Genetic Ascension novel Chapter 877

Some things were unfortunately far easier said than done. Sylas could feel the struggle of the Bone-Tailed Lizard almost immediately. The problem was that if Sylas pulled it into the Hibernation Realm this time, the result would be obvious.

The Evolution would trigger without the Bone-Tailed Lizard being awake to it, and all of this would be for naught. So, this time, Sylas actually had to keep his Contract on the outside.

However, Sylas wasn’t too worried. That was because his Intuition was telling him that something else was possible.

If he carefully controlled Semi-Reversal well enough, then he could help the Bone-Tailed Lizard suppress the Evolution without actually entirely reversing it.

The only issue was that balancing this required yet another sdrain on his Mental stats, but it was a necessary evil.

’Forward.’

…

The forest was more of the same. There wasn’t any rhyme, reason, or pattern to it. It just felt like Sylas was walking through any normal part of the Amazonian Wilds, except there were dinosaurs.

Unfortunately, no matter how many opponents Sylas came across, or how many he defeated, killed, and had the Bone-Tailed Lizard absorb, he didn’t find any other clues.

He kept getting further from the wall he spawned near, and fell deeper and deeper into the forest, but there was no end in sight. If not for the fact that the Bone-Tailed Lizard was still improving step by step, it might feel like he wasn’t making any progress at all.

This put Sylas on alert.

He had realized long ago that the Lost City of Greed was at least as much a psychological battle as it was a battle of strength and power. He didn’t believe that it was a coincidence that the Bone-Tailed Lizard, which had always been his most docile Contract, would suddenly exude such killing intent for no reason.

If Sylas was correct then this forest was in large part a mental challenge that he managed to side step by what was ultimately luck. But he could easily fall into that trap again if he focused too much on the Bone-Tailed Lizard’s improvement and not enough on actually progressing.

He thought of what might have happened had he been the one to absorb the Mature Aether instead of the Bone-Tailed Lizard. If he didn’t have a Contract to off-load the Mature Aether to, and Semi-Reversal to undo it, and was forced to fight all of these creatures, wouldn’t he be, then, forced to face his own Greed?

The more Sylas thought about it, the more he felt that maybe this odd place wasn’t like any other Dungeon he had been in where he had to fight his way out. Maybe there was a hidden challenge somewhere… maybe the entire purpose was to sink into depravity and then claw your way out.

Madness…

A flicker lit in Sylas’ eyes as he watched the Bone-Tailed Lizard take down another dinosaur. There was an odd light hidden deep within his gaze as he felt the Seeds stir within him.

’Greed… Gluttony…’

What was the ultimate difference?

If Sylas really thought about it, it boiled down to gratification.

Gluttony was instant gratification for a painful reward down the line. You didn’t realize the problem with Gluttony until it was much too late.

Looking at the Bone-Tailed Lizard, Sylas wondered if he had fallen victim to a second trap right in front of his face. Was the fact that the Bone-Tailed Lizard was improving just a matter that ended up pulling the wool over his eyes?

Had he only assumed he side stepped the trap, when in reality he fell head first right into it?

What was Greed by comparison?

The problem was that Greed was immediate; you could feel it—the sinking feeling digging into your heart that made you want to act on it, to satiate that Greed…

Both were at play here, one in the light and the other in the shadow.

’I’m already hip deep in this trap and I’m not sure how to get out…’

The realization hit Sylas in slow waves. He had been deducing it along the entire way, and it wasn’t until this moment that he grasped it.