Genetic Ascension novel Chapter 175

Chapter 175 Coward

Sylas continued to run, feeling the time ticking down as though there was a clock echoing in his head.

But it felt futile. His Aether control was too poor to run on the lava as though it was flat ground. Every time he tried to run forward hard, he'd end up slipping back. Once, his calf even broke through the surface, sinking into the lava for a moment and he was forced to pull himself out.

There wasn't even ten seconds left and he had only crossed 100 meters. There was still over half of the distance remaining, and he knew he couldn't make it.

This was the first time Sylas truly felt the scent of death.

He had been in dangerous situations before and survived them all, but this was a different sort of helplessness. Even his own mind had betrayed him for reasons he didn't even understand yet.

In that moment of life and death, Sylas realized for the first time just how reckless he had been stepping into this world.

He had felt the decision was correct, but it was ultimately selfish as well.

There was too much he didn't know, too many things that could catch him off guard, too many chances for even his sharp mind to make a lapse in judgment, let alone his current mind.

If he had never entered the Trial, he would still be with his parents, little sister, and grandfather. He wouldn't be in this place, about to die an excruciating death.

He felt the frailty of life so clearly in that moment, and he felt even more that he didn't want to die.

It was the most human he had felt maybe all his life. He could remember just how much he hated the monotony of Earth. Even as a tenured professor, he never truly felt like he had accomplished much of anything.

Now, he ironically wanted to go back to those days… at least he wouldn't die, at least he would live.

It was the most pathetic thought he had ever had.

No… he had had a thought no less pathetic before.

It was a memory he had buried deeply, so much so that he had re-contextualized it in his head. But weren't these the sort of thoughts he had had when he broke up with Cassarae?

Life was easy. He was born into a good family, he was smart, everything came simply to him.

Did he really come to this world because he was bored? Or was it because he thought he would be able to trample all over it just as easily as he did everything else?

Did he ever truly see it as a risk? Or did he think he could out-think and out-compete everyone?

Was he actually a coward?

Was it still bravery if your persistence was built on a foundation of ignorance?

The question reverberated through Sylas' mind, and he didn't seem to realize that his mind had come back into sharp focus.

His Madness entered the Bronze Mastery and his mind seemed to expand for a moment.