Endless Evolution: Last Star

"What is that creepy ability...? Is that her Nexus...?" Katrin muttered in disbelief, staring at Nessa's transformation.

Nessa's veins swelled like Resonance, all her muscles tensed like steel, her pupils changed their color from black to amber and her hair became much thicker, reaching to her waist with its sharp tips.

Her fangs and claws grew longer, like deadly blades with one purpose - to kill and tear apart any enemy in their path.

Adam, Silvana, and Magnus were the only ones who had seen this transformation before. This time something was different, showing that Nessa's body was already fully accustomed to such a change.

Amber energy emanated from Nessa's body like streams of vapor, slowly developing in the void.

Magnus hadn't fully explored this special ability yet, for no matter what he did, he was unable to get Nessa to enter her battle form in the lab.

He realized that it took something special, some kind of critical situation for Nessa. Something like that simply could not be accomplished in the safe conditions of the lab. So, he had stopped his attempts, concentrating on improving Nessa's control over her powers.

But, now he could finally see progress that didn't depend on him or Nessa. It was happening naturally, the first time Nessa's body was just trying to figure out how to use the energy, how to make Nessa stronger so she would win.

Now, however, things were completely different.

Nessa had found the right catalyst for her, she couldn't bear to get such a humiliating stare from Plague Reaper. Then, her body realized it was time to act.

"Well, well, looks like it took her a lot less time to reach the peak of her power this time." Adam muttered looking at Nessa with a slight sadness in his gaze.

He wanted to go into Resonance, to get a little more powerful, but he couldn't do it. It was a process that couldn't be controlled though... Adam was afraid of something that might come along with Resonance.

'Even if I could enter Resonance, then...' Adam muttered inwardly, glancing at his hands, his fingertips trembling slightly while electric shocks ran through them.

'Would my body be able to take it? Osana wasn't kidding when she said I was at my limit. If I activate Resonance, how long can I last before I collapse? A minute? Maybe even less?'

Adam shook his head. He didn't want to think about it too much since it hadn't happened yet.

Never before had Adam fought when his squad had supports.

Then, Adam lowered his gaze to his chest, where Lero's red magic circle still shone brightly.

"Tsk... It shouldn't be like this... Phantom's abilities shouldn't live longer than Phantom himself... It's not right." Adam gritted his teeth as the scene of Plague Reaper killing Lero appeared before his eyes, in just one move, in one powerful stomp.

The life of the Phantom, though a young one, was over in an instant.

It pained Adam to think how much a man like Lero could have accomplished in his life if it hadn't been cut short in Fume Cathedral.

"No... It doesn't matter now. Lero, Erla, and Oskar... they died, but I can still fight for my life."

With a deep sigh, Adam looked around the entire battlefield, first looking at Nessa who was slowly rising from the ground, then at Katrin and Osana standing next to Fume Cathedral.

Whether they all survived or died depended on one thing: could they kill Plague Reaper? So far the situation was not in their favor, since Plague Reaper had already killed three of their mates, and all they had accomplished was for Plague Reaper to start fighting with his weapon.

Adam scratched the back of his head.

"Well, last time I and Nessa fought against each other, so now it's our turn to be allies, right?" Adam smiled bitterly, kneading his arms before the next round.

In many places in his body, a muffled pain reverberated, Adam didn't show it but he felt every Plague Reaper's blow successfully reaching its target.

In a way, this pain was even pleasant as Adam realized that Plague Reaper felt the same. They failed to seriously injure each other, but their faces often clashed fists.

'Hey, Adam, hi. This is Nessa's Operator.' Refesa said suddenly, tapping into his channel.

'What, how did that happen!' Silvana inwardly exclaimed in disbelief.

She listened intently to what Adam was muttering under his breath and wanted to say something, she needed to motivate or encourage him somehow, something that would boost Adam's morale.

Silvana knew that thoughts of dead mates were not something to keep in mind during a dangerous battle.

But... in a matter of seconds, someone had just infiltrated her channel and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Hmm? Who are you, whose voice is that? Nessa's Operator...? It's not like she's Pha..." Adam said before abruptly stopping when his eyes went wide filling with realization.

'Good. You stopped just in time.' Refesa nodded approvingly, 'My name is Refesa and I am a scientist like Magnus. I'm talking to you so you can work with Nessa. I don't know what she's capable of in this form, but if you attack Plague Reaper relentlessly, sooner or later his defenses will come down.'

Adam nodded.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to do."

Magnus standing next to Refesa cast a puzzled look at her.

"Hey, Adam isn't some rookie, why would you tell him something so trivial? Anyone knows that in a situation like this, you have to fight and attack quickly, it's obvious!"

Refesa smirked, casting a sly glance at Magnus.

"Oh, I just wanted to meet you. By the way, his Operator better work on defending her network, I was able to hack it in less than a minute." Refesa chuckled softly, savoring her small victory.

She imagined Silvana's face, who was in a rush trying to figure out what had happened and how Refesa was able to do it so easily.

Unlike Riska, Tron's Operator, Refesa had no permission due to her higher level of access. She simply hacked into Silvana's channel.

Magnus gripped his chin thoughtfully.

"Why? You hacked her, yes, but you don't carry a threat. Who does Silvana have to protect her network from?"

Refesa sighed before directing her gaze downward.

"Well... Given Adam's history once he reaches K2-Level he'll want to head to the Lower Ring. I'm sure with his personality he's sure to run into trouble and as you know Phantoms and Operators are all over the Citadel, not just the Upper Ring."

Magnus's eyes widened for a moment, realizing that Refesa was right, it was inevitable in his situation.

Then, he shrugged returning his gaze to the screens.

"Right now, he's not in the Citadel, he's in Dead Lands. He must survive first, then let him do what he wants."

Step. Step. Step.

At the same moment, Nessa sprinted forward, hurtling through the wind currents at breakneck speed.

Plague Reaper's calm face frowned slightly, he could sense that Nessa had changed completely.

Whoooooosh.

Nessa's silhouette blurred, turning into a shadow before appearing in front of Plague Reaper.

Plague Reaper's hands quickly grasped the scythe's long hilt, going to block Nessa's long claws.

But...

As soon as he did so he heard electric charges raging behind him.