Endless Evolution: Last Star

The wind currents were directed toward the Citadel, affecting every part of it, even the Lower Ring, passing through cracks in the ground to reach the depths.

Adam and Silvana stood at the edge, looking at the lands around the Citadel from a vantage point that even fighter jets could not provide.

Before they could object, Wilfred's men sent them straight to Heaven Island, where they stopped at the Upper Ring just a few minutes before being handed over to government officials.

This was the second time they had been here. But, for the first time, they had the opportunity to approach the edge, because the first time Adam had gone straight to the queen's tree.

Then he didn't have time to enjoy the views, he had to create the Second Key, but now... he could spare a few minutes for that.

After all, he had nowhere else to rush to, as he knew exactly how much time he had — seven years. After that, nothing else would matter.

"How do you like the view? There is no place in the entire Citadel with a more colorful landscape than here!"

Behind him, he heard a confident, joyful voice like that of a teacher who had finally seen his students grow up and exceed all his expectations.

Silvana smiled faintly.

"It's incredible. You're right, you can only feel all the beauty when you're standing on the edge, at the very top, inaccessible even to birds."

Unlike her, Adam was not so impressed.

"Meh. I've been to almost all of these places on earth, what's the point of looking at them from above now? I like to act, not watch!"

Then, he narrowed his eyes as his gaze turned far to the east. He couldn't see it from such a great distance, but he could feel the darkness emanating from afar.

"That's where the Dark Shore is, isn't it?" Adam asked.

Tap.

A strong hand fell on his shoulder, squeezing it quite hard. He could feel it even though he was a K4-Phantom.

"Yes. You were there not long ago and almost died! Hahaha! But every time you survive!"

Adam turned around to face Douglas's satisfied expression.

Every time something important happened in his life as a Phantom, Douglas always appeared.

At first, Adam thought Douglas was just interested in him because of the events that took place at Aiden's laboratory. Then, he thought Douglas was watching over him because of his talent and achievements.

But... gradually Adam realized that there were only two reasons for Douglas's actions:

First, it was his job to show the chosen Phantoms the secrets of the Citadel, their future tasks, and the problems they would face.

Second, he liked Adam and was free to do whatever he wanted in his spare time.

"Come on, stop looking at me like that! I already apologized for sending you to the Twilight Palace when you last left Heaven Island!"

Douglas was right to be concerned about this.

Adam wasn't so angry at Andreas, who was just doing his job, but Douglas was a different matter altogether. He knew Adam would end up at the Twilight Palace and that he didn't want that at all, but he did it anyway!

"Pffft, at least I did one important thing." Adam snorted as he took Silvana's hand firmly.

Silvana blushed slightly as she remembered other events unrelated to the battles as she turned to Douglas.

"Mr. Douglas..."

"Come on, girl, it's just Douglas. We've known each other for so long! Well, if you consider not the time but the events you've been through during that time. For me, one year is practically a moment! Hahaha!"

Douglas laughed, exposing his strong chest.

Silvana bit her lip.

Again, she felt an unusual energy emanating from Douglas. Now she could easily tell whether he was an ordinary person or not.

The answer was no.

However...

'He's not a Phantom either. But you can't call him a monster either. Is there another race in this world? No, I doubt it. Then... What the hell am I feeling? He has some kind of power, but he's not a Phantom or a monster, and it's hard to call him a human being as well.'

Silvana didn't notice how she had become lost in her thoughts. She had been thinking about this since the day Damien held a training fight for Adam.

"Hey, Silvana, thinking about something?"

Douglas leaned over, scratching his beard.

"N-No..." Silvana stammered. "Just... trying to figure something out."

Douglas raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm? About this?"

Before Silvana could answer, Douglas's palm slammed into Adam's chest.

Adam didn't have time to react. He only saw a shadow, then a sharp pain reflected in his chest. The next time he blinked, he found himself flying ten meters away from Douglas and Silvana, who were standing at the edge of the great island.

His instincts kicked in as Adam's feet slammed into the ground in a sharp stop on a protruding flat rock.

Shocked, Adam looked down, pushing his shirt aside.

The red mark from Douglas's palm was reflected on his chest. If Douglas had applied a little more force, his rib cage could have cracked.

"What the fuck...?" Adam muttered.

Silvana remained silent, but she was thinking the same thing, her mouth wide open.

Maintaining his previous smile, Douglas turned to Silvana.

"Not only Adam, but you also have talent. As an Operator, but not the kind that comes out of the academy, but the kind that appears when connecting with the Phantom." Douglas grinned. "You realized that something was wrong with me even when Adam was still quite weak, just a K2-Phantom. That's impressive."

Strangely enough, Silvana didn't feel threatened by Douglas, even though she didn't understand what was going on.

Still, Silvana decided to take a step to the side when...

Crack.

She stumbled and was about to fall off the cliff.

Douglas reached out and grabbed her wrist firmly. There was no gentleness in his movements, but speed and precision.

"Hey, you need to be careful. If you fall, you won't be able to find out the answer to what you've been thinking about for so long!"

Silvana blinked as her breath caught in her throat.

Now, Douglas's aura was more obvious than ever.