Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1914: The Stone Knight, Fiery Lady, and Old Friend

Tap.

Ergander, who had been sitting alone for some time, set his cup of tea on the table and took a deep breath.

His gaze drifted into the distance, as he knew that by now Adam must have already reached the Fallen Amber Sun.

“Very soon, he’ll activate the Vibrating Stone. Well, I hope he finds what he’s looking for. Each of us has been in his shoes at one time or another. But… Will he be willing to pay the price? He’s not the only one who wants to become stronger.”

Whooooooosh!

At that very moment, a black dot appeared in the distance. It was moving toward Ergander at high speed, but even so, it would take nearly half a minute to reach him.

“Oh, I’ve got a little time, right?”

With a warm smile, Ergander went into his house and came out twenty seconds later, setting a teapot full of green tea, two cups, and a plate of the same cookies he’d served Adam on the table.

It seemed as though Ergander was waiting for a good friend, and that wasn’t far from the truth.

Tremble!

A shiver ran through him as powerful gusts of wind swept through Ergander’s house and the golden tree atop the nearby mountain.

Ergander raised his head as the shadow of broad wings fell upon him.

The man in heavy armor and massive wings covered with stone plates hovered above the ground, staring intently at Ergander with his deep, red eyes.

“Hello, Blafor.” Ergander smiled as he pointed to the table. “You’re right on time. I just brewed some green tea, just the way you like it.”

Without saying a word, Blafor descended as his wings folded against his back.

He cast a glance at the table before fixing his gaze on Ergander.

“We need to talk. That thing you warned me about… The Fiery Lady, she did it.”

Ergander nodded with a calm expression.

“By the time you returned to the fortress, it was already too late, wasn’t it?”

Blafor clenched his fists.

“That bitch… She devoured all our pearls! Ergander! We’d been collecting them for so long! She promised that as soon as we gathered enough, our entire group would evolve! She…”

Ergander placed a hand on Blafor’s shoulder, giving him a reassuring look.

“She betrayed us all. I hoped this wouldn’t happen, but it seems something made her rush things.”

“You… Is that why you stole the Fire Pearl?” Blafor asked, deciding he understood what had happened.

Strangely enough, Ergander shook his head.

“Not quite. An opportunity presented itself, and sensing that something wasn’t right, I decided to take a chance. I’m telling the truth.”

“I know.” Blafor gripped Ergander’s wrist, looking down.

After a moment, Blafor took a deep breath and looked at the table once more.

“Hmm… Did you bring that young man here?”

Ergander nodded with a satisfied smile. “Of course. How could I have done otherwise?”

“Tsk.” Blafor snorted. “You’re too kind. I wouldn’t have harmed him either, but I wouldn’t have helped him either. If he came here, he has to handle all the trials on his own.”

Without saying a word, Ergander walked over to the table and poured tea into two cups.

“Well, as always, you’re jumping to conclusions.”

“Agh? What the hell does that mean?” Blafor frowned.

Ergander smiled slyly.

“He wasn’t just any young man, my friend. He was Adam Vinter.”

Blafor’s eyes widened for a moment.

“Wait… Adam… Vinter? But I don’t sense his aura here. Do you know who he is and decided to let him go? The Befallen Crown will find him sooner or later!”

In response, Ergander waved his hand dismissively.

“Maybe yes, maybe no. It all depends on his luck. But, to be honest, I’m hoping for it. I hope he runs into someone who isn’t afraid to fight him. It could be some bastard from the Befallen Crown, or maybe someone more interesting, it doesn’t really matter.”

Step.

Blafor stepped forward and plopped down onto a wooden chair with a crash.

He grabbed one of the cookies and shoved it into his mouth without ceremony.

“So, you treated him to tea and cookies and sent him off to wander the Light Field?”

“No.” Ergander’s eyes narrowed. “He went to the Fallen Amber Sun to activate the Vibrating Stone.”

“I see…” Blafor’s voice grew lower. “Do you think he’ll run into anyone there?”

Ergander shrugged.

“I don’t want anything bad to happen to him, but I hope it does so I can see a battle between two talented fighters. After all, after talking with him, I’m convinced of one thing, my friend.”

“Hmm?” Blafor gave him a questioning look.

Ergander leaned forward as his eyes took on a deeper intensity.

“If Adam Vinter makes it out of here alive, he’ll become the next Second-Rank Phantom. I’m not going to miss that spectacle, Blafor. Once I realized that, all my other problems started to seem trivial and unimportant.”

“Huh…”

Blafor stared at a single point for a moment before taking a deep breath.

“Sounds good, too good to be true. You’re always too optimistic.”

Ergander took a sip of tea.

“We’ll see. We won’t have to wait much longer.”

…

Meanwhile, Adam reached the entrance to the stone sphere. His eyes swept over the curved walls and the layer of ash that lay like dust on the bricks before he stepped inside.

Adam looked up as he gulped.

The rings of flames were actively flickering. They rippled across the surface like waves, but gave off no heat.

The beam of light passed through the ruined part of the stone sphere on the right, falling directly into the center, where what Adam had come here for awaited him.

“This is it, right?” Adam’s voice was full of hope.

The tip of a crystal peeked out from beneath the ground, just a meter high. The crystal was straight and smooth like a pillar, and its top had four sides like a pyramid, with a sharp white tip at the end.

The crystal itself differed from the bright energy crystals, for it was not one of them. This crystal possessed a dark, deep blue color that refused to absorb light.

It was the Vibrating Stone.

Thump!

Adam’s heart began to beat faster as a smile formed on his face.

If everything went according to plan, as soon as he activated the two radars, he would find the location of the Bottomless Void, and then his Constellation would finally be complete.