Endless Evolution: Last Star - Chapter 1756: The Last Condition (Part 2)
It had been quite some time since Adam created the Second Grand Star, and even longer since he became a K4-Phantom.
The K4 Level was special.
Although the K0 to K4 Levels were part of the First Circle of evolution, they could be divided into two categories.
The First: K0, K1, K2, and K3 Levels.
The Second: K4 Level.
At each level, there were obstacles and conditions that a Phantom had to fulfill if he wanted to progress and become stronger.
With each level, the conditions became more difficult and required more time to fulfill.
But the K4 Level was a special case. It was the stage where a Phantom fully unlocked all his power that had previously been restricted by the Lock, and a Phantom had to create the Keys to unlock the keyholes one by one.
Now, if a Phantom wanted to become stronger, he had to create new abilities and powers, find new energy types throughout the world, and evolve as a fighter.
Without all of this, it was impossible to fulfill all the conditions for creating the First Grand Star, Second Grand Star, and Third Grand Star.
Each Grand Star was a global tier in itself. The difference between a One-Star K4-Phantom and a Three-Star K4-Phantom was tremendous.
If Adam were to meet himself now, when he had just returned from the Dark Shore and become a K4-Phantom, then in a battle against his past self, it would all end with a single punch.
At the same time, Adam wasn’t the strongest K4-Phantom. He was actively approaching that status, and he had only two steps left to reach the Second Circle and become a Second Rank Phantom, one of the strongest beings in the entire world.
That was the minimum power he needed to obtain if he wanted to have even the slightest chance of stopping the World Wipe.
Even the strongest Phantoms and Lords had been unable to break the endless cycle of self-destruction of the First Star and Last Star.
For that, something special was needed.
But before Adam could even think about that, he first had to create the Third Grand Star.
“One more condition and I will create the Third Grand Star…” Adam muttered, staring at the glowing runes hovering before him.
No Phantom could know how many Grand Stars he needed to create the Constellation.
For each Phantom, that number was different, as were the number of conditions and the conditions themselves.
However, for some reason, deep down, Adam felt that just now, at the Grim Court, he had fulfilled his penultimate condition.
“First, the Highest Bliss in the battle against Vaarh, though I thought I’d get the Blood of God back then. Hahaha!”
Suddenly, Adam laughed as he recalled that situation.
“Hell, if I think about it now… Vaarh’s blood, though powerful, is nothing compared to the blood of Queen Elisa. Now I realize that counting on it was naive.”
Either way, Adam received the Blood of God and Highest Bliss.
“Damn, not counting the Desire of Beyond, these were the toughest conditions of all. Then again, what else would you expect from the Third Grand Star?”
For a moment, his gaze grew darker.
“Most likely, this will be the last one, both the condition and the star.”
Adam’s eyes scanned down the list as he paused on yet another condition that frightened him even more than the mysterious Blood of God.
[Third Grand Star (Star #5)
Highest Bliss: 1/1
Blood of God: 1/1
Bottomless Void: 0/1]
“Bottomless Void… What exactly could that mean? Silvana and I have discussed the possibilities many times, but we only guessed right with the Highest Bliss.”
Silvana had suggested that the Highest Bliss was a special state in which Adam would experience the strongest emotions, far more intense than an adrenaline rush or the first entry into the Resonance.
Well, she was mostly right. That’s exactly what happened in the battle against Vaarh.
The Blood of God was a far more mysterious condition. Adam and Silvana thought it must be the blood of some powerful being.
They were certain it must be some kind of monster, perhaps long dead, but reality turned out to be ironic.
The blood they needed turned out to be the blood of Queen Elisa, a Phantom just like him. But Adam wasn’t sure if she was also human like him after everything that had happened to her.
How Queen Elisa had ended up in her current state was one of the main mysteries for Adam. He had seen her and Heaven Island for the first time long ago, but still, he knew almost nothing about Queen Elisa’s story.
“Agh, what’s more, Goen… He said that the World End Squad was under the king’s command. Hell, how many centuries ago did that happen? Is the king still alive?”
There were far fewer questions than at the very beginning of Adam’s journey. On his first day as a Phantom, he hadn’t even imagined how many secrets this world held. However, he was gradually approaching the very summit, beyond which lay only the greatest mysteries and nothing more.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Adam tapped thoughtfully on his chin, looking at the final condition.
“The Bottomless Void. Maybe I need to lose, since it’s sort of the opposite of the Highest Bliss?”
The idea made sense, but Adam immediately shook his head, dismissing it.
“Nah, it can’t be that simple. Besides, for the Highest Bliss, victory wasn’t a condition, it was my state.”
He bit his lip almost to the point of bleeding.
“What would have to happen for me to end up at the very bottom? For me to feel only a void inside myself?”
A chill ran down Adam’s spine at the mere thought of it. He felt he didn’t want to know the answer, but he would have to find out if he wanted to become stronger.
“Alright, enough wasting time.”
Adam clenched his hand into a fist.
“I have to move on!”
He opened his eyes, returning to the real world, just as the door opened and Kaexa walked in.
She raised an eyebrow curiously.
“Oh, you’re awake already? That’s good. Master Kaerno wants to see you. Not just him, but Zin as well.”
“Z-Zin?”
