No!"

He thrust both hands forward, summoning a wall of corrupted roots to protect his chest. Arthur and Vedas pushed through the collapsing passage, their synchronized power forcing the roots aside as the five Mirrors flared behind them.

Eden cried out as the strain threatened to overwhelm her. Luna caught her before she could fall, while Melo and Mithra rushed to reinforce the space around her. The golden threads connecting Arthur and Vedas flickered violently, but Eden held them together long enough for the two of them to reach their target.

Arthur stood directly before Ronin, with Vedas beside him.

Beneath the shattered outer layer of corruption, the artificial core’s connections were finally exposed.

Arthur tightened his grip and looked at the dark channels branching from Ronin’s chest.

"Vedas," he said, "we’ve found them."

Vedas lowered his spear toward the nearest connection. "Then let’s make sure he never gets another chance to hide them."

Behind them, the five Mirrors continued to resonate, and Eden fought to maintain the remaining seconds of their borrowed future.

The first connection was within reach.