The Five Evolution

『"Good news first."』

Amara entered Conference Room A alongside the others, her eyes immediately sweeping through the room.

She took in the pristine white walls, polished black floors, and a massive round table that sat at the center of the room. Then there was the lighting, which was almost painfully bright.

This was her first time in Conference Room A. Hell, she had no clue there was a Conference Room A.

"Have a seat." The Director stood at the far end, gesturing to the chairs arranged around the table.

"First order of business," he said as they settled around the huge circular table. "You five performed admirably in Tokyo."

Raj leaned back with a grin and threw an arm over the chair.

"You hear that?" Hiro said. "We are officially admirable."

Amara nodded once and looked at Ethan. He was quiet, as if something was on his mind. Then her eyes drifted toward Sophia, who showed no reaction at all.

The Director continued. "What occurred beneath that cavern exceeded every projected threat parameter we had."

The holographic display behind him flickered to life, showing images of the various rifts positioned across different cities.

"Seismic cages were set up globally below each rift in anticipation of their descent," he explained. "The cages were meant to contain any seismic activity while trapping the Malice upon its arrival."

Hiro leaned in, fascinated by the technology. "How exactly does that work?"

"In due time, Mr. Hiro," he said to him and turned his attention back to everyone. "The point is, we were not going to allow a repeat of what happened in Tokyo. But as you can see." He gestured to the screen.

"There used to be four rifts," he said. "London. São Paulo. New York. Beijing. And now—"

"And now there are just two," Amara finished.

It was beginning to dawn on her where the Director was going with this.

"Precisely," he said as the holographic displays switched to body-cam images captured from the cavern. "The Malices you encountered should not have manifested physically yet."

Raj frowned. "What do you mean yet?"

"They were brought down prematurely," he answered, and that got everyone’s attention, Sophia’s included.

The Director folded his hands behind his back. "Malices do not naturally descend into our layer of reality at that stage. Someone forced them through early."

"Or something," Hiro said quietly.

The Director’s expression immediately darkened. "What you fought was incomplete. Premature. And even then..." His gaze swept across all five of them. "It nearly killed you."

Nobody argued with that.

"However," he continued, "the growth you all have displayed over the past several weeks has been astronomical."

Hiro blinked. "Wait, we’re getting praised twice? This meeting is going suspiciously too well."

Raj rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, we did sort of kickass."

"Now..." the Director moved to sit, settling into his chair. "...onto the next order of business."

Hiro immediately sighed. "There it is. I knew the vibe was too good."

"There are three updates," the Director said calmly. "Two are favorable. One is... complicated."

Raj raised a hand. "Okay, hit us with the favorable ones first."

"It has been confirmed," Director Hale said. "All five of you are now capable of suppressing your Awakener energy consciously. As of today, you’re no longer catnip for wraiths."

Hiro sat up straighter. "What exactly are you saying?"

"What I’m saying is that you’re all cleared for unrestricted movement outside the Institute. You can go home. Visit family. Leave whenever you want, as long as you maintain basic check-in protocols."

For a second, nobody moved. Then Raj stood up suddenly. "Does that mean no more underground lockdown?"

"No more underground lockdown," the Director confirmed.

Raj’s eyes widened. "Hold on." He leaned forward. "You mean we can actually leave the Institute now?"

"Yes."

Hiro’s eyes narrowed. "Like leave leave?"

"Yes."

"No escorts?" he added.

"No."

Hiro rubbed his chin, then pointed. "And no constant monitoring?"

"Within reason, no."

Raj stared at him. "You’re serious?"

"You’ve gained enough control over your energy output to suppress it entirely when necessary," the Director clarified. "As long as you maintain that control, you no longer pose the risk of being chum in the water."

"Hell yeah!" Raj yelled.

In that moment, Amara felt something in her chest ease. The thought of fresh air, actual food that wasn’t cafeteria-prepared, visiting her parents... she held back a squeel and quickly composed herself.

"That sounds amazing," she said softly with a smile.

"Amazing?" Hiro turned to her. "More like spectacular." He paused. "Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen a fast food restaurant?!"

"Okay, okay." She chuckled. "Spectacular is better than Amazing."

"You bet your snow-white hair it is," Hiro said with excitement.

Then the Director continued. "Additionally, Maya’s prognosis is good. When she wakes, physical therapy will take several months, but she should make a full recovery."

This was indeed favourable news. The best news they could hear today.

Raj exhaled in relief. And Hiro muttered a quiet, "Thank God."

But beside them, Sophia’s entire body went rigid as her expression only darkened further. The mention of Maya’s name seemed to have visibly hurt her.

Amara noticed, but she wasn’t the only one to take note of her reaction.

Sophia’s eyes were suddenly fixed on some point past the Director’s shoulder, and Amara could see the exact moment Sophia stopped listening to anything else.

Ethan caught her withdrawal out of the corner of his eye and turned to the Director. "We heard something about a prosthetic?"

"Yes." Director Hale cleared his throat. "The prosthetic we’re providing is state-of-the-art. She’ll regain near-complete functionality."

"That’s good," Amara said quietly as her eyes drifted toward Sophia again, almost instinctively.

She gave a small nod, but it felt automatic. Like she was simply acknowledging the words without really hearing them.

And for a brief moment, the tension in the room eased.

Then Director Hale’s expression shifted again, becoming more serious. "Now," he said, "there are other matters we need to discuss."

Hiro swallowed. "We should have done the bad news first."

"The appearance of a Malice at that stage was already catastrophic enough," the Director continued. "But what concerns us even more is what happened afterward."

Ethan’s gaze sharpened slightly. "The Apostles."

"Yes." the Director confirmed. "The Apostles continue to interfere with our operations," he said. "But their objectives remain unclear."

"One of them had multiple Spirit Weapons if I’m not mistaken," Amara said. She had been wondering about this since the cavern, but everything had been too chaotic to ask. "I thought that wasn’t possible?"

"And the other looked like he was Ethan’s long lost br—" Hiro stopped himself mid-word when he saw Ethan’s expression.

The room went quiet. "...brother," he finished carefully.

However, Ethan didn’t respond. But the tension in his shoulders said enough.

"This brings me to the final order of business," the Director continued, though his eyes lingered on Ethan for a moment. "What happened in Tokyo has drawn attention from every major branch within the Institute."

"Considering the level of knowledge the Apostles possess, and your recent performance in Tokyo, a Convergence will most likely be held to evaluate you all and the threat of the Apostles."

Raj folded his arms. "A conver-what now?"

"A gathering of all major Institute branches," the Director explained. "Directors all convene to assess critical threats and make strategic decisions. In this case, you and the Apostles."

Hiro frowned. "Seriously, who even are these guys? Because one of them stopped time like that was a normal thing. I’ve got questions man..."

"Like for one, why do they know so much?" Amara added quietly. Then her eyes narrowed. "More importantly, what do you mean by an evaluation?"

Before the Director could answer, a holographic screen suddenly expanded beside him. It was an incoming call. The symbol displayed across it was a dragon holding a book.

DRAGON BRANCH.

"Speak of the devil." The Director accepted the call and a woman appeared within the projection.

The moment her eyes landed on the Five, Amara immediately understood one thing. This woman already disliked them.