Liam jolted upright, as though he had awoken from a horrible dream, breathing raggedly and sweating all over.
He found himself amidst a shadowy domain, with umbral darkness neither his King’s Eye nor senses could pierce through.
The floor beneath him was a viscous red liquid, rippling with the slightest movement.
Liam looked at his right arm.
It was gone… but there was no pain or blood. Just a phantom limb that he couldn’t control or move.
‘It was no dream.’
Another assessing look over his marred body revealed the missing chunks of flesh. Liam was in a much worse state than he realized.
“Would you have liked it to be a dream?”
Raast’s mocking voice rang out amidst the darkness. It was still terrifying and deep as ever.
Liam grimaced… but any fear he might have had was drowned out by the bitter taste of defeat.
He felt anger at himself — for embracing death — at the cards he was dealt with, and how he was merely inches away from getting away.
“You sure talk big for someone hiding in my head. Is a voice all you have?” he countered, standing up and facing the voice.
A guttural laugh.
“No longer afraid… good. This will be easier, then.”
Liam remained silent as a silhouette emerged from amidst the darkness.
A frame grew visible, only he couldn’t properly assess it 𝒷𝓭ℴ𝓋𝓵.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Drip, drip, drip.
Each of the footsteps were wet and heavy, violently rippling the liquid floor.
Liam watched as the figure took its time leaving the shadows and slowly coming into view.
As it did, Liam realized he was looking at a waist.
A slightly tanned, muscular waist, decorated with countless ornate patterns that were etched into it like ancient armor.
The lower body was covered by several layers of loose red and black cloth, covering it from view.
Liam’s neck slowly creaked upwards, following the patterns up to the chest, where the same intricate designs continued and spread out, reaching the shoulders and continuing towards the arms.
…All six of them.
The arms had an alloy sheen of their own, riddled with drawings and ancient writings. Gauntlets that radiated regality and power without looking bulky or unpleasing to the eye.
Finally, Liam moved to the face.
It was square shaped and sturdy, ornate designs connected to the tanned lips, cheekbones and scalp.
Human-like, if one could call it that, except there were no irises within the glowing white eyes. The eyebrows were of a similar color, thin and saber shaped, paired with long and wild silver hair flowing behind his back.
Overall, the Ashura was at least 3 meters tall.
Liam didn’t know what emotion to express first. His mind spiraled into a chaotic mix of shock, confusion, and bewilderment, resulting in a dumbfounded expression.
There was utter silence for a good few minutes.
Liam couldn’t make heads and tails of the situation.
Why was there an Ashura in his mind?
Was it psychosis from nearing death?
Or was he already dead?
Raast stared amusingly at Liam’s shocked face. His ‘lips’ curled to a smile, which revealed a precise row of sharp, palisade teeth, sharper than any blade or knife Liam had wielded.
Liam’s shock turned into a grimace.
He suppressed any unstable emotion and steadied himself. There were a million questions to ask, but he remained silent until Raast eventually explained.
“The rest could not handle the sight of me. That’s why I took my time with you. I couldn’t risk losing a potential heir.”
…The rest? Heir?
Everything was moving too fast.
Liam’s mind spun.
“You are not the first I have visited. What you’re seeing is simply a rendition of my consciousness and body, made by the original Raast and sent throughout the realms.”
“The original Raast is already dead.”
Raast’s face slowly morphed into quiet rage on the last line.
The shadows surrounding Liam started to shake and churn. Harrowed shrieks rang out in the background. The air grew suffocatingly heavy.
Suppressing his fear took much more effort compared to before, but Liam somehow managed.
Slowly, those effects simmered down, and Liam could breathe again. His mouth opened to ask away, but the rendition’s words stopped him.
“Any questions you have regarding the war, or how I got to you, save them. This rendition has forgotten nearly everything.”
“I spent millenia trying to find someone worthy, pulling them out of their realms with only this… spirit intact.”
Liam’s eye widened. Realms? Raast pulled him into the world of cultivation?
“Lower humans are fragile,” Raast interrupted his line of thought. “I wouldn’t have chosen them if I had a choice.”
“None of them were hungry. They settled for lower forms of power and took the easy paths. Everyone I hosted died after a few years, forgotten by the world.”
“They were weak.”
Raast looked over at Liam with a complicated glimmer in his bright white eyes.
“You are different. Driven. Hungry. Angry.”
Raast paused.
“…Worthy.”
Liam remained silent.
A compliment coming from an Ashura was a strange thing to experience, yet the questions left unanswered clawed at the back of his mind.
“Worthy of what?”
Raast smiled cryptically.
“My inheritance.”
Liam’s scowl slightly softened, yet inwardly, his brain was shooting in a hundred different directions.
“What exactly can you give me?”
“A chance to survive.”
Liam grumbled. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“You want something in return?”
Raast scoffed derisively.
“Of course.”
The air got heavy again.
“This power was the reason the war started, coveted by all the races. I can still remember that despite the holes in my memory.”
Liam frowned.
Slowly, the air got back to normal.
“Tell me how you can help first,” Liam settled on asking.
Raast grew stern.
“The chaos in your body. Its true name is Primordial Essence, and your body will soon shatter under its power. It’s too strong for normal humans to wield.”
Liam’s face turned dark. He clicked his tongue.
“And you can help me how, exactly?”
“All I can give you is the chance to become an Ashura yourself. You will lose the ability to reproduce due to the Opposition’s influence, and there’s a slight chance it won’t work due to your human bloodline.”
“But if it succeeds… you will be limitless.”
Liam remained silent. He was going to be killed shortly. He was backed into a corner, and of all things, an Ashura came to his aid.
“Tell me the condition.”