The Five Evolution

Chapter 15: Eye Of The Tiger!

『"Risin’ up to the challenge of our training..."』

MESOPOTAMIA, 2610 BCE

A man wore a linen kilt, wrapped tight around his waist. A broad golden collar gleamed against his sun-darkened skin, and his blonde hair was bound in a warrior’s knot.

On his feet were sandals strapped all the way to his calves, and a curved dagger sat at his belt.

This man, dressed in garments that spoke of royalty and divine favor, stood before an unseen monstrosity.

"You stand before the King of Kings, and yet dare to bare your fangs?" His hands began to glow as energy coalesced in his grip, and he summoned a black longsword... Angel’s Bane.

"Know your place, mongrel."

He charged at the creature with a blinding speed, the sword raised high as light trailed behind him like a comet’s tail—

Then Amara woke with a loud gasp, her body jerking upright so violently she nearly fell out of bed.

Sweat dripped from her forehead, soaking into her pillowcase. Her heart pounded and she could still feel the weight of that sword in her hand, still smell the stench of whatever monster the man had been facing.

What the hell was that?

It had felt different from a normal dream. More real. Like she’d been living someone else’s life, inhabiting their body, seeing through their eyes across an impossible gulf of time.

She looked at the clock: 5:59 AM

One minute ahead of schedule.

BEEP! BEEP! BE—

She slammed her hand on top of the alarm before it could complete its second cycle and transition to that annoying artificial voice that would definitely say something about training commencing at oh-six-hundred hours.

Amara sat on the edge of her bed for a moment, trying to process the dream—the vision, the memory, whatever it had been. The man’s face was already fading from her mind like water through her fingers, but the feeling remained.

She told herself she’d figure it out later and moved to the bathroom to freshen up quickly, splashing cold water on her face afterwards until the lingering disorientation faded.

This was training. Real, physical, potentially painful training. She needed to dress appropriately.

In the athletic section of the closet, she found exactly what she was looking for. A pair of form-fitting black compression leggings that allowed full range of motion and an athletic cropped dark gray top.

The closet was truly the best part of any of this.

She pulled her hair into a high ponytail, securing it tightly so it wouldn’t interfere with movement, and stepped out of her room.

Ethan was already waiting in the hallway, just like yesterday, looking like he’d gotten a full eight hours of restful sleep.

"How do you do that?" Amara asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you even sleep? Are you a robot?"

He walked over and stood beside her, that infuriating grin spreading across his face. "Do what?"

She playfully punched him in the arm, hard enough to make her point, and smiled.

Sophia emerged from her room next, yawning so loudly it echoed down the corridor. She wore high-waisted shorts, a sports bra with an oversized hoodie half-zipped over it, her blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun.

"Good morning," Amara said warmly. "I take it you didn’t get enough sleep?"

"It’s this place," Sophia muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Still not used to all of this. The silence is too quiet, you know? Like, unnaturally quiet. No traffic noise, no neighbors, nothing. It’s creepy."

"Tell me about it," Amara agreed. "I keep expecting to hear sirens or people yelling or something."

Raj stepped out of his room, already dressed and looking ready to lift a building. With Raj accounted for, they were all ready to move, except Hiro was still missing.

"Time to go wake him up," Raj said with a wicked grin. "Payback time for April first."

"You’re still not letting that go?" Amara asked.

"I had whipped cream in my ears for days, Amara. Days." Raj was already thinking about his revenge plan when—

"No need for that," Ethan interrupted as they walked toward the elevator. "He was up before any of us."

They turned the corner to find Hiro waiting by the elevator, practically pacing frantically.

"Damn it," Raj muttered.

"Come on, people! Where’s the enthusiasm?" Hiro called, waving them over like a tour guide who’d had way too much coffee. "We’re about to go into one of those training simulation things! You know, like the Danger Room or the holodeck or—"

His excitement was contagious. Amara felt her own eagerness tick upward despite the early hour and the lingering strangeness of her dream.

Ethan and Sophia didn’t seem to share the enthusiasm.

"Let’s just get this over with," Sophia said flatly, stepping into the elevator.

***

The training chamber was exactly as they’d left it yesterday. Massive space, high ceilings, equipment that looked both cutting-edge and vaguely ominous.

Dante leaned casually against one of the truck-sized pods, the same cocky grin from yesterday plastered on his face.

The pods themselves were impressive. They had smooth metallic surfaces with ID scanners mounted beside sealed doorways. There were about ten more just like them scattered across the room.

"Hello," Maya greeted from a different corner, hands clasped behind her back. Beside her stood the third member of their team, silent and watchful.

"Well, well," Dante said, pushing off the pod as they approached. "The noobs are here. And you all look like shit." His eyes landed on Ethan. "Except you, Shield."

Ethan gave an arrogant nod and smile that made Amara want to wipe it off his face.

Then Sophia announced bluntly, "I feel like I’m not gonna like you."

"You’re gonna dislike me even more in about five minutes," Dante promised with disturbing cheerfulness. "Bathroom’s in the corner. Use it now because we’re not stopping for bladder emergencies."

"So." Raj cracked his knuckles with forced bravado and asked, "what’s on the agenda? Obstacle course? Combat drills? Target practice?"

"A whole lotta pain," Dante said simply. Then he turned to the silent member of his team with a grin. "Isn’t that right?"

"Da," She said.

It was the first word Amara had heard her speak. Maybe it was the sultry Russian accent that made her sound more terrifying, or maybe she just was that. Terrifying.

Maya’s sympathetic smile somehow made it worse. "We’re going to teach you discipline. The stronger your body as an Awakener, the more energy you can channel safely."

"In our case, Spirit Weapons are extensions of will," Dante added. "But will doesn’t mean shit if your body can’t support the draw. So. We start with the basics."

He’d said "our case." Perhaps they were all Vessels like the five of them. That would explain why they’d been chosen as trainers.

"We’ll start with some resistance training," Dante continued, pointing at weighted vests laid out on a nearby table. Each vest was clearly marked with their designated role.

SWORD - 250 LBS

Amara found hers and strapped it on. Two hundred and fifty pounds settled across her shoulders like a small car, and her knees nearly buckled.

"That’s heavy," she managed.

"No..." Hiro turned to Amara. "A bag of flour is heavy. A truck tire is heavy!" He gestured wildly with flailing hands. "This is abuse! This is a violation of the Geneva Convention!"

"It’s not so bad," Raj said, already adjusting to the weight with minimal difficulty.

Hiro stared at Raj. "If I could move, I’d come over there—"

"Quick tip for you guys," Dante interrupted, swiping his card against the pod’s scanner. The entrance hissed open. "Don’t forget to breathe."

Due to the size of the doorway, they had to duck their heads to enter. Dante went in first and called back: "Get in here!"

Amara stared at the opening skeptically. How was that even possible? No way all eight of them could fit inside. Even three people would be a stretch based on the exterior dimensions.

Hiro rushed in first, more excited than anyone, completely forgetting about the weight dragging him down.

"What in the TARDIS is this!?" His voice echoed from inside, high-pitched with shock and delight.

Amara rushed in next, ducking through the doorway, and her breath caught.

The interior was vast. Impossibly vast. The space stretched out in every direction. The control room windows lined an upper level where equipment and control panels could be found. And the ceiling was so high it disappeared into artificial darkness.

"It’s really like the TARDIS," she exhaled, losing her carefully maintained composure for just a moment.

"Right!?" Hiro was already walking around, touching walls, examining the space with barely contained glee.

The others began moving in. Sophia stepped through, stopped, stared, then stepped back out to look at the truck-sized pod from the outside. She circled it completely, then went back inside.

"Sick," she said simply.

"It’s like nine football pitches put together in here," Raj noted, his voice echoing through the space.

Ethan was more interested in teasing Amara for her brief loss of composure. He raised an eyebrow with a smug smile. "You’re a nerd. Amara is a nerd. How am I just realizing this now?"

Amara lifted her chin and played it cool. "If appreciating one of the wonders of the world makes me a nerd... then I shall wear the title with pride."

"One of the wonders of the world? Really?"

"It is." She met his eyes, the faintest spark of playfulness there. "Don’t mock what you do not understand, Ethan Bass."

"Alright, alright! Enough of that." Dante’s voice echoed from above through speakers. He stood in the control room with Maya and the silent Russian. "This is the Adaptive Reality Training Environment—ARTE for short. It’s a training pod, not a playground."

"ARTE will run three phases of your training," Maya explained, her Irish accent carrying clearly even through the audio system. "Dante will oversee the first phase. I’ll take the second. Yelena handles the third."

Yelena... At least Amara knew what to call the scary Russian lady now.

Dante tapped something on his control screen and said, "get ready to run."

"Run?" Hiro asked.

"Yup." Dante tapped the final command, and the room transformed.

***

The simulation engines warped reality within the pod, turning the stable floor into a constantly shifting nightmare that inverted their sense of direction and balance.

The goal, as Dante explained with far too much enthusiasm, was to strengthen their coordination and endurance.

Amara had run track in high school. She wasn’t the fastest, but she’d had endurance. Or so she’d thought.

Two minutes into this nightmare and she realized this wasn’t remotely the same as track.

The floor and walls didn’t just shift, they learned. Every time she adjusted her stride, the simulation adapted. Sections would drop away with no warning, forcing her to leap gaps that appeared and disappeared in seconds.

Other parts would spike upward, creating obstacles that hadn’t existed a moment before.

Meanwhile, the weighted vest made every movement feel like moving through mud.

And through it all, Dante’s voice echoed with maddening cheer:

"Come on, Sword! I’ve seen grandmothers move faster!"

"Boots! Aren’t you supposed to be the speed guy?"

"Shield, beautiful form but you’re still going to eat dirt in three... two... one—"

Ethan hit the ground as a section dropped beneath his feet. He rolled and came up running without stopping, barely missing a beat.

Five minutes became thirty. Thirty became an hour.

Amara’s lungs burned. Her legs screamed with lactic acid buildup that made every step feel like torture. But she kept going because stopping wasn’t an option. Not with her friends struggling beside her or Dante watching.

However, her endurance and reflexes surprised even her as more time passed. Was this what came from Awakening? Because she wouldn’t have lasted thirty seconds in this simulation three days ago.

Beside her, Hiro was gasping like a fish out of water, his enhanced speed useless when he couldn’t predict where the floor would be from one second to the next.

"This is bullshit!" Sophia protested as an obstacle slammed into her arm. But she kept running.

"If that was a Lamia, your arm would be gone," Dante called down.

"I know what I’d like to do with my arm!" Sophia shouted back.

"Don’t threaten me with a good time," Dante responded.

Maya’s voice came through: "Dante, a little focus please."

"Right, right." He grinned. "Back to work, people!"

Raj was holding up better than most. His huge body moved with unexpected grace, pure muscle memory from years of athletics carrying him through when conscious thought failed.

Amara’s foot caught on a raised section, and she went down hard. Her palms scraped against the too-smooth floor, and pain shot up her wrists as she tried to catch herself.

"Get up, Sword!" Dante’s voice interrupted her daze. "You think a Malice is going to wait while you catch your breath?"

Amara could share in Sophia’s sentiment now because she badly wanted to put her fist through Dante’s face.

At this point, she wanted to scream. She wanted to quit.

Instead, she pushed herself up and kept going, because the alternative was admitting she couldn’t handle this, and her pride wouldn’t allow that.

An hour became two.

Someone was crying, Amara couldn’t tell who. Her vision had narrowed to the next step, the next gap, the next breath. Yet none of them chose to stop.

Or maybe they weren’t given much of a choice, considering that stopping meant getting thrown around like a ragdoll through the relentless simulation.

"Time!" Dante finally called, and the whole room went still.

All five of them collapsed where they stood.

Amara lay on her back, chest heaving, staring at a ceiling she couldn’t properly see through the sweat stinging her eyes. Her heart hammered so hard she could feel it in her teeth.

Sweat had soaked completely through her clothes, and her hands wouldn’t stop shaking no matter how much she willed them to be still.

"Water break," Maya said kindly. "Five minutes."

"Five... minutes!?" Hiro complained, shaking his inhaler and taking a deep breath. He shook it again and took another. "It’s official, I’m dead and this is hell."

"And are we just going to ignore the Lamia name drop? Really? Nothing? Ok," Hiro added.

Five minutes felt like five seconds. Amara had barely caught her breath before Dante was calling them back.

"Round two!" he announced with disturbing enthusiasm. "This time lose the resistance."

The weighted vests released with soft clicks, falling away.

The moment they came off, Amara felt like she could float. Her shoulders rose an inch without the crushing weight, and around her, everyone straightened slightly, moving like they’d been released from chains.

"Same drill. Let’s go!"

The room erupted into motion again, worse this time, with faster shifts, deeper drops, and higher obstacles.

But it felt different. Easier. Like a weight had been lifted both literally and metaphorically.

Amara moved with renewed focus. Around her, the others found their rhythm too.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Hiro called out while running. "It’s like that hallway scene from Inception!"

They all burst out laughing, even while maintaining balance, even while vaulting obstacles. Amara nearly tripped from laughing so hard.

"I see it’s getting funny now, huh?" Dante said from above. "Let’s see how funny it gets when I crank it up to level five."

He turned the dial, and the simulation intensified dramatically.

But they kept up. More than that, they were the ones adapting now.

Amara vaulted over a collapsing surface and added breathlessly: "Feels more like Strange’s mirror dimension!"

The laughter resumed, and this time it did throw them all off balance. They slammed repeatedly into obstacles, tumbling and rolling but still somehow laughing.

Dante quickly turned off the simulation and switched off the mic. He looked to Maya and Yelena with concern. "You think I overdid it?"

He switched the mic back on. "Are you guys okay?"

Rather than groaning or complaints, what he heard was laughter. All five of them were laid out on the ground, laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

"Okay," Dante said, scratching the back of his neck. "They’re good."

Ethan stood first, reaching down to pull Amara up.

"Thanks," she said, accepting his hand.

"Maya’s up next," he said, releasing her hand but staying close.

"You think it’s going to be anything like this?" Amara asked, still catching her breath.

Ethan grinned. "Only one way to find out, right?"

Above them, Maya was already adjusting her control panel, and something about her expression suggested the next phase would be very different indeed.