Endless Evolution: Last Star

Slowly, using his strength barely enough to stay conscious, Adam crawled forward, approaching the edge of the slope.

Leaving a trail of scattering dust behind him, Adam was finally able to see Katrin, who was standing below, next to the now-dead Plague Reaper.

His vision was blurred from exhaustion, he couldn't see clearly, and at first, it seemed to him that there were two Plague Reapers. He couldn't understand why the two silhouettes had a long black coat.

Then, Adam blinked, refreshing his vision, it became sharper, allowing him to see everything properly.

"Katrin... She actually absorbed Plague Reaper's gene..." Adam muttered with his eyes wide open.

In the heat of battle, Adam didn't have time to think about it, he didn't know what would happen next as he was only focused on victory.

However... It seemed Katrin had made that decision before coming under a near-lethal attack from Plague Reaper.

"Well... Although it didn't happen the way she planned, instead of a Top-8 monster, she got the power of the Top-1... She was lucky that Plague Reaper accepted her..." Adam muttered, a slight smile appearing on his face.

He knew that Phantom's strength depended on his level and not the Initial Gene, since the Initial Gene had grown with Phantom and Evolution Tree, but, Adam was sure that the abilities that Plague Reaper's Initial Gene offered were far more interesting than Scarlet Pyromancer's.

Hearing a rustle, Katrin turned around to meet Adam's gaze.

She smiled bitterly, her gaze was tired but happy, like someone who had not only managed to achieve her dream but exceeded even her own expectations.

Hardly anyone had such statistics, but Katrin realized that in all the time, very few Phantoms had ever obtained Plague Reaper's gene as their Initial Gene.

There was no way Katrin would take that risk, even if she was strong enough to do so. She might have considered absorbing the Thunder Demon's gene, but Plague Reaper... that was a monster of an entirely different danger.

"I did it..." Katrin muttered, looking at her palm, partially covered in blood, "But... at what cost? If I were to go back in time for one day, I definitely wouldn't go through that path again..."

Although Katrin gained new strength and energy was gradually filling up her devastated Evolution Tree, her wounds went nowhere.

She was still missing one arm, her shoulder had a deep bleeding wound, her bone was cut, and there were countless scratches and bruises all over her body.

However, she was no longer in danger of death, her wounds were not as serious as Adam's who couldn't even stand on his feet yet.

"Hmm? What's that?"

Adam muttered as a bright purple flash reflected in his eyes.

A massive comet, one of the largest that came out of the flame pillars, was rapidly approaching directly towards Katrin.

She could see that there was an artifact inside, the comet wanted to expand the influence of the anomalies, to allow them to grow even more in this region.

Katrin blinked, then the comet crashed to the ground, not far from her.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

A shockwave shook the ground, aggressive wind currents fleeing from the new flame point while waves of dust flew apart.

Katrin covered herself with her hand, purple flame particles hit her, but as soon as they touched her coat, they were extinguished, vanishing without a trace.

The flames spread around in smooth lines, passing next to Katrin and Plague Reaper, who were lying on the ground, unaware of what was happening after his death.

"What the hell...? An artifact? Right here and now?"

Katrin gulped, staring at the artifact in the center of the flaming hearth. It was hovering slightly above the ground, emitting a powerful, magnetic energy.

It was a black cross as if made of metal or obsidian, uneven, covered with light bumps like molten metal or an ancient layer of rust, indicating the antiquity of the accessory.

The vertical rod was much longer than the horizontal one, creating a kind of asymmetry.
Experience tales at empire

Thin, barely visible cracks occasionally flashed with purple light, as if there was a hot plasma, lurking inside, ready to burst out at any moment.

"Alan... What is that artifact?" Katrin asked, feeling the power emanating from the cross.

At the same moment, the rest of the comets rained down on the ground, creating fiery explosions inside the flaming ring, with various artifacts at the center of them.

The anomalies always had only one goal - to grow bigger and stronger and to spawn strong artifacts to hold on to their place for as long as possible.

'The Righteous Inferno, Second Rarity Level artifact, it's quite powerful, but why do you ask?' Alan replied in a slightly unsure voice.

Katrin's mouth dropped open, but she didn't answer anything.

Step. Step. Step.

With slow steps Katrin headed forward, footsteps left on the ground that shook from a powerful artifact being nearby.

'Wait... What are you doing?' Alan asked anxiously.

Katrin remained silent once again.

For some reason, she felt like she had to absorb this artifact. Previously, there was no way she would have thought of it in such a way, since as an Artificial Phantom, she must carefully choose her artifact.

To do so, Phantom must listen to his Evolution Tree and Initial Gene. They should shake slightly if there is an artifact near them.

If it was the matching artifact, which was quite rare, the trembling was light and pleasant. Otherwise, the tremor was harsh and aggressive, showing that it was better to stay away from that artifact.

But...

Right now, nothing was happening.

"How strange, I can't feel anything... Neither Evolution Tree nor Initial Gene has any reaction..." Katrin muttered before stopping in front of Righteous Inferno.

She slowly reached forward with her one hand, provoking Alan's panicked shout: 'No! Katrin, stop now! You mustn't take that risk! It's better to take the artifact in a special capsule and do all the tests at the Citadel! It's too risky! If Evolution Tree and Initial Gene don't accept this artifact, in the end, you'll just die from internal wounds!'

Alan spoke as fast and loud as he was capable of.

However, even though Katrin had always listened to Alan, this time, she did not pay any attention to him.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The Righteous Inferno shuddered vigorously, heading for Katrin's palm, gradually becoming faster and faster, turning into a dark purple star.

'No! Fuck! Don't do that!' Alan bellowed, but he could hardly stop Katrin in any way, for at that moment she realized something that Alan hadn't even suspected yet.

Whooooos.

A purple flash disappeared into Katrin's palm, quickly reappearing in her inner space.

The Righteous Inferno took its place next to the Evolution Tree as Katrin's new artifact.

There was no negative or positive reaction from Evolution Tree or Initial Gene, it was all natural...

"Don't worry, I don't need to be anxious about it anymore." Katrin said confidently, feeling the power surging within her.

Then, she looked up and her eyes grew deeper.

"I don't know how it happened, but... now I understand what it is like... What it feels like to initially be superior to others after going through a difficult challenge..."