Born in Blood



Liam instantly noticed the differences on the blood-drenched weapons. 

The black, magical beast-made blades had absorbed part of his purified blood, merging the properties between the two materials.

Liam didn't waste a second and willed out a droplet of blood to absorb into his mental sphere. 

In truth, the more complex and higher-ranked item Liam wanted to invent, the more amount of blood he had to absorb. 

Smaller droplets of blood were too difficult to stuff Meanings with, but had more potential as a whole to inscribe with, since efficiency was a large part of Liam's Blood Weaving. 

However, it limited the amount of Links Liam could make.

Larger amounts were the opposite. 

They allowed for more Meanings and Links, but had lesser potential. 

The only problem was… it came with paralyzing pain.

For this reason, Liam didn't train to his full capacity with the Psionic Rune, making sure to keep at least half of his mental energy to inscribe with.

Three hours passed as Liam went through the imbuing stage – imbuing the meanings he conjured onto the droplet – the absorption stage, and finally, the application stage.

Liam desperately needed rest, and his mind throbbed every second with pangs of pain.

Gritting his teeth, he scribbled away at the weapons with what remained of his strength.

After a solid hour, he was done with everything. 

Liam's blades shimmered with the blood-red writings, the glow of which looked alive, breathing in and out.

Having no strength to smile, Liam stored the blades and put his abused head to sleep.

'Rank 2 upper-tier. Still not good enough to break through.'

///

After barely an hour or two, Liam woke up. 

His head didn't hurt as much as before, but he still didn't feel safe inscribing for at least a week. 

He prioritized stability of his mental sphere first.

'If I let the droplet cook and pair it with blood infused magical beast parts, it should be good enough to break through… but I'll have to set aside some time for that project.'

Still, Liam wasn't too confident making that claim. 

To forge something in a higher Rank required more than a simple increase in material and Ink. 

Liam needed to improve his Meanings and further his understanding. 

In other words, dip his hand into areas other than simple sharpness enhancements.

For the next five hours, Liam was absorbed in his studies, mainly Spell Making and understanding body tempering methods.

'Each type of technique requires different kinds of Meanings,' Liam remembered Richard's teachings from the Royal academy. 

'Body tempering methods often require the inscriber to understand anatomy and bodily composition. The same goes for mental attacks, that require one to repeatedly stress and understand the sea of consciousness.'

Liam's goal was to make a body tempering method that allowed him to alter and change his form freely – combining both his physical and mental abilities from his human and Ashuran side.

For that, he would begin with expanding his knowledge of Spirit Beasts, experimenting their ins and outs, alive and dead. 

Firstly, that required a darkness Spirit Beast, since Liam already had experience working with them.

Two knocks surfaced on Liam's door. 

He stored all the notebooks and parchments of paper lying around his space and quickly exited the pyramid.

There, Krel quietly waited for him, saying nothing as he gestured to the Temple.

"They've arranged another meeting… all the Elders this time."

Liam heaved a small breath, steeling his gaze as he prepared to meet five Zeniths.

///

Liam was ushered into a large hallroom. Instantly, a natural pressure pushed against his mind.

Six pillars made from dark stone held up the ceiling above, and in front were 5 chairs placed beside each other. 

Sitting upon each one, was an Elder of the Temple.

Krel was kind enough to give Liam information about each Elder. He felt about Liam not having a male member, mistaking him to be a young man forced to castrate himself. 

The first was Elder Jane, on the far left chair. She was in charge of the Mortal Ranked cultivators within the Temple, and was pensively silent.

"This is the boy?" the female Elder wearing a sleeveless robe and a black mask asked in a derisive tone. Her mental waves were far less gentle compared to Jane's. "I expected one of our own, at the very least."

The one who spoke was Elder Orisa, a formation master that managed to construct the Isolation Chamber surrounding the underground basement. Her skin was tanned, but covered with dark-blue tattoos.

Sitting in the middle was Elder Verium, the only one who didn't bother wearing a mask, revealing his skinny, pale face, enough that his cheekbones were poking through. His black hair was long, with a few shades of gray here and there.

Despite that, he was still the strongest and oldest Elder from amongst the five, his blue eyes piercing through Liam's own.

"What exactly am I looking at here?" he asked with a confused face. Not even he, despite his long age and expertise, could understand.

"Can we pick him apart and find out?" an excited, childish voice sounded next to Verium's, belonging to a petite woman jumping in her chair. "I wanna pick him apart so badly!"

Had her Zenith aura not been there, Liam would've confused Elder Aki for a sassy young child. 

She was even shorter than Liam was. The ornate black mask covered her face, leaving only her wild, dark-red hair visible from behind her.

"Obviously not, moron. We've finally found one that fits the criteria," Elder Jax denied with a firm tone. His stature was slim and lacked muscle, but his voice was aged and knowledgeable. "If he's worthy of it, of course."

Jax was the remaining male Elder, and also an inscription master. 

Liam remained silent all throughout, silently suffering through the five different mental waves that had little regard for his safety.

Their gazes pierced into Liam's soul. He felt like cornered prey, but he didn't dare show weakness.

"Tell us, boy. Why do you want to join our Temple?" Verium questioned sharply. 

Liam inwardly cursed. 

Was he really being interviewed?