The Glorious Evolution

For a moment, the two announcements hung among the falling tears while the audience remained silent.

Then Arthur shot to his feet; his mouth was wide open, about to scream his heart out... knowing the gorilla had no control over his mouth, Jojo swiftly jumped on his back and covered his mouth with her hands.

Ahhhhh!!! That’s... my... big... brother...

Still, his stifled holler escaped a little through her fingers.

Her reaction wasn’t really needed, as Arthur’s voice was buried under a symphony of cheers mixed with chants.

Some viewers applauded through their tears... others pulled their companions into an embrace, unable to explain why a stranger’s victory had left them feeling ready to face their own troubles again.

Levi stood in the fading rain, listening to them as the last traces of darkness withdrew from his body.

The exhaustion hadn’t eased, and every burden he had briefly escaped was back where it belonged... yet he found himself smiling as he lowered his head.

He had finished the composition and won his fight.

For now, that was enough.

[Fortune Points: 29]

The announcement appeared as the ruined arena descended back to the board, looking brand new the moment it connected.

Levi had become the richest Rifter in the game, but the others paid more attention to the figure standing below the number.

Those who had been considering his Fortune Points earlier quietly abandoned the thought. Twenty-nine points were tempting... provided they survived long enough to spend them.

What Levi had done to Burden Collector was installed deep in their brains and refused to move out.

The Taxman rubbed his thumb against the handle of his briefcase, reviewing the final exchange mentally... he had followed the battle closely, but Levi’s transformation and the melody that followed had left him with more questions than answers.

Were those abilities ultimates? How much had they cost him? And could he use them again?

Defeating Burden Collector was already difficult enough. Overpowering his will and forcing him to surrender his own core required spiritual prowess that the Taxman couldn’t afford to underestimate.

The control had lasted only a few moments... but the Taxman had no desire to discover how much damage Levi could do with those moments against him.

’Celestial... how many more powers are you hiding?’

His gaze moved toward the remaining Rifters.

He would let someone else find out. Until he understood more of Levi’s abilities and their limits, approaching him would be a poor investment.

Mournful Spirit, meanwhile, hadn’t glanced at Levi’s balance once.

She hugged her ancient biwa against her chest, studying him with an affection that had only deepened since the final note.

”You should have kept playing.”

Her fingers brushed the strings, releasing a quiet chord.

”Even after the duel ended... I would have listened.”

Levi offered no response, but she continued watching him as though she expected him to bring out the violin again.

”When this is over, come play for me alone.”

She tilted her head, her voice softening.

”And if you ever die... leave your soul to me. I’ll hold you close and play for you every night, so you never have to feel lonely.”

Arthur stopped cheering, and so did the girls’.

For a moment, he couldn’t decide whether he had heard a confession or a death threat. A glance at the three girls convinced him that asking wouldn’t improve the situation.

Arthur wisely kept his mouth shut.

Fortunately, Levi didn’t even turn toward her.

He already had enough problems waiting outside the game... becoming someone’s bedside companion after death held very little appeal.

His silence did nothing to discourage Mournful Spirit.

”Perhaps another time...”

She brushed her fingers across the strings again, and Levi sincerely hoped that would be the end of it.

Before she could make another offer, Gamemaster Gamble clapped his hands.

”What a lovely conclusion to our Freedom Round! A little violence, another masterpiece melody by the Celestial, and a little out-of-place romance... truly, something for everyone!”

Levi hoped the rodent would choke on his next sentence.

Unfortunately, Gamble remained in excellent health as he announced the next Dice Round.

***

Over the next three Dice Rounds and their accompanying Freedom Rounds, two more names disappeared from the Board.

The first was Ironclad.

The silent Rifter had spent most of the game keeping his distance from the others, but his caution proved useless when Backlash landed on his tile and triggered a Mandatory Duel.

Overlapping plates of dark metal protected Ironclad’s body, thickening whenever he planted his feet and braced for an attack. The yellow gorilla discovered just how durable they were when his opening punch split his own knuckles.

Backlash bared his teeth and struck again.

Their battle became a brutal contest of endurance. Ironclad absorbed the punches and answered with heavy blows of his own, while Backlash repeatedly hammered the same sections of armor until the plates began to buckle.

Neither invoked their Dominion at first.

Ironclad only resorted to it after Backlash forced him to the ground... by then, several plates had bent inward, and his opponent refused to give him room to recover.

Their struggle continued inside the Rift of Binding Laws, but Ironclad couldn’t turn the battle around. Backlash battered him until he could no longer resist.

[Ironclad has been eliminated.]

The victory earned Backlash one of Ironclad’s Aspect Fruits, fulfilling a requirement for promotion through the Nocturnal ranks.

Yet, he returned to the Board without celebrating.

Wounds covered his body, one arm trembled whenever he tried to move it, and the battle had exhausted most of his energy. He had won... but another duel could easily make that victory worthless.

Mournful Spirit watched him settle onto his tile without saying a word.

During the following Dice Round, she landed on a Mystery Tile. Three options appeared before her.

[Tools Randomization Device]

[Challenge a Rifter]

[Secured Double Roll]

She selected the second and pointed at Backlash.

”Did you think I forgot about the Fortune Sniper?”

His expression darkened as the challenge registered, drawing excited cheers from the spectators. The broadcast shifted between his furious face and her faint smile while the duel arena formed around them.

Backlash attacked as soon as the battle began.

He knew he couldn’t afford a prolonged fight, so he smashed the ground and hurled chunks of broken stone toward her, charging after them before the dust settled.

Mournful Spirit swept her plectrum across the biwa’s strings.

Sound blades cut through the rubble as she moved aside, letting his fist strike the ground where she had been standing. Before he could turn, another note reached him.

His next charge was slower.

She retreated again, plucking the strings while he struggled to close the distance. Every missed attack wasted strength he needed, and each interruption to his charge gave her time to continue the melody.

She had no reason to risk a direct exchange when his injuries were already doing half the work.

Backlash’s damaged legs finally buckled.

Only then did Mournful Spirit stop retreating. She watched him plant a trembling hand against the floor and attempt to rise, then changed her tune.

”This one is for you... Celestial.”

He roared at her, but the haunting melody broke halfway through as his spiritual resistance gave out.

The next passage finished him.

[Backlash has been eliminated.]

Mournful Spirit claimed his Fortune Points and his position on the Board, settling onto her new tile with the biwa resting against her body.

Her revenge had brought her considerably closer to the Throne.

By the end of the third Dice Round and its following Freedom Round, only five Rifters remained.

Their positions appeared above the winding path.

[Akira — Tile 78]

[The Taxman — Tile 73]

[Bad Penny — Tile 69]

[Mournful Spirit — Tile 68]

[Three-Body Problem — Tile 50]

Levi was twenty-eight tiles behind the leader and eighteen behind his nearest opponent.

The other four were close enough to threaten one another with a single roll, while he remained too far away to benefit from their interference.

For once, he couldn’t blame his latest dice results... the Fortune Die finally remembered it had a job.

High rolls and favorable outcomes had helped him recover some of the distance lost during his earlier disasters.

He had even landed on a Fortune Tile and passed all three rounds without being dragged into another fight.

After Burden Collector, Levi appreciated the chance to recover.

Unfortunately, the others had continued advancing too.

Those with Fortune Points to spare invested them whenever an opportunity appeared, while the poorer Rifters accepted whatever the system offered... along the way, they had accumulated a few useful Tools.

With the Throne so close, every Tool they held became a threat.

A few stolen tiles or a forced change of position could decide the winner, and nobody wanted to reveal their preparations before they could put them to use.

Their turns grew shorter. Conversations dwindled, and whenever someone reached for a Tool, the other four paid attention.

Even Mournful Spirit stopped idly plucking her biwa between rolls.

Akira needed only twenty-two more tiles.

Gamemaster Gamble spread his arms toward the five survivors, his grin widening as the distant Throne shone above the final tile.

”Five Rifters! One Throne! I hope you’ve all been saving something interesting!”

Levi considered the positions ahead of him, then reached into his inventory.

’Two more rounds... Akira could finish before I even reach her current tile.’

The Taxman wasn’t much farther from victory, and a good roll could put either of the other two back in contention.

Waiting for his luck to improve was no longer enough. He needed to close the gap himself... or force the others to give up some of the distance they had gained.

His hand closed around a Tool he had been saving for a while.

’Time to put this to use.’