Genetic Ascension

Chapter 2492 Creator

Sylas looked toward Alex, his expression remaining as unreadable as it had been since he returned to Earth.

"You know, if someone you've known forever tells you they're from a shockingly powerful Clan, you should at least react With a little bit of surprise."

Sylas didn't reply, and after several seconds of waiting for a reaction that clearly wasn't coming, Alex raised his hands in defeat.

"Alright, fine. I don't know why I expected anything else. You were a pain in the ass when you were weak, so I don't know why I thought becoming a God would make you any better."

To Sylas, the revelation that Alex was a member of the Nethum Clan wasn't particularly interesting. He had long grown accustomed to the man's habit of keeping secrets, and even longer ago, he had stopped caring about most of them. In fact, there had been a time when Sylas kept Alex close primarily because allowing him to wander around unsupervised was more trouble than it was worth.

The man had a peculiar habit of appearing in places he had no business being, discovering opportunities Sylas hadn't gotten around to claiming yet, and generally making himself a nuisance. However, things had changed considerably since then, and Sylas' strength had grown to the point that most of the opportunities Alex might stumble upon no longer mattered to him.

In fact, the resources and inheritances Sylas had given him had probably improved his strength far more than anything he could have accomplished on his own.

And this was hardly Alexis first shocking revelation.

If anything, learning that the man was half Demon had been far more surprising, especially considering what Sylas now understood about the fundamental differences between the two Worlds.

The only interesting part was that Alex didn't share the Nethum surname, and this only seemed to confirm something Sylas had already been considering.

There was technically a fourth option he could pursue in his search for a path beyond the Real World, and that was to enter the Demon World through the System's existing connections. However, Xarvenya's explanations and the existence of the Thryskai had given him little confidence in that approach.

The Demon World was collapsing, and the boundaries between the two Worlds had already been compromised to such an extent that calling them entirely separate was becoming increasingly inaccurate.

There was no guarantee that crossing into the Demon World would place him any closer to finding a path beyond the universe, and it was entirely possible that the same restrictions would apply there.

Plus, he would probably become public enemy number one the moment he appeared.

Although, considering how many powerful Clans he had just offended in the Real World, perhaps that wasn't much of a disadvantage anymore.

"Anyway, I figured out I was a Nethum a while ago. It's apparently something that happens to most of us once we evolve beyond a certain point. There's a Gene Lock buried in our bodies, and when the right conditions are met, it starts unwinding and releasing memories."

Sylas' eyes narrowed by an almost imperceptible degree.

That aligned With what he knew about the Nethum Clan. Their descendants were scattered across the lower Planes without knowledge of their origins, and only those capable of overcoming their circumstances could eventually return.

"It's not like all the memories come back at once, either. Apparently, you just get enough to start figuring things out yourself, and that leads you down a rabbit hole until you eventually piece everything together. Pretty smart system, if you think about it. Wouldn't make much sense to go through all that trouble wiping our memories just to hand everything back the moment we reached a certain Level."

Alex paused, seeming to consider something.

"Although, I guess I'm not exactly the best example of how it's supposed to work. Turns out being half Demon complicates things quite a bit."

He glanced toward Cheri, Who was still looking between the two of them With an expression of complete confusion, before returning his attention to Sylas.

"See, most Nethum apparently get memories that eventually lead them toward recovering their identities and finding their way back to the Clan. Mine were a little different. I got some of that, sure, but a lot of what came back had more to do With my parents and whatever the hell they were involved in."

Sylas waited.

He had already noticed that Alex was circling around something important, and considering how much the man enjoyed talking, there was little reason to interrupt him.

Alex seemed to understand that as well, because he rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine, fine. According to my memories, my mother was a pretty high-ranking member of the Nethum Clan, and she ended up having a rather raunchy affair With my pops, Who was apparently some big, bad Demon dude."

He studied Sylas' expression for a moment before shaking his head.

"Right. Not even a raised eyebrow. Well, whatever. The important part is that their little romance wasn't the only thing they had going on. Apparently, the two of them were working on some kind of research involving the separation of the Real and Demon Worlds, and they were attempting to figure out how to pull the two apart again."

Sylas' attention sharpened.

If Alex's parents had been researching the separation of the two Worlds, it implied that they understood something about how the boundaries had been breached in the first place. More importantly, it meant that at least some members of the Nethum Clan possessed enough knowledge of the relationship between universes to consider manipulating it.

Xarvenya had said that the fusion of the two worlds was the system looking to force conflict, and thus evolution. But what if it was actually one layer deeper than that?

"Now, you might be wondering why anyone would want to do that. I was wondering the same thing, but apparently the answer is pretty fucking insane."

Alex leaned against the desk, crossing his arms.

"According to what I remember, the creator of the System is some arrogant little shit Who thinks he's the Heavens themselves, and he's got this grand plan to collapse the Real World and Demon World in on themselves."

He gave a dry laugh.

"And I don't mean he's planning to smash a few planets together or something. I mean everything. Every planet, every Race, every Gene, every law, every last bit of Aether that makes up both Worlds. The bastard wants to break it all down, force somethina like a second Bia Bana, and then reorganize everything into one perfect fusion."

Sylas' pupils constricted.

He had already considered the possibility that the Madness System had been responsible for bringing two previously isolated universes into contact, but this was something else entirely.

"And before you ask, yes, apparently there's a reason for all this bullshit. The creator wants to use the resulting World to break through some ceiling he's stuck at. I don't know what ceiling, exactly, but hm guessing it's a pretty fucking high one if he needs to blow up two universes to get through it."

Alex rubbed his forehead.

"Anyway, here's where things get even more ridiculous. The Nethum apparently aren't all that opposed to this plan. In fact, from what I can tell, they're practically cheering for the apocalypse. I guess when you've already got an entire Heaven to yourselves, you get so bored you need some wilder kinks to really get your juices flowing."

Sylas' gaze sharpened further.

That explained much about the Nethum's peculiar behavior, including why they continued sacrificing countless descendants to pursue greater strength despite having already established dominion over the Poise Heaven.

If they knew the Systemts ultimate objective, then there was no reason for them to concern themselves With expanding their territory within a world that might cease to exist.

"And that brings us back to my parents. I guess they weren't too thrilled about the whole 'destroy everything and hope it turns out better afterward' approach, so they started looking for a way to separate the two Worlds instead."

Alex grimaced.

"Obviously, the Clan didn't appreciate that very much. Turns out trying to ruin the apocalypse everyone is looking forward to isn't a great way to make friends, especially when you're one of the people who's supposed to be helping make it happen."

He released a long sigh.

"So my parents ended up on the run, and my little ass had already been born and shipped off to Earth before everything went to shit. Which means that, at some point in the next few years, I'm going to have to return to the Nethum Clan and hope those bastards don't try to stick a fork in me."