Divergent Paths
Mark stared at the eastern treeline for two tense seconds after Ruyi walked away, taking in the unnatural, surging wave of low-tier beasts. Her assessment was razor-sharp, and deep down, he knew she was right. He didn't waste time questioning how an 'unawakened civilian' had deduced the existence and exact location of a hidden Spawn Core.
Instead, he turned on his heel and marched straight toward the main tactical tent.
Mark wasn't just a low-ranking transport driver—he was a veteran responder officer who had been temporarily demoted to field transport duty following a disagreement with guild bureaucracy. When he stepped into the chaotic command hub, his voice carried the heavy, undeniable authority of someone who had spent decades surviving gate breaches.
"Officer on deck!" Mark barked, cutting through the frantic cross-talk of dispatchers and guild analysts. He slammed his hand onto the central holographic map display. "Redirect Squads Three and Four from the main promenade immediately. They are walking into a meat grinder."
The lead field strategist blinked in surprise. "Officer Mark? What are you—"
"The spawn rate is exponentially accelerating," Mark interrupted flatly, projecting the confidence of a man reporting his own first-hand observations. "I just checked the eastern perimeter vector myself. The creatures aren't dispersing; they are multiplying at a rate consistent with a localized Core mutation. It's rooted directly beneath the central display in the eastern glasshouse. If you don't breach that floor and destroy the Core in the next ten minutes, we are going to have a Class-2 surge sweep right over these barricades."
The command tent went dead silent. The analysts scrambled, pulling up spatial mana density scans over the eastern glasshouse. Within seconds, a red alarm sounded on the primary monitor—a massive, condensed knot of parasitic energy was glowing bright beneath the root system.
"He's right!" an analyst shouted. "Mana spike localized under the glasshouse!"
"Re-route Squads Three and Four!" the strategist shouted into his comms. "Set a demolition charge on the glasshouse basement level! Move, move, move!"
Outside the tent, near the triage station, Ruyi watched the sudden, frantic shift in responder movement. Sirens blared as heavily armored strike teams pivoted toward the eastern sector. She let out a quiet, internal breath. The information had been delivered, and more importantly, Mark had taken the credit, shielding her completely from the guild's eyes.
However, her quiet relief was short-lived.
A junior guild clerk approached the triage bench where Ruyi, Rion, and Leo were sitting wrapped in thermal blankets.
"Ruyi, Rion, and Leo?" the clerk asked, checking a digital tablet. "Since you three were recovered from a high-threat sector, standard protocol requires an immediate transport to the central guild facility for debriefing and psychological evaluation."
Ruyi’s brow furrowed into a deep, prominent frown.
Central facility. That meant Vance. It meant another sterile interrogation room, another condescending lecture about 'unexplained incidents,' and another potential forced interaction with an Evaluator Core. The last thing she wanted was to stand in front of Vance while her younger brother was sitting in the adjacent room.
Rion and Leo, completely oblivious to her history with the guild's investigation unit, exchanged puzzled, uncertain looks.
"Is something wrong, Sis?" Rion asked quietly, noticing the sudden, icy drop in her temperature.
Before Ruyi could formulate a polite refusal to board the transport, Darren approached the group in a hurry, waving a hand at the junior clerk.
"Hold up a second," Darren said to the clerk. He then turned to Ruyi, looking somewhat bewildered. "Mark wants to see you in the secondary transport rig behind the supply depot. Right now."
Ruyi’s frown deepened into a dark scowl. "Mark? Why?"
"I have no idea," Darren admitted, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "He just came out of the command tent, gave the order to re-route the squads, and told me to bring you to him before the general transport leaves. He said it was urgent."
Ruyi looked back at Rion and Leo, her protective instincts instantly flaring. "I can't leave them. We travel together."
"It's fine, Ruyi," Darren said, trying to reassure her. "The boys will be put on the standard medical bus. It's just administrative intake. But Mark was pretty insistent about talking to you alone." He hesitated, leaning in slightly. "Though... knowing how busy things are over there, it might take some time. I really don't know what Mark wants with you."
The realization that she was going to be separated from Rion made Ruyi’s stomach tighten. She stared at the guild clerk, then at the waiting medical bus ten yards away.
"I must be with Rion," Ruyi stated, her voice leaving no room for debate.
"Sis, seriously, it's okay," Rion spoke up, offering her a bright, reassuring smile despite his pale skin and exhaustion. He stood up from the bench, patting her shoulder. "We're safe now. We're right outside the police line surrounded by dozens of responders. We'll just be sitting on the bus waiting for you to finish talking to Officer Mark."
Leo nodded his head vigorously, bobbing like a chicken rapidly pecking at grain. "Yup! Exactly! We're not getting separated, we're just sitting on the big blue bus! We won't go anywhere without you!"
Ruyi stared into Rion's eyes. She saw the quiet maturity in him—the steady resolve of someone who had just survived a life-or-death encounter and awakened a power to protect his friend. He wasn't a helpless kid anymore, even if she still thought of him as one.
She reached out, grabbing Rion by the lapel of his jacket, and pulled him in close so only he could hear her next words clearly.
"REMEMBER," Ruyi voiced, her tone dropping into a sharp, uncompromising command. "You are seventeen. You are legally a minor. You cannot be subjected to an awakening test or any guild diagnostic procedure without a legal guardian consenting in person. Dad and Mom are not here. Do you understand me?"
Leo stared at them, tilting his head in complete confusion. "Wait, what does legal guardianship have to do with getting a check-up?"
Rion, however, understood instantly.
He remembered the shimmering, invisible barrier he had produced in the glasshouse—the power he had used to keep the Razor-Hide Hound at bay. He realized now why Ruyi was being so fiercely protective. She didn't want the Guild to register him. She didn't want him dragged into their dangerous, meat-grinder system of hunters and dungeon raids. She was protecting his freedom, just as she had protected her own.
Rion looked his sister dead in the eye and gave a firm, unwavering nod. "I understand, Sis. Nobody touches me. I won't agree to anything."
"Good," Ruyi whispered, releasing his jacket.
Receiving the explicit guarantee she needed, Ruyi finally stepped back. She watched as Darren escorted Rion and Leo toward the medical transport bus, ensuring they were safely seated inside before she turned around.
Adjusting her jacket, Ruyi set her jaw and walked toward the secondary transport rig behind the supply depot, ready to find out exactly what Officer Mark wanted from her.