Endless Evolution: Last Star

They walked in silence for a while until they reached the entrance to the Third Ring, where the city's nightlife began.

"Silvana, you haven't wanted to tell me about this for a long time. Well, it's been quite some time since I became K1-Phantom. However, I don't regret delaying, I've gone through a lot of events, but I'm strong enough to go on now."

Adam looked up at the starry night sky, where the brightest star was missing, for it had fallen long ago putting a beginning and an end.

"Tell me what Midnight Crystal is." Adam said calmly.

To create the First Key and open a third of his Lock, Adam needed to fulfill three conditions:

[To create the Key you need the following things:

1) 10,000 Neutral Genes - for the shape.

2) Ten First-Rarity Level Artefacts - for the key.

3) Midnight Crystal - for a motion]

The first two conditions Adam had already fulfilled quite a while ago, though collecting genes or artifacts was not difficult for a K1-Phantom who had been in Dead Lands for a long time. It was only a matter of time before Phantom gathered all the materials.

However... Midnight Crystal was different. Silvana hadn't told Adam about it yet, he hadn't rushed her, as he always had other more important tasks to accomplish. Adam wanted to be fully prepared to move to the next level and right now he was at his limit.

Silvana turned to the side, it was obvious that she was thinking about something. Soon, she was getting nervous, and about to start biting her nails.

Tap.

Adam appeared in front of her, gently taking her hand, stopping her at the last moment from repeating her bad habit.

"Hey, is something wrong? As soon as we left Miracle Observatory, you didn't say a word. I thought you were just glancing around, but it looks like you were thinking about something." Adam smirked slightly.

Silvana shook her head.

"Nothing like that, I was just pondering about what happened. I'm sorry, I'm not feeling very well, let me tell you about Midnight Crystal tomorrow, okay?" Silvana said seriously.

Adam had nothing left to do but nod.

...

After a while, they parted at a corner, Silvana headed towards her home, while Adam watched her departing silhouette with a deep look.

'Well... You lied to me, but why? Something's bothering you and it clearly has nothing to do with Midnight Crystal. Agh... I hope I don't have to go to Tron again, I take his relationship advice far too often.' Adam inwardly sighed scratching the back of his head.

...

At the same time, Nessa woke up and came into Magnus's room.

"So... He decided to leave that scar?" Nessa muttered puzzled, rubbing her arm.

Magnus nodded.

"Can't say I don't understand that symbolism, but it wasn't necessary. It's more of a whim of his than anything really important. But, I decided to tell you first. I'll have no trouble removing that scar from your belly, but you can never get a disappearing scar back, it only works one way." Magnus narrowed his eyes, curiously awaiting Nessa's response.

Magnus wasn't a warrior, but he knew better than most that it wasn't only warriors who could have scars.

.net

He had experienced it, having been the father of the only hybrid in the world that had tried to kill him many times.

"I see... No, I'm not going to do as you said, but I'm also not going to follow Adam's wishes." Nessa said confidently, clenching her fist tightly.

"Hmm?" Magnus raised an eyebrow with curiosity in his gaze.

Nessa looked at the charms on her stomach and said:

"I'll leave this scar, temporarily. When I am getting stronger, I will give him a rematch and I will defeat him. Then, I will remove this scar." Nessa said seriously, not allowing anyone to interfere with her decision.

Magnus smirked slightly.

"Good choice."

Magnus nodded, then he pointed to the screens, "After the battle, your cells were more active than ever. This has never happened before. You're stronger now, but I don't think you'll be able to use this transformation freely, at will."

Nessa looked intently at Magnus, and at the screens where there was all the information about her as well as a 3D model of her body.

"Because the source of this transformation is the same as Phantom Resonance, right?" Nessa asked. In fact, it was a rhetorical question.

"Exactly." Magnus said thoughtfully, looking at the screens with a deep gaze.

Magnus continued:

"However, in our case, it was the catalyst for your growth. I have a hunch that you are now at the first level."

Nessa tilted her head in confusion.

"I'm at the first level? What does that mean?"

Nessa realized that she was now much stronger than before. She had been at the first level nine years ago when she became a hybrid. Magnus's metaphor puzzled her.

"It means that new possibilities have opened up for you now. You can become stronger than ever before. I'm sure you'll surpass K1-Level in less than a couple of months." Magnus said seriously, tapping his finger slowly on the table.

Nessa's eyes went wide, shining brightly with admiration, for this could only mean one thing - she was about to become stronger than Adam.

"Nice! I could beat him very soon! Our rematch will come in the near future!" Nessa exclaimed vigorously, ready to rush into battle right now.

However... Magnus shook his head, showing her that it was impossible.

"Nessa, it's not that simple. Adam is already at his peak, he only has one last action left before he becomes a K2-Phantom. And..."

Magnus paused for a long moment, causing the tension inside Nessa to rise rapidly.

"The difference in power between you two will become even greater than it is now.

Although it's entirely possible he won't return from Dead Lands. Getting the Midnight Crystal is one hell of a challenge." Magnus frowned. It seemed he didn't want Adam to die.

After the incident with Nessa's transformation, Magnus started to feel differently about Adam, because there was some kind of connection between him and Nessa. If Adam died, it would deprive Magnus of valuable experiments.

Nessa frowned, clenching her fists tightly.

"What? Father, what are you talking about? Most Phantoms aspire to become K2, much faster than Adam. He could have done it even two months ago, after defeating Steel Knight, because back then he already had everything but Midnight Crystal."

Magnus sighed heavily, leaning on his hand with a bored look.

"Yeah... However, don't forget that the death rate is 25%. Sure, the statistics are skewed, because instead of preparing properly and unleashing their full K1 potential, they're rushing around in pursuit of strength. But, that's if we're talking about Artificialborn Phantoms." A sharp glint passed across Magnus's serious eyes.

Nessa flinched, realizing what Magnus was talking about, for she knew a lot about Midnight Crystal.

Then, Nessa looked at the screens and said, switching to another topic:

"And... Still, I don't understand. Why did he choose to protect me and moreover, why did he spare me? That guy, I think his name was Kai, he begged Adam, but Adam just turned away like he was an independent spectator." Nessa bit her lip.

It annoyed her that despite her power, it was Adam who was deciding her fate. If Adam had wanted to kill her, he would have done it. Moreover, he could just stay out of her fight, and then Snow Follower would finish her off.

"Maybe he fell in love with you?" Magnus nonchalantly said.

"Agh...?" Nessa's eyes went wide. She wasn't sure she'd heard Magnus's words correctly, but soon her mind was filled with just thinking about it.

Soon, Nessa blushed and waved her hand like a teenager rather than a grown girl.

"Don't talk such nonsense! As far as I know, he has a girlfriend! Moreover, love shouldn't look like that! He's just a psycho who wanted to enjoy a fight!" Nessa exclaimed, disagreeing with Magnus.

Magnus raised an eyebrow.

"Girlfriend"?

Yeah, he seems to be dating Jena, a doctor from some department, but... He doesn't seem to be interested in that much. Dead Lands and the path to power appeal to him a lot more. However, maybe because he hasn't had the right partner?"

Nessa sighed heavily as she placed her hands at her sides and glared menacingly at Magnus.

"Do you care or are you just teasing me? What's more, he and Silvana may become a couple at some point." Nessa mumbled slightly shyly.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Magnus laughed vigorously, he couldn't help himself.

Nessa felt even more awkward than before.

"W-What? Although it rarely happens, but some Phantoms and Operators do meet!" Nessa got angry.

"Hahaha, sorry, it's just that your naivety amazes me." Magnus chuckled, then he stopped and slowly directed his gaze towards Nessa.

His eyes grew colder.

"Their relationship has already gone to another level. That doesn't mean they won't have problems, but lust has no place in the relationship between Phantom and Operator. Death, life, and power, that's what really matters." Magnus shrugged, planting his feet on the table.

Before Nessa could say anything, Magnus waved his hand carelessly.

"That's it for now. We'll start training tomorrow. I'll try to come up with something effective. We need to test the limit of your abilities."

...

At that time, deep into the night, Silvana stood in front of the door, but... it wasn't her apartment. Adam had come here once before.

Silvana knocked several times, clearly nervous. Then, someone finally opened the door.

"Come on... Looks like I need to start charging you... You think I'm a psychologist?" Tron rolled his eyes, being sleepy.

"Can I come in?" Silvana asked with a confident look.

Tron shrugged.

"Judging by your eyes, that's a rhetorical question." Tron shook his head, letting Silvana inside.