Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Oh, Adam, so you've been here all this time? We lost you." Zera smiled, holding a half-empty glass of wine.

Adam nodded.

"Yeah, Louis and I got to talking. However... originally, I wanted to talk to you." Adam said confidently, looking at her intently.

Zera raised an eyebrow, puzzled, as she pointed to herself.

"You remember our first meeting, right?" Adam asked.

Zera smiled deviously.

"Sure. Back then, you were soft and insecure, lost and bewildered, now you've changed quite dramatically." Zera bit her finger, "Are you still enjoying those pictures I prepared for you?"

Adam shook his head.

"I've only looked at them once."

Zera frowned as she puffed up her cheeks. Then, she walked over to him, sighed heavily, and her eyes grew darker.

"In that case, you're talking about the second folder, aren't you?" Zera muttered, looking forward.

"Yeah... But, I'm not talking about Aiden Henk. I've already realized that he has a goal and will stop at nothing to achieve it. I don't know the details, but the trend is clear. What I want to know is: How are you connected to Black Swan?" Adam said seriously, not taking his gaze off the skyscrapers in the distance.

Zera's face grew colder, it seemed she didn't want to discuss the subject.

"They knew I would want to meet you and asked me to give you these pictures, not of me, but of the experiments. I did it not because I'm with them, but because I owed them."

Adam cast a quick glance at her, assessing the situation.

"Black Swan, or rather several of their members, saved my little brother." Zera said slowly, clearly overpowering herself, it was obvious she was having a hard time talking about it.

Zera continued, "He was just an ordinary man wanting to get rich quickly so he could enjoy life in the First Ring, he did it out of desperation..."

'Desperation...?' Adam muttered inwardly, puzzled. He wasn't quite sure why desperation was the reason for Zera's brother's desire to get rich. Well, all things in their own time.

"He ended up in the Lower Ring trying to start a business there that wasn't exactly legal. He thought it was the best and quickest option. Obviously, it didn't end well. He was an outsider and an ordinary man, so... he was kidnapped and threatened to be killed."

Zera paused, sighed heavily, and continued:

"I didn't know what to do, I needed to act urgently, but I couldn't go down to the Lower Ring. I was only a K0-Phantom back then. And... Black Swan contacted me, they must have somehow overheard my conversation or seen my posts on various sites. I tried to do everything I could to save him, you know..."

Adam nodded deeply. For a moment, he imagined that Trici would have been in Zera's brother's shoes, which made him shudder.

"Anyway, they helped him out. Soon, my brother came home, and it seemed like this was the happy ending, but... if my only problem was monsters, life would be a lot easier."

Zera bit her lip almost to the blood and said, "That day, we had a big argument. It got to the point where I realized the reason for his despair - unlike me, he didn't have Spark and didn't become a Phantom."

Adam's eyes went wide.

Zera continued:

"That only made things worse. We kept yelling at each other, and it got to the point where I told that I was Naturalborn Phantom..." Zera lowered her gaze, "That was my greatest mistake, after all a normal person shouldn't know about that..."

Adam looked at her intently, as he carefully placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened then?"

Zera smiled bitterly.

"I think you've already guessed it. Rules and restrictions exist for a reason, don't they?" Zera shook her head, "A few days later, he went to Dead Lands, sneaking through the slums, and died. He wanted to become a Phantom like me, but... his desire made him blind, and he completely forgot how risky it was."

Adam nodded understandingly.

Sure, not everyone obeyed the rules and prohibitions, especially the Phantoms - they usually allowed themselves more than others. However, some rules the majority tried not to break, and the secret about Naturalborn Phantoms was one of them.

Zera's younger brother was not the only commoner who had died for this reason, there were thousands of them, but lately, every year, there have been fewer and fewer victims. For most, even the Phantoms, the Naturalborn Ones were not supposed to exist.

"What are you going to do next?" Zera asked, trying to change the subject.

Adam sighed heavily.

"Well, I didn't expect to go to prison, though I'm more glad it happened than not. I learned a lot there and discovered more about the world and people." Adam said sincerely.

Zera looked at him intently, frowning slightly because Adam hadn't answered her question.

"Oh, sorry. My next goal is Essence Monster, then I'll fulfill the last condition and create my First Key to become a K2-Phantom." Adam waved his hand.

He should have done this quite some time ago but didn't regret slowing down. He had gained Elemental Root, unlocked The Will, his Spirit had evolved to Second Stage, and his synchronization with Silvana was as high as ever.

He had nowhere else to grow, only two steps left to do: evolve his artifact and...

"Midnight Crystal, right?" Zera said, obviously she knew about all the conditions too.

Adam nodded.

"Silvana hasn't told me what it is yet, but it looks like mining it won't be easy at all." Adam sighed.

"Hah, you're right. Well, I won't take Silvana's job away from her." Zera uttered, drained her glass, and headed back into the hall.

Before she left completely, Zera stopped and turned around, glaring at him.

"I'm not in the mood today, not anymore, but... I'm not backing down. If you want, you can come to my place any night, even with Jena, she and I have discussed it." Zera said calmly, but there was a deadly seriousness in her gaze.

Adam only nodded slightly, realizing that this was important to Zera, especially since she was a member of the Crimson Path.

But... Her offer made Adam think, but not whether he wanted to accept it or not, it was a little deeper than that.

'If I wanted to, I could come to her, every guy's dream, right? However... do I really want to? I bet, two months ago, when I wasn't Phantom yet, I would have run over to Zera's house that same night. I'm hungry, that's true... but for something else...' Adam inwardly muttered, closing his eyes and sinking into his space.

He looked at his Evolution Tree, Artifact, Nexus, Initial Gene, Power Gene, Elemental Root, and The Will.

All of this was not only part of his power, but also his history. Everything in this space mattered because it was the result of his efforts, accomplishments, and blood from a life mixed with death.

"Hah, a long way has already been passed, but... compared to true power, it's nothing. The work has only just begun. Dead Lands, wait for me just as I wait for you." Adam clenched his fist with fire in his eyes.