When I woke up, I was in between an argument between Effie, Sara, and Anderson.
"I say it's only fair we kill him. He's the reason almost everyone we brought here died. He knew the danger and still led us to our slaughter. He deserves to die for his sin!"
Anderson yelled at Effie and Sara, who were guarding my body — Sara with her sword and shield, and Effie with a brand-new bronze spear. Clearly her old one must have broken.
"Listen, there are only four of us left now, you understand that? Even if he did this all on purpose, our odds of success are higher with four people than with three," Effie countered.
"What makes you think he's not working for that thing as we speak? I'd rather fight one enemy than two!" Anderson yelled back.
"Guys, stop yelling!" I shouted, shutting them up.
"It's my fault we are all trapped here, but I'll help us escape as well, alright? We have two ways of escape: either we cross that canyon again and fight our way through all those skeletons, or we kill that ugly bastard inside that cave right there."
They all fell quiet.
Then Sara spoke up.
"Alright, but we still need a plan on how to beat that thing, okay? Otherwise we will be going to our own deaths."
I answered, "Well, there is an exit behind that pile of bones. It's covered in flesh, but I don't think that would matter much. I could bring it down, then all we would have to do is climb up."
Everyone thought about my suggestion, but only Effie spoke up.
"Alright, sure thing. But who will distract that thing? We can't escape without a distraction."
I looked at them — at Effie, at Sara, at that damned priest.
I was the reason their lives were in danger.
So it was only right…
I sacrificed the priest.
What, were you actually thinking I'd make a heroic sacrifice? Who do you take me for?
"Anderson, I think you'd be the best distraction, considering how you're the only one who can permanently kill it."
Anderson thought for a few moments, then gave me a creepy smile.
"Sure thing, fiend. I'll be sure to distract it long enough for everyone to escape."
I knew something was off. I should've kept an eye on him.
Sara made a game plan, and as soon as we were ready, we ran inside.
I ran in behind Anderson. Being undead, I shouldn't look in that creature's eye, so I closed my eyes and used the Sin of Envy to sense the creature's blood.
Contrary to popular belief, bones do have blood in them — it's called bone marrow — so I could dodge just fine.
Anderson, on the other hand, threw countless weapons at the creature. Some dealt damage, some didn't — at least I thought they dealt damage, if you could even deal damage to a mountain of bones.
I slipped past the mountain of bones with Sara and Effie and reached the hole in the ceiling, half-assedly stitched with flesh. With great focus, I tore down the flesh, and finally we could escape. I manipulated that flesh into a rope, and before we could climb up, we were knocked down by a wave of bones and slammed into the cave wall of flesh with brutal impact.
"What the hell? Wasn't Anderson supposed to distract that thing?" Effie said, clearly feeling the pain of her broken ribs — ribs that were desperately being healed by Sara, who was trying to heal herself and Effie at the same time. I didn't take damage thanks to my armor, but you wouldn't know that by the face I was making.
It was a face of pure hatred as I saw Anderson climbing up the ladder of blood to escape. I was out of range to use my blood manipulation to break the rope, so Anderson climbed up, and using a dagger, he cut the rope then and there — sentencing everyone in the cave to death, knowing I wouldn't have enough time to rebuild it.
I turned and saw Sara's wounds. They were too severe to be healed. She knew it. I knew it. She was just trying to heal Effie and save her life.
"I'm sorry you had to die like this... if I get the chance, I'll avenge everyone that died today."
Sara chuckled, spitting blood in the process.
"Yeah… I survived long enough in this hellhole. I guess I was just running away from my eventual fate."
I felt so many emotions — sadness, anger, sorrow, pity — but most of all, I felt hate.
I hated Anderson for abandoning us.
I hated that nightmare creature for giving Sara a slow and agonizing death.
I hated this world for forcing Sara and Effie and everyone else I loved into suffering.
I hated fate the most.
Everyone I loved seemed fated to die.
Well, fuck fate.
I summoned Beast.
"Take Effie to safety and protect her when Sara is done healing."
Then I walked up to the monster in front of me. My silhouette was nothing compared to it.
I said I wouldn't make a heroic sacrifice — and I meant it.
I would put that monster down, then rip that priest's flesh out of his skin.
I wouldn't die here.
I summoned every storage memory I owned that contained blood and released it all as it wrapped around me. Then I began to run, using the blood on my feet to go as fast as possible. I charged blood to my side into spears that I launched and detonated.
Sure, that destroyed plenty of bones, but what did it matter to destroy a few bones when I was fighting a mountain?
I needed more power.
More control.
If only I could manipulate the flesh in the walls like my own.
But it was too different. I couldn't adjust my control perfectly.
Maybe I didn't have to.
Maybe instead of adjusting to the blood, I should adjust the blood to myself.
But I didn't know what was inherently so different between my blood and another creature's.
I needed to figure it out.
I kept skating and dodging waves of bones as I slid near the walls, studying them — not with my eyes, but with my sight, my sin. Using my envy of the beast's blood that gathered near the wall, I saw its blood:
Every cell.
Every beat.
I saw how the blood formed and gathered.
But I didn't know what to do with this information yet.
I needed to figure out how to turn it into my own blood.
I cut my palm and slathered my blood across the wall as I slid and dodged. I needed a comparison.
My blood was truly something else. No wonder Seishan liked it so much.
So complex, yet simple.
So tough, yet soft.
Truly a miracle of engineering.
Was my blood always like this?
I needed to understand its logic — what made that blood inherently lesser.
I tore a chunk of flesh from the wall and slid under a wave of bones as I switched directions.
I moved the blood differently — not the way I used to. I moved every slight cell. Once I cracked the secret, I wouldn't be on the losing end anymore.
But before I could think more, a bone shot at my leg, piercing straight through my calf and dropping me.
I rebuilt my leg using blood — it worked — but I didn't have time to escape now.
A wave was coming.
I needed more time to think. Anything.
I remembered that when the "fail safe" activated before, it was as if my mind moved faster than my body. I needed that now. So I opened my eyes and stared at the creature's disgusting green glow.
My eyes went black, but soon after the world went red as my eyes felt insane strain. The screen appeared again with those runes:
[FAIL SAFE ACTIVATED]
The creature moved in slow motion. Each bone flying at me moved painfully slow.
I just needed to crack the code of blood before the consequences hit me.
I studied every piece of blood in that cave — the walls, the floor, my own — until I finally saw it.
The missing link.
I didn't just manipulate blood physically. I manipulated it conceptually. I didn't need to mold foreign blood to match mine — I needed to infect it with my identity. Claim ownership of it. Make it mine.
So I did.
My blood spread like an infection across everything it touched until every drop of blood, every piece of flesh, everything that bled was under my control and within my domain.
The runes flashed in slow motion:
[New attribute unlocked: external logic]
[Attributes internal and external logic are evolving]
[New attribute unlocked]
I read the next runes as I got up, gathering all the blood I infected toward me:
[Perfect Logic]
Description: "All the blood under your command belongs to you and gives you perfect control over it."
But it didn't end there.
[One of the Gate of Resurrections' seals has been broken]
Good. I'd have something to study after I destroyed this pathetic parasite in front of me.
As the bones reached me, a wall of blood suddenly blocked their path. It was tougher than metal and stopped the bones instantly. But that wasn't just it — the bones became infected by my blood. Even an undead had blood.
Which meant even the mighty lord of the dead would kneel before the mightier Monarch of Crimson.