Sylar's expression hardened into something solemn as he read the warning glowing across his interface. The Nemesis System had given him power, and it promised to give even more.
It could capture the essence of fallen enemies, analyze their structure, and even let him steal their abilities. But that power came with limits, ones bound not by something so trivial and arbitrary as magic, if that even existed, but by principles older and deeper than science.
The System, whatever cosmic force governed it, worked by twisting reality itself, rewriting the laws of biology and physics to fit Sylar's will. Yet even reality had a tolerance for such distortions. The further he drifted from his humanity, the greater the danger became.
He took a long breath, steadying himself before calling up the mutation list once more. Among the dozens of possible enhancements, three stood out to him, each carrying its own risk and reward. With a thought, the System responded, projecting shimmering text before his eyes:
[-Bone-Vine Fusion (Grade 3): Semi-Compatible Genes. +13% Fixed Entropy.
-Metabolic Surge (Grade +3): Compatible Genes. +6% Fixed Entropy. +1% Temporary Entropy per use.
-Neural Web Node (Grade +3): Incompatible Genes. +35% Fixed Entropy.
Fixed Entropy represents the permanent instability sustained while the mutation is active. Once the mutation is defused, entropy will subside within 24 to 72 hours.
Temporary Entropy indicates short-term strain, fading at a rate of 1% per hour.]
A faint smile tugged at Sylar's lips. The Bone-Vine Fusion and Metabolic Surge both carried relatively low Entropy costs. He could safely take both and remain within the system's safe threshold.
It was tempting, particularly the Metabolic Surge, which promised a burst of superhuman agility and reaction time, amplifying his speed by more than thirty points. The temporary Entropy buildup per use was a concern, but manageable.
The Neural Web Node, however, made him pause. The Entropy cost was staggering, far beyond anything he'd risk now. But as he studied its description more closely, he began to understand why. It demanded an entirely new neural organ, a biological relay that would allow him to control and synchronize with the Thralls.
After a brief moment of deliberation, Sylar made his choice.
"Add Metabolic Surge."
A jolt of raw energy coursed through his body, burning him from the inside out. His veins felt like molten metal, his heartbeat thundered like a war drum, and every nerve screamed in protest. The agony was mercifully brief, less than a second, and then came clarity. His breathing steadied, his muscles relaxed, and his mind felt sharper than before.
───────────────────────────────────────
[MUTATION SLOTS] 1 / 2
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• Metabolic Surge (Grade +3): Triggers temporary overclock of body chemistry. +50% AGI & ADP for 10s; cooldown 60s.
───────────────────────────────────────
When it was over, Sylar flexed his hand. Nothing felt off, no tremors, no nausea. The Entropy rise had been minimal.
"I'll keep the second slot open in case of emergency," he thought. "It only takes a second to activate a mutation, and with Echolocation, I'll know if something's coming before it's too late."
Satisfied, he descended from the rooftop. He made his way toward the battlefield where the Symbiarch had fallen to the robots.
Crossing what was once a gas station, Sylar stopped and stared. The crater left behind was enormous, easily large enough to hold an entire university campus. The ground still radiated heat. Even so, his new agility carried him forward at a speed faster than most vehicles. It didn't take him long to reach the ruins.
What awaited him there was carnage.
The Symbiarch had torn through the machines with overwhelming force. The war constructs now lay broken and scattered, twisted heaps of steel and scorched plating.
However, that did not matter. He wasn't after the machines themselves, but their weapons.
He'd seen firsthand what those rifles could do. Each shot had torn through the Symbiarch's hardened flesh, vaporizing large pieces. Considering that the monster had survived a direct explosion from the gas station, one strong enough to shake an entire city block, for a few moments before dying, the destructive power of those weapons was staggering.
Sylar pried one loose from the debris, hefting it in his hands. The weapon was heavy, its design alien and intricate, humming faintly with residual energy. But as he examined it more closely, a frown creased his face.
Unlike the weapons of the Apostles, which he'd been able to jury-rig into working condition, these rifles were different. They had no trigger, no manual control interface.
Instead, the firing system was connected through a series of internal conduits, electrical pathways designed to respond to neural impulses. The machines had fired them directly with their minds.
"Damn," Sylar muttered under his breath. It was clear—these weapons weren't meant for human hands.
For anyone else, that would have been the end of the story. But Sylar wasn't like anyone else.
A strange glint lit his eyes as he gazed down at the weapon, the faint aura of the Nemesis System shimmering in his pupils.
"I can't use them directly… but that doesn't mean they're useless."
He knelt down, studying the rifle's internal structure. If he couldn't wield it, maybe he could extract its energy source and turn it into an explosive or portable power cell.
That would require a deep understanding of its internal mechanism, something beyond the boy's current capabilities. But not for long.
"Ten points to Cognition," he said aloud.
───────────────────────────────────────
[COGNITION: 50]
───────────────────────────────────────
At once, his mind sharpened. Thoughts that had been scattered moments before aligned with mathematical precision. Connections formed instantly, schematics, possibilities, theories, all unfolding in perfect clarity.
He scavenged fragments of metal from the ruined robots, fashioning them into makeshift tools. The work demanded patience, but patience was something Sylar had plenty of when survival was on the line. The rifle's exterior was nearly impenetrable, but once he pried through the layered alloys, the design became more familiar.
At its core, the weapon followed universal engineering principles, energy transfer, containment, and discharge. The difference was scale. Everything was more refined, more efficient.
After an hour of meticulous work, he finally exposed the power source, two crystalline orbs encased within a shock-resistant lattice. One pulsed with a deep crimson glow, the same energy that had formed the plasma beams he'd seen before. The other emitted a faint gray light, cold and opaque, its energy harder to read.
Sylar's brow furrowed as he studied it. He didn't know what the gray core did, but since it was in a weapon, it was dangerous. And dangerous, meant useful.
Sylar had just finished dismantling the seven weapons and extracting their cores when a massive tremor shook the ground beneath his feet. He snapped his head toward the source, an easy task with his enhanced cognition, and vaulted up a nearby high building to get a clearer view. From that height, he detected a battle in the distance, and not a small one.
"They're even stronger than the Symbiarch," he said under his breath. The shockwave from their clashes rolled across the ruined city; from that alone, Sylar could tell these fighters were on a different scale.
The Symbiarch that had nearly killed him was horrific enough; these individuals made that monster look small by comparison.
He took a deep breath, shut out the dozens of sensory inputs, and focused. At first, the combatants were mere pinpricks on the horizon, moving terrifyingly fast. It took a moment, but finally, those dots resolved into shapes.
One was massive, encased in heavy power armor, brandishing a battle knife and a gun. The other was a figure he already knew, the one who had descended from the sky, whose arrival had flattened the orphanage.
Sylar's pupils narrowed; a hot pulse of hatred and fury flared in his chest. Then the Nemesis System chimed in his head like a bell.
[First Nemesis Detected!!!]
The message hit him with the force of revelation. More words flashed in his mind.
[Host has matured, growing stronger through death and evolution. Become an instrument of vengeance. Show the Nemesis System your power and resolve. Kill the one who took your family.]
A new quest panel unfurled, crisp and merciless.
[Special Quest: Ensure the death of Xerxes, the True Apostle of Necrasys.
---
Missing Grade: 2
Reward: Obtain Xerxes's Gift
Status: ACTIVE
Time Limit: 7 Days
---
Failru: Loss of Nemesis System.]
Sylar's fists clenched until his knuckles whitened. For the first time, the stakes were personal. And there was a penalty, as failure meant that the very system that had made him strong would be gone. Worse, the timer started ticking.
"It doesn't really matter." His eyes grew cold, and determination flowed into his mind.
His heart was ready; he would kill the one who had crushed his family and friends, and would not wait a single day.
Now that the True Apostle was locked in combat with that armored man, Sylar had his only chance. He dropped to the ground and sprinted forward, eyes and ears constantly scanning for a signal as a plan began to form in his mind.
The city burned around him, the ground still trembling, but Sylar ran as if nothing could stop him now. The Nemesis System's bell had tolled, and its command had become his purpose.