Genetic Ascension novel Chapter 2493

Chapter 2493: Shut Up [Bonus]

[Bonus thanks to TheGhanianPrince <3]

A silence fell over the laboratory after Alex finished speaking, his final words seeming to linger in the air for a moment after even he ran out of things to say.

Sylas looked at him with the same unreadable expression he had worn since returning to Earth. He had learned quite a bit from this conversation, far more than he originally expected, but there was one detail that still didn’t make much sense to him.

"What compels you to return?"

Alex blinked, then released a chuckle.

"Gene Lock. I mentioned it already, didn’t I?"

Sylas didn’t respond, but he understood.

The Gene Lock didn’t just serve as a means of returning a Nethum descendant’s memories once they had reached a certain level of evolution. It was a chain as well, one that ensured that no matter how far these descendants traveled, they would eventually have to return to the Clan that had produced them.

It made perfect sense. The Nethum had spent countless generations developing their Bloodline, and although scattering their children across different worlds was an effective method of forcing evolution, it also came with considerable risks.

What if those descendants never returned? What if they settled down, established families of their own, and allowed their Genes to spread throughout the various Heavens?

Across enough generations, those Genes would inevitably mutate and weaken, but that didn’t necessarily make them less dangerous. Mutations could reveal weaknesses that the Nethum had spent countless years concealing, and even if they didn’t, allowing other Clans to freely study their Bloodline would be foolish.

The Nethum would never allow such a thing, which meant their Gene Locks almost certainly carried consequences for those who refused the call to return. In fact, the conclusion was obvious enough that Sylas should have been able to deduce it without asking.

Alex seemed to realize this as well, because his expression changed when he noticed that Sylas was still looking at him.

"Listen, Sylas, buddy, ol’ pal, you wouldn’t dissect me, right?" He raised both hands, an awkward smile spreading across his face. "I mean, we’ve known each other for a while now. We’ve been through some shit together. You wouldn’t just open me up to figure out how my Gene Lock works, would you?"

Sylas continued looking at him without saying a word.

Alex’s lip twitched. "Come on, man. At least give me something here."

After a long while, Sylas finally parted his lips.

"No. Your Genes would be too mutated."

Alex released a breath of relief, although he didn’t miss the fact that Sylas had rejected the idea on practical grounds rather than anything resembling friendship.

"Well, that’s comforting. I guess I’ll take what I can—"

Pfft.

A warm splash of blood struck Alex across the face.

He froze, his first instinct being to look down at his chest, half expecting to find a hole where his heart should have been.

There was certainly a hole. It just wasn’t in him.

Alex’s lip twitched again as he raised his head, only to find Cheri staring down at her own chest with an expression of complete disbelief.

A neat opening had appeared through her torso, the surrounding flesh already beginning to collapse as whatever force Sylas had used continued destroying the structures within it. Her hands rose toward the wound, but before her fingers could reach it, her legs began to give way.

Alex looked from Cheri to Sylas.

"That’s cold-blooded..."

His voice trailed off, but Sylas didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

Cheri managed a single cough, blood spilling from her lips as she attempted to say something. Perhaps she wanted to ask why, or perhaps she had finally understood the significance of the name Sylas had asked her about earlier.

Whatever it was, she never had the opportunity to speak. Her eyes lost their focus, and her body collapsed.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify