Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 2063: The Roof and Simple Pleasures (Part 1)

Relana, Ron, and Gladius were waiting for Adam and Silvana to return. They all had things to talk about.

It’s unclear what would have happened if Adam had overheard Relana, Ron, and Gladius’s conversation, but he and Silvana had their own things to discuss.

They spent several hours on the roof of one of the old houses, looking down from the roof of that building in the wealthy district at the skyscrapers in the very center of the First Ring.

“So, in the end, we both fought against Relana, and you got some new threads?” Adam muttered with a slight smile on his face.

Silvana nodded deeply.

“Yes, but… I would never have thought she was one of the Knights of the World End. Goen, Kamora, and Relana – we already know about three of them, but how many are there in total?”

Adam shrugged.

“Who knows? Something tells me there aren’t very many of them. I mean, each of them is clearly a Second-Rank Phantom on the same power level as Frida and Damien. They’re stronger than the heads of the Twelve Branches, well, at least most of them.”

Neither Silvana nor Adam fully understood all the power levels in this world yet, the final stage of the Ascended Lords, the stages of the True Lords, and the stages for the Second-Rank Phantoms.

Sure, the Second-Rank Phantoms had far fewer power stages than the Lords, but still, the difference between a regular Second-Rank Phantom and Damien was obvious.

Adam gazed at the skyscrapers in the distance. He found peace in that view.

“There can’t be too many of them. After all, each of them possesses immense power. They’re strong enough to defeat the True Lords. I dread to imagine what Relana is capable of in an actual fight where she has her Manifest Nexus in her hands instead of just a long sword.”

Silvana gulped.

Relana had defeated them both with a single move. It was all over the moment she took her long sword in her hands.

What would have happened if, instead of them, there had been a True Lord, and in her grip had been not a regular sword, but Ron in his Nexus Form?

“And what do you think about this?” Silvana asked. “My threads…”

Tap.

Adam took her hand, continuing to look ahead.

“I’m happy for you, and for both of us. I won’t hide it: when I saw the blue threads or red threads for the first time, I was thrilled, but it couldn’t compare to what I felt when I first saw my own white threads. Back then, I felt power – real power.”

He turned to Silvana, looking at her with his bright eyes.

“I’m sure you felt something similar. It’s an unforgettable feeling. Sure, you lost, neither you nor I stood a chance against Relana, but you were able to fight her, and that’s what matters most.”

Silvana nodded as her cheeks flushed for a moment.

“Adam, when Relana was talking about all your threads, and when I got mine, I started thinking about what all the threads might be capable of when combined.”

“Hmm?” Adam raised an eyebrow. “Do you mean what would happen if we combined them all?”

Silvana nodded.

“Yes.”

Adam rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Well, I’ve done something like that once before. Back then, I combined black threads and white threads. But I haven’t tried doing that with other threads, well, except for a few small experiments.”

“Are there any serious drawbacks?”

Adam waved his hand uncertainly.

“I can’t just summon them from my energy. It just doesn’t work that way. So, it’s a matter of efficiency and speed. I can summon the threads I need right away, but if I want the combined ones, I have to create them first and only then use them.

“Sure, they have their own special properties, but they’re better suited for pre-battle preparation than for use in the heat of battle.”

Silvana nodded. Now that she’d fought against all of Adam’s opponents, she understood just how important every second was in battle.

At Adam’s level, even a fraction of a second could be critical.

“I wanted to ask you s-s-something.” Adam’s voice rang out.

“Y-Yes?”

“Who was the hardest for you to fight? I mean, not counting Relana, she was clearly the strongest.”

Silvana had an answer, or rather, two.

“It’s either the Plague Reaper or the Silver Weaver. One had the potential to reach the very top, even to the True Lord Level, while the other was the beginning of it all. Though I have to say that Fromund surprised me as well.”

Adam smiled.

“Yeah, Fromund… Huh, I wonder what he’s up to now and what level he’s at. It would be a shame if he became a Second-Rank Phantom faster than me.”

“Hmm?” Silvana blinked, confused. “Do you think he has a chance of doing that?”

“Of course!”

Adam replied without hesitation.

“Look, we’re constantly hearing from others about how quickly I’m progressing and how rare it is to achieve such results toward the end of the World Wipe. But it’s been starting to seem strange to me for a while now.”

Silvana blinked again. Adam had never mentioned this before.

“I mean, it’s nice to hear how talented I am and all that, but obviously I’m not the only one. Fromund, Alexia, maybe Katrin…? I haven’t heard anything about her in a long time. And there are many others, like Tron, who helped us a lot, and those are just the Phantoms I know of and can remember.”

He turned to Silvana with a sincere expression.

“Imagine how many more Phantoms there are who still have a chance to reach the Second Circle, even in this World Wipe? And… don’t forget that just over two years ago, I didn’t even know I’d be able to kill a White Threat Level monster. Now, I’m here.”

Silvana was speechless. Adam had many qualities, but this was one of those rare moments when she sensed wisdom mixed with a touch of self-criticism in him.

Strangely enough, it made her smile wryly.

“Well, well, I didn’t know you were so modest.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to be realistic.”

Silvana let out a short laugh.

“Hahaha, you usually act arrogant and self-assured, but I like that part of you, too.”

Adam looked at Silvana and, after a few moments, nodded with a bitter smile. He had nothing more to add.