Born in Blood



Suddenly excited, Liam decided to test out his newly advanced chaos.

He heaved a breath.

Slowly, he willed it out of his right palm.

Unlike before, where it would take a second or two for the chaos to leave his hand, it was almost instantaneous now.

Chaos condensed into Liam's cupped hand, slowly growing until it took the form of a small, glowing crimson sphere.

It threatened to burst… but didn't.

SHHHHHHHH!

It violently sent gales in every direction, causing Liam's hair and clothes to flutter restlessly.

The repulsion effect was incredibly strong, bending space and air much stronger than before.

Liam had never gathered so much chaos in one spot.

Before, it'd be the volume of four fingers, no more. 

If he exceeded it, it would instantly explode.

The chaos itself was brighter, illuminating a decent portion of the dark cave with a red glow. Streaks of red would crackle on its surface like lightning.

Liam stopped adding more chaos. 

His newly advanced Pearl wasn't full, and the chaotic sphere already emptied it.

Also, any more would most definitely cause it to explode. 

Still, he held onto it. 

Liam wanted to see how long it would last before exploding on its own. 

Four seconds passed. 

Liam suddenly felt a high amount of danger radiating from the growing mass of Primordial Essence.

One's own element could not hurt oneself. 

However, chaos was unpredictable. 

Who was to say Liam wasn't hurt by his own hand?

Other than the intentional times, of course.

'Best not test my luck.'

With that, Liam casually hurled it at the distant wall. 

SSHHHHHHHH!

As it left his grip, the sphere of chaos took its time soaring through the air. 

It repelled air, space and matter until eventually colliding with the concave wall.

For a split second, blinding red light filled Liam's vision, before condensing back to the sphere's size.

BOOOOOOOM!

A deafening shockwave rang out within the cave, even momentarily blowing away the waterfall to Liam's left.

Where the sphere of chaos had hit, there was no longer any stone. 

A massive crater nearly 6 meters in diameter and 4 meters in depth was what remained.

Shrapnel flew in every direction.

Liam's eyes were wide with shock.

He quickly realized why it took so long for the Pearl to advance. 

It was insanely devastating!

In his stupor, Liam assessed the amount of chaos his Pearl could hold. 

Specifically, how many chaotic spheres he could hurl just like this one.

Nine.

Nine, devastating bombs he could hurl with no required technique or spell.

Over time, this number could increase.

The pouring of the waterfall returned, and the cave was filled with silence.

Liam couldn't help but chuckle under his breath.

This was massive.

It wasn't even considering how much stronger his applications of chaos could be.

The Dusk Blades, his Ashura Form, his spells, etcetera.

In truth, Liam couldn't keep his Ashura Form active forever.

It ran on fuel.

Chaos, precisely. 

If the chaos ran out, Liam would be pulled back to his Half-Human, Half-Ashura Form.

But now, he could afford to stay as an Ashura for longer periods of time.

'I need to make a higher ranked spell now that it's stronger.'

One of the issues with spellmaking, was the failed accuracy between the Meanings, and the actual output of the cultivator.

For example, if Liam imagined his chaos as an atomic bomb going off, that didn't mean it suddenly became an atomic bomb.

However… it would be a different story altogether if his chaos actually had the destructiveness required for a spell like that.

And, well, if his mind was strong enough to conjure meanings like that, which it obviously wasn't.

Eh… maybe one day.

Nevertheless, Liam now wanted to make a stronger spell.

Something capable of expressing the might of his Rank 2 Chaos Pearl.

His sea of consciousness was certainly up to the task.

A Rank 2 Magus could make Rank 2 spells at maximum.

Making a Rank 3 spell with a Rank 2 mind was also possible. 

However, it massively depended on the comprehension of a cultivator, his Ink, and his Linking ability.

The Meanings would essentially hit a roadblock when trying for a Rank 3 spell, held back by the lower ranking mental sphere.

'It shouldn't be impossible. I can make something that just builds upon the Controlling Chaos spell.'

'I should make one for my darkness as well.'

Done with his musings, Liam cloaked himself with his Shadows, then burst out of the waterfall.

Liam's speed was explosive.

With his Shadow deepened and enlarged, Liam could envelop 95% of his body.

When he focused it down only to his legs, he could run at a total speed of 130/km per hour.

Paired with Vanishing Steps, Liam could close gaps in basically a blink of an eye.

'Pretty soon, I can submerge myself in the Sea of Darkness,' Liam smiled

It didn't take long for Liam to arrive at the Temple's underground.

Since his standing was a bit special with the Elders, he was given a Shadow's accommodation.

That, and the fact that Liam destroyed three of his previous accommodations due to his experiments.

The Elders pretty much gave them a new house out of annoyance.

Liam entered his quarters and didn't leave for the next few months.

The Temple Shadows, Disciples and Acolytes started making bets on when he'd leave.

"Before or after the next major attack?" Oro announced with a smile, the organizer of such a betting ring.

"Before!" said one acolyte, waving 'Ora' Stones in the air. 

"After!" said another, searching his pockets for money.

"Probably a month or two. Who knows what that maniac is doing now," said Ruth with a knowing smile. 

"My liege is most talented and sane. Please refrain from labeling him a maniac," Jargon sent Ruth a sharp glare, which she met with one of her own.

"Liege this, liege that. Go liege yourself some maidens," Ruth responded in disdain. 

As the two bickered endlessly, more prediction bets poured in.

Of course, all of this had to be hidden from the Elders' gaze, unless—

"OI! Didn't I tell you not to gamble and waste time?!" 

Elder Verium's angry voice rang out from behind, and everyone instantly dispersed like the shadows they were.