Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 840: Power of Beyond

Bright lights always helped people not to get lost in the darkness of the night, even when the moon was hidden behind a dense layer of clouds.

Their beauty and majesty never failed to attract people, the story that the fall of the biggest and brightest star was the beginning of their world.

Anyway, it was difficult, if not impossible, to find a person who had negative feelings towards the stars.

But... now Adam would argue with that.

Crackle.

With deafening force, his fist slammed into the Crimson Monarchʼs face, throwing the monster aside.

In a heartbeat, a pulse ran through the silhouette, causing its muscles to quiver and consequently explode.

Before the clots of darkness could fly too far away, several stars flew out of the Second Key, giving the Crimson Monarch a new level of power.

Adam took a step back, his eyes narrowed, watching as ten stars supplemented the Crimson Monarch, allowing it to recover quickly.

ʼOne hundred and fifty stars... The Plague Reaperʼs limit was one hundred. Fuck... How long have I even been fighting? How many times have I lost and how many times have I won?ʼ

If against the Plague Reaper, Adam had at least a few seconds to think and rest, the Crimson Monarch was an unstoppable beast.

Victories and defeats, so many that Adam lost count, he didnʼt realize how many battles there were even supposedly, just as he didnʼt know how much time passed.

However... If someone took a look at him from the outside, they would be horrified.

His hair went far below the level of his jaw, the tips touching the middle of his back, a little more and would reach his waist. Even if the man had active hair growth, it would take at least a year for that to happen, though it would be more like two or three years.

All this time, Adam was only focused on fighting against an opponent that he already defeated.

Moreover, his body also underwent changes. His body became drier, only muscles remained, dense and not bloated, just fibers and tendons. This affected his face, his features became sharper and his gaze more menacing.

The Second Key would not let him get out of the endless loop, constantly passing its stars to the Crimson Monarch, but even the Second Key had limits.

Before rushing into battle again, Adam glanced at the Second Key. His eyes went wide - there werenʼt many stars left, which meant he was at the end of the road.

Then, the Crimson Monarch was right in front of him, trident in a broad sweep toward his chest.

The endless cycle of victory and defeat began again. When the Crimson Monarch received reinforcements from the stars, the only thing waiting for Adam was defeat after defeat.

Nevertheless... in the end, Adam always won. He didnʼt realize it himself, but in such moments his power grew exponentially, it didnʼt affect his energy or aura, only his mastery, reaction, and energy control.

In other words, he was learning to better utilize what he had, to an unattainable level, pushing his limits beyond each time.

There were far more defeats than victories, but Adam didnʼt pay attention to that. He only remembered the victories.

Even though several years elapsed in inner space under the influence of Queen Elisaʼs power, Adam didnʼt go crazy or tired.

It was much easier for him to fight endlessly, to strive for victory no matter how far away it was than to try to connect hundreds of stars without seeing any progress.

Step.

Adam stepped to the side, a shiver went through his body as his right leg rose up, turning into a whip.

All the energy he possessed condensed into his foot, unleashing on the Crimson Monarch from the left side.

It appeared to be a simple, effective attack, but not powerful enough to determine the winner of the fight.

But... Adamʼs foot, like a blade, passed through the Crimson Monarchʼs silhouette.

Instead of blood from the real world, darkness and stars rushed out. Adam had reached the point where all he needed was one successful strike to end the battle.

The Second Key trembled.

Whoooooosh.

Adam bounced back, he was ready for another fight, waiting for the stars to help the Crimson Monarch recover - it had happened hundreds of times before.

”Agh...?”

His eyes went wide since the Crimson Monarch completely disappeared, and his stars, a hundred and fifty bright dots, headed back towards the Second Key.

A slight, haggard smile full of pain reflected on Adamʼs face as the corners of his mouth went up.

”Hah... I finally won?”

Unable to believe what was happening, Adam watched as the one hundred and fifty stars connected with the others. Now, the blue line ran through 450 stars, most of which Adam got thanks to his victories over the Plague Reaper and the Crimson Monarch.

With trembling pupils, Adamʼs hand covered his face, fingertips gently touching his forehead while his eyes stared across the gaps.

”Fuck... I donʼt know if other Phantoms go through the same thing, but these fights, they saved me.”

Taking a few moments to catch his breath, Adam headed to the Second Key, watching the remaining stars.

”Only fifty left, right?” his eyes ran from one lonely star to the next, ”So in total, I had five hundred stars to connect, thatʼs fucking huge...”

The first fifty stars were difficult for Adam, easier than a hundred or two hundred, but it was a challenge too.

However, there was no fear in his gaze - it was the last fifty stars. It was dozens of times easier than the stars at the beginning and even more so in the middle.

The reason was simple - Adam didnʼt need to torture himself or his mind anymore. He could simply match one star to the next, and he would succeed. All he needed was patience.

Sure, in theory, this tactic always worked, but picking fifty stars was a million times easier than matching five hundred - there were a frighteningly large number of combinations.

So, with a bitter smile, Adam sat in the middle of the darkness, checking one star after another.

He was ready for another fight at any moment, but he realized that wasnʼt going to happen.

The Plague Reaper and the Crimson Monarch took two hundred and fifty stars from the Second Key, Adam did two hundred, thus only fifty remained - not enough for a new enemy.

After a few hours, Adam had gotten within the last five stars. Only a couple of combinations and a wave of his hand to finish his longest challenge.

Before continuing, his eyes traveled forward, beyond his inner space.

During the time he had been here, Silvana and Douglas had managed to have a brief conversation and exchange gestures, but they were still in their spots, as well as Seyrina.

”Damn... I feel like I forgot how to talk. Well, I guess Iʼll deal with it somehow,” his gaze returned to the stars reflecting in his deep blue eyes, ”Now, I have a more important task.”

Five minutes was all it took Adam to find a place for the four stars. That way, away from the cluster, only one, lone star was left - the last and easiest trial for Adam.

He took his time, his eyes firmly closed while recent events flashed through his mind.

ʼThere is no Evolution Tree here, no Moira or Lone Blaze. I am here alone, not even Silvana has access to this place, just me and my defeated opponents...ʼ

A strange feeling engulfed Adam at the realization that all this time there was no one closer to him than the monsters killed by his own hands.

”Well...” he stretched out in a hushed voice, ”I hope that creating the Third Key wonʼt be as painful. Iʼm afraid I canʼt take it a second time.”

Sliding a hand through his hair, not realizing how long it became, Adam rose to his feet - heading for the final star.

He gently touched the star, guiding it to the only place left, the blue line awaiting its final guest.

...

At the same time, Douglas frowned heavily. Silvana and Seyrina noticed it, though they all shared the same feeling.

Then, Douglas glanced at his watch, furrowing his brows.

”Hmm... Itʼs weird, itʼs taking too long.”

Seyrina nodded deeply in affirmation, her arms crossed over her chest.

”Even if he decided to put it down to luck and was unlucky with every star, he should have finished about thirty minutes ago. Itʼs been over an hour now, itʼs... I canʼt remember the last time this happened.”

Concern reflected on Silvanaʼs face. If Douglas and Seyrina said something was wrong, then it was.

Her heart began to beat faster. She was willing to wait as long as necessary, but... what exactly was she waiting for?

Suddenly, a bright star appeared out of nowhere, hovering above Adam.

Slowly, the star descended, stopping in front of his chest, and sending a wave of shock at Seyrina and Douglas. Even for them, it was beyond expectation.

Then, the star flew into Adamʼs chest, creating a flash that lit up the entire Heaven Island.

At the same moment, a crack appeared inside his inner space, it grew rapidly until it could no longer withstand the pressure.

A loud rattle spread throughout the space, attracting the attention of its sole inhabitant:

”Agh...?” Adam turned around sharply.

The white stream of the great river rushed towards him, wanting to reach the center of his power - the Evolution Tree.