Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 387 First Key (Part 2)

Silvana gulped, anxiously watching Adam, who was preparing for his evolution.

She was nervous. After all, how successful this evolution would be technically depended on Adam.

With each level, the difference in strength among both Phantoms and monsters increased significantly, besides the trivial amount of energy and physical power, there were many other reasons for that.

What kind of reasons?

Well, Adam was about to find out right now.

”Hah, thinking back to the first time I was here, a lot of things have changed, havenʼt they?”

Adam smirked hovering amongst the inner space.

At first, his Vault was practically empty, the Transmutator was unrevealed, the Artifact was different, not as powerful, and Nexus, his gloves only had one ability.

He didnʼt have a Power Gene, and his Initial Gene didnʼt have such an outstanding power.

And... Evolution Tree itself, the foundation of everything, was previously much smaller. It didnʼt have two unique branches with rare carved runes - they showed his Orders. One branch had a needle mark and the other a claw mark.

At the foot of the Evolution Tree like a mountain, there was a unique root, the Elemental Root. It was slightly smaller than the other main roots, but it was unique and a worthy part of the Evolution Tree.

”Not bad, not bad at all, but... what does Damienʼs Evolution Tree look like?”

Adam asked to himself as his gaze darkened.

”Iʼm a K1-Phantom, sure I still have a long way to go before becoming a Second Rank Phantom, but... Fuck, if my inner space looks like this, how big is his Evolution Tree?”

Adam shuddered.

He realized that he didnʼt see all that Damien was capable of, only a fraction as big as a drop in the ocean, but realizing how big the difference between them was made him truly afraid.

”Agh, alright, thatʼs not what I should be thinking about right now.” Adam waved his hand looking at his Vault where all of his genes were stored.

Then, he narrowed his eyes and the Vault opened to his will.

First on the list were the genes.

Adam needed 10,000 genes to create the shape.

Whoooooooosh.

Many pages in the Vault opened, shining brightly like the greatest treasure. Then, hundreds of purple flashes headed towards Adam, swirling around him like stars circling a black hole, overbearing and omnipotent.

Adam didnʼt know what exactly to do, but this place was closer to him than his home. He felt it on an intuitive level, everything here belonged to him and him alone.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Thousands of genes shuddered transforming into the hollow shape of a massive key. Through the transparent violet walls, it could be seen that it was just a shell that needed to be filled.

Moreover, the key trembled, its parts appearing and disappearing like a glitch, and its form constantly changing, showing that the key variant had not yet been determined.

”Good... So Iʼve completed the first stage, now you.” Adam muttered summoning the Revolve.

He didnʼt have to leave the inner space to do so as the artifacts were right in front of him. Each was in a container, open and ready to be absorbed.

The artifacts shuddered vigorously turning into multicolored flashes to disappear in a snow-white stream.

Ten artifacts were needed to create the key, or rather fill the shape formed with 10,000 genes.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Ten flashes flew into the purple shape, spreading through it like a heavenly liquid. The colors kept changing, wanting to choose the one that was most appropriate for Adam.

After all, the Key for each Phantom was unique. It was a thing that could elevate a Phantomʼs power to a new level, not just a nameless blob of energy.

For a while, Adam watched the massive key change shape and color until a bright glow reflected in his eyes, blinding him for a moment.

Then, Adam saw what looked like his Key. It was only the First One, but that didnʼt make it any less important. On the contrary, Adam stared at the Key with awe, for it was literally the future of his power.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Long as the size of a small rock, the snow-white key trembled from time to time. Its back end, which one usually held onto to use the key was narrow, triangular shape and sharp corners.

The long rod connecting the front and back parts was long and rectangular like the will of some rigorous warrior. The rod was wider towards the back and became thinner as it approached the front. Along the rod were square teeth that became smaller and smaller as they got farther away from the back.

The front was divided into upper and lower halves. The upper half was perfectly straight, like keys for old locks where there was no complicated mechanism, but there were lines of energy running along it as if indicating a pattern.

The bottom half was crooked and curved like the horn of a demon that for some reason ended up here and became part of this majestic key.

Adam gulped.

He could already feel how immense the power was inside the key, but, that was only two steps out of three.

If that was all it took, Adam would have created the Key long ago, right after defeating the Steel Knight since he had obtained the necessary artifacts then. Discover more content at empire

However, for the Key to open one of the three keyholes in the Lock, something else was needed - Midnight Crystal.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Midnight Crystal floating in the darkness came into motion, heading for the tip of the key. With a quick movement, Midnight Crystal shattered against the sharp end, releasing the power lurking within.

Dense energy like majestic streams emerged from the keyʼs tip, heading further out, making its trail ever wider like a comet ready to finally crash to earth after a long journey.

A slight smile appeared on Adamʼs face, watching this scene with contemplation.

This was only the first step towards the true power that someone like Damien possessed, but Adam was already amazed that something like this could be in his inner space.

”Well, I donʼt know if youʼre waiting for my orders or the right time, but... go ahead. Itʼs time to move on.” Adam waved his hand.

At the same moment, as if at the command of his commander, the Key came like an arrow into motion.

In a heartbeat, the Key swept beside Adam, making his hair flutter, quickly reaching the Evolution Tree.

At the center of the Evolution Tree was the Initial Gene, it was the core, around it was a circle, an indicator of power that it was too early for Adam to think about yet. Below, not reaching the main roots was the Lock.

It was a triangular sign with elongated ends and arched ribs as if slightly drawn inward. At the tips were three keyholes.

The First Key strove toward the top keyhole, from which particles of light were already coming out, sensing the imminent release from its shackles.

Adam watched intently, not daring to blink. He didnʼt want to miss a single moment.

Crackle.

With the next beat of his heart, the Key plunged into the keyhole.

Without advice or orders from outside, Adam instinctively stretched his hand forward, bending his fingers slightly as if he had a simple key in his hand to open the door.

Adam exhaled a cold vapor before slowly turning his wrist forcing the Key, the majestic entity, to move.

Crack.

The keyhole cracked, shattering into small shards and destroying a third of the Lock.

Following, Adamʼs azure eyes turned white due to the bright flash that consumed his entire inner space, usually hovering in darkness.