Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1933: Wasting Time (3)

There was one particularly large Serpent that Sylas had met before. Although it had been severely shrunk down, and it only had a fraction of its power while likewise being suppressed to the boundaries of Earth, Sylas was certain of it... Arcane Madness was a creature in a league of its own.

Even being in the belly of the World Serpent, Sylas hadnʼt felt as much pressure from it as he had from Arcane Madness. It was a wild thing to say, especially since the Arcane Madness Sylas had met back then was only an F- tier, but it was the truth nonetheless.

The strength of Arcane Madness was unfathomable.

But what was also interesting to Sylas was that even as Vipermancy improved, he had been continuously unable to retroactively understand just what Arcane Madnessʼ Race was.

Arcane Madness was certainly large enough to be a World Serpent, but was it? Sylas had met a World Serpent before, one suppressed much like Arcane Madness had been. Yet, despite being suppressed to a higher ceiling, the World Serpent Sylas had met couldnʼt hold a candle to Arcane Madness.

So... what was Arcane Madness?

Sylas had realized long ago that this was the wrong question.

Why was it that the representations of Madness seemed to be such simple creatures? Why wasnʼt it more specific?

Back on Earth, Sylas had grown up in an environment where humans were homogenous. There were no Races anymore as they had all blended into one for the sake of creating the strongest Gene pool possible.

So, Sylasʼ world view was quite warped and different compared to what most in the wider universe experienced. As such, this oddity never really stood out to him until he looked for it.

Back on Earth, even before they had combined all their Races, there wasnʼt much difference between the various ethnic Races at all. However, in the universe, there was a pretty big gap between a random brown serpent and an Azurex.

Were they even truly considered the same species?

So when Madness decided that Serpentes would represent its Gluttony Path, which sort of Serpent was it talking about?

That was when it clicked for Sylas.

Arcane Madness was no one sort or type of serpent.

It was all of them.

The origin of all Serpentes, the truest amalgamation of all they were, could become, or had once been.

When Sylas put two and two together, he realized there was no stronger path.

If he was going to force the Hydra onto the Path of the Serpentes...

Then he should start at the very beginning.

BOOM.

The Ruby Finger Serpent blasted through another construct, its body bulging nearly beyond the point of no return.

With a flash of his eyes, Sylasʼ lips slowly parted.

”Echo Fuse.”

SHUUUU.

The Ruby Finger Serpent was yanked back into Sylasʼ body just as it imploded.

Echo Fuse was designed specifically to help Sylas fuse with a future potential version of his Contracts. The Ruby Finger Serpent was only a temporary Contract for now, but it worked nonetheless. He could control an F-tier Serpentes—a mostly Mortal, semi Demi-God one anyway—with great ease.

When he pulled on it, activating the ability, the Ruby Finger Serpent was forced into a state beyond its potential.

Sylas was continuously forcing it to remain in the F-tier, improving its Foundation again and again, but there was only so far that such a minor creature could go.

The Ruby Finger Serpent was no Basilisk, or World Serpent, or Hydra. It didnʼt have such infinite potential.

Even if Sylas fed it to the point of bursting, there was no way it would reach that level just by this alone.

The fact it was a Construct made things a little easier. It was just its Will evolving by devouring other Wills. But even then, so many of these creatures were entirely incompatible with the Ruby Finger Serpent, so it could be said that its foundation was actually becoming quite confused and broken.

Despite how much more powerful it became, it was ironically becoming harder and harder to break through into the E-tier precisely because of this. Its foundation was in complete and utter shambles.

But this was exactly what Sylas wanted. He didnʼt want it breaking through.

And just when it arrived that breaking point, the point where it couldnʼt withstand it anymore and its body was about to be torn completely in two, Sylas used Echo Fusion on it, projecting it into a future that was beyond its limits.

Unfortunately, Echo Fusion wasnʼt some omnipotent ability. It could only project into possible futures, not impossible ones. And the only future the Ruby Finger Serpent had was to die... But not before it was forcefully fused with Sylas and equally as forcefully held together by his Will.

Sylasʼ own Will fragmented. The act of fusing with a broken Will, one on the verge of death, was practically suicide.

”Mad man.” The Hydra said.

Sylas ignored it again as he took a breath.

As his eyes glowed red, his Demi-God Will suppressing the Ruby Finger Serpent from truly collapsing, there was only one thing he was focused on.

Drawing the perfect Serpent Emperor Armor.

This was ironically the one Armor that Sylas had never drawn. He had drawn the Lion Emperor, Ape Emperor, and even helped Nosphaleen with the Serpent Emperor Armor, but he had never drawn the Serpent Emperor Armor before, not because he couldnʼt, but because it was both unnecessary and an unnecessary danger.

To Sylas, drawing this Armor should have been impossibly easy. Drawing almost any Rune of the F-tier should have been impossibly easy to him, but this one especially.

Who could understand the Will of Serpentes better than he could?

There was just one problem.

He didnʼt have the True Gluttony Seed, only the Gluttony Seed. And honestly, he wasnʼt sure if that was fine enough for his purposes.

Unless he could feel the True Will of Arcane Madness, would he be able to replicate it properly? Was a mere replica enough?

And now that he had lost the Gluttony Madness Key, his connection to Gluttony was even weaker than before.

That said... he had just spent the last day watching the Ruby Finger Serpent gorge itself with food right up to the point of death.