Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1548: The Dragon and the Egg

From the very beginning, everything pointed to Alexia being the first to fulfill her condition.

To become stronger and replenish part of the Third Grand Star, Alexia needed to obtain the Ancient Frost and the Winding Fragment, which led them straight here to the Frost Oasis.

Adam understood that this place and journey were primarily meant for Alexia. Everything here suited her better than him, from the frost energy and conditions to her abilities and affinity with these lands.

For Adam, this was not a problem.

Recently, he had been at the Forgotten Mills, a place inhabited by monsters with abilities similar to his. This was his journey, just for him.

If, to become stronger and obtain the Blood of God, he had to go to the winter lands with Alexia, and she was the priority, then he saw no problem with that.

Now, they had passed all the trials, the Ancient Voice had fallen silent, Alexia had obtained the Ancient Frost, and all that remained was the Blood of God.

Where else could Adam obtain the Blood of God if not from the dragon’s head lying next to the glowing pond?

It was the only place they hadn’t explored yet, and it seemed more likely than anything else.

All that remained of this dragon, whoever it had been in life, was its head. They had nothing to fear. It had been dead for a long time.

But.

"Agh?"

What did Adam see before him then?

Why was the giant blue eye staring intently at him?

Was the dragon alive?

What was going on here?

Adam had many questions and no answers. But one thing he felt for sure—fear.

The dragon’s eye looked at him as its target, not without respect, but it did not see him as an equal opponent.

"Adam!" Alexia exclaimed as she reacted faster.

With a frosty stream, she appeared next to him, tugging his arm as they jumped back several meters.

She decided that the dragon’s head would now come to life and attack them, but the eye continued to stare intently at Adam.

"W-What the hell...?" Alexia gulped. Despite the new power she had just gained, she couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran through her body.

Sure, she needed a little more time to fully absorb the Ancient Frost, but its basic features were already available to her as the next step in her evolution.

"It’s alive, or...?" Alexia narrowed her eyes.

"YOU..."

At the same moment, a low, raspy voice came from the dragon’s head. It didn’t move, nothing but its eyes were able to move. The voice seemed to come from the streams of energy swirling around the head.

"You reached the end and destroyed the barrier... Impressive... and the tree..." The dragon looked at Alexia. "You absorbed it... didn’t you?"

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

Alexia’s fingertips twitched as she took a step back.

She didn’t know why, but from the moment the dragon’s eye opened, she felt as if they were trapped, as if everything had been leading up to this moment from the very beginning.

Moreover, soon, they saw something strange.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The runes that had previously covered the walls, gates, and were part of the many barriers located at the Frost Oasis and dissipated in a single stream.

Then, Adam and Silvana heard the Ancient Voice for the last time on this journey.

[The contract was broken. All barriers around these lands were removed. The power of energy no longer has any influence on this place.]

In a split second, Adam realized what this meant.

He remembered the ice worm that had attacked them at the very beginning. Since then, they had not seen a single monster like it.

Perhaps the reason was that there were few ice worms, or perhaps it was because of the barriers that prevented them and other monsters from even approaching the Frost Oasis.

A tremor could be heard in the distance, but it would take time for the monsters around them to realize that access to the Frost Oasis had finally been opened.

"Who are you?" Adam clenched his fists.

The blue eye blinked.

"Isn’t it obvious?"

The vertical pupil narrowed.

"I am the owner of this place. I am the one who waited... I waited a long time and was ready to wait even longer... But... It’s good that you are here, I will be able to save time..."

Without further ado, the dragon closed his eye.

Adam and Alexia exchanged glances. They didn’t understand what had happened, and their hearts were still filled with fear.

They were ready to fight anyone and go through any trial. It wasn’t as scary as standing in the darkness and uncertainty.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The Frost Oasis shook, and the glowing pond full of dense energy began to move for the first time.

Adam and Alexia didn’t know what to expect as they stepped back.

Perhaps this pond was a trap, or the dragon head was going to use its pure energy to attack them.

All Adam and Alexia could do at that moment was wait.

They did not know what awaited them in the final trial, not from the Ancient Voice but from the owner of the Frost Oasis himself.

However...

"Agh?" Alexia gasped.

None of their worst fears were confirmed.

The water in the pond began to recede, gradually draining it until only a dark, sharp-edged egg remained at the bottom.

Alexia’s eyes widened, her lips trembling as she saw the grim aura emanating from the egg.

"What the hell is that?"

"The egg? But... why?" Adam was confused. He genuinely tried to understand what was happening.

After all, whether he could obtain the Blood of God or not depended largely on this.

’My energy,’ he thought. ’It still isn’t showing me the exact location. What the...’

Crack!

A sudden crack interrupted his thoughts as the arm broke free from the egg, shattering the sturdy shell.

If the Frost Oasis was the target for Adam and Alexia, then they were the target for someone else.

There was always a hunter stronger and more dangerous.