Instantly, Liam moved to digest the drops of blood. .𝒎

It was much more potent than Liam imagined it would be.

He felt like a balloon that was slowly expanding, and would eventually explode if he didn’t digest the nutrients in time.

If this was just the blood… what about the rest?!

Thankfully, Liam had nowhere in particular to be, so he could take his sweet time.

Slowly, the boost of power came to a stop.

He was still at the peak of Rank 3 of his blood, since the nourishment was equally divided between his other centers of power.

But still…

‘I just need to advance my mental sphere first. Blood, body and core can wait.’

Liam put aside the body for the moment.

Instead, he took the Psionic Rune and trained with it for the next few weeks.

That’s literally all he did.

He didn’t eat or drink or cultivate.

He didn’t socialize.

He didn’t leave his room.

He slept.

Woke up.

Trained with the Rune until his eyes were red.

Then slept.

Then repeated the cycle again and again.

Two weeks later, and he was confident that his other centers of power weren’t near advancing as much as his sea of consciousness was.

Upon which, Liam drank the remainder of the blood.

Then, he slowly digested it.

After he finished doing so, taking a short break, he threw the fingertip into his mouth!

Instead of chewing, he just swallowed it, bracing his stomach as much as he could.

Chewing was pointless.

His teeth would break apart before a nick appeared on the finger’s skin.

The fingertip tumbled down Liam’s esophagus like a rock down a well.

Then, it plopped into his stomach acids.

Like a mentos to a fizzy drink, Liam’s insides were boiling!

Liam’s stomach visibly expanded to a fat size.

His ribcage and heart was pushed back.

Some of his bones cracked out of place until he forced them back into their original position.

There was a tug of war taking place within his body!

It was painful. .

But the more he endured, the stronger his body, mind, core and blood felt.

Liam’s pores started to leak blood, causing a puddle of crimson to form below his feet.

Liam’s entire figure looked as though someone threw a bucket of red paint over him.

As the seconds ticked down, Liam’s mind expanded at a visibly noticeable rate!

Well, ‘visibly noticeable’ didn’t sound the fastest.

However, one had to remember how slow the mental sphere progressed.

It would take entire months for the barrier to move just a few centimeters from its place.

Tremors ran through his core and Chaos Pearl, while his body shook like an active guitar string.

On the other hand, his blood was literally on fire, his cells on the cusp of bursting apart.

This tug of war, or wars to be precise, continued for the next hour or so.

Until finally, it came to a stop.

Liam greedily gasped for air until he no longer had to.

Then, he looked down at the filth and grime that puddled beneath him.

‘…This is going to take time.’

***

Twelve hours passed.

The Elders felt their hearts sink as a puddle of liquid seeped through the closed door of the basement.

They rushed inside.

Instantly, their eyes widened in horror.

What… what was that thing?!

Liam looked less like a human and more like a croaking frog.

His stomach bulge was bigger than a pregnant lady’s, and veins ran all over his naked, blood-covered body.

Blood was everywhere. On the walls. On the floor. On the ceiling.

The Empress lacked a right hand, and it didn’t take a genius to know where it went.

Despite his brutal state, the Elders didn’t rush to help him.

“Uh… you good?” Ryu asked from afar.

Liam didn’t respond. Blood continued oozing out of him as his eyes were closed shut.

Ryu coughed into his fist.

“Well… uh… we’ll be here,” Ryu said uncomfortably, giving an awkward thumbs up.

Liam’s mind buzzed as it grew. Each thought was painful. Like a sharp needle stab to the brain.

Then—

HMMMMMMMMMMM!

—there was a sudden droning noise that drowned out every other sensation within his body.

Liam half-squinted his eyes, gazing over the Elders that watched him vigilantly.

Starting from his toes, a cold numbness spread throughout his body.

Liam fell backwards as a powerful drowsiness caused his thoughts to waver and sway.

Jane, Aki, Verium, Jax, Ryu, Jargon, Orisa and Kerian crouched over his face as darkness crept over his vision.

They spoke words, but all Liam heard were muffled, distorted murmurs.

‘Damn it… I’m… fading…’

Liam’s mental sphere reached an invisible threshold, then abruptly stopped expanding.

His eyes were closed, and he felt like his consciousness was plucked like a rose from its stem.

This was it!

The Self Tribulation!

***

Liam opened his eyes.

Deafening silence met his ears.

He was laying flat across the ground when he snapped awake, rising to his feet and hectically looking around for danger.

Silence.

As far as Liam’s eyes could see, there was pure whiteness in every direction.

Above, below, left, right, front, back.

A blank canvas. A white room filled with nothing but invisible lights.

That was it.

Liam grew confused. He didn’t dare let his guard down, though. He took another look at himself.

He didn’t have his powers. He tried to release his darkness, but nothing happened.

The same thing went for his Chaos Pearl, blood abilities, and his shadows.

He didn’t even have a shadow!

However, his sea of consciousness and body were the same.

He had four arms, claws, and a tentacle-covered back.

But other than that, he was bare naked.

Nor did he have any of his swords.

Great…

‘What is this place?’ Liam asked himself as though he knew the answer.

He really didn’t, though.

With nothing else to do, Liam took slow steps forward amidst the endless white void.

And yet… he just couldn’t help but feel unnerved.