CHAPTER 357: CHAPTER 357 VANESSA’S HEART

Dickson circled the strange machine like a predator stalking prey. His hands traced the air near the surface, but he didn’t dare touch it. Every time he leaned closer, the faint shimmer across the metal flickered like heat waves, making it feel alive. His eyes glowed with curiosity, and his grin refused to fade.

"How does it work?" Dickson finally asked, snapping his head toward Liam. His voice was full of eagerness, as if the machine was already his.

Liam stayed still for a moment before answering. "The last time it came on... Lana touched it by mistake. The whole thing let out an explosion. Knocked us all back. When we stood up again, she had powers."

The girls tensed immediately at the word explosion. Ann frowned, her arms crossing over her chest. Seo Yeon’s eyes narrowed, cautious and calculating. Kelly raised an eyebrow, skeptical. Even Vanessa, who had been watching the machine closely, turned her head toward Liam with a sharp look.

"Explosion?" Ann repeated, her voice cold.

Liam realized too late that he should’ve kept that part to himself. He straightened and raised a hand, dismissing their worries quickly. "Relax. It’s harmless. Nobody got hurt. Not even a scratch."

Ann’s eyes stayed on him, unconvinced, but she didn’t push further. Seo Yeon exhaled sharply, muttering something under her breath in Korean.

Liam ignored their stares and stepped a little closer to the machine. His fingers brushed against the edge of the crystalline base. Inside his head, his voice lowered.

"How do I turn this thing on?" he asked inwardly.

There was silence at first. Then the familiar mechanical tone echoed inside his skull, cold and precise.

[System online: I assumed you had forgotten about me.]

The voice was as monotone as always, but Liam swore he could hear a hint of sarcasm buried under the flat words.

"I didn’t forget about you," Liam replied in his thoughts. "I just didn’t have a use for you."

The words were true. These days, the system felt less like help and more like a chain. He couldn’t deny the strength it gave him—strength that kept Ann, Dickson, and the others safe. Without it, they might already be dead. But every time he relied on it, the system tried to force rules on him, holding back his powers, limiting what he could do. It called itself support, but more often than not, it felt like a leash.

"Tell me," Liam pressed quietly, "if you were built to help me, why did you try to restrict me?"

The system didn’t reply. The mechanical hum in his head paused, like it had ignored the question completely. Instead, it gave him exactly what he had asked for.

[Instruction: To activate device. Step One: Supply external power to coils. Step Two: Initiate synchronization with crystalline core. Step Three: Adjust stabilizer filaments to default frequency. Step Four: Confirm synchronization. Step Five: Apply user blood sample to primary input slot. Activation will complete.]

Liam’s brows furrowed. "Blood?"

[Affirmative. Requirement: User blood. Final key to initialize system.]

He frowned deeper. His voice stayed low inside his head. "But the last time, Lana only touched it. There was no blood. None of this effort."

[Correction: Unit was already in activation process. Operator: Your father. He initiated protocol, used blood as key, then aborted sequence prematurely. His time expired. He covered the device before fleeing. When Lana touched it, her action reconnected the incomplete chain. That is why sequence completed.]

Liam went still, eyes narrowing. The information clicked into place, but it raised more questions than it answered. He ran his thumb across the base of the machine, staring at the faint shimmer.

"So... my father started it," Liam muttered inwardly. "He put his blood in. Lana just finished what he left half-open."

[Affirmative.]

The confirmation hit harder than he expected. His father had been here, right at this machine, seconds away from turning it on completely. If he hadn’t been interrupted, if he hadn’t fled, maybe Liam wouldn’t even be here now.

He exhaled slowly, piecing it all together. Then another question burned through his head before he could stop himself.

"How do you even know this?" Liam asked the system sharply. His voice in his mind carried suspicion now. "You’re acting like you’ve been here before. Like you were watching him." His eyes narrowed as his chest tightened. "How do you know so much about my father?"

The system’s reply was immediate, delivered in its cold, lifeless tone, but the weight of the words sent a chill down his spine.

[Response: You ask as if the answer is not obvious. Your father. He built me.]

Liam’s heart skipped. He froze completely, his fingers tightening against the base of the machine. The world around him felt like it dimmed, even as the others continued staring at the strange device in the center of the room. None of them had a clue about the conversation running silently in his head.

His father. The man who died, leaving secrets and destruction behind. The man whose past had dragged Liam into all of this. The man who had created the very system that lived inside him.

He was everywhere.

A sharp nudge to his arm snapped Liam out of his spiraling thoughts. He blinked and turned his head, meeting Dickson’s impatient stare.

"Hey," Dickson said again, voice louder this time. "I asked you something. How do we turn this thing on, dude?"

Liam coughed lightly, covering the fact that his mind had just been miles away. "Yeah," he muttered. "Right. Step back."

The others exchanged glances, but they listened. Ann, Seo Yeon, Kelly, and Vanessa all moved back a few feet, forming a loose half-circle behind him. Dickson stayed closest, reluctant, but even he shuffled backward when Liam shot him a look.

From their perspective, it almost looked ceremonial—the way Liam stood tall before the bizarre machine, his figure outlined by the faint shimmer rolling off its coils. The vertical ring loomed over him like a gateway to something forbidden. His shadow stretched across the bloodstained floor, long and sharp.

They watched quietly as he activated it.

Then finally he placed his hand on the crystalline base. His expression hardened, but his movements were steady. He reached up with his other hand and dragged his nails against his palm.

The sound of skin tearing was quiet, but it made Ann flinch. Seo Yeon’s eyes widened. Kelly’s lips parted slightly, and even Vanessa’s breath caught. None of them had expected him to do that.

A line of red welled up immediately. Without hesitation, Liam curled his hand and let the blood drip down onto the base of the machine. The crimson splashed against the crystalline surface, and the reaction was instant.

Dark veins of energy spread out like cracks across glass. The machine shuddered faintly, then a dull hum rolled through the floor.

Dickson broke the silence, though his voice was awkward. "Man... it seems this shady blood-obsession thing runs in your family." He scratched the back of his neck, glancing at the dried stains around the room. "First your dad, now you. Creepy."

Liam didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on the machine.

The veins of energy crawled higher, climbing up the vertical ring like black vines. The coils began spinning faster, their surfaces flashing between black and silver in rapid pulses. The humming deepened, filling the underground chamber until it buzzed in their bones.

"Holy shit," Kelly whispered.

No one spoke after that.

The energy reached the top of the machine and started creeping inward, filling the space between the filaments. The center began to ripple, like liquid shadow forming a mirror.

"Come forward," Liam said suddenly, his voice cutting through the low drone.

They didn’t hesitate. Ann, Seo Yeon, Kelly, Dickson, and even Vanessa stepped closer, their eyes wide, their curiosity outweighing the fear they had felt minutes ago. Liam had mentioned an explosion earlier, but it was gone from their minds now. The sight before them had them hooked. It was like watching a door to another reality forming right in front of them.

Their faces glowed faintly in the dark radiance spilling from the core. Dickson leaned in the farthest, staring at the shifting ripples like he was seconds away from sticking his hand in.

Nobody noticed Liam moving.

With a calm step, he drifted sideways. His eyes locked on Vanessa. Before she could react, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her firmly toward him. In one swift motion, he guided her back against one of the thick concrete pillars in the corner.

Vanessa gasped, her face instantly burning red. She stumbled as her balance gave way, but Liam’s arm tightened around her, pressing her securely against his chest.

The closeness was overwhelming for her. His grip was strong, his hand firm at her waist, and the suddenness of it made her heart pound wildly. Her breath hitched as she realized just how close they were—her body pinned against him, his chest broad and warm, her breasts pressing into him with every shaky inhale she took.

Vanessa’s mind spun. Liam had never held her like this before. Not once. Not even in her wildest fantasies did she imagine it would feel this maddening. The heat of his body, the way his arm kept her pulled tight, the strength in his frame—it was almost too much. She couldn’t think straight.

Her lips parted. "Wha—"

Before she could finish, Liam placed a finger gently against her lips. The gesture was soft but commanding, silencing her instantly. Her pulse spiked. Her eyes locked onto his, and the intensity in them almost made her knees give way completely.

Liam’s attention, however, wasn’t on her. His head turned slightly, his gaze fixed on the others gathered around the machine.

Ann, Seo Yeon, Kelly, and Dickson stood close together, their faces lit by the pulsing energy. They looked like children staring at fireworks, fascinated and unguarded.

Liam’s lips curved into a knowing smile. "It should be about now," he murmured quietly.

Vanessa barely heard him. She was too lost in the sensation of his finger still resting lightly against her lips, too consumed by the way his arm kept her firmly pressed against his chest. Her heart was thundering, her thoughts tangled, and her crush on him—which she had always tried to hide—was now roaring out of control.

Liam didn’t move. He just held her tighter, his eyes glinting as the machine reached the peak of its activation.