Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1519: Now you see

It wasn’t just that Adam consciously deprived himself of all his strength to invite the ancient energy into his inner space.

Even if he had used all the energy he had shown moments earlier, at best, he would have suffered a serious fracture when colliding with the Head Golem, who struck with full force, unlike last time.

Now, without his strength, the Head Golem’s fist was bound to wipe Adam off the face of the earth, leaving only a bloody stain in his place.

Such a fate would await every K4-Phantom without exception. It was not a matter of physical strength or abilities, because without his energy, Adam was little different from an ordinary human, especially after he had so abruptly lost his power.

But...

Sometimes one factor was enough to completely change a deadly situation.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The gray-purple barrier covered Adam like a protective dome, emanating from his palm. His half-covered body didn’t even flinch, while the entire impact of the Head Golem’s punch passed along the barrier.

The thick layer of snow around Adam was blown away by the shock wave, exposing the cold, gray ground with several bones covered in a thick layer of ice.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

With the next power wave, the ground cracked as a crater formed behind Adam as the surface collapsed under the powerful pressure.

Then, the Head Golem awaited the worst—the recoil from his own attack.

Tremble.

The gray-purple barrier trembled one last time before narrowing into a dense ring that in the next moment expelled all its energy.

The Head Golem stepped back in an attempt to avoid the recoil, but it was too late.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The energy wave ran through the Head Golem’s arm like a series of crushing blasts, shattering it into pieces.

Dark, cold rocks full of energy crashed to the ground, kicking up waves of snow.

This continued until the Head Golem lost its entire arm.

Then, the energy wave reached its shoulder, causing the huge guard to lose its balance. Perhaps this was the first time this had happened in several hundred years.

The Head Golem couldn’t believe what was happening, it tried to grab something in the air in a desperate attempt to stay on its feet.

But it was unsuccessful.

Thump!

The Head Golem collapsed onto one knee, shaking the ground. From this one move, streams of fierce, cold wind rushed in all directions, forcing Alexia to cover herself with her hands. She was even more shocked by what was happening than the Head Golem.

Adam remained in the same place, while a thin layer of ice continued to cover his body, moving along his chest and neck.

"Y-Yes..."

The Head Golem’s hoarse voice rang out.

At the same time, the ice reached Adam’s face, moving straight towards his eyes.

"Now I see... young man..."

At the same moment, Adam’s eyes shone brightly, as did his Evolution Tree. The spark he had left alone in the darkness lit up, returning the Evolution Tree all its energy.

In a heartbeat, the thick layer of ice that had almost turned Adam into one of the hundreds of frozen rocks at the Frost Ridge shattered into myriad fragments.

Adam said nothing, he just closed his eyes, wanting to see everything for himself.

Step. Step. Step.

Footsteps sounded from the side, causing Silvana to turn around to see Adam walking towards her.

"Adam!" She ran towards him with an excited look on her face. "Are you okay?"

She hugged him tightly, unable to contain her emotions. She felt everything that was happening to Adam, and even though it was only a part of it, she was really scared.

Never since she became an Operator had she felt so helpless. She lost all her strength for just a few moments, but it was enough to scare her.

However...

Adam didn’t hug her or say anything. Like a moth drawn to the sun, he stared at the rift, at the Ancient Flux full of Ancient Energy.

"This..."

"Agh?"

Silvana lifted her head from his shoulder as her face turned pale.

Adam’s eyes were deeper than ever, two abysses reflecting the faint purple light of the Ancient Flux.

"Isn’t it beautiful?" He asked, pointing upward.

She turned around.

"Y-Yes." Silvana gulped, feeling threatened by the ancient energy, unlike Adam, who looked at it as if it were a world treasure.

Strangely enough, it was Adam’s reaction that was closer to the truth.

He had received the ancient energy on his first visit to the Primal Lands. He didn’t know it, but only a small fraction of the Phantoms could do that.

"Still..." Silvana clenched her fist tightly before punching Adam right in the chest. "Don’t you ever do that again!"

Adam didn’t move, he just turned to Silvana, his eyes calm.

"It was too risky! What if you had made a mistake?! What if that golem had hesitated for even half a second... You would have died! We would have died, Adam! Don’t you understand that?!"

Her reaction was understandable, but Adam was not going to apologize.

"No."

"Huh?"

Step.

He stepped forward and plunged his hand into Silvana’s hair, forcing her to tilt her head back as he towered over her.

"I did the right thing. We can’t stop the greatest threat to this world unless we take risks. But... It’s not just about the risks."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Silvana’s heart beat faster and faster as Adam leaned toward her. Their foreheads were almost touching, their lips were close, but Adam only looked into her eyes, which now reflected his own.

"You feel it, don’t you? This power is different from anything else... I’ve never felt so good. It’s like I—"

Suddenly, Silvana interrupted him as she continued his sentence. She knew what he wanted to say. Deep down, she felt the same way.

"It’s like you stopped playing by other people’s rules and created your own, right?"

Adam’s lips curved into a devious grin as he gripped Silvana’s hair even tighter, almost to the point of pain.

Before she could say anything, he kissed her deeply as their hearts trembled in unison, just like the energy flows in the Evolution Tree.

Just like their hearts, the star energy and ancient energy were now one in Adam’s world.

"Now you see."

Silvana’s eyes lit up with a frenzied flame.

"Y-Yes."