Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 2053: Her and His Battles (Part 1)

Even though Silvana had never been on the battlefield in the Dead Lands and had never fought alongside Adam, shoulder to shoulder, she was still an Operator of a K4-Phantom.

Her body was much stronger than even that of a seasoned soldier, and her energy level was quite high.

In fact, it wouldn’t have been difficult for Silvana to tear some monster apart with her bare hands. It didn’t matter that she didn’t have the same experience or abilities as Adam. In this case, the simple difference in power levels was enough.

That’s exactly why, as she went through Adam’s memories, she could act differently. She didn’t have to repeat Adam’s actions, there was no need for that.

She had other options, since the current Silvana was dozens of times stronger than Adam was before he became a Phantom.

Even if Adam reached K0 or K1 levels, he wouldn’t stand a chance against Silvana. However, beyond that level, thanks to his Nexus and abilities, Adam would have a fighting chance against Silvana.

Well, such a theoretical battle was impossible and made no sense. For that to happen, Adam would have had to go back in time so that his power level would drop, but in that case, Silvana would have become weaker as well.

The situation she found herself in was the only one where she could use her power, finding herself in the same circumstances Adam had once been in.

Sure, Silvana had the advantage, but... eventually, she’ll face opponents more dangerous than the Silver Weaver.

Unlike Adam, whose battles were separated by weeks or even months, Silvana had just over 12 hours, and even that was only possible thanks to Gladius’s energy.

Crack!

Silvana struck the Silver Weaver’s body with the lance and, with a cold gaze, looked down at the corpse of the monster that had started it all.

To some extent, Silvana felt grateful to this Silver Weaver.

"If it weren’t for this monster, Adam and I would never have met. At least, I would never have been his Operator, and he wouldn’t have been my Phantom."

Then, she smiled bitterly, shaking her head.

"Well, in that case, should we also thank Aiden? Pfffft! No way!"

A bright light burst forth from the Silver Weaver as energy flows surged toward Silvana.

When Adam killed a Silver Weaver, he received a Spark, became a Phantom, and his Evolution Tree began to grow.

This was a memory, so instead of Silvana absorbing the energy, it swirled before her, forming the shape of a great tree.

Silvana slowly nodded, letting go of the lance.

"Does that mean I’ve successfully passed this memory? Good. I’m ready for the next one, I don’t have much time."

Without delay, the white tree trembled, and in the next moment, a bright flash appeared, filling the entire space.

Silvana opened her eyes only to see desert dunes before her and an artifact guarded by Adam’s second opponent - the Electric Eel.

"R-Right." Silvana gulped. "Besides the Silver Weaver, there was something else... He defeated that monster and obtained his first artifact. Fine, I’ll handle this one as well."

...

Gladius, who was sitting behind the Lost Moon and the Lost Sun, smirked.

He didn’t possess the same abilities as the two artifacts before him, but he had his honed instincts as well as an intuition that had rarely failed him over the past few hundred years.

"Looks like everything’s going pretty well so far, right?" Gladius asked.

The Lost Moon nodded, looking at the purple flame within Silvana.

"Yes. Her fears have stopped growing, and some are on the verge of disappearing. If things continue at this pace, she’ll actually be able to surpass herself."

The Lost Sun frowned.

"It’s too early to jump to conclusions, sister. I still don’t see a single, even the tiniest spark in her. She saw what Adam Vinter had to go through to survive that day, but that’s just the beginning of his journey."

Gladius leaned forward as his eyes narrowed into crescents.

"Don’t worry. Everything will be fine, after all, I’ve essentially given her an ultimatum. She has no choice but to succeed. Otherwise, it’s all over for her."

The Lost Sun glared at him.

"You could have broken her, you know?"

Gladius smirked.

"How many times could Adam have been broken?"

That question puzzled the Lost Moon and the Lost Sun.

Gladius shrugged.

"Compared to people like me, Adam is still very young, sure. But his instincts are definitely top-notch. He survived his many battles for the same reason he stayed with Silvana. He senses what needs to be done, and more often than not, he’s right."

The Lost Moon raised an eyebrow, amused.

"So... Are you saying she’ll succeed just because Adam is her Phantom?"

Gladius chuckled.

"Huh, something like that. Look, there’s nothing wrong with that. You should understand this since you know who I am and who my Operator is."

For a moment, their faces darkened.

Both of them were very old despite their appearance, but Gladius and Xyrea’s pairing was still one of the most bizarre things to them. Not only because it was a monster and a Phantom, but because Xyrea had been, for the most part, just his weapon without a body.

While for other pairs, the Manifest Nexus, where an Operator could transform into a weapon, was considered the pinnacle of evolution, Gladius and Xyrea were going in the opposite direction, trying to restore her to life from her weapon state.

"We know." The Lost Sun nodded. "And that scares us. Your ideas are either a hidden gem or a disaster. I’m sure you’ve never told either Silvana or Adam how many Phantoms have died because of you."

Gladius’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t take it to heart because he knew it wasn’t his fault.

"Look, all I can do is create situations like these. The only thing those Phantoms can blame themselves for is their own weakness."

"But..."

Gladius’s eyes flashed.

"Adam and Silvana, neither of them is a weakling. I’ve already seen that for myself."