Born in Blood

Liam jumped through the gate right after demolishing the dragon's claw. 

Not just any claw. 

A peak Rank 4 dragon's claw.

The only reason Liam was able to do so was because of his combined powers and strength.

He saved the Breaker Blade's ability for last. 

It had just a two usage limit before the blade needed time to stabilize and reuse its ability.

Then, there was Liam's Dusk Blades, which had accumulated furious flames in them.

All of this bolstered by Transfiguration and a semi-transformation helped break down a dragon's claw.

As soon as Liam passed the gate, there was silence. 

No growls, no roars, no dragons.

However, there were no sunny skies and grassy patches.

Liam was in a massive ornate room filled with all kinds of expensive furniture, delicacies and drinks.

It looked like the largest room of a palace, but there were no halls or other rooms. Just one.

Opposite to him was the fifth Trial gate, glowing brightly.

The space smelled like musk and relaxed his tense, on-edge nerves. Pain still throbbed all over him, though.

In the center of the hall was a circular marble platform with a bright rune on top of it.

Light suddenly encompassed Liam and started to heal his wounds one after the other.

His charred flesh reformed and squirmed back to normal. 

His torn muscles unknotted and fixed into place. 

His mental energy was back to full, and he was filled with vigor once again.

At the same time, Liam's swords started to float on their own.

They were gently raised into the air, hovering above his head and continuing to rise up. 

Liam almost yanked them back, but stopped himself mid action once he realized it might be a reward. 

All three of the swords rose above the dais and clustered together.

Liam watched with widened eyes.

Slowly, the swords started to merge and combine with one another!

The Dusk Blades conjoined with the Black Blade, and the Black Blade merged with the Breaker.

They had become one entity!

Slowly, the swords condensed and started to thin out.

It didn't look like any of the three swords, but a simple, thin longsword made from black metal, similar to a claymore.

"A swordsman must never be as rigid as his sword. A river cannot encompass a lake. A—"

The words abruptly stuttered mid sentence, replaced with a sudden jarring noise.

Liam raised his brows in confusion.

Silence. 

There was nothing for a few seconds.

The walls of the fake dimension started to vibrate slightly.

A faint tremor ran through the space. 

It was so vague, the only reason Liam knew about it was because of his Shadow Sense and Triumvirate Body.

Silence again.

Liam grimaced in confusion.

'What's happening?' 

"A river cannot encompass a lake," Eternal Sword's voice continued again. "A lake cannot flow like a river. But to an ocean, they belong."

The longsword slowly hovered towards Liam, harmlessly landing in his grip.

But Liam remained vigilant and confused.

Silence.

'What was that?' Liam thought with furrowed brows, his eyes darting in different directions.

'A glitch?'

Impossible, Liam thought.

A 'glitch' in a Celestial's inheritance?

Just impossible.

A Celestial making a mistake in his inheritance was like if Liam made a mistake shaping a blade.

The chances were less than zero.

'...But what did I just see?'

Liam had a bad feeling rising in his chest.

Paranoia creeped into his thoughts.

Was this a part of the test?

Eternal Sword sucked at directions, so it was difficult to say.

Plus, he enjoyed riddles, so maybe this was part of it? 

If so, what was Liam supposed to learn?

Attempting to clear the Trials under duress and pressure?

Liam put the thought to the side.

Obviously, he wouldn't discard the notion that the inheritance is slowly degrading and falling apart while he was stuck inside, unable to escape or call for support from anyone on the outside, doomed to die unless he manages to clear out all the Trials as fast as possible.

…

'That shouldn't be the case,' Liam thought of the possibility and slightly frowned.

'From what I studied and heard, even Zenith inheritances last at least a millennia.' 

'They are difficult to sustain, but if the area is filled with dense 'Ora', they could last for incredibly long amounts of time.'

The 'Ora' density within the World's Cut was still dense and pure.

The beasts around it had actually risen to the peaks of the fourth Rank, and there were more than a dozen Death Zones that had Rank 5 beasts around it.

'The more I think about it, the more I feel unnerved.'

It was just a slight vibration, tremor and a stutter.

But Liam's paranoia had already made him think of any possibility of foul play. 

'What if another country already knew of it?'

Liam's heart started to beat faster.

'Maybe they've already infiltrated the inheritance?'

'Kuan and Usan couldn't do anything to it, but what if the General or the Queen knew a different method?'

Liam even held off on studying the longsword or crushing the rune in his hand.

His mental waves were wildly surging against his golden barrier.

Silence.

Liam heaved a breath to calm himself down.

'All I have to do is get this damn thing over with.'

Liam inspected the longsword in his grip.

It had swallowed all three of his weapons to become one.

Sword Connection showed that all three of Liam's swords were inside the weapon, but they were 'silent.'

'It comes with the rune.'

Thus, Liam picked up the rune and crushed it.

As the motes of light entered his mental sphere, a look of realization formed on his face.

Liam raised the claymore.

SHING!

The claymore had transformed, turning sharp, sleek and single-edged.

What had it transformed to?

…The Black Blade!

SHING!

A moment later, it split into two and turned into the vicious Dusk Blades.

SHING!

Right after, the Dusk Blades merged together and formed into the mighty Breaker Blade.

'Sword Construct.'