Endless Evolution: Last Star

Bam.

Adam clenched his fist tightly, preparing for one single blow for several minutes now.

Gathering all his strength at one point, Adam took a step forward and brought his fist down into the center of the First Wall.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Cracks quickly traveled across the translucent surface, some managing to reach the very edge, showing that Adam was close to overcoming the first part.

Then, just like the very first time, the energy clots containing some of the force of his blow, left his body, crashing into the amber resin, unable to damage such a strong and resistant material.

Adam was used to this by now.

He attacked the First Wall many times in the last few days, gradually improving his score.

Adam felt that with a little more time he would be able to achieve 100%. It was obvious from his past accomplishments and how far the cracks spread before the First Wall could be rebuilt.

Whoosh.

The cracks shone brightly, rapidly recovering from the powerful blow to show Adam what he could accomplish this time.

A few seconds later, a number appeared above the First Wall, showing Adam his new record.

[97.7%]

Adam frowned.

Last time he managed to reach 97.1%, which meant that he advanced by only 0.5%. It seemed that this was a great result and with six more attempts for 0.5% each, Adam would be able to break the First Wall.

However, this was not the case.

The more the First Wall was damaged, the harder it was to move forward and this difficulty was different for each Phantom. Obviously, Adam was one of those Phantoms who had a much stronger First Wall than the others.

So if Adam's progress was the same as before, his next hit would give him not 0.5% but 0.4% or even 0.3%, a lot depended on the First Wall.

Adam didn't just have to get better each time, he had to do it at double the rate, outdoing himself each time to just keep up.

"Alright, I think I'll make it to the end. For some reason, I don't really want to know what I have to do in the second part, but I don't have a choice anyway, right?" Adam muttered before closing his eyes and stepping out of the inner space.

It was already three days since he saw Tron's Nexus and managed to stay under the glass dome for one minute.

Thus, the wedding was only one week away.

Oddly enough, yesterday was his last day of fighting Tron, as there was something special waiting for him for today, something Tron had mentioned a month ago.

Crackle.

The door opened as two figures stepped inside, Max and Tron.

Max was in his usual clothes, but Tron was dressed in a strict suit, not too formal, more like something suitable for attending a serious event or going to the theater.

"Looks like it's finally the turn of the final days, doesn't it?" Max asked, slowly stepping forward.

Tron crossed his arms over his chest, for a moment his gaze traveling upwards as if he was waiting for someone.

"Not really. Adam will be doing something else in the last few days, but there's only a week left, that's true."

Adam scratched his cheek in confusion. He was glad to see Max, but he didn't understand why Max came here.

Tron shrugged.

"Anyway, I don't have time and my work is already done, so Max will explain it all to you."

Step. Step. Step.

At the same moment, neat footsteps were heard from the stairs, they were different, some soft and gentle and the others firm and confident.

Tron turned his head to meet the gaze of two beautiful women, Dahla and Riska.

Dahla wore a tight, narrow white dress with a golden frame, Riska did not limit herself so much and wore a spacious green dress that retained her beauty.

Max didn't even turn in their direction, instead, he took out a cigarette and lit it as if nothing happened.

Adam was a little surprised, but he didn't say anything, just watched intently as the two women approached the waiting Tron.

With a calm face, Tron looked at his wrist, checking the time.

"Hmm, though I knew you'd be late and took that into account, waiting for two women at once was a task I wasn't prepared for. We're running late so let's hurry up." Tron said and headed for the exit.

Riska and Dahla glanced at each other.

Riska kept her kind smile, this situation suited her perfectly. Dahla frowned but didn't say anything and just followed Tron with her confident stride.

Crackle.

The door closed when Max and Adam were left alone.

"So... What are we going to do?" Adam asked with a slight wave of his hand.

Max took his time answering, he dragged on his cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke, and pointed to the side.

"Blue Zone, we'll be using it again, so let's get our helmets on then you'll find out the rest." Max replied nonchalantly walking forward.

Adam shrugged his shoulders.

He realized that he would be fighting against Max, but he didn't know what the differences would be from last time.

Crackle.

Adam sat down in his chair, put on his helmet, and within seconds his digital copy appeared inside the blue zone.

Max should have followed Adam, which he was about to do, but for some reason, Max was in no hurry. He set something up on the panel for a while before finally heading towards the chair.

'Hmm? He didn't do that last time. Tron mentioned something about the functionality of the Blue Zone, but so far I've seen nothing but digital replicas. Is Max going to show me something new?' Adam raised an eyebrow baffled, watching Max curiously.

Tremble.

The air shook when Max appeared in front of Adam.

"Are we repeating our last practice?" Adam suggested looking at Max, who looked like the real him.

Max shook his head.

"Nah, we'll be using abilities this time."

"Abilities? What...? Doesn't that mean you won't have a chance of winning?" Adam muttered in confusion.

The last time they fought, Adam had won fights almost as often as Max, Adam's mastery had increased significantly and his experience was helping him surpass Max.

Given his training with Tron and the fact that he could now use his abilities, it simply left Max no chance against him.

Now, their powers were not equal.

Max shrugged as if he didn't see that as a problem.

"Well, if things were the same as before, then you'd be right, but... there are two differences."

Max pointed two fingers, looking intently at Adam.

"First: my physical stats are now at Mid Yellow Threat level."

Adam tensed slightly, but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. He hadn't fought against monsters this strong yet, that awaited him in the future, but he realized that the abilities gave immense power.

To make abilities irrelevant, the gap in physical force must be much larger than one stage.

"However... It's not as important as the second difference." Max calmly said before lighting a cigarette.

He took the first puff before taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

His hand slowly traveled in a circle, leaving behind a dense trail of flame with particles of ash like a lava flow coming from a volcano.

"Now I have abilities too."