Endless Evolution: Last Star

Adam stood up abruptly in indignation.

"I'm at the bottom of the food chain? Not that I'm trying to be arrogant, but Wilfred, come on! I'm already a K4-Phantom!"

"Yeah, that's true. All monsters below the Black Threat Level and all Phantoms from K0 to K3 Level are no match for you. You're much stronger than any of them. But… what's the point?" Wilfred raised an eyebrow.

His question stumped Adam.

"What…? What do you mean? What do you mean? What's the point? The point is, at least, that they can't kill me now!"

Wilfred nodded slightly.

"Sure, they're weaker than you and you're stronger, so it's natural that, except in special situations, they won't be able to harm you. However, you must understand that they no longer have any significance for you.

"When you were at the Dark Shore and absorbed the Twilight Crystal, at that moment, you were at the top of the food chain. At that time, there was no one stronger than you, because technically, you could be called a New Wave creature. But that term no longer fully applies to you."

Adam slowly sat down and continued listening. It seemed he was beginning to understand where Wilfred was going with this.

"You will become a Hollow Wave creature when you live through your first World Wipe, but in fact, that is not as important as the fact that you can survive this devastating event. I said that there is no point in being stronger than lower-level monsters and Phantoms because soon they will all disappear."

In response, Adam only gulped.

"Right, in seven years... All monsters that aren't strong enough and are weak will simply turn into nothing. Only the K4-Phantoms, the Black Threat Monsters, and everyone above them will remain."

Then, Adam scratched the back of his head with a frown.

"Fuck, if you think about it that way, you're right. In any case, I'm not going back to the Dark Shore anytime soon. There are too many Lords and other monsters there that I don't stand a chance against."

Wilfred grinned. "A wise decision. Maybe you're not as stupid as I think you are."

Adam clenched his teeth menacingly but said nothing.

"Alright. Wilfred, you've told me everything you can, but not why I came down to the Lower Ring. Let's finally get to our topic."

"So, you want to know more about him, about Aiden Henk, right?"

Adam nodded deeply in confirmation.

Neither Wilfred nor Adam tried to avoid the subject; it was just the way things turned out. As a Second Rank Phantom, Wilfred was obliged to tell the new K4-Phantom everything. Especially because he was the one who saved Adam at the Dark Shore.

"Why does Aiden do what he does? Why did you decide to contact me on the day I became a Phantom and knew practically nothing about the world around me?"

Wilfred looked away, pulling out his fifth cigarette from the pack during their long conversation.

"You see, Adam. To be honest, it wasn't supposed to be this way. Like many other powerful Phantoms, I hunt for talent. You were one of the new Phantoms that many saw potential in, especially people from the government.

"I planned to invite you to the Lower Ring and recruit you so that you would eventually become part of my force and help me achieve my goals. I mean, maybe that will happen in the future and you will be my ally, but I have no illusions that the moment when you could have joined the Black Swan has passed."

Adam had no objections. He didn't want to join any organization because he didn't want any extra obligations or problems.

In fact, Phantoms, especially talented ones, usually didn't have the opportunity to remain neutral. Adam was no exception to this rule, but he was always busy with something.

He progressed too quickly and spent most of his time either fighting or recovering from injuries. The authorities and faction leaders simply did not have time to recruit him.

Wilfred's plan, like many others, failed as well. He hoped that Adam would immediately head to the Lower Ring when he heard that Wilfred knew a lot about Aiden Henk, but that did not happen.

More precisely, Adam arrived at the Lower Ring too strong and experienced for Wilfred to have any chance of influencing him.

"So... Aiden Henk, right?" Wilfred shook off the ashes. "Well, there's no point in lying to you, you already know about the World Wipe and other shit. I don't give a damn that he tortures people and performs experiments on them."

Adam and Silvana exchanged glances as they nodded slightly. Once, they had received a file from the Black Swan containing horrific photos of the consequences of Aiden's experiments. Wilfred tried to play the role of a fighter for justice, but the current Adam couldn't believe it.

Wilfred had seen the world turn to nothing countless times, and millions and billions had died.

Why shouldn't he not give a shit about them? They would die faster than the next World Wipe anyway.

Wilfred turned to Adam.

"I'm angry at Aiden Henk."

Adam's body shivered at Wilfred's cold voice.

"That bastard keeps finding new ways to create the Natural Phantoms. In the last 100 years alone, he's found three different ways, two of them very recently. And... What is he doing with them?"

Adam and Silvana froze. They had no answer, they hadn't expected such a reaction from Wilfred.

"Fucking nothing!" Wilfred clenched his teeth as his eyes momentarily filled with blood.

His aura grew more powerful as Adam and Silvana caught their breath. They felt it becoming harder to breathe under Wilfred's suffocating pressure.

"He could have increased the number of the Natural Phantoms several times over! This would gradually lead to us, humanity, having more K4-Phantoms and even Second Rank Ones! God, you have no idea how successful he is in terms of blood purity and other things!"

"But…"

Wilfred lowered his head.

"He's not doing any of that. Is he looking for something or someone...? I don't know what exactly, but it irritates me to the core!"