Endless Evolution: Last Star

Artifacts were one of the pillars of every Phantom's power. Sure, unlike Initial Gene and Nexus, the artifact usually appeared much later.

Most Phantoms were Artificial Ones, which meant they had to spend a lot of time and resources to find the right artifact.

It was all about Evolution Tree and Initial Gene, they had to accept the Artifact so the Phantom could use it and develop it.

That was one of the advantages Naturalborn Phantoms had over Artificial Ones because almost all Artifacts matched them.

Artifacts had different Rarity Levels, anyone who knew Dead Lands well enough was aware of that.

Strangely enough, finding a Second Rarity Level Artifact was much easier than developing a First Rarity Artifact, because a lot of conditions had to be met.

However, with some circumstances and luck, an evolved artifact could be a better solution.

Not all Second Rarity Artifacts were equally powerful, some were that way due to their birth in horrible anomalies and others due to Phantoms like Adam who did everything to develop their Artifact.

The conditions were three:

[Required:

1 - 10 Purple Threat Level genes

2 - 10 of any Zero Rarity Artifacts

3 - 1 Essence of a suitable element!]

Adam had already fulfilled two of the three conditions long ago, the genes were inside his Vault, and the Artifacts were in his personal storage in the Citadel. The only thing he had been missing for a long time was the Essence, and he was finally able to get it.

However... there was one problem here... Adam's Artifacts were tens of kilometers away from his current location. Obviously, he couldn't return to the Citadel right now.

"Shit... Did I really fail?" Douglas muttered, staring at the screen in the corner, which showed a black fighter jet. There was no Phantom inside, for that fighter had flown on Douglas's order for the sole purpose - to deliver Adam the Artifacts from his storage.

Douglas knew why Adam had originally gone to Salt Village, so when he realized that Adam was going to fight Thunder Demon, he immediately gave the order.

However... there was still a minute before the fighter would arrive, so Adam just didn't have that much time.

But... It was not worth forgetting where Adam was.

He was in the center of a huge anomalies cluster and had just caused a natural disaster by absorbing Essence, which once was a powerful artifact!

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The shockwave from the electrical explosion spread apart, throwing Tirana aside, but as her cross shone brightly, fiery wings appeared on her back. One swing was enough to stop and protect herself from the lightning bolts.

These lightning bolts, allowed the other anomalies to find a point of contact, and grow further, striving deeper into the deadly triangle, constantly creating new anomalies with artifacts inside.

"Agh... It seems that under certain circumstances, what used to be a disaster can be a saving grace, right?" Adam exhaled a cold vapor while looking at the many artifacts in the distance.

Previously, the anomalies with artifacts connected the three main anomalies, forming an electrical triangle, but now, because of Adam, they coated the entire top.

Thus, Adam took a few steps forward and reached out, summoning Revolve again.

Weakly, the Zero Rarity Artifact trembled, trying to resist Adam's intent to absorb them, but... they were hardly capable of doing so. The artifacts were too close, and the Essence and Artifact within Adam were actively trembling, drawing the defenseless artifacts towards them.

Sure, unlike Thunder Demon, Adam couldn't open his mouth wide and swallow the Artifacts, nor was Revolve capable of absorbing physical objects, but... the energy hidden within the Artifacts was in danger.

Whooooooooooosh.

The Artifacts shuddered, soaring above the ground as if they were being controlled by someone and turning into flashes of light that headed towards Adam with great speed.

Multicolored streams of energy flew towards Adam, disappearing into his Revolve. The colors were predominantly blue tones, as they were electrical anomalies, but there were also white and purple among the flows.

The Phantom could only do this if he was going to absorb the Artifact as Adam had done on his first day as a Phantom or if he had everything ready to develop the Artifact.

Otherwise, if the Phantom tried to absorb ten Artifacts at once in this way, their energy would simply rupture his body or, at best, permanently damage the Evolution Tree and Initial Gene.

It didn't matter if the Phantom was a Naturalborn or Artificial one, the consequences were disastrous for everyone.

Whoooooooooooooooooosh.

A second later, ten Zero Rarity Artifacts appeared in Adam's inner space, hovering around Essence.

'Good... Now I'm ready...' Adam internally muttered with a slight smile on his face. He waited for this moment for a long time, perhaps too long, but now he could finally make his wish a reality.

At Adam's will, 10 Purple Threat Level genes flew out of the snow-white book, his Vault, heading towards Essence.

Then, Essence, the genes, and artifacts actively shook, transforming into a bright substance that covered Adam's Artifact from all sides, causing it to change.

The False Orb, Adam's Artifact, looked like an unusual sphere, with long spikes protruding out and flat ends with electrical discharges running between them.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The Evolution Tree began to tremble as well, lightning bolts passing between its branches as if in anticipation of the great power of lightning.

[Artifact Evolution has succeeded!]

Then, Adam saw his new Artifact, which looked like a long, curved horn, somewhat reminiscent of those of Thunder Demon.

[False Orb, First Rarity Level Artifact turned into Second Rarity Artifact - Horn of Calamity].

[All Traits of your previous Artifact have been lost, with a few exceptions.]

[Trait of your new Artifact is ready for use!]

[Danger!]

[There is too much energy inside the Horn of Calamity! You need to use the First Trait immediately!]

"Sure... There's no need to be in such a hurry. I'm more than willing to do it." Adam bitterly smiled as he closed his eyes, returning to the real world.

Adam looked at Tirana, running towards him with the clear intention of killing him.

Then, Adam's eyes shone brightly, electric shocks went through his entire body, and his feet rose slightly off the ground, while an unusual feeling consumed Adam's mind...