Endless Evolution: Last Star

Adam was highly impressed when Prago defeated him using only his aura. However, he hadn't had a chance to question anyone about it.

Sure, Lola had to answer his questions, and she was willing to do so for as long as necessary, but she was a mere human.

Adam could only learn more about auras from another Phantom who was either at Prago's level or at least close to it.

Adam just now got the opportunity for that. However... first, he had to withstand a direct attack.

The axe was aiming straight for him, about to slice through his aura and do some real damage!

Adam was strong, there was probably no one in D-Zone who could handle him in an even fight when using all abilities and Nexus, but... this battle only involved auras!

'Fine... This axe doesn't look as dangerous as Prago's aura, moreover, it looks like this aura isn't finished yet.' Adam pondered, looking at the axe that was blurry as if it was only the initial stage of aura evolution.

"However... This axe is far more dangerous than formless streams of auras or simple blades. I must do something to defend myself." Adam muttered before clenching his fists tightly.

At the same moment, the axe circled in the air, coming down on him from top to bottom and cutting through the first layers of aura with ease.

The axe slowed down as it reached the middle layers, but it continued onward. Definitely, at this rate, the axe would soon reach Adam.

Adam understood what he needed to do. He had a powerful aura that spread like a white flame in all directions, but because of that the density was too weak. To protect himself, he had to increase the density, and the only way to do that was to condense the aura at one point!

"Hahaha, kid, if you want to defend yourself against my attack, you need to do something about it right away." A confident voice resounded from the depths of the D-Zone, "You have a mighty aura, even a bit scary, but you're completely unskilled at using the power you got in battle! It's a shame!"

Adam frowned, but he paid no attention to the provocation. He knew he still had a lot to learn, but right now the other thing was important.

Whooooooooooosh.

He pointed his hands forward, tensing his fingers as if trying to channel his aura to them as energy.

However... aura was different from energy and should be used differently.

Adam didn't know that yet, so he didn't succeed, the aura remained the same as before.

Crackle.

The axe advanced further into the inner layers of Adam's aura. He had less and less time left to do anything about it.

"Hey, I'm giving you my first and last piece of advice! To make your aura obey, you have to want it!" The voice said with a confident smirk.

'Want to...?' Adam muttered puzzled, 'What the hell is he talking about?! I want to stop that axe! I'm doing everything for it!'

'Come on! I just want to condense you! I don't need anything more than that! Do it!' Adam inwardly exclaimed, the last words shifting to almost a beast-like roar.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

At the same moment, sparks came out from the tips of his Evolution Tree, like when he faced Prago, but then Adam was unconscious and didn't notice anything.

The sparks grew larger and larger until they began to form something above the Evolution Tree - something new that Adam's power system had never seen before.

Whooooooooooooosh.

As if obeying Adam's will, more than half of the aura headed towards his hands, forming in front of him a circular shield that collided with the sharp blade of an axe.

If Adam was even a second late, the axe would pass through the inner layer of his aura, and then he would only have to bleed out in agony.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The axe trembled violently as it tried to break through the round shield, but in the end, the massive weapon couldn't even leave a scratch on the small shield.

"Tsk. You made it." The man snorted, though with a satisfied smile before swinging his arm.

The axe shuddered, splitting into multiple streams and returning to the man before being absorbed into his body like any aura and disappearing.

"Argh... Argh... Argh..." Adam fell to his knees, breathing heavily. For some reason, he felt tired, as if he had gone through a long and dangerous fight lasting several hours.

Their clash lasted about a minute, but for Adam, it was a real ordeal.

"What the hell...? Why do I feel so weak...?" Adam muttered, looking at his trembling hands.

"Hahaha! Don't you worry so much! It's fine!" The man laughed before jumping down from the second floor.

The D-Zone, like the F-Zone, had two floors, and the conditions for getting hit on the second floor were the same. So, the man who attacked Adam was one of the strongest in D-Zone.

Step. Step. Step.

After a few steady steps, the man stopped, and Adam looked up to meet his gaze.

Strangely enough, Adam immediately sensed from the man an aura similar to that of Zera, Owen, or even someone as strong as Alexia. Compared to Narata, this was a whole other level.

"Hi. My name is Edir, someone interesting has finally arrived!" Edir smiled slyly with narrowed eyes as he poked himself in the chest with his thumb.

Edir had slightly curly brown hair, dark emerald eyes, and a few rare freckles set on his nose. In his ear was a silver earring.

Then, Edir leaned over, holding out his hand to Adam.

"Adam... My name is Adam..." He said, slowly standing up.

Edir glanced at Lola, slightly surprised, then nodded understandingly.

"I kept wondering where Calissa had gone, but now everything is falling into place." Edir sighed as he turned towards the exit gate, with blue lines around the edges.

"Adam, you're not going to stay here for long, are you?"

Adam nodded.

"In that case, you might want to learn something new. The power of the aura! Good thing you came, now I'm not bored!" Edir smiled widely, placing a hand on Adam's shoulder. It seemed like he had been waiting for him for some time now, Adam specifically, not someone random.