Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1794: Dilemma [Bonus]

Sylas still didn't say much of anything, but he didn't need to. He could see the struggle in Old Brama, even the energy charging up in the gun he had suddenly held up fell impotent.

Frozen in place, Old Brama felt like he was trapped in some sort of limbo. He had given up on this happening so very long ago; it was the reason he had been chasing another avenue for success. He pondered that unless they took their own destiny by the horns, they were destined to just continue to fall into obscurity.

The Golden Races used to be so mighty. They warred on the front lines against the Demon Race, their Royal Hero Line having once been the stuff of legends.

But now, it felt difficult even to raise their own head in their own territory. Time and time again, they found themselves negotiating, lowering their tone, weakening themselves in comparison to their opposition just to live a little longer, just to hold on a little more.

That sort of thing made Old Brama's blood run hot. He had never been able to be complacent, never been able to just accept things as they are and just ride things out, and because of that, he had been clashing with his fellow Unitaurs for his entire life.

It had cost him so much. He had lost his son, his daughter-in-law, his wife-if not for Sylas, he would have lost even his granddaughter.

And for what? Just to find out that he had actually been the one wrong this entire time? That he could have just waited and a wild Zayreus would have just popped up due to his patience?

It broke him. It broke him in ways he couldn't even begin to understand or describe.

He wasn't angry, he wasn't even sad, he was shell-shocked in the same way an empty bomb casing might lay dormant on a beach millions had lost their lives on.

Zayreus sneered, the gem in the middle of his forehead glowing bright. He wasn't even looking at Old Brama anymore; his focus was entirely on Sylas.

He had, indeed, made it to the D-tier like Sylas expected. The difference was, though, that his power now wasn't the same as Sylas had been expecting.

His power was nearing the DDD+ Demon that Sylas had come across on Earth. The only reason he wasn't quite there yet was because he was only Level 101, while Ba'ruk-Thael had been Level 121.

Even so, Zayreus' stats seemed to reflect the power of someone with stat points that had crossed the eight-figure mark.

How such a large change could happen in someone with such a weak foundation was... curious. Had Rhykan been willing to invest more than Sylas thought he had? Or was this a unique quirk of the Golden Races?

Honestly, Sylas didn't know much about these Races. Though he had used Andromeda to read much of their secrets, there were many holes in them. For example, Sylas hadn't been aware of the state of their Secret Realm before he entered either. So for all he knew, this was very much possible.

Though he could have tried to interrogate Old Brama about it, he constantly had too much on his plate, and it was also questionable if Old Brama knew much at all either.

Much like the Omnimous, there was too much separation between its impetus and the current present. The Golden Races had likely forgotten a great deal about themselves, things that someone with time, focus, and intelligence like Rhykan might have been able to unearth without them.

Is that possible? Sylas suddenly asked himself. He hardly seemed to be looking at Zayreus. It was more like he was staring right through him.

Zayreus, though, maybe hopped up on his own new power, didn't seem to notice this. To him, it was a blank stare. Though, in his defense, it really was a lot like that... just not for the reasons he thought.

Sylas was about to ask his Madness Key a question when Zayreus talked.

"You. I want your head." Zayreus' voice echoed in the silence.

His grandfather crossed his arms and sneered, not saying a word. There seemed to be a flash of hesitation on Yaoyao's expression, but then she became firm.

Her reasoning was quite simple. Even though Zayreus was only D-tier right now, he was probably already the most powerful existence in the Sector. She didn't know of a single C-tier with his power, not even Sylas' master, Gralith.

Well, she was correct.

Gralith wasn't a C-tier anymore.

It had to be remembered that the Golden Grove originally bent to Sylas because of Gralith's existence. Now that they thought he could be handled, there was little reason for them to continue to do so in their opinion.

But it was just as Old Brama said... they were so small that it was impossible for them to receive all information there was. It could be said that the only new tidbit of information they had was that the Emperor Sanctum had become a Demi-God level power... But they also knew enough to know that the Emperor Sanctum was too far away and its branches wouldn't receive nearly the same amount of compensation.

It was unfortunate that they didn't know that the 001 Sanctum now had a new home.

Sylas' eyes regained a bit of focus and he looked Zayreus down, then up to his face.

There was a flash of red in Zayreus' eyes.

As little as the Golden Grove knew, the immediate situation was still a problem. Zayreus was very powerful, and he wasn't a Everything he did was for his people. No matter what others thought, he had always been sincere.

And now, he was faced with a dilemma.

Zayreus was objectively the hope of their Golden Race now, and no matter how talented Sylas was, he would never have their best interests at heart. He only cared about what he could get out of the situation.

How could he continue to stand on Sylas' side? Demon. On top of that, they were outside of the Milky Way Galaxy right now, so Sylas didn't have his Progenitor status to rely on either.

And there was one final problem.

Old Brama's struggle.