Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 814: A Flame for Two

A light flame appeared amidst the darkness, slowly striving towards the snow-white seed floating in the void.

Without resistance, the seed absorbed its portion of energy, without the knowledge of its owner beginning a rapid growth.

In a few seconds, the seed became a powerful sprout, but there was no bark or other attributes of a future great tree. Its structure was more like a flower, bursting into flames from its thin roots, but without completion.

The flower had no bud, only trembling fibers and brightly burning flames in no hurry to take any form, it was too early.

The heat increased, growing stronger and stronger until finally, it became a scalding heat.

Silvanaʼs eyes opened as she surged up sharply, snapping out of a deep sleep.

She looked around, seeing white walls, several screens, and familiar medical equipment.

Then, her head turned to the left, looking at her hand with fear and curiosity.

In a way, she was lucky earlier that she immediately passed out from Adamʼs wound, so she didnʼt feel the searing pain.

Her eyes went wide, though the sight wasnʼt horrible, her arm was far from fully recovered.

Wide bandages covered the most troublesome areas, multiple stitches held the flesh together, the rips were covered in a thick white substance, something between ointment and viscous glue.

Not even a fraction of the original pain remained, yet Silvana felt an unpleasant burning sensation, the pain gone incompletely.

Crackle.

The door to her room opened as a woman with long black hair stepped inside, her look stern and experience evident in her gaze.

”Finally awake?” the woman asked nonchalantly, checking Silvanaʼs status on the tablet in her right hand.

With slight confusion Silvana nodded, rubbing her shoulder.

”Yes... How did I end up here?”

”Doesnʼt you understand that? You were brought here by the military personnel. Your connection to Adam Vinter was abruptly cut off. That was enough for a squad to move in your direction.”

The woman waved her hand, looking at the confused girl.

”They had many assumptions about what might have happened to you, but...” her gaze lingered on Silvanaʼs hand, ”No one dared suggest that this happened.”

Silvanaʼs eyes sparkled. The womanʼs tone showed her that the doctor knew far more about her situation than she did.

”Do you know what it was?”

”Sure, that information is available to me, though Iʼll admit honestly, I didnʼt expect to have to treat the Operator of the K2-Phantom from Pain Transition in the middle of the night.”

Silvana blinked several times, puzzled. Even though in their pairing with Adam she was the one who knew more, she had never heard of it.

”Pain Transition...? Is that what I did? Is it something special?”

She didnʼt know what answer she wanted to hear. All Silvana wanted was to be useful to keep up with Adam.

”Well, it depends,” the woman shrugged and walked over to Silvana examining her with her tenacious gaze.

Tap.

The woman squeezed Silvanaʼs arm not far from the previously injured muscles.

”Ouch!” Silvana shrieked in pain without expecting it herself.

”Fine.”

The woman nodded deeply as she continued to examine her patient.

”I donʼt know what Adam Vinter did, but without putting you to sleep for a few days I canʼt cure something like this in one go. Youʼll have to go through a few more sessions and youʼll be fine.”

She added:

”Iʼve seen a lot in my career, this job forces you to look at the worst wounds, but itʼs one thing to see them on Phantoms and quite another on Operators.”

Suddenly, the womanʼs palm was on Silvanaʼs cheek slowly stroking her like a caring mother.

”You Operators are so weak and defenseless, sometimes in the heat of battle the Phantoms neglect you, they should be careful with you.”

A wave of shame and embarrassment came over Silvana, her face turning red the moment, she jerked her head sharply.

”What are you talking about?! Iʼm not weak! I... Iʼm not some pet to be taken care of, Iʼm an Operator!”

The woman smiled slightly, seeming to realize that she had gone too far.

Not daring to meet her gaze, Silvana muttered:

”Pain Transition... Tell me more about it.”

”Well, Silvana, Iʼm not an Operator, though I do know a lot.”

The doctor placed a hand on her side.

”What you did to help Adam is the Pain Transition, there are no secrets here, youʼve already done it. But... I donʼt think you realize one thing.”

Silvanaʼs gaze darted to her looking for an answer.

”Adam is a K2-Phantom, well... it wonʼt be long before that changes but at the time of the battle it was. Thatʼs not the point.”

Her expression grew more serious, remembering to observe Silvanaʼs condition.

”Normally, the Operator should only be able to use the Pain Transition when the Phantom reaches K3-Level.”

Silvanaʼs eyes went wide in disbelief.

”B-But... How did I do it then? Why shouldnʼt I be able to do it... Whatʼs the difference between me and the Operator of the K3-Phantom?”

”Hah, how curious you are. Well, I donʼt mind telling you since you have access to it now.”

After a few seconds, she continued:

”I could go on at length about the bond between Phantom and Operator having to be strong enough, about trust and acceptance, but... some factors regardless of your relationship.”

The woman shook her hand slightly.

”You would simply lack the energy. Your Evolution Seed doesnʼt have that much power, itʼs still a seed, so... someone had to help you, someone gave you a considerable amount of energy.”

”No.”

Silvana said sharply leaving the woman stumped.

”Hmm?” she raised an eyebrow in confusion, ”What do you mean?”

Silvana put her palm to her chest, feeling an unusual warmth, not from her body but from the flames burning deep inside.

”My Evolution Seed, it has grown... Now it is a sprout... I can feel it, I can see it...”

The womanʼs eyes narrowed, it didnʼt look like Silvana was lying and it took her by surprise.

”You see something else? A special energy must be covering your Evolution Sprout.”

In response, Silvana nodded slightly.

”Flames, red scalding flames, but... it feels natural to me.”

”I see...” the doctor took a deep breath, ”So Adam Vinter already fused with the External Artifact. I can congratulate you, pretty soon heʼll be a K3-Phantom. He only has one, Iʼd say formal step left to take.”

A shiver ran through Silvanaʼs body, Lone Blazeʼs silhouette appeared in her mind. Her sly gaze and memories of her plan became vivid.

Panic filled her heart for the first split second, but soon Silvana calmed down. She didnʼt consider Lone Blaze an enemy, moreover... Lone Blazeʼs flame became a part of her Evolution Sprout, the beginning of the fire flower.

Then, Silvana remembered something far more important than her not-yet fully healed arm.

”Wait... Where is Adam? Did he win? What happened in the serpent lands and the fortress?”

The woman smiled kindly and mussed Silvanaʼs hair as if she were her daughter.

”Sure, the Crimson Monarch was defeated. Adam Vinter stayed alive. As far as I know, about 30% of all the Phantoms in the fortress survived, as well as most of the squad leaders.”

Joy rushed over Silvana mixed with grief for the dead.

”What...? Only 30%... Thatʼs just awful. Itʼs not even a third...”

”Yeah, but... If it wasnʼt for Adam, if it wasnʼt for your Phantom who defeated the main threat, the number of survivors would be even worse.”

Silvana raised her head as if expecting to hear that:

”No one wouldʼve survived. Thatʼs obvious. The number of survivors would have been 0, so compared to that, 30% is very generous.”

Then, the woman checked Silvanaʼs status on her tablet one last time and headed for the exit.

”In thirty minutes, Iʼll call you in for a procedure. Itʼll take three or four to completely heal your arm. Donʼt worry, there wonʼt be any scars left.”

Before the doctor could leave, Silvana leaned forward.

”When will Adam be back at the Citadel? Do you know where he is now?”

The woman nodded in confirmation.

”Sure, fighters are flying toward them already. I think theyʼll reach the fortress in a few minutes. Given the distance and some checks, you should be able to meet up by the end of your treatments.”

Then, she left the room, leaving Silvana alone with her thoughts.

She couldnʼt immerse herself in Adamʼs inner space, but she could sense that something was happening there. Their bond was growing stronger every day.

...

About the same time, a few minutes before Silvanaʼs awakening, Adam gave himself to the embrace of the Lone Blaze.

A massive crystal floating in the depths of the fortress, the External Artifact slowly lost its rich color, turning gray and featureless.

Soon, cracks covered the majestic object that not long ago was the main treasure of the fortress, now all of it belonged to one Phantom.

At the last moment before the destruction, a scarlet-burning contract appeared between Adam and Lone Blaze.

[All conditions on both sides have been met. The pact is complete.]

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

With a rumbling sound, the crystal shattered into debris, the pieces one after another collapsing to the ground beside Adamʼs feet.

The next moment when Adam opened his eyes he found himself in his inner space.

But... what he saw there was not what he expected.

The purple serpent, Moira fearfully hovered amidst the darkness, a dense crimson energy like a cloud enveloped her, remembering their long but forever lost connection.

A maiden in a gorgeous dress, with red burning hair and eyes as bright as stars looked up at him with a slight smile on her face.

Adam ran his gaze over them, with the full realization that they were now part of his power and the responsibility for them rested on him.

”Well... and how am I supposed to deal with all of you?”