Endless Evolution: Last Star

Waiting for Adam to return from Fume Cathedral, Katrin stood next to Midnight Crystal, glancing around.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Midnight Crystal cracked in many places, releasing clots of energy that quickly headed towards the ground, seeking to disappear into it.

There was nothing Katrin could do to stop it or the destruction process. She could only watch as Midnight Crystal broke into rubble.

The great crystal, filled with a frightening array of energy, turned into gray shards as it continued to fall apart.

After only a few minutes, all that was left of Midnight Crystal was a handful of dust resembling the ashes of a fallen warrior.

"Hey... Osana." Katrin suddenly turned to her, her gaze thoughtful.

"Hm?" Osana raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.

Katrin glanced at the dust, which was getting smaller with each wind current.

"What do you think... If the Last Star actually existed or even exists... How majestic is it? I mean... Citadel believes that the Midnight Crystals are shards from the Last Star and even that is enough to possess such energy."

Katrin shuddered.

After all, if Citadel's assumptions were correct, then each of them had a small chance of someday seeing the thing that changed their world, no... created a new one by wiping out the past one.

Osana didn't answer immediately, she just stared ahead - at the burning pillars of flame while the wind fluttered her hair.

"I don't think it's about energy at all. Midnight Crystal can change the fate of a few creatures, be they monsters or Phantoms, but the Last Star changed an entire world, that's the difference between them."

Katrin answered nothing, mulling over Osana's words.

She looked up, at the night sky and the dark clouds that were slowly dissipating, letting more and more stars shine brightly. Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

The black air like a shroud covered the wide space around Fume Cathedral, following the pattern of the clouds.

Plague Reaper died, but he wasn't in control of his prepared trap. Simply, the time came when almost nothing was left of the black air.

It seemed that Plague Reaper had made a mistake, as by doing so, he put himself on a timer.

But... if Plague Reaper was alive by now, he would already be far away from this place, having previously absorbed the energy from Midnight Crystal to begin his evolution.

Adam, Nessa, and Katrin would be lying on the cold ground, and this area would be their mass grave along with the Golden Light Squad.

Step. Step. Step.

Footsteps sounded behind them, but somehow there were too many as if more than one person was walking.

Katrin and Osana turned around at the same time only for their eyes to go wide at the sight of two Fume Armors following Adam. Moreover, they carried Oskar and Erla even though they were monsters, their enemies...

Without a word, Adam placed Lero on the ground, not far from the sleeping Nessa.

Fume Armors did the same, their armor crackled and streams of black smoke came out of their mouths as if expressing sorrow and respect for the worthy warriors who fought against their lord.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Then, Fume Armors looked at Plague Reaper, who was a few meters away.

But, no sooner had they taken a few steps forward, Adam stood in front of them with a cold stare.

"Go back to Fume Cathedral. He is no longer your lord and you don't have to obey him. Furthermore, he belongs to me now." Adam said firmly leaving no room for outrage.

The Fume Armors glanced around but did not protest. They simply turned around and headed towards Fume Cathedral, after all, it was their home and they owed nothing more to Plague Reaper.

Adam walked over to Plague Reaper and picked up his scythe from the ground. Then, he put the scythe in Plague Reaper's hands, clutching the hilt tightly, and lifted Plague Reaper up.

"Hey, you know I killed him, right?" Katrin threw Adam a strange look, her hand at her side.

Adam looked at her sharply.

"You already took the most valuable thing from Plague Reaper. Don't you remember our agreement?"

"Agh...?" Katrin was confused.

"You get a new Initial Gene and in addition to the money I get to keep all the parts of the monster, meaning the monster itself." Adam said confidently.

Katrin's eyes went wide, then the corner of her mouth turned upward, starting to twitch nervously. She clenched her fist tightly, such a response clearly pissing her off as she realized that Adam was right.

Sure, their original pact included Scarlet Pyromancer, but... Plague Reaper was far more valuable, as was his Initial Gene.

Whooooooooooooooooooosh.

At the same moment, a blue flash appeared in the sky that was approaching them for some time now.

Osana tilted her head, her eyes narrowed with curiosity. A fighter came to their rescue, as it always did after completing a dangerous mission.

However... Osana had never seen anything like this before, it was also new to Adam and Katrin.

The XH-01 was more like the SH-01 than the BH-01, but still significantly different with a more menacing appearance, more engines, and a different structure.

"What the hell is that...?" Katrin took a step back with admiration staring at the unique fighter.

What baffled her the most was the azure barrier around the fighter, preventing even a random particle of dust from colliding with its armor.

'This is my creation, you ignorant girl.' Refesa's voice pierced the mind of each of them.

'Get aboard, I will return you to the Citadel. Thank fate itself that two free scientists decided to help you. Otherwise, you would surely be dead.'

Katrin fell silent. She wasn't familiar with Refesa, but the fact that she was a free scientist raised her prestige and influence to the skies.

Osana glanced at XH-01, deep in thought.

'Well, apparently this fighter is her helping us, but... besides her, there was another free scientist who helped us, what did that one do?' Osana frowned, trying to find an answer.

Tap.

Adam threw Plague Reaper on one shoulder and Nessa on the other, taking heavy steps toward the fighter.

Osana glanced at him before tucking her staff under her belt.

"I'll take these two..." Osana sighed heavily before picking up Lero and Erla.

She abruptly turned her back to Katrin, it seemed like she was just in a hurry to get out of here as soon as possible, but that was only one of the reasons...

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Droplets rained down from Osana's chin falling to the ground, but... they weren't tears, they were blood. Crimson trickled from her bitten lip, while her face contorted in wild anger and grief.

No matter what her true identity was, she was a human like the rest of them, not a soulless monster.

She had been in the Golden Light Squad long enough to create a strong bond with each of them so they managed to become her friends and....

Now she was forced to carry their dead bodies on her shoulders. It was something no Phantom should have to go through.

But, Osana had to do it. She survived, barely, but now she was on her feet, breathing and her heart was beating, the only one of her squad.

Katrin glanced at the sparse trail of blood left behind by Osana.

"Well, well, looks like you're human after all, just more cold-blooded and smart than me..." Katrin whispered with a dark gaze.