Chương 65: 64: The Twelve Prototypes VIII

Their wounds refused to close. Roman looked down at the crimson gash stretching across his stomach. Conflict Drop was still working. He could feel muscle growing, fresh tissue knitting itself together. Every new strand darkened, shrivelled and withered before it could finish.

"Why isn't it healing?" Freya touched the blood running down her forehead. Her fingertips came away stained black.

"Something's wrong." Atlas frowned at the split across his knuckles. Ordinarily it would have vanished instantly. Instead, it remained, widening little by little. Miriam still hadn't moved. Neither had Elias. Linh's eyes narrowed.

"The claws." Everyone looked toward the black blood dripping from the creature's wounds onto the glacier. Drip. The instant a drop struck the ice. SSSSSSSSS. The glacier blackened, collapsed, then simply ceased to exist, leaving behind a perfectly circular void.

"That's no poison," Cass whispered. Roman swallowed.

"The serum is the only reason we're still alive." Another drop struck the ground. Another section of glacier withered into nothing. Freya looked across the wounds covering their bodies.

"Our regeneration's fighting it." Naomi nodded slowly.

"Along with our density."

"If we were ordinary humans…" Gideon muttered, "…we'd already be dead." The ground rumbled. KRRRRRMMMMM.

"What now?" Everything began shrivelling. Entire ridges collapsed into drifting grey dust.

"How is that thing alive?!"

"We disintegrated it!" Mateo shouted.

"There was nothing left!" Naomi looked down as black-green thorns spread beneath the dying ice.

"Those." Attention shifted to the jagged thorns. The countless thorns carpeting the battlefield pulsed faintly. Freya's expression darkened.

"Maybe it isn't regenerating from itself." Linh nodded slowly.

"Maybe it's regenerating from the thorns."

"That's impossible," Cass muttered. Roman watched another root writhe beneath the glacier.

"After today, I'm done saying that." A deep groan rolled through the continent. Nobody moved. Blood still dripped from their wounds. Victor's ruined hand shook uncontrollably. Atlas stood hunched over, breathing through gritted teeth as thorn-covered vines continued creeping beneath his skin, crimson flowers pushing through his shoulders and ribs with every heartbeat. Cass's arms trembled from overusing her ability. Blood trickled steadily from Linh's nose, refusing to stop.

"I... I don't think I can keep fighting," Linh admitted, her voice shaking. Cass swallowed hard.

"Neither can I." Silence. Mateo looked across the dying continent.

"We should run."

"Run where?" Gideon asked, already trembling.

"It won't let us," Naomi saidquietly. Freya's gaze never left the spreading forest.

"It's hunting us." Roman laughed once, hollow and exhausted.

"We're going to die here today." Nobody argued. The words hung in the freezing air because every one of them had already reached the same conclusion.

"Get off the ground!" Linh shouted. They launched skyward together. The dust spread beneath them like an endless sea. Atlas covered his mouth. Cass coughed while Victor waved frantically through the haze.

"What is this stuff?!"

"It isn't smoke!" Naomi called.

"Don't breathe it!" Far below, Miriam and Elias still lay where they had fallen, half-buried beneath the dying landscape. Gideon's eyes widened.

"They're still down." He turned.

"I'll get-""No need." A calm voice drifted down from above. Everyone looked up. Prism floated overhead, gently bobbing through the air. Every few moments gravity seemed to reclaim him before quietly changing its mind. One arm carried Elias. The other supported Miriam across his shoulders. His bomber jacket hung in tatters. Blood soaked one sleeve. One eye had swollen shut, his jaw had turned deep purple, and broken ribs pushed visibly beneath his shirt.

Even so, he hovered there almost lazily while tiny glowing equations pulsed beneath his skin every second. Several prototypes looked toward Linh.

"You let him go?" Victor asked.

"He surrendered." Prism drifted lower and carefully handed Elias and Miriam back. Freya caught Miriam immediately. Atlas lifted Elias as though he weighed nothing. Neither had regained consciousness. Prism drifted lower and carefully handed Elias and Miriam back. Freya caught Miriam immediately. Atlas lifted Elias as though he weighed nothing. Neither had regained consciousness.

"... Thank you," Freya said quietly. Atlas gave a single nod.

"We owe you one."

"Yeah," Victor added, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thanks." Around them, a few others murmured their agreement. Prism merely inclined his head, as though acknowledging something routine rather than gratitude. Tiny equations drifted from his fingertips, spreading across the blackened ice before dissolving into the air.

"I've stopped the spread," he said quietly.

"For the moment." The roots creeping through the glacier slowed. The advancing decay faltered, as though reality itself had been ordered to wait.

"The equations have stalled her." He lifted his gaze.

"The thing attacking you…" He paused.

"…Was Mango." Victor frowned.

"No way." Naomi shook her head immediately.

"That's absurd." Prism nodded once.

"Yes." Roman pointed toward the distant dust cloud.

"That thing?"

"The one talking like some bloke who's been smoking cigarettes since birth?" Prism's expression never changed.

"Yes." Victor stared at him.

"Mango sounds like… Mango."

"She doesn't sound like the voice of the bloody apocalypse." Atlas frowned.

"She smells nice."

"She still does," Prism replied quietly. Nobody knew how to reconcile the girl they remembered with the monster hunting them. Cass let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

"Absolutely not." Prism's eyes flicked to her.

"You also didn't have to reduce her into a puddle." Cass immediately wilted.

"I panicked."

"You panicked."

"She kind of exploded Selene!" Selene gave a small nod.

"She did," she said.

"And it hurt like hell." Prism said nothing. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Cass rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly finding the air beneath her boots incredibly interesting.

"I didn't know she was that physically fragile." A quiet sigh escaped Prism.

"Neither did Mango." Freya looked toward the horizon.

"How do we stop it... or her?" Prism stayed silent for a few seconds before rolling up one trouser leg. Around his ankle rested a matte-black band no wider than two fingers, engraved with tiny silver runes.

"Take it off." Victor frowned.

"Why?"

"Because…" Prism looked back toward the horizon.

"…She hasn't fully transformed yet." The words settled heavily.

"She's still holding it back." His remaining eye met theirs.

"If she loses…" His voice remained calm.

"The Earth dies." Naomi looked between the bracelet and Prism.

"That thing limits you?"

"Yes." Roman laughed.

"You fought all twelve of us, while restricted? Get a load of this guy."

"Yes." Cass's expression tightened.

"You're serious." Prism nodded.

"When you reduced Mango…" He glanced toward the distant battlefield where Cass's strike had seemingly ended everything.

"…Into liquid…"

"Her limiter slipped off."

"I can't believe it," Freya whispered. Prism tapped the bracelet around his ankle.

"This one needs to come off too." Atlas moved immediately.

"I'll pull." His hands locked around the band. He pulled. His muscles swelled. The air trembled.

"HRAAAAAAGH!" The bracelet remained exactly where it was. Mateo joined him. One after another they added their strength. Veins bulged. Teeth clenched. The band never shifted.

"How?!" Victor gasped.

"It won't-""Pull harder!" Atlas roared. The sky quivered beneath their combined effort. The bracelet didn't move so much as a hair. Prism sighed.

"I told you."

"They're very well made." Linh turned toward Yuna.

"You're the sneakiest." Prism nodded.

"Yes. You have the best chance." Yuna tilted her head.

"Why me?"

"Your Velocity Ghosts." The faint cyan afterimages drifting around her shimmered softly.

"She won't know which one is really you. You can keep her attention. She'll waste time separating your signatures."

"You'll survive longer than anyone else." Yuna swallowed.

"How much longer?" Prism thought for a moment.

"Hopefully long enough." She looked toward the horizon.

"Right." Without another word, she disappeared. A cyan streak tore across the dead plain, dozens of ghostly afterimages scattering behind her. The others strained against the bracelet, yet it refused to shift. Atlas bellowed, every muscle standing out beneath his skin. Victor, Roman, Naomi, Cass, Mateo and Linh joined him, their combined strength shaking the air. Tick. A hairline crack spread across the black metal. Prism glanced down.

"Woah." More fractures raced through the band. The silver runes flickered wildly.

"NOW!" Atlas roared. KRAAAAAAAK! The bracelet shattered. THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! A colourless wave burst from Prism. It swept through the prototypes before they even realised it had reached them. It stripped away every enhancement until only ordinary human bodies remained.

"Hey!" Gravity reclaimed them.

"AGH!" Twelve figures plummeted into the glacier. KRAAASH! Pain followed instantly. The black wounds reopened. Corruption surged through flesh no longer strong enough to resist it. Roman's arm shrivelled before his eyes. Naomi's stomach caved inward. Freya's shoulder blackened. Victor coughed a flood of dark blood. Atlas dropped to one knee. Cass watched her fingers crumble into ash. The decay spread with terrifying speed. Skin peeled away. Muscle dissolved. Bone emerged. Prism's eyes widened.

"Ah." He extended both hands. Reality obeyed. Invisible mathematics rippled across the battlefield. Flesh flowed back into place. Bones rebuilt themselves. Blood reversed through the air. Ash streamed back into living bodies. Within a heartbeat, every prototype stood whole again. Victor touched his face.

"… I…" Naomi stared at her hands. Atlas slowly flexed his fingers. Roman lay on his back, breathing hard. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably. For one fleeting instant… They had already died. Prism lowered his hands. The bruises covering him faded. His swollen eye cleared. Crooked ribs straightened beneath his shirt. Every cut sealed without leaving a scar. Even the dried blood disappeared. He rose effortlessly into the air, hands folded behind his back. When he spoke, his voice had changed. It was calm.

Almost clinical.

"The computational restrictions imposed by the limiter have ceased." The prototypes stared. Prism tilted his head, listening to himself.

"…Interesting."

"The linguistic degradation has also disappeared." Victor blinked.

"Uh?"

"The limiter constrained far more than physical output," Prism replied, studying one hand.

"It throttled cognitive capacity." Roman nodded slowly.

"Summarize."

"It made me dumber." Nobody answered. Cass slowly looked around the group.

"…So the Prism we fought…"

"…Wasn't even thinking properly?" He nodded once.

"Correct." Naomi let out a slow breath. Prism turned toward the distant horizon.

"She has crossed another threshold."

"Mango," Linh said quietly. He inclined his head.

"I will retrieve her."

"Wait," Linh called. Prism raised a single finger.

"You would contribute nothing." He disappeared. The air folded inward with a soft pop. Gideon blinked.

"…Did he just teleport without an equation?"

"No," Linh murmured.

"I don't think that's what happened." Far away, the horizon flashed green. A distant cry followed. Then another. Neither sounded human. The entire continent seemed to listen. A cyan streak raced across the horizon. Yuna skidded to a stop, bent double as she fought for breath. Cass hurried over.

"What happened?" Yuna pointed behind her.

"…It's…" She swallowed.

"…Crazy." A deep wooden groan rolled across Antarctica. KRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMM… The glacier trembled. Tiny cracks spread beneath their feet.

"Earthquake?" Atlas asked. Freya shook her head.

"Listen." Something was growing. The ice split. A single green shoot emerged. Saplings pushed through the Antarctic ice. Pine. Oak. Maple. Cherry. Willow. Species from every corner of the world rose together. Roots split glaciers apart. Branches climbed into the pale sky. Leaves unfurled. Flowers bloomed. The sound became deafening as wood expanded and ancient ice shattered beneath an endless tide of roots. The forest kept spreading. Across valleys. Over mountains. Beyond the horizon.

White vanished beneath green until the entire continent had transformed into a living wilderness. Victor slowly turned in a circle.

"Antarctica…"

"…Has trees." Mateo blinked.

"Lots of trees." Naomi stared into the endless canopy.

"The whole continent is a forest." Leaves rustled gently overhead. Gideon wandered to the nearest branch and plucked a bright orange fruit.

"Gideon," Cass warned.

"Don't."

"What?"

"You have absolutely no idea what that is." He sniffed it.

"Smells nice." Roman sighed.

"You're going to poison yourself." Gideon shrugged and bit into it. CRUNCH. Everyone watched. He chewed thoughtfully.

"…Yo."

"Well?" Naomi asked. He looked at the fruit, then back at the others.

"This is ridiculously delicious." Victor immediately started walking toward the tree. — The prototypes remained where they were, breathing hard, fruit crunching softly between tired teeth. Nobody spoke much. The chewing wasn't from hunger. It simply gave them something to do while their minds replayed the feeling of... disappearing. For one impossible instant, they had ceased to exist. Their regeneration had failed. Their bodies had withered into almost nothing.

Prism had calmly reached out and solved them back into existence. Cass swallowed another bite.

"I don't think I'm ever sleeping again." Nobody laughed. Roman stared at the half-eaten fruit in his hand.

"I watched my own bones turn to dust." Naomi leaned against him, her face still pale.

"I remember it."

"So do I," Freya said quietly.

"The pain?"

"The absence." Silence settled again, leaving none of them sure how to fill it. Mateo finally sighed.

"…Worst training day ever."

"…Definitely top three," Gideon muttered, taking another bite. Crunch.

"…Good fruit though." Yuna lowered hers slowly.

"I don't know whether to be terrified or grateful."

"Both," Linh replied.

"Definitely both." Several minutes passed before the air rippled again. A familiar figure floated across the endless green. Prism. He wasn't alone. Mango clung quietly to his back, both arms wrapped around his shoulders, her cheek resting against the side of his neck. She looked utterly exhausted. The monstrous creature that had nearly erased them was gone. She was human again. Prism's oversized bomber jacket swallowed her frame, the sleeves hanging well past her hands.

His backwards cap sat crooked over her yellow-tipped dreadlocks, while his black cargo trousers had been rolled several times around her ankles. A matte-black bracelet gleamed around one ankle. Prism, meanwhile, wore little more than a loose white T-shirt and a pair of black boxers. Victor snorted.

"…Did she steal your trousers?" Prism didn't even glance at him.

"They fit her better." Mango's muffled voice drifted over his shoulder.

"…It's cold…" Prism nodded once.

"I am aware."

"Very cold."

"I know." She hugged him a little tighter.

"…Thank you."

"You are welcome." The prototypes exchanged glances. Mateo rubbed his forehead.

"I think we should apologize."

"We definitely should," Cass whispered. Roman cleared his throat.

"For... everything."

"The fight," Naomi added quietly.

"And trying to kill you," Gideon muttered. Victor rubbed the back of his neck.

"Several times." Freya let out a tired sigh.

"We misjudged you." Atlas folded his arms, looking faintly embarrassed.

"Sorry." Mango slowly raised one hand and gave them an awkward thumbs-up.

"…We're sorry too," she mumbled, sounding more exhausted than anything else. A few of the prototypes couldn't help smiling. Prism inclined his head once.

"We accept your apology," he said evenly. He drifted closer and came to a stop. His expression hadn't changed. His eyes moved differently now, every glance seeming to process thousands of details at once. Without warning, he clicked his fingers. Tick. The continent trembled. Far across Antarctica, the endless forest began retreating. Trees folded inward like closing flowers. Branches unwove into streams of emerald light. Leaves dissolved into drifting particles while roots slipped quietly beneath the earth.

Jungle after jungle excused itself from existence until white snow reclaimed the continent. Within moments, Antarctica was ice again. Only one thing remained. A mountain-sized pile of fruit. Pineapples. Peaches. Mangoes. Bananas. Strange glowing berries none of them recognised. Enough to feed entire cities. Prism reached into the pile without looking. A pineapple floated into his hand. CRUNCH. He bit straight through it. Crunch. Gideon stared.

"Do you ever peel anything?"

"No." Another bite.

"It wastes time." Crunch. Roman finally asked what everyone had been wondering.

"…Why are you eating so much?" Prism finished the pineapple. Another floated into his waiting hand.

"This state removes the limiter placed upon my cognitive architecture." Crunch.

"The computational demand is... considerable." Another bite.

"My body consumes energy faster than biological digestion can replenish." He swallowed.

"So I eat continuously."

"Otherwise?" Naomi asked.

"My metabolism can no longer sustain this processing state." He shrugged.

"I become limited again."

"…Like before." Naomi folded her arms.

"So you're literally powered by snacks."

"A simplification." Crunch.

"…But technically correct." Gideon nodded solemnly.

"I respect that." Selene looked toward him.

"What was Lucien trying to accomplish today?" Prism stopped chewing for the first time. Several seconds passed.

"No one knows." Even his voice carried uncertainty.

"He rarely explains his objectives. He gathers information, compares outcomes, tests hypotheses, then proceeds." Cass frowned.

"So all of this…" She gestured toward the ruined continent.

"…Was another experiment?"

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps not." He took another bite.

"Lucien frequently begins solving problems before deciding which question interested him." Nobody knew how to answer. Prism turned away.

"We will be leaving." Mango lazily lifted one hand from around his shoulders.

"…Bye…" Several awkward waves answered her. Before departing, Prism looked over the group one last time.

"You survived. You should appreciate that." Another bite.

"Go home. Eat. Sleep."

"Be grateful you can still do all three." The words weren't comforting. They sounded like statistical advice. He floated higher. Mango buried her face against his shoulder.

"…Still cold…"

"I know."

"I'll buy you a blanket."

"…And yoghurt?"

"Yes." She smiled sleepily.

"Okay." Strange geometric fragments gathered around them, shifting through impossible angles that refused to make sense. Prism looked back one last time.

"Do not remove the bracelet." Nobody needed to ask whose. The shapes folded into themselves and disappeared. They were gone. Nobody moved for several long moments. Miriam suddenly gagged.

"I'm gonna throw up." She turned away with a hand over her mouth. Roman gave her shoulder a sympathetic pat.

"Understandable." Gideon scratched the back of his head.

"So... are you okay?" Miriam swallowed hard before giving a weak nod.

"I will be." She let out a shaky breath.

"Those thorns..." Her hand drifted to her abdomen.

"That was the most painful thing I've ever felt in my life." The smile slipped from Gideon's face.

"Right." A short distance away, Elias stood motionless, one hand resting over the place where the creature had impaled him. Even though the wound had healed, his breathing remained uneven. Selene walked over and gently rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You're alive." He gave a faint nod.

"I know."

"You don't have to keep checking." Elias let out a quiet breath.

"I'm still trying to convince myself." Naomi sagged against Roman, looking utterly drained.

"I don't think I can feel my legs anymore."

"You've been flying."

"I know."

"I still can't." Atlas folded his arms.

"I want to go home." Everyone looked at him.

"And play video games." Victor blinked.

"You play video games?"

"I don't." The group frowned. Atlas shrugged.

"I almost died today." He looked toward the ruined horizon.

"I'm completing my bucket list before I actually do." A few tired chuckles finally broke through the exhaustion. Selene looked back toward the empty sky.

"Craziest training day of my life." Mateo laughed weakly.

"Training?" He gestured across the devastated continent.

"I'm pretty sure we nearly witnessed the apocalypse."

"Twice." Nobody disagreed. An uneasy silence settled over them. No one mentioned the creature. No one called it Mango. Their minds simply refused to connect the cheerful girl they had met with the towering nightmare that had hunted them across Antarctica. Prism insisted it had been her. None of them could reconcile that with what they had witnessed. That thing spoke with eerie eloquence, hunted without hesitation and reached for the kill the instant it appeared. Mango had never been like that.

When Prism removed his own limiter, he hadn't become some eldritch horror. He was still Prism, only clearer, sharper and stronger. So why had Mango become... whatever that thing was? Their hands still shook. More than one of them glanced over a shoulder without thinking, expecting to see yellow eyes staring back. The grinding voice lingered in their heads, refusing to leave. Nobody said it. They all knew they were going to have nightmares for weeks.