Born in Blood

Liam was hypnotized by the eyes for several seconds, before he forced his vision to constrict, revealing the rest of the man's attire. 

It was a slim, slightly short man reaching 5'5 in height. 

He had smooth, alabaster skin and slender, unblemished hands and limbs.

His long hair was a smooth, corvid-black color with streaks of pearly white — styled to a loose man bun.

His attire reminded Liam of a modern scientist well-versed in biology and chemistry, but with accents that made it seem like it came from the past.

An air of knowledge naturally permeated around this man. 

Like it was attracted to him by nature.

At the same time, there was something witty about his expression.

It wasn't arrogance… or maybe it was. 

But it was deeper than that.

It was like this person knew that he was better than everyone, and nothing one did could convince him otherwise.

Even Liam felt like he was just a subject in the man's hypnotizing gaze. 

It was certain.

With the eyes.

With the aura of knowledge.

With the attire.

It was him.

Eyes of Knowledge.

And…

He asked Liam for a game of truth or dare?

Why him?

Why so suddenly?

Was there a deeper plot involved?

Was Liam being tested?

One second of silence passed.

"Any rules?" was all Liam asked.

Eyes of Knowledge grinned. 

His teeth were sparkling white.

And they were slightly sharper compared to regular teeth.

A tiny glass orb appeared in the inscription master's hand.

"The orb will dictate whether it's in your ability or not. It's built with fairness in mind."

"But if you lie? Then…" 

A dramatic pause.

"Nothing happens," Eyes of Knowledge said with a bored tone. Liam raised a brow. 

"I'm not a forceful person. I'll just deem you not interesting enough and move on to someone else."

Right. It made sense for someone who's life was based upon knowledge to strive for things that fascinated them.

Perhaps Liam's aura enticed the man to come over and play a game of truth or dare.

Liam paused for just a second.

What was more dangerous?

Giving someone who loved knowledge the truth?

Or giving him the chance to impose a dare?

Liam was uncomfortable with both choices.

But, well, he was in the thick of it now.

'I could just refuse… but maybe I can get something valuable in return.'

This was playing with fire, and the previous Liam would weasel out of it just to be safe.

But this wasn't the old Liam!

This was the new and improved Liam!

"Truth."

In the end, Liam chose truth.

Eyes of Knowledge chuckled. "I was sure you were going to choose dare, but that's fine."

"Tell me, what does your strongest ability allow you to do?" 

Slowly, the orb changed to a green hue, meaning the question was fine to ask.

"Erase a small patch of reality."

The eyes of Eyes of Knowledge widened. "Fascinating," he muttered under his breath.

He put a finger on his chin in deep thought.

Liam's answer was vague, but it wasn't false. He could leave the powerhouse to interpret it whatever way he wanted to.

"Alright," Eyes of Knowledge said, running a hand through his hair. "Your turn. I choose truth."

Liam paused.

"What does your greatest ability allow you to do?" Liam asked.

Slowly, the orb flickered red.

Eyes of Knowledge giggled.

As in, his laugh was literally a child-like giggle.

"Do you think you can compare your powers to mine?" Eyes of Knowledge said, still giggling. "Try again."

Liam definitely put Eyes of Knowledge on the future Kill List. Annoying bastard.

"What's the best, most efficient way to form a Path?" Liam asked.

…Slowly, the orb went green.

Bingo, baby.

Eyes of Knowledge grinned coldly. "Analogies and studying with 'Ora'. You visualize your goal, understand it, then put it to practice."

"What do analogies have to do with anything?" Liam asked, burning the powerhouse's words into memory. 

But Eyes of Knowledge said nothing. Right. This was still a game.

"Another round?" Eyes asked, and Liam nodded. "Except this time, we choose each other's options."

That… was a curveball, but whatever. It was even better for Liam, since all he wanted from the powerhouse was for him to choose Truth.

Who better to give advice than a powerhouse?

What use was a dare? A simple party trick that garnered some laughs, that was all.

"You go first," Eyes of Knowledge said. "I'll follow." 

Liam was a little confused as to why he was given precedence, but he couldn't complain.

"Truth," Liam said. "What are the fastest ways to improve your Path?" 

All of Liam's questions were about the Path. What else? In the Zenith ranks, that's all that really mattered. 

The orb went green, not interjecting to Liam's request. 

Eyes of Knowledge rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What am I, your teacher?" 

Despite sighing over and over, the powerhouse didn't withhold his answer.

"Environments and hardship help. Try to find locations that bring you closer to what you want to know, and don't receive any support."

Liam burned the words into his memory.

No doubt, these were valuable pieces of knowledge!

If Liam was told otherwise, he'd probably ask the Temple to help him do everything, not knowing what a detriment it was to his comprehension. 

Hardship and pain always brought development. Why hadn't Liam seen that till now? 

'This man is a gold mine,' Liam thought, hiding a smile. 'This is probably the best thing that's gonna come out of this little party.' 

And like pieces of the puzzle clicking into place, he realized why the rulers of countries were so disconnected from their people.

They were useless to them!

Politics and everything else was a mere hindrance to their Paths. 

"My turn," Eyes of Knowledge said calmly. "I dare you to…"

There was a pause, and just then, a figure appeared on the same floor as them.

Eye's of Knowledge's eyes sparkled with a sinister light as he saw who it was.

Liam's focus shifted towards the entrance, and a bad feeling grew in his chest.

Oh no.

This wasn't a good idea. 

Eyes of Knowledge finished his sentence with a muffled giggle. 

"Declare your love for the Echorian Queen."