Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1925: Bottomless Void

The last few minutes, or… hours? It was unclear exactly how much time had passed since Adam descended into the Dark Field.

But, in the end, an unexpected encounter awaited him.

Here, amid the darkness, while everyone else ignored him, he finally met Silvana.

Adam was more confused than anything else.

Ever since he had left the Citadel and used the Void Transit, Silvana had gone offline and hadn’t responded to his attempts to contact her.

Deep down, Adam was worried, but he also understood that Silvana must have had her reasons.

He sensed that something important was happening to her, that she was growing stronger. He didn’t want to interfere with her part of the journey and trusted her completely, as much as he could.

But… What was she doing here? Why did she look as if she were right here, rather than in her spectral form?

No, actually, at that moment Adam wanted to understand something else.

“S-Silvana?” he muttered in disbelief. “You… You’ve changed a lot…”

No more than a month had passed since the day Adam set out for the Tarnished Lands. That was quite a long time, but the changes that had taken place in Silvana were far more significant.

Her hair was waist-length, her face had become more angular, as if she had lost weight and matured, and even her skin was paler than when Adam had last seen her.

Adam had seen Silvana in many forms, but never like this.

In response, Silvana nodded, maintaining a gentle smile.

“Yes, I am. I think you’ve long since guessed that I went through a series of trials of my own while you were in the Tarnished Lands. Now, I understand you better than ever. That feeling when you keep fighting and get better… I’ve never experienced that before, but you did.”

Silvana placed her hand on her chest.

“I missed you, Adam, but I knew I had to focus entirely on myself at that moment. It was the right decision.”

Adam nodded deeply. He understood perfectly what feeling Silvana was talking about. He had experienced it several times. When he was on long missions, when he fought thinking of nothing but victory, and when he was completely alone, trying to create the Keys for the Lock and defeat imaginary opponents.

Suddenly, Silvana fell silent as a slight unease flashed in her eyes.

“But, Adam, this isn’t about me right now. The only thing that matters right now is you.”

“Me?” Adam muttered. “I… I’m trying to find the Bottomless Void. It must be somewhere around here. But…”

He looked around, seeing nothing but darkness. All he could feel was the constant pressure of the Dark Field and a cold that pierced him to the bone.

“I know. But do you know where to look for it?” Silvana asked.

Adam’s lips trembled as he tried to answer.

“No… I don’t know… But I won’t stop. I have no other choice. Coming here, to the Dark Field, was my only choice.”

For a moment, Silvana looked off into the distance. Perhaps she could see something amid the darkness?

Then, she turned to Adam as her green eyes grew deeper.

“You still don’t get it, do you?”

“Agh…?”

Adam blinked, confused.

“What are you talking about?”

Silvana sighed as she pointed in that direction.

“The monster you ran into along the way – why do you think it didn’t attack you?”

“Hmm? That monster…? Why are you asking me that…? I don’t know… There must be a lot of monsters around here. I guess I was just lucky.”

“You think it was luck? Even if you’re not strong enough to be a worthwhile target for them, you still ended up on their territory. That’s more than enough reason to get rid of you, isn’t it?”

Silvana was right, and Adam knew it. But it was hard for him to think rationally because of the constant pressure and the cold. In his head, his thoughts were growing fewer and fewer, as if they were dissolving into the darkness.

“Adam. There’s only one reason why that monster didn’t attack you.”

Silvana looked at him, waiting for the moment when he would finally understand.

“Only one reason…?” he muttered. “But… what is it?”

Silence.

Silvana remained silent for a while as Adam’s gaze began to cloud over. Darkness crept in from all sides, along with the cold.

Before the darkness could completely engulf his vision, Silvana turned to him and pointed upward.

Adam looked in that direction only to see a body floating in the water. It was covered by a thin layer of ice and was slowly sinking deeper and deeper.

“Wait…”

Adam gulped as his face turned pale. He turned to Silvana as her green eyes met his.

“You’re dead, Adam. It happened just a few minutes after you arrived at the Dark Field.”

Complex emotions flashed across Adam’s face. He couldn’t believe this had happened, that right now he was looking at his own corpse.

“No… This can’t be…” Adam protested. “My heart, it’s still beating! That means I’m alive!”

Silvana smiled faintly.

“Really? Listen. There’s nothing around here but endless silence.”

Adam wasn’t ready to accept this reality, but as soon as Silvana pointed it out, the silence engulfed him.

Blink.

He blinked, and Silvana vanished as well. Now, the last voice that had spoken to him was gone.

No one was left.

Adam was alone.

But… maybe even that wasn’t true.

“If I’m really dead… Is there anyone here at all? Am I here, or do I no longer exist?” Adam muttered, staring at his own corpse.

Thump!

His body hit something, as the dark-blue sand swirled upward as his body reached the bottom.

“The bottom… Is this the bottom of the Dark Field?”

Adam looked up, seeing not a single ray of light amid the thick darkness.

“I see. But this isn’t what I was looking for. I can still continue my path…”

With his last ounce of strength, Adam pushed off from the water, sinking lower and lower. He passed through the bottom, looking up at his own corpse as it grew farther and farther away.

“How cold and how peaceful…”

Adam muttered, closing his eyes.

“The bottom… I’ve passed through it, which means I’ll never reach it again… I’ll just keep falling and falling…”

At that very moment, a faint tremor rippled deep within Adam’s inner space.

This tremor did not come from his Evolution Tree, but from a single star that might become his only light in this dark part of the world.