Endless Evolution: Last Star

"What, you know about this?" Adam asked in an unsure voice.

He was surprised since he wanted to go to the training even before the whole situation with Osana and Twelve Branches.

The fact that Osana's wedding would be in three months was just a convenient time frame during which he could devote himself to training with Tron. It was possible because of their acquaintance and help from Damien, whom Tron would certainly not refuse.

Silvana did not inform Tron about The Rule of Power, as that was only one of the purposes of this training, but not the main reason why Adam came here.

Even after the battle against the Plague Reaper, Adam wanted to become stronger and realized that he was quite weak compared to such outstanding fighters.

So... when Tron suddenly mentioned The Rule of Power, it couldn't help but stump Adam.

Tron nodded with a calm face.

"Sure, Osana De Rouzet did a pretty good job choosing a disguise and an empty space in the Golden Lantern Park, but you didn't bother to take that off."

Tron pointed to the ring on Adam's finger.

From the moment Osana had put that ring on his finger, he hadn't taken it off. The ring fit him perfectly and was made by a true master of his craft.

In fact, Adam forgot about it as he didn't feel like there was anything extra on his finger.

"Agh? A ring? So what? Maybe I wanted to buy myself an accessory?" Adam frowned, he didn't understand how Tron knew about that.

Tron took a deep breath.

"You? You certainly wouldn't buy a ring for 1,350,000 credits and that's the price of the ones mass-produced by this workshop for grooms at weddings, this ring is custom-made at the request of someone very rich and powerful."

As soon as Adam heard the price, his eyes went wide. He gulped, slowly shifting his gaze from Tron to his ring.

'Wait... So this ring is worth more than 1,350,000 credits? No... Can it be worth more than two million? Fuck... Looks like money really isn't a problem for the higher nobles.' Adam internally scratched the back of his head.

Sure, Adam had a considerable amount of money in his account too, more than two million credits, but... he got it over a long period and thanks to the deal with Katrin.

He wouldn't spend all his money on some ring, that was something crazy.

'Hah... Even though she was unsure of my success and that I would agree, she could spend that amount of money just for the sake of a spectacular moment?'

Adam smiled slightly as he looked at the ring.

Strangely enough, the next emotion he felt after the shock passed was gratitude.

He realized that Osana could have chosen any ring she wanted, he wouldn't have noticed the difference between a cheap ring and such an expensive one since he didn't know about these things. But... Osana decided to give it her best shot.

'Damn, even though our conversation is already over, time after time there are moments that remind me that I made the right choice to help her. Well, I guess that's the way it should be when one is trying, right?'

Tron continued:

"Riska became interested in this when she saw your pictures appearing online after you visited the First Ring. Osana miscalculated a bit. Hardly anyone noticed her from the regular people, but you're another story."

Adam got an awkward look on his face, looking at Tron.

"If we take you and Osana just as Phantoms, forgetting what family she's from, then your popularity as a Phantom exceeds hers. A few people recognized you, then Riska saw your ring and Osana, then I found out about the Rouzet Family and Marzo Family having a wedding in 84 days."

Tron said calmly, explaining what happened step by step.

"Obviously after that, everything became clear to me. The only way Osana can escape her fate is for some Phantom to participate for her in The Rule of Power and win."

Step.

Tron stepped forward, towering over Adam. His voice was, as always, almost devoid of emotion and his posture was serene, yet Adam sensed the threat coming from Tron, from K3-Phantom from the Dark Order.

"You think this is going to be easy? Just imagine how much the Marzo Family has K2-Phantoms ready to do anything to get the reward for defeating you. You're a threat to their wedding and the alliance between the two families, so for the sake of overcoming you, the Marzo Family will be willing to offer anything."

Tension was rising, it seemed that Tron was trying to break Adam, but... he hardly stood a chance.

Adam smirked confidently.

"Hah, it won't be easy. No worthy battle can be easy, or it wouldn't be one, would it?"

Then, Adam stood up from the bench, meeting Tron's gaze.

"I'm going to win this one. I doubt some Phantom working for the Marzo Family has the same monstrous power as the Plague Reaper."

Then, for the first time in their several meetings, Tron's calm face broke. Find your next read at empire

He smiled, and a satisfied gleam passed across his amethyst eyes.

Adam's answer suited him completely.

Crunch.

Max took a bite of his sandwich, eyeing them curiously. Though they were quite far away, everyone could hear the conversation between Adam and Tron.

"Oh, what an interesting young man." Max pronounced, he chewed.

Then, he looked at Silvana.

"You got lucky with Phantom. If I were you, I'd do my best to keep up with his level, otherwise one day you'll fail and the government will suspend you."

Max's voice was carefree and calm, he spoke as if they were discussing something routine.

But... to Silvana, this was a living nightmare, this should never happen.

That was a good thing.

Why?

Because the Operator had room to grow too. New information and access to data opened them up with the ranks of their Phantom, that way Operators could constantly grow.

Tap.

Tron shoved Adam in the chest, bringing him back to the bench.

"In that case, enough talk. Lift those weights if you want to move on to the fights you're so drawn to."

Adam gulped, looking at the four discs that together weighed over five tons.