Born in Blood



Liam raised a brow.

"Sentience?" he asked.

Liam had to ask his questions.

It wasn't everyday he got to speak with a Rank 6 cultivator.

Even now, the Temple Elders wanted to ask him for advice.

But Liam and Usan spoke alone.

Well, until a Shadow Clone abruptly formed between them. 

Instead of being of darkness, it was made from tendrils of shadows.

An annoyed expression was on its face.

"You seriously piss me off," the Shadow Clone told Liam with a frown. Then, he snapped towards Usan. 

"You piss me off too. You're putting all your cards on this little twat?! Him?! Look at him!"

Liam looked incredulous. 

A Shadow Clone!

Insulting him!

That was just a new low.

He was stunned.

Usan chuckled under his breath and took another gulp of ale.

"Yeah. Get drunk, hobo! Forget about your worries! Meanwhile, I'm busting my balls everyday—"

"You were literally born a few days ago," Usan interjected.

"—trying to find a way to fix you!" the Shadow Clone completed.

"So it's a part of you, but it's not a part of you, either? How does that work exactly?" Liam asked, ignoring the Shadow Clone.

That only made it angrier.

"You dare ignore me, twat?! I can kill you just as fast as he can!" the Clone shouted with an animated expression.

"Yeah," Usan answered, ignoring the Shadow Clone. "It has my memories, my abilities and my strength. Just not my personality."

"I think it's a result of my consciousness. At one point, it just works on its own and runs my body."

"But my shadows are different. I've used them all in different ways, so this is the one I used for healing myself."

Liam raised his brows in amazement. 

The Shadow Clone growled in anger, but didn't add anything.

"Is it just the one? Can't you produce mo—"

Three more Shadow Clones formed inside the hall.

"I agree with number one. He's a liability," a second Shadow Clone said with a dark voice. 

"I say we kill him and study his organs."

Liam furrowed both brows. 

He looked towards Usan.

Usan shrugged, taking another sip of ale. 

It was probably the Shadow Clone he used to kill people with.

Meanwhile, the third Shadow Clone said nothing and studied the underground hall curiously. 

It inspected the formations and inscriptions around the space, nodding to himself now and again.

Definitely what he inscribed with.

And the fourth one… well, it was an overweight version of Usan, with a bulging stomach and two chins.

"Hi," he waved timidly. 

This particular shadow was obviously used for Isolation Barriers and formations.

Seeing all of that, Liam actually felt a bit of fear.

…What would his Shadow Clones be like?

Better stave off those thoughts for when it mattered.

The underground hall grew rowdy as Number 1 kept bickering with Number 2 and Number 4.

Usan waved his hand, and they all scattered in different directions.

"What a headache," Usan grumbled.

"I'm ready to complete the Triumvirate body, by the way," Liam said. 

Usan nodded, gulped the rest of his ale, before leaving the basement.

"Let's get it done, then."

***

Liam strapped himself naked into the 'victim chair', chaining his limbs, surrounded by more than a dozen different Elders and the Unforgiven.

He'd never gone to the dentist as a child (they were too expensive), but if he did, the view he had would probably look something similar.

He wasn't afraid or nervous. 

Everything had been practiced and put to the test. 

Now that a new and improved Usan was going to help him, he felt reassured.

The only problem was… the four Shadow Clones were going to be helping in the process. 

Liam firmly denied it at first, but Usan assured him that the percentage of success would vastly increase with them helping.

Thus, Liam relented.

But he didn't like the look in Number 2's dark eyes.

"Ready?" Usan asked.

Liam nodded.

There was no anesthesia involved in the process. 

Liam had to be aware for the entire duration to make it easier.

Usan, his Shadow Clones, and the Elders all prepared for the first step. 

Body Integration.

Liam felt a dozen palms make contact with his body.

Wherever they touched, skin disconnected from the body, but remained still as the flesh started to condense.

It took its sweet time.

Liam's Ashura flesh was much more rigid and dense compared to a normal human's, but Transfiguration helped during the process.

Liam felt everything being rolled away. He shaped his bones to fit the Flesh Ball, his nerves feeling all kinds of wrong.

All that remained of his body was a Flesh Ball!

Pain!

A lot of pain!

Usan didn't waste time and quickly put the Flesh Ball into the skinsuit.

Then, they opened up Liam's abdomen and gently 'yanked' it out, fitting it in the skinsuit.

Pain!

Then, they cut into Liam's solar plexus and carved around the Chaos Pearl, yanking it out.

Pain!

Following this was Liam's left and right eye.

They were special eyes, and the eyes of a squid were obviously a downgrade.

They yanked both of them out!

Pain!

Finally, there was the sea of consciousness remaining.

They cut into his black skull and scooped out the brain, activating Mind Isolation.

But there was no pain.

Technically, Liam was currently dead!

His nerves were disconnected from his body.

It felt as though he was drowning underwater.

Everything was muffled.

He was just a mind.

It felt like hours had passed.

Maybe more.

But Liam was still dead.

'Was it a failure?' Liam thought.

Funny enough, he could still think despite having no body.

The next instant he felt his brain being stabbed with a million different needles.

PAIN!

Senses flooded back to him. Foreign but incredibly precise and simultaneously hectic. 

Incoherent screams and ear-splitting shrieks overwhelmed his thoughts, forcing him to growl in suppression and anger.

A strange sensation ran through his body and blood.

Then, Liam's eyes flickered open, giving the Elders watching up close a jump scare.