Endless Evolution: Last Star

Anomalies were, in some ways true miracles, the nature of which knew everyone, whether an experienced Phantom or just a young boy from the slums.

However, most people forgot that the anomalies were not treasure chests, but dangerous zones where to get the reward you had to pass through trials.

This was where the hidden threat of all anomalies lay, or rather... quite large and powerful ones because monsters and natural disasters were not the only threats, coming from anomalies.

The artifact that Dargo held in his hands looked like a dark, cold sphere, made of very dense ice or metal.

However, as soon as he touched it, even though he was wearing special gloves, a bright flash came out of the artifact that blinded everyone.

At the same moment, the dark sphere cracked, shattering the outer shell that crumbled down, revealing the true form of the artifact... or was it not really an artifact?

An azure eye filled with blue flames opened wide, looking first at Dargo, then at the others.

Zera, Hazel, and Dargo froze in shock and horror, for they were the only ones in the squad to realize what was happening there.

"Everyone! Defend yourselves!" Zera exclaimed as fast and loud as she could. Her voice came from the very depths of her soul, bringing the threat.

At the same moment, a blue flame sphere with an eye flew upward, escaping Dargo's grip.

In no time, hardly anyone had time to prepare and realize what was happening here, the azure eye shone brightly again, covering the entire area of the main anomaly with a wave of light.

Every Harvester and Phantom was hit by this light since there was no way to hide from it. Even if someone managed to close his eyes or cover himself with his hands - it was useless, the light from the azure eye passed through any obstacles.

Adam was no exception, as soon as he blinked he realized that there was no one around - only fog and intense cold that surrounded him from all sides.

'What's going on...? Is this some kind of hypnosis? Could it be an illusion? Is such a thing even possible?' Adam pondered, a multitude of questions filled his mind, but he had no time to ponder because the danger was already right in front of him!

Whooooooooooooosh.

The ghostly blade headed straight for him at great speed.

Adam's pupils narrowed as he managed to react at the last moment and called out his needle. He deflected the lunge and counterattacked back, wounding the invisible opponent.

Then, another attack followed, this time it was much faster and more accurate, but Adam was ready. He fought for his life, for by the cascade of sparks, he realized that a single misstep could lead to his death.

Soon, Adam forgot he was on a mission with the Scarlet River Squad, he also forgot about the anomaly cluster and lost all sense of time.

He didn't know how many seconds, minutes, or hours he had been in this strange place, because every moment he had to fight, sometimes getting wounded.

'Fuck! How many more times do I have to injure you to kill you?!' Adam inwardly exclaimed before making a risky lunge forward.

He held his arm out in front of him, allowing the ghostly blade to pierce his arm. A bright pain spread through his body, but now Adam had a chance to grab his opponent!

"Gotcha." Adam smirked, looking at the needle that was slowly entering his enemy's ghostly body, filling with blood.

Then, the frosty mist began to swirl rapidly, growing thicker and thicker. Adam swung the needle, splitting it, but it was useless.

He blinked, and to his surprise, he was back in the real world, and his many wounds, including the cut on his arm, were gone. However, that wasn't the correct definition, because just like in the virtual zone, those wounds simply never existed.

Adam looked around, and his eyes went wide, his body covered in goosebumps, an intense anxiety built up deep within him.

All the Phantoms and Harvesters around him were encased in ice crystals. None of them were injured, at least on the outside, but they couldn't move, and they all had the same look in their eyes - like a fighter a second before losing his mortal combat.

Also, Adam couldn't hear Silvana, for his earbud was broken, it was when the azure eyes shone brightly for the second time.

It seemed he was the only one left who hadn't fallen under this curse of icing, and all that remained was a blue flaming orb hovering above the ground.

Near the center of the main anomaly, there were now three tall crystals with azure flames burning inside them somehow. From each crystal came a ghostly trace that, from time to time, was disrupted, but it was possible to track the target.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

A crunch from the ice was heard from the side.

Adam summoned an igloo, preparing to fight, but there was no need, for it wasn't a monster but Zera - she, too, passed the trial.

"Zera... What the hell is going on here...?" Adam muttered with a dazed expression. He had never heard of such a thing, it was like a nightmare come true.

Zera's gaze grew darker as he glanced at the azure eye.

"We call it a Mirage - a rare but dangerous phenomenon that sometimes becomes part of an anomaly or cluster. You can think of it as a trap, it's easier that way, but it's a fair trap, to some degree." Zera sighed heavily.

She tried to remain calm as panicking was no use, and it would only make an already shitty situation worse.

"Trap... fair one...? What the hell does that mean?!" Adam frowned, clenching his fists tightly.

"Look." Zera pointed to an icy disk hovering above the azure eye. There were 180 small cells on the disk, and three of them were already burning with blue flames, the fourth was ready to flash in a few seconds.

"Is that a timer...?" Adam muttered as his eyes went wide.

Zera nodded.

"Yeah... I've been in a Mirage once before, so I can assure you that they all have their rules. In this case, it's simple, we need to destroy these three crystals with fire inside, obviously, they are powering this disk. Given the number of cells, we have three hours to do that, it's already a little less than that..."

Adam nodded.

He felt that these crystals were unusual, a lot depended on them.

"Wait... What happens if we don't make it in time or decide to leave here and disobey the rules?" Adam shuddered, expecting an unwelcome answer.

"We can't know for sure, but most likely the crystals will shrink or explode, tearing our squad members apart. No one will survive after that, not Harvester, not a Phantom Private, nor Hazel and Dargo..." Zera muttered, biting down on her lip until it was bloody.

Adam looked away, his gaze traveling along the nearest flame trail that to his surprise ended almost right next to them.

"Zera... Looks like we don't have time to complain about our situation. Our opponent is already waiting for us." Adam said seriously as he stared at the Ice Chaser approaching them.

However, unlike the ones they had already killed, this one had two horns and was slightly taller.

The monster's aura overwhelmed them, but they couldn't escape because they had to destroy the blue flame that burned in the monster's chest.

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