Chapter 1242: Forgotten Mills (Part 1)

Again, Adam was close to the Morton Observatory, but too far away. He had no way of getting to the truth, at least not now.

Whether he liked it or not, it was up to Aiden when they would meet and when he would get the answers to his questions.

Well, Adam had another option—force Aiden to confront him. Considering that Aiden had a guardian, as Adam suspected, he would have to be strong enough to do that.

“I don’t know what kind of Second Rank Phantom has this aura, but even if I go there now, no one will let me get to Aiden Henk. Tsk. Fine, I’ll do it when I’m stronger!” Adam exclaimed inwardly and, clenching his fists, headed for the elevator.

Step. Step. Step.

With each step he took, a tremor ran through the ground, and his aura grew, frightening the soldiers around him. They didn’t know why Adam was angry, but they didn’t dare to get too close, scattering to the sides.

Keeping a grim expression, Adam crossed several sectors and found himself at Silvana’s house.

Some time ago, she had moved away from the noisy city to a large, quiet house. She used to live on a regular Operator salary, but when Adam became stronger and rose several levels, money ceased to be a problem for her.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Adam knocked on the door, almost breaking it, when there was a click from the other side, and Silvana opened it. Although she was at home, she was dressed in her official outfit because she knew that her break was over and it was time to get back to work.

“Hmm, it looks like the incident at the Morton Observatory really upset you, didn’t it?” Silvana asked, looking at Adam’s clenched fists and the veins throbbing in his forearms.

“Did you see everything?”

Silvana tapped on her cheek.

“Of course I did. That aura… I don’t know where it was coming from, but it was really scary. I don’t blame you for deciding not to go in there.”

“Pffft, it’s not like I had a choice.” Adam waved his hand. “I’m sure they wouldn’t have even let me in. I don’t know why, but Aiden Henk, even though he’s a free scholar like Magnus and Refesa, is very different from them.”

Silvana nodded. “Yes, I noticed that too. However, I can’t figure out exactly what the difference between them is. It feels like someone really powerful is covering for Aiden and helping him with his plans.”

“Do you think it’s one of the strongest Second Rank Phantoms?”

Silvana lowered her gaze, lost in thought.

“I don’t think it’s Damien, he wouldn’t get involved in this, Frida… she has other responsibilities. Maybe it’s someone from the Lower Ring or the head of the Crimson Path?”

Their guesses were wrong from the start, but they couldn’t have known that.

After a few moments, Silvana shook her head.

“Either way, stop standing out here. Come inside. We need to think about our next steps, not what Aiden Henk is doing and who’s covering for him. We can’t find that out yet.”

Without saying a word, Adam nodded and stepped over the threshold.

On their way, they both realized that until they became strong enough, many secrets would never be revealed to them. That was how the world worked and how the government had made it.

Tap.

Silvana placed two cups of coffee and some sweets on the table. Adam immediately stuffed several cookies into his mouth, crushing them with his teeth like an angry piranha.

“So, now you have three conditions again, just like for the First Grand Star, right?” Silvana said, wanting to start a conversation.

She knew that the topic of Aiden Henk and the Morton Observatory was a weak spot for Adam; he couldn’t think about anything else.

But after a while, Adam was able to calm down. Silvana couldn’t fully understand how he felt, and he didn’t blame her for that. After all, his case was unique, and even Aiden Henk himself acknowledged that.

“Agh… Yeah, I don’t know what the Desire of Beyond is, it sounds pretty intense, but the Connected and Dark Hearts, I know everything there is to know about them.”

Silvana raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s start with the Connected Heart, right?”

In response, Adam nodded before taking the first sip of his now almost-cold coffee.

“Yes, I was going to do that originally, but the mission with Fromund delayed it a bit. Well, it’s for the best. Perhaps if I had gone for the Connected Heart right away, I wouldn’t have been able to handle my past powers.”

Silvana nodded. As his Operator, she could sense the changes in Adam’s power better than anyone else. She could see how much stronger he had become after the battle against Bathild and the creation of the First Grand Star.

For a moment, it made Silvana’s eyes darken.

‘He has new abilities, right? But… What about me? I don’t want to fall behind him again.’

Tap.

Suddenly, Adam squeezed Silvana’s hand tightly, forcing their eyes to meet. She didn’t want Adam to hear it, but they were so close that he understood everything from the slightest change in her face.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure that at the K4 Level, there will be the biggest changes we’ve ever faced. For me and for you. In the beginning, I received far more abilities than I have now, but their quality and power are incomparable.

“As I understand it, with the Operators, it happens gradually and smoothly. I remember my training at Erik’s estate. Julia has tremendous power. Sure, she didn’t show everything, but it was obvious.”

Silvana smiled slightly as she nodded in agreement. Sometimes, such support was the most important thing to keep a relationship strong.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Although I’m still a long way from Julia’s level, but…” Silvana’s lips curved into a smile. “We’re not going to stop now, are we?”

Adam chuckled.

“Of course not. As long as those two stars keep colliding and destroying the world, we have no right to stop trying. Never.”