The Oracle Paths

"Did you notice anything strange or suspicious?" Jake asked Siri for the last time before tending to the replacement body he had promised her.

The android, still reeling from the unwarranted attack against her soul, took a moment to register that he was speaking to her. But when she did, she answered in a measured tone, "Like what?"

"Like how Lucia managed to wound Ulfar." Jake's eyes narrowed ominously as he said this. "Even when ambushed, his perception and reaction time are almost as good as hers, and luck isn't something that a direct physical attack can easily thwart."

The android mused over the question for a short while before responding, "Lucia was... too fast for me. I thought my processor was quick enough to track her movements, but when she beheaded me, then attacked Ulfar in an instant, it was as if she... teleported?"

Jake grimaced at this. Lucia likely had the Oracle Teleport Skill, and perhaps even a rudimentary Blink Spell or Dashing Skill that she had acquired at a bargain to compensate for her lack of mobility.

'Xi, show me the recording provided by Siri. In full, this time.'

[Right away.]

Siri may not have had sufficient sight and reaction time to clearly see Lucia's movements, but for him, it was as simple as saying hello. Replaying the final scene where Lucia had degenerated into a Sinewshade, he scrutinized every change with intense concentration, looking for the slightest discrepancy.

It only took a fraction of a millisecond of careful observation for him to find what was amiss. Even Siri had fallen victim to a peculiar phenomenon. Not that it would have made any difference.

In the video footage recorded from Siri's perspective, slowed thousands of times when viewed through Jake's eyes, he saw Lucia's scarlet gladius sword slowly approach the android's throat at a snail's pace.

Tracking the speed of her blade, Jake, still in this heightened state of awareness, expected to wait a good "minute" before the sharp weapon reached its target.

Except halfway to its destination, Lucia's position, her arm, and her sword abruptly shifted, her blade reappearing past Siri's neck, the robot's eyes not even having registered that it had just been beheaded.

This wasn't teleportation, Jake realized immediately with a shocked expression. It was as if Lucia had directly traveled into the future. Even if he had been in Siri's place, he doubted he could have done better given his current understanding of this evil sorcery.

Having finally identified what he was looking for, Jake quickly found a similar occurrence just before Ulfar's back was in turn slashed. The King of Beskyr hadn't yet been forsaken by his luck, and Sinewshade Lucia seemed well on her way to missing her target if this inexplicable miracle hadn't skewed the odds.

Nevertheless, thanks to his outrageous luck, Ulfar had gotten off with a moderately deep scratch along his back, his head remaining on his shoulders for now. Including the thickness of his armor, he was barely grazed.

However, the shock on his face mirrored Jake's. Clearly, he too was unable to comprehend what had transpired. Yet, his experience shone through in this precarious moment, as understanding that he could not respond to such an untraceable assault, he had decisively chosen to flee, carrying a terrified and confused Syrbarun with him.

Now that Jake had identified two of these phenomena that had sabotaged his companions' survival chances, he didn't stop there. Having a hunch he could have done without, he combed through the rest of their fight against the Sinewshades, looking for disturbances of the same ilk.

Against all odds, and much to his dismay, he discovered an abundance of them. Indeed, nearly all instances where Lucia found herself in a precarious situation could be attributed to these temporal anomalies.

These phenomena had been subtle at the outset, almost undetectable amidst the tumult of battle, yet they grew progressively more deliberate and apparent as the conflict wore on. By the end, neither Lucia nor Ulfar could defend themselves whenever one of these disturbances interfered.

"But why?" Jake frowned. "What's the source of these disruptions? The Dungeon Digestor itself?"

He wasn't entirely convinced. It was because he was almost certain that the creature currently had little energy or attention to spare for them. That was why it sent its minions to slow them down.

Another piece of evidence supporting his theory was that this overpowered ability had not been used against him, even when it could have decisively tipped the scales on several occasions. This implied that someone or something was the trigger.

Siri's recording didn't show it, but she had mentioned a final aura of astounding power and malice appearing towards the end of their battle. For now, this was the primary suspect.

Much to his regret, however, it was not the only one...

[Take a look at Syrbarun's hands.] Xi suddenly instructed, zooming in on the fear-stricken minotaur at the moment Siri was beheaded.

Jake complied, disregarding the tear-streaked, pallid face of the Vrusug to focus on the hands in question. Almost immediately afterward, his eyes bulged in surprise.

"I can't see them!" He blurted out, suddenly covered in goosebumps.

[And that's not all. Take a look at these other images.] Xi swiftly showed him more clips.

These frames captured Syrbarun at different moments of the battle. Specifically, the moments when one of these temporal anomalies had tampered with the course of their fights.

Siri rarely had the chance to pay attention to the minotaur during the fight, being too busy defending her own corridor. Nonetheless, he appeared within the periphery of her vision on many occasions.

And that's where the real issue lay. Every time the anomaly struck, Syrbarun's hands were out of sight. By triangulating the positions of his other companions at these moments, Jake quickly reached the unsettling conclusion that none of them could see the Vrusug's hands during these critical moments. A coincidence? Jake snorted. Only a naive or foolish individual would be duped by such a string of inconsistencies.

He had suspected the presence of a traitor among Cekt's disciples from the start. Now, armed with compelling evidence, he needed no further confirmation.

The remaining question was to determine the traitor's motive. Cekt had tested them for Corruption, and he was certain that Syrbarun was neither a Digestor Trojan nor Corrupted.

He shared his suspicions with Siri, then asked, "How long have you known Syr? What do you know about him?"

Siri found it hard to believe that the hotheaded, yet good-hearted, minotaur was responsible for all the tragedies befalling them. Despite her skepticism, she strived to answer truthfully.

"Not much, really," Siri admitted with a note of apology in her voice. "I've known him for about a year, and we've generally got along. I can be cold, even harsh with him, but I'm like that with everyone. As for his past, I know Cekt took him in because he begged him to, but the truth is he admired his grit. Vrusugs are usually quite dim, naive to a point of sin. Some advanced civilizations even raise them like cattle, their meat tasting like prime beef but hundreds of times more nutritious. Their limited intelligence usually doesn't allow them to progress beyond the Bronze Age without external aid, and that's the excuse these civilizations use to deprive them of their rights and exploit them for their flesh. In the Mirror Universe, they're seen as fit only for grazing. Just like how Nawai women are treated as sex slaves or playthings for power- lusting Evolvers."

"Syrbarun is an exception among his kin. He's so smart for a member of his species that he's painfully aware of his people's plight. He told me often of his attempts to change things, to educate his people and the younger generation, but all he faced was a wall of obtuseness. Ultimately, he became an outcast among his own and left to settle elsewhere, where his intellect might be appreciated. Regrettably, that didn't go well either. Some sought to exploit his kindness, others desired to hunt him, thinking his flesh must carry special properties that made him so intelligent."

"Cekt took him in while casually visiting his workshop, located in one of the most secluded cities in the Oracle Playground. I don't know much beyond that. Syrbarun must have managed to convince him somehow, and our master took a liking to him. That's the story he always tells, so I know there's an underlying inferiority complex, because he always says he's the only disciple Cekt didn't pick for his talent."

"Despite this, I can assure you he's always tried his hardest to earn his place. He might not have our talent, he might not be the strongest, and he might be a bit slow on the uptake... But he's a good guy. I can't imagine him being a traitor."

Jake remained contemplative for a long time after listening to this short biography of Syrbarun. Despite his jovial exterior, the Vrusug hadn't had an easy life...

And that was precisely why he was suspicious. With the same thought in mind, Xi and he wisely kept their disdain to themselves. But the glint of hostility flashing in Jake's eyes spoke volumes.

'If it is indeed you, the traitor behind what's happened to Lucia... don't let me get my hands on you. I'll make you regret betraying us.'