Endless Evolution: Last Star

The Lords didn't stand a chance, not after Saegar showed his true power.

More than ten Lords died at his hand in less than a minute. Some of their bloody bodies lay on the gray earth, and some were just a handful of ashes.

Many colorful fields had to disappear just as the sun was forced to hide behind a dense layer of clouds, making room for Saegar's thunder.

After a few moments, Adam turned to Wilfred.

"What happens next?"

"Well, the First Star will lead us away from here. Then you'll go through evolution and become a K4-Phantom. When all of that is complete, you and I are going to have a long and serious conversation."

Then, Wilfred exhaled a puff of smoke.

"I thought you would come at the Lower Ring at the K1-Level or at most at the K2-Level, but you've been delayed, quite a bit. A lot has changed in that time, both in the Citadel and in you, hasn't it?"

"Hmm? Going to the Lower Ring this early would be dangerous!"

Wilfred shook his head.

"I gave you the map for a reason. All you had to do was go down, and I would take care of you as a friend of the Dark Swan."

Silvana frowned. 'Adam, don't let his pretty words fool you. It sounds like he'd recruit you. There's no telling what he'll say next.'

Adam didn't answer anything. He didn't want Wilfred to notice even a second of hesitation on his face, but it was clear from his gaze that he agreed with Silvana.

It wasn't much different from his stance earlier, though.

'Wilfred is a dangerous man. I only need him to get to the bottom of Aiden Henk's head. He just saved my life, though. I'm grateful to him for that.'

"And..." Adam stammered. "You knew I was caught at the Dark Shore? You've been watching the whole time?"

Wilfred nodded weakly.

"Yeah, something like that. I was informed of the black flash incident. I knew right away what was going on. In a way, you're lucky I was at the Dark Shore at the time as well. I have to admit, you held up pretty well. I thought you were going to lose to the stone flower in the beginning."

Adam's eyes went wide in disbelief.

He thought Wilfred had found him closer to the Lords' arrival, but Wilfred saw everything from the beginning?

Slash.

With a sweep of his spear, Saegar finished off the last Lord before closing his eyes.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Electric discharges headed towards him as his great wing trembled. Gradually, his raging energy returned to normal, and his Arc disappeared.

Wilfred shook off the ashes.

"Ask if you have any questions. I think we have a few more minutes until your Third Key absorbs the Twilight Crystal completely."

"Sure." Adam nodded.

He wanted to know both about the Lords and the weapons they used. At the Dark Shore, there were too many things Adam had no idea about.

At the same time, Kenward took a deep breath and walked slowly down to Saegar.

Everyone realized that the battle was over.

The Befallen Crown will not try to attack Saegar's lands anytime soon. It is unlikely that the authorities will even do so unless a Phantom like Adam appears again.

Step. Step. Step.

With the wind rippling his coat, Kenward found himself next to Saegar.

He glanced around.

Everything within a radius of two hundred meters was destroyed. The first flower fields showed only after three hundred meters.

"Well, it looks like you're going to have a lot of work to do, doesn't it?"

Saegar answered nothing, he only looked up to meet the first rays of sunlight breaking through the clouds.

He canceled his Lord Form, so it was time for the clouds to part.

"You know, I guess I should thank you for your hospitality," Kenward said, pulling a small pouch from his pocket.

"Hmm?" Saegar raised an eyebrow, confused.

Kenward opened the pouch, revealing a single brightly colored seed that looked like a glowing dewdrop.

Holding his breath, Saegar froze in place.

"What do you say? Hah," Kenward chuckled. "It'll be a good start for your new garden. I know you. As soon as Adam and Wilfred are gone, you'll start rebuilding your land right away, won't you?"

Saegar smiled weakly, accepting the seed pouch.

"Thank you. I appreciate it. It's not easy at all for you to give something like that as a gift. I know that."

"Agh. Fifteen Lords. Eleven Lesser Ones and four of the Ascended Lords. So many strong fighters died without accomplishing anything."

Saegar waved his hand carelessly. Their lives were worth nothing to him.

"They chose this path for themselves. The moment they chose to follow the orders of the Befallen Crown, they put themselves at risk."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

After a few moments of silence, a deep darkness appeared in the distance.

All eyes turned toward Adam and Wilfred when the huge snake's frame shuddered.

The great creature turned into blobs of energy, disappearing into Wilfred's inner space.

Streams of wind headed towards them. Their hair whipped upwards in free fall as the ground rapidly approached.

At last, Wilfred turned, giving Saegar and Kenward a slight nod.

Then, a flash of darkness burst from Adam, engulfing them both. They didn't have time to reach the surface as they both disappeared in an unknown direction.

The story at the Dark Shore was over, but Kenward and Saegar knew that sooner or later they would run into Adam again.

"That young man. I'm sure he'll become a Second Rank Phantom at some point," Kenward said nonchalantly.

Saegar scratched the back of his head. "That could take a few years or even decades."

"Hah, is that time for us? We haven't even noticed how the years fly by."

Saegar sighed heavily, for Kenward was right.

Long gone were the days when waiting meant something to them. The longer they lived the faster the days, months, and years went by.

They, as two True Lords, knew well how little time was worth in their lives.