Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 2014: A Hail of Crystals

“Hmm?” Adam raised an eyebrow. “Is this the energy of the Last Star? But… doesn’t that mean these are just the Midnight Crystals?”

Everyone knew that the Midnight Crystals were part of the Last Star, just as the Twilight Crystals were part of the First Star. At least, that’s what people and Phantoms believed.

Lamor shook his head.

“No. In fact, what you know about the Midnight Crystals isn’t entirely correct.”

Adam tilted his head, confused. “What does that mean? I saw one fall straight out of the sky with my own eyes. It can’t just be some kind of anomaly, can it?”

“Of course not, but all the Midnight Crystals that fall to the ground between the World Wipes, they all come from the Nova Hail, something like that.”

“Between the World Wipes? What does that mean?”

Frida took a deep breath.

“Well, you haven’t seen it yet, but during a World Wipe, it’s not just a powerful shockwave that destroys everything not protected by a Lord Level barrier. The Midnight Crystals fall from the sky like hail during a blizzard. There are tens of thousands of crystals that cover our entire world in just a few hours.”

Adam gulped.

He knew that the Midnight Crystals differed from one another. Not all of them were the same, some were larger, some were smaller.

But whether he was a K2-Phantom or as he was now, the Midnight Crystals were a valuable resource, unique in their own way. Any monster up to the Second Circle considered them a treasure and a great stroke of luck if even a single Midnight Crystal fell near its territory.

“Tens of thousands of Midnight Crystals…?” Adam asked. He couldn’t believe it.

Frida nodded in confirmation.

“That’s one of the reasons why, after the World Wipe, a huge number of monsters appear, and also why many of them evolve much faster than they do now, for example. Imagine the effect such a quantity of Midnight Crystals has, combined with the incredibly high energy density in the world after the World Wipe.”

Kamora, who was swimming back and forth in the pool, just waved her hand.

“Any weakling can get one or more Midnight Crystals during this period. Then, these weaklings fight each other, and out of five, only one survives – who essentially absorbs an amount of energy equal to more than a dozen Midnight Crystals at once.

“Then, the process repeats itself. Monsters fight more and more fiercely because, with that much energy, it’s far more profitable than simply accumulating it over a long period of time. And, after just a few years or even months, a multitude of Lords suddenly appear, all eager to rule the world.”

Lamor shrugged.

“Well, it’s worth noting that most of these Lords never rise above the Lesser Lord level. They either die due to a lack of experience or lack the talent to evolve further.

“After all, no matter how much energy there is here, you can’t become a True Lord simply by absorbing it. You need something special for that.”

Adam listened intently, nodding from time to time. This was new information for him about the Last Star and the World Wipe.

“So… If it’s not Midnight Crystals, then what is the Nova Hail? I mean, it’s also part of the Last Star, right?”

Frida nodded.

“Something like that. We believe that a long time ago, during one of the World Wipes, part of the Last Star’s essence remained here, high above the Citadel. Well… I have to admit that’s not exactly an accurate description of what happened.”

“Ah? What does that mean?”

Kamora smirked as she glanced at Adam.

“Frida means that the Nova Hail appeared here even before the Citadel. And that’s one of the reasons why the Citadel is located exactly here. Something like that.”

Kamora said this casually, but for Adam it came as a shock.

Until then, he had never wondered why the Citadel was located where it was. He understood that the first version of the Citadel had appeared more than a thousand years ago. It seemed to him that this time was too distant to make sense to think about it.

But the Nova Hail, a part of the Last Star, had actually been here even before humans chose this place to be their home.

“Alright, I get it. It’s not Midnight Crystals, but it’s still connected to the Last Star. How exactly is this supposed to help me get the Fifth Anchor?”

Kamora smirked.

“That’s the fun part. The Nova Hail isn’t an artifact, but given how ancient this energy is and how incredibly dense it is, this energy has its own will, though it lacks consciousness.”

Adam nodded.

If that were the case, this energy would be an External Artifact.

“So, the thing is, the Nova Hail doesn’t like it when anyone gets close to it, and it’ll start attacking you right away.”

“What the…?” Adam muttered, and soon his face twisted into a frown. “And you wanted to send me there when I was injured?”

“Pfffft!” Kamora snorted. “You shouldn’t be angry, you should be glad that someone as strong as me believed in you!”

Frida, who had been listening to all this, just shook her head.

“Now do you understand why I stopped you, Adam? If I hadn’t, you’d still have ended up here, only with even more wounds.”

Adam stared intently at Kamora. It seemed as if he could burn her to ashes with his gaze.

She just turned away, puffing out her cheeks.

“Ahem.” Lamor coughed. “Either way, the Fifth Anchor is the Nova Blast. To obtain it, you need to gather enough energy and compress it until that energy takes on a physical shape.”

Adam turned to Lamor.

“And as I understand it, the Nova Hail is the best place for this, right?”

He nodded deeply.

“Indeed. The monsters aren’t interested in the Nova Hail. Even if the Citadel weren’t here, they still wouldn’t be able to use it, but we, the Phantoms, can.”

Lamor’s expression grew more serious.

“This will be a test of your skills and endurance. If you want to earn your final Anchor, you’ll have to endure it, Adam.”