Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 872: Thank you

Under the stunned looks of the nobles, Adam and Silvana disappeared around the corner.

From the battle at the Amber Could he had gotten much more than he had bargained for, instead of one twilight coin, he got two.

However, there was no joy on his face.

His bloody fists held Silvanaʼs hand tightly, unwilling to let her go. She didnʼt resist, but she didnʼt say anything.

From time to time, Silvana glanced at Adam as her cheeks quickly reddened. Time after time, the brutal scene of Adam beating Kenna replayed in her mind, but... she couldnʼt help but feel warmth in her chest.

Kenna got what she deserved, Silvana was sure of it.

She wouldnʼt have been happy if Adam had beaten up an innocent man, but Kenna had made her choice.

ʼRight...ʼ Silvana muttered to herself, ʼObserver no. 3 is not wrong, even if Adam hadnʼt lost his temper, they would have ended up fighting and the result would have been the same. Kenna wouldnʼt have backed down, but Adam certainly wouldnʼt have apologized or anything like that.ʼ

For a moment, Silvana stared at Adam, at his intense gaze and confident expression.

A slight smile full of happiness showed on her face, as her heart began to beat faster.

...

Two battles were behind him, in order to leave the Twilight Palace, Adam only needed to get the last, fifth coin.

Sure, if he hadnʼt purposely surrendered in his first battle, he would already have the right amount, but he couldnʼt know the future.

It was unknown if Giselle would offer him a fight, even if she did, she would not require him to make a pledge. In that case, nothing would have pissed Kenna off, which meant to some extent his first defeat didnʼt affect anything.

In any scenario, he would have four coins out of five.

However, despite wanting to get out as soon as possible, Adam wasnʼt about to rush into the next fight like a wild beast.

He, along with Silvana, returned to their suite. Without delay, Adam headed for the shower. He needed to freshen up after the battle and wash all the blood off of him.

Ironically, the blood on his body didnʼt belong to him, not one drop, for neither Giselle, much less Kenna had hurt him.

It made Adam wonder what he was capable of in his current state.

”Hmmm... Giselle wasnʼt weak.” Adam muttered looking at his reflection in the mirror, ”But, I didnʼt feel like she had even a chance of winning.”

Then, Kennaʼs image appeared in his mind.

”She... I doubt she and I could ever be friends, but just as Andreas said, there are no weaklings here, all the lazy and talentless nobles are left to the previous levels.”

The corners of his mouth went up, forming a bitter smile.

”Well, I shouldnʼt think about it too much,” he ran a hand through his wet hair, ”After all, everyone here is new at the K3-Level.”

Abruptly, his expression changed.

”Speaking of which...”

Eager to know a little more about his future, Adam closed his eyes and immersed himself in his inner space.

He didnʼt pay attention to the Evolution Tree or the Initial Gene, because he had only come here for one purpose - to see the Crystal Gates.

Once he became a K3-Phantom, he destroyed a zero orb at the very top, but there were still five more ahead.

”Curious...” Adam muttered approaching the first younger gate, ”Will I have any clues?”

Tap.

He touched the first orb, and the round object trembled slightly, sending shivers up the gates.

Strangely enough, something did happen.

[To break the first orb, you need to...]

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Adam touched the gate a few more times, but he always got the same incomplete response.

”Tsk looks like Iʼm going to have to figure this out on my own.” Adam frowned and stepped aside.

Before returning to the real world he cast a glance at the Evolution Tree. It remained as serene and majestic as ever, it had changed a lot since Adamʼs first day, but it could become much larger.

Quickly dressed and drying his hair, Adam stepped out of the shower meeting his gaze with Silvana.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her gaze directed to one point full of thoughtfulness.

”Is something bothering you?” Adam raised an eyebrow, slowly approaching her.

With a brief pause, Silvana shook her head.

”No, everythingʼs fine. Letʼs go to sleep.”

But, before Silvana could do anything, Adam was at her side. He sat down to her left, as his hand ended up on her shoulder in a gentle motion.

”Hey, today wasnʼt an easy day. Iʼve been fighting, but I realize youʼve had to watch it and you obviously would not choose such a brutal method as I did to Kenna.”

”No!” Silvana exclaimed sharply not allowing him to continue, ”Thatʼs not the point! I mean... I might have tried to change your mind before, but... now I donʼt care about your methods at all, much less what happens to Kenna.”

Without noticing it, Silvana squeezed Adamʼs hand tightly.

”Itʼs her fault. I just want to say that I appreciate you taking care of me and always trying to protect me. I appreciate it...”

She hesitated like she wasnʼt sure if she should continue.

”I appreciate that as your Operator... not everyone is lucky enough to get a Phantom like that.”

”Hah...”

A short laugh made her wary as Silvana turned to look at Adam.

”Sorry.” Adam shrugged, ”I got mad at Kenna not because she compared my Operatorʼs life to Giselleʼs. It was because she dared to attack you Silvana, youʼve been my dearest person for a long time.”

He wanted to turn around and look her in the eyes, but before he could do so Silvana touched his chin.

”Agh...?”

A shock covered Adamʼs face, making his eyes go wide when Silvana approached him.

Their lips touched in a deep kiss with Silvanaʼs tight grip unwilling to let him go.