Born in Blood-Chapter 577: Love

Liam thought about the rusty sword for a second.

’What should I test it on? Wait, what if it’s a one-time use item? It does look pretty worn down.’

Liam pursed his lips. ’Ah screw it.’

White Matter left his Pearl and formed a fleshy puppet.

"Hold still," Liam said, then swung the rusty sword at it.

...Nothing.

The rusted sword simply phased through!

’Okay... this thing is more special than I thought,’ Liam realized.

Then, a slightly crazy thought came to him.

’What if I use it on myself?’ Liam thought for a second... then shook his head.

He was insane, but not that insane. He had far too little information about the sword to use it in ways he could regret later on.

’If I have to guess, it’s probably ingrained with some sort of cursed ancient magic.’

Liam was definitely interested, sure... but there was much to explore, and this artifact certainly wasn’t the most enticing thing he was going to find.

He stored the weapon in his ring and moved his gaze towards the ceiling and exit.

The exit had now opened.

The ceiling hadn’t closed.

Liam got curious.

He still hadn’t killed his White Matter puppet.

Liam grabbed a hold of him by the shoulders.

"Let’s hope it leads somewhere."

Then, he hurled the puppet straight through the hole in the ceiling.

As soon as the puppet reached the ceiling hole... the ceiling shot closed, crushing it immediately.

BOOM!

The upper body of the puppet was utter mush, melting and returning to Liam’s Pearl.

’Good thing I didn’t try it myself,’ Liam thought, then looked towards the exit.

...But not before casting one last glance towards the entrance, where the Thing had been moments prior.

The banging had stopped a while back.

Perhaps it realized that it wasn’t getting through... but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hunting Liam.

’If it’s intelligent, it could be waiting for me on the other side of that exit,’ Liam realized.

So what?

He killed one.

He can kill another.

...But first, he needed to rest.

Liam looked at the giant monster corpse...

’...It could taste okay if I season it with something...’

***

Liam stood up from his spot. His theory that the corpse meat would be tasty if seasoned was far off.

It was utterly disgusting... but he forced it down anyway.

Of course, he had checked whether or not it was even possible to consume, and it was.

His strength had gradually replenished to full.

Though, spending several hours sitting in the same place wasn’t exactly the best course of action, it was a must if he wanted to be at peak condition.

As soon as Liam took a step towards the exit, the stone walls above the exit opened up, revealing the second half of the mural from earlier.

It was basically a continuation of the first three, which showcased Naxathra sacrificing his daughter for some reason, then crying about it.

This time, the first mural of the three showcased Naxathra... except, there was something different.

He was younger. Stronger, more fit looking. An ancient aura surrounded him, and Liam could feel that power even through a still image.

The mural definitely contained some magical properties.

Anyone could tell where this was going.

Liam’s eyes widened with awe.

’That’s possible?’

’If the effects of his sacrifice were instant...’

’That makes whatever technique he used one of the strongest in the world.’

Naxathra had sacrificed his daughter, perhaps the love of his life, for a very powerful boost of power and strength.

Liam’s Expel technique was somewhat similar to whatever Naxathra used.

The higher the amount of blood sacrificed, the stronger the explosion would be.

However, Naxathra’s technique worked differently.

It provided a permanent boost for a permanent sacrifice.

The next panel showed Naxathra and his daughter again, except his daughter was levitating in the air with a strange red energy wrapped around her.

The energy stemmed from Naxathra’s hand, while his eyes emitted a similar red energy.

The third panel showcased his daughter... except it was something beyond recognition.

A ghoul.

Her form was tall and twisted, her flesh a dark pale color.

Mop-like hair covered her entire face, drenched in a blood-red color.

It was horrible to look at, even.

In some ways more than others.

Above her was a single word, which the translator had picked up on quite quickly:

"Love."

The Dreaded had sacrificed his own daughter, then proceeded to turn her into a monster.

Liam suppressed his laughter.

’Yeah... maybe you win. You’re definitely worse than me.’

Love?

That was love?

Oh well.

Some people defined words differently than others.

Liam thought about love. Clearly, Naxathra sacrificed someone he loved the most. The amount of love had to equal the amount of guilt one would feel after the sacrifice, most likely defining its value.

’Who do I love?’ Liam thought.

He tried to think of someone.

But no one came to mind.

Not his dead mom.

Not Lloyd or Rogan or Revel.

He loved no one.

’...Who do I like?’ he thought briefly.

Liking was different from love.

It was a lesser version of love.

The Temple.

The Temple of Shadow.

He liked them.

He didn’t love them, of course.

But he liked them.

He liked the people that worked for him.

Liam stopped himself from thinking any longer. The thoughts were getting dark.

With nothing else left to do within the chamber, Liam slowly left through the exit.

A similar process took place. The doors behind him rumbled as stone rubbed against stone, slowly closing.

He was given two choices. Go left, or go right.

At this point, it didn’t make a difference to him.

He began moving towards the left.

...Then he was met with another corridor.

Again. Left or right.

He chose right.

He continued walking.

There was nothing of note.

No clues or writings on the walls.

This was a maze of some sort. He had yet to find any entrance.

Liam was met with yet another corridor.

He looked left. Darkness.

He looked right.

A toothy smile was just an inch away from his face.

He looked up.

She was tall, and wet, blood red hair covered her face.

"We met sooner than I thought!" Liam laughed.

Naxathra’s daughter was the Thing.

And she was smiling.