Born in Blood

Before Half-head could complete his sentence, Liam lurched for Reyan's arm.

Liam knew he couldn't be reasoned with.

The old coot was missing half of his brain, and was more unstable than Liam's chaos. 

And he had defeated a Celestial's 'anatomized will', whatever that was. That put him at the level of a Rank 6 powerhouse or even more.

Thus, Liam had two choices.

First, make a run for the fractured walls.

Most probably, the range of Half-head's control couldn't go past the fake dimension. 

There was one reason Liam thought this.

Half-head was not alive.

How did Liam know?

Half-head's aura was a mix of dark red and black energy. In fact, his whole body was composed of this material. 

Obviously, Liam didn't know what those energies were. 

But there was neither mental energy, nor 'Ora' around him.

Not a wisp.

Not to mention, Half-head could not possibly survive for so long with such wounds. 

He was basically a vessel at this point.

But this choice, like the other, was a major gamble.

The other choice was the Recall Rune in Reyan's ring. 

The only reason Liam liked this plan over the former, was because of the way the inheritance was set up.

One thing was for sure, Liam knew that Half-head could not produce those glittering runes that provided the Eternal Sword's techniques.

The inheritance probably worked as a factory to produce them repeatedly. 

And the Recall Rune was obviously among them.

Although Liam wanted to use Honed Void to break apart the inheritance from the inside, it would simply take too much time.

And there was too little chaos for him to even consider it, or even fully transform into an Ashura.

All he could do was semi-transform and strengthen his body with Transfiguration.

Then, in one fluid motion, Liam reached for Reyan's space ring, cleared away the mental energy from it, and hectically scrambled to find the Recall Ru—

Half-head snapped his fingers.

Liam felt like something was growing in his stomach, causing thick veins to bulge across his body as he tried to push it down.

An invisible force was trying to expand his insides, sending violent vibrations throughout his form. 

If one looked at Liam, they'd see two versions of him. Sort of like a mirage or an after-image.

Liam was exploding.

But he hadn't.

At least, not yet.

In real time, he was fighting against the expanding force growing in his body.

Liam felt like his organs were degenerating as ethereal waves of dark red and black energy started to seep into them.

The only reason his Chaos Pearl and core weren't shattered already, was because Liam was using the goblin meat he had stored as a type of sponge.

It was agonizing, but Liam's tolerance for pain had steadily risen throughout the past few years.

Liam attempted to use Transfiguration to combat the destructive force, succeeding only in lessening its effect.

The inevitable came.

BOOM!

Like a balloon bursting, Liam's entire figure combusted into strings of biological mass and bright blood. 

Cracks spread across his sea of consciousness like a broken mirror. 

Instantly, his ears popped.

His nerves went numb.

But he wasn't dead.

Somehow, his centers of power were still safe. 

And his most important organs, the heart and the brain, were still functioning.

But Liam's consciousness was slipping. 

Darkness took over his vision, leaving only vague silhouettes. 

His senses became muffled, as though he was under water.

Which he probably was. 

The connection between Liam and his swords was slowly fading.

His body looked like it had passed through a meat grinder. 

DEATH.

No doubt, this was death.

He ran from it this long, but in the end, it was inevitable.

Silence.

Seconds felt like hours.

'Unlucky,' Liam thought wryly. Thinking hurt. 

He'd done all he could. 

It was not a matter of him not succeeding. It was a matter of succeeding not being an option. 

'It is what it i—'

Tap.

Something pressed against Liam's body as he sunk deeper into the water. 

It was warm to the touch, and his Shifter skin – which could sense luminosity – felt its brightness.

…The Recall Rune!

Just before the invisible force grew in Liam's stomach, he actually managed to fling the rune out.

But then he exploded.

…But here it was!

Liam used all the remaining blood in his body to Transfigurate himself one last time. 

Slowly, a black octopus tentacle sprouted from Liam's side, where the Recall Rune was.

It extended and wrapped around the rune before a stream of water could pull it away.

Then, Liam gripped it as hard as he could.

It was clear that Liam was attempting to crush it.

'Come on!' Liam exerted all the effort he possibly could without shattering his mental sphere. 'Come on!' he repeated.

Little cracks formed around the Recall Rune.

And eventually—

KRSH!

It broke.

WHOOOOM!

Liam's form was seized away, yanked upwards towards the fake dimension's 'roof'. 

Due to the sudden movement, Liam instantly lost consciousness.

Light basked him, causing the sea he was drowning to brighten, like a dying star reborn anew.

It looked even more majestic when he emerged from its dark depths.

"NO!" Half-head shouted desperately. He snapped his fingers again, but there was no explosion this time. "NO!"

Liam was gone.

He flew upwards and upwards through the walls, in an umbral state of semi-awareness, and with no understanding of time.

All he knew was that he was alive, along with vague senses that hinted to where he was.

Right now, he was flying above the World's Cut, judging by the forceful waves of gushing water shooting past him.

Then, he was in the air.

Somewhere above the World's Cut.

Then, Liam felt a familiar sensation running through his flesh and muscles, repairing his degenerated figure.

Though, strangely, Liam still felt the dark red and blackish energies infecting his muscles.

Slowly, Liam felt the cracks on his sea of consciousness being slightly repaired.

Enough for him to open his eyes without feeling pain.

The first thing Liam saw when he opened his eyes, was a broadly grinning Usan and the Elders of the Temple of Shadow.

Liam closed his eyes to sleep again.

...

Finally, he was back home.