Born in Blood



Worms were peculiar creatures.

On their own, they were nothing powerful. 

Even Rank 3 worms were relatively easy to kill if one stayed out of range and took advantage of their frail bodies and lack of defenses.

They had a bad reputation too, calling someone a worm meant they were insignificant and worthless.

But…

If a worm made its way inside you?

That was an entirely different story.

Some parasitic worm species were so vicious, even their Rank 2 versions could liquify the insides of a Rank 3 body in moments.

During Wild Fang and Unforgiven Shadows' fight, a lightbulb flickered above Liam's head. Specifically, Wild Fang started to grow tired.

…If a worm somehow managed to enter through someone's flesh in the middle of a battle, how would they deal with it?

Well, the answer was simple.

…They wouldn't.

Granted, if the worm hadn't burrowed deep enough, they could probably just dig their hand into the wound and yank it out.

But any deeper?

The only way they could think of taking it out was if they had some sort of specialized tool.

Where would they even get that?

In the middle of a battle, no less?

What Liam had planned was a worm-shaped item that could dig as deep as possible and ravage the insides of its victim as much as it could.

Making something like that was complicated, but not impossible.

Plus, the experience from working with the Abyssal Needle steadied Liam's hand when working with smaller objects.

'Most worm species are either earth elementals or darkness elementals, which makes it easier for me too.'

All of those factors combined, Liam's next weapon was going to be a… worm.

…It sounded a lot worse than it actually was, but it truly wasn't.

Nevertheless, before Liam began making the blueprints for such a weapon, Elder Aki emerged from a puddle of shadows behind him.

She hadn't worn her mask, and a few gruesome wounds on her small frame were still in the process of healing.

She had a strange look on her pale face. 

Few people could act comfortable around a cannibal, after all.

"Master requires your presence," Elder Aki said. 

///

It took two hours for Liam to arrive back towards the Ravenous Leash Sect, where the Temple had now settled. 

Elder Aki had already flown back to the Temple before him.

The 'Ora' density there rivaled even the academy's, the source of which was coincidentally an 'Ora' Well.

Acolytes of the earth and water elements had managed to refurbish and fix up the craters in the desolate environment, including rebuilding the living quarters for each acolyte.

Rivers were somewhat redirected and returned to normal.

Waterfalls started to flow again. 

In time, the fauna and flora would flourish once again.

Where the Monolith Lion's statue once was, a massive black Temple had taken its place. 

Covert and protective Formations and inscriptions were already being built around its perimeters, enough to protect them from a foreign Zenith's probing.

Meanwhile, Liam came face-to-face with two large, circular doors. 

The umbral shadows around the dark corridors swirled and moved in subtle but irregular ways. 

Whenever Liam moved forward, the shadows slightly flickered and shifted.

As though beneath the blank sheet of darkness were a pair of eyes that tracked his every movement.

'I need to ask him how he does that.'

'...He's looking at me right now.'

'Better not make it look like I'm nervous.'

Liam pushed the doors apart.

There wasn't anything of note inside the hall. It was just a miniature Isolation Barrier that spread across 35 meters, filled with thick darkness.

Grander than normal, but Liam's expectations were far higher.

Towards the furthest wall, Usan was seated cross-legged, his eyes closed, his body cloaked in shadows.

There were no traces of the wounds he had suffered.

Slowly, his distant amber eyes opened and fixed at Liam.

Liam met the man's sharp gaze and didn't flinch. There wasn't any mental energy pressed against his mind.

He wasn't under any threat.

But the atmosphere in the room was just unnerving overall.

There was just silence for a few seconds.

Liam didn't speak first because he didn't know what the man wanted. 

Usan just looked at him in silence.

"Show me," Usan said blankly.

Liam raised his brow.

"Show you what?"

Usan sighed, as though a little disappointed.

"Your demon form."

Silence.

Liam had expected the Unforgiven to know about his other form, but the request was still strange.

Inwardly, Liam let out a sigh.

A moment later, chaos churned in his chest and transformed his figure.

Purer white hair, two arms to six, terrifying and beautiful.

Usan expressed a bit of silent surprise.

"How long can you hold it for?" he asked with a calm, toneless voice. "Give me details."

"Three to four minutes at most," Liam responded, his voice demonic and guttural. 

"My physical strength triples, but the organ in my solar plexus depletes with 'chaos', the power source for my transformation."

SHHHHHH.

Liam gathered a bit of crackling chaos in his hand and threw it at the Isolation Barrier.

BOOOM!

The barrier trembled momentarily, and a shockwave ran out, but there wasn't a dent on its surface.

There was silence after that.

It looked like Usan was digesting everything. 

Liam reverted back to his human form and waited for a response.

Three seconds of silence passed.

"The word for Ashura in ancient Ilalian roughly translates to Cursed by All," Usan said abruptly. 

"...An old myth stated that once every 500 years, a wretched soul would be marked with that title, doomed to suffer until their inevitable demise."

"Even those around the wretched soul will eventually die."

"Only a fool believes in a sourceless rumor."

"But here you are before me…"

"Cursed by All."

Liam said nothing, simply shrugging.

"I don't care," Liam responded.

Usan made a subtle smirk when he saw Liam's change in demeanor.

"Good enough," he said, rising to his feet, his voice containing a bit of emotion. "You're no coward, at least."

"Forget about that story," Usan pulled out a few scrolls from his Shadow. "Give me that cloning spell and I'll give you something of similar worth."

"You'll need strength before we venture to the Main Lands."