Born in Blood



As if his previous abilities weren't broken enough, Liam could now alternate other peoples' perception.

Liam tested the limits of such a skill.

He coated himself with a layer of mental energy and made it so that it matched his background.

"Do you still see me?" Liam asked.

"Uh… no, there's just a blurry form where you're standing. It looks like a mirage of some sort," Jargon responded, still confused about the entire ordeal.

Liam was now the perfect killing machine.

He could use his Shadow to blend into his surroundings.

He could tap into a person's mental sphere and completely tune himself out.

He could use his seemingly unending Rank 2 blood as inscribed items.

'Can it work on Spirit Beasts as well?' Liam wondered.

Surely not, right?

That would just make it a bit too powerful.

In the first place, that would require him to perceive his senses through an animal.

Suddenly, something clicked.

'I need to test that with the Shifter. If it works…'

If Liam could perceive the Egg's senses, that would vastly increase his chances of making the ridiculous Rank 5 tempering method.

'There's also my deal with the Kitsune. I'll have to start experimenting with mental spheres now.'

As his thoughts spread in every direction, Jargon was still looking at him blankly.

Liam reckoned that was enough toying with the man.

He severed the connection between his mental sphere and Jargon's, and the double-sided perception snapped off.

"Just… what was that?" Jargon asked.

Liam shrugged.

"Don't sweat it. But don't tell anyone about it either."

Liam didn't need to threaten the man for him to comply.

They were past that.

"Of course," Jargon responded.

Liam could vaguely tell the man's loyalty and gratitude.

A moment later, Liam bid him farewell and met with Elder Jane.

///

"I need a Rank 4 Rune."

In the hallroom again, Liam abruptly opened the meeting with that.

Elder Jane gave him a blank look.

"Why?" she asked.

"I've become a Rank 3 Magus," Liam responded casually.

There was a fragile silence in Elder Janes' chambers.

As usual when Liam uttered something unbelievable, probing mental waves spread to his sea of consciousness and began to test him.

Elder Jane had a Zenith ranked mental sphere.

Her mental waves were dense and affected reality in powerful ways.

A Rank 3 Magus still couldn't do that.

They were on the cusp of doing so, but still unable.

Still, Liam countered by pushing away the mental waves with his own.

If he hadn't advanced, he wouldn't have been able to do a fraction of that.

Even though the Zenith was going easy on his mental sphere, it still felt like an ethereal mountain was spreading to his brain.

By the end of it, Elder Jane looked aghast.

Then, she exploded into maniacal laughter.

Liam raised one brow in confusion but remained silent.

Had she gone crazy?

If she wasn't already.

Slowly, her sonorous guffaw turned to a chuckle, then a soft giggle.

"Wow… I haven't laughed that hard in some time."

Liam narrowed his eyes.

Silently, he tried to connect his King's Eye to the Zenith's sea of consciousness, but her mental waves were too powerful for his eye to get past.

"I wasn't joking," Liam responded.

"I know," Elder Jane said with another laugh. "That's why it's so funny to me. You truly believe everything you do is normal."

"Can you give me the rune or no?" Liam furrowed his brows in annoyance.

He had places to be!

Inwardly, he was brimming with excitement over his newfound power.

He wanted to get to work straight away.

There were only two weeks left before the attack on the Ravenous Leash Sect.

Liam was having his precious seconds wasted!

"Relax," Elder Jane snorted. "Your impatience will be the death of you, I'm sure," she shook her head.

She made a gesture, and a fist-sized rock with eighteen glowing sides flew towards Liam.

Liam caught it and gave it a short glance.

ZZZZZT.

Instantly, his face twisted to a grimace due to the piercing pain shooting through his otherwise sturdy mind, like a bolt of lightning decided to strike him there.

Liam cursed and hid the rune from view.

"I would have told you about that if you weren't so impatient," Jane grinned ear-to-ear.

Liam almost shot the Elder a frown but decided against it. He'd just suffer more.

So… a Rank 4 Psionic Rune could make him squint in pain just from a glance.

Great.

Just lovely.

He'd thoroughly enjoy his time with the shrewd rock.

"I'll be telling the others of your achievement. They probably won't believe me, though, so you'll be getting a few visits from them."

Liam shook his head and left.

As he made his way out of the Temple, a large group of Shadows came to Liam.

"Here's your sum, by the way. You won the race," Krel said with a wry smile, stretching a giant bag of 'Ora' Stones towards him.

Liam looked at the massive glowing satchel with confusion, then shook his head.

"You can have it."

With that, Liam ventured back into his quarters, leaving the Shadows to wonder as to what just happened.

'Wealth is boring now.'

'I have more than enough already.'

'At a certain point, money becomes redundant.'

'Everything is centered around power.'

'And this is just the beginning.'

There was something different about Liam.

Something colder, more sinister and unnerving.

What Liam didn't know was, as one stepped up the Ranks, their worldly connections grew distant. 

Unless, of course, they chose to indulge in them.

It depended on their personalities.

And for someone whose life-long goal was centered around power?

Everything else lost value.

As Liam took out his parchment papers and laid them all around, Eve appeared in his room.

Skull-faced and dead.

She was always there in the background.

Watching every one of his movements.

Liam was painfully aware of her presence, but ignored her most of the time.

"It was worth it, then?" Eve asked with a raspy voice, speaking through a crushed throat.

Liam turned towards her solemnly. 

There was no discomfort in his expression. No pain, regret, or sorrow.

Liam heaved a sigh.

He wouldn't be who he was without Eve in his life.

She was the catalyst to his understanding of the world.

Tears of blood fell down Eve's face. With a fragile voice filled with sadness, she spoke:

"Would you do the same thing if given the chance?"