Endless Evolution: Last Star

Crackle.

The door closed, leaving Narata alone in the dusty old room. If it weren't for the lack of cameras, no one would have come here. Who would have thought that this would be Narata's happiest day ever?

True, nothing was decided yet, they had to meet with Tron first, but... she had hope and that was the most important thing. Moreover, Damien's words, the Citadel's protector, were more important to her than laws and social rules.

Narata clenched her fists tightly with a wide smile on her face.

"Yes!"

...

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Edir fought against a girl dressed in black with shoulder-length dark hair and the same eyes.

Oddly enough, unlike the other Guardians, she didn't use Nexus and fought against Edir with her bare hands like all the other prisoners.

With each blow, black lightning streamed through her arms, tearing Edir's blue, cold flames away before they could recover again.

Step. Step. Step.

At the same time, Adam returned to the A-Zone. He wasn't surprised to see that all the prisoners had their eyes on the arena or the screens, showing the fight from all angles.

"Hmm? Where are her weapons?" Adam asked, coming to Lola.

"Oh, you're back." Lola turned around abruptly, she was focused on the fight and didn't even notice his approach.

Adam nodded.

"Yeah... It took longer than I originally planned, but it was definitely worth it. Our world is much more interesting than it seems, even within the Citadel, there is so much going on and so many secrets..." Adam muttered with a deep gaze.

Lola got a strange look, but she didn't question it. After all, the other important thing right now was Edir's fight against the A-zone Guardian.

"This Crita - the strongest Guardian in the Fall Hill Prison. Unlike the other Guardians, she principally doesn't use Nexus since she believes she can defeat anyone without that advantage." Lola explained quickly.

Adam nodded, paying attention to their facial expressions. Edir had a sly smirk, and Crita had a serious look. But, she seemed to be more focused not on the fight but on Edir, not because he was her opponent, but for another, more important reason.

"Agh... There's something else I have to tell you. Just don't share it with anyone! It's a secret!" Lola said carefully, with a finger placed to her lips.

Adam gave her a questioning look.

"Crita... She's Edir's ex..." Lola whispered, in Adam's ear.

Adam's eyes went wide as the corners of his mouth lifted.

"That's interesting, but...I don't see any anger or hatred in her gaze, just desire."

Lola sighed heavily.

"Well... It's Edir's fault." Lola whispered, looking at Crita with a sad look, "As you know. This is Edir's second time in this prison and the first time he made it to S-Zone too. Then, they were still together, and Crita asked him not to fight and just wait in the A-Zone."

Adam glanced at Edir, then at Crita. It seemed that the reason for their breakup wasn't standard at all, because usually after a breakup either both or one hated their ex.

"Then, Crita fought using her Nexus and lost... At the same moment Edir broke up with her, though no, that's not quite right. He stopped their relationship." Lola explained, looking intently at Edir.

"Hmmm, stopped it? What does that mean?" Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion. In his mind, a relationship was either active or not.

Lola scratched her cheek in puzzlement.

"He said he wouldn't date someone who couldn't defeat him with the Nexus. Honestly, I don't understand Crita. If I were her, I would have forgotten about him a long time ago. How can you want to be with someone again who broke up with you like that?" Lola frowned. She clearly didn't approve of Edir's actions.

Adam rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The relationship between Phantoms was supposed to be different from that between normal humans, but that didn't justify Edir in any way. The reason was Crita.

"Pfffft! You just don't know anything about Crita." A familiar voice sounded next to them. Strangely enough, it was Milisa, that had yet to recover from her fight against Edir.

Lola and Adam gave her a questioning look.

Milisa sighed heavily.

"Crita is just a lovesick fool."

Adam and Lola glanced over, unsure if they had heard everything correctly.

"I don't know why, but she's willing to do anything to get back with Edir. Sure, he's powerful, but doesn't she have self-respect and pride?" Milisa cast a hard look at Crita, "All in all, these two definitely have an abnormal relationship, and it's still unclear who is crazier. Edir, who left her because of her weakness, or Crita, who can't let him go."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

At the same moment, their fists collided, releasing electrical discharges and particles of blue flame.

Edir smirked, simultaneously with Crita jumping back.

"I've had enough of this! I'm going to make you change your mind now!" Crita exclaimed belligerently as her eyes shone brightly.

Thick bolts of lightning flowed down her arms to her elbows, containing an intimidating, destructive power.

Edir said nothing, he just responded in kind - preparing to use his Second Order.

Blue flames engulfed his hands, while a tiny sphere appeared between his palms, slowly rotating and absorbing the streams of fire, gradually increasing its power.

"Alright. Ready?" Edir asked with a confident smirk.

Crita nodded silently with a deadly serious look.

"Last time, you almost cried when I beat you without Nexus. Let's see what's different now!" Edir took a step forward, extending his arms.

The sphere stopped, glowed brightly, and released accumulated power in a single stream of fire.

Crita responded instantly - vertically slamming her palms together and unleashing a wave of black electricity so dense it was practically a plasma seeking to destroy everything in its path.

As expected, the flames and lightning shattered each other, covering the floor with a thin layer of ice that quickly crumbled due to the occasional electrical discharges.

Then, even though the sphere and the electrical wave were still trying to suppress each other, Edir rushed forward - passing through the two elements.

It left several wounds on his body, tearing his suit apart, but it didn't seem to bother him.

Crita's eyes went wide, it was obvious, that she was ready to give up because Edir's fist was already aiming for her stomach.

However, at the last moment, she put up a defense, stopping his fist that for some reason seemed light and even weak... as if Edir had done it on purpose.

"Hah, not bad." Edir grinned before grabbing Crita's shoulders and knocking her down with one swift motion - dropping her to the ground.

"Give up." Edir said arrogantly, looking down at her. He seemed to be putting Crita through some test that only he understood.

Stay tuned with mvle-mp _y,r.

Crita's heart began to race, she realized there was nothing she could do from this position.

'No... It's not over yet!' Crita inwardly exclaimed, trying to strike Edir's legs with lightning.

However, before she could do anything, his palm was on her neck. One split-second movement would have been enough to take Crita's head off.

But...

Whooooooooooooosh.

Edir suddenly lifted Crita in his arms like a groom his bride and kissed her quickly under the eyes of dozens of prisoners. He didn't hesitate to squeeze her ass, enjoying his prize.

"Good." Edir smiled sincerely, "Now you are no longer a cowardly girl, but a real woman ready to go for your goal. Now we're a couple again!"

Crita didn't answer anything, she just with trembling eyes, touched her lips, not understanding or believing what had just happened.

Edir... Well, his actions and ways were actually strange, but some were crazy about it.