Born in Blood-Chapter 556: Round 2

The Ravenous Heart was completed, and even looking at the parchment paper it was inscribed on gave Liam a faint sense of joy.

It was an important milestone. One that displayed just how far he had come.

’From a shoddy noble estate and a space ring with 20 square meters of space, to inventing wonders at the bottom of the ocean.’

It really sounded like one of those "I had five dollars in my pocket when I came to this country," stories.

’I wouldn’t have it any other way.’

He smiled, then didn’t waste a second more.

Immediately, he began the technique.

Of course, unlike the Triumvirate Body, the Ravenous Heart did not require a special procedure, even though it was several times its complexity.

In total, it would only take five to ten minutes, depending on how long it would take to kick in.

Liam began straight away, laying on his back and taking a series of deep, controlled breaths.

Then, he activated the technique.

A morbid, almost harrowing feeling bit at Liam’s entire body. He felt as though a cord somewhere in his soul had snapped... never to return. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

This was the first phase.

Disconnection.

Liam was no longer connected to his bodily ’Ora’, causing his entire body to fill with a frigid, unnerving cold. It was... unpleasant, to say the least, making him feel like a living corpse for the rest of the process.

Well, if it was a failure, that’s what he would end up as... but best not think of bad thoughts.

Almost instantly, Liam’s blood began to flow on its own accord, enveloping his heart like a cocoon and shaping it into an otherworldly form.

His heart tissue disintegrated, tore apart, and reformed. Meanwhile, his entire circulatory system expanded to grotesque, almost surreal size.

Veins and vessels, nerves and flesh were being intertwined, removing the barrier between body and organ.

They were being unified.

This was the second phase: Unification.

His Pearl, core and sea of consciousness remained wholly untouched by the deathly, yet profound metamorphosis.

From the exterior, it looked like something horrible was taking place within his body, but his appearance remained untouched.

Liam had not changed anything in that regard in the first place. Besides, there was no reason to. Transfiguration already allowed him to change his looks as though they were outfits.

Then came the last and final phase: Reconnection.

Liam’s blood and heart were plugging together, forming the circuit required for the technique to run.

Soon, all three phases, Disconnection, Unification and Reconnection were completed.

After roughly seven minutes, Liam’s heart cocoon ceased its transformation.

The layer of blood covering its form slowly peeled away, revealing the wondrous product within.

A smile formed on Liam’s face.

’Wow. That’s loud.’

THMP-THMP, THMP-THMP, THMP-THMP!

Pulsing with the power of a mighty drum, the organ shone with a radiant, almost ethereal ruby hue, casting a soft red glow through his chest.

’Damn. I need to dampen the brightness on this thing.’

With every beat, blood surged forth, vibrant and extremely potent, as if infused with newfound life.

The feeling of becoming a corpse disappeared in the blink of an eye. Liam felt more alive than ever, sighing out a deep breath of relief and joy.

This was just the outside of the Ravenous Heart.

Despite being solid, the inside resembled a sponge. Microscopic gaps one-hundredth of a human hair filled its interior, which was also how the Heart condensed and purified its ichor.

In short... his heart had basically become an engine.

The transformation had bestowed upon Liam a heart that was not merely an organ, but a pure source of vitality and strength.

It had to be said that the power of Liam’s blood stayed the same, even after combining with his peak Rank 4 body.

It had integrated with a solid, causing it to lose some of its uniqueness and over power.

Nevertheless, it was a small sacrifice for a greater goal.

Besides, now that they were one entity, he could progress both at once without having to worry about one or the other.

Liam stood up and let out a slow breath. Removing the bottleneck made him feel like he’d released a tightrope from his throat.

His heart, soul and body longed for even more power, polishing his tireless motivation.

’I’m so close to the fifth rank, I can smell it!’

...Smelled like a lot of bloodshed.

Briefly, Liam inspected the immediate results of his bodily change. Contrary to his expectations, his Ashuran strength and lineage did not lessen one bit. What did he expect from a body method centered around just blood?

In fact, it did the opposite!

...Well, it didn’t return all the power he lost, but still.

If the Triumvirate Body had reduced his strength from 100 to 30, the Ravenous Heart had brought it back to a solid 40.

Not great, not terrible, but decent.

Any deeper detail would require him to fight and test out his blood abilities.

Liam furrowed his brows, as though he was forgetting something.

Truth be told, he was mentally exhausted. Even the waves of his mental energy were only functioning at half the speed.

Spending a year and a half doing nothing but inscribing with minimal breaks in between could do that to someone.

"Me," the Dusks suddenly said, still stored in his ring. "You’re forgetting me."

Oh, right.

The upgrade.

He promised the swords he’d do it after the fight with Gorock, nearly a year and a half ago.

"Do I have to do it now?" Liam said, tired. "I’m sick of inscribing."

"Please," the Dusks begged. "It won’t take nearly as long as your body thing."

Liam groaned in annoyance, then plopped back down.

***

’How old am I now?’

In total, two years had passed.

One and a half years for the Ravenous Heart, and six months for the Dusk Blades.

The cruel blades took way longer than he expected. Heck, he even took shorter breaks... but maybe that made it even worse.

The good thing was that it was finally over.

Liam raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, then shattered the mountain peak he had enclosed himself into.

BOOO

OOM!

He smiled.

’Time to visit an old friend.’

It was time for Round 2.