Endless Evolution: Last Star

The events above were intense, bloody, and brutal, but they were not the most important, the foundation that started it all.

The Phantoms had long ago entered the fortress, there were over a hundred of them in the courtyard, and every now and then the last of the squads would come up, making their way through the waves of monsters.

But... none of them could find the passage to the maze, they didn't even know of its existence.

Why?

The Phantoms that were never in the Fortress of the Lone Serpent were aware of the runes, the three commanders, and the monsters inside, but they didn't know about the maze.

It was simple.

All the information that Katrin & Alan and the other Phantoms/Operators had, came from the records of the Unknown Phantom who first came to the fortress before the Eclipse. He had his reasons for clearing the Red Zone.

Thus, both the military and the Phantoms only had the information Silvana chose to share.

Sure, she was the kind of person who did everything by the book, with complete seriousness and dedication. But, her first priority was not the military and other Operators, but her Phantom.

For that reason, Silvana hadn't reported anything to the others about Stone Mimics, the maze below, much less the caverns. She didn't write where Unknown Phantom defeated the three commanders, so there were no inconsistencies.

Technically, Silvana wasn't deceiving anyone, she just decided to hide some of the information, and furthermore, it didn't make sense for the other Phantoms to go to the lower levels. They had to stay in the courtyard and guard the walls.

...

Step. Step. Step.

With slow steps, Adam descended along the long stair leading to the deepest reaches, much lower than the maze and caverns.

A few Voracious Krigias were growing on the walls, but unlike the ones at the entrance, they were quite small, the light from the cores was dim, but it was better than nothing.

Adam didn't know where he was going, but thanks to the black particles floating around, he knew he was heading in the right direction.

In fact, he no longer needed the light from the predatory plants, the bright red flame burned on his needle, in silent mode, but it was ready to show its full power at any moment.

"Hey, Silvana... What do you think... What's next for me?"

His voice was low, both concerned and excited, this was the first time he was going to a place unknown to the Citadel.

Even for the Wild Lands this was not a common situation, Adam clearly understood that.

'I don't know about you, but you need to destroy the First Wall, so you're going to go through a deadly fight.'

After a few seconds, Silvana continued, there was no doubt in her voice:

'As always, you will win. It will be hard, but you will do it because it's the only way you can advance further.
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Adam didn't answer anything, but instead, his inner space did.

A slight shiver ran through Evolution Seed, transmitting Adam's emotions to Silvana. Her chest grew warm, she felt her words echoed in Adam's soul.

'Good...' Silvana nodded slightly, the corners of her lips traveling upwards, 'With each step we take we grow closer to each other... When will we reach the final point, and... does it exist?'

...

After a few minutes, Adam stopped, he descended to the lower level as his feet came off the last step.

In front of him was another gate, but unlike the Serpent Gates, this one was round like a massive seal.

On the gate was the image of only one serpent, long and hungry, trying to chase its tail, in an endless cycle.

Adam didn't know what to do, and neither did Silvana, but some had senses of a higher order.

[Go ahead... What I fear so much is somewhere beyond this seal...]

Lone Blaze's voice shook unnaturally, it was not easy for it, but it had to stay with Adam.

[Put your palm to the seal and show me that you are worthy, that you can do what I am incapable of...]

Without further ado, Adam stepped forward as his fingertips touched the cold surface.

Crackle.

At the same moment, five sharp black spikes impaled his palm, not far from his knuckles.

Adam's brow twitched, but the pain wasn't piercing enough for him to scream. The spikes were thin, their purpose was not to torture one, but to get one's blood.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Defying gravity, Adam's blood traveled upward in dark trickles straight toward the serpent's jaw. Tasting his blood, the serpent's eyes lit up with crimson flame, a light ripple spread across the walls.

Deep inside, Adam wanted to pull his hand away and bounce back, during a battle it was the right thing to do, but he wasn't fighting anyone.

The crimson mist came out from beneath the seal's border, but this time the mist didn't move past Adam, it headed straight for him, surrounding him in a dense layer.

"Agh...?"

Silvana blinked a few times, for some reason she had completely lost contact with Adam, both technical and energetic, neither earpiece nor shared sight worked.

"What's going on in there?"

...

Ripple. Ripple. Ripple.

Like an uninvited guest, the crimson mist entered Adam's inner space, passing along the darkness with mild curiosity.

Yet, it was a trap, as the mist slowly approached the Evolution Tree, its great roots full of pure powerful energy. For any entity, this was the greatest treasure, usually, it was impossible to reach the roots, but Adam himself had let the crimson mist into his inner space.

However, this did not cause the Evolution Tree to panic or want to destroy the mist, the Evolution Tree only had one reaction:

[Hahaha... You impudent intruder... Do you think I'm going to fight you? This young man's inner space is too strong for me to waste my time on you...]

The crimson mist seemed to understand what the Evolution Tree said but didn't believe it, carrying on towards the roots.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

At the same moment, the First Wall shuddered, cracks running across its surface, shattering the center into slivers.

Black particles came out, while a vortex, hungry and violent, gradually formed in the broken part.