Chapter 851 Someone Else
Sylas stood in a waterfall of his own blood, his breathing slow and even. If not for the clear wounds on him, judging by the cadence of his breath alone, it would have been impossible to tell that he should be in any pain at all.
Before him, a shimmering Gene Talent Rune sat, complete and whole.
Its responsiveness was akin to an extension of his limbs, an extra bit of proprioception that was embedded into his very psyche. He had simply never been so close, so intimate with a Rune before.
And at that moment, he felt a shudder deep within him. The Seed of his Rune Spark pulsed with light no less radiant than the Rune before him. And as though a resonance had been formed between it and his Seed, the two fed off of one another.
'I… succeeded…'
The surprise in Sylas' tone was because he thought he would fail. Like he had said, he had no intention of losing, no matter the cost, no matter how far he had to push himself.
The surprise was because he didn't reach 100% Mastery. This Rune was only at 85%, the barest minimum threshold for Spark Mastery.
Logically speaking, this shouldn't have been enough to recreate this Rune, let alone have it act like a more perfect version of his mutated Blade Aura.
But then Sylas understood… this was a benefit of having Rune Spark Mastery.
He had been looking at it wrong the whole time, and it was likely that Gralith couldn't give him these details because, as powerful as the man was, he had never been a Spark Master to begin with.
Sure, 85% Mastery was far short of the system. Every step forward, even a single percent, was like a monumental mountain. Sylas had given it everything he had just to make it here, and he felt that even if he went through all of that again, he still wouldn't be able to make it to 86%.
However, with his Spark Seed, he was still capable of allowing that bridge to occur.
The reason the Blade Aura Rune was more perfect now than before was because while he was studying it, he was also cross-referencing Lucius' Blade Aura Gene Talent. That led to some tweaks here and there that improved it, though marginally.
In addition…
Sylas took a breath and his new Gene Talent was pulled into his body. Instead of allowing it to enter the Gene Talent layer, he pulled it into his Spark Seed.
The two continued to resonate.
The Spark Seed was located in an even deeper layer than the Gene Talent layer, located a full six layers deeper at the Will Core level.
The deeper a talent was rooted, the more fundamental, and the more intrinsic it was to a person.
Sylas already had such intimate understanding of Blade Aura that he could draw it to Spark Mastery, and now, rather than this Gene Talent drawing on the fatigue and stamina of his body, he could deploy it and use it just like…
A Will Ability.
Sylas slowly looked down at his right hand, feeling a familiar stirring there of something he hadn't used in quite a long while. He held the idea in his mind for a moment and then slowly packaged it up, storing it to the back of his mind.
Then, he walked forward.
The blades that came for him seemed deflected by a mysterious force, shattering on impact with a barrier around his skin just like they had for Astrid and Malachi.
He wasn't actually supposed to walk in this trial, and he was also restricted from moving from side to side and dodging. Moving forward like he was now only made it harder.
And yet, he didn't care.
Staring ahead, he only seemed to have one goal.
Why should they get to rest for longer than he would allow?
Sylas crossed the final barrier and Astrid's eyes snapped open at the very same time. Looking at this young man who was practically half her age, radiating such a primal, bestial aura, a hidden flare in her own chest couldn't help but spark.
Sylas looked over and matched her gaze, finding a fiery Will hidden within her cool, amber eyes.
"Truly a waste of time," Sylas said in a rumbling voice. "If the Grimblades appointed you head from the start, you'd have one more talent, and maybe you'd actually be prepared. Instead, you insisted on playing childish games."
"It is impossible to account for every variable. The family made the right decision."
"Did they?"
Sylas only said two words, but they made Astrid's eyes narrow.
Indeed. If she was appointed heir from the start, there would have been no need for the draft, no chance for Sylas to leave the family, no way for him to escape their influence and control.
It was only because they insisted on their little heir war that this variable had grown out of their expectations.
Astrid slowly stood to her feet. Though she was a full head shorter than Sylas, her curls were no less wild and her momentum spoke for itself.
"You are my uncle's grandson. I will spare you if I can, but I make no guarantees and no promises."
"Lie to someone else," Sylas replied calmly.
Astrid met Sylas' gaze but didn't say anything. Instead, it was Sylas who spoke again.
"If you do not know when to quit, I will kill you. If I can force you into submission, I will. If not… truthfully speaking, it doesn't matter if I must shoulder this Summoning alone.
"I do not care to lead the Grimblades. I was dragged here. Your Gene Lineage has been nothing but a weighted chain on my ankle. That said… something tells me that if the system establishes me as your leader, there's nothing even your Ancestor could do about it."
Astrid's gaze set into a stone-cold amber flame.
To the side, Malachi didn't say a word from start to finish; he hardly reacted at all to being ignored.
It was then the ripples began to appear once more.