Unknown to Lorien, Sylas' pause had little to do with the fact a contract appeared. In fact, it was taking everything in him to not shatter her head to pieces right this moment.
It was hardly an enslavement chance; it was practically a marriage contract. Even half dead, it seemed that this Lorien thought quite highly of herself.
When Sylas read the rest of it, though, he understood why she would. Maybe she was aware of how he would react and as such chose to be quite upfront. But that hardly changed Sylas' thoughts much at all.
He didn't care how powerful his children were. He cared first and foremost about how powerful he was. Ideally, his children wouldn't have to fight a day in their lives.
Sylas could only be said to be an oddball. He had very high standards for himself, and he seemed like the type that would be a strict parent. But the one thing he never did was project his discipline onto others.
He only gave his sister information on becoming a Rune Master because that was a path she was already following. Even his sister's sweet tooth, he did nothing to try and manage it. In fact, he often facilitated it, buying what she wanted or letting her have his desserts.
Though he knew how dangerous things were, he never really pressed his parents or grandfather to improve faster either.
He simply wasn't the type.
To another man, Lorien's offer and the reveal of the Unique Gene she could pass on to "their" children was as far from attractive to Sylas as it could get. It was even more infuriating because it reminded him of the Nyssa situation far too much.
Even though he was the dominant party this time, the taste that was left in his mouth refused to leave. Maybe until he could suppress the Florineth, it would never leave. And even then, it would only dull.
He had said it many times… his standards were far beyond others.
Sylas closed his eyes. Fury, discontent, the way he was taking his rage out on Lorien when all she had really done was beat him a single time… these things weren't like him.
No, they were like him. These were just the first times he had ever experienced true failure in his life. Failure that came not because he didn't care to try, but because he had done his best and it still wasn't enough.
It seemed that he was a terribly sore loser.
'Then just don't lose anymore.'
The thought seemed to send his rage receding like a tide.
He opened his eyes and looked at the beaten and battered Lorien. She had tried to use her Unique Gene as bait, but she had no idea that, in all likelihood, he could just kill her and take it for himself.
But given the specifications of the Unique Gene… he bet that there was quite a strong Gene Lock on it.
He should just kill her.
But he didn't.
Lorien wasn't like Sylviaa. Sylviaa had nothing to offer him but her talent. She was a headache and a ticking timebomb waiting to happen. Plus, she had nothing to lose—unlike Lorien who most definitely only made this decision because she had too much to lose.
Plus, Lorien had been bold enough to defy the Thryskai. She definitely had something big that she was relying on, something that Sylas was sure that he could use.
The Unique Gene was the confirmation he needed of these thoughts.
According to Lorien's short explanation—which she certainly cut off a great deal—she had gained her Unique Gene from a trial Quest of the Golden Grove.
The Golden Grove seemed to be an overseer of the Bazaars in this quadrant of the universe, and they had a fondness for gathering talents. She had been able to prove herself long ago, giving her a chance to participate in one of their extended Quests in secret, and the end result was her Unique Gene.
This Unique Gene caused a change in her Myst Unique Gene, allowing her more flexibility and control. But the essence of it was that it handed more carefree control of the body through the Will.
Because of this alone, Lorien had a general +10% boost to her Gene State. That meant, if she was in a Rigid Gene State, which should represent a 0% chance of absorbing Genes, she was actually at the equivalent of an Inflexible State.
This was actually quite substantial. Gene Elixirs were only so easy to gain on Summoning worlds. After the fact, most ended up stuck at bottlenecks for long periods of time, unable to get their hands on them.
To have a baseline 10% chance no matter what was truly shocking.
Clearly, this was also just an auxiliary ability of the Unique Gene and wasn't considered the core of it at all. Lorien had mentioned it for no other reason than to tantalize him.
But it was also shocking her confidence in the fact he couldn't take it from her so easily.
At the same time, Sylas knew that there was no way Lorien would accept an enslavement contract. Even if he put a period of time on it like he had with the Twin Moon Healers, she would likely outright reject it.
She had only gone so far to extend a mutual partnership. If she didn't get that, then she might as well die right now.
Plus, with how powerful her Will was, there was no way Nosphaleen would even stand a chance at bringing her under control.
Then he thought of Cassarae. As hard as she was trying on her own right now, would they really be able to take down the Florineth before her Quest window closed?
She only had three years since the start, and unlike Sylas, she had already experienced almost a third of that. Plus, there was still the Legendary Leg of the Quest after to consider.
But if he relied on whatever Lorien's trump card to deal with the Thryskai was… and turn it on the Florineth instead… would that increase their chances substantially?
Sylas frowned.
He wasn't sure what to do.