Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1527 1527: Pearl and runes

Descending into the abyss, Adam and Alexia expected to encounter terrifying monsters and find themselves in the midst of carnage in the next few minutes. In order to get here, they had to gain new strength and take the next step in their evolution.

However, everything turned out completely differently than they had expected.

Except for two spiders that were waiting for them at the entrance and were already dead, Adam and Alexia felt as if they were in a well-thought-out and complex military training exercise where AI and technology were used and everything went according to plan.

But Adam knew that this was far from the truth and that they hadn't even started yet.

'When I fought Erada, nothing unusual happened when the contract was concluded. But when she lost, and it was time to fulfill my wish, the Ancient Voice showed its power. My wish was a silly one, but... if someone else had been in my place, she would have had to do anything.'

This was a direct indication of the power of the Ancient Voice, and the Rule of Blood was only a brief glimpse of it.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam and Alexia moved through the cave, following the line of light. Adam had more experience than Alexia, who was encountering the Ancient Voice for the first time, but neither of them knew what awaited them next.

'Silvana, what do you think? These spiders were pretty weak. If necessary, I can kill a few hundred of them.'

A few moments later, her voice rang out in his head:

'I don't think it will be that simple. Why do you need a pearl? Why isn't the condition simply to destroy the spider nest?'

'So, you think it won't be just a spider hunt?'

Silvana shook her head.

'I think it will be something that will be difficult for you to do even together. I may be wrong, my knowledge of the Ancient Voice is very limited, but that's my guess.'

"I see."

Alexia also discussed this with Louis, who basically came to the same conclusions.

In any case, they had no choice but to follow the light line until they reached a new part of the caves.

Step.

Adam stepped out of the passageway, blue light falling on his face as his eyes widened in disbelief.

He had expected to see narrow caves full of cobwebs and crawling spiders, but instead, they found themselves in front of a great lake with a slightly shimmering azure surface.

In the corners of the lake were stone peaks, eight in total, two in each quarter. A thick layer of cobwebs and crystals covered the peaks, while blue spiders occasionally scurried across them.

These were the same spiders that had previously attacked Adam and Alexia, but now they just stared intently in their direction.

There were many spiders, hundreds of green eyes peering out of the shadows, watching the two Phantoms following the light line. They had come here, which meant that the Ancient Voice had led them. That was enough for the spiders to change their behavior, at least for now.

Alexia's eyes dropped as she saw a wide stone path running along the lake like branches from a tree, with eight more paths branching off from the main one, moving toward the peaks. Thus, about 20% of the entire lake was covered with stone paths.

At the end of the main path was a large cyan crystal embedded in the wall, inside which was a small gray orb with a pale purple tint around the edges.

It was the Pale Spider Orb. If they wanted to fulfill the first condition, they had to get it by any means necessary.

"Hey, it's it!" Alexia exclaimed as she immediately ran forward.

"Wait!" Adam tried to stop her, but Alexia had already jumped onto the stone path.

Adam prepared for battle, thinking that hundreds of spiders would now attack Alexia. They might be weak, but if this were their territory and there were so many of them, they could hurt them, especially with Alexia rushing ahead.

However...

"Agh?"

None of the spiders attacked Alexia. They just watched her as a Phantom ran along the stone path, approaching their treasure. At least that's what Adam and Alexia thought.

"How strange," Adam muttered as he looked around. The light from the bright crystals on the peaks caught his attention. "These crystals, they're different from the others. What is their purpose?"

Usually, the crystals grew in a chaotic order, absorbing energy from the environment. The only thing the crystals from the same area had in common was their color. Everything else — shape, size, brightness, and even tone — was completely random.

However, the eight crystals on the peaks were curved like spirals. Adam had never seen such strange-looking crystals. But it was obvious that their shape was not random.

At the same time, Alexia reached the cyan crystal.

She wasted no time and immediately directed a mass of energy to her hand. Then, she clenched her fist tightly and struck the crystal with all her might.

BAM!

A shockwave rippled from her blow, the cave walls shook, and ripples ran across the surface of the lake.

It was a direct hit, and it didn't seem like there was any barrier here like the one around the abyss that kept throwing Alexia back when she tried to pass through it.

Well, that wasn't entirely true.

"Hmm?" Alexia blinked several times as she stared at the blue runes in front of her.

The lines of runes formed an invisible wall between Alexia and the cyan crystal. It was a barrier, but all it did was prevent Alexia from harming the crystal.

"What the hell is that?!" Alexia exclaimed as she struck again.

A splash of blood gushed out from her knuckles, but the barrier didn't even flinch. A wave seemed to run through the runes, but they remained in place, as if the rules themselves prevented Alexia from moving forward.

"I see." Adam nodded deeply. "So until we fulfill the conditions, we can't get this pearl?"

"But."

He bit his lip.

"Maybe we just need more power?"