Chapter 672 The Consciousness Takes Over

Liam stood, his eyes fixed on the unconscious Leo as the strange silence inside his mind continued. The consciousness had already told him there was a way to save the boy, but it had also made something else painfully clear.

He couldn’t do it himself.

That alone was enough to make Liam uneasy.

He had faced monsters, supernatural creatures, powerful warriors, and things that should never have existed in the first place. He had survived situations where a single mistake would have meant death. Yet somehow, standing inside this quiet village house beside an unconscious child felt different.

There was no enemy he could punch.

No obvious target he could destroy.

There was only an invisible force consuming a child’s soul.

Liam finally spoke inside his mind.

"Then tell me what I need to do."

The consciousness didn’t answer immediately.

Liam’s brows furrowed.

"What is it?"

[I need to take over.]

Liam froze.

"What?"

[You heard me.]

"What do you mean, take over?"

The consciousness seemed almost irritated by the question.

[Stop playing dumb. I mean exactly what I said. I need to take over your body.]

For several seconds, Liam simply stared forward.

His jaw almost dropped.

Take over my body?

That was an option?

How?

Why?

And perhaps most importantly, what the hell exactly was this consciousness?

Liam had spent so much time treating it as another mysterious component of the system that he had never truly stopped to consider the implications of its existence. It could speak to him. It could analyze things. It possessed knowledge that even the system itself seemed unwilling to reveal completely.

And now it was telling him it could take control of his body.

A flood of questions exploded through his mind.

Where had it come from?

What exactly was it?

Was it part of the original system?

Was it connected to his Aetherial evolution?

How long had it existed?

And why had it been hiding this ability from him?

But then Liam looked at Leo again.

The questions could wait.

The boy couldn’t.

"Fine," Liam said internally. "What do I need to do before you take control?"

The answer came immediately.

[Nothing.]

Liam blinked.

"Nothing?"

[I am already in control.]

Liam’s eyes widened.

"What?"

He tried to move his hand.

Nothing happened.

His fingers didn’t twitch.

His arm didn’t rise.

He tried moving his head.

Nothing.

A strange sensation crawled through him.

Liam attempted to take a breath.

Nothing.

His lungs didn’t respond.

His body simply stood there.

Completely still.

His eyes remained open, but suddenly Liam realized something terrifying.

He wasn’t controlling any part of himself.

His body was still standing.

His heart was still beating.

His lungs were still working.

But none of it belonged to him anymore.

It was as if Liam had been pushed into the deepest corner of his own mind, reduced to nothing more than an observer trapped behind his own eyes.

What the hell...

He tried moving again.

Nothing.

Then his body moved.

Liam felt himself take a step forward.

But he hadn’t commanded it.

His body was moving entirely on its own.

The experience was deeply unsettling.

He could see everything.

Hear everything.

Think everything.

Yet he couldn’t control a single muscle.

It was almost like being awake inside someone else’s body.

The consciousness had taken complete control.

And somehow, despite how alarming that should have been, Liam found himself strangely calm.

The boy came first.

Whatever questions he had about this strange entity could wait until Leo was safe.

His body turned toward Irina.

The difference was immediate.

Irina noticed it too.

She had been standing near the table, watching Liam carefully, but the moment he looked at her, something inside her expression changed.

There was something wrong.

Not physically.

Something about his presence.

His eyes were the same.

His face was the same.

His voice, when he finally spoke, was still unmistakably Liam’s.

But everything else was different.

The warmth wasn’t there.

The casual confidence wasn’t there.

The teasing expression he constantly wore was gone.

His posture had changed completely.

Liam normally stood with a relaxed confidence, sometimes almost lazily, as though nothing in the world could truly bother him.

Now his body stood perfectly straight.

Controlled.

Still.

Almost mechanical.

His gaze passed over Irina without the slightest hint of curiosity.

"Cover the windows."

Irina didn’t move.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Liam?"

The body looked at her.

"Why are you still standing there?"

There was irritation in the voice.

Not Liam’s usual playful irritation.

This was different.

Cold.

Detached.

Almost as though Irina’s hesitation was nothing more than an inconvenience.

Irina stared at him for another second.

She didn’t know what had happened.

She didn’t know what Liam had been doing while he remained silent earlier.

But she knew one thing.

This wasn’t the Liam she knew.

Something had changed.

Something was controlling him.

Yet there was no time to argue.

Irina quickly moved toward the nearest window and pulled the curtains closed. She moved through the house, covering every opening until the outside world disappeared behind layers of cloth.

The room gradually became darker.

Liam’s body waited patiently.

Once Irina finished, she turned around.

The possessed Liam was already looking toward Leo.

"Put him on the table."

The mother immediately obeyed.

She carefully placed her unconscious son down.

Her hands trembled as she brushed his hair away from his forehead.

"Please," she whispered. "Save him."

Liam’s body didn’t answer.

Instead, it approached the table.

His eyes settled on Leo.

Inside his own mind, Liam watched through his own eyes.

He could feel the incredible concentration radiating through his body.

The consciousness wasn’t wasting time.

It wasn’t interested in the mother’s emotions.

It wasn’t interested in Irina’s confusion.

Its entire focus was on Leo.

Liam suddenly understood something.

Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t taking control of his body for pleasure.

It was doing exactly what it had promised.

It was trying to save the boy.

The consciousness lifted Liam’s hand.

His fingers hovered a few inches above Leo’s chest.

Then it paused.

"Everyone move back."

The mother immediately stepped away.

Irina did the same, but Liam’s body turned toward her.

"You stay."

Irina’s brows furrowed.

"Me?"

"Yes."

His gaze remained emotionless.

"My body will be vulnerable while I perform the ritual."

Irina’s expression changed.

Liam continued, his voice calm and cold.

"If anything comes here while I’m doing this, you protect me."

Irina stared at him.

She didn’t know what ritual he was talking about.

She didn’t know what had happened to him.

But despite all of that uncertainty, she understood the most important part.

Liam was about to do something dangerous.

And he was trusting her to keep him alive while he did it.

Irina slowly nodded.

"I understand."

Liam’s body turned back toward Leo.

Inside his mind, Liam watched silently.

For the first time since the consciousness had appeared inside him, he was no longer the one in control.

And whatever was about to happen next would reveal exactly what this mysterious consciousness was capable of.