Born in Blood



The reproduction aspect of the deal didn't bother Liam much. Courting women hadn't been in his plans, let alone having offspring.

Raast's glowing eyes stuck to his own. A hint of a smile appeared on his thin lips.

"Find my people and help them."

"You'll find acceptance from the Ashuras so long as they know you're my heir… but you might face a bit of difficulty at first."

"Find them how?" Liam asked. "And what do you mean by 'difficulty'?"

Raast's rendition gave another smug smile. 

"That's for you to find out, isn't it?"

Liam was getting pissed. 

Still, he had more questions. He opened his mouth to voice them, but tremors ran through the surroundings and stopped him.

"I've spoken for too long," Raast grimaced, staring at the shadows. He shifted his attention to Liam. "The Opposition is realizing something's wrong."

"Your path will become infinitely more difficult now, even if you live through this by chance. Your abilities will be incomplete, but it's up to you to improve them."

Raast's tone was solemn. 

Liam was stunned still. 

The space was going to collapse at any time now.

"Liam Royce. I come to you not as an Ashura, but as a forgotten race."

Cracks spread across the air and started to weigh against Liam's mind.

"Become strong! Ravage this planet! Take what's rightfully yours! Only through power can you seize glory from their grasp."

On those words, the entire domain of shadows had shattered.

Liam felt his consciousness yanked back inside his body. The pain returned, along with every other unpleasant sensation. He was still in the air with a swaying consciousness, only he was much more aware. 

An abrupt heat shot through his body, starting from his solar plexus. His entire body started to rise in temperature, while his core contents were spiraling uncontrollably.

Chaotic energies – now known as Primordial Essence – burst forth from his core and ravaged his muscles. His organs, skin and any other body part wasn't spared either.

It felt as though his entire body was being restructured and reformed. Liam's consciousness wanted to switch off to avoid feeling the cruel pain. 

Every time he felt like he would never experience a worse kind of agony, Liam ate his words. 

From having his insides scalded, yanking out his eyeballs, having his mental sphere boiled, having his blood forcibly purified, his current predicament took the cake.

Worst of all, he could feel every individual piece of muscle, bone and organ in his body – with the exception of the King's Eye and core – as it tore itself apart and began to reform, repeating the cycle over and over.

Liam couldn't even scream, as his throat and mouth were being restructured too.

Even an eye began to fill in his empty eye-socket. 

Janice, along with everyone else that arrived at the scene, watched with horror as Liam's body began to pulse with bright rays of crimson light. 

She felt the hair on her skin rise, warning her of the imminent danger. 

She attempted to end the boy's life then and there, but as she barely got a step closer, the chaotic rays violently pulsed.

BOOOM!

Janice was instantly blown away by the shockwave, coating her body with a membrane of viscous water to avoid being turned to mush. 

Following the bright explosion, trees and surrounding terrain began to splinter and crack, eventually eviscerating. 

As Janice was hurled the distance, those arriving at the scene instantly recoiled and leaped back to avoid the abrupt attack. 

Unfortunately, a few were caught out, parts of them maimed due to the explosion's power.

From the above view, it looked as though a meteor smashed against the forest, forming a giant crater. 

In the center of it all, something continuously pulsed with chaotic red light, digging further into the ground.

More booms rang out, consuming chunks of the earth.

Janice managed to steady herself back on her feet at that point, watching with shock in horror at the scene ahead. Her cohort did the same, oblivious to what exactly was going on.

Eventually, the thunderous booms came to an abrupt stop, but pieces of jagged rock shot out in all directions, forcing them to take cover.

Immediately, the hair on Janice's skin rose. 

There was complete silence, but nobody dared to move.

FEAR.

Suddenly, it felt like they had become prey.

Janice's first instinct, along with everyone else's, was to run away without looking back. 

And usually, her instincts were on point.

But all there was to it was fear.

There was nothing else holding her down. 

No pressure whatsoever. 

Slowly, the clouds of smoke settled. 

In the center of the distant crater, a figure grew visible.

The source of that fear.

Liam let out a long sigh that sounded more like a hiss. 

His voice had gotten deeper, raspier and louder. 

His face and eyes looked utterly apathetic as he let out all the air in his lungs.

One of his eyes was golden, and the other a scarlet red, both emitting faint glows.

The first thing Liam did was inspect his body. His new eye didn't have any new abilities... that he knew of, of course.

There were no clothes covering his figure, revealing his pale skin, now etched with the same ancient designs that Raast's body came with. 

They ran across the bottom of his feet, all the way to his scalp. Funny enough, his male reproductive organ disappeared, leaving his groin featureless. 

His blonde hair was now pure white – containing a regal silver sheen and silent luster – almost touching the floor.

Liam then moved his arms.

...All six of them.

Each of his arms were coated in a dense alloy – a mix of gold and copper – that was built into his skin. 

Controlling them was instinctive. He clenched his fists, spread and waved his six arms in different directions. 

Within his body itself, there were new additions, with his bones strengthened exponentially, thickened and densened. 

His chaos felt more docile and controllable compared to before, now attuned with his Ashura body. 

And best of all, the massive amount of physical strength churning within him was explosive.

However, he couldn't comfortably assess the changes, sensing the pairs of eyes converging on his figure.

Liam's multi-colored eyes slowly shifted to dread-faced Janice standing a short distance away. 

With a lithe stomp, Liam's foot tapped against the earth.

The ground shattered like glass.