Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1532 1532: Part One
Previously on Endless Evolution: Last Star...
Alexia once demonstrated this power right in Adam's presence. He'd witnessed the devastating effects of her absolute zero back then, though that happened ages ago. In the time since, Alexia had grown far more powerful, and her skills had evolved in profound ways.
Still, no matter the extent of a Phantom's journey, the core elements often stayed unchanged.
Adam served as a prime illustration, retaining his needle and threads despite everything. Of course, those threads and the needle itself had transformed through the numerous evolutions he'd endured, yet they remained key to his toolkit.
Alexia faced a comparable scenario. In the past, her Nexus allowed her to form the ice orb and encase her surroundings in frost.
Indeed, she retained that capability now, but with a key difference: she could sustain it indefinitely.
Whoooooooosh.
Chilling torrents surged outward from Alexia in every direction, encasing all they touched in ice.
The lake's surface, which had barely withstood the dropping chill before, swiftly formed a solid sheet of thick frost.
Adam glanced over his shoulder, his eyes sharpening. Though they stood as allies with Alexia, that offered no shield against her freezing assault.
To guard against the incoming surge of ice heading toward him, he thrust his staff ahead and focused energy at its end.
Thus, as Alexia's icy surge arrived, he simply swung his staff, slicing it apart.
Whooooosh.
Freezing winds laden with ice shards rushed by Adam to either side, all while he watched with steady composure.
Over a dozen ghost spiders prowling nearby and poised to strike him froze solid into immobile chunks.
'Well, well...' Adam surveyed the landscape, now a vast expanse of frozen terrain battered by intense cold.
From the lake's top to the jagged stone formations, all had succumbed to the ice.
Clearly, locating every golden spider would pose no challenge for Adam anymore. Plus, with Alexia maintaining her power, fresh bursts of frost would pulse from the orb every few moments.
Yet this challenge wasn't so straightforward that a mere Phantom could conquer it through frost alone.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The spiral crystals shook, unleashing a surge of energy that swept the entire area, affecting every ghost and golden spider.
In an instant, the frozen casings around their forms cracked and fell away, liberating them. Seizing the opportunity, the ghost spiders lunged straight at Adam, while the golden ones dashed away to widen the gap.
Adam paid them no mind, his focus locked on Alexia and the frosty orb cradled in her hands.
Tremble.
The orb quivered, and moments later, the whole scene froze over once more.
A small fleck of ice formed at the end of Adam's hair strand. But his immediate action dislodged it, sending it to shatter upon the ground.
Tap.
Adam struck his staff against the earth, propelling himself dozens of meters forward. He advanced at maximum velocity.
With each strike of his staff on the ground or through the air, he executed a rapid spatial leap, swiftly closing in on the golden spiders. He brushed past or obliterated others solely through the momentum of his pace.
This pattern persisted for five minutes, and unlike their previous effort where Adam and Alexia had gathered just 15-17 Glowing Tips in that span, the outcome now differed vastly.
Forty-nine amber spheres floated along their limbs, thirty adorning Adam's arms—fifteen per side—and nineteen encircling Alexia's.
Alexia refrained from slaying any as she unleashed wave after wave of chill. The effort drained her stamina considerably, but she could endure through the leftover duration without issue.
"Come on, Adam!" Alexia called out while gesturing with her arms once more. "Only 11 left! We can do this much faster than the timer will run out! We have to make up for our past failures!"
Yet Adam harbored no such confidence, despite spotting a golden spider far off—their potential fiftieth.
'Something's wrong,' Adam mused as he leveled his staff ahead. 'Up to the 30 glowing tips threshold, the spiders kept gaining speed or power. But beyond the 30th, their enhancements halted. Could we truly wrap up this trial in the coming minute?'
Ripple.
A ripple spread through the atmosphere, akin to ripples on water, as Adam channeled his energy to the staff's point. He targeted a spider as though hurling a lance, though in truth, he embodied the weapon himself.
His body jolted as Adam traversed half the lake, shattering ice in his wake.
The golden spider recoiled, detecting the looming danger, yet it stood powerless.
The dark staff pulverized it, releasing the golden tip to drift in the air.
Adam snatched it, securing their 50th.
"Hell yeah! Ten more to go and we still have four minutes!" Alexia shouted with glee. Her support position in this scenario didn't faze her. Victory thrilled her, whether in the dead lands, at the casino, or anywhere else.
Before Adam could reply, the spiral crystals vibrated, and a mechanical tone resounded across the cavern.
[You have collected 50 Glowing Tips.]
[The trial is entering its final stage.]
[To test your abilities, the trial will show its full potential.]
The Ancient Voice delivered its words with enigmatic vagueness, yet Adam and Alexia required no further clarification.
The instant after, they beheld the truth firsthand.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The ghost spiders quaked before erupting all at once, dissolving into energy clusters that flowed back to the spiral crystals.
Next, the ten remaining golden spiders materialized beside the stone peaks. They abandoned all concealment; they understood Adam could no longer pursue them.
But why?
"What the..."
Adam's words echoed as the golden spiders dashed around the lake, accelerating to velocities that blurred them into a mere golden loop even for him.
He struggled to discern their forms, and somehow, he had to capture them.