Sylas stood in silence on the Level 30 Bazaar. On the roof of the taller high-rise here, he felt like he could see the entire world with a glance. If he tilted his head up just the slightest bit, he might even be able to feel the mistiness of the clouds that hugged the rays of the sun on his forehead.
It wasn’t long before there was a flash of violet across the skies, a vessel zooming over and stopping in front of him. Honestly, it looked sleeker and faster than even the Thryskai one he had used before, but this wasn’t too much of a surprise.
The vessel he had stolen from the Thryskai might have been great compared to what Sylas was used to, but they were ultimately just grunts.
By comparison, Nyssa’s standing was on another level. It wasn’t a surprise that she would have access to much greater things.
Soon, a familiar Florineth stepped out. Nyssa had an odd air to her that seemed quite a bit more reserved than it would usually be. Maybe she was worried that Sylas would just outright kill her, and that wouldn’t be too ridiculous of a thought to have either.
What these last few weeks had proven to her was that Sylas was extraordinarily prideful, prideful in ways that she couldn’t quite explain.
It seemed like a difficult thing to comprehend in such a short time, especially when she hadn’t been by his side all the while, but she could just feel it.
She had no idea what Sylas’ true intentions were, honestly. So when she saw that he had somehow taken over the Level 30 Bazaar, it felt to her like he was making a statement rather than acting out of necessity.
With all the restrictions a Bazaar had, it was almost useless for a single person to take one over for benefits. You could only maximize the Bazaar if you had the backing of an entire organization or family.
Also, Nyssa knew her own contributions well. If resources she could buy with her own personal wealth were enough to push someone into the top 13, let alone the top three, and now number one overall, it wouldn’t be her sister that was currently the Fifth Titan, but instead her.
Honestly, Nyssa didn’t know why the system credited her so much with Sylas’ advancement. She had seen potential in Sylas, but she hadn’t seen this much, and she definitely didn’t think it would bear out so far.
In fact, a large part of her thought that even if Sylas managed to survive his Summoning, he would be in a state where he had already ruined his foundation too much to be on any one of those lists.
But his potential as a Rune Master was more than enough for Nyssa to invest in him. Maybe together they would be able to make a change and then correct something on his path to the E-Grade just enough that he could slowly catch up.
This, however… this was nothing like what she expected.
What Nyssa didn’t know was that the system’s reaction to her had little to do with her contributions, and yet everything to do with them at the same time.
The reason the system reacted the way it had was because Sylas reacted the way he had. The moment Nyssa saved him and gave him a chance to change things, to take steps forward he hadn’t been able to on his own, that weight had become an enormous mountain on Sylas’ chest.
Sylas was a man who didn’t like to face off against his own weakness. But ironically enough, every time he did face such a thing, it looped in a perpetual cycle in his mind, fueling every one of his actions.
His memory was such that he could recall every thought, every feeling, every emotion. He could place himself right back in that state continuously and endlessly.
He would never forget that day in the volcano.
He would never forget Nyssa having to save his life because he was too weak to deal with the likes of Lorien.
Overcoming the volcano later on didn’t matter.
Defeating Lorien handily afterward was worthless to him as well.
And it was because he continued to allow those moments to fuel him that they were ingrained into his every action—thus making the Karmic loop between himself and Nyssa so much stronger.
She was now a permanent foundation of the man he was, the actions he had taken since, and the actions he would likely take in the future. Everything he did was to avoid that ever happening again.
And ironically enough… that was exactly what had given Nyssa so much of a chance.
“… Hello…” Nyssa said slowly.
At the moment, she was hyper-aware that she was taking a great risk by coming here. They were no longer in a situation where she could hold her own against Sylas. If Sylas wanted to kill her now, even with the protective treasures she had brought, he could easily do it ten out of ten times.
Sylas nodded. “I wonder, how do you feel about your family?”
Nyssa blinked, not expecting such a question.
“I love them,” she replied without hesitation.
“How do you really feel?”
Nyssa’s eyes widened. “I…”
There was a silence that fell between the two. Nyssa had never expected such a follow-up question. She didn’t know how to react to this situation at all.
She had answered out of instinct because she was used to putting up a front. What she didn’t know was that her weak Will was practically an open book to the current Sylas. He could all but read her mind directly.
“I don’t know,” she eventually said.
Sylas nodded.
In truth, he had never wanted to kill Nyssa. There was a reason that back then, the Oath he swore was for Ulrik’s head, not Nyssa’s. The rage he felt back then would have all been directed at himself had Ulrik not foolishly stuck his nose in where it didn’t belong.
However, what needed to be done here had to be done.