Endless Evolution: Last Star

A young man around nineteen or twenty years old with a slight smile on his face stood in front of a pot, stirring a rather humble-looking soup. There were only a few vegetables inside, mostly cabbage and potatoes, no meat or fish.

However, the young man seemed used to cooking with a limited amount of ingredients and knew how to remedy the situation with the right spices causing the flavor to spread far beyond his simple dwelling.

"It's almost done. Hopefully today she won't be delayed as usual..." the young man muttered with a heavy sigh.

Crackling.

At the same moment, he heard the familiar creak of old floorboards sticking out of the floor, they should have been replaced years ago, but there was no one to do it.

The young man smiled broadly and quickly ran towards the entrance. This moment was the happiest for him, one of the few good things in his life.

But... It wasn't his sister who came to his house today.

"What...? Who are you...?" The young man muttered with concern in his voice, looking at Adam standing in the passage with a calm, slightly sad look.

Before answering, Adam looked around, looking at the old furniture, the dilapidated walls, and the floor that was barely holding together. This place was clearly in need of serious, expensive repair, as was any place in the slums.

Nevertheless, it was obvious that someone had been keeping a close eye on this small house, for there was no dirt or dust, and things were in relatively good condition.

"I don't think that's important right now." Adam glanced at the young man before pulling the pendant out of his pocket, "This belongs to your sister, right?"

The young man's eyes went wide as he abruptly snatched the pendant from Adam's hand, the pendant still covered in blood. Adam didn't resist, after all, he wasn't going to take that pendant for himself.

"Wait... Why do you have that pendant? Did something happen to my sister? Did you do something to her?!" The young man anxiously exclaimed as he took a few steps back. It was obvious that he was starting to get very nervous and was not fully in control of himself.

Adam shook his head.

"Don't worry, I didn't touch your sister, I don't know her at all."

The young man breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew... Looks like she just lost it, thank you." The young man bowed low, but Adam's cold stare alarmed him.

Then, the young man noticed something strange, something was running down his arm, he only now realized it was blood from the pendant.

"No... She didn't lose it, something definitely happened to her... Is she alright?! Where is my sister now!?" The young man exclaimed with a wave of his hand.

Adam paused for a short pause before saying seriously:

"She died trying to become a Phantom."

The young man's eyes went wide as his whole body trembled and his face turned pale. He wasn't stupid, he had immediately made assumptions as soon as he saw Adam and now he was doing the same.

It made him realize that Adam wasn't tricking him, it just didn't make sense. Still... the fact that he understood it was the truth didn't help him get over this tragic event at all.

The young man fell to his knees as tears rushed from his eyes. He clutched the pendant tightly, pressing it to his chest to dull the burning pain.

Сrackle.

Adam turned around, pacing the creaky floor again. He was going to leave because his mission here had been accomplished. He wanted to give the pendant to the young man, it wouldn't bring his sister back, but at least it would be something....

"Wait! Don't go!" the young man exclaimed, seemingly struggling, for he was still reeling from the tragic loss of the dearest and only person in his life.

"What? I'm sorry, but I won't stay with you and comfort you. I did what I could." Adam said calmly, not giving in to emotion.

The young man gritted his teeth as he clutched his head as if he was trying to think about something, given his condition it was a difficult challenge.

"First of all... my name is Kai! Second... You said my sister died trying to become a Phantom, so she failed... which means you know it's not a workable option!" Kai exclaimed, slowly getting up from the ground.

Adam narrowed his eyes. Kai was proving to be an amazingly perceptive and collected young man. Adam wasn't sure he would have been able to reflect like that if someone in his family had died.

"Sure. There's only one method, she must have Spark. There is simply no other way. Everyone knows that, even a kid from the slums." Adam said coldly.

Kai smirked as a gleam passed through his eyes.

"Nah, you're lying."

"Hmm?" Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion. He realized that there was no way Kai could have known about the existence of Naturalborn Phantoms, so... he couldn't understand why Kai didn't believe him.

"Look, I realize you think I don't know much, that's true, but I'm not stupid or deaf. You said my sister died trying to become a Phantom. However, how can you die trying to make the Spark appear? It's a natural process that can't be influenced... well, at least that's what I thought until now." Kai smiled bitterly, taking a deep breath.

Adam's eyes went wide. A few words were enough for Kai to understand so much. It was Adam's own fault though, he had mentioned too many details.

"Whatever. Kai, I'm sorry your sister died, but I'm as much a nobody to you as you are to me. I just returned the pendant, that's the end of our story." Adam said in a low tone, heading for the exit.

Kai's pupils narrowed as he realized that his last hope was going to be gone, disappear forever. Sure, even if he became a Phantom, it wouldn't bring his sister back, but... oddly enough his sister's death wasn't the only problem in his life.

"Wait! Tell me how to become a Phantom! You went through it too, didn't you?" Kai ran after Adam, grabbing him by the end of his coat.

Before Kai could do anything, Adam turned around and their gazes met.

Then, Adam's palm reached Kai's chest, throwing him back several meters. Adam used a tiny fraction of his strength, but enough for Kai to realize that Adam wasn't going to put up with his antics.

"If you do something like that again, I'm going to hit you real hard." Adam said menacingly slightly releasing his aura.

Kai should have been frightened by this threat, but instead, he pulled a pointy, sharpened knife from his belt, gripping the hilt tightly. Sure, the kitchen was a bit farther away, but in the slums, one always had to carry a weapon.

Adam tilted his head.

"And...? I thought you were smarter than that, given your deductions. Do you think some knife is going to help you defeat me?" Adam sighed.

However... his words only elicited a smirk from Kai.

"Hah, you just confirmed that my guesses made sense, but... this knife isn't for attacking you." Kai uttered before placing the tip of the knife against his neck.

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"And? What are you up to? Trying to blackmail me with your life? It's a futile attempt. I'm not falling for it." Adam waved his hand.

Crackle.

Kai pushed the knife further, so far that the tip pierced his skin, releasing a trickle of blood.

"I'm not going to blackmail you, but are you really so cruel that you won't give me hope? Are you willing to let someone who just lost his sister and has been living in a veritable hell for his entire life kill himself!?" Kai exclaimed, a bright pain evident in his voice.

Adam frowned but did not say anything. It seemed to be a convincing speech, but not enough to break Adam's defenses.

Then, Kai moved on to his last resort...

"I'm sick... My sister has been collecting money for my treatment..." Kai uttered as he bit his lip until it bled, anything to keep from crying again.

Adam listened to him intently.

"I'm terminally ill! It's not noticeable yet, but in a few months my condition will worsen and in a year or even sooner I'll die! My sister may have had the opportunity to make money from her dangerous job, but not me..."

At the same moment, tears sprang from Kai's eyes, too much had happened in a few minutes, he couldn't take it anymore, but he couldn't back down.

"Please! Give me a chance! I don't want my sister's attempts to fail!"

Then, Kai shouted:

"I want to live!"