Born in Blood

Chapter 506  White Matter

Liam bobbed up and down the ocean waves before eventually washing ashore. Elders swarmed him immediately and brought him back home, bandaging his wounds and applying medicine across his body. Liam was out cold, but he was breathing. For three weeks, he lay unconscious, but his wounds healed on his own and his sea of consciousness was slowly improving.

Eventually, Liam woke up and let out a long exhale that sounded like a hiss. His entire figure was covered with bandages, including his face, making him look like some sort of mummy. Jane, Jargon, Valerie, Kerian and Aki were in the room. Valerie had Inkshadow tattoos on her arms and fingers. Jax was getting better at making them more pleasing to the eye.

All of them immediately looked at Liam with alarm.

Had they been in his shoes, they wouldn't have survived the Tribulation.

Then again, Liam's amazing healing factor paired with his shadow abilities and prowess was nothing short of amazing. "How long was I out?" Liam asked with a frown. He was getting tired of losing out on time. "3 weeks," Jane perked up and immediately answered. "Are you okay?" All five had the same question. "Fine," Liam said with a gritty voice and distant eyes. Looking at their Sect Leader, those present felt a pang of awe at Liam's new aura.

It was a double-edged sword. It made one feel safe, but simultaneously in danger. Liam was a monster before he attained perfect Zenith status. What about now?

…Scary.

"All three of your Tribulations have been nothing short of crazy," Aki said with a sigh, then smiled. "Congrats on becoming a Zenith."

The other four smiled as well, but Liam's mind seemed to be elsewhere. Right after, Liam looked at his core and Pearl using Spirit Sight. Both felt different, but for different reasons. Liam felt like his core had gained special properties, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. It wasn't just that the darkness inside it was amazingly pure and strong. There was also something else. On the other hand, his Pearl had the wax-like substance in it… but it had cut Liam's Chaos and Corruption reserves.

Since it was now 3 elements that took up Liam's Pearl space, Chaos took ⅓, Corruption took ⅓, and whatever this element was took ⅓ as well. "Dismissed," Liam said. "I'll call if you're needed."

Valerie looked like she wanted to stay, but Jane sent her a glare and grabbed her hand. Sort of like how a mother would grab her child before she misbehaved. "By your command."

"Of course, Sire."

"Without delay, my Liege."

As such, all five of them left using their shadows.

Liam unraveled the bandages from his arms. Most of his body was back to normal. His mental sphere had a few chips here and there, but they would heal on their own. WHRSH!

Dark fire blazed over Liam's hands, covering the spacious, ornate room in a dark glow.

Liam's darkness glowed with an umbral light now. It also created a vague, static noise.

Ffffffffffff…

'Primordial Forging'll get much, much stronger now.'

Of course, the real prize was the core itself. Spirit Sight allowed Liam to see a translucent energy imbued within its dark walls.

Sort of like a blank canvas. This was probably the Path!

At least, its building blocks.

'I'll have to ask Kerian and Kamjin about their Paths. A moment later, Liam shifted his attention to Pearly. He commanded the white substance to exit, arriving at his fingers.

BLRGH!

Ghostly, white and melting over itself, the 'wax' was just as it left the Empress' solar plexus, albeit weaker and less pronounced. It looked like a living glob. "What do I name you?" Liam asked the wax. It didn't respond.

"Cu— no, let's not go there," Liam said. "Clay? Abomination Sauce?"

There was a short pause.

"White Matter? As in, opposite of Dark Matter, because you're white?" Liam asked the wax… but it didn't respond. "White Matter it is," Liam decided. "What do you do, though?" he asked again.

It didn't respond. "You don't have to make things difficult," Liam said, frowning at the White Matter. For the following minutes, Liam fiddled around with it to try and figure out its purpose.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Liam experimented with it, nothing unordinary came out of it. He couldn't throw it around. He couldn't shape it into a weapon. No Abominations spawned out of it. It was just… a glob of wax that stuck to the palm of his hand.

Liam made a disappointed face.

Then, he hummed to himself pensively.

SHHHHHHHH! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

On his free hand, a tiny sphere of Chaos shrieked. "Please work."

Liam merged them together.

BLURSH!

There was a wet mixing noise. The White Matter immediately sucked in the Chaos and enveloped it as its center, then rotated over itself like some sort of blender.

Liam took a step back and watched with awe.

Slowly, the color and form of the White Matter changed. From white, it became black. Two nubs grew out of its sides, which stretched into thick arms. Below, two more nubs grew into thighs and feet, strengthening and becoming muscular.

A circular shape on its top became a head, connected to the torso, while the mass of Chaos found itself within a familiar hollow center. It was Meathead.

It was a tiny Meathead!

Liam lost his breath for a few seconds.

Meathead's eyes crackled with red energy.

But instead of being hostile or malicious, the Abomination remained idly in its place.

Except… it was literally the size of a large squirrel.

There was a reason for that, though.

Liam had used a very small amount of White Matter and Chaos, hence why it was so small and insignificant. At the same time, Liam felt a link with the Abomination. An invisible thread that connected them together.

Liam subconsciously commanded the Abomination to move to the right… and it obeyed.

"Alright," Liam said. "Run at the wall and explode yourself."

Meathead almost looked cute as it rushed at the wall. Then, the mass of Chaos in the hollow compartment of his chest collapsed.

BOM!