Chapter 648: Unless
[Richen Versuvius]
[Level: 38]
Sylas held the man out as though he was nothing more than a strung-up chicken, his expression calm. It would take nothing more than a change of his intent to burn this man to ash, but there was a reason other than his own distaste for these Grand Priests that had caused him to capture him like this rather than allowing him to die with the others.
"What were you trying to do here?" Sylas asked calmly.
The man's throat was being clamped down, and <King's Bind> was still very much active, so talking seemed to be impossible. However, Sylas wasn't really expecting an answer... not just yet, that is.
As expected, the man seemed to have no intention at all to speak.
Sylas' gaze flashed and a sparkling sort of murkiness appeared deep within it.
Compelling Gaze.
He activated semi-Fusion and triggered a Gene Talent of Nosphaleen's. This was far more dangerous than just triggering a Skill as it required pulling some of Nosphaleen's Genes into his body. But because semi-Fusion was so targeted, Sylas was confident in pulling it off.
He didn't need this man to be supremely loyal to him for an extended period of time. All he needed was for him to answer his questions right here and now.
And for that, Compelling Gaze was more than adequate.
Unfortunately... Sylas' Charisma was too low.
He felt the Gene Talent being rebuffed by the Great Priest and Sylas' mind was almost impacted by the rebound. Luckily, his own will was far stronger than the man's, so other than some slight discomfort in his mind, he felt nothing else.
This didn't keep Sylas down for long. Since this didn't work, he would just fuse with the Basilisk King.
He dismissed the Beast Totem and the Basilisk King was sucked into his body. Lightly landing on the ground, his skin burst with black scales lined with gold and he used semi-Fusion once more.
The process was much more difficult when the Basilisk King was already fused into his body. It felt like it was taking a great deal more of Wisdom to control everything. It was clear that there were limits to what he could do.
Maybe when his Fusion Talent increased and he could get away with fusing with more than one beast at a time, it would be easier. But for now, it seemed that that was an impossibility.
"Answer my question." Sylas spoke calmly once again. His hand was still on the Grand Priest's throat, but it had loosened considerably.
"We were only acting as our Lord instructed."
"Who is your Lord?"
"We do not dare to speak his name."
"Why?"
Sylas thought about just forcing the name out, but then he realized that it was unlikely that having the exact name would help him much. Instead, he felt that maybe there was something more to this rule.
"To speak the name of the Lord is to evoke his Will."
'Is that so...' Sylas thought to himself, his mind thinking of several possibilities. But, none of them exactly fit what he was hearing here.
He wondered how worth it would be to take the time to go through all the books in this library.
This was a famous library of history that was a pivotal location of this Split Realm for a reason. If the information wasn't distorted, it might even help Sylas upon his return. But even the name of the library itself was distorted by this Split Realm, so how could he take the information in its books at face value?
However, this mention of speaking a name to evoke a Will... if Sylas was correct, this referred to a level of Will that he couldn't fathom even now. How far beyond was a Sparking Will was
it?
"Who told you that?"
"The Lord..." The Great Priest said after a while, his voice trailing off as though he was experiencing some confusion.
Sylas realized then that the time for Compelling Gaze was already running out. If he had to cast it a second time, it would be bound to be far less effective.
'The time is short. I don't have forever...'
"Where is your Lord now?" Sylas asked.
"... The Lord is always located in the World of Mirrors. He pulls on the levers of many realms, controlling the fates of countless worlds. We are just but one..."
The words sounded practiced. It was the first time the Great Priest had answered a question with more depth than what Sylas directly asked, and that told Sylas that this was likely a speech that the Great Priest had given many that he had recruited over the years.
"Where is this World of Mirrors?"
"The World of Mirrors is located in all of our hearts. Open up your Wills to the Lord and he will guide you to a world beyond your imagining when the Stars shine brightest."
Sylas fell into silence.
Although the answers of the Great Priest had begun to grow more fluid, that was only because Sylas had found a niche in his memories and began targeting things the Great Priest had said many times in his lifetime before.
But without this, he could already feel his control over the Great Priest slipping. There was no doubt that Nosphaleen would have been much better at this. It was just a shame that he couldn't summon her.
He knew that if he pushed for anything more concrete, he would probably push the Great Priest over the edge. But he had to try anyway.
"Then what does sacrificing so many lives have to do with pleasing your Lord?"
Sylas could see the confusion turn to struggle, and the struggle seemed close to becoming an emotion that directly boiled over. But he held strong, his Will pressing down firmer.
'It's not going to work... unless?'
Sylas' eyes flashed as a pair of Runes appeared deep within his eyes. Shuddering pressure lines appeared in the region as the mind of the Great Priest was assaulted.