Born in Blood



Liam studied Subject No. 421 intently. The Elders took a quick glance at the body, but they didn't need to stay.

Liam would fill them in later anyway. He'd make sure they revised everything 20 times over, too.

That paranoia wasn't a joke, they all thought as they left.

Liam honed his attention on the Subject. 

The man's uneven skin was pure black, protruding with spiked, teeth-like bones from every orifice. 

His mouth had also broadened wider with the scream. Filled with sharp, palisade teeth.

If the Subject didn't lose control over his powers, Liam was sure that killing him wouldn't have been easy.

The Triumvirate Body gave the user full control over everything.

A single slash to the neck was a hundred percent survivable if adapted to correctly.

'The reason he lost control was because of the pain that must come with the procedure.'

'Although the sea of consciousness is disconnected from the rest of the body, everything pours in once the new nerves connect to it.'

'The only difference between his process and mine would be the Chaos Pearl. But it's so small, it shouldn't prove too difficult.'

Liam shrugged. Pain was an old friend. One he knew quite well.

After studying the specimen for a few more hours, Liam moved on and began to cultivate.

Liam's abdomen suddenly tightened. 

All his muscles were pressing against his core as tight as they possibly could.

As it did, Liam started to cultivate.

For a few seconds, the gaseous contents of his core were forcibly turned into a liquid drop due to the pressure on it!

This was the method of cultivation that Usan helped inscribe for him. 

It consisted of bringing together the walls of the core, in order for its gaseous contents to condense into liquid. 

As Liam cultivated, he was experiencing double the nourishment a normal gaseous cultivator would experience.

But his core walls were starting to buckle and shake under the might of a single liquid-stage bead.

Liam untensed his abdomen muscles, and the walls of his core were back to normal.

'Only half an hour is my limit,' Liam pursed his lips. He wasn't dissatisfied. 'Good enough.'

It gave him twice the progress speed in exchange for a short usage period. 

That said, Liam was starting to get worried.

Usan was still quiet for some reason.

Did the man digest the fruit properly?

The Eternal Sword's inheritance was just a week away from the deadline.

With no method of contacting him, Liam attempted to find research about the Celestial.

It was hard.

Even finding info about a Zenith – not even a powerhouse – was difficult. 

But he did find bits and pieces of his name – he went by many, not just the Eternal Sword – riddled around Ilali.

Myths, legends and folklore.

Stories of a man cutting the earth with a lithe swing of his blade made out of a fallen star.

He severed mountains with a finger gesture. 

There was no description of him. But they say his eyes were so sharp, no one could meet his gaze without going blind. 

As much as they were exaggerated, Liam thought it wasn't doing the man justice.

This was a Celestial.

Something beyond the scope of what a powerhouse could produce.

Liam made his way back to his quarters.

Until Usan's breakthrough, there was nothing for him to do except train and arm himself. 

And he did exactly that.

Liam had made himself a new weapon solely for the inheritance. 

For a Celestial who had 'Sword' in his name, it was obvious what the trial was going to be about.

Swordsmanship.

Liam's swordsmanship, was, in his own words, 'good'.

Over time, his fighting style had changed. 

The Dusk Blade wasn't compatible with the Phantom Edge martial arts. 

They were meant to rip and claw through its victim's flesh, while the Phantom's Edge was built for severing in swift slashes.

For that reason, Liam hadn't been using the Phantom's Edge as much.

But swordsmen valued sharpness out of everything.

For that, Liam had to revert to his previous fighting style.

And that's why he forged a new weapon. 

Just one.

Liam took out the weapon from his space ring. It made a soft shing noise, even though it wasn't from a scabbard. 

It was a sleek odachi. Single-edged and covered with a soft sheen. 

Tiny vampiric characters lined its entire surface, but they didn't look disorderly or displeasing, creating a beautiful display of artistry.

The Black Blade.

A peak Rank 3 item!

From what Liam was told, the Eternal Sword was a single-sword wielder. 

And although there were no restrictions on what weapons they could use, Liam wanted to be on the safe side. 

Using an odachi was pretty similar to using a katana, the only difference being the length. 

And since Liam wasn't going to use a wakizashi, the odachi was the safest option for him to go pursue.

A peak Rank 3 item was no joke.

Primordial Forging and Blood Weaving combined to a singular front to create the weapon.

What did all the inscriptions on its surface do?

Simple. 

They sharpened the blade.

And that was it.

That was all the Black Blade was about.

On the other hand, its special ability allowed for long range slashes to form with each swing.

Which also carried the Blood Weaving's strength behind them.

A marvelous design.

Liam said so himself.

***

6 days were left until the Eternal Sword's inheritance.

Usan was still in seclusion.

Nobody knew where he was.

Liam started to get a bad feeling rising in his chest. But he continued 

2 more days passed.

Silence.

Just silence.

Then 2 more days passed.

Even Ilali started to question where exactly the Unforgiven Shadow had gone.

The Seven Clans and major Sects contacted the Temple repeatedly. 

Did the Miracle Fruit kill him?

Was it poisoned by the Moyong family?

Liam already knew Usan was sick.

Did his sickness do him in?

Where was he?!

Then, it happened.

Liam was outside when he thought the world was ending.

It was daytime.

But the world's light had sputtered out.