Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1498: Frost Lands and Portals

Adam and Alexia stared at each other for a while. They were confused and didn’t understand where they were.

The last thing they remembered was approaching Queen Elisa, they were a few steps away from her aura, and then… Damien just pushed them forward without giving them any explanation.

“Damien!” Alexia exclaimed, waving her fist in frustration.

Adam sighed heavily. “Not only him. I’m sure Beth could have predicted he would do something like this. Still, she didn’t warn us. She could have at least told us what to expect here.”

A few moments later, a tremor ran through the Wandering Fragments in the distance, as if trying to attract their attention.

Alexia raised an eyebrow.

“Are these the fragments Beth was talking about? They look more like portals!”

“Hmm, I think it’s somehow related to the Path Construct. If it weren’t for Queen Elisa’s aura, we would have had to spend a lot of time to enter this special state.”

In response, Alexia glanced upward, as if trying to see her inner space from this dark chamber.

“Tsk. Even if that’s the case, I’m not going to ask the queen for help every time. Was it really that difficult to tell us how to do it?”

Adam didn’t answer, he was thinking, looking at the fragments in the distance. They were all at different distances from them, some closer, some farther.

The fragments wandered far away in the darkness, offering different colors, elements, and paths. One fragment could emit a bright flame, another was surrounded by calm water, and the third was a threatening thunderstorm that remained within the boundaries of the portal so as not to disturb the other fragments.

After a few moments, Alexia calmed down as she shook her head.

“We’re under that strange time effect again, right?”

“Yeah, I think so. We can’t see Damien, Beth, and the others, but I’m sure even a glance that lasts a fraction of a second would stretch out to half a minute for us. Although it’s unclear how long it will take us to find the right fragment,” Adam replied calmly.

He realized there was no point in panicking. They had to find a way forward, and that was it.

But… there was one thing that puzzled Adam.

“Even if these are the Wandering Fragments Beth was talking about… Why are we here together?”

Alexia shrugged.

“Isn’t it better this way? If there’s at least one place in this world where you can get the Blood of God and I can get the Ancient Frost, then I don’t mind doing two things at once.”

Then, she pointed to the blue portal in the distance, streams of calm blizzard wandering around it while ice crystals floated nearby.

“You noticed this one right away, too, right?”

Adam nodded slowly.

“But why? Ice is your power, and it goes perfectly with the Ancient Frost you need. It’s no surprise that you want to go to this fragment. What does that have to do with me?”

She turned and raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm? What did you expect? What do you think a fragment for the God of Blood should look like?”

Adam had no answer.

He looked around, but none of the hundreds of fragments made him want to follow it, with the sole exception of the frost one.

Step.

Alexia stepped forward. Her energy wanted to go to the frost portal, so she had no reason to delay. She wanted to find her next target and return to the Dead Lands. Her rest in the Citadel had been long enough for her to miss monsters and bloody battles.

Tap.

Before she could take her next step, Adam put his hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t rush. We have plenty of time, especially here under Queen Elisa’s aura. We can look at each of the fragments and then make a decision.”

However, Alexia did not share his optimism.

“Are you sure about that?” She pointed to the fragments in the distance. “There are several thousand of them here! We can’t check every one of them, especially when we already know the answer!”

Adam frowned.

“Alright, we’ll check not all of them, but only 100, okay?”

Alexia puffed out her cheeks like a child, but finally nodded.

“Fine, but I’ll choose most of them!”

It wasn’t that important. After all, their energy wanted to direct them to only one portal.

Still, Adam wanted to check the rest. He felt that it wasn’t just his energy, it was the combined energy between him, Alexia, and their Path Constructs.

‘The Path Construct has a special energy. It’s different from my energy that flows through the Evolution Tree. Sure, it’s still my energy, but I don’t have direct control over it. It helps me pave my path to the Second Rank, at least for now…’

The first fragment they approached on their little expedition was full of flames. A slight heat emanated from the fire, but not enough to burn their skin.

The fragment looked just as they had imagined it from afar. It was a rift, almost completely closed, but taller than both of them. The edges were darker while the center was bright.

Step.

As soon as they took the next step forward, the rift became a wide-open portal that was the true appearance of one of the Wandering Fragments.

Adam and Alexia’s eyes widened as the landscape of fiery lands appeared before their eyes. Magma lakes covered the dark, hot earth while blazing pillars shot high into the air, covering the surface with their fire.

Several figures, hidden in the shadows, wandered among the fire, wanting to get closer to the great mountain that stood at the very center of this territory, under a floating ring of flame hanging over its peak.

They didn’t know why, but as soon as the portal opened, they wanted to go inside. Perhaps it was a desire to return to the Dead Lands and continue their journey, or perhaps it was the will of their energy.

None of them knew where this fiery territory was located, perhaps in the Tarnished Lands, in the far reaches of the Dead Lands, or even at the Dark Shore.

Still, Adam and Alexia understood that this was not what they were looking for, so they took a step back, and the portal closed.

“That fragment…” Alexia muttered. “What if we had chosen it? Would we have gone there immediately?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is still just our inner space. Neither you nor I can teleport, so that’s unlikely. However, if this was a fragment that wasn’t right for us, then what awaits us at the blue one?”

“That’s what I’m saying! We should go there right away!”

However, Adam didn’t listen to her as he headed for the next fragment, the green one.

“We still have 99 left. You agreed to it yourself.”

“FUUUCK! Why did I do that?!”

“Hahahahaha,” Adam laughed, enjoying teasing her. “Come on, aren’t you curious to see what the lands around us look like?”

“Pffft!” She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “We don’t even know if these are real territories!”

Adam shrugged.

“I think they are. Come on, we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Alexia rolled her eyes, but followed him.

She was often loud, active, and reckless, but she kept her word, even if she had already regretted it more than once.

…

Strangely enough, the more fragments they looked at, the more Alexia’s attitude changed. They saw almost everything there was to see in the next 99 portals, from fiery and icy lands to peaceful meadows full of flowers, floating islands, gloomy abysses, and great forests hiding many secrets in their depths.

They did not doubt that such wild territories were very far from the Citadel. These were definitely not the borders of the Dead Lands, as such lands were too dangerous for most Phantoms, even for the new K4-Phantoms, who had not created their Grand Stars.

Either way, Alexia was right from the start as they stopped in front of the blue fragment.

Sure, there were hundreds and hundreds of unexplored fragments around them, but in all that time, they had never felt the same pull as they did to the blue one in front of them.

They exchanged glances and stepped forward as the portal opened before them.

A frosty gust of wind blew over them, making their cheeks redden from the intense cold. Nothing like this had happened with any of the other fragments before.

The first thing that reflected in their eyes after the bright light was mountains, majestic peaks covered with a thick layer of ice and snow. The long mountain ridge half-surrounded a wide expanse of ice and energy anomalies wandering among the frosty lands where blizzards were a constant guest.

Alexia’s pupils narrowed as she stared at the giant spine running along the mountain ridge, long-frozen bones digging deep into the ground, covering it as their domain.

But where their hearts desired to go was not the skeleton of a long-dead monster, but an abyss at the very center of the expanse, leading into the depths where what they both sought awaited them.

Only a bright blue light emanated from the bottomless abyss, its presence frightening even the most dangerous monsters.

“Is this it?” Alexia gulped.

Adam grinned.

He saw opportunities and just as many dangers in the frost ridge before them. He didn’t know who lay dormant in the depths of the abyss, but he was sure that if he could overcome this trial, it would make him stronger and bring him closer to his goal.

“Yeah, looks like it. The Ancient Frost will be easy to get, so get ready… We’ll have to spill blood to the god if my condition is correct!”