Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1853: The Risks of the Soul Stance for the Whole Family

Cling. Cling. Cling.

Romara tapped her spoon against the rim of her porcelain cup while steam from the tea wafted past her intense, blue eyes.

Neither she nor Amelia had left Adam alone with Vador. They watched from a distance.

True, they couldn’t see what was happening inside Vador’s inner space, but any fluctuation in his energy was a sign of progress to them.

Now, the third hour was drawing to a close.

“I have to admit, it looks like you weren’t wrong about him. Although it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to fully heal Vador. His energy level has risen, but only slightly. At best, this will give him one or two more days beyond what he originally had.”

Amelia wasn’t rushing to conclusions. She believed in Adam, that was precisely why she’d brought him here, but first she wanted to see results, because that was the only thing that mattered.

“Mother, there’s something I need to confess to you.”

“Hmm?” Romara raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

“As a reward for your help, I promised to teach Adam how to use the Soul Stance.”

In an instant, Romara’s eyes widened, and her face paled.

“B-But… Amelia, you know that, first and foremost, it depends not on you but on him! You can’t guarantee it! No one can!”

Amelia nodded deeply.

“I know. I just wanted you to know about it. Either way, I’ll do everything in my power to help him get the fourth anchor if he saves the father.”

Romara’s eyes darted from Amelia to Adam.

She realized there was a chance Amelia wouldn’t be able to keep the promise she’d made.

That meant only one thing:

Romara narrowed her eyes. ‘If that happens, we’ll have to get rid of him somehow. I’d rather not do that after everything, but… what other choice do we have? What if he finds a way to harm Vador if Amelia can’t teach him the Soul Stance?’

Someone like Romara would do it without hesitation, for the sake of her family and herself. It wouldn’t be the first or last bad deed in her life.

“Don’t even think about it.” Amelia’s menacing voice echoed through the room.

“Agh? What are you talking about?” Romara blinked a few times, pretending she didn’t understand what was being said.

Amelia glared at her.

“You know. The worst thing you could do to our family is to harm Adam Vinter. We can’t afford that, even if he becomes our enemy.”

“W-Why?” Romara was confused. “Is it all because of Laroza? We’re long-time residents of Varreyn. We can work something out with one of the Watchers. Besides, he’s a Phantom!”

“I am aware of that.” Amelia’s voice grew lower. “But Laroza isn’t the one whose wrath I fear. You’re right, we’re monsters, and if we had to, we’d find a way to come to terms with Laroza.”

“Hmm? Then who are you so afraid of? Laroza protects Adam, and there’s no one stronger than her.”

“I’m not afraid of a monster, though… if we’re talking about consequences, he is the monster, not us, or even Laroza.”

A glint flashed in her eyes.

“Aiden Henk. He sent Adam here.”

“W-What?” Romara’s voice trembled. She was in disbelief.

Amelia nodded.

“And… you know, everyone in the lands knows who does all his dirty work. We can’t afford to anger Gladius.”

For the first time in a long while, emotion flashed across Amelia’s face. It was fear that caused her to grip her dress more tightly.

“If he decides the consequences don’t matter, then neither Laroza nor the other Renegades watching Varreyn will help us.”

Without saying a word, her gaze fixed on a single point, Romara raised her cup of tea to her lips.

Sip.

She took a sip in silence before nodding.

“In that case, we must hope for the best. He’s talented. He’ll be able to learn the Soul Stance. I hope so… otherwise, we’re in for a disaster.”

Tremble!

At that very moment, a tremor rippled through the air as Amelia and Romara’s gazes turned toward Vador.

Over the past three hours, similar ripples had been occurring constantly, but this one was significantly stronger, surpassing all the others combined.

Then, Adam opened his eyes, which were already ringed with dark circles from exhaustion.

“Gha…” Adam exhaled heavily, taking a step back.

Amelia gulped.

“How did it go? What progress were you able to make?”

Adam smiled bitterly.

“Not bad, but… there’s still a lot of work ahead. I’ve finished about 15–20%, roughly. Anyway, you must be feeling it too.”

Romara nodded.

For the past few weeks, she had stayed by Vador’s side, watching her husband slowly die. His energy was gradually draining away, just like his life. She knew the rate at which the energy flows were diminishing, and now that rate had slowed.

“That’s true,” Romara stated confidently, a flame of hope appearing in her eyes. “Now, Vador has at least one more week…”

“Huh.” Adam chuckled with a confident smirk. “I’m still not doing very well, so next time I’ll be able to do more. And now-“

Before he could finish, his eyes went blank as he collapsed to the ground.

Amelia and Romara looked at him, noting his steady breathing.

‘He just passed out, he’s too exhausted. But this is just more proof that he’s really trying to help us.’

“Mother, do we have a spare room?”

Romara smiled.

“For a guest like this? Huh, I’d give him half our mansion if he needed it.”

Well, that wasn’t necessary, but a cozy room wouldn’t hurt Adam, especially now.

Tap.

Amelia hoisted Adam onto her back and vanished like a ghost, moving along the long, empty hallways of their residence.

Amelia wanted Adam to recover as quickly as possible, so she gave him an extract made from rare herbs.

He couldn’t draw energy directly from resources like monsters do, but now his energy would replenish faster, and his body would grow stronger.

“Come on, Adam, you’ve got a lot of work left to do.” Amelia’s voice echoed as she left the room.

However, Adam heard neither her nor the closing door.

He hadn’t slept so soundly in a long time, so even his inner space remained hidden from him now.

He didn’t see the tremor running through the Evolution Vein, and there could be only one reason for this: Silvana and their shared abilities.