Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1948: Waiting Of The Path

In the past, Adam knew what he needed to do to become stronger. Only the Third Grand Star was an exception to this rule, to some extent.

Still, sooner or later, Adam figured out all the conditions except for the Bottomless Void. Even regarding the Blood of God, he was mostly right. He just didn’t know whose blood he needed at the time, Gladius helped him then.

Now, he was about to face the final obstacle, a trial that had stopped countless K4-Phantoms. Only a small fraction of them had managed to break through the barrier and evolve to the Second Circle.

“Agh…” Adam sighed as he sat beneath the golden tree, gazing at the landscape of the Light Field spread out before him.

Perhaps this was one of the best places to do it. What’s more, Ergander, Blafor, and Kalyso were nearby. Even here, at the Grand Abyss, few would dare to fight them.

‘I’m sure Midgar wasn’t the only Lord from the Befallen Crown looking for me here, but I doubt any of them would attack me after what I’ve done.’

Adam glanced toward the house as a warm smile spread across his face.

‘Especially here. I defeated a Viscount, I suppose I should be proud of that, but against those two, I don’t stand a chance.’

A few moments later, Adam nodded before closing his eyes.

He entered the inner space and soon saw what he had expected.

The Evolution Tree was brimming with power as never before. However, Adam now had only a small fraction of his energy left after a long and grueling battle against Midgar.

“Huh… You’ve gotten stronger, just like me, right?”

[What else did you expect?]

The Evolution Tree replied. Its deep voice was unusually energetic and even joyful.

[It has always been this way, and always will be. The stronger you become, the stronger I become. However… this applies to everyone else as well.]

Blink.

Adam blinked as four figures appeared before him.

The Silver Weaver and Lakma were on the left. His hand rested on her head, ruffling her hair. She pouted, but didn’t stop him.

In the center stood Lone Blaze with a slight smile on her face. As usual, she carried herself with restraint and respect. This was evident even in complete silence.

Finally, on the right was Silvana in her new appearance. In fact, she wasn’t the only one with a new look, the Silver Weaver had one, too.

“Hi.” The corners of Adam’s mouth turned up. “I don’t even know what to say… I want to thank you all. Without your help, I wouldn’t have been able to win.”

Lone Blaze was the first to respond.

She nodded deeply, her hands resting on the hem of her dress.

“You’re right, but if it weren’t for you, Adam, none of us would be here. No matter how powerful a weapon is, without the right wielder, it doesn’t matter. Our strength depends directly on you.”

“Hey, stop praising him so much, or he’ll get a big head!” The Silver Weaver chuckled as he waved his hand. “But, for the most part, she’s right. At the last moment, you did everything right. You used my power exactly as needed.”

Adam glanced at him.

“Why? Why did you have to go through that strange process? You weren’t just unavailable as an ability, I’d completely forgotten about you, and no one else said anything to me.”

Lakma bit her lip as her gaze dropped.

“It wasn’t just you. We all forgot about him. The Path Construct did it all.”

The Silver Weaver nodded, seeing Adam’s confused expression.

“She’s telling the truth. If that hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t have been able to withstand the power of the Path Construct that burst forth after you reached the Bottomless Void. I had to take on that task myself to help all of us.”

Adam stared at a single point for a moment before nodding.

“I see, that’s exactly why it happened right when I was almost out of strength. That way, you made me stronger without harming me.”

“Yeah, something like that.” The Silver Weaver shrugged nonchalantly. “It wasn’t easy. The Path Construct possesses terrifying power, but I managed.”

“Glad to hear it.” Adam nodded as his gaze turned to the most important person here – Silvana.

Silvana smiled, waving at him.

“Hi. Finally, we’ve been able to meet in a calmer setting. You know, I didn’t show it back then, but it was damn scary at the bottom of the Dark Field.”

Adam sighed as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Yeah, I get it. I don’t know how I would’ve felt out there if what happened to me hadn’t happened…”

True, Adam had actually died at the Dark Field, temporarily, but he didn’t want to think about it too much. He didn’t want anything like that to happen again.

“Huh.” The Silver Weaver smirked. “If you hadn’t blacked out so quickly back then, that monster would’ve killed you, only it would’ve done it for real.”

“Hey!” Silvana narrowed her eyes. “Stop teasing him! He just defeated a Viscount! That deserves praise!”

The Silver Weaver threw his head back as he hovered in the air.

“Pfffft!” He snorted. “I won, too, we all did. And…”

A devious grin appeared on the Silver Weaver’s face.

“Also, let’s not forget that in the final moments of the battle, it was me who was with Adam, not you or anyone else.”

Twitch.

Silvana’s eyebrow twitched as she frowned.

“You…! That only happened because I used up all my energy right at the start! If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even have had the chance to join the fight at the end!”

The Silver Weaver rolled his eyes.

“All I hear are pathetic excuses, blah-blah-blah! Come up with something better if you want anyone to believe it.”

Lakma glanced at Lone Blaze, but she reassured her with a slight nod. It was normal here.

Adam, in turn, smiled, feeling nothing but a sense of home.

But from the very moment he arrived here, he had sensed it – the Path Construct was waiting for him, just as the barrier was.

…