Chapter 2394: Bad Choice

Fanelei realized almost immediately that something was wrong with the people of the Beast Emperor Sanctum. The Spirit Beast Race Emperors who had arrived alongside her weren’t simply shocked by the pressure gathering from every direction, they were practically frozen in place, their bodies stiff while their eyes remained fixed toward the center of the newly risen Sanctum.

It felt less like fear and more like something had reached into their Wills and commandeered them, taking hold of whatever connection they possessed to this place.

Fanelei could still move freely, though that was likely only due to the fact she wasn’t technically one of them. Her relationship with the Beast Emperor Sanctum came through Sylas rather than bloodline, inheritance, or one of the Beast Wills rooted into these mountains, which left her outside whatever influence was taking hold of everyone else.

The realization made her think back to Monkey King Mountain and the way Sylas had destroyed it before all of this began. A different smile touched her lips as she wondered whether he had known this would happen all along.

This time, Fanelei was giving Sylas too much credit, though the truth was arguably more impressive. Sylas hadn’t destroyed Monkey King Mountain in preparation for this particular event, he had done it to close the loop of his journey through the past and ensure he still possessed a path back to the future. Unfortunately, Fanelei had no way of knowing that, and right now she had much larger problems.

Even as a Legend, this situation was quickly growing beyond what she could comfortably deal with. The level limit had risen to 300, which happened to be precisely her current Level, and although Sylas had fundamentally changed what her lives meant and transformed the foundation of her strength, she still had no real measure of just how great a Level 300 Demi-God was.

Several powerful presences rushing toward her position at once.

Fanelei inhaled slowly and closed her eyes. She felt for her lives.

Each one answered differently than they would have in the past, no longer simple replacements waiting for the previous one to fail, but layered foundations Sylas had helped her reorganize into something far more useful. Her strength was nothing like it had been before, which was exactly why—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Shit."

Fanelei’s confidence deflated almost instantly.

The sky tore open in several places as holes connected directly to the God Plane formed above the Sanctum, and Serpentes began pouring through them in numbers that made the surrounding mountains look small. Some were kilometers long, others radiated Wills heavy enough to distort the rainbow clouds, but one group caught Fanelei’s attention immediately.

Sapphire scales glittered beneath the light.

Their radiance spilled across the air in clean waves, and at the front of the formation moved a female Serpentes Fanelei recognized even without having dealt with her personally. This was the woman Gogo had once referred to as his wife, or at least the woman he apparently intended to steal back after disappearing into the God Plane.

Fanelei stared upward for several seconds before looking toward the frozen Beast Emperors around her.

"Of course."

Before she could even decide how to deal with the Demi-God, actual Gods had descended. This was just... fantastic.

Following Sylas really was going to be the end of her existence.

**

Sylas was already closing in on Fanelei when space began opening around him.

One portal became five, five became dozens, and before long there were more God Plane connections forming around Sylas than anywhere else in the World of Spirits. He slowed to a stop as the first Serpentes emerged, feathered scales shimmering beneath radiant natural Runes that spread across the sky in enormous formations.

Heavenly Serpentes.

Sylas’ gaze remained calm even as they surrounded him from every direction.

Two descended farther than the others, both carrying enough resemblance to Orithrael that their relationship was obvious before either introduced themselves. Serion was larger, his feathers carrying deep emerald tones broken by black-gold edges, while Thiel’s scales leaned closer to silver-green with violet light swimming through the natural Runes between them.

Their fury was considerably more obvious than their differences.

"You killed our brother."

Serion’s voice rolled through the sky while the Runes across his feathers expanded, turning the surrounding atmosphere heavy enough that distant trees began bowing toward the ground. Thiel said nothing at first, but his gaze remained fixed on Sylas with such concentrated killing intent that the space between them had begun filling with hairline fractures.

Neither seemed remotely interested in the core of the Beast Emperor Sanctum.

Sylas almost found that amusing.

Everyone else was racing toward the Representative Wills, yet apparently Orithrael’s death had earned enough hatred that his brothers were willing to abandon the advantage simply to surround Sylas here. Their ancestor’s caution had clearly failed to spread very far through the younger generation.

"Move," Sylas said.

Serion’s expression twisted.

The skies brightened as the Heavenly Serpentes prepared themselves.

**

Elsewhere, Rhykan looked considerably more relaxed.

He reclined across the broad back of Caracos Thar while the lightning lioness moved through the World of Spirits, her white fur and blue lightning making her impossible to miss despite the fact almost everyone else seemed far too occupied to care. Rhykan had somehow found a cluster of grapes along the way and plucked one free as he watched portals opening in the distance.

Caracos’ ears twitched in irritation every time he shifted his weight, though she made no attempt to throw him off.

More strangely, despite all the chaos unfolding elsewhere, they were already closer to one of the Representative Thrones than almost anyone.

Rhykan bit into another grape and watched Sylas become surrounded by Heavenly Serpentes, while farther away Tomoe’s grey-black Sword Will still scarred the horizon. His gaze eventually shifted toward Januar, who had chosen to remain much closer to the battlefield than someone claiming to be nothing more than a historian probably should have.

Rhykan chuckled and shook his head.

"His grand disciple really made a bad choice."