The Oracle Paths

Syrbarun-or rather, his parasite-gulped timidly from within his cage, the

minotaur's Spirit Body mirroring the anxious swallowing reflex.

"I-I can guide you to Rigel. Better yet! To the Nexus. Even to Cekt!" The Digestor stammered, layering promises upon promises, understanding on a primal level that his survival hung in the balance of his usefulness.

At least the Brain-Eater lived up to his moniker; his raw intelligence was nothing short of impressive.

Saros and Jake exchanged a stoic glance before echoing each other in perfect sync,

"How?"

It wasn't that they distrusted the Brain-Eater, but his capture by the enemy suggested that his position had been compromised. Likely, he'd been abandoned by the Dungeon Digestor and his comrade. His connection severed, he was just as in the dark as they were.

Grasping their skepticism, the parasite hastily clarified, fighting to keep his panic at bay,

"I know it sounds suspicious, but you don't understand the rivalries among Digestors. I'm more wary of Rigel than you. You're also mistaken about our objective-you underestimate and overestimate us in equal measure. Our true mission, when we sleeping Brain-Eaters were activated, was never to kill you or turn you into Sinewshades. That was just a bonus. The goal was ideally to corrupt or kill Cekt, but more realistically to capture him and hold him here for a few hours. Based on the orders we received, our mission is already accomplished.

"It's no coincidence that the consciousness of the Dungeon Digestor consistently retreats in your presence. It's not merely fear or weakness, but because its energy is on the brink of exhaustion. One of our superiors will likely seize the Nexus in a few minutes, and Rigel and I-if we fail to convert you or kill you-were to rendezvous there for the escape."

The cryptic words of the Brain-Eater sent a shiver of foreboding down Saros's and Jake's spines, especially Saros, who was no stranger to such situations. To merely delay them here for a few hours? But why?

At that moment, Jake, whose mind was linked with Xi's, felt her anxiety flare up, reaching a new peak.

'What are you not telling me, Xi?' He asked gravely, meeting her taciturn silence.

[Sigh... Even if I tell you, it won't change anything. It's already too late.] Xi confessed bitterly, dreading his reaction.

'Xi, I've never pried before, but aren't we supposed to share everything? I'm not some fragile kid. Whatever harsh truth you're hiding, I can handle it. Now, speak.'

At Jake's calm insistence, Xi's final hesitations crumbled, and with a weary sigh, she disclosed her somber speculation.

Initially, Jake was impassive as she began to reveal everything, but as she laid out her arguments and her conclusion, his face twisted as if he'd swallowed a fly against his will. By the end, when Xi had finished sharing her concerns, he was as silent and gloomy as she was.

"I see... As much as it pains me... It makes sense." Jake admitted wryly, his expression pinched.

Glancing at the Oracle Guardian, Jake scrutinized the alien's face as if hoping to read his expression through his visor.

'Is he aware of what's happening?' Jake wondered, noting the soldier's indifferent demeanor, but quickly dismissed the thought as irrelevant. 'It doesn't matter. The truth will reveal itself soon enough.'

Turning his attention back to the diminutive Brain-Eater, Jake said,

"Stop consuming Syrbarun's energy for now. I'll see if I can restore his consciousness later. You mentioned you could guide us to Rigel, Cekt, and even the Nexus, despite your mental connection with the Dungeon Digestor being severed. Explain."

Anticipating the question, Syrbarun-bis responded without hesitation,

"I can't stand that rock-guzzler and I don't trust him. One of the Sinewshades in his army is actually under my control. The urchin-shaped device I held allowed me to command those brainless zombie idiots as their Alpha, but with a Soul Slave Seal inscribed in their Soul Sea, I can easily control one of these monsters.

It's like leaving a piece of my soul in this Sinewshade, and I can thus determine its location at any time. The Dungeon Digestor's walls interfere with our connection, but determining its direction and approximate distance is no problem."

A chill ran down Jake's spine upon discovering that the seemingly meek and submissive Brain-Eater possessed such a skill. Soul Slave Seals existed in certain bloodlines and soul cultivation techniques, but they did not affect the Soul Sea but rather, the Sea of Consciousness or the Spirit Body.

To his knowledge, tampering with the Soul Sea was nearly impossible and perilous-locating and accessing it was a feat in itself. Jake had only glimpsed his perilous-locating and accessing it was a feat in itself. Jake had only glimpsed his own Soul Sea through the projection conjured by the Stele of Aurae, and that only indirectly.

This suggested that the advanced and unfathomable ability to enslave the souls of others was a racial power of the Brain-Eaters, not something that others could acquire through mere persistence and goodwill unless they stood atop the food chain of the Mirror Universe.

Subconsciously licking his lips, Jake gazed ravenously at the pitiful tentacled creature and uttered with a peculiar chuckle,

"You know... I'm quite taken with the idea of eating you."

The Brain-Eater, who of course understood Jake's intent, began to wriggle in terror like an eel on dry land upon hearing his sincere confession. There wasn't a shred of doubt about his sincerity!

"P-please don't. I taste awful. Y-you can eat Rigel instead. B-better yet, if you capture the Nexus you can have as many Brain-Eater larvae as you wish."

"Hehe, if you say so..." Jake ominously chuckled, his gaze locked on the creature ambiguously, causing it to break out in goosebumps.

Saros, who was witnessing their exchange with arms crossed, pursed his lips in disapproval, fearing that Jake might indeed be serious.

"Eating a Brain-Eater might indeed unlock new powers for you, but your Corruption..." The Oracle Guardian began to interject, but he didn't dare finish his sentence. His warning was crystal clear.

Jake rolled his eyes at the alien's dramatic demeanor. On the surface, he released an amused laugh, but the icy, resolute gleam in his eyes revealed that Saros's words had failed to sway him.

"Thanks for the advice, but at this stage, Corruption is the least of my worries." He finally retorted, sprinting without further preamble in the direction indicated by Syrbarun-bis.

Saros frowned, detecting a hidden meaning in his words, but in the end, he snorted and followed suit, each of his four hands wielding a heavy blade. Before anything else, they had to deal with the other Brain-Eater.

With the loyal Syrbarun-bis indicating the right way, and Jake blasting through every Voidsteel wall obstructing his path with Spatial Blades, it didn't take long for their trio to corner the second fugitive and his escort.

When the Gorgonite saw them burst into the corridor behind him after smashing through the steel wall covering his rear, he jumped in fright, almost falling off his mount. Once the surprise subsided, he bellowed indignantly,

"Bloody hell, how in the world did you find me so fast! Leave me alone!"

Rigel was genuinely baffled. He was so afraid of being targeted that he had initially taken a long detour instead of heading straight for the Nexus, their rendezvous point. It was a risky gamble, especially if the Digestor responsible for retrieving the Nexus left before his arrival.

His worried mind spun various theories in an instant until his vigilant gaze caught the pathetic appearance of his Brain-Eater colleague floating in a fortified glass cage, pointing at him with a smug, vengeful grin plastered on his tiny head.

It didn't take long for the parasite to piece together the puzzle, and the next moment, his rock-face contorted into an ugly scowl of hatred as he spat out in full fury,

"SYRBARUN! YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!"

The instinct of a Brain-Eater, pushed to the precipice of death, was simply mesmerizing. Rigel was no different from Syrbarun earlier, who had not hesitated to inject himself with the Voidshifter's blood essence and send Lucia on a suicidal mission to distract Jake.

With unflinching resolve, the Digestor plunged a pre-prepared syringe into his thigh, as though he'd anticipated this predicament. With a single thought, he ordered all his Sinewshades, barring his mount but including Drakon and Epsilom, to descend upon them. Meanwhile, he bolted away at a staggering speed in the opposite direction.

Jake's lips curled in disdain at the sight of Rigel's flight. His expression, however, darkened when he couldn't locate Hade among the horde of monsters.

"This bastard..."