Genetic Ascension novel Chapter 2386

Sylas placed a hand against Yamero's scaled body, and the serpent released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. The spatial Runes making up his form loosened from the rigid state they had fallen into, though the strange certainty that had just passed through him didn't disappear with it.

Yamero remained quiet for several steps before the Runes around his eyes tightened into a frown.

"He's dangerous."

Sylas seemed indifferent to the assessment, though he had already reached much the same conclusion. The old man had heavily implied, if not outright stated, that his disciples had all reached something close to S-tier by now, yet he had never mentioned Januar at all, which made the fact that Januar stood firmly at C-tier rather interesting.

Even more interesting was the ease with which he spoke about matters that sounded suspiciously close to rewriting reality, treating the concept like an ordinary Sunday stroll, which was fitting considering it really was Sunday according to Earth's old calendar.

Januar clearly hadn't left due to a lack of confidence, and Sylas doubted the young man was frightened of him either. If a battle started now, too many people would be allowed to take advantage of the result, and Januar's earlier words had made his preferences obvious enough that Sylas could follow the logic.

He wanted a true free-for-all where no one could comfortably sit at the edge and reap the benefits after everyone else exhausted themselves. Otherwise, the people most likely to profit were Rhykan and the sword maniac Januar had mentioned.

There was also the fifth Will Sylas had sensed outside the Sanctum, one that didn't quite feel singular in the same way the others did. His current guess was some combination of Gentrixaul and another existence, though there wasn't enough information to narrow it down further yet. Whatever Januar knew about all of this, he had chosen to wait until the board was properly set before showing his hand.

Sylas had let him leave for an entirely different reason, though. Januar was his grand disciple.

That connection bought him exactly one chance for the sake of the old man whose name Sylas still didn't know and had never cared enough to ask. The next time Januar decided to test him with some thinly veiled threat, Sylas would simply deal with him directly.

As for Januar's warning itself, Sylas gave it about as much weight as a little boy announcing that today would finally be the day he beat his father in an arm-wrestling match.

Yamero seemed to notice the direction of Sylas' thoughts and released a quiet chuckle through the shifting spaces around his body. Neither of them bothered returning to the subject as the forest opened ahead, the strange rainbow colors thinning until an enormous lake appeared in the middle of the World of Spirits. Its surface looked less like water and more like liquid glass, reflecting colors that didn't exist anywhere in the visible sky.

A small boat floated at the center.

A woman lay inside it with her hair spread across the sides, dark strands spilling over the edges until they seemed to blend into the lake itself. Her white gown followed the shape of her body without revealing anything outright, while a sword rested against her chest, its hilt nestled perfectly between her breasts as though it had been placed there by design.

Sylas barely noticed any of that. His eyes went straight to the sword.

'So that's what I sensed.'

The Executioner's Blade. There was no mistaking it.

The weapon looked identical to Cassarae's, yet appearance alone wasn't what held Sylas' attention. Its Will was the same, carrying the exact same sharpened presence he had felt countless times before, not similar enough to come from the same lineage or forged from the same technique, but close enough that calling them separate weapons felt increasingly inaccurate.

Only after recognizing the blade did Sylas properly look at the woman holding it.

There was no Aether inside her. There wasn't even the faint scent of the system.

Sylas narrowed his eyes. This wasn't some expert hiding her cultivation or an existence whose strength had become too great for him to read, since there was simply nothing there to sense in the first place. She felt like someone who had never participated in a Summoning at all.

Yet every instinct Sylas possessed told him she was dangerous. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

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