Sylas didn't reply, his Will blooming. His skin practically began to glow as though it were its own emerald gem, sparks of lightning spontaneously forming in bolts and waves.
He slowly loosened his grip over his own wrist, and he clenched a fist.
The punch that followed seemed to move the world itself.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
One iteration after another was shattered to pieces, and the True Sloth Disciples pupils constricted into pinholes. Howβ?
The punch landed on his chest.
The time between the fist landing and the True Sloth Disciple feeling his back against the wall wasn't even a split second. It almost felt as though they had happened at the exact same time.
His cloak was peeled off, revealing the face of a man who would have been extraordinarily handsome if not for how unkempt he was.
A streak of dried snot came out from one nostril, his eyes practically encrusted with sleep. His lips were cracked as though they hadn't experienced moisture in a lifetime, and his face was gaunt as though he was too lazy even to eat and feed himself properly. He coughed, groaning slightly. But the groan didn't seem to be one of pain; it was instead a groan like a teen being woken up at 6 a.m. for school.
He had really wanted this to be easy. No part of him understood why Sylas was so insistent on being such a pain.
Grunting, he pulled himself up.
"How did you do that?" he complained. If Sylas killed his iterations before he could use them, it meant his real body was going to have to act. He didn't like that at all.
Sylas once again didn't reply.
"I also heard that about you Pride Disciples. Though, I'm guessing that right about now, they're all pretty pissed off. You came out of nowhere and destroyed all of their Paths in a single go. I bet they're probably hunting you right now. No wonder you're so obsessed with getting what you can here. I don't blame you. If I had those assholes on my tail, I'd probably be a bit antsy 00."
Sylas only stared at him, and the True Sloth Disciple held his hands up.
"Right, right. Fragile ego. You're not antsy at all. Apologies, apologies. What was my mouth thinking, running like that?"
The True Sloth Disciple stood to his feet and patted his robes down.
"Tell you what. So long as you let me get that Sealwright Profession, you can have everything else. Hm? How about it? Do you even have space for another Profession? I know for a fact you have at least one. That Weaver Guild is probably looking for you too, now that I think about it."
Sylas' eyes narrowed, his expression changing the slightest bit for the first time.
This True Sloth Disciple recognized his Runeweaver Profession.
"Oh, you don't know about them. How fascinating. How'd you end up with the Profession, then? That probably means that one of their own gave it to you willingly, and that's probably more troublesome than if you stole it. Those people like messing around with Karma a lot. I could give you information about them if you agree to my deal. How about it?"
The True Sloth Disciple blinked expectantly, clearly hoping Sylas would agree so that he wouldn't have to fight.
Seeing that Sylas still wasn't replying, though, he could only sigh.
"I really don't understand. You can feel the difference. That's why you're not attacking right now and listening to me ramble instead. You want me to attack first so you can try to find a way to exploit a weakness. What is the point of struggling if you already know the end result?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Genetic Ascension