Endless Evolution: Last Star

Step. Step. Step.

Walking from one light spot to another, stepping through the darkness, Adam strode leisurely along the long passageway.

If some new prisoner saw him, one would think he was a Guardian or a prison employee. It would be impossible for a newcomer to think, that Adam had just arrived in this prison a few days ago and was an inmate like most of the Phantoms here.

Well, Fall Hill Prison had its own rules, though they weren't much different from the way this world worked and the ideology of the Dark Order.

The strong could afford more than the weak - everyone understood that, and in Fall Hill Prison that system was elevated to a controlled one, as if in a game. Sure, Azure Lotus had to make great compromises since it works that way.

Crackle.

A door in a long hallway opened abruptly.

"What... what are you doing here!" Krana exclaimed with her eyes wide open. She was still covered in bandages in some places, as she had not yet fully recovered from their fight.

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Were there other passages here all along?" Adam glanced around, watching the sides.

Krana shook her head with a heavy sigh.

"Of course... are there rooms and passageways for the staff, or do you think the guards, guides, and employees are always in the zones and sleeping with the prisoners?"

"Sister, who are you talking to?" A weakened voice sounded behind Krana, as a silhouette slowly approached her.

"YOU!!!!" Trana exclaimed, pointing at Adam with a shaking hand.

Adam sighed.

"What, can't I walk around here? I defeated you, in case you forgot." Adam waved his hands. your chapter source mv-l,e mp _yr

Krana and Trana glanced over as they gulped. In fact, they had no right to forbid Adam from being here. He could go anywhere he wanted, except S-Zone.

"Anyway. I'm looking for Narata. Do you know where she is?" Adam asked nonchalantly, without any hidden meaning or malice.

Krana frowned, and Trana narrowed her eyes mistrustfully.

"What do you want from her?" Krana was wary, "I hope you realize that as a prisoner of the A-Zone, you can't challenge a Guardian of the F-Zone, right? You've already defeated both her and us, so... don't cause unnecessary trouble."

Adam waved his palm in front of his face as if to show that he didn't even have that in mind.

"I just want to talk to her, though... since you're here. Can I ask you one question?"

Krana and Trana glanced over again, then they nodded at the same time. Though they didn't trust Adam, they felt he didn't have any hidden intentions.

"Why are you here? Why did you choose to work in this prison rather than continue fighting in Dead Lands?" Adam asked sincerely.

Trana smirked as she lifted her chin and placed an open palm on her chest.

"Hah, how do you know about our battles in Dead Lands? We've always been in that prison since it's our duty to keep an eye on criminals like you."

"Come on. It's pretty obvious to anyone on my level that you've been here for a while and are actively fighting in Dead Lands, unlike Narata and... Guardian of the D-Zone." Adam scratched the back of his head since he had forgotten Lorko's name.

Trana froze in place, they couldn't say anything in response.

Krana took a step forward with a light sigh. She realized that it was better to tell it like it was.

"Alright. You're right. We've only been here for two weeks, and we'll be here for just as long. We were asked to do so by the higher-up members of the Azure Lotus, and what's more, we were fine with it ourselves."

Adam gave her a curious look.

"We were told that here we would be able to strengthen our auras by fighting strong Phantoms. We were skeptical at first, but... There are some really strong opponents among the prisoners. For example - you or Edir..."

"By the way... He's been here before, so... how could you two have crossed paths?" Adam tilted his head in confusion.

Krana smiled bitterly.

"Well... This is not our first time here, but the second one since the first time we lasted twenty days out of the thirty required. The reason is very simple - Edir beat us so badly that we couldn't continue working here. Our treatment lasted over two weeks."

Krana continued, "This month, we are back again, and he is here again. It's pretty ironic. Anyway, we'll be back at Dead Lands in two weeks, since the Phantoms are supposed to fight monsters, not humans, you know?"

Adam nodded understandingly. As he had originally thought, Krana and Trana weren't much different from him or Edir, but... Narata was a different case.

"Thank you for your honesty. Don't worry about Narata. I'm going to ask her the same thing, after which I'll return to A-Zone."

Krana and Trana got dark looks. It seemed like this was not going to be an easy task at all.

"Well, you can try, but even we didn't get an answer from her. I don't know why, but she's afraid to talk about her true motives." Krana muttered with a slight sadness in her eyes.

Adam nodded, heading towards the gate.

"Hey, you!" Trana shouted, causing Adam to glare at her over his shoulder without fully turning around.

Trana threw her arm forward, "We won't lose next time! We'll fight again when we reach K2, do you understand?"

Adam smiled as he nodded slightly.

"Sure, how can I deny myself such a rare opportunity to defeat the twins twice?"

Trana puffed up her cheeks as she clenched her fists tightly.

Tap.

Krana placed a palm on her shoulder, reassuring her little sister.

"Come on. The tea's already gone cold. There's no point in continuing this."

"Right... but we won't lose again, you got that?!" Trana belligerently uttered, making Krana's eyes go wide.

Krana smiled bitterly.

"Whatever you say. I'll support whatever decision you make, as always."

...

Twenty minutes later, Adam finally reached the gate leading to the F-Zone.

The gate was at the end of the hallway, and Adam needed to take ten more steps to reach it.

Crackle.

Suddenly, the gate opened, revealing a tall silhouette.

Narata, already sans black case was returning from the F-Zone, kicking dust off her shoulders. Obviously, she had just fought someone and easily won.

After all, she was the Guardian of the F-Zone, and most of the prisoners were weaker than her. Not everyone was destined to go further and reach the final zone, like Adam and Edir.

Crackle.

The gate closed, taking away the light from the F-Zone and leaving only a dim glow in the long passage, with dark gaps.

Narata looked up as her eyes went wide from Adam, who was staring intently at her.

"What are you doing here? What do you want...?" Narata frowned.

"I want to know - why you're here and not in Dead Lands? Why are you fighting humans and not monsters? And... You could definitely be a lot stronger than you are now, but you're holding yourself back. But, why?" Adam said calmly.

Narata waved her hand.

"I'm not going to say anything to you. Go back to your A-Zone and enjoy the royal treatment."

She turned, and a shiver ran down her spine at the sight of silver threads weaving around Adam's right hand, forming amongst the darkness a snow-white needle that hadn't even been needed before.

"Well, I feel like this is important to me, so... you have to do it. Maybe we can help each other, who knows? Holding everything in isn't helpful at all." Adam uttered, stepping forward, making an echoing thud.

Narata froze in place as fragments of their fight flashed before her eyes - especially how Adam had broken her Nexus with just his bare hands.