Born in Blood

The sound of thick, viscous liquid pouring into two separate glasses rang out for several seconds, before coming to a stop.

A whiff of its smell passed through Liam's nose, causing his face to wrinkle in disgust. 

One had to remember that Liam was indifferent to even the most severe of pain. 

And this was just a smell!

And yet, it made him recoil with just how vile, noxious and nauseating it was. 

Spirit of Nature… yeah, right. Aren't the Amazonians supposed to be friendly or something? 

So much for that.

"We call this… the Uruaz," Spirit of Nature said with a sinister grin. Her teeth were blindingly white. 

"The 'Drink of Death'."

Spirit of Nature's accent was a little thick. 

She was speaking to Liam in the Ilalian tongue, meaning she had studied it probably moments prior to this party.

It was the equivalent of a Russian person speaking English.

"How charming," Liam said with a monotone voice. "Have anything named the Drink of Life?" 

Spirit of Nature laughed deeply for one second. "We do," she confirmed. "But we serve those in weddings and ceremonies. Moments of happiness. This is not one of them."

"Well, I have quite a few rings if you're willing to tie the knot with me," Liam said with clear sarcasm in his voice. "But I warn you, most of them are filled with corpses. Mostly of beasts… but some might be of the human variety."

"Confessing first to the Queen, and now me?" Spirit of Nature scoffed heavily. "If you can joke, you can enjoy a drink." 

She nudged a glass towards Liam, and grabbed one herself, raising it and waiting for Liam to pick up his own. 

It was merely 25 ml of… whatever the vine juice was, but it still looked lethal to swallow.

Green and viscous, it bubbled and gurgled, as though the drink was alive. If it was, it was being tormented and begging to be put out of its misery.

'Ah, aren't we all, friend,' Liam thought to the drink. 'Aren't we all.'

A second later, Liam drank it all in one gulp.

The consistency felt similar to murky pond water.

As it passed through his poor gullet, it singed his esophagus but didn't melt it. On purpose, of course.

It wasn't as though the Drink of Death wasn't incapable of liquidating his insides. It certainly felt strong enough, but that didn't happen.

Instead, it flowed down into his belly, shooting pulses of pain to his nervous system, circulatory system, digestive system and every other system in his ruined soul.

Spasms and convulsions ensued, nearly rocking him off his chair. Thankfully, a firm but gentle hand held his back in place. 

Spirit of Nature looked surprised momentarily, but a proud smile grew on her face a second later. "That is what I am talking about! Well done, well done!"

A second later, with her free hand, she put the drink to her lips.

Except, just then, Liam swiftly yanked it out of her hand.

"Huh?" 

As she muttered a word in confusion, Liam drank her glass in one go, too!

The pain doubled, and Liam lost control of his body, causing him to drop the glass and fall limp.

One might question why he would do such a stupid thing, and that was simple. 

Some people, like Spirit of Nature, solely relied on their instincts to judge and characterize a person.

In short, the more they respected you, the more they were willing to share their friendship and their knowledge.

Of course, this little act of his was gonna take a toll on his body… but truth be told, he enjoyed the pain.

Like always, it made him feel alive.

He was having a seizure, though, and Spirit of Nature had to wrap her powerful arm around his neck just to make sure no one saw him dying.

Looking at him from the side, she was laughing under her breath as though she had witnessed something spectacular. 

"You!" she whispered with an excited smile. "You are interesting! I have never seen a human from the Outer Lands to be so daring. Not bad, not bad at all."

Liam was still convulsing, unable to answer. His stomach acid was sun-hot, forcing him to breath in short, strained breaths.

A second later, Spirit of Nature took out what looked like a glowing, perfect leaf from her ring. 

She rubbed it once against Liam's nose, and miraculously, the pain slowly simmered to a halt. 

It took a few seconds for Liam's breathing to revert back to normal… but he was covered with sweat all over.

Liam gulped with a numb mouth. Mockingly, he sighed as though he was refreshed. "Lovely. Have anymore?" 

Spirit of Nature blinked.

Then started laughing as loud as she could, uncaring of the other powerhouses that may or may not have felt annoyed.

"Do not dare me to bring out something stronger, little one," Spirit of Nature said, clearly bantering. "I certainly have more." 

She released Liam's neck from her grip, then turned to him completely, placing her elbow on the bar table.

"You look more like a… how do they say it in your language… 'playboy' than you do a real man. I stand corrected."

Silence.

Liam sighed dramatically. 

"What can I say? Of all the sins I'm guilty of, my charm has to be the greatest of them."

"No," Spirit of Nature said pitifully. "It would be your cold blooded killings, Reaper."

Silence.

Liam slightly scoffed. "So you knew who I was all along."

"How can I not?" Spirit of Nature said with a solemn tone, running a hand through her unkempt, long hair. "But I would be a hypocrite if I held who you are against you."

Then, her tone grew a little heavier, and a malicious glimmer flashed in her green eyes.

"I have killed more."

…Fair enough. 

Spirit of Nature… 

Liam wondered if her name coincided with her personality. 

Not killing unless it was absolutely necessary, sort of like the processes occurring within nature itself.

Though… when the killing did happen, it was vicious and cruel beyond the realms of man. 

Certainly, that's what she looked like. At first glance, at least. 

That made Spirit of Nature just a little more menacing by Liam's assessment.

"You've killed more because you've lived longer," Liam retorted with a little smirk. "Give me time. I'll break records."