Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1884: The Birth of the Artifact

Gladius’s mission was not only to kill every member of the Frost Dragons Clan, but also to destroy their future generations.

The moment Gladius arrived in these lands, the present and future of the Frost Dragons were sealed.

Sometimes, the thousands of years of history that made up the lives of these ancient dragons, who had fought countless battles, could come to an end in just a few hours.

Perhaps the Frost Dragons could have avoided this fate if they had acted differently, or perhaps it would have happened anyway.

Even if the Frost Dragons hadn’t gone up against the Citadel and hadn’t attacked the Phantoms at the mountain lake, someone from the Befallen Crown would have come instead of Gladius. The outcome would have been the same.

Step.

Gladius stepped forward as he gazed for a moment at the trembling frost orb. It contained enough power to revive the Frost Dragons Clan. It would take a long time, hundreds of years, but it could happen.

“It’s time to wrap this up and go home. We’ve completed our mission.”

Xyrea appeared beside him, gently touching his shoulder.

“Indeed. But… You do know that your actions will have consequences, don’t you?”

In response, Gladius shrugged.

“Sure, but that’s not my problem anymore. No matter what the consequences are, if I have to face them, I’ll deal with them.”

At that very moment, Gladius placed his palm on the frost orb as his eyes flashed brightly.

Crack!

In the blink of an eye, the frost orb shattered into countless fragments, flashing before Gladius’s calm eyes.

He was not devoid of emotion, as he was fully aware of what he had done.

But the lives of the Frost Dragon, of their entire clan, meant nothing to Gladius. He was a human and was prepared to do whatever was necessary to ensure that the Citadel continued to thrive and that Queen Elisa continued to lead them toward a bright future.

Tremble! Tremble! Tremble!

A violent tremor rippled through the snow-covered lands as all the energy surged upward in a powerful torrent.

The crystals containing the future Frost Dragons shattered one after another as nothing remained to support them.

The bodies inside were destroyed, becoming nothing more than cold streams of blood flowing through the vast cavern that had been the most important place for the Frost Dragons Clan for many hundreds of years.

Adam, who stood off to the side, was confused.

“Hmm?” His eyes reflected the energy surging upward in a single trembling current. “I thought the Spirit of Eternal Winter would be born here, but it seems that’s not the case?”

Gladius, for his part, wasn’t interested in witnessing the birth of one of the few Legacy Artifacts.

Unlike Adam, he had already witnessed something like this several times.

“Gha…” Gladius exhaled a cold puff of steam as his blue eyes swept across the cave.

The shattered crystals, the destroyed frost orb, and the now-useless skeleton of an ancient dragon surrounded him.

On the surface lay the charred skeletons of every member of the Frost Dragons Clan.

“That’s enough.”

Xyrea smiled faintly as she embraced him from behind, running her hands over his chest.

“Shall we go home? If we stay here any longer, someone might find out what happened here.”

She wasn’t worried about Gladius. She knew he could handle any obstacle, no matter who his opponent was. Perhaps with a few exceptions in the entire world.

However, she didn’t want Gladius to spend even more time on his missions. He already had more than enough because of his position at the Citadel.

A few moments later, Gladius nodded.

“Yes. My work here is done.”

Tremble!

Gladius’s body trembled as he vanished.

It happened too quickly for Adam to realize which direction Gladius had moved in, but soon, the space in front of him warped.

“What the…?”

Before Adam could process what was happening, he found himself in a different place, among the glaciers on the surface of the icy water.

There was nothing around him but the expanse of water as the pillar of light shot upward, emerging between the ice floes.

The flows of frost energy surged directly toward the pillar, and soon a bright flash swept around, forcing Adam to shield his eyes with his hand from the blinding light.

He wasn’t afraid, for he knew what was about to happen.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

With a violent tremor, a new object soared above the glaciers. It was already familiar to Adam as he gazed at the white vase.

“Huh, so that’s how it works?” Adam chuckled, looking at the Spirit of Eternal Winter. “The Legacy Artifact appeared because of the death of the entire clan of Frost Dragons, but its place of origin doesn’t have to be the same, right?”

The ice flowed toward the white vase, forming an altar for it that resembled those Adam had seen in Vador and Amelia’s inner spaces.

Now, the Spirit of Eternal Winter would remain in this place until someone found it and made this artifact a part of their power.

This was an important decision, as the Legacy Artifacts permanently altered the life of whoever signed a contract with them.

If Vador hadn’t found the Spirit of Eternal Winter, the Grad Family would never have come into existence.

Ironically, this also meant that Adam wouldn’t have seen this memory and wouldn’t have learned Xyrea’s true identity or the details of her relationship with Gladius.

“Agh…” Adam sighed deeply. “This isn’t what I expected to see, but I’m not disappointed. Huh, Gladius… I thought you were a cunning bastard with lots of secrets, but in reality, you’re even worse than I thought, right?”

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A cracking sound rang out as cracks spread across the sky.

In the next moment, the world shattered into fragments as a bright light engulfed Adam.

The memory ended.

Blink.

Adam blinked as he returned, not to the real world, but to Vador’s inner space.

“Hello, young man.”

Standing before him was a middle-aged man who was Vador’s artifact, just like the girl in Amerlia’s inner space.

“It seems I should thank you for saving me. Am I right?” The man’s voice was deep as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Adam smiled as he nodded.

“Indeed. It took quite some time, but I did it. Very soon, Vador will be just fine.”