Endless Evolution: Last Star

Dayra did not participate in battles as much as Adam, who did most of the work, but she was determined to change that. In any case, she was not much weaker than Adam, Kolos, or Lyrod.

They were all on the same level, the last of the First Circle, even though there were differences in their stages and strength. Dayra was capable of many things, but she didn't have the opportunity to demonstrate them.

Crack.

The destroyed altar crystal was supposed to be the first step toward that. When the time came and Adam entered the battle against Lyrod, she would not stand aside and watch; she would contribute.

Green fragments flew away under her gaze as the barrier flickered.

The altar tried to maintain the protective structure, as it had been set up by Lyrod to delay them, but it was impossible without the crystal, which was the main source of energy.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Under the falling barrier, slow claps came from Adam, who was moving toward her.

"Wow, you finally did something useful. That's incredible!"

Dayra would not tolerate his mockery. As soon as he blinked, Dayra appeared in front of him, her daggers ready to close around his neck.

"Maybe you should stop provoking me?"

"Or what?"

Adam waved his hand, pushing her wrists aside.

"Kill me? Hurt me? You don't want to say it, but you're lucky I showed up, because I'm a great opportunity to get rid of Lyrod. Moreover, if what I'm saying annoys you so much, then keep doing what you did with the altar. That wasn't bad at all."

Dayra clenched her fists tightly but said nothing. She simply followed Adam, who headed for the sixth floor.

Gravity was no longer as big a problem as the next guard, because Adam knew what to do.

But there was something that stumped Adam and Dayra—there were three guards on the sixth floor.

Did that mean they had any trouble destroying them?

Not at all.

Adam easily dealt with two, while Dayra took care of the third. They finished at about the same time, with virtually no loss of strength. None of them used their trump cards, there were no injuries either, but Lyrod had achieved his goal — it took quite a long time.

Unlike the first three floors, where everything happened at an increased speed due to the artifact's effect, gravity, on the contrary, complicated the fight for both Adam and Dayra and the guards.

"Damn, why are there so many floors in this crypt? Why did they create nine? Wasn't two or, at most, three enough?" Adam complained as he descended to the seventh floor.

"This... This is not something that I, Kolos, or Lyrod could have influenced, since that crypt appeared after the black flash."

Adam scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Are you saying that all this is the will of the First Star? That its energy created this crypt?"

After a short pause, she nodded in confirmation.

"Most likely. There is also the possibility that the First Star moved this crypt from another location, but that doesn't happen very often."

"By the way, you've already survived at least one World Wipe, right?" Adam suddenly asked.

Dayra blinked several times, puzzled. She hadn't expected Adam to ask such a question, but nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. I'm several hundred years old, of course, I've seen the World Wipe. Wait... your aura... It's so light. How old are you anyway?"

Adam scratched his cheek shyly.

"18, I was 17 a few months ago."

"You...! You're a damn mutant, not a human!"

"Hahaha! Nah, I'm human, that's for sure, although..."

Adam fell silent; he didn't say the next words out loud.

'I know one mutant, or rather a hybrid, the only one. Nessa... Hah, unlike Katrin, I haven't seen her in a long time, just like Magnus. I wonder what those two are up to?'

This random thought made Adam think about one thing.

Magnus, Refesa, and Aiden were all freelance scientists, and to some extent, they were the most special ordinary people in the entire Citadel, as positions as high as theirs were held either by Second Rank Phantoms or Gamma Division members.

"They're all ordinary people, right?" Adam scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I'm sure Refesa has done something to her body through technology to look so young, but Magnus and Aiden, and even Refesa with her technology, do they have a way to survive the World Wipe?"

The first thing Adam thought about was that these three were also part of the Gamma Division, but neither he nor Silvana felt the special aura from Magnus or Refesa that Douglas or Andreas had.

"Moreover, even though I've only seen Aiden in person once, he and Magnus look quite young. Damn, I just don't have an answer to this mystery."

Adam wanted to meet Aiden, but he simply didn't have the opportunity to do so. He didn't even know where to start, and every time he tried, a new problem arose. Right now, he couldn't think of anything else but the impending World Wipe and the dark orb lurking in his inner space.

'Aiden...' Adam muttered to himself. 'Wilfred said that he creates Natural Phantoms, one after another, but his goal is not quantity, since he does not use his methods on a large scale. Given his position, no one would forbid him from using his methods if it would have a positive effect on the Citadel.'

Thus, Adam came to only one conclusion at this point.

'If it's not about quantity, then his goal is quality, right? But... What is he trying to achieve if the Citadel has Phantoms like Damien?'

"Hey, Adam, are you listening to me?" Dayra asked, standing in front of Adam, who was too deep in thought.

Adam's eyes were no longer empty as he looked at her.

"Yeah, something wrong?"

Dayra shook her head, causing Adam to become alert.

They reached the edge of the eighth floor, which offered a view of the lowest point of the crypt—the ninth floor.

It was neither a platform nor an arena. It was a gorge deep underground, while bright waterfalls of shimmering water filled the great river winding between two sharp banks.

Somewhere in this gorge, Lyrod was hiding, trying to absorb as much energy as possible.