Sylas stood in silence for a long while.
There seemed to only be two choices. Kill her or accept a marriage contract. But wasn't there a third?
Sylas stepped over Lorien. He pushed past rubble until he found it, a floating City Stele.
For the first time, he laid his eyes on the floating feather that was the Aether Treasure. It should have been his the first time, but after all this time, it landed right where it was supposed to.
'I can't read it…'
Sylas shook his head. He didn't know what level this treasure was at, but he couldn't even begin to scan it.
He really needed to get his hands on a more powerful Scouting Skill, but he just had never been able to find one. His screen was just filled with lines of question marks.
The Aether Treasure was giving off an oppressive feeling, more oppressive than anything Sylas had seen from the other treasures he had come across. It was truly extraordinary, and Sylas knew that if he could bring it into the jade, it would give him exactly what he wanted.
However, this wasn't his main goal, not just yet.
He had to give up a World Treasure just to make it to this point. Once he left this place, in all likelihood, the World Scepter that had been tethered to Earth would be destroyed.
That left one obvious problem.
Wouldn't this Aether Treasure be the same?
Technically speaking, World Treasures were beyond Aether Treasures in strength. But this was only because they were tethered to specific worlds. Outside of these worlds, their strength was completely worthless unless they could be modified.
Sylas wasn't a blacksmith or treasure maker of any sort. When he acted, he could only use whatever means necessary to get things to work, even if it came at a sacrifice.
From what Sylas could see from others, like Aurion's treasure for example, they were the same. But mostly because the blacksmiths they relied on were incompetent.
Ulrik's Aether Treasure had been destroyed when the city fell from half a kilometer up. There was no way anything could survive such destruction. Maybe if the treasure alone had fallen, it would be fine. But the problem was the shrapnel and residual energy of the city itself falling as well.
This feather treasure, though… it was completely different. Somehow, it seemed to have bonded to the City Stele on its own. While it wasn't simple to just take it away…
Sylas' telekinesis reached forward, wrapping around the feather.
'Resistance…'
Sylas pulled back quickly, feeling quite some danger. He didn't know where it was coming from.
The obvious answer was the feather itself, but things weren't so easily cut and dry.
'I see. It's actually an imprint of some sort, one left behind by Lorien.'
Because of the existence of the imprint, the feather was defending itself subconsciously. If there had been no imprint, Sylas wasn't certain if he would succeed, but the danger would at least have been far less substantial.
'Again.'
Sylas activated Madness, his Will blooming. He felt his Will and Demonic Will stirring within him as though it had been provoked by something.
The feeling was peculiar, almost as though the feather was familiar to him and he should never allow himself to lose to it.
That was really all he needed.
Crack.
A distance away, Lorien shuddered and coughed up a mouthful of blood. It wasn't the first time she had, but this one just felt particularly crimson as though it had come from the very depths of her body itself.
Sylas' eyes narrowed. He had no way to confirm it for sure, but as he reached forward, pulling the feather away from the City Stele and taking it into his possession… he felt certain nonetheless.
This feather was that of a Thryskai. A Thryskai that was not only well above the Mortal Grade of their Race, but also well beyond the F-Grade alone as well.
There was a subtle hint of something lingering in the air as he took it into his possession, pulling the jade out.
Sylas thought he would have to do something else, but the Worldshard Jade quickly proved him incorrect. As though finally sensing exactly what it needed, it released its own pulse.
The feather vanished from his hands and into the Worldshard Jade.
And then the blue jade fell dormant.
There was nothing but silence, and looking at it on his palm now, Sylas knew that no matter what he did, it wouldn't awaken. He would have to patiently wait. But he also had a feeling… that it wouldn't be long.
Putting the jade away, Sylas walked to Lorien and stood over her. There was a hint of dullness in her eyes as though she had realized something too.
"I'm not a fan of being painted into a corner. But you are correct about one thing, you are very useful to me. It's just that I have no intention of signing a marriage contract with you and the strength of my children is irrelevant.
"But, I'm sure you can feel the change. The Aether Treasure that was under your control is no longer. Your path to success has been cut off and whatever your goals are have been nullified. And most importantly of all, you've made yourself an enemy of a very powerful Race with nothing to show for it.
"If you want my help or support, you'll have to start acting like you understand your current situation. Otherwise, I will simply kill you rather than deal with the hassle of trying to control someone who doesn't understand their place."
Sylas only spoke so much to clearly show his intentions. Lorien would be smart enough to know that a man like him didn't speak much at all unless there was a very good reason to do so.
Picking her up, Sylas tossed her over his shoulder.
It was time to clear this Quest once and for all.