The vehicle rumbled across the uneven dirt road, its reinforced wheels kicking up trails of dust that shimmered under the afternoon sun. The cube—now resting quietly within a compartment near Shadow's seat—hummed faintly, its surface shifting like metal breathing.
Shadow sat at the back of the open carrier, the wind whipping through his black cloak. Rena was driving, one hand steady on the control lever, eyes sharp on the road ahead. The trio sat near the middle—Sera glancing over the map, Ryn dozing lightly against the window, and Lena quietly humming to herself while checking their gear.
It had been half a day since they left the forest behind. The journey was long, but for the first time in weeks, the silence wasn't tense—it was thoughtful.
Shadow's gaze drifted toward the horizon, where the faint outline of mountains guarded the border like silent sentinels. "Rena," he said suddenly, his tone calm yet cutting through the hum of the engine. "About that file you found… the one mentioning class evolution. I didn't get the full story before we split up."
The hum of the vehicle deepened as Rena slowed slightly, glancing back through the rear mirror. "You really want to know?"
"I wouldn't ask otherwise."
Sera sighed softly. "Where do we even start?"
Rena exhaled, eyes forward again. "The government has been experimenting with a way to 'force' class evolution. Normally, it happens naturally—when a person reaches their limits and overcomes them. But they wanted to control it. To decide who evolves and who doesn't."
Shadow frowned. "Control it? How?"
"Mana infusion," Ryn said quietly, now fully awake. "We read it in one of the encrypted files. They inject artificial mana into a person's core while exposing them to fragments of monsters' essence. Most subjects die. Those who survive either go mad or mutate."
Shadow's fingers tightened slightly around his gauntlet. "And the successful ones?"
Rena's tone darkened. "They become something else. Half human, half weapon. Their status changes completely. A separate tab appears—'Integrated Class.' It's supposed to be the next stage of evolution."
Silence filled the carrier. Only the sound of the engine and the soft clicking of gears echoed through the cabin.
Sera looked at Shadow. "The strange part is… all the records about 'Ego Integration' were erased. Only fragments left. But one phrase kept repeating—'The Forge of Origin.'"
"The Forge of Origin…" Shadow muttered, the words lingering on his tongue like a ghost of memory. His mind felt a flicker—something familiar, something buried deep.
Lena tilted her head. "You've heard it before?"
"I'm not sure," he admitted. "But it feels… connected. Maybe to me. Maybe to this." He tapped lightly on the cube beside him. It responded with a faint pulse of blue light.
Rena glanced at him through the mirror again. "If that's true, then whatever you're carrying might be a missing piece of what they were trying to make."
The assassin smirked faintly. "Then maybe I'm the failure they couldn't replicate."
"Or the result they feared," Ryn murmured, her voice almost lost to the wind.
They drove on for hours. The sun dipped low, bathing the road in amber light. The silence between them wasn't empty anymore—it was heavy with thought.
As the mountains drew closer, Shadow leaned back against his seat, eyes half-closed. "If evolution means becoming something else… then maybe we should start questioning who's really human in this world."
No one replied.
Only the hum of the cube answered, glowing faintly in sync with his heartbeat—like it agreed.