I Can See Evolution Paths

Everyone slowly woke from the dream.

Nobody spoke right away.

The memories still felt too fresh, too heavy to put into words.

Every head slowly turned toward Yasha.

She stood there with the same gentle smile she had worn since the meadow, waiting quietly among them. Then one little girl suddenly cried out. "Guardian," she said.

She ran.

Arthur smiled. "Here they come," he said.

The little girl threw herself into Yasha’s arms, and Yasha caught her, freezing for only a second before hugging her back.

The girl laughed. "Yay! I get to hug you again!" she said.

Another child ran toward her. Then another. Within seconds, every Yan child in the village surrounded her completely, small arms wrapping around her legs, her waist, whatever they could reach.

One little Goblin laughed. "You can really hug us now!" he said.

Another smiled up at her. "We wanted to see you again!"

A little boy puffed out his chest proudly. "I’m going to become really strong," he said. "So next time, I’ll protect you!"

Yasha laughed. "I’ll be looking forward to it," she said.

Another little girl hugged her arm tightly. "No more crying, okay?" she said.

Yasha gently patted her head. "I’ll try," she said.

The innocent words made every adult standing nearby smile despite everything they had just seen in the dream. The children remained exactly as they were, untouched by the weight of it. Innocent.

Happy.

They hugged her because she was there, and that was enough for them.

Melo quietly watched the children and then she nodded.

Mithra noticed. "What?"

Melo looked toward Yasha. "...They didn’t see the sacrifice or really a Guardian."

"What did they see?"

"Someone who needed a hug."

Mithra smiled. "Children really are amazing."

Melo nodded. "...Sometimes they understand people better than adults do. They’re kind of like you, Mithra."

She giggled and hugged Melo tightly, making the fox sigh.

Then the adults stepped forward, and unlike the children, some of them weren’t smiling at all.

One Hunter walked forward slowly and bowed. Then he looked straight at her.

"Guardian," he said, his voice trembling. "I don’t know whether I should thank you or apologize."

Yasha blinked. "Apologize?"

He laughed bitterly. "For making you think you had to do all of that alone," he said.

Silence.

"We called it luck," he said. "We celebrated. We slept peacefully while you stayed awake." He lowered his head. "That wasn’t fair."

Yasha quickly shook her head. "It wasn’t your fault," she said.

The Hunter interrupted immediately. "No," he said. "It was. We didn’t know. And because we didn’t know, we couldn’t protect you."

An old Goblin slowly walked over next, his hands trembling. "I should scold you," he said.

Yasha froze. "Scold me?"

"You foolish child," he said.

Everyone looked at him.

"Guardian Spirits protect their tribe. That is true. But the tribe protects the Guardian too." His voice cracked. "You never gave us that chance."

Yasha opened her mouth. Nothing came out.

The Elder shook his head. "You carried everything," he said. "You smiled and didn’t make us know you were there." He paused. "How could we possibly help you?"

Silence.

"I wish," he said, "you had revealed yourself to us."

An elderly woman wiped at her tears nearby. "You know," she said. "When I saw you smiling while you were breaking, I became angry."

Yasha looked surprised. "Angry?"

The old woman nodded. "You smiled because you didn’t want us to worry," she said. "But don’t you know that seeing someone you love destroy themselves hurts far more?"

Yasha lowered her head.

Another Goblin laughed weakly nearby. "My grandfather," he said, "always wished that one day the Guardian Spirit would appear. He wanted to thank you. He never got to." He smiled. "So let me say it instead."

He knelt.

"You protected my grandfather," he said. "My parents. My children. My grandchildren. You protected them all..." He paused. "Thank you for that but we are fine now."

Vedas quietly stepped forward before placing one fist over his chest. Then he bowed. "Commander." Yasha blinked. "...Thank you."

She smiled. "No, I should thank you... For fulfilling our king’s last wish and leading them forward."

Vedas answered immediately. "I will."

Arthur scratched his cheek. "Still... I think," he said, "you failed on your duty a bit."

Everyone looked toward him in shock and surprise.

Yasha blinked. "I did?"

Arthur nodded. "You wanted to protect everyone," he said. "You succeeded. But," he smiled, "you forgot one Goblin."

Yasha tilted her head. "Who?"

Arthur gently pointed at her. "You," he said.

Silence.

"You protected everyone," he said, "except yourself."

Yasha lowered her eyes.

Before she could answer, Mithra stepped beside Arthur, smiling gently. "Yasha," she said. "How would you have felt if one hundred years ago you saw one of the villagers destroying themselves trying to save you?"

"Would you have thanked them? Or stopped them?"

Yasha answered instantly. "I’d be angry," she said.

Everyone blinked.

She continued without thinking. "I’d tell them to stop. I’d hate seeing them hurt themselves like that."

Silence. Her own words slowly caught up to her, and her eyes widened.

"Ah," she said quietly.

Sun rubbed the back of his head. "What you did was amazing," he said. "I’ll agree with that." He smiled awkwardly. "But you still should’ve taken better care of yourself. You deserved tomorrow too."

Athena nodded. "If you had," she said, "you might have been able to watch over everyone even longer." She smiled softly. "I think every protector should remember to protect themselves too."

Silence. Yasha looked around at all of them. Arthur. Mithra. Sun. Athena. Then the Yan Tribe surrounding her.

Finally she laughed quietly. "I suppose," she said, "I really didn’t pace myself very well."

Arthur laughed. "I kind of have the same problem," he said.

Sun immediately pointed at him. "Exactly! You should learn from this too!"

Arthur blinked. "It’s fine," he said.

Sun stared at him. "How is that fine?!"

Arthur smiled. "I have you guys," he said. "Don’t I?"

Silence. Sun’s face slowly turned red, and he quickly looked away. "Tch," he muttered.

Athena smiled.

Mithra giggled.

Melo quietly smiled from where she sat.

Athy lowered her head.

Vedas smiled softly.

Kong crossed his arms, smiling to himself.

Yasha watched all of them, and then she smiled too without worry.

Raja slowly stepped forward, smiling warmly. "Our Guardian," he said. "Listen to us this time."

One Hunter smiled. "You don’t need to keep the veil anymore," he said.

Another Elder nodded. "We’re safe."

Another Hunter laughed. "If monsters come, we’ll fight them," he said.

A teenager grinned. "We’re already training."

Another puffed out his chest. "We’re going to become stronger than our parents."

One little Goblin raised both hands high. "I’ll protect everyone too!" he said.

The adults laughed at that.

"Keep your veil. We don’t need it anymore." Then one Hunter looked directly at Yasha. "We’ll become strong enough," he said, "that you’ll never have to break yourself again."

Another Elder nodded. "That sacrifice protected something worth protecting," he said.

Raja smiled. "You taught us," he said. "You raised us. You gave us tomorrow." He placed one hand over his chest. "Now step back and watch us... We’ll protect the future you gave us."

The entire Yan Tribe nodded together as one.

One after another.

"We love you."

"Thank you."

"Our Guardian."

"You protected us."

"You gave us tomorrow."

"You gave us families."

"You gave us children."

"You gave us peace."

"You gave us home."

Yasha looked around slowly.

Children.

Hunters.

Teenagers.

Elders.

Everyone.

Nobody looked afraid anymore.

Nobody looked like they needed her to keep suffering.

Very quietly, almost like she was afraid of the answer, she asked, "Then my duty is finished?"

Nobody hesitated.

The little girl smiles. "More than enough."

The Hunters nod. "We’ll protect tomorrow now."

The Elders smile. "...Rest."

Raja smiled. "It ended the moment we learned to stand," he said.

Arthur smiles. "You’ve earned it."

Mithra nods. "More than anyone."

Sun grins. "I don’t think anyone could beat your record."

Athena smiles. "I certainly hope nobody has to."

Vedas stepped forward and placed one fist over his chest. "I’ll protect them," he said.

The goblins smiled even while trembling and then they all bowed together. "Rest," they said, "our Guardian."

Yasha trembled.

She looked around one last time, not searching for danger, not worrying about anything. Just looking at the smiles she had spent one hundred years protecting.

Then she laughed not because everyone was thanking her.

Not because they thought she was amazing.

But because, for the very first time, she truly believed they didn’t need her to keep sacrificing herself anymore.

"I see," A peaceful smile appeared on her face. "Then Commander Yasha has finally completed her mission," she said.

She turned toward Arthur and Mithra and bowed deeply.

Arthur immediately panicked. "Wait!" he said. "You don’t have to bow!"

Yasha smiled. "I wanted to," she said. "If you two hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve left without hearing any of this." She looked back toward the Yan Tribe. "I thought it didn’t matter."

Mithra smiled warmly. "I’m glad you were wrong," she said.

Arthur scratched his cheek. "I just thought everyone deserves one final conversation," he said.

Yasha tilted her head. "Why?"

Arthur smiled. "King Mu and Voro all had a final conversation with their tribe before they left."

Yasha’s eyes widened before she looked to see the Mu and Su Tribes nodding at her with beaming smiles. Luka held her chest with her palm while Raku puffed his chest out with a grin and tears.

Arthur crossed his arms. "You listened to everyone for a hundred years. So... it only felt fair that everyone finally got to talk back."

Mithra nodded. "You protected everyone," she said. "It would’ve been unfair if nobody protected you."

Yasha laughed softly. "You two really are strange," she said.

Arthur nodded. "I’ve heard that," he said. "But I can’t really believe–"

Sun immediately answered. "You should start believing it."

Everyone laughed.

One child suddenly shouted, "Our Guardian!"

Another joined in. "Guardian Yasha!"

Soon the entire Yan Tribe chanted together. "Guardian Yasha! Guardian Yasha! Guardian Yasha!"

Yasha closed her eyes, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I like that title," she said.

Golden light slowly surrounded her. Nobody panicked this time. Because this time, nobody felt sadness. Only peace.

She looked at everyone one final time. "Goodbye," she said.

Arthur smiled. "Take care," he said.

She nodded. "You too," she said.

Her body dissolved into countless golden lights, drifting outward across the village before streaming together toward Arthur.

The lights entered his King’s Mark, and he looked down as the mark shifted.

The spear and hammer inside of a dome was now surrounded by a slowly swirling veil of golden light.

A notification appeared before his eyes.