"It's been purposefully engineered so that its genetic components could never express themselves in the Adrastia line. Generations of lock upon lock, seal upon seal, making it dormant beyond any natural awakening."
She paused, and when she spoke again, her voice carried quiet confidence.
"But I would be able to unlock it."
…!
The shock of the undertaking rippled through the garden.
This wasn't going to just begenetic manipulation.
This was going to be the archaeological excavation at the molecular level, uncovering something that had been deliberately buried in the genome for countless generations.
Adras processed this for a long moment, his expression cycling through surprise, concern, and finally decisive acceptance.
"Okay," he said simply, understanding that sometimes the only way forward was through the impossible.
