Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1775: Best Failure (Part 1)

Like all observatories, the Morton Observatory was located in the far reaches of the Citadel, in an area restricted to ordinary people.

The Morton Observatory was situated on the western wall of the Citadel, a dome-shaped building with a honeycomb pattern covering the white structure, which was only a small part of the entrance.

In fact, while the Iron Observatory and the Miracle Observatory were located in the slums, closer to the walls, the Morton Observatory even extended slightly beyond them. The Morton Observatory stood on a platform, overlooking the Dead Lands.

Sure, it was still under the protection of the Citadel and the military, just like any medical facility, but considering who Aiden Henk’s ally was, he had nothing to worry about.

As the purple sports car approached the Morton Observatory, memories of that very day filled Adam’s mind once again.

He frowned, recalling how two years ago he had driven down these same streets, heading toward the Morton Observatory.

Back then, his mode of transport wasn’t Gladius’s unique sports car, but the government truck they used to gather youths from the slums like him and send them for testing.

Naturally, Adam agreed, as did more than a dozen other youths. The money the government offered for this was a small sum for someone from the Second Ring, but an excellent reward for the slum dwellers.

His family was struggling, so he simply couldn’t refuse when a government official came to them. Moreover, he and everyone else had a chance to awaken a Spark and become a Phantom.

Even if that chance was tiny, it could completely change their lives and those of their families. There was no doubt about that.

In fact, one of them got lucky, a girl named Lana Tiates. That day, she was the only one who passed the test. The Spark Seeker found a Spark in her inner space. Thus, she soon became a Phantom.

Sure, in the end, Lana Tiates turned out to be a failure. When Silvana encountered her, Lana Tiates was just a K0-Phantom. A lot of time had passed since then, but the last time she checked Lana’s status, she saw that Lana had recently become a K2-Phantom.

It was a good result overall, but there was something that cast a shadow over her and completely overshadowed her moderate success.

It was Adam, and he was the second person from the Morton Observatory to become a Phantom that day.

However, unlike Lana, there was no Spark in his inner space. Even worse, Aiden Henk, the chief scientist of the Morton Observatory, the one who conducted the test, didn’t even notice him and, as a result, dumped him like trash right in the Dead Lands along with the corpse of the now-useless Spark Seeker.

Ironically, though, he, devoid of any talent, managed to achieve far greater results than Lana and hundreds of other young people who had gone through the same tests as him. Even Aiden himself had to admit that it was a surprising mistake on his part that led to this outcome. For Gladius, it was a constant source of mocking jokes.

Adam had thought about this hundreds of times, and he understood that, as harsh as it might sound, the truth was that it was precisely thanks to Aiden’s cool-headedness and cynicism that he was able to become a Phantom, a Natural One.

Sure, with each new level, the difference between an Artificial Phantom and a Natural Phantom grew fainter. But, at the start of Adam’s journey, it served as a catalyst for him, just as his bloody victory over the first monster, the Silver Weaver, had.

Tap.

The purple sports car came to a stop in front of the heavy gates as he turned around.

”Are you ready?”

Gladius’s blue eyes shone brightly in the darkness while Adam’s were deep and gloomy.

”Yes. I have no other choice. I hope Aiden is in his lab right now?”

”You can be sure of that.” Gladius nodded. ”He rarely leaves the observatory.”

They got out of the car as a gust of cold wind swept past Adam, ruffling the tips of his hair.

He glanced at the slums and the Citadel at night in the distance before turning toward the Morton Observatory.

Like any observatory, it was well-protected. The walls and security measures here were better than at military forts.

Step. Step. Step.

Gladius headed forward, but he wasn’t walking straight toward the imposing gates, instead, he headed for a wall off to the side, right at the edge.

”Follow me. We shouldn’t use the main entrance.”

Adam and Silvana exchanged glances before doing as he said.

Since the Morton Observatory extended slightly beyond the Citadel’s borders, they were now essentially standing on a stone cliff. Two more steps to the side and they would fall straight into the Dead Lands.

It was a unique view, for even at the forts and launch pads, there were walls and fences everywhere, but not here.

”Huh, not bad...” Adam muttered, looking out at the open view of the Dead Lands. ”Not bad at all.”

He glanced at the tar lake in the distance as a chill momentarily filled his gaze. No matter how much has changed since that day, for him, those will always be painful memories.

Tap.

Gladius placed his palm against a plain concrete wall as a panel appeared. He quickly entered the code, and a secret passageway opened up for them, running through the entire width of the wall straight to the main hall of the Morton Observatory.

Suddenly, Xyrea’s voice rang out.

”Unlike other observatories, there are no other government scientists here. Everything here belongs to and is under the control of Aiden Henk.”

Adam clicked his tongue.

”Tsk. Who would have doubted that?”

Silvana looked around. The passage they were walking through was a simple technical room.

”Does he work here alone?”

”Practically.”

Step.

They turned, and ahead of them lay another long passage with a gate at the very end.

”In that case...” Adam raised his hand, pointing ahead. ”Who are those two?”

Two girls were standing in front of the gate, having been waiting for them there for some time.

Aiden knew they were coming, and for Adam, this could be either good news or bad.