Genetic Ascension

The clink of metal and rattling chains filled the air. Then came the slow trot of steps.

Sylas had never personally been here before, but he knew enough about it. It was one of the facilities that every city had to create at some point or another, one of the mandatory buildings that needed constructing.

A Dungeon.

There weren't many prisoners in this place, mostly just petty criminals caught by the sparse police force of Castle Main. However, there was one particular criminal here who was the reason Sylas had come in the first place.

Professor Vesta Fembroise.

The situation with the Professor had been more than a little… awkward, to say the least. Well, it wasn't too bad for Sylas himself, but Cassarae had mentioned it more than once, and it got a bit out of hand after his mother began to mention it as well.

The first time his mother complained about the situation, it was because he had been bringing her around naked. Honestly speaking, Sylas couldn't blame her too much for that; it was a bad look. He hadn't really cared about the optics much back then, especially since he was quite frustrated with the situation as well, but he could see his mother's point of view.

Given how things had progressed, she was only proven more correct.

Even though Sylas knew that this was the final Summoning they would get, he still thought they would have more time. He didn't expect the final phase to begin so suddenly.

Back then, he thought he would have a lot more time to grow stronger and make it so that things like reputation and the like were far less meaningful.

But now, what were the odds that the people of Earth would listen to the words of a man who had been swinging around a naked middle-aged woman like a meat shield?

This time, though, the complaints of his mother were very different, and were actually related not to the Professor directly but rather to her family.

Vesta's husband and son were here, and though his parents couldn't be said to be very good at adapting to this new world, what they were good at was slipping into the roles they had grown used to back on Earth.

His parents were ultimately a pair of businesspeople. Their business acumen was sharp, but their interpersonal skills were probably their best assets. So, it wasn't too much of a surprise that they ingratiated themselves well with the people living in the City Lord Mansion…

Whether that was Morgan, or the Twin Moon Healers, or, in this case… the Fembroise family.

As one might expect, Isolde wasn't too happy with the situation. The Fembroise family, rightfully so, felt like they were constantly on pins and needles. They didn't know exactly what had happened to Vesta, but they had inklings, and that was enough to breed discomfort.

Maybe if there was an end in sight for Professor Fembroise's detainment, it would have been different. But when, every time Mr. Fembroise asked for his wife, they could only give him a vague answer, it was bound to raise tension.

When the City Lord Mansion also had several other parties whose loyalties weren't exactly etched in stone, this caused emotions to fester and eventually turn for the worst.

So… with what seemed like only a small amount of time before the world went to shit, Sylas chose to do something to place his mother's mind at ease.

His steps came to a stop in front of the cell.

Professor Fembroise didn't look haggard or beaten. In fact, the fact she was chained at all made her situation look far worse than it was.

If not for this, she would have looked like any other middle-aged woman in a comfy pair of pajamas, reading a book. Well, she would have… had she not immediately hit a fight-or-flight response when she saw Sylas.

Her body jolted, and emotions ranging from fear to anger to anxiety piled up and out of her eyes all at once. However, after nearly scrambling to the point of hitting her back against the stone walls, she forced herself to calm down.

Teeth chattering, she clenched her jaw.

"Do you know why I was insistent on killing you?" Sylas asked.

Professor Fembroise took a deep breath. "Because I betrayed Earth."

"Do you know why that is a foolish decision?"

"It hardly matters now, does it?"

"It does. Because if you make a foolish decision like that in the future, the system won't be able to save you again."

Professor Fembroise's gaze flickered as though picking up something from Sylas' words. But this time, she didn't reply.

"I'm sure you're smart enough to understand the logic, but as little control as you feel you have over things here on Earth, you will have even less control out there. Here, they might not care about your son. Out there, they might treat your entire Race as pawns to be enslaved.

"I understood why you made your decision back then. I do not have a child, but I can imagine that losing one is hard. I also do not have it in me to use the son you do have remaining to threaten you. But what I can say is if you insist on continuing down the path you were on, very soon you might not have anyone to call family.

"And this time…"

Sylas' gaze sharpened. "… It would be no one's fault but your own."

Professor Fembroise felt her heart shake at the words.

The words themselves were powerful enough, but the weight of Sylas' Charisma placed the heft of a mountain behind them. It felt like gongs were going off in her head, and her Will was simply too weak to even think of refuting what she was hearing.

And then her tears began to fall.

Somewhere deep inside, she had always known that she had made the foolish choice. But… was it already too late?