Genetic Ascension

Chapter 2331 Task (2)

Neither of them believed for even a second that Sylas was bluffing.

Their hearts began pounding almost immediately, and when Iskaleth and Sarethvane looked toward one another in search of some hidden answer, some sign that the other had understood what Sylas expected, they found the exact same uncertainty reflected back.

Sarethvaneʼs expression darkened first. Annoyance bubbled beneath his fear, his pride rebelling against the idea that Sylas could simply summon him, throw an impossible task at his feet, and expect him to dance on command.

He wasnʼt some trained beast meant to perform whenever Sylas snapped his fingers. His mouth opened, ready to make that much clear, only for him to finally look toward Sylas and realize the man wasnʼt even paying attention anymore.

Sylas had crossed his legs in the skies and entered meditation, his body hovering without the slightest movement, his breathing so silent and calm that he almost seemed detached from everything around him.

Sarethvaneʼs jaw tightened.

There was nothing to argue about. Sylas had already started the timer.

Whatever complaints Sarethvane had, whatever anger or indignation he wanted to throw at him, none of it mattered. Three hours from now, Sylas would either find that they had completed the task or he would kill them. There would be no debate afterward and no second chance. Sarethvane had spent enough time twisted into a pretzel to understand that much.

Iskaleth was handling the pressure even worse.

A few hours. That was all it had been since she escaped what she thought had been certain death in the Vosskarr Archive, and now she found herself standing beneath another blade.

How many times was Sylas going to put her in this position? How many times would she have to feel her life sitting in his palm before she could finally reclaim some control over it?

Her breathing quickened.

Then she forced it to stop.

Iskaleth closed her eyes and drew in a slow breath. An epiphany didnʼt make someone different overnight. She understood that much. People loved pretending that one realization could overturn decades of habit, but real change required repetition. Deliberate choices, made again and again until the new response became as natural as the old one had been.

She had recognized what was wrong with her Will. That didnʼt mean it had already changed.

The real question was whether she would collapse back into the same habits the first time pressure returned, or whether she would use this chance to move forward again.

Iskaleth grit her teeth.

A low growl rumbled from deep within her body.

Sarethvane turned toward her, surprise flickering through his narrowed eyes. He knew who Iskaleth was, at least vaguely, but he had never known her well enough to expect that sort of sound from her.

She didnʼt explain. Instead, she launched directly into what they were looking for.

By the time Iskaleth finished describing the Fate Dragon, Sarethvaneʼs annoyance had shifted into something else entirely. His brows rose, then drew together as the words themselves seemed to stir something instinctive within him.

”Fate Dragon...”

He rolled the phrase through his mind.

He didnʼt know what one was, but something about the concept bothered him in a way he couldnʼt immediately place.

”If Sylas gave this task to both of us,” Iskaleth continued, ”then he probably believes our abilities can work together somehow. More importantly, that means this should be possible.”

Sarethvane glanced toward Sylas.

Iskaleth caught the movement and pressed immediately.

”Maybe heʼs already figured out how.”

That did it.

Sarethvaneʼs gaze flashed with rage.

The thought that Sylas might already possess the answer and had only thrown them into this situation to see whether they could reach it fast enough struck his pride far harder than the death threat had.

”Explain the Fate Dragon again,” he demanded. ”Everything.”

Iskaleth did.

She described what Dragons were believed to be, constructs born from Dead Will and collective belief, impossible ceilings given shape through Karma. Then she explained the purpose of a Fate Dragon, an attempt to condense enough Karma into something real that it could stand beside the myth itself rather than beneath it.

She finished with what little she knew of her own connection, her birth beneath its influence, the changes to her eyes, and the thread she had always believed still remained somewhere inside her.

Sarethvane stayed silent for a long moment after she finished. Then he nodded.

”Living Will and Dead Will donʼt interact with the world the same way.”

Iskaleth waited.

”Dead Will lingers,” Sarethvane continued. ”Usually around things tied to what it was while alive. People, places, objects... actions. The stronger the connection was before death, the easier it is for the remnants to remain anchored afterward.”

His gaze sharpened.

”This Fate Dragon should still follow that principle, but thereʼs a problem.”

”What?”

”If it was created to embody a Dragon, then its connections arenʼt normal.”

Iskalethʼs expression shifted.

”A Dragon is a concept almost everyone carries some relationship to, even if theyʼve never seen one. Fear, reverence, ambition, stories, bloodlines, myths, whatever it is. If the Fate Dragon was built from that sort of Dead Will, then it might not be tied to a single region the way ordinary remnants are.”

Sarethvane looked into the distance.

”It could travel much farther.”

Iskalethʼs heart sank slightly.

That was exactly what Sylas had already forced her to confront.

”But,” Sarethvane continued, ”we still have one thing.”

His slitted eyes turned back toward her.

”It tied itself to your birth.”

Iskaleth went still.

”Whatever else it was connected to, whatever let it move through the universe, something about you was important enough that its influence reached you at the exact moment you were born. That means thereʼs still a thread to pull.”

Sarethvane moved closer, studying her with far more intensity than before. He stared her up and down, and if it had been Dry Mouth, Iskaleth might have even thought that he was checking her out.

”So forget where it went.” His voice lowered. ”What about you would make a Fate Dragon choose you?”