Genetic Ascension

The change to the Titans Leaderboard was akin to a boulder falling into a calm lake. If before the name Sylas Grimblade had only really been known to the Ninth District, and even then only to a limited extent, it could be said that there wasn't a single soul in the Skai Galaxy that wasn't aware of him now.

It wasn't like there were no low-leveled individuals on the list. In fact, the current top four rankers had all managed to get in with their Level 10 Class evolution.

However, not a single one of them had been so high on the list.

And not a single one of them had been Level 0 at the time. Read latest chapters at empire

The upper echelons of the Thryskai stirred, and the name of Sylas Grimblade spread far and wide.

It was then that they all made a sudden realization.

This young man… was from a world that had yet to complete its Summoning.

…

Voxena sat in silence, her face seemingly growing paler by the day, heavy bags adorning her eyes. She stared at the news on her screen, a twisting sort of darkness taking root within her.

The more she thought about it, the more dissatisfied she grew. And then she began to laugh almost as though she had truly lost her mind.

"You and I aren't so different at all. Both whores who sold our bodies, you bastard. Who are you to look down on me?!"

Tears streamed down her face in vicious torrents, her eyes swelling and her lips bleeding from the bite of her teeth.

…

Nyssa sat in silence as well, but her expression was very different from Voxena's. She was blinking, almost too rapidly. They came once every few seconds in a sudden flurry, and then stilled again, before repeating once more.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to make certain that she was seeing what she thought she was.

It didn't make any sense, none at all. She knew that Sylas had potential, but… to this extent? Just what had she helped him achieve, exactly?

There was a vibration at Nyssa's wrist and her expression changed. She hurried to pick it up and a sultry voice began to speak before she could say a word.

"What do you know?"

The words were slow, low, and slurred. It sounded like a woman who had just gotten the pounding of her life, only to roll out of bed and call a friend.

Except this wasn't a friend she was calling at all, it was her daughter. And even then, it was hard to say if she was worthy of the title of mother. At the very least, it had been a very long time since she had contacted her daughter at all.

"I do not know much."

"You do not know much and yet you are all over him in public?"

Nyssa's emotions settled down and her voice seemed to become no less sultry and teasing than the voice of the woman she spoke to.

"Have I not been proven correct?"

"It hardly matters if you cannot control him."

"I can control him. Once he has a taste of me, he won't be able to resist."

"… I think you need help."

Nyssa paused, not knowing how to respond immediately.

Her mother was… extending aid to her?

Her chest bubbled up with all sorts of emotions.

Disgust. Rage. Happiness. Unwillingness.

They all blended together into a storm that put her heart in a blender, blades tearing at their walls with every pump.

Her jaw set.

"I will be just fine."

"Mm." The voice replied. "Your stubbornness will be your undoing. Whether you care for help or not, it will likely come anyway. After all, I cannot decide what your sister will do. And this… 'hubby' of yours has suddenly become prime real estate."

Nyssa's ears practically exploded with steam, however, in the end, she didn't dare to hang up.

The fact that Sylas had improved so much directly after her help meant that he wouldn't be able to escape so easily. There were forces at work that were beyond the understanding of most, often beyond the understanding of even the omniscient system itself.

The more powerful you were, the more difficult it was to escape.

She just sat there in silence, her gaze gloomy but focused.

No one would be able to take Sylas Grimblade from her.

No one.

Not even the Fourth Titan, Soryntha Valeria.

**

Sylas' eyes slowly opened as his time in the Mancer Scape ran out. As expected, his battle with the Glassinox took up much of his time there, so he didn't even get the chance to use the Scape to Level up his Contracts.

But that much was fine. He had already expected that this would happen.

He wiped his mouth, taking with his forearm a swipe of blood.

Just now, he had experienced quite some backlash, so much so that even his Fusion was currently inactive.

The third Progenitor Flame ability he gained seemed to be the Crown unique to King Beasts. But the problem was… he had tried to activate it in a place that he shouldn't have.

His Crown was formed for the Domain of Earth and it could only be used against non-Overlord Race members. Trying to activate it in a world that he wasn't supposed to, against an opponent he wasn't supposed to, would come with its own share of hardship.

The good news was that he was able to deal with it with relative ease. The Crown was a bit cracked right now, but it would self-regenerate under Earth's presence.

The shame was that the process was quite slow because Earth's Runes were so damaged. But Sylas was still fine with it. That was because… his target this time were precisely the Overlord Race of Earth. He didn't need the Crown to begin with.

A ticking timer echoed in Sylas' ears and then…

Chi.

The last of the Gold Aether Stones shattered, the Aether within them finally running dry.

At the same moment, Sylas took a slow step out, the feeling of the world enveloping him in a soft blanket warming him to the depths of his bones.

And yet his soul remained a frosty cold.

The sound of battle echoed down and to the basement, the walls shaking against their foundations.

Sylas stepped out.