Chapter 1373: Price of desire

Although the real Silver Weaver had long been dead, killed by Adam, it was he who had given Adam his most difficult trial in recent times.

Never before had Adam found himself in a situation where all his abilities were useless. Neither his nexus, nor his artifact, nor Lone Blaze, nor even Silvana were able to help him against a monster who destroyed everything with a single, simple movement.

Adam was ready to panic, but he knew it was pointless.

‘No, I have to fight to the end. It doesn’t matter that he’s much stronger than me, I can still find his weak spot and defeat him!

Then, with fire in his eyes, Adam took up a fighting stance, because the fifth ring was still working. It was the last part of his power that the Silver Weaver hadn’t destroyed.

“Oh, so you still don’t understand?” The Silver Weaver said, slightly puzzled. “Adam, you’re not thinking about what you should be thinking about. You won’t win that way.”

Adam frowned.

“Shut up and attack! I’ll fight to the last drop of blood!”

In response, the Silver Weaver shrugged and attacked as Adam wanted him to.

“Agh…?”

Adam saw nothing, almost nothing.

The world practically stopped for him as he only noticed the Silver Weaver slowly passing to his right, returning his needle to his belt like a sword in its sheath.

With Adam’s next heartbeat, dozens of cuts opened on his chest, as spurts of blood gushed out under his painful groan.

“GRHA!”

Adam collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. However, even that was not enough to break his spirit.

‘No, this isn’t the end, the power of my Nexus is still with me…’

Gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain, Adam rose from the ground.

But…

“Agh?”

He couldn’t do it, collapsing headfirst into the sand.

Only then did Adam notice the red threads lying on the ground. The Silver Weaver had not only stopped the wounds on Adam’s chest but also cut all the threads, depriving him of the power of his Nexus.

Still, after a few heavy breaths, Adam got up from the ground, but his legs trembled, barely keeping him on his feet.

“You… Did you really give in to me before? I almost won!” Adam shouted with a wave of his hand.

The Silver Weaver slowly turned around.

“No. You’re right, your last attack would have killed me if I hadn’t done anything. That’s why I used my form and trump card, unlike you…”

The Silver Weaver’s calm and mysterious voice both annoyed and frightened Adam. Moreover, he felt that for some reason he was not indifferent to the Silver Weaver.

‘He seems to be trying to convey some message to me, but… what? A few more attacks and I’ll die! FUCK!’

“What the hell are you talking about? I’ve already used everything, absolutely everything! You even broke Silvana’s form! Are you mocking me? No one has ever done anything like this before! You are a fucking monster!”

In response, the Silver Weaver lifted his chin, looking down at Adam.

“Oh, I’m a monster? What about you? Do you think the other Phantoms and monsters you fight see you as an equal? You’re just crushing all their hopes of becoming as strong as you. And after that, of the two of us, I’m the monster?”

Step.

The Silver Weaver stepped forward as he aimed his needle at Adam.

“You really forgot, didn’t you? You don’t remember your most important ability, the foundation of your power that you haven’t used in quite a while.”

He narrowed his eyes into threatening slits.

“Well, in that case, I’ll remind you.”

Thrust.

Without hesitation, the Silver Weaver pierced Adam’s chest, and the white needle went straight through Adam’s heart.

“Ah…?” Adam’s eyes widened in shock as a drop of blood fell from the sharp tip that came out the other side.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Blood dripped onto the ground beneath his trembling pupils and pale face. He couldn’t believe it was real, but the burning pain in his chest constantly reminded him of it.

“Adam.”

The Silver Weaver’s grim voice rang out.

“Look. Look at what causes you pain. What helped you walk your entire path together with your will, which once helped you defeat me? You are no longer a human, you are a Phantom, you need an ability, a weapon that will match your desire to fight and win.”

A chill ran down Adam’s spine as his eyes slowly scanned the bloody needle piercing his chest.

“T-This…” His voice trembled as he grabbed the needle with both hands.

The sharp edges cut his palms, blood flowed down his fingers, but that didn’t bother Adam at all, because he finally understood what the Silver Weaver was talking about. His old enemy, the first monster and source of his power — the foundation of his path as the Phantom.

“This is mine…” Adam gripped the needle tighter. “My power… this… this needle…”

The Silver Weaver’s eyes deepened. “Then take it. Show your desire. After all, this power is already yours, from the moment you defeated Ureyn, this power became yours. You just abandoned it for other abilities, but now you see what it is capable of.”

Only fragments of the Silver Weaver’s words reached Adam, but that was enough.

Adam closed his eyes as he lost all his strength. His wound was real and serious.

However, even the darkness could not contain the bright golden light emanating from the crystal at the top of his Evolution Tree.

When he received the Connected Heart, part of the golden light, the essence went straight to the top, and only a small part became part of the Energy Axis and the Evolution Vein.

The protective mechanism made Adam forget about his first ability, directing his attention to the Energy Axis, the second form of the Dual Demon Sword, and other abilities.

Now, he needed to return to where it all began, and only his desire could do that.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

A powerful aura burst from Adam’s body when fear appeared in the Silver Weaver’s green eyes for the first time, as well as pride.

‘Good, he understood.’

Then, a golden and white light headed towards Adam’s hand, forming the needle that would soon change completely, opening the next stage for him.