Born in Blood

540  Flower of Death

BOM! BRSH! BOM! BOOM BOOM! BOM! BOM! BOOM! BOOOM! BOOM!

The explosions continued. To the outside eye, one would just see a disfigured, broken ragdoll being hurled from one side of the void to the other. Other than the small patch of mental energy, Liam's sea of consciousness was a mess. Any time a crack would form on his mental barrier, his mental waves would rush to fix them, expending itself. If the barrage continued as it was…

There was no guarantee Liam would still be alive.

Naturally, Liam's bodily wounds regenerated and fixed themselves, but he'd given up control of his body to his subconscious. He wasn't in control.

All of his focus was on his Path. Initially, it hadn't undergone any sort of change. Infinite potential… yet, empty and featureless.

Until…

WRSH!

A change.

A tiny, white speck formed in Liam's Path.

This speck was strange.

It was grayish and translucent, lacking any color… at least, upon its initial formation.

Its texture was similar to that of syrup. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It swirled.

Then, it twisted.

Then, it slightly grew in size.

Then, it expanded outwards, like a strange plant bud as it matured. Then, tinges of color formed within it, mixing rapidly.

Before long, it was no longer a speck.

Nor was it gray.

It was a sweet, vermillion-red, and it swirled in a strange, hypnotizing pattern, folding through and into itself mesmerizingly. For several seconds, it continued growing, until it resembled a strange… flower! Except…

The flower it resembled was not known for its beauty. Nor was it renowned for its pleasing smell. It was the Spider Lily, the Flower of Death.

Its stalk was different from the Spider Lily. Instead of being green, it was a darker shade of red. Not to mention, it was entirely ethereal. Ghostly, almost.

On the other hand, it had two layers of petals, each working in harmony to give the flower a macabre, but unique look.

The first layer – which was the main flower itself – was thin, angular and long. They were like skeletal fingers, eerie, with a touch of death. The second resembled more of an underlayer, a decoration for the first. Dozens of wafer-thin stalks protruded from around it, the tips of which were circular. The flower looked alive. Each petal moved and twitched, like fingers on a hand. It was… strangely beautiful. …

Liam was going to die.

***

In truth, the Chaos Pocket was… well, filled with explosive Chaos, but not just one type. It was a spectacular sight, watching everyone battling the explosions in their own little ways. Generally, the protections were doing Silivar had her magical energy, and her profound 'fairy' transformation. Initially, she decided not to use it… but the circumstances were far too dangerous not to. Wings had sprouted behind her back, and a swath of energy thickly coated her figure. She looked exhausted, but the explosive danger kept her on edge.

As soon as the barrage had started, she'd used her fluid dances to evade the attacks.

Mantis, on the other hand, simply dodged them!

Both his thin frame and unbelievably sharp scythes became even more streamlined. It seemed as though his reflexes and instincts had also become faster, judging by how fast he dodged the explosions themselves – taking advantage of the gaps between each explosion.

Most of all, Glob's way of defence was the most shocking. All he did was… nothing!

He – or it, for that matter – did nothing at all, just like Liam!

Except, unlike him – suffering cracked bones and risking death – the explosions simply bounced Glob left and right. His soft, gooey exterior gave him a profound, but strange method of protection.

The rest, those who opted for protective items, basically weathered the storm with little to no difficulty. Their armors were tattered and cracked, but they were left with no injuries. Unfortunately, some were less prepared than others. Their armors broke too early, and they were forced to suffer the brunt of the relentless assault. It didn't take long until they were knocked unconscious and eliminated.

As soon as they were out cold, they were enveloped within the void, then sucked out of the Chaos Pocket. It was an automatic savior system, which worked if the person was unconscious.

The participants knew this… which is why they were extra worried when they saw the half-dead body flying around this way and that.

Not for the body, of course.

For themselves!

Was the system broken or something?

What if it was them being knocked out unconscious?

No one knew how much time had passed. But slowly, the explosions simmered, growing weaker and lessening in number. The booms sounded more like pops, before turning into faint crackles. Then, it stopped.

WHOOM!

Just then, Asta reappeared beside Liam's… corpse?

Well, it was hard to describe it as anything close to resembling a living thing. It looked more like aged roadkill, left to rot on the side of a road. Asta poked the body.

"YOU ALIVE? HELLO?"

No response.

Another poke. "WAKE UP! YOU PASSED!" Still nothing.

Well…

Asta had a difficult expression on his face. Truth be told, out of everyone, he was cheering this particular participant on. There was something about his lack of fear. And if Asta's thoughts were right… he was pretty sure he could sense traces of a budding Path within him.

He turned towards the participants with his casual demeanor, then grinned:

"HE FAILED! HOW SAD!"

***

"Are you finally awake?" As soon as the faintest trace of consciousness formed in Liam's mind, he jolted awake, instantly spreading his consciousness.

Immediately, he had to reel it back in. He was still under the sea. Mental waves didn't function as they did above land. Rather than improving his senses, it worsened them.

Well, that, and his sea of consciousness was still riddled with countless little cracks, resembling a glass dome made of spider webs. A pang of pain forced his eyes to close, before he forced them open again.

What he saw was… strange.