The reaction to Sylas' Pride Seed came from far deeper within Hell than any of the Madnesses surrounding him, but he recognized the Will before it fully awakened. He had once been ninety-nine percent certain that the Monkey King was dead, leaving that final percent only because he had already seen enough of the man's existence to know that ordinary distinctions between life, death, time, and distance weren't necessarily meaningful to him. But now...
The presence latched onto Sylas' Pride Seed without warning, drawing from its authority as though it had been waiting for precisely this opportunity. Sylas felt the drain immediately, but it wasn't attempting to take the Seed from him or interfere with his control.
The Monkey King was using it as an anchor, borrowing enough of the Virtue to stabilize whatever remained of himself within Hell.
Sylas allowed it.
