[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 193 - Blood Domain

There was no such thing as a wholly isolated concept. Within everything, there was a touch of everything else. Few people understood this as well as Freddy, who could simply look at something and see how it was connected to insanity. Naturally, he couldn't always decipher these connections, but it was like the difference between trying to read text by touching it in the dark and turning on the light—it made things a whole lot easier.

Some of these concepts were useful. Some of them were not. Some connections were strong. Some weren't. Some he could use to empower his abilities. Others he couldn't. But at the end of the day, all of these concepts existed only within the context of insanity. If he wished to step outside it, he needed to rely on something else.

This was usually where the blood coins came in. 

They gave him glimpses that were not only more useful but were even specifically tied to the way his abilities functioned.

By using aura from broken Sanguine Avengers, he got numerous insights into how the sword killed things. But even then, these concepts could only be somewhat extrapolated to his other abilities. On top of that, with each new blood coin he consumed, he got fewer and fewer valuable insights.

It was becoming increasingly apparent that if he wanted to make serious progress with meditation, he would have to stop relying on crutches and start relying on himself. 

There were things Freddy was good at, and there were things that he was bad at. Meditation was something he was okay at. 

He was slow and usually had no clue what the hell he was doing, but he'd never received any kind of education or guidance on how to do it. With that in mind, he could almost be called impressive. 

But regardless of his innate talent, the sheer amount of experience he could draw from made his life a lot easier. He had spent almost every day for weeks on end spilling blood, and that was after a couple of very bloody years. Even an idiot could realize a thing or two after all that.

But rather than just a thing or two, he was starting to see something… more.

With his experience, the blood coins, and his sixth sense for insanity, all he needed was another small nudge, and he would stumble upon something huge.

On that day, as he sank deep into meditation, images of blood and all the forms it could take began spinning through his mind. At first, he resisted this strange phenomenon. It felt like a disjointed outpouring of disconnected thoughts. He thought he had just spent too long thinking about it and now his thoughts were all blending together. 

But that wasn’t the case. There was a rhythm to it. An orbit. 

Seeing this, he allowed his thoughts to wander freely. It continued being nonsensical for a while, but gradually, it all started coming together. He felt like he was about to grasp something huge, like he was about to be enlightened in a way that he'd never been enlightened before. His numerous, smaller insights into how blood worked were beginning to culminate into something greater.

And just as he was on the cusp of grasping something valuable—he felt himself disappear.

As he opened his eyes, he thought he had accidentally sunk into the Netherecho. Everything looked as if it were painted on a canvas. There were rivers of blood, solid dried soil—it rained red from above. And he was indeed there in projection, not in body, but clearly, this wasn’t the Netherecho inside his room. 

Suddenly, he felt a great sense of danger. Raising his head, he looked into the distance. What he thought was a mountain suddenly shifted around the top. He couldn’t tell what the rising mass was until it turned around to look at him.

A being bigger than anything he’d witnessed before met his gaze. All he could see through the hazy red mist were its growing red eyes, but he’d seen enough. Its awful gaze bore down on him from above, staring at him with the kind of lethal threat that he had grown all too familiar with.

Should he stay there for even another moment, he was going to die.

He panicked, and just as he did, he felt himself retreat from this strange world and appear back in his body. He immediately started screaming and thrashing as he kicked away from where he'd been sitting, panicked and covered in sweat.

“Holy shit, that was close! What the hell just happened!?”

No text he’d ever read mentioned something like this. As he recalled the nasty eyes—as he recalled the sinister gaze of the creature staring down at him—he felt himself shiver and clutched his arms for comfort. For the first time in a long while, he felt genuinely scared out of his mind.

He slowly took a breath as he tried to calm himself. “I'm safe now,” he reminded himself. “I think.”

But something felt a little off. It was like the world around him was just slightly off-color. Then he suddenly realized that, given what happened, he would expect Bloodshed to make some kind of comment on it. “Bloodshed?” he called mentally, but there was no response.

Chills ran up and down his spine as he waited in silence. He felt something tickle his ring finger and then looked down, only to spot the fleshy Blood Ring writhing, coiling and twisting around the bone. Something was wrong.

With some trepidation, he looked into his soul.

There, within the misshapen prison of runes, rested Bloodshed. Its form was unmoving. The darkness beneath its bloody shawl was a shade deeper than usual.

“Bloodshed?” Freddy called out. “Are you there?”

Just as he asked the question, the cage opened and Bloodshed flew out—before Freddy could even realize what was happening. He watched it disappear as it moved out into the real world through his blood ring.

Panicked, he returned, only to find it standing right before him.

“Bloodshed?” he asked again. “This isn’t funny,” he said. 

“Why did you leave so soon?” Bloodshed asked. “Come back. There is plenty for you to gain.”

Freddy could immediately tell that something was wrong. This wasn’t Bloodshed. “Who are you?”

“Me?” the thing talking through Bloodshed asked as it chuckled and cocked its head. “Shouldn’t it be obvious? What exactly do you think you were meditating on? Come on, now, think—you should already know exactly what I am.”

Freddy’s scowl deepened. “You couldn’t be—”

He could finally see Bloodshed's skull appear beneath the shawl, but it looked unfamiliar. The face was more defined and a lot more animated. It smiled at him, its eyes closing into slits as it said, “Why yes; I am the Primordial Concept of Blood.”

Freddy’s scalp tingled as he realized what he was talking to. It was at that moment that he figured out exactly what was happening to Bloodshed.

Nothing. 

It wasn’t possessed. 

This thing wasn’t talking through Bloodshed.

It was Bloodshed.

It was everything blood was, and that included every single concept related to blood, be it a rune or a sentient ether construct, even Bloodshed. It was, as it had said, the Primordial Concept of Blood.

“What do you want from me?” Freddy asked.

“I do not and cannot want anything,” the Primordial Concept of Blood declared. “I’m only here to fulfill my purpose. That was the Primordial Domain of Blood. Should you choose to come back and take a stroll, you will find it well worth your time.”

Freddy scowled at it. “If I come back, you're going to kill me.”

“Ah, ah, ah.” Raising its finger, the Primordial Concept of Blood corrected him. “I’m only going to try. But if you're clever, resourceful, and fortunate enough, you might succeed in coming back with something exceptionally valuable.”

Frowning, Freddy asked, “What exactly did I just do?”

“You have been enlightened. As to what, exactly, well… that is for you to discover yourself. Just think about it,” it said, its eyes piercing his soul. “Think of all the ways your life could be easier with a little more power. Your fight to reach the third star. To defend this city. To make it to the other side of this disaster.”

“That sounds a whole lot like you’re just baiting me into my own death.”

Rather than humor him, it just chuckled. “I will be waiting. I hope to see you again soon.” And with that, he watched Bloodshed's demeanor change as its face returned to its regular skull. “Do not go there!” it shouted at him. “Do not go back to the Primordial Blood Domain!”

Freddy flinched. “Whoa there, buddy. Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t planning to.”

“You are tempted to,” Bloodshed declared. “I know you, Master.”

Freddy hesitated at that. Bloodshed wasn’t wrong. Of course he was tempted to go back there. He hadn’t been told what exactly he’d find, but he wasn’t an idiot. It would be no ordinary thing. But alas, a single thought of the terrifying presence within—aimed directly at him with lethal intensity—convinced him otherwise.

“Don’t worry about it, buddy,” he said as he finally got back up to his feet. “I might be crazy, but I don’t have a death wish. I can see—I can feel that… that thing isn’t something I can handle.”

Bloodshed didn’t relax. “Do not go back there,” it asked again. “Please. If you were anyone else, I wouldn’t say this. But I understood you, Master. You are a greedy person. You can only take one thing with you, and you won’t settle for the first thing you find.”

Freddy squinted. “And what exactly can I find there?” he asked. 

Bloodshed looked like it didn’t want to answer the question. But alas, its loyalty to its master prevailed. “Anything. As long as it relates to blood, you can find anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said. Now please, do not ask any more about this, Master. Wait until you’re at the third star.”

Hesitant, Freddy slowly nodded. “Okay. I trust you.” But his words felt dishonest, even to himself.

***

What little summer there was in the northern belt had already fled. The days were getting shorter, darker—it was overcast pretty much all the time, and the snowfall was getting heavy. 

Wading through the snow was getting increasingly difficult, hindering town defenses, while monsters, on the other hand, had little to no problem making their way around. Freddy could handle the additional strain of wading through snow without much difficulty, but the same couldn't be said for his companions. 

Drake, and especially Lily, were both heavily affected, rapidly draining their stamina in their efforts to keep up. But to their credit, both of them kept their mouths shut and kept going at it. Drake was especially impressive lately, having gotten accustomed to replacing his spear with a halberd. A halberd in the hands of such a huge man was a horrifying weapon. 

Be it stabbing, using the back as a pick, or relying on the axe-blade, he could dispatch monsters with frightening efficiency and speed for an average two-star. 

And surprisingly, Lily was also starting to catch up. Although she wasn't nearly as talented as Drake, ever since they started talking less and fighting more, it felt as if her spite and desire not to be protected and not owe anything to Drake had driven her to reach entirely new heights, allowing her to fight at an above-average level. 

For a two-star, her talent was rather simple, only giving her a basic boost to strength. But simple was sometimes good, and with her enchanted greatsword, she made quick work of anything fleshy headed her way.

Sophia, on the other hand, was far above the level of the average two-star. Having almost mastered a basic set of life-affinity abilities, she had started focusing more on using her miasma in combat. From what Freddy understood, her talent could actually somewhat influence her death-affinity abilities, but not nearly as much as her life-affinity. Still, it was enough to make her basic miasma attacks quite impressive.

That being said, nobody had grown as much as Freddy had in the last few weeks. Exactly how he had improved was difficult to tell, but as he fought, it was like he just understood the flow of combat better. He knew where to hit, when to dodge, when to go in, when to go out. The difference in his understanding was subtle, but ultimately the result was quite drastic.

As their days of fighting and defending the city continued, Repentava started facing some serious challenges in regard to its defenses. Given the piling snow, it became more and more difficult for the vanguard to take out the bigger targets. Thankfully, those manning the wall had improved quite a bit. And some, as rumors had it, were even itching to face more difficult opponents. And more difficult opponents, they faced.

On one day, having somehow bypassed all the scouts and all of the elite team, a bulky monster with four bladed arms reached the wall. This was the first time something on its level appeared, and the defenses faced serious casualties. Around a dozen melee fighters were taken out before they could retreat. 

The monster did rather substantial damage to the wall before the ranged fighters could take it out. Given the sheer number of defenders present, the loss wasn’t too drastic, and the damage to the wall was repaired quite easily. 

But the incident had shaken a previously ironclad resolve. Now there were rumors that some were even considering giving up and leaving the city. The only thing stopping them was that there was nowhere else to go.

As he kept fighting, Freddy tried his best to ignore his experience with the Primordial Blood Domain. But every single time he sat down to meditate, he found himself on the verge of entering that place again. All it would take was a thought, and he would find himself in a place of power and opportunity. While he could resist the temptation for now, his resolve was already starting to frey. 

Bloodshed was right.

He was a damn greedy man.

One day, the alarm on his watch rang out. Georgie sent a dire warning about a large drake monster approaching over the horizon. With Reginald being off that day, that left Emily, Peri, Georgie, and Freddy to take care of it. 

As Freddy arrived at the site, he spotted Emily already there, tying the giant drake up in numerous layers of dark bindings. 

The creature was almost entirely black, with thick scales and a very lizard-like appearance. Its presence was overbearing—clearly, it had far more essence than even a five-star human. But even then, Emily was still somehow managing to keep it tied up. 

It was of the fire affinity, it seemed, but whenever it tried to use its breath to attack, or any kind of fire ability, really, Emily found a way to foil it, be it by slamming its snout shut or tripping it up. But she was straining, struggling to keep up with all the bindings that were being broken, while the blades hidden in her hair couldn't penetrate the creature's scales. 

All she could do was keep it tied up, and those bindings weren't lasting particularly long.

Peri was similarly having a lot of trouble. While she could face off against rather serious threats in melee, she wasn't nearly strong enough to face something like this. And as for her fire, well, this was a fire-affinity monster—needless to say, it had a bit of resistance to it.

Georgie, in this case, was the one who was making the most progress. She continued to leap at the drake, shocking it with her electrical attacks, all while repeatedly striking it with daggers, which kept leaving shallow wounds on the creature's skin. That being said, she was also struggling to leave any serious damage, even if the creature reacted quite viscerally to the electric shocks.

At one moment, the drake freed its tail and flicked it, knocking the defenseless Georgie out of the air and sending her tumbling over to the ground. The attack clearly broke damn-near every bone in her body, but as she tumbled away, only around ten seconds later, Freddy spotted her getting back up. 

Damn, he thought, I wish my talent acted that fast.

"Oh, you're here," Georgie said. "How about it? Think you could do one of those javelins again?"

Freddy scoffed at her. "I'm close enough to take it head-on this time," he said. "There won't be any need for that." He looked at his companions. “Just stay back,” he said, and then pointed at the support. “You give me a blessing.”

The man complied, boosting Freddy’s strength. They didn’t use any Unholy Blessings, however. There was no need for it yet.

“How about you hurry the hell up!?” Emily Umbra shouted as he sent another coil of darkness around the creature’s neck.

“I’m on it.” Raising his Sanguine Avenger, he headed into the fight. 

Emily briefly glared at him, but then scoffed and looked away. She was powerful—extremely powerful for a two-star—but this was the kind of opponent that she struggled against the most. But even then, having to basically act as a support in the fight clearly injured the woman’s pride.

To Freddy's surprise, all of the handlers who were usually following Peri, Georgie, and Emily were keeping their distance and watching them fight. They looked ready to intervene should the danger get too great. 

But clearly, they weren't here to help. 

They were only here to ensure that these elites would survive. 

All the handlers were three-stars, and as Freddy met one man's gaze and glimpsed his aura, he realized that these weren't ordinary three-stars either. While that allowed for somewhat of a mental sigh of relief, he couldn't help but feel a little salty that these people were just standing around. If they had participated more often, the city would be in significantly less danger.

Brushing those thoughts off, he focused on the monster ahead. And then he started running. With his hydraulic flex, he sped up rapidly and then leaped at the monster's head, bringing the Sanguine Avenger down. The drake, despite being bound up rather tightly, still managed to move its head out of the way and then snap its neck, smashing Freddy aside with its snout. He took no damage from the blow, but he was knocked away and forced to get back up to his feet and jump at it again.

After a few such exchanges, he finally managed to corner the monster and smashed Sanguine Avenger right at its head. He left a rather deep gash with his blow. His Warrior King's Pendant and Blood Ring had both gotten a lot more powerful since the monster invasion began. Both of these weapons bolstered the power of his blood weapons, making them extremely formidable. 

But even then, his attack was too shallow to break through the creature's scales.

Eyes widening, he barely got out of the way of the monster's attempt to swallow him whole. For a moment, he was tempted to let it take him, but he didn't feel like testing his armor against the acid in the creature's stomach. Besides, he had enough of that for a lifetime.

Deciding to change his tactics, he muttered, "Twisted Pendulum." As always, as soon as he activated the spirit ability, his perception of time sped up. The creature was thrashing a lot faster. Georgie was scurrying at twice the speed. All while he sat aside and waited for his first ten seconds of penalty to pass. Then, once they did, he rushed forward and leaped into the air above the creature.

"Keep it tied up!" he shouted in what must have sounded extremely high-pitched. Comically so.

And then when his speed boost ran out, he whispered again, "Twisted Pendulum," and activated his Tsunami Strike. He landed the timing perfectly, smashing the creature right in its spine with enough force to crack a vertebra. 

Still, even his most powerful attack only did that much, but it was enough to begin the creature's downfall. It shrieked in pain as it started thrashing a lot harder. It was at that moment that Emily doubled down on her bindings, keeping the creature still as Freddy raised his Sanguine Avenger and started chopping. 

He repeatedly slammed at the exact spot his feet had struck until he broke through the skin and finally severed the creature's spine.

But even then it didn't go fully slack. Not until Perry leaped on its back, joined by Georgie, and they collectively focused on the wound Freddy had opened until they widened it enough to bleed the monster out.

The ether reward was split between the four of them, and they all sagged in relief.

"That wasn't too bad," Freddy said. "I've faced worse before."

Georgie chuckled at him. "Did you now, really?" She shook her head in wry amusement.

“Wow, you’re so cool!” Emily said sarcastically, scoffing. 

But as he met her eye, Freddy felt something unusual with the woman—like a kinship of sorts. He recognized something within her aura that existed within his own. At first, she looked away, but then she looked back, scowling deeper as she apparently realized the same thing.

"You gotta be kidding me," she said, glaring even harder at him. She scoffed, looked away, and walked back toward her handlers.

"What was that about?" Freddy muttered as he turned around, only to see Peri staring at him, slack-jawed.

"Her too?" he muttered, realizing that he felt the same thing in Peri’s aura as he had in Emily’s.

Perry’s shocked expression faded as she smiled at him and nodded. "Congratulations, Mr. Stern," she said in her usual, border-line whisper.

He scowled at her. "Congratulations on what?"

"You’ve touched a Primordial Domain," she said, and his suspicions were confirmed.

Freddy stared at her for a brief moment  "That’s what this feeling is? So you’ve done it too? Huh. I knew I couldn’t have been that special, but I’m still surprised that I’ve never heard of anyone talking about this."

Perry shrugged. "It’s not like Primordial Domains are kept a secret. It’s just that any kind of information at this level has to compete with a whole bunch of made-up nonsense."

"Well, it does sound a little like made-up nonsense," Freddy mused. “If someone told me they meditated themselves into another dimension I’d assume they were taking something strong.”

Peri giggled, hiding her mouth with her sleeve. “If you don’t mind me asking, what did you find?” she cautiously asked. “Of course, you don’t have to get into any details.”

He felt a bit embarrassed. “I… didn’t get anything.”

But rather than mocking, her gaze was actually full of approval. “That’s good, too. There’s nothing wrong with waiting until you’re more confident. I got lucky with mine. I found a unique vestige. That’s actually how I got my unique affinity.”

Freddy stared at her. “Your what!?” His jaw dropped. 

Given what he’d heard from Bloodshed, he had already guessed that stuff like that was a possibility here. But hearing her outright say it left him feeling short of breath. Suddenly, the temptation to dive in there got a whole lot stronger. 

She chuckled proudly. “But still, I advise you not to get greedy. It is best to just take the first thing you find and leave.” Her gaze suddenly dropped as she went a little cold. “I’ve lost an aunt to an enlightenment like that.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Freddy said. “I’ll play it safe, too.”

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted as both their watches lit up with a red light and an alarm started blaring. 

Every hair on Freddy’s body jumped as he recognized what that alarm stood for. 

There had been a breach in the wall.