Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 20B3 - Bloodlife Echo

The headache was just as bad as he'd expected from the torrent of information, but it quickly turned into something far more disgusting. His legs caved in, and he slumped to the ground, holding his head in agony as if someone’s fingers were digging through his brain.

Someone—or something—was combing through his mind, accessing his knowledge and understanding of… everything… to do something.

David closed his eyes for a moment, trying to cast [Greater Restoration], only to catch a movement in his mind space. Something—he wasn’t sure if it was the same entity—reached out for his Sparks. [Healing Link], [Bloodbound Bastion], and [Aether Breath] were touched and torn away from their old positions. But while it was painful and horrifying to watch, the pain was nowhere near comparable to losing his Skill Runes to [Sacrifice].

This was different. He was not losing his Sparks to—whatever was combing through his mind space and head. His Sparks were being moved to a fourth Spark, a Spark that wasn’t [Chain of Will]. It was a new Spark, one David had never created. But it shone brightly—much brighter than his other Sparks—and they revolved around a brilliant rune that came into existence, glimmering in pristine white and bloody crimson.

It was a strange mix that did not seem to make any sense, and the torrent of information nesting in his head hardly helped him understand it better. He received a lot, but the mass of knowledge shoved into his head was too much to bear.

David opened his eyes again, trying to escape the changes happening in his mind space, but they caught up to him. The presence in his head disappeared, and new System notifications materialized right in front of him.

[Primary Class Skill has been modified and bound to the Source.]

[Bloodwarden]: [High: Intermediate] → [Bloodlife Echo]: [Tier-0: (0/10)]

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” David muttered through the headache.

He ignored his throbbing mind and closed his eyes again to inspect the massive, pristine-glowing Rune surrounded by four vibrantly twinkling Sparks. The Sparks were clearly connected to the Class Skill Rune, granting the Skill access to the abilities of the four respective Sparks.

David was still digesting the information that had been forced into his mind, but he was certain [Bloodlife Echo] wasn’t supposed to be this… weak. He doubted his Secondary Class would modify his Lifeweaver Skill to weaken it. Thus, [Bloodlife Echo] should have been more powerful than [Bloodwarden]. But that was not the case. Or was the modified Skill stronger?

Time would tell, but uncertainty nagged at his mind.

“Regardless, the new Spark makes up for it all,” David muttered confidently, the information settling in his mind at last. In-depth comprehension and profound understanding of the brightly twinkling Spark included.

[Vital Weaving]: [Low: Intermediate]

He would have to use the Spark a few times to understand its limitations, but the knowledge and comprehension etched into his mind were enough to tell it was powerful. [Vital Weaving] allowed David to connect multiple targets with each other using a thread of lifeforce. It wasn’t further complicated—it simply created a shared vitality network, allowing the healing of one to affect all others proportionally.

It sounded simple, but it should be relatively powerful when used on the battlefield. The greater the battle, the better.

Regardless of its power, David would not reject a free Spark. However, that left him with the same question as before: what was he supposed to do with [Bloodlife Echo]?

He didn’t know enough about the new Skill to say for sure and decided to let the new information simmer and digest it once his headache subsided. Instead, he focused on filling his Source, Blood Storages, and Sacred Beast Core with Blood.

***

Digesting the information took longer than expected. His Blood Storages and Source were filled to the brim, and even the Sacred Beast Core was on the verge of overflowing. Both Serpent Fang and Scalemore were full, and the Beast Core’s presence was stronger than ever.

But maybe that was exactly what he needed, now that the final pieces of information had settled into his mind.

[Bloodlife Echo] turned out to be a rather simple Skill to use. Activating the Class Skill allowed the creation of Echoes capable of using the powers of the Sparks linked to it. That being said, [Healing Link], [Aether Breath], [Bloodbound Bastion], and [Vital Weaving]’s abilities could be cast by the Echoes using the Blood inserted into them by David.

Yet, as simple as it seemed once all the information had been digested, David soon realized just how complex [Bloodlife Echo]’s power truly was.

“I can either create one Echo with a maximum of 10 droplets or multiple Echoes who have to share the same amount of Blood,” he murmured, sensing the limit of his newest asset as he activated the Skill for the first time.

First, David inserted one droplet of Blood into [Bloodlife Echo]. Then he waited for the Skill’s response, only to be interrupted by a pull in the back of his mind. [Bloodlife Echo] pulled on him, waiting for a response in return.

Why are you…? Oh, never mind.

He closed his eyes and dove into the mind space to inspect the glowing Class Skill Rune. His mind locked onto the Rune, and he thought of the creation and what it was supposed to be.

The mind space shimmered as a pulse erupted from [Bloodlife Echo], and David caught sight of a minuscule change on the Rune’s surface—a mark depicting the head of an animal—before he was thrown out of his mind space.

His eyes fluttered open to a small cat sitting before him, its eyes fixated on him.

“You’re not exactly what I wanted to create,” David grimaced, wondering where the creation of the Horned Silvatigress went wrong. The tiny thing seated before him didn’t even look like a miniature tiger. It was just... a cat. A semi-transparent, crimson-colored cat that emitted a faint, white glow.

Unsure what to do with the cat, David tried to make it move. He willed several commands to the Echo and quickly realized that the cat was no more than a puppet. While it did everything he wanted, presumably moving in response to his will, it was not sentient.

“I guess that was expected.” He rubbed his chin and willed the Echo to show its powers to him.

A minuscule barrier manifested before the cat at once. Albeit flickering and clearly too small to protect anyone other than the cat, the barrier was a creation of [Bloodbound Bastion]. Following that, the Echo applied a mark on him, presumably [Healing Link], right before a wave of Vitality struck him.

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Rather than connecting him to a network of healing, [Vital Weaving]’s Spark provided the Echo with healing abilities as well, diminishing the fatigue that had crept up to David. But the effect was lackluster, to put it simply. Worse even, he could tell that the Echo did not have any more energy to spare as the remaining Blood was used to maintain its form.

What about [Aether Breath]? David inquired, bending down before the cat while actively suppressing [Aether Breath]’s passive effect. He supplied [Heightened Vision] with a trace of Blood and focused on the ambient Aether trickling into the Echo, replacing the drained Blood reserves with Aether instead.

Even though Aether was far less potent and efficient than Blood, it was better than nothing. Most importantly, it was enough to conjure a barely translucent barrier, examine the target, and heal the target with minor regenerative abilities.

However, just like before, all abilities were too weak to be of any use in battle. Forget combat—this Echo would be useless even outside the battlefield.

David didn’t waste much time with the cat and created a second Echo, spending two Blood droplets. A dog, a small West Highland Terrier, materialized before him. It was a little larger than the cat, but nothing like the massive wolf he had imagined creating. Despite the failed attempt at creating a perfect replica of his imagination, David proceeded with his experiment.

First, he checked for any updates to his Class Skill.

[Bloodlife Echo]: [Tier-0: (3/10)]

It was exactly like he had anticipated, ushering David to conjure two more Echos with three and four Blood droplets respectively, pushing the Class Skill to 10/10.

Following that, he commanded the four Echos, testing the limits of their power and the difference in strength. That didn’t take long. No more than five minutes had passed before the ‘strongest’ Echo ran out of Blood. The cat and the West Highland Terrier had already dispersed, the continuous tasks draining too much energy to maintain their form. A shame, but not outside of David’s expectations.

He moved onward and kept ordering the remaining Echos around, forcing them to use [Aether Breath] at full power. However, it did not take long before their forms dispersed, leaving him alone once again.

Not too bad. Not bad at all.

A small smile bloomed. He had discovered more than enough to be relatively happy with [Bloodlife Echo]. It wasn’t too exceptional considering none of the Echos could use any of his Sparks properly, but it was worth ranking up. At a higher Tier, it should be possible to use more Blood droplets to create stronger Echos, capable of using the Sparks at full potential. Until then, quite some time would pass in all likelihood, but that was acceptable.

David replenished his used-up Blood before using ten droplets to create one strong Echo. However, as the tenth droplet of Blood left his Source, something odd occurred. More Blood entered the Class Skill from another energy storage without David’s doing.

He didn’t stop the influx of Blood but followed the trail to the origin and discovered the Sacred Beast Core in action. It stirred once caught in the act, yet it neither stopped nor did it attack.

For the first time since he could remember, the remnants of the Beast Will tried to converse with him. It tried to reach out and to tell him something. Most surprisingly, the Sacred Beast did not try to attack him, nor did it emanate bloodlust or killing intent. David was certain the remnants of the Mythical Electra couldn’t hide their intent since the Sacred Beast Core had become part of him, but that was all the more reason to be confused.

Curious, David didn’t resist the remnants of the Sacred Beast and watched as the Blood accumulated in the Core poured into the Class Skill. Not even the Blood stored within Serpent Fang and Scalemore was spared. They were sucked dry, just like the Sacred Beast Core, which had grown considerably since David’s Primary Class advanced to Gold. Yet it was still not enough.

The Beast was calling, asking for support—for more energy. David, his curiosity rising, drained his Blood Storages and a good portion of his Source’s reservoir to provide the Sacred Beast with everything it needed for… whatever it was about to do. He had a faint inkling but wanted to see if the Sacred Beast would go through with it.

A simple inspection of his mind space showed [Bloodlife Echo] expanding, shrouded in a mesmerizing glow as a single mark formed, depicting a creature with a familiar appearance.

The corners of his lips pulled upward, and he opened his eyes to silently spectate the second coming of the Sacred Beast—forced into submission, of course.

Two hundred and fifty droplets of Blood had been forced into [Bloodlife Echo] to jumpstart the creation of a magnificent creature with a sinuous, eight-meter-long serpentine body covered in iridescent crimson scales. It spread its long, seemingly ethereal wings, displaying vibrant red-scarlet feathers for him to see.

David was familiar with the creature’s appearance—until that point. The Echo’s head was a blend between a serpent’s and a bird’s, but it not only had a beaked snout like he remembered; the creature forming before him had a feathered crest as well.

Bright, intelligent eyes glowing pristine white met David’s, as dark lightning currents crackled across its semi-ethereal body.

He couldn’t look away from his reflection in the winged serpent. So much had changed since the Pantheon had forcefully integrated the Earthen Union, yet his appearance had changed the least. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t changed. His body was stronger than ever, and no excess fat burdened him. However, it was the look in his eyes David paid the most attention to.

Wild. Dangerous. Lethal.

He didn’t feel the same whenever he met Zachariah’s eyes, but that didn’t mean the Regressor wasn’t dangerous. Quite the contrary—Zachariah was like a sheathed blade. He could contain himself better.

A nudge pulled him out of his train of thought, and David turned to the Echo. It moved through the air, massive wings fluttering as it accelerated. It didn’t take long for the serpentine Echo to disappear into the clouds above. But while it was out of sight, David never lost contact with it.

“Enough of that nonsense,” he said, certain Electra could hear him. “I didn’t squash you thinking you’d be useful in the future. That, however, didn’t mean I would allow disobedience. You are no longer the spawn of the Poisonous Beast God. No longer are you a Sacred Beast—a powerful monster with the power to terrorize nations and destroy cities with a flick of your tail. You are a part of me. And if you wish to regain more power and—most importantly—control of your life, you’d better listen to my commands.”

The ability to infuse the Sacred Beast’s Will into the Echo was great—exceptional, even. However, as exciting as it was to have a sentient Echo by his side, David didn’t know if he could trust Electra.

A wave of hatred and anger erupted from the Sacred Beast Core, but it wasn’t all directed at him. A portion was aimed at him, showering him in just enough anger to show how much Electra hated being defeated by a mere mortal.

Yet, as much as Electra hated and loathed him, it also respected him—for the strength he had displayed, for overpowering the Beast’s Will, and for seeking the power of its Core.

David wasn’t sure whether binding the Mythical Electra’s Core to him through Deryadus’ Arm had altered its personality, but the changes he noticed were pleasant.

First, there was little animosity directed at him. Some remained, but David doubted it would fade anytime soon—if ever. Second, Electra displayed hatred and anger toward the Poisonous Beast God—not only for forcefully suppressing its power to descend upon the Earthen Union in the early stages of integration but for suppressing it since the day it burst from the egg.

David could have dug deeper into the complex mess of emotions unraveled by the link connecting the Sacred Beast’s remnants with the Class Skill—creating a path from the Beast Core to David’s mind space—but it felt like taking advantage of the opening would cause more harm than good. He accepted the emotions forced upon him and categorized them.

Then he fell silent for a few minutes, awaiting the Echo’s return.

“I think we both know that you cannot go too far from me. Not without a specific order or access to even more Blood to create a stronger body,” David added after a while, his eyes drifting to the most recent system notification.

[The Will of a Sacred Beast has been detected. Class Skill [Bloodlife Echo] has been modified.]

[Bloodlife Echo]: [Tier-0: (0/10)] → [Bloodlife Echo]: [Basic: (250/250)]

The changes aligned with his thoughts. The remnants of the Sacred Beast had modified his Class Skill, allowing the infusion of its Will. That, alongside the massive amount of Blood the Sacred Beast had forced into the Skill, had pushed the Rune to advance to the Basic grade, skipping Tiers 1 through 3 entirely.

Even if he was still unsure what the Sacred Beast had up its sleeves, interfering in his training and experiments had scraped off months of hard work. That alone was enough to give the Sacred Beast a second chance. Being allies with a Sacred Beast—even if only with its Will—was far better than being enemies. Especially when the said Sacred Beast’s Core and the remnants of its Will were now part of him.

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