Chapter 877 Forward
Some things were unfortunately far easier said than done. Sylas could feel the struggle of the Bone-Tailed Lizard almost immediately. The problem was that if Sylas pulled it into the Hibernation Realm this time, the result would be obvious.
The Evolution would trigger without the Bone-Tailed Lizard being awake to it, and all of this would be for naught. So, this time, Sylas actually had to keep his Contract on the outside.
However, Sylas wasn't too worried. That was because his Intuition was telling him that something else was possible.
If he carefully controlled Semi-Reversal well enough, then he could help the Bone-Tailed Lizard suppress the Evolution without actually entirely reversing it.
The only issue was that balancing this required yet another sdrain on his Mental stats, but it was a necessary evil.
'Forward.'
…
The forest was more of the same. There wasn't any rhyme, reason, or pattern to it. It just felt like Sylas was walking through any normal part of the Amazonian Wilds, except there were dinosaurs.
Unfortunately, no matter how many opponents Sylas came across, or how many he defeated, killed, and had the Bone-Tailed Lizard absorb, he didn't find any other clues.
He kept getting further from the wall he spawned near, and fell deeper and deeper into the forest, but there was no end in sight. If not for the fact that the Bone-Tailed Lizard was still improving step by step, it might feel like he wasn't making any progress at all.
This put Sylas on alert.
He had realized long ago that the Lost City of Greed was at least as much a psychological battle as it was a battle of strength and power. He didn't believe that it was a coincidence that the Bone-Tailed Lizard, which had always been his most docile Contract, would suddenly exude such killing intent for no reason.
If Sylas was correct then this forest was in large part a mental challenge that he managed to side step by what was ultimately luck. But he could easily fall into that trap again if he focused too much on the Bone-Tailed Lizard's improvement and not enough on actually progressing.
He thought of what might have happened had he been the one to absorb the Mature Aether instead of the Bone-Tailed Lizard. If he didn't have a Contract to off-load the Mature Aether to, and Semi-Reversal to undo it, and was forced to fight all of these creatures, wouldn't he be, then, forced to face his own Greed?
The more Sylas thought about it, the more he felt that maybe this odd place wasn't like any other Dungeon he had been in where he had to fight his way out. Maybe there was a hidden challenge somewhere… maybe the entire purpose was to sink into depravity and then claw your way out.
Madness…
A flicker lit in Sylas' eyes as he watched the Bone-Tailed Lizard take down another dinosaur. There was an odd light hidden deep within his gaze as he felt the Seeds stir within him.
'Greed… Gluttony…'
What was the ultimate difference?
If Sylas really thought about it, it boiled down to gratification.
Gluttony was instant gratification for a painful reward down the line. You didn't realize the problem with Gluttony until it was much too late.
Looking at the Bone-Tailed Lizard, Sylas wondered if he had fallen victim to a second trap right in front of his face. Was the fact that the Bone-Tailed Lizard was improving just a matter that ended up pulling the wool over his eyes?
Had he only assumed he side stepped the trap, when in reality he fell head first right into it?
What was Greed by comparison?
The problem was that Greed was immediate; you could feel it—the sinking feeling digging into your heart that made you want to act on it, to satiate that Greed…
Both were at play here, one in the light and the other in the shadow.
'I'm already hip deep in this trap and I'm not sure how to get out…'
The realization hit Sylas in slow waves. He had been deducing it along the entire way, and it wasn't until this moment that he grasped it.
It wasn't because he was too slow or not intelligent enough. The main issue was that he was, well… Gluttony.
He wanted to see the Bone-Tailed Lizard improve; he knew he needed it to make it through the next challenge. Without it, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Was that feeling even real? Was the fact that he would need the Bone-Tailed Lizard even the truth? Or had he tricked himself into thinking that?
What was real and what was false?
Dinosaurs at the center of the Earth? Wasn't that right out of a fantasy book? Was any of this real at all?
Sylas' eyes continued to focus on the Bone-Tailed Lizard, practically boring holes right through it.
'Nothing… nothing will stop me.' He thought to himself silently.
Sylas beckoned the Bone-Tailed Lizard forward and it happily trotted back. There was a hint of discomfort in its eyes as it continued to suppress the Evolution, but Sylas' help had eased its burden considerably.
Placing a hand on its forehead, Sylas exhaled a breath.
'Semi-Reversal.'
All at once, the Evolutionary Energy vanished. Sylas dispelled it completely.
At that moment, Sylas felt a pulse come from his Gluttony Seed and a little giggle that he had heard just once before echoed in his ears.
Right then, the world around him swirled and the Bone-Tailed Lizard vanished. For a moment, Sylas doubted everything because he couldn't feel his Contract. He had been 100% certain that it had been right in front of him. Where did it go? What was this weird feeling?
Then came the pain.
It wracked his entire body and he was shocked awake.
His eyes snapped open and the scene he saw before him left him in shock.
There was a sea of blood all around him. For some reason, it felt endless, when in truth it was nothing but a small lake, maybe 50 meters in diameter.
But more important than any of that… he was on an altar, black nails as thick as spears running through his body.
He was pinned down and angled up as though to be put on display.
All around him, there were countless other altars, many of which had others pinned to them, some of which Sylas could tell were already long dead.
And then there was what was on the other side. As the blurriness of his vision cleared, Sylas saw them along the shore, watching as though they were experiencing a good show and waiting for something they had been patient for their entire lives.
The Dogons.
And in their midst, there stood a man Sylas had seen before. That same, sickening, twisting feeling in his gut that he had felt the last time returned, but this time it was more real, more full—almost like a stone sinking into his belly… like a Seed of Gluttony bursting him at the seams.
The pale, handsome face. The partial horns. The slit in his forehead. The eeriness of his gaze.
Aki Purvon.
Sylas would recognize the Thryskai even if he were burnt to ash due to the first impression he had made. But this time, it wasn't a projection; it wasn't a fake dream of the past.
It was the worst enemy of Earth in the flesh, right before him.