Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 433: Walk the Paths

"What the hell was that?" Jamie blurted out, his voice sharp with confusion. He looked around at everyone clutching their heads, faces pale and slick with sweat.

Leo's breathing was shallow as he wiped at the sweat rolling down his temple. His heart was racing, his pulse thundering in his ears. "We have to go," he whispered, almost too low for anyone to hear. Then louder, "We have to go to those places."

Morgan furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? What places?"

Leo swallowed hard. "The Gate to Heaven and the Path to Hell. They weren't just visions. They're real locations. The voices were showing us something."

Vivian's eyes narrowed with unease. "You're saying those are actual places we can go?"

Ethan crossed his arms. "Hold on. How would we even find something like that? This doesn't sound like any quest the system has ever given."

Before Leo could answer, Rachel spoke up. "That's because they've already chosen their Paths." Her words hung heavy in the air, quiet but certain. "And you haven't."

Morgan, Jamie, Ethan, and Vivian all turned to her in confusion. "Chosen what?" Morgan asked.

Rachel's gaze drifted across the others. The air between them felt charged again, though not from pain this time. It was something deeper, an invisible tension that seemed to divide the group without anyone needing to say a word.

"Those who saw the mountain," Rachel said slowly, "walk the Light Path. Those who saw the abyss follow the Dark. It's not something you can fake or ignore. The system or whatever is behind this has already marked us."

She turned toward Leo and noticed that even now, faint traces of golden light and black shadow flickered around him. Her expression softened for a moment before she forced herself to look away. "Those who chose the Dark Path form one party, and those who chose the Light Path form another."

Without waiting for anyone to argue, she moved to Leo's right side. Greg followed without hesitation, his expression unreadable. Aria was next, her steps light but purposeful. Penny hesitated for a moment, looking at Leo as if seeking confirmation, then joined them as well.

Rachel glanced back toward the others and realized that Leo's left side was already filling. Luna stood closest to him, still pale but firm in her stance. Lily was beside her, quiet but resolute. Adam crossed his arms and joined without a word, his expression grim. Crystal hesitated the longest before stepping to Leo's left side, her head flicking toward Rachel with a mixture of uncertainty that could be discerned even without the former's eyes unseen.

Rachel's gaze lingered on Lily and Crystal. She hadn't expected them to end up there, and a faint flicker of surprise crossed her face before she masked it. She didn't say anything, but the thought wouldn't leave her mind.

Finally, she turned to the newcomers who had yet to move. "You four need to choose which party to join. Two per side, no more than that. The system won't allow more than six in a group."

The silence that followed was brief but heavy. Morgan, Jamie, Ethan, and Vivian exchanged uncertain glances. None of them wanted to make the wrong choice.

Jamie broke it first. He flashed a grin and pointed to Rachel. "Well, duh. Like I'd miss the chance to fight alongside the cute people." He bounded toward her side, ending with a playful hop and a salute. "Princess Archer reporting for duty!"

Rachel sighed but couldn't hide the small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Just don't get in the way."

Morgan rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh of his own. "You're impossible," he muttered, then turned toward Lily's side. "I'm going with you."

Lily gave him a brief nod, her expression unreadable but not unkind.

That left Ethan and Vivian. For a moment, neither moved. Then Ethan looked at Vivian with his usual mischievous grin. "Well, looks like it's your turn to protect the young lady," he said, nodding toward Aria. "Don't worry, I'll hold down the shadows for a bit."

Vivian blinked at him, then smiled faintly despite herself. "You're such an idiot," she said softly.

Ethan gave her a lazy wave and walked to the Dark Path side, standing between Adam and Crystal.

Once the two parties were formed, the air seemed to settle. Everyone looked toward Leo, waiting for him to speak.

Penny broke the silence first. "Wait. If there can only be six per group, what about you?"

Leo stood still for a long moment. His expression was calm, but there was a faint tremor in his hands. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, steady, and far too heavy.

"I'll go to both."

The others turned toward him in disbelief.

"That's insane," Greg said. "You'll burn yourself out. You can't be in two places at once."

"I know," Leo said simply. "But I don't think I have a choice. I can feel it. I have to go to both."

Luna's eyes widened. "Leo, that's suicide. You don't even know what those paths lead to."

"I don't," he admitted, looking down at his hands. "But something tells me that if I don't, everything we've done until now will fall apart."

Rachel opened her mouth to argue but stopped when she saw his expression. There was no hesitation in his eyes. Just conviction and exhaustion.

Adam spoke up next. "Then we'll meet again when it's done. But how are we supposed to find these places? None of us have seen anything like that before."

Leo exhaled slowly. His eyes began to faintly glow again, one golden and one shadowed. The sight sent a shiver through the group. "We won't find them here," he said finally. "They're inside Ascension of Souls."

Morgan's eyes widened slightly. "You mean we have to log back in?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah. Whatever those visions were, they're waiting for us there. It's time to go back."

No one spoke after that. The silence was filled with the faint hum of the room and the quiet sound of everyone's breathing. Each of them understood what Leo wasn't saying—whatever waited inside the game wasn't just another quest. It was something far more dangerous.

Rachel tightened her gloves and gave Jamie a sharp look. "Try not to die, Princess Archer."

Jamie grinned. "No promises."

Luna turned toward Leo, her voice barely above a whisper. "If you're going to both… then we'll make sure neither path breaks you."

Leo gave her a faint smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "That's the plan."

One by one, the groups exchanged silent nods, committing themselves to the paths ahead. For a brief moment, everything was still. Then Leo spoke the words that would begin it all again.

"Everyone, log in."

The room was filled with the shimmer of system lights as their bodies went still, their consciousnesses pulled back into the world that had never really let them go.

The Paths of Light and Darkness had been set.And Leo would have to walk both alone.