Endless Evolution: Last Star-Chapter 1053: Rider (Part 1)

Oddly enough, on his Phantom journey, Adam didn’t encounter too many overly strong opponents.

Sure, someone like the Steel Knight, the Thunder Demon, or even more so the Crimson Monarch was a dangerous foe, but Adam was able to handle them. Not without trouble and sacrifice, but he did it every time.

Most other Phantoms in his place would not be able to accomplish the same. They would most likely have died for lack of strength, but that didn’t mean victory wasn’t possible at the level this battle was taking place.

The strongest, most talented, and hungry for victory Phantoms would overcome all of those who Adam defeated and to some extent repeat his path. It would be a small number of the total, but it was realistic.

Had Adam encountered creatures that were invincible to him?

True, but none of them were his enemy. Under no circumstances would Adam have defeated Damien, Erik, or any head of the Twelve Branches. However, all the K4-Phantoms also fit in here. For all his abilities and will to fight, Adam simply didn’t have the power to do so.

No matter how hard a simple man tried, he couldn’t lift a boulder weighing ten tons with his hands. The Phantom could, but not every single one.

Now, even to breathe was hard for him.

For the first time, Adam was facing a monster against whom he couldn’t have even remotely resembled a fight.

"GHA...!" Adam’s mouth opened wide in an attempt to absorb air to make him feel a little better. It was a natural reaction of the body, yet useless under the circumstances.

His pupils twitched as he watched the approaching rider who seemed to come from the middle ages. A dark and cruel middle age, engulfed in darkness since ancient times.

Before Adam realized it, the rider was close - stopping in front of the barrier. His deep eyes were not wild like a monster’s or mysterious like a ghost’s. His purple eyes were full of wisdom and the experiences of his long life.

Slowly, without the former haste, the rider passed through the barrier, approaching Adam, who struggled to remain conscious.

Somewhere in the distance came Silvana’s muffled shouts, but nothing reached Adam’s mind - all his attention was focused on the great man before him.

Saying nothing, the coachman looked around. Black loose clothes covered his frame, a wide brimmed hat sat tightly on his head letting bits of darkness flutter in the wind.

The bone worms watching from afar chose to hide. No one wanted to draw the rider’s wrath upon themselves.

For everyone else, to pass through the barrier to one of the dew trees was tantamount to death, but not for the rider, for he was the one who kept the trees in order.

Obviously, Adam, who came to the Dark Shore for the first time and was an outsider, couldn’t know that. He assumed that something as valuable as a dew tree had a strong guardian, but not so much.

After a few moments, the rider exhaled a cold vapor again, turning his attention to Adam.

"A Phantom? So weak and young... How did you end up here?"

There was no answer, the rider decided Adam’s fate as soon as he learned that someone dared to touch a dew tree. It was only one of many at the Sorrowful Dew Expanse, but it was enough.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The horse’s frame shuddered, turning into a torrent of darkness that took the form of a long spear with an outstretched white tip, making the space tremble.

"Well, if you came here, you knew why. You can only blame yourself for going to a foreign land and not learning the rules..." The rider’s low voice rang out as he raised the spear.

Adam’s energy was running through his body in an active stream, he tried to move, to do something, but... it was impossible.

The rider’s aura wasn’t just pressing down on Adam, it shackled him as heavy chains roamed through his body.

Before the rider could swing his spear, Adam’s eyes darted to the side to see a wisp of darkness from the path he had to follow to find the last piece of the Third Key.

Thump.

In the middle of the swing, the rider stopped himself.

Wild torrents of wind blew apart, tearing a dense layer of soot from the dark earth. A few unstable bones broke from the surface, and even the barrier around the dew tree flickered.

A thin line opened on Adam’s forehead, releasing a lone drop of blood despite the rider’s spear hovering above his head. The blade never touched him, it was all but a consequence of the wind and the speed of the swing.

"Young human... Did you just see the dark route?" the rider asked with a slight surprise in his voice.

It was a surprise to him as well as to Adam that Adam was still alive and for a reason. At least that’s what the rider thought.

Adam gulped, his eyes going wide.

"The dark route...? I... I don’t know what you’re talking about..."

The rider didn’t move into action. He had nowhere to rush.

If he were right, then by killing Adam right here and now, he would make a mistake. He would remember it as his oversight.

"Darkness amidst the energy. Torn wisps of darkness leading you in a certain direction like serene ghosts trying to show you the way..."

The rider pointed his spear at Adam, a glint traveled down the blade reflecting in Adam’s blue eyes.

Adam had no other option but to answer as it was. One way or another, somewhere, darkness was going to lead him.

"Y-Yes..." Adam muttered in a shaky voice. "Once I got here, I was led here by the darkness... That something happened to me and I began to see this dark route..."

Tremble.

The rider’s spear once again turned into a great horse, and there was less indifference in his eyes.

"I see... young Phantom. You don’t realize it, but it’s calling to you."

Adam gulped. "W-What...?"

"The First Star."