Endless Evolution: Last Star

Crackle.

The door opened, stepping into a room that was usually perfectly clean, cleaned as if for a visit from a king, but... This time was different.

Dust or dirt was not what the eye fell upon, there was so much of it that it had become normal. Scattered shoes, clothes, and containers of food, especially instant noodles, were lying everywhere.

Anyone who came here would have thought that this was the home of a dirtbag or someone who hadn't wanted to get out of their house in years.

However... this is where one of the people closest to Adam lived.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Silvana was typing rapidly on the keyboard trying to find something. It was obvious at a glance that she was looking for some information about the prison, the courts, and the police. Though, Adam had left her not to worry, but she wasn't going to listen to him.

"Khm. Looks like someone doesn't know how to self-control at all, doesn't it?" Adam uttered, leaning his back against the doorway.

Silvana stopped, not believing that she had heard Adam's voice. In fact, in any other situation, she would have noticed him as soon as he walked in, no, even earlier, she would have seen him on the cameras.

But... right now Silvana was definitely not in her best condition.

"Agh...?" She slowly turned her head, meeting Adam's gaze, and her eyes went wide in disbelief.

Adam took a slow step towards her with a calm look.

Silvana began to tremble, even panic, but not because she was afraid of Adam, but because of what she and her home looked like now.

To Adam, as his Operator, she had always been the perfectionist's ideal, especially when it came to cleaning and appearance, but now... She just couldn't let him see her like this!

Before Silvana could say anything, Adam walked up to her and put his index finger to her lips as if telling her to be quiet.

Though this was the first time he had been in this situation, in the time he had known Silvana, he already learned how to work with her and knew how to get her back on track.

"I told you not to worry and find me a suitable Essence Monster, didn't I?" Adam said seriously, "However... You're still looking for ways to help me get out of prison even though I'm already free."

Adam took a deep breath.

"Let's do it this way - you're punished. As punishment, you'll have to clean this place up by the time I get back from my walk."

Realizing that there was no way to increase this awkward pause, Adam quickly left Silvana's apartment, allowing her to once again run his words through her head and from her thoughts go straight to work!

Silvana didn't want to look the way she did now in front of Adam, and Adam wanted Silvana to feel comfortable, so... it was best for both of them to take a short pause to work out non-essential issues.

Two hours later, Adam returned, and as soon as he opened the door, a new but familiar scene unfolded before him.

Perfect cleanliness followed him, heading towards a girl in formal clothes, who was waiting for him in the middle of the aisle with her arms folded in front of her.

Adam was clearly surprised, he hadn't expected Silvana to be able to do so much in just two hours.

He wanted to say something, but this time, Silvana was already ahead of him.

She bowed low with their hands at the hips and said:

"First of all - thank you. Secondly, I'm glad you could come back so soon, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about the whole thing." Silvana uttered in all seriousness.

"Sure, but first, make me some coffee, and you'll have something sweet, won't you?" Adam uttered with a slight smile.

Silvana smirked.

"As you wish."

Things returned to their usual pace fairly quickly, but the desire to move forward went nowhere, neither Adam's nor Silvana's.

Adam explained everything to Silvana in detail - about the prison, the zones, the rules, the Guardians, and his fight against Prago with Kayla and Edir.

He wasn't going to hide anything from Silvana, and he wanted her to know all of it. After all, as for the Operator, this information was useful.

In the end, Adam left his conversation with Narata. Although he had learned a lot in prison and met some unusual people, his biggest shock was related to Narata.

"Oh... That's actually amazing... To my shame, I've never even considered such a problem. It always seems like being a Phantom is just a reward, but where there's a blessing, there's always room for a curse, isn't there?" Silvana muttered, pondering Adam's words.

Adam nodded, taking a sip of coffee. For some reason, that was the drink he wanted today. The sweetness of sodas and smoothies had worn off on him.

"You're going to meet her in three days?"

Adam nodded.

"Tron will still be there, he'll probably be the one to decide if Dark Order will help her dream come true or not. Well, I'm hoping for the best, but no one knows what will happen then. Also, are you going to the party in five days?"

Silvana's corners of her lips lifted upward slightly.

"Absolutely. We all need a proper rest. Furthermore, I'll be interested to see Edir and Kayla, from the looks of it they're pretty capable Phantoms."

Adam sighed, taking the next sip.

Then, a short pause continued, while the atmosphere quickly filled with a distinct tension. It was coming from Adam, for he was finally ready to ask the question he had been contemplating for days.

"Silvana... After hearing my story about the prison and the story about Narata, also considering that you are my Operator, I have something I want to ask you." Adam said seriously, looking intently at Silvana.

Silvana gulped, she wasn't sure what exactly he was talking about.

"Have you ever wondered about... no..." Adam bit his lip, "Did you ever want to be a Phantom?"

Silvana's eyes went wide.

Few Phantoms would ask such a thing of their Operator, most would think of it as a ridiculous joke, but their situation was different. Silvana knew that Adam was a Naturalborn Phantom, which meant... as someone without Spark, she had the same opportunity.

The reality was that if it was up to Silvana's will, she could go to Dead Lands at any time, and fight the monster.

If she killed the monster in a 1 vs. 1, then she would become a Naturalborn Phantom, that's all.

Adam hadn't thought about this before, but the discussion with Narata had changed his mindset, making him look at the situation more broadly.

If some Phantoms didn't want to be Phantoms, then there had to be military men, Operators, and Blacksmiths who wanted to become Phantoms and were willing to do anything for it. Sure, in order to do that, one had to know about the Naturalborn Phantoms first.

Silvana was silent for a long time, then confidently said, "Adam, please stand up."

Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion, but he did as she asked.

Silvana pushed the chair aside and, to Adam's surprise, got down on one knee in front of him - like a knight, with a serious look on her face and her palm pressed to her chest.

Adam was embarrassed, he hadn't expected this or considered it normal, but he couldn't bring himself to ask her to stand - Silvana's gaze wouldn't let him.

She was more earnest than ever, without words - showing all her determination and confidence in the path she had chosen.

It is important to remember that everyone has a unique route - everyone has different goals and dreams.