The Oracle Paths

If they had escaped, news would have reached Oros long ago, and he couldn't fathom Digestors squandering their remains when they could infect them to make deadly and loyal Sinewshades.

Suddenly, the sickly image of Cekt came taunting his mind and a lightning bolt of understanding flashed through him. If he wasn't mistaken, keeping a Rank 3 Aetherist captive wasn't as easy as this Dungeon Digestor wanted them to believe.

He had already begun to harbor some doubts after defeating the Voidshifter earlier. Had it been just slightly stronger and mature, it would have been him lying lifeless after the first distortion. His intuition told him there were others here, but they were requisitioned elsewhere...

Just as Jake started to believe that this slaughter of Sinewshades would never end, to the point of considering pulling out the big guns, Saros finally arrived, armed with a hefty blade in each hand.

"Need a hand?" The alien chuckled, hacking through every monster in his path like an adventurer cutting his way through the jungle with a machete.

Noticing that it wasn't enough, the Oracle Guardian pulled out a strange sort of grenade from his Space Storage, and biting the pin off, threw it into the mouth of an enemy over a hundred meters away.

Jake expected, at the very least, to see its head explode. Instead, the Sinewshade's head, then its body, and everything within a fifty-meter radius were instantly sucked inside as if by a black hole.

"Gravity grenade," Saros growled matter-of-factly.

"Good stuff," Jake praised enviously. As soon as this was over, he would take the time to do some shopping in the Oracle Store.

The Oracle Guardian threw several more similar grenades ahead of him, opening a path straight towards the fleeing Syrbarun and what remained of his considerably reduced escort.

"Go for it. I'll deal with this small fry," the alien growled, opening fire on the creatures trying to suicidally close the created space.

Jake nodded wordlessly, appreciative, then dashed forward, closing the gap between him and Syrbarun in the blink of an eye.

Syrbarun, who had never taken his eyes off him, nearly pissed himself this time, which was progress, but instead of the expected panic, Jake narrowed his eyes

vigilantly, catching a fleeting flash of malice in the minotaur's gaze. Immediately, he noticed the empty syringe lodged in the Vrusug's neck, sniffing a disturbingly familiar scent in the air.

"Voidshifter blood essence!" Jake exclaimed, realizing he should have considered this possibility.

Syrbarun's fur had already darkened significantly, seeming to be coated with a translucent sheen reminiscent of frosted glass, while the silvery network of blood vessels glowed conspicuously for all to see.

Still, Jake didn't slow down, nor did he halt his attack, but the Vrusug had also anticipated such a turn of events. His lips twisting into a contemptuous, hideous grin, he quivered,

"Instead of killing me, you better worry about your precious darling."

Jake froze at hearing this, and following Syrbarun's gaze, he saw a certain Sinewshade with a recognizably conqueror-like aura charging suicidally towards Saros several kilometers behind him. The oblivious Oracle Guardian had already coldly raised his blade, ready to cleave the monster to shreds as soon as it was within reach.

"SAROS, NO!" He screamed, braking on the spot to point his palms towards both the alien and Lucia, desperation etched onto his face.

SLASH!

Silver blood sprayed into the air, but no head fell. Just before Saros' blade reached its target, the Oracle Guardian's body had frozen imperceptibly, while the Sinewshade was violently yanked backward as if its master had sharply tugged on an unseen leash.

Caught between Scylla and Charybdis, Jake's head pivoted from side to side, torn between tending to Lucia and pursuing the Vrusug. He stood stock-still for a brief moment, his visage curling into a snarl of frustration until he spat,

"Damn it! Well played, you bought yourself a few precious seconds."

His facial muscles tightened, signaling the resolution of his inner turmoil. Before Saros could blunder yet again, Jake flickered in front of Lucia in her Sinewshade form. With a casual wave of his hand, he immobilized her, and with a mental strike as swift as a cobra's lunge, forced her into unconsciousness.

The mindless creature's eyes rolled back into her skull as she compliantly crumpled at his feet. Nearby Sinewshades pounced fiercely upon seeing him linger, but their skulls cracked against an unseen barrier, only to be sent catapulting back whence they came, crushed skeletons and all.

In the meantime, Jake retrieved another vial of the antibody serum he had fashioned to save Ulfar. Grasping Lucia's grotesquely raw-fleshed paw, he pierced her wrist open with his claw-like forefinger.

The beast moaned in her sleep, twitching violently as though caught in the throes of a seizure, her muscles and veins swelling to the point of bursting. Jake frowned at the sight of such violent reaction – far more severe than Ulfar's response to the antibodies. Had Lucia's contamination level advanced to an irreversible stage?

"Hold on, Lucia. I know you can fight this. You're our future goddess of victory, after all..." Jake whispered encouragingly, holding her monstrous hand between his, anxiety pulsing through his veins.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't eaten alive by worry, yet he had to maintain a semblance of normalcy in front of Saros, who was eyeing him oddly. Associating with a Sinewshade had already raised enough suspicion.

The Oracle Guardian, who had silently assumed the role of exterminating the remaining Sinewshades, was currently wrestling with a startling revelation.

'Did he truly discover a cure for the virus? If so...!' The alien's eyes widened in astonishment, his expression a blend of horror and awe more than hope.

In the vast expanse of the Mirror Universe, this wasn't the first time someone had developed an antidote, a vaccine, or a cure for Digestor viruses. Yet it remained exceedingly rare, and largely depended on the rank of the Digestor that spawned the virus. The one they were facing could afflict eight-Ordeal beings and possibly those above, making it a high-ranked virus indeed.

Yet... there was a reason why such solutions remained obscure and rare within the Evolver communities. Curing a victim only addressed half the problem...

The insurmountable issue that remained post-miraculous recovery was one that even the greatest Evolvers in the Mirror Universe's history had yet to reach a consensus on.

As Saros ripped the last Sinewshade to shreds, he occasionally glanced at Jake with a complicated expression. Meanwhile, Lucia's convulsions had begun to taper off, diminishing in intensity.

Jake's eyes lit up at this welcomed change, and his spirit buoyed further as fresh, newborn skin started to cover Lucia's raw flesh. Her muscles regained their healthy hue, and her bald skull sprouted a cascade of dark-gold locks that fell hypnotically down to her waist.

A few seconds later, Lucia's still eyelids fluttered before her eyes snapped open, a look of extreme confusion marring her face. "What happened to me? I feel like...

I've been trapped in a long nightmare," Lucia rasped, her voice rough and unfamiliar to her ears.

Jake twitched at Lucia's transformation, grappling with the words to break the news to her. His antibodies had worked miracles, but they hadn't reversed the irreversible mutations to her skeleton and musculature.

It was akin to the acne scars that remained even after a successful acne treatment. Even if the acne problem was solved, it didn't mean the damage caused was repaired.

Unfortunately, if it were just a few scars, it wouldn't pose a problem to an Evolver like Lucia. But the consequences she now had to deal with were more akin to those of significant cosmetic surgery.

Seeing Jake's strained expression, the freshly awakened Lucia began to panic.

"Jake! Tell me what's happening..." She grasped his arm in distress, only to freeze at the grotesque sight of her veiny, enormous hand.

Horrified by her monstrous appearance, Lucia teetered on the verge of fainting. Anticipating this reaction, Jake offered a bitter smile, drawing her firmly into his arms.

"Relax, there's something I didn't have time to tell you," he soothed her, affectionately caressing her hair. "I've purged the Digestor virus from your body, but to fix your appearance, I'll have to destroy your body as well. Tell me when you're ready."

Lucia went limp in his arms, relief washing over her at the knowledge that her monstrous form was only temporary. Otherwise, she wasn't sure if she would have the courage to go on.

However, the second insurmountable problem that Saros fretted over had nothing to do with these cosmetic inconveniences. Wearing a grave expression, he walked calmly toward the couple, drew a resigned breath, and stepped into Lucia's line of sight...

Whooosh!

As soon as Lucia's gaze fell upon the Oracle Guardian, her pupils constricted, blazing with malevolence and hostility. The next moment, she was growling like a ravenous beast, breaking free from a flustered Jake, and pouncing savagely on Saros.