It was unclear whether Liam and Lancelot had ti to rest, but the sa went for the inheritance’s dangers. For all they knew, the coffin hid the worst trial yet, and it might not even be the last.
Still, Liam needed a break, at the very least to let the healing pill finish applying its effects. Lancelot didn’t say it, but he obviously hadn’t stopped at all ever since entering the Cathedral, aning resting could only benefit him.
Besides, as far as Liam and Lancelot knew it, only weak teams stood outside the Cathedral, aning dangerous reinforcents shouldn’t be inbound, not so soon at least.
Waiting could also give Isabel and Robert ti to arrive. Julian was a troubleso variable, but an hour or two was within what Liam and Lancelot could compromise. That was an agreent they arrived at silently.
Except that Liam found ditating in peace quite difficult.
For a while, Liam only felt a burning stare on his back before a finger poked it.
Liam opened his eyes and turned, finding Lancelot behind him, standing on his knees, a hand on his chin, while the other proceeded to poke more.
Lancelot tested Liam’s shoulder, cheek, and ultimately chest, his pensive expression slowly turning into an annoyed pout.
Liam let that happen mostly out of perplexity. Lancelot even seed serious about that matter, but that changed when his gaze fell toward Liam’s bottom, with his hand following after it.
A chill ran down Liam’s spine, his hand instinctively snapping at Lancelot’s, grabbing his wrist to stop it from reaching his butt.
"What are you doing?" Liam couldn’t help but ask, feeling danger.
"Brother William," Lancelot called in a scolding tone.
Liam rolled his eyes, noticing a strange pattern with all his closest people in the cultivation world. It had started with his Master, but that trend had continued with lissa, Grace, and now Lancelot.
’Does this count as bullying?’ Liam wondered while correcting his way of addressing Lancelot. "Brother Lancelot, what are you doing?"
"I’m checking whether you arouse ," Lancelot explained as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "Your chest wasn’t it, but if your bottom is as soft as a woman’s ..."
For the first ti in Liam’s life, he would have preferred not to understand what Lancelot was talking about. Luckily and sadly, he had learned how soft won were, especially in certain spots.
"I’m not!" Liam quickly stated. "Mine is definitely not the sa!"
Lancelot threw another glance down before heaving a helpless sigh. "I figured."
Liam believed the strange, dangerous endeavor to be over once Lancelot retracted his hand, only for him to lie next to him, belly up, his hands wrapped behind his head as he stared at the tall ceiling.
"How does falling for soone and not wanting to lie with him even work?" Lancelot whined. "What a conundrum."
Once again, Liam understood what Lancelot was talking about, sort of. He had never done that with lissa. It was a miracle he had even realized what he wanted to do, and there was Lancelot’s unique condition to take into consideration.
"Is falling for , love?" Liam asked, diverting his gaze. "It doesn’t sound like what I feel for my lover."
"Of course, it is," Lancelot declared, his hand snapping at Liam’s crossed leg, hugging it. "Brother, let’s spend all our lives together. Ahh, imagine the fun we’d have!"
Liam’s survival instincts kicked in, both figuratively and physically. He pulled himself away, his leg eventually escaping that dangerous hug.
Lancelot just laughed and lay back down while Liam warily inspected him and put aside any hopes of resting. There were corpses to go through, so he summoned his pipe and began undressing them.
Still, Liam had grown more talkative after leaving Krosstoen’s mountain, gradually, and not by much, but the change had happened, and he was with soone he trusted and could offer comparisons.
"Do you see this as fun?" Liam wondered, gazing at the expanse of corpses, most mangled beyond recognition.
Liam didn’t feel bad about killing, at least not those people, but he couldn’t see that widespread death as a fun adventure. It was just empty.
Silence followed, but Liam heard rustling, as well as the return of the scorching gaze. Yet, so seriousness also invaded the atmosphere, like a spiritual depth he could taste.
"Brother, I know I’m special," Lancelot admitted. "Ever since I was born, I had everything life could offer. My mortal family was rich, my cultivation talent is only slightly short of perfect, and my looks are great."
Liam stopped his undressing of corpses but didn’t look back. That life might have sounded perfect, but he knew the suffering that Perfection could cause.
"Everything always ca easy to ," Lancelot continued. "From courting Fairies, to fighting, to just excelling at everything. It’s so natural that life itself feels easy."
Liam shared part of that inborn advantage. He didn’t know about looks, and his predicant was definitely terrible, but his body, his soil, was superior, facilitating learning techniques.
That probably was the reason why Liam had synchronized his flesh with his Qi so early in his cultivation journey, why Lucy had remained shocked by how quickly he had learned the circulation technique, and more.
Of course, Liam needed at least that to have a shot at overcoming his odds, and it ca with drawbacks, but it remained sothing others didn’t enjoy, the Dragon King probably being the only exception.
"But I am of the Ancestral Phoenix," Lancelot added, "Directly. Brother, can you imagine the curse of being so passionate about a life so easy it becos boring?"
Liam couldn’t relate to the boredom Lancelot had already ntioned, but he had his parallel for that curse. Despite everything, he had found a new ho and people he cared about, only to abandon them due to his hatred.
That even stretched to how Liam interacted with those he cared about. He didn’t consider himself good. He couldn’t with so many corpses around him, but he was honest. It was in his nature, one he had to reject with those that deserved everything he had to offer.
"You can’t overco your bottleneck," Liam pointed out, resuming undressing corpses.
"That was lucky," Lancelot declared. "I only wish the journey to overcoming it would have been less boring. Well, I did find my sworn Brother."
The rustling transford into footsteps. Liam heard Lancelot approaching, eventually looking up to see him staring down at him.
"But, Brother, be honest," Lancelot said. "Are you truly telling you feel no enjoynt? We are overcoming a challenge that has remained undefeated for centuries. Its owners tried and failed to stop us despite their tricks and preparations, and we did that fighting side by side."
Lancelot squatted at Liam’s side, his smile seemingly able to stir Liam’s competitive spirit, passion, or whatever the Ancestral Phoenix’s bloodline could affect.
"The Heavens are opposing us," Lancelot stated, "And we are still winning. Doesn’t that fill you with pride? Isn’t there so instinct screaming in excitent at the odds we are defying?"
Lancelot leaned slightly forward, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "The world tried to snuff out our passion, and it ran away in flas."
There was so truth to what Lancelot was saying, one that Liam knew he had already failed to realize, but that could go deeper now.
Liam had clearly felt what Lancelot had described when he had defeated the level three snake. That feeling had probably existed a year ago, too, when he had shielded lissa, finally abiding by the role his na carried.
In hindsight, there were other instances, too. Becoming a rooting expert despite Liam’s impossible requirents and through his Master’s invention did bring happiness.
Alchemy also featured smaller versions of those instances. That field was an endless ga of overcoming variables, and Liam was gradually accumulating victories that brought him closer to his great Master.
Yet, all that was clouded in goals larger than life, and probably the Heavens themselves. Satisfaction wasn’t in Liam’s vocabulary because his standards were sky-high, so distant that they blinded him to what stood in front of him, his grim predicant polluting any thrill his impossible feats could generate.
"Your fire might be dark," Lancelot announced, "But you should still enjoy releasing it. What’s the point of living if you don’t enjoy being alive?"
And Lancelot was undoubtedly right. Liam felt sure of it. He had his drive and things he wanted. He even rejoiced when he got them, but he never appreciated those events, not in any aningful way.
’I guess it was different with the Black Bow,’ Liam internally admitted as his hand snapped back, grabbing the wrist reaching for his bottom, drawing a clear line with that eccentric new friend. "I have a lover."
"I’m not jealous," Lancelot reassured. "I’ll even ask Chief Grace for permission."
Liam didn’t know if it was sothing in Lancelot’s tone, expression, or in the fact that Grace might switch sides if spirit stones were involved, but he ended up laughing.
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