Born in Blood



Liam had a renewed coldness surrounding him. 

His multi-colored eyes looked half open most of the time, giving him an aloof appearance.

Except when he focused.

Then his eyes narrowed dangerously and his brows slightly furrowed.

Liam was roughly 20 years old now!

But his mental age was actually 37. 

His silver hair was long again. Untied and wild. 

Cutting it was a waste of time, so Liam just let it grow. 

Liam's hands had fully reformed now. 

Only his fingers and nails looked a little thinner and crude on a closer inspection.

Throughout the seven months, Liam had arrived at the peak of the middle-stage of a Rank 4 body. 

His core, mental sphere and Chaos Pearl were still the same Rank, though.

The more he progressed the slower everything got. 

It was surreal how fast time flew. 

The Octopi reserves had long been used.

Only Egg remained, unaware Yolk and his hundreds of his spawn had succumbed to Liam's cruel hand.

The past 7 months were spent well. 

Liam had to sacrifice most of his cultivation when working with the Triumvirate Body and making new techniques.

But it was worth it.

With a focused expression, Liam gave a nod, and the Elders surrounding him responded similarly.

Liam heaved a long sigh, then spoke with a dark voice:

"Test Run 421. Commencing."

First was Body Integration. 

For this second-last test run, Liam would be there to support the others. 

Of course, they didn't require his help in the least. 

Liam would be the one sitting in that chair, after all.

But the technique would still require finishing touches, and only Liam could alter and fix its issues.

Liam and the Elders put their palms atop the criminal's body.

Those who placed their hands on the Subject's body activated the Body Integration technique Liam had made.

In an instant, the criminal's body started to writhe. 

A wet squelching sound echoed through the vast but quiet basement.

The Subject's skin was slowly being ripped from his muscles. 

Body Integration was a Rank 3 technique, but couldn't be used in a battle at all. 

Maybe as a torture method, but not as an offensive spell.

All it did was slowly wring out the contents of a cultivator's innards. 

It squeezed everything except the centers of power to a condensed sphere.

Sort of like a rolled up blanket or sheet. As soon as control over it waned, it would spread in all directions.

Eventually, the Subject's skin and flesh were no longer touching.

But the skin didn't deflate and crumple together. 

It was paused midair due to the Formations on the ground.

There was no blood, either.

All that remained was a large ball of pure, condensed flesh.

On its circular surface, the organs were clearly visible!

Liam saw a heart, still beating, along with exhaling and inhaling lungs, followed by eyeballs and a stomach.

The only thing missing was a brain.

Which was put in a separate preservation container.

Even as the Subject's innards were squeezed together, they weren't crushed or ruined. 

Everything was accurately preserved and organized, allowing those present to calmly continue.

Carefully and delicately, the group of 9 Elders carried the Flesh Ball to the Shifter's skinsuit.

Inside the skinsuit, everything was inscribed with blood-red drawings. 

Channels that would guide the Flesh Ball on where to go.

On the mind and abdomen, however, were large cutouts meant for the remaining transfers.

Diligently, the 9 Elders let the Flesh Ball slowly unfurl and expand within the skinsuit.

Second by second, more of the emptiness was being filled, like paste squeezing through an elastic mold. 

The organs fit into place.

The eyes had been docked into their sockets.

The lungs were firmly planted in the chest.

The heart was on the left breast.

There were no visible issues. 

The only thing missing was the core and mental sphere transfer.

Those were next.

On an inscribed preservation container filled with thick viscous syrup, a Rank 3 core was encased in a fleshy abdomen. 

Elder Jax grabbed it and slowly placed it inside the cutout, which the skinsuit then covered.

10 seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

A success.

Liam wasn't happy.

There was still the Mind Isolation to worry about.

All the Elders felt their energy slowly sap away.

This cruel process was so damn taxing on mental energy and strength!

It was the only way to power the Triumvirate's procedure.

Liam could never hope to complete it alone.

The final piece was ready to be put into place. 

As four Elders took out the preserved brain, they activated Mind Isolation to keep the sea of consciousness alive.

Without a second of delay, they quickly positioned it above the skinsuit's head, allowing the drawings to do the rest.

It was over.

The damn process was finally over.

All the Elders took a step back, but Liam didn't.

If it exploded, he had to study the process of where it went wrong.

The skinsuit made a few squirming and sloshing noises, like an obnoxiously loud chewy eater.

The Shifter's skin was fitting around the innards. 

Soon enough, it started to resemble Subject 421's human appearance.

Then, it stopped.

Liam saw the Subject 421's chest rise and fall.

He was breathing.

But his eyes were closed.

Liam narrowed his eyes.

He felt the Subject's sea of consciousness and core. They were intact.

Nothing went wron—

The Subject's inky-black eyes shot open.

A dangerous sensation spread across the underground.

The Subject jolted upright, his breathing turned erratic and hectically rapid. 

His eyes darted left and right in a panic. 

As he spotted Liam, his fully black eyes widened in a mixture of dangerous emotions.

A wrath-filled shriek filled the basement as the Subject suddenly started to scream from the top of his enhanced lungs. 

"YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU DID THIS TO ME! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

Screaming, his entire body started to squirm and writhe uncontrollably, jotting with jagged bones that softened and hardened intermittently from his skin.

He lunged at Liam with incredible speed.

"DIE—"

Liam swung once with his renewed Dusk Blade.

The Subject's head rolled off his shoulders with a squelch and plopped against the floor.

The Elders were stunned throughout the entire procedure. 

Liam let out a tired sigh… but grinned broadly.

The Golden Cranes felt a shudder down their spines as they heard his next words.

"...Subject 421. Success. Death due to a weak will."