Endless Evolution: Last Star

Truth or courage, which was more important?

Silvana was trying to find the answer to that question, under the onslaught of the Evolution Tree.

[Take your time... Think hard about the answer...]

The Evolution Tree's voice was calm, but the sharp root tips glared at Silvana like a hail of blades. She realized that it was impossible to make a mistake at a point like this.

"Am I ready to die for Adam...?" Silvana muttered.

Her gaze pointed downward, her fists tightly clenched, and her face darkened. Trying to sort out her doubts and find the right answer to such a difficult question, Silvana only became more confused.

Then, after a long time, Silvana raised her gaze, staring intently at the Evolution Tree.

[It seems you are ready. So... What's your answer... Silvana Desio?]

"No. I'm not ready to die for Adam. I don't feel that brave or sacrificial. Deep down inside... I'm afraid of monsters and failure..."

Was this the right or wrong answer?

Oddly enough, that was not the criteria that the Evolution Tree was interested in.

[I see... Good... Indeed... Honesty is the path to excellence...]

Whooooooooooosh.

In a heartbeat, the sharp, formidable roots returned to the Evolution Tree, leaving Silvana with a baffled expression.

"What? That turned out to be the right answer? I thought I was supposed to say yes..." Silvana suggested.

[If you did... would that be a lie?]

This question was more complicated than it seemed at first glance. The fact that Silvana answered 'no.' didn't mean that she would not do it in reality since this situation never happened.

She answered as she felt deep inside, realizing that lying to the Evolution Tree was stupid and pointless.

Silvana bit her lip:

"I don't know... I assume that yes..."

[Assumptions don't interest me... However... I got the answer to my last question... And... Silvana, you have passed the first stage.]

Joy appeared on Silvana's face only to quickly disappear as she recalled Refesa's words.

"Wait... Does that mean it's about to start something that I might die because of?"

The decision was made, she was ready, but she wanted to know a little more about what awaited her.

The Evolution Tree's calm voice spread around, reaching the depths of darkness.

[Not yet... but... you're close to it...]

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

At the same moment, the Evolution Tree shook vigorously, hundreds of unusual energy streams coming out. Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire

Normally, Adam's energy was white just like his Evolution Tree's, but... these streams were multicolored and faded, as if they were not energy but something else.

Gradually, the streams turned into a massive crystal combining all sorts of colors, but also possessing a large amount of gray.

The crystal had an unusual, irregular shape as if it was growing under unique, unrepeatable conditions.

Silvana narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the crystal.

"What is it?"

[Oh... You don't have to be so careful... This crystal is harmless... at least until you touch it.]

Sensing that Evolution Tree was hiding something, Silvana frowned heavily:

"What does that mean?"

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The Evolution Tree trembled, an audible cracking sound came from the branches.

[It's not just any crystal... or rather it's not a crystal at all... Silvana... This crystal contains all of Adam's memories... absolutely all of them...]

Silvana gulped. She as Adam's Operator, knew a lot about him as a person, his past and present. However, she never had the goal to know every detail of his life.

She realized that everyone had secrets or things they didn't want to tell others about.

"And... You want me to touch this crystal?"

[Correct... You will know everything Adam did, saw, heard, said, and felt... Everything currently in his memory will be revealed to you as well... The future is out of the question... only what is available now... in the present...]

Taking a deep breath, Silvana stepped forward. She didn't know that the Evolution Tree would require her to look into Adam's mind, but she had no other choice if she wanted to go through Gene Diffusion.

Step.

Taking the last step, Silvana stopped in front of the crystal, multicolored pulses running among the gray parts from time to time. It was an indication of life, most of it was calm and routine, but... sometimes there were bright and intense memories, not always good and not always bad.

[Oh... I completely forgot to mention...]

The Evolution Tree's voice grew deeper as if it had purposely left out one important detail.

"Hm?" Silvana looked up.

As the branches trembled, the Evolution Tree replied:

[Your memories... Adam will see them as well... Everything you knew, everything that is in your mind at this second... You will both share each other's memories... without interfering with the future...]

In a heartbeat, Silvana's face darkened. She wasn't ready for this. Finding out other people's secrets had always been much easier than revealing yours.

Moreover... Silvana told Adam almost nothing about herself, and he didn't ask questions. It was enough for him that she was his Operator, the rest was not important to him.

[So... What are you going to do? Will you give up midway through... Or will you choose to see his memories by opening your own...?]

There was no sneer or gloating in Evolution Tree's voice, it was a sincere question, full of seriousness and respect for Silvana.@@novelbin@@

If she refused, the Evolution Tree would accept it. There would be no resentment, only disappointment and an acceptance that Silvana was not a suitable Operator.

"I'll do it... He'll see everything, right?" Silvana asked uncertainly.

The Evolution Tree quivered before answering:

[Yes... But you'll be the first to see his memories... You know a lot about Adam... Especially after he became a Phantom... But... You don't know everything...]

Silvana bit her lip, she was curious to know what Adam was hiding, as well as scared to delve so deep into his mind.

'I don't know some Adam's secret, but... what is it?' Silvana thought before reaching her hand forward.

Tap.

The tip of her finger touched the crystal, causing it to shake actively.

'I'm just going to find out. It's too late to go backward now.'

Then, the darkness grew thicker, approaching Silvana and engulfing her in countless streams, preventing her from seeing even a speck of light from the majestic Evolution Tree.