The training hall of the Walker estate felt smaller than it had an hour ago. The air was still ionized from Elias's desperate attempt at a "Zero Point" strike, and the walls bore the scorched, cracked evidence of a power that was rapidly outgrowing its container.
Elias sat on the floor, his chest heaving,. Across from him, his brothers stood together.
"Elias, that move you used just now... it's impressive," Zane said, his voice carrying a rare note of genuine approval.
"Yeah, but I don't think you fully understand your power yet," Tyson added, tilting his head back to drain a bottle of water. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his amber eyes shimmering. "That move... it's dangerous. Even after I stopped it , I still felt a shock in my hand. It didn't just hit my hand ; it felt like it was trying to eat it."
Elias looked at his trembling palms. "I see. Bro Zane... can you explain Evoliths to me? If I want to understand my power, I need to understand the source. I need to know what we are."
Zane walked to the center of the room, then stopped.
He smiled—a small, sharp expression. "Alright. It's time you learned the mechanics of the soul."
"Every living thing—human, animal, even the Zethrians—contains a primordial energy called Evo," Zane began. He raised a hand, and a swirling mist of violet energy appeared in his palm. "But raw Evo is like steam; it has no direction. When a human possesses an unbreakable Will—the will to survive , the will to avenge a mother, the will to protect a team—that Will acts as a furnace. It compresses the Evo until it crystallizes into a specific function."
"Evo plus Will equals an Evolith," Zane stated firmly. "It is the manifestation of your spirit's desire to change the world around it."
"Interesting," Elias whispered, mesmerized by the violet mist.
"But it isn't random," Zane continued. "Evoliths are divided into four distinct Roots. Everyone who has ever awakened a power is categorized into one of these four. If you understand the root, you understand the limit."
The Four Pillars
Zane held up one finger. "First is the Morphic Root. This deals with human biology—the internal self. It is the drive to become a better version of the human . Hardening of skin, superhuman reflex, regeneration... it's all about the flesh."
"Ha... now I get it," Elias said, thinking of the way his bones had reinforced themselves during the tournament.
Zane held up a second finger. "Next is the Elemental Root. This is the connection to the natural world. Natural disasters, fire, ice, lightning—the manipulation of matter and energy as it exists in the environment."
Jaxen and Kaelen, Elias thought to himself. Jaxen's lightning and Kaelen's blue flames... So there in the group interesting.
"Third," Zane said, his eyes glowing with an intense dark light, "is the Universal Root. These are the masters of the universal Laws.
They don't just use fire or harden skin; they control the very rules that govern the universe. Like me, for example. I dictate the 'where' of an object through Space and Dark Matter."
"Cool," Elias breathed. The power to tell the universe how to behave—it was the ultimate authority.
"And finally," Zane's voice dropped to a whisper, "is the Singularity Root. These are the anomalies. They don't follow the laws, and they don't just manipulate them. They break the laws of the universe and rewrite them entirely. It's a power that exists outside of logic." Zane glanced at Tyson. "I don't think there's ever been a documented human who truly belongs in this group. It's usually reserved for the highest Zethrian Commanders... like Magals and his Law of Inviolability."
Zane finished talking, the violet mist in his hand vanishing. "Now you know what you need to know," Tyson said, tossing his empty water bottle aside. "You're a Morphic user, El. You're the peak of the first root. That's why you're so durable."
But Elias didn't answer. He was staring at the floor, his mind racing through every fight he had ever been in. He remembered the river—the first time he used his power, he didn't just get stronger; he teleported like Nyx. He remembered the tournament—he didn't just grow scales; he swallowed the Black Sun, a Universal-Root ability. And just now, "Zero Point"...
"All this while... I never knew," Elias muttered. "The first time, I copied Nyx's power to teleport. That's Universal. ..Then I developed scales to stop fire. That's Morphic. And the Zero Point... And then how I swallowed the sun ."
Elias looked up, his silver eyes flashing with a terrifying clarity.
"I am not just Morphic," Elias said, his voice cold and certain. "I copied my teammates to evolve. I developed scales to survive. I swallowed the Black Sun to adapt. I created Zero Point to win. I am not just one of them..."
Elias smirked, a look of pure, unadulterated Walker ambition crossing his face. "I am the embodiment of all four roots."
Tyson blinked, looking at Zane. "Zane, I think Elias's brain just overloaded. He's talking crazy."
"Huh... no, it's not!" Elias snapped, standing up.
"You sure? You seem pretty lost to me, kid," Tyson replied with a grin, though he stepped back slightly, sensing the air in the room beginning to vibrate.
"I'm not!" Elias shouted, his voice echoing. "I finally found out my roots. The first time I used my powers, I didn't just teleport; I evolved the concept of space to reach safety. Every time I face a power, my Evolith doesn't just copy it—it absorbs the logic of that root and integrates it into me. Morphic, Elemental, Universal... and if I can swallow a universal attack like the Black Sun, then I can reach the Singularity root too."
A heavy silence fell over the room. Zane stared at his younger brother, seeing the same terrifying potential that Doc Von had seen in the tournament. If Elias could truly bridge the gap between all four roots, he wasn't just a Xenocide. He was the end-point of human history.
"I see," Zane said, his cold facade finally breaking into a proud, dangerous smile. "You really are a Walker, aren't you? You don't just want to play the game... you want to be the board, the pieces, and the player all at once."
"That's my brother," Tyson laughed, "The 10th Division is going to have a heart attack when they see what you've become."
Elias stood tall, the weight of the "shattered mirror" in his mind finally fusing back together. He wasn't weak. He was just unfinished. And now, for the first time, he knew exactl
y how to build himself into a god.