Born in Blood

Chapter 396 King

Darius woke up with a long, raspy groan.

His head felt like it'd been stuffed down a vise.

Like someone had taken a nail and screwed it in his brain, then twisted as much as they could.

As soon as his gaze stabilized, a well decorated room met his squinted gaze.

Bright walls. Clean. Unmarked and newly painted. His bed — an actual bed — was perfectly ironed, even as he awoke.

Strange.

Darius wracked his head, but his memories were hazy. Like he'd awoken from a long dream, except he had no recollection of what it was about.

He sat up, lingering there for a bit, a pensive look on his ashen face.

Something's wrong.

Darius squinted his eyes, trying to delve deeper into his head.

What was he forgetting?

What was he—

The door opened, and a woman with lustrous, auburn hair and bright almond eyes held the handle.

"Morning, sweetie," she said with a slight smile. "Sleep well?"

Silence.

Darius looked at her with squinted eyes.

This was his mother.

This was... Eve?

Eve.

Something's wrong.

Darius scratched his head, silent, squinting his eyes at her.

"What's wrong?" Eve said, concerned now with the prolonged silence.

She approached the bedside, putting a hand on Darius' back. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Silence.

Darius frowned. "I... don't know."

Something was fogging his brain. Was it just a dream?

It felt too realistic.

"You're worrying me," Eve said, even more concerned. "Me and your father have already made the table. Come eat. You'll get better, okay?"

Father?

Right…

He had a father.

Did he?

Yeah.

Yeah, he definitely did.

What kind of human didn't have a father?

Yes.

He was human.

And humans had both a mother and a father.

Darius wordlessly nodded his head.

Eve lingered for a few seconds, before reluctantly leaving him.

Something's wrong.

The dream.

It was clawing at the back of his head.

Like he was forgetting something.

Something very important.

Maybe dinner really would help.

Darius got up.

He was dressed in… blue pajamas.

Strange.

Passing through a series of corridors, Darius made his way to the decorated living room.

Strange.

Since when had his house been this big?

Eventually, he arrived at the living room.

Opposite to a far side of a small, rectangular table covered with food, was a broad-shouldered, muscular man with a sharp jaw and short black hair.

To the right, was a modern kitchen, merged together with the living room. Eve was organizing plates.

"There he is!" the man exclaimed, smiling broadly with a set of perfect teeth. "What's with the glum look, big man?"

Malcolm.

This was Malcolm King?

Was he always like that?

"Darius had a nightmare. Bad one," Eve said from the kitchen. "But he's better now, right?"

"You're okay, boyo," Malcom said warmly. "Come sit."

Eve sat on the chair beside Malcolm.

Reluctantly, Darius sat opposite to both of them.

Something's wrong.

'This all feels off,' Darius thought.

But Darius obeyed.

He sat at the table.

Fresh eggs, made to look like a smiley face, with a side of vegetables were in front of him.

Fork to the left, knife to the right.

Darius gripped the fork and knife tightly.

All the while, Malcolm and Eve looked at him with broad smiles and lines for eyes.

Silence.

'The dream,' Darius thought seriously. 'The dream.'

'What was it?'

'Think.'

'Think!'

'What was it?!'

'Dig through the fog!'

Think!

...Think!

Darius didn't think.

Liam acted!

Gripping the knife, Liam snapped around and jammed it into his mother's throat.

Blood sprayed in a wide arc as Eve clutched her throat with wide eyes, falling to the floor with a disturbing gurgle.

Malcolm shouted in horror, rushing at Darius to disarm him with wide arms.

Instinct kicked in.

Reversing the grip on his fork, he ducked under Malcolm's hug and stuck the fork right under his jaw.

A stream of warm ichor painted Liam's face, dripping down his neck, down his pajamas.

He weaved to the side and let his father's body fall to the floor.

Both parents… dead.

Liam was breathing heavily.

Something in him snapped.

For a split second, he remembered who he was, and he took action.

A moment later, Liam stuck the knife into his own head, and as soon as he did—

WHOOM!

As though the world blinked, Liam had transitioned from the nightmare back into reality in an instant.

Time seemed incredibly slow for a moment.

The battle filled his vision.

He was flying through a tunnel made of wind, fire, water and earth, formed with Ryu, Verium, Jax and Orisa's efforts.

Everything poured back into his memories.

Now, he knew what happened.

He'd been stuck in a Trapped Reality!

A tiny little tick was dirtying his mind and biting his barrier, which somehow went past his guard.

In the instant that Liam opened his eyes, he used his mental energy to insta-kill the tick.

Liam had just experienced his worst fear.

What was his worst fear?

Being normal.

Being mundane.

Being average.

This world of dog eat dog, kill or be killed was tailor-made for people like him!

Liam smiled.

And an unreasonable feeling to murder something grew in his chest.

And he knew exactly where to direct it.

Mental energy filled the slash in Liam's sea of consciousness.

Slashes of Honed darkness gathered around him in wide arcs.

The Breaker Blade surged with power, turning heavier by the second.

The Dusk Blades roared, absorbing fire from the tunnel Liam was passing through.

The Black Blade hissed and split the air with slashes.

On the other end of the tunnel was Nooran.

Horseflies shot at Liam like bullets, but ricocheted off his cloak.

A glimmer of dread formed in the tick's beady eyes.

A moment later, Liam reappeared behind him.

SHIIIING!

An 'X' shaped cross formed on Nooran's chest, gently splitting him into four different sections.

The hive spasmed, jolted and shrieked all at once as it fell apart like sand.

Nooran was still alive.

But the hive was no longer under his control.