Endless Evolution: Last Star

Although Adam and Alexia understood that the rules were not fair and that the Ancient Voice could announce changes at any moment, they did not have enough strength to open the gate, and first they had to pass the second trial.

Step. Step. Step.

As before, Adam and Alexia followed the light line. This time, it took them much longer, as the second trial was much further away than the first one.

Adam looked relaxed, but Alexia was clearly nervous. She had discussed the previous trial with Louis, which made her realize that they had been one step away from defeat.

No one knew what would have happened to them in that case, but if the rules stated that the losing contenders must be destroyed, then Alexia and Adam would hardly have had any chance.

Even if they had used all their trump cards and attacked the barrier together, they would not have had enough strength to destroy it. It was a telling moment.

"Hey, looks like we're almost there."

Adam's voice echoed off the cold walls of the cave, causing Alexia to turn around.

Ahead of them was not a simple passage, but a large, cloudy crystal that resembled a massive mirror filling the exit.

"Is that a crystal door?" Alexia blinked several times.

"Hmm..." Adam hummed. "The light is leading us here. We have no choice but to go there."

Silvana's voice rang out. "Be careful. You should explore this door first. We don't know what the Ancient Voice is going to do."

Adam nodded as he narrowed his eyes, but at that moment, Alexia rushed past him.

Ignoring Silvana's warning, she touched the crystal. She was curious to know what it was made of.

Shiver.

A tremor ran through the crystal as Alexia's hand disappeared into it up to her wrist.

"Arh?" Alexia's eyes widened as she tried to pull her hand out. "Shit! It's stuck! Adam, help me!"

"Damn it, why do you always get yourself into trouble?!" He exclaimed and stood next to her.

"Shut up! I was just curious and—!"

Before she could finish, the crystal shook and completely engulfed Alexia, leaving Adam alone in the passageway.

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

His eyebrow twitched, and his face became increasingly irritated.

"Hey, Silvana, be honest. Do you feel the same way when I'm on a mission?"

"Yes. But..." Silvana faltered. "Alexia is on another level. She doesn't really think, she just does."

Louis heard it all, but didn't comment.

What could he say?

He knew better than anyone that it was true. No matter what happened to Alexia and what her mistake would cost her, nothing could make her give up her curiosity. Besides, she had no patience at all.

"Agh." Adam sighed. "Either way, it doesn't seem like we had any other choice in the first place."

Step.

Adam stepped forward, passing through the crystal.

Tremble.

He opened his eyes, and the next thing he saw was Alexia looking around and a majestic hall reminiscent of a cathedral.

Tall carved pillars embedded in the walls moved toward the arches, some of them empty, others filled with statues of massive beasts, with prominent muscles, fists, horns on their heads, and wide-open wings giving them a majestic appearance.

The dome, divided into dozens of sections of multicolored glass, towered above them, casting a bright blue light that seemed to direct them toward the platform in the center of the hall.

The last detail was the fragments of a broken mirror between the pillars. Now, they were cloudy, there was no reflection in them, but it was unknown what function they served.

Unlike the previous trial, where Adam and Alexia immediately saw their opponents — the spiders. Now they didn't know what to expect, especially after what happened at the end of the trial.

"Shit, you don't mean to say that these statues are going to come to life?!" Alexia exclaimed, pointing at one of them. "Look at those fangs and that creepy grimace! These aren't monsters, they're stone demons!"

Adam felt threatened by the statues as well. One stone demon was large enough to fight the ice worm, and its fists were certainly capable of knocking even a giant to the ground.

But Adam didn't dwell on them for too long.

'Whether they come to life or not, it doesn't matter. We came here, which means we will defeat these monsters. But what are these mirrors?'

After a while, Adam shook his head.

"Tsk, there's no point in looking. We don't even know what we have to do to pass this trial yet."

He looked at the light line.

"Hey, maybe it's time to tell us the rules?"

In response, the light line only shuddered, and the pulse ran to the platform.

"I see. Come on, we can't break the rules if we don't start."

"Wait, let's destroy these statues in advance!" Alexia suggested.

In fact, Adam liked this idea. He was ready to try, but something stopped him.

"No, we can find a gray area in the rules and bend them, but we still have to pass the second trial to open the gate. You see what I see, our conditions for the Third Grand Star are behind the gate."

It was difficult for Alexia, but she nodded deeply, agreeing not to rush.

Step. Step. Step.

Together, they stepped onto the platform. It was quite large, enough to pass for a medium-sized arena. There was enough space for the two of them to move freely or even fight monsters.

Immediately, a blue fairy flew out of the hollow in the platform as the second trial was ready to begin.

[The second trial begins.]

A barrier rose around the platform, which was actually just a dense light.

[Do not leave the barrier area or you will fail the trial.]

[Your goal is to deflect 100 cannon balls into the opening portals.]

'Cannonballs?'

Adam and Alexia thought simultaneously as their eyes widened in the next moment.

Huge stone cannons appeared from the empty arches, ready to rain down dozens of shells on them.

Still, neither of them knew that this was only part of what awaited them. The rules were about to become one big gray area.