Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 980: Artifact or Death? (Part 1)

Thump.

Heret collapsed to the ground, his eyes quickly emptying of the last drops of his power. He could only barely see what had happened. Adam appeared behind him too quickly, faster than he expected.

At the same time, Vorx emerged from the lava lake, but he barely had enough strength to fight. Adamʼs blow and the long battle before had seriously exhausted him.

He could not defeat Adam in a 1 vs. 1. He lost when Adam only had three open gates, now there was no chance at all.

Risha, Grita, and Torz looked at each other, genuine shock covering their faces.

They realized they werenʼt strong enough to keep up with the speed of Adamʼs movements. The only one closest to the clue was Risha.

ʼItʼs similar to what he did against Vorx earlier...ʼ she whispered, looking at his second needle. ʼWhen he pierced Vorxʼs eye, his needle created a white path... then he ended up behind Vorx, something similar happened now...ʼ

Strangely enough, for the most part, Risha was right.

But only Adam knew the exact answer.

He looked at his left hand. ʼHah, I donʼt know what theyʼre thinking right now, but itʼs not my strongest ability. Sure, it looks like a small version of the path, and thatʼs what it is, but... What is my current path capable of then?ʼ

ʼIʼve become much stronger. Thereʼs only one obstacle left in front of me - the fifth gate. Arnoth... The claims of your power would frighten anyone. Even though we havenʼt met yet, I feel that I still donʼt have the strength to overpower you, but I will soon change that.ʼ

Then, Adam closed his eyes, sinking into his inner space.

A stream of trembling runes was already waiting for him, eager to tell him about his new ability in a proper way.

[Two-Faced Weaver

Youʼve come a long way, just like your abilities, some have gone, some have come, and some have changed beyond recognition. Only your primary ability has always remained at its core. Weaver, you could always call upon a needle, but now you have two, each with a different nature and for a specific purpose.

The first needle born from the first tip is a strong and brute weapon, full of darkness and destructive power that nothing can resist.

The second needle born from the second tip is a small and precise instrument, designed to sew cloth, but in your hands, it can cut through space, opening a way forward, if only for a moment.

Weaver, your abilities grow deeper, but you are not omnipotent. In the face of a true threat, your needles may break and be your doom rather than your salvation.]

In the end, Adam simply nodded deeply.

He didnʼt need to read it. When he created the Branch Crystal, he figured out how to use his new ability.

”Well, one more gate and I can create the Third Key...” Adam muttered, directing his gaze to the lock that still restrained his Evolution Tree.

It was the main obstacle to the K4-Level, as well as the huge power gap between the K3 and K4 Phantoms.

For a moment, Adam felt like questioning his Evolution Tree about the path to reach the Second Circle, but he quickly pushed those thoughts aside.

”No... Right now, I have a more important task, Iʼm not even a K4-Phantom yet... Moreover...”

Thump.

Adam dropped to one knee both in his inner space and in the real world.

”I have won, but my powers have come to an end...”

With a final sigh, Adam closed his eye, collapsing to the ground.

The only one of the three fighters who remained conscious was Vorx. Heret lay in a pool of his blood, while Adam fell into a deep sleep while bits of light flew off his body.

Vorx smiled bitterly, holding his side. ”I didnʼt think our training would end this way, but itʼs a good thing... Itʼs been ten days now ow and maybe we have just as many more ahead of us...”

...

At the sound of the battle, Adam struggled to open his eyes, seeing the bright light that greatly annoyed him upon waking.

Shielding himself with his hands, he slowly rose, glancing around.

He was lying on a rock on the far side of the Magma Plateau, the bright crystals were his protectors and nightlights.

Step. Step. Step.

After a while, quiet footsteps sounded from outside, and Grita emerged from the shadows.

”Well, well. Looks like you like sleeping even more than fighting,” she smiled mockingly, looking at the still drowsy young man.

Adam rubbed his eyes before looking away.

Not far from the dark field three silhouettes, three monsters were fighting against the lone Phantom. A moment ago, there were four monsters.

Risha was in the middle, surrounded by Torz, Vorx, and Heret, trying to withstand their endless string of attacks.

Sure, they were in human form and not using their full strength, or Risha wouldnʼt have lasted even ten seconds.

Adam scratched the back of his head, staring at Risha in confusion. She was tired, bleeding from the many wounds on her body, but there was a relentless fire in her eyes.

”So... I slept for quite a while, didnʼt I?” Adam glanced at Grita.

In response, she nodded deeply.

”Yeah, three whole days to be exact,” she waved her hand, though in their situation, that was a huge amount of time.

Adamʼs eyes went wide in mild panic.

”W-Wait! Doesnʼt that mean the Light Legion could come to the scarlet cliff as soon as tomorrow? I donʼt think weʼre ready for a fight against Arnoth and Kreyna!”

Grita shrugged.

”Weʼve concluded that we have one more week. We donʼt know why, but the Light Legion is in no hurry to gather resources from other locations. It looks like this time, Arnoth decided to wait longer to collect significantly more resources than usual at once.”

Adam bit his lip, he still couldnʼt believe he slept for so long even though in their situation every hour was important.

”What about Risha?” he narrowed his eyes. ”Was she able to get stronger?”

With a heavy sigh, Grita shook her head. ”No results so far.”

”Khm... I may have one remedy.”