Endless Evolution: Last Star

"I'm dying..." Adam muttered, holding his stomach, which was inflated like a balloon.

Tron had eaten just as much, maybe even more than him, but he looked more than normal.

"Well, we had a good sit down and discussed a lot of things. It was a productive meeting." Tron said seriously, "Riska, we should go."

"Sure!" Riska exclaimed energetically, rising abruptly.

While Adam and Tron destroyed one dessert after another, Narata and Riska just waited and somewhere, deep down, envied them. They only ordered green tea.

True, they wanted to join Adam and Tron, especially Narata, but she knew, that now she would have to pay a heavy price for it.

She wanted to be an Operator, and she had to sacrifice something for that, even a seemingly trivial thing like food.

"Adam, good luck. I don't usually praise people, but you deserve it. However, don't get overly arrogant, be confident but not cocky. That's what you need to survive, not become just another talented newbie who dies in a couple of months because of his stupidity." Tron waved his hand, heading for the door.

Riska quickly quickened her step and opened the door in front of him.

"See you later!" Riska waved with a happy smile before hurriedly following Tron.

Adam looked at Narata with a slight curiosity in his gaze.

"How are you feeling? Looks like besides Tron, Riska had a chat with you as well, didn't she?" Adam suggested.

Narata sighed heavily.

"Agh... I'm tired, pretty damn tired. But, I hope everything will be fine in the future. The most important thing is that I have a decent Phantom, everything else is not so crucial. Then I can reach my full potential and show what I'm capable of!" Narata said confidently, clenching her fist with a fiery gaze.

Adam smiled, nodding his head slightly.

"I see... Well, I don't think you need to worry about that. If Tron has a suitable candidate, then it's already decided. I, as a Phantom, can't give you any useful advice, moreover, even as a Phantom, I'm still a newbie." Adam smiled bitterly.

"However..." Adam's tone became harsher.

"However?" Narata tilted her head in confusion.

"Something I'm sure of. Never lose that confidence in your eyes, that fire you have now. By keeping that flame alive, you'll definitely be able to keep going, no matter what." Adam said with a deadly serious look.

Narata only nodded silently.

...

Adam had fulfilled his promise to Narata, and now he had only one thing left to do in the Citadel before returning to Dead Lands - a party.

Silvana and Adam worked with Edir and his Operator to organize everything as well as send out invitations.

Everything was ready the day before the party, where everyone could rest and head back to Dead Lands.

Adam walked through the city at night, in a rather dark district, practically unlit by streetlights - he wanted to enjoy the night sky. He had nothing to fear anyway.

Then, he was in the Third Ring, practically near the border with the slums.

"Well... It's much different from the First Ring... It's not noisy here, and that's a good thing. Although, the darkness can be intimidating for many, can't it?" Adam muttered thoughtfully, just staring into the void.

"You're absolutely right."

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, came a calm, deep voice. Strangely enough, Adam had heard that voice once before and knew who the owner was.

Adam turned around sharply only to see a silhouette in the alley, the darkness completely hiding it. The only thing visible was the high collar from a long coat, emerald eyes, and a half-smoked cigarette.

"You... You're Wilfred, aren't you...?" Adam muttered in disbelief, "Or was it... Then it was someone else's name?"

The man smirked.

"Nah. You got that right. Don't worry, I'm not following or stalking you. I just saw you heading this way and thought it might be a good opportunity to meet again." Wilfred said calmly, blowing out a puff of smoke.

Adam narrowed his eyes. Even if Wilfred was from Black Swan and willing to help him deal with Aiden Henk, that didn't mean he had to trust Wilfred.

Adam was much more naive than he was now. It wasn't surprising, though, since his knowledge of the world was very limited, and he lacked experience.

However, after the encounter with Ruby Dew, namely Mirna's squad, and the deaths of his teammates, he had become much tougher towards the Lower Ring.

"Even so... What do you want?" Adam asked with a hard stare.

Wilfred shrugged.

"I don't know. I just wanted to talk. Honestly, when I gave you the black card, I expected our next meeting to be in half a year at best. More specifically, that you'd be strong enough to descend to the Lower Ring by then." Wilfred said calmly. He took out a new cigarette and lit it with the blue flame of his lighter.

Sure, Lower Ring wasn't such a dangerous place that one had first become a K2-Phantom to go there.

Many people were living in the Lower Ring, millions to be exact. However, they were just doing their normal jobs, carrying out a routine life.

Adam had more complex tasks that required the strength not to die at the hands of some Phantom like Mirna.

Though Adam hadn't been to the Lower Ring yet, it didn't require to be a genius to realize that the safety there was far worse than in the Upper Ring, it was too obvious.

Moreover, he was an outsider who only remotely understood how this mysterious place worked.

"Half a year?" Adam raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

Wilfred nodded.

"Yeah, normally, we don't expect to see new Phantoms in the Lower Ring until a year or more later, but in your case, it's different. Given your success on your first missions, I immediately realized that you were talented, but... it's only been about forty days, and you've already almost reached the peak of the K1. That's commendable."

"And...? What's next? We just talk, and you leave?" Adam clenched his fists tightly, not realizing if Wilfred had any hidden intentions.

Wilfred slowly turned his head, staring at Adam.

"Yeah, that's exactly what's going to happen. It's too early for you to go to the Lower Ring, though, you know that without me. But, since we're here now, I'll tell you something - Aiden Henk, he's continuing his experiments, and now he's got not only the monster and the slum youths in his grasp, but other Phantoms as well..."

Wilfred paused for a moment before continuing.

"We're not completely sure, but he did something to a few Phantoms. Slightly, but they are different from the others, and we don't know exactly what it is or how it happened. And... That's actually kind of scary. Anyway, he's killing people, and we have to stop it."

"Tsk. Stop this bullshit!" Adam waved his hand irritably.

Wilfred narrowed his eyes.

"Do you really expect me to believe that's all you care about? Even if you actually feel sorry for those Aiden Henk is experimenting on, you must have ulterior motives, don't you?!"

Adam frowned heavily. He wasn't ready to believe that the organization from the Lower Ring was a bunch of do-gooders fighting for justice!