Genetic Ascension

1584 Spirit

”What did Gralith do?” Sylas spoke.

Ekearʼs gaze flickered, and he looked back toward Sylas.

”To you, you call him Master and nothing else.”

Sylas met Ekearʼs gaze, his expression not changing much at all to the words. Ekear seemed to have the same deadpan expression, albeit carrying with it wisps and undertones of laziness.

Ekear looked away, locking back onto the skies.

Sylas didnʼt ask the question again. Whatever was happening right now, it wasnʼt in the rule book he had read.

In the entire 073 Sanctum, there was likely no one that understood the rule book as intimately as Sylas did. If not for that rule book, one of his most fundamental Rune Mastery breakthroughs would have never happened.

So if he said it wasnʼt in there, it definitely wasnʼt in there.

Whatever was happening with this decree was either an odd flouting of the rules, or something only the Emperor Sanctum would be privy to. Likely the latter.

Sylas had long figured out that the Warlord Lineages were weakened versions of the Emperor Lineages designed to be subservient soldiers. That was why he had decided to form the Scorpion Emperor Armor to begin with, which ended in it getting stolen from him.

But this wasnʼt something the Warlord Sanctums knew widely, and it certainly wasnʼt something the Emperor Sanctum would actively promote and advertise.

Meaning, for them to be using the inferiority of the Scorpion Warlordʼs Genes so openly meant two things mainly.

First, whatever Gralith had done was quite severe.

Second, there was very likely a hidden rule that activated whenever this bar of severity was met.

”Master is part of a special Race of Beasts known as the Spirit Beasts. They are known as Spirit Beasts not in the usual fantastical sense of the words, but it is instead meant to be taken quite literally. They are Beasts in Spirit, but human in appearance.”

Sylasʼ eyes narrowed when he heard this.

”What is interesting about Spirit Beasts, though, is that they do not have a single lineage. Their ability to procreate and flourish is second to none, including that of real humans. As such, despite being Beasts in Spirit, the exact Beast they are isnʼt all that clear. But rather than being a detriment, this is actually a great strength.

”The Emperor Sanctum is basically entirely ruled by Spirit Beasts, each one having many Beast Lineages within them, some stronger than others. As you might expect, the largest piece of Masterʼs Lineage is that of the Scorpion. Their eyes often reflect the core of their strongest Spirit Beast.

”I am unclear on the details of why Master was expelled. But what I do know is that Master has not just one strong Scorpion Spirit within him, but several. Each one was sealed away using a very special method, separated from his body, and then he was sent here, left with only the weakest and most incomplete portion.”

Sylasʼ pupils constricted. Even without knowing the ins and outs of the Spirit Beast Raceʼs body, he could tell that such a thing would be devastating.

Gralith was probably walking around with what amounted to a fraction of a fraction of his Will just based off these words alone.

BANG!

It felt like an explosion suddenly went off in Sylasʼ mind. He could practically feel the synapses in his mind, one lightning strike after another forming a cascade of fireworks that linked one neural network with the other.

Will? Odd Wills?

A Race of people that could copulate with anything and pass on the Will to their offspring?

Why had Gralithʼs Inheritance appeared on Earth?

Suddenly, it all made sense to Sylas.

Ekearʼs eyes narrowed. He didnʼt know what Sylas had figured out, but he could practically feel the churning cadence of Sylasʼ thoughts.

”Iʼm sure that youʼve felt it before,” Ekear continued slowly, ”in fact, you can probably feel it right now. The Moon is screaming, crying out, pleading... When you contributed to the Lineage, you saw the phenomena that appeared in the air.

”The Will of the Scorpion has taken tangible form. But the truth of the matter is that for these Warlord Sanctums to exist and for the Emperor Sanctum to maintain control over us all, they are actually sacrificing pieces of themselves.

”That Scorpion you saw after your breakthrough in the Warlord Armor is actually the Spirit of a Spirit Beast that was stripped of their own.

”Of course, in most cases, the Spirit doesnʼt have to be very strong, so it can come from one of the weaker Spirits within a Spirit Beast and not be all that big of a deal.

”But Masterʼs Scorpion Spirits werenʼt normal in the slightest. I do not know where all of them ended up, but I do know that there are two of them forming the core of Sanctums in the top seven. One is with the 007 Sanctum. The other is with the 001 Sanctum.

”If I had to guess where Master went, he probably went to a location I donʼt know of. He would never be able to make it into 007 or 001 with the current state of his strength.

”When the start of the gathering was triggered, these Scorpion Spirits all reached a resonance, though, and his actions were likely exposed... ”The Scorpion of the 073 is Masterʼs weakest Scorpion Spirit. Itʼs being targeted because itʼs the only one with strong ties to him right now. In the best case, Master will be severely weakened. In the worst case, he may fall into a coma for a long while, leaving Khan and Gwenu to fend for themselves.

”Itʼs possible that none of them will come back alive.”

Sylasʼ expression slowly returned to normal, his thoughts flowing into a quagmire for a moment before it broke through a dam and returned to calm.

How would he feel if Gralith died?

He didnʼt like it.

Whose fault was it?

The Scorpion Emperor Lineage... again...

Sylas looked up toward the skies as the outline of a scorpion appeared, one chain after

another trapping it in place and then dragging it into the ground.