Born in Blood

Liam was 21 and a half now.

Nowadays he looked much like his father, to his dismay. Only facially. The eyes, hair and everything in between was his own.

Liam could easily change his face.

But he didn't.

He wanted to remind himself of a debt he owed to the Royce family.

Nevertheless.

Liam raised the Breaker Blade above his head.

It was as tall as Liam, around 5'11 feet. 

It was double-edged, but it wasn't sharp due to the thickness of it. It was nearly 2 inches thick!

It was wider than Liam, too. The length of two adult arms side to side.

The tip wasn't narrow. It was wide, like the top of a pyramid. 

The shape was unique to its width and height.

This wasn't a weapon of sharpness or viciousness.

It was a weapon of power.

It was damn heavy, too. More than 212 kg of condensed scales and bones. All of which was layered atop one another.

Liam actually had to exert force in order to hold the titanic weapon. 

The average Rank 3 body could not hold it.

And it wasn't made by just any normal scale.

They were the scales of a Darkness Devouring Dragon!

What did a Darkness Devouring Dragon do?

They absorbed darkness to get stronger.

The beast was incredibly rare, and Usan had given it to him as a gift.

Liam wanted to save it to make a Rank 4 weapon, but decided to use it here and now.

Liam had used its entire body to forge the blade!

Everything was used.

Not a single morsel of flesh was spared in its making.

The result was a peak Rank 3 weapon that looked monstrous and menacing.

It looked like something to slay dragons with.

Liam heaved a long sigh. A smile formed on his lips.

With one hand, he outstretched the Breaker Blade.

Then, he activated Sword Hardening.

SHIIING!

The sharp noise rang out and lingered. Since the Breaker Blade was so tall, it took a few seconds for Sword Hardening to cover the entire thing.

Liam smiled as it finished.

'Now…'

'To connect with it.'

Liam activated Sword Connection.

HMMMMM.

The sword hummed loudly. 

Louder than the Dusk Blades and the Black Blade.

Liam held his breath.

Slowly, the hum calmed down.

Liam felt the blade's emotions.

It felt… stoic and had a powerful will. Like all of its emotions were in check and kept under control.

"Cruel hands hold my hilt," the Breaker Blade said with a melancholic tone. "Cruel. So very cruel."

Its voice was deep and menacing. Grim, like someone who'd seen too much, been through too much.

Silence.

Liam furrowed his brows a bit.

What did a blade know about life experience?

Despite calling him cruel, the Breaker Blade wasn't angry or disgusted at him.

The sword was now a tool for him, after all.

It was not stained with blood.

But soon, it would be.

And it would be just as guilty as Liam.

This was why the Breaker had a solemn aura.

Liam swung the blade from top to bottom.

WHOOOSH!

A loud gust of wind gushed the area where Liam swung, causing the patches of grass to sway violently.

It wasn't a special ability. 

It was literally just the weight of the sword being swung with force in that direction.

The only drawback of so much power in its base form was its speed. 

The Breaker Blade was a bit slow.

'Not too big an issue,' Liam thought, idly swinging the sword.

Then, Liam supplied the sword with his darkness.

SHHHHHH!

Darkness swirled around the weapon's hilt and enveloped the blade, absorbing it.

Liam felt the weight of the weapon grow in his hand.

From 212 kilos, it rose to 240.

At that point, it stopped absorbing darkness.

The Breaker looked incredibly menacing.

Liam even felt its emotions change.

From a melancholic and stoic aura, it slowly became filled with rage and maliciousness. 

An almost bestial energy.

Liam smiled.

'That's more like me.'

Then, Liam swung once with the heavy sword, aiming for a patch of grass.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Mud and grass flew in all directions.

A radius of more than 45 meters turned into a wasteland. 

A second later, the grass and mud reformed and grew back as though nothing had happened.

As the darkness discharged, Liam felt the Breaker melancholic again.

'Can't do much to change its feelings,' Liam thought.

'As long as it doesn't interfere with what I want to do, then it can stay that way.'

Liam put the Breaker Ring inside his shadows, then cultivated to gain back his strength.

Even with his proficiency and experience in inscriptions, making a peak Rank 3 item strained his body.

He needed to rest for at least a week.

While Liam slept, the three blades were introduced to one another.

"So you're the new one?" the Black Blade asked the Breaker within the Inner World. She gave a 'smile'. "You're massive."

"That's what she said," said the Dusk Blades, laughing gutturally between themselves.

They were proud of that joke.

Black Blade sighed. 

Obviously, the blade wasn't a 'she'. 

But due to the differences of voices, the Dusk Blades called it a 'her'.

"I always tell him to store these two in a ring. He doesn't understand how annoying they get."

***

Liam awoke.

It was time to get past this damn Trial once and for all.

Liam took out all three of the Blades.

"I'm gonna use all three of you at the same time," Liam said.

All three of the weapons nodded firmly.

Liam's back sprouted with three octopus tentacles.

Two to the sides of his shoulder blades, and one at the spine.

Although Transfiguration in the previous Trials made him weak, it wasn't the same here.

Liam coated each of the swords with his shadows and Sword Hardening, making each sword beautiful in its own way.

Liam wielded the Black Blade in the middle tentacle, and the Dusk Blades on his shoulder blades.

Then, Liam gripped the Breaker Blade in his own hand.

It was a two-handed weapon, but Liam could move it with just one hand. 

His monstrous physique came in handy during such times.

'Let's get this damn Trial over with.'