"We can't stay here indefinitely," Moon said, voicing the obvious problem. "But we also can't leave Mirage behind or interrupt his evolution."

Selene nodded, understanding the dilemma completely. "Interrupting could kill him or permanently damage whatever he's becoming. But staying puts all of us at risk."

Moon placed both his hands on the horse's neck. The subtle glow beneath the white coat was becoming more pronounced now, and Moon could feel warmth radiating from Mirage's body—not the feverish heat of illness, but more like energy being released.

"Mirage was exposed to the same treasure blood we were. We gained permanent attribute increases. Maybe for him, with his lower base power and simpler biology, the effect triggered something more profound. An evolutionary breakthrough instead of just incremental improvements."

"Indeed, it must have pushed him past an evolutionary threshold," Selene nodded, that was the only plausible reason.

"Let's wait, give him time to complete the evolution. If something forces us to move, we find a way to move together—even if that means carrying him through the vessel ourselves."

Selene smiled slightly despite the grim situation. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Moon settled into a position where he could monitor both Mirage and the vessel openings, his staff ready and mana prepared for instant casting if threats emerged.

"How long do you think you can hold out here if needed?" Selene asked.

Moon mentally inventoried his supplies. "In terms of supplies? About a month maximum, I had brought tons of canned food, and water for this realm dive. But in terms of survival it will be tough, sleeping in this place…isn't exactly possible, so maybe a week at most."

"After that we're gambling with our lives regardless," Selene finished.

They fell into silence, the calm but intense heartbeats surrounding them as Mirage's body glowed with increasing intensity.

Moon found himself genuinely curious about what Mirage would become. A faster mount? Stronger? Perhaps he'd gain combat capabilities or elemental affinities like awakened beasts sometimes developed.

—

After close to three more hours of tense waiting in the heart chamber, Mirage finally opened his eyes.

The change was immediately visible to them.

"Wow, so cool. Look at his eyes!" Selene couldn't help but exclaim, leaning closer to examine Mirage's face.

The horse's eyes, now possessed soft golden streaks running through the irises. The luminous patterns caught and reflected the fire spark beautifully, giving Mirage an almost mystical appearance.

Moon nodded, relief flooding through him as he saw his companion alert and responsive again. "Mirage, are you okay? How do you feel?"

Mirage responded by rubbing his head affectionately against Moon's chest, clearly happy and healthy despite the hours-long transformation. The horse seemed energized rather than exhausted, his movements more vigorous than before.

"What changed about you exactly? Did you gain any new abilities?" Moon asked, knowing full well the horse couldn't answer verbally but hoping body language might reveal something.

Mirage turned and waved his tail in response to Moon's question.

Moon's eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

The tail had transformed dramatically. What had been normal coarse hair flowing from the dock had thickened substantially and flattened, the individual hairs fusing together into a paddle-like fin structure. It still flowed beautifully, but now it resembled an aquatic adaptation rather than a terrestrial mount's tail.

"What is that? A fin? You grew a fin for a tail?"Moon couldn't help but remark in disbelief, moving closer to examine the bizarre evolution trait of his companion.

It was completely unprecedented. Moon had never heard of horses developing aquatic features. The transformation seemed specifically adapted to their current environment.

As if wanting to demonstrate his new capability, Mirage suddenly dove down into the pool of blood without hesitation.

Moon exchanged a glance with Selene, then both took deep breaths and dove under the blood to follow.

In the thick red liquid, Mirage was moving with incredible grace and agility—far better than he'd ever moved on land. His powerful legs kicked efficiently, but it was the fin-tail that provided the real propulsion.

The paddle-like structure undulated with perfect rhythm, driving the horse forward through the viscous blood with surprising speed.

Mirage performed a graceful turn, demonstrating control that would have been impossible with his previous anatomy. He dove deeper, then surfaced, his movements fluid and natural as if he'd been swimming his entire life.

'He can move so quickly in water... it's as if he became a seahorse,' Moon thought in amazement, watching Mirage's performance with undisguised awe.

The evolution had perfectly adapted Mirage for underwater environments. What had been a vulnerability had become an advantage.

After several minutes of demonstration, all three surfaced back into the air pocket.

"That was incredible!" Selene exclaimed, her eyes bright with excitement.

"I've never seen anything like it. An equine beast adapting aquatic features? The evolutionary possibilities are fascinating!"

Moon pulled himself up to the air pocket, blood streaming from his body and hair. "Mirage's inability to move around and through the blood was an issue, now..."

"Now he might actually be better equipped for navigating to the gills than we are," Selene finished.

Moon approached Mirage, running his hands over the horse's transformed body, checking for other changes.

The legs appeared unchanged externally but moved with greater flexibility in the water. And those golden-streaked eyes could provide better vision, possibly adapted for seeing in murky liquids.

"You've become even more special. You're evolving alongside us." Moon said quietly as he stroked Mirage's mane.

Mirage snorted, clearly pleased with himself and eager to continue their journey.

Selene examined Mirage's fin-tail more closely, "The transformation is remarkably complete. Not a half-formed mutation but a fully functional adaptation. I wonder why he developed Finns, whether it was because of the beast's blood, the environment or simply Mirage's innate trait."

"It doesn't matter, we will not be able to tell now. Once we leave this place, things will become easier to understand. By testing the blood against other beast, we can determine if it caused other beasts to evolve, or this was simply a lucky coincidence."

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