Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1536 1536: Glass Hall

Even though Adam and Alexia realized the rules lacked fairness and the Ancient Voice might declare shifts whenever it pleased, they simply didn't possess the power to force open the gate, requiring them to conquer the second trial beforehand.

Step. Step. Step.

Just as they had done previously, Adam and Alexia trailed the glowing line. On this occasion, the trek dragged on considerably, given how the second trial sat much deeper in than the initial one.

Adam appeared at ease, yet Alexia showed obvious signs of unease. Her chat with Louis about the prior test had driven home how close they'd come to total loss.

Exactly what fate awaited them in such a scenario remained a mystery, yet if the guidelines demanded the destruction of defeated participants, then survival odds for Adam and Alexia would've been slim indeed.

Despite deploying every secret weapon and slamming the barrier in unison, they still wouldn't have mustered the force to shatter it. That realization hit hard.

"Hey, looks like we're almost there."

Adam's words bounced against the chilly cavern walls, prompting Alexia to glance back.

Rather than a plain corridor ahead, a vast, misty crystal loomed like an enormous mirror blocking the way out.

"Is that a crystal door?" Alexia blinked several times.

"Hmm..." Adam hummed. "The light is leading us here. We have no choice but to go there."

Silvana's voice rang out. "Be careful. You should explore this door first. We don't know what the Ancient Voice is going to do."

Adam nodded while squinting his eyes, but right then, Alexia darted ahead of him.

Brushing off Silvana's caution, she reached out to the crystal, eager to discover its composition.

Shiver.

The crystal quivered as Alexia's hand sank inside it clear up to the wrist.

"Arh?" Alexia's eyes widened as she yanked at her hand. "Shit! It's stuck! Adam, help me!"

"Damn it, why do you always get yourself into trouble?!" He exclaimed and stood next to her.

"Shut up! I was just curious and—!"

Before she could finish, the crystal vibrated and swallowed Alexia whole, stranding Adam by himself in the tunnel.

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

His eyebrow jerked, and frustration etched deeper into his features.

"Hey, Silvana, be honest. Do you feel the same way when I'm on a mission?"

"Yes. But..." Silvana faltered. "Alexia is on another level. She doesn't really think, she just does."

Louis caught every word, but offered no remark.

What could he say?

He understood all too well that the assessment rang true. Regardless of the peril Alexia faced or the price of her blunder, her thirst for discovery wouldn't fade. Moreover, patience eluded her entirely.

"Agh." Adam sighed. "Either way, it doesn't seem like we had any other choice in the first place."

Step.

Adam advanced, slipping through the crystal.

Tremble.

He blinked open his eyes, spotting Alexia scanning her surroundings amid a grand chamber that evoked a sacred cathedral.

Soaring pillars, intricately sculpted and set into the walls, stretched toward sweeping arches—some bare, others adorned with colossal beast figures boasting rippling muscles, clenched fists, head horns, and sprawling wings that lent an awe-inspiring aura.

A dome split into numerous panes of vibrant stained glass rose high overhead, bathing everything in a vivid azure glow that guided their gaze to the central platform.

The final touch came from shattered mirror shards nestled among the pillars. Currently fogged over with no reflections, their purpose stayed shrouded.

This trial differed sharply from the last, where Adam and Alexia had spotted their foes—the spiders—right away. Here, uncertainty loomed, amplified by the chaos that had capped the previous challenge.

"Shit, you don't mean to say that these statues are going to come to life?!" Alexia exclaimed, pointing at one of them. "Look at those fangs and that creepy grimace! These aren't monsters, they're stone demons!"

Adam sensed the menace from the statues too. A single stone demon matched the ice worm in size, its fists potent enough to topple even a behemoth.

Still, Adam didn't linger on them.

'Whether they come to life or not, it doesn't matter. We came here, which means we will defeat these monsters. But what are these mirrors?'

After a moment, Adam shook his head.

"Tsk, there's no point in looking. We don't even know what we have to do to pass this trial yet."

He looked at the light line.

"Hey, maybe it's time to tell us the rules?"

In response, the light line only shuddered, and the pulse ran to the platform.

"I see. Come on, we can't break the rules if we don't start."

"Wait, let's destroy these statues in advance!" Alexia suggested.

In fact, Adam liked this idea. He was ready to try, but something stopped him.

"No, we can find a gray area in the rules and bend them, but we still have to pass the second trial to open the gate. You see what I see, our conditions for the Third Grand Star are behind the gate."

It was difficult for Alexia, but she nodded deeply, agreeing not to rush.

Step. Step. Step.

Together, they stepped onto the platform. It was quite large, enough to pass for a medium-sized arena. There was enough space for the two of them to move freely or even fight monsters.

Immediately, a blue fairy flew out of the hollow in the platform as the second trial was ready to begin.

[The second trial begins.]

A barrier rose around the platform, which was actually just a dense light.

[Do not leave the barrier area or you will fail the trial.]

[Your goal is to deflect 100 cannon balls into the opening portals.]

'Cannonballs?'

Adam and Alexia thought simultaneously as their eyes widened in the next moment.

Huge stone cannons appeared from the empty arches, ready to rain down dozens of shells on them.

Still, neither of them knew that this was only part of what awaited them. The rules were about to become one big gray area.