Genetic Ascension

Chapter 2144: A Member

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Sylas covered his face with a forearm, his body feeling like it was falling through a sheet of glass.

The cascading booms in the surroundings threatened to swallow him whole, the concussive blasts so violent he felt like a leaf in the wind. His bones creaked and fractured from their impact alone.

But then he felt Demi-God Aura flooding into him, reinforcing him and making every one of his stats worth far more.

ʼWhat?ʼ

Sylasʼ gaze sharpened.

His mind was still foggy from how far he had pushed it, but he forced himself to dig deep.

He landed on the ground heavily, craters spanning out around him. But in the violence that surrounded him, this hardly made a difference at all.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood. It felt like his body weighed as much as a planet, every movement feeling like it came with an otherworldly level of effort.

ʼWhat is this?ʼ

Sylas squinted and then looked up, only to find a bright white steed rush to the edge of the crater he fell within.

”RISE UP!” it roared.

ʼWait…ʼ

Sylas squinted. Only then did he realize that this wasnʼt a white steed at all. Instead, it was a centaur. No, a Unitaur, right down to the bright golden armor.

It was a beautiful creature, though maybe he should call him a man.

”I SAID STAND, BOY! This is no time—.”

The Unitaur suddenly spun around and drew an arrow, his hooves gliding across air. A golden energy radiated around him as he pulled a bow taut and fired.

BOOM.

An attack fractured into a dome of energy just three meters from his extended bow. Any later and it would have landed flush.

The Unitaur spun and kicked at the air, diving down into the hole Sylas was buried within and yanking him up by the arm. He launched Sylas over his shoulder and Sylas found himself landing on the manʼs back, bouncing once before he was practically tied in place by a mysterious aura.

Kicking away, the Unitaur surged. With his bow raised, he ran and fired, then ran and fired, a continuous stream of energy radiating from him that Sylas actually felt was doing a pretty good job of healing him.

The feeling was mysterious because it wasnʼt similar to any healing energy he had ever seen before. It wasnʼt actually repairing a wound, but instead drilling into his individual cells, making each one of them stronger, and as a byproduct of that accelerating their healing.

Sylasʼ body was already quite powerful, but this energy treated him like he was a child whose foundations it wasnʼt satisfied with.

For whatever it was worth, the Unitaur was entirely focused on the battle and didnʼt make an attempt to communicate with Sylas a single time, even after the latter crossed his legs and fell into meditation.

Whatever was happening right now, Sylas knew one thing for certain. If he didnʼt recover more quickly, his chances of survival would plummet.

…

Sylasʼ eyes snapped open as the Unitaur slowed. Up ahead, an encampment was quickly coming into view. Well, it was obviously an encampment by the guards, makeshift fences, and the tents.

But by scope, it was practically an entire city and functioned a lot like one too.

Sylasʼ body flickered and he appeared by the Unitaurʼs side. The man gave him a glance, but didnʼt say much, just moving forward.

The guards looked happy to see him, but when they saw Sylas, their eyes widened and they seemed to stiffen.

Sylas noted this, but his expression didnʼt change.

The guards led them through and the Unitaur likewise continued. But when they were halfway to the central tent, one that stood as tall as a four-story building, the Unitaur couldnʼt help but look toward Sylas.

”Do you not have any questions?”

”It will all be revealed soon.” Sylas said simply.

The Unitaur looked at him with hints of surprise for a moment, and then seemed to relax as though some anxiety that had pulled at him had calmed.

Sylas looked weak, fragile. He hardly seemed like the sort they had been waiting for all this time.

But at the very least, his attitude was calm, composed, and unbothered. This helped the Unitaur to relax.

The guards in front of the central tent stiffened when they saw Sylas as well, their eyes blazing with barely controlled scrutiny and hope.

Sylas met the gazes, his indifferent expression not shifting in the slightest.

”Tell Supreme Commander Ros that I am here.”

The words had hardly come out when a woman who stood at nearly nine feet tall appeared. Her skin reflected a dense gold, and fluttering afterimages of what looked like five more pairs of arms and hands floated behind her.

At first glance, it looked like she was just moving that fast. But on second glance, it instead looked like she was experiencing several timelines at once… and then on yet another glance it seemed like she simply had that many arms.

Behind her, a large halo of gold hovered parallel to her body, a crown adorning her hair. She was an absolutely gorgeous woman even with her height. She had eyes as kind as a motherʼs, but a presence as mighty as a warriorʼs.

”Commander!” The Unitaur lowered his head, falling to his front knees. ”Boy—!”

”Rise, Zaun.” Supreme Commander Ros cut the Unitaur off, her gaze focused entirely on Sylas.

Sylas looked up at her, somewhat realizing that this was the most powerful person he had ever stood across from. The Monkey King had only been a projection, and he had only been in the belly of the World Serpent.

But this… was much different.

After a long while, the Supreme Commander frowned.

The hearts of those watching, a number that seemed to have become the entire encampment, sank.

”Are you really a member of the Golden Race?”

Something was wrong, and Ros could just barely taste it.