Endless Evolution: Last Star

'You can do it right now. There is no more threat around.' Silvana said calmly, barely containing her emotions.

Though by nature Silvana was cold and serious, right now she wanted to jump for joy, for she was genuinely happy for Adam.

If a month ago they were strangers to each other who decided to work together, they gradually became inseparable partners.

"Hey... With Revolve, I can absorb Essence from Essence Monster, right?" Adam asked.

"Yes... but why did you decide to ask that now?"

Adam smirked.

"I was just wondering what would happen if I tried to absorb it." Adam stepped forward as his eyes shone brightly.

Silver threads covered his left hand, turning into claws, then a white swirl appeared under his palm.

Before Silvana could realize anything, Adam reached forward, clutching the black hole.

Silvana's eyes went wide, to her shame, she didn't know what would happen in such a case. She didn't even know if it was possible to absorb the energy blob with Revolve.

However... Someone watching Adam at that moment knew the answer to that question.

"Well, well, the urge to experiment? That's good. Someday it will make him burn hard, perhaps too hard, but without it, you can't know what is beyond the comprehension of others." The man sitting in the shadows smirked. He was clearly pleased with Adam's decision.

Clara looked at him with a confused expression.

"Revolve can absorb anything...? Even simple energy...?" Clara asked in disbelief.

"Hah, of course not. In that case, energy crystals would be prepared for the Phantoms, and we'd never get tired. Eternal killing machines." The man smirked.

Then, he continued.

"Revolve can only absorb things that are related to genes, but that doesn't mean only genes alone. As you know, Essence also falls under that category, because it becomes part of the monster and, therefore, linked to genes."

Clara frowned.

"In that case, he's risking for nothing now. A black hole in the gravity zone is dangerous. If he makes a mistake or lacks force, the explosive power will tear his arm into pieces of flesh." Clara said seriously. She had seen enough deaths and gruesome injuries in her life, both ordinary humans and Phantoms.

The man waved his hand, getting up from his chair and heading for the exit.

"Normally, this wouldn't make sense, but considering he's creating Elemental Root right now, it will have an effect. He won't get stronger, but this way he's controlling the process. Anyway, I'm off. There's nothing else to see here."

Before Clara could say anything, the man disappeared, leaving behind several chocolate bar wrappers.

"Tsk. Do I have to clean up after him again? I bet he does that on purpose when there's no one else around." Clara frowned, but soon a slight smile appeared on her face.

Among the people living in the Second or First Ring, as well as in the centers of the Bastions, some underestimated the work of the Phantoms. More specifically, the common people thought that the Phantoms were getting too much money, power, and opportunities for hunting monsters.

They could not be blamed for this, because the government never publicly showed the tragedies and horrible deaths of the Phantoms, entire squads.

This information wasn't classified, anyone could access it if they wanted to, but... people didn't like to search, they preferred to discuss what they were shown.

However, the military didn't have that luxury. After the Harvesters, they knew best what was going on in the Dead Lands, and were often victims themselves.

Thus, the closer the common man was to the work of the Phantoms, the more he respected what they did. The military and Harvesters were the most loyal and even devoted to the Phantoms. They were willing to do anything for them because they realized that the Phantoms were their future and hope.

...

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The black hole trembled, slowly destroying Adam's silver claws. However, he wasn't going to back down, for he wanted to find out what would happen when his Revolve consumed the black hole.

"Come, just a little more!" Adam frowned as he squeezed the black hole tighter, damaging, both himself and the dark object that began to deform under the pressure from all sides.

Soon, a white vortex began to suck the black hole into itself like a cosmic funnel.

Adam's eyes sparkled. He saw that his idea was successfully accomplished.

However, he didn't yet know how big a mistake it was, for one thing, it was an unpleasant process.

Whoooooooosh.

The black hole ended up in the Adam's inner space. Theoretically, anything that Revolve was capable of absorbing could fall in here, but... it wasn't Adam who decided what could be inside, it was something else.

While, the purple liquid flowed through the inner space among the stars, looking for a new home, the Evolution Tree began to tremble.

Then, after analyzing the new object in space, the Evolution Tree shone brightly, causing the violet liquid to run away.

At the same moment, Adam's eyes opened wide, and powerful pain points spread throughout his body. He felt an eerie pain, everywhere at once, while purple liquid was coming out of his body, from his eyes, nose, and ears.

"ARGHHHHHHH!!!"

Adam screamed in agony, so far, nothing more painful had ever happened to him.

If gravity was pressing on him from the outside, now something like this was from the inside. The pain was barely endurable, and the worst part was that Adam didn't know the cause.

After a few minutes, when Adam almost passed out, the purple liquid was almost out of his space. However, a small part remained, unwilling to leave the place as if it had a special purpose.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Before turning into an Elemental Root, one of the Sprouts decided to separate and headed towards the purple liquid. It was a gravitational sprout - the last and most difficult for Adam.

Sprout twisted around the purple liquid like a vine, actively absorbing it and growing slightly larger. Also, the seventh sprout now had three leaves instead of one like the others.

"What the hell... What's going on...?" Adam muttered while trickles of blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.

Then, without Adam's help, the seven sprouts began to fuse into one, becoming Elemental Root.

Adam's eyes shone brightly, temporarily changing color seven times: blue, azure, green, brown, purple, red, and violet.

The seven sprouts turned into a massive root that was slightly smaller than the others but was worthy to become a part of this great power - settling in the center, like the base of a mountain.

Elemental Root combined all seven colors, but violet dominated significantly, covering over 70% of the root.

[You got Elemental Root!]

[For some reason, one of the elements dominates more than the others. The dominant element has been chosen, no random selection]

[Touch the Elemental Root to understand the effects of your new power!]

"Good..." Adam muttered with a slight smile before falling asleep.