"As for those cubes," Mize muttered as he turned the stone tablet over in his hands, examining the strange symbols etched into its surface.
"According to that thing's memories, he purchased them at a dark market alongside with this stone tablet"
"The words on these cubes come from a certain ancient country in my prior world—Bahasa Melayu?"
"A fairly interesting thing... How did those words manage to find their way into this world? Perhaps there is a connection on how these things got here"
He weighed the stone tablet thoughtfully. "Especially since it managed to summon me too."
Mize's smile grew slightly apologetic as he continued, "As for the original soul of this body, I'm sorry."
His tone was light, almost teasing, as he added, "My nature is to devour. I was summoned into this body abruptly, unable to control my strength, and consumed him directly. How unfortunate… and fortunate."
With a soft sigh, Mize stood up from the bed. The creaking of the old wooden floor echoed through the room as he made his way to the open window, the cool night air brushing against his face.
He leaned against the wooden frame, perching himself on the ledge as he looked out over the distant city that sprawled beneath the mountain.
"A new world, huh?" he mused, gazing out at the scene before him. "After hundreds of years living in that boring world, finally some sort of new excitement appears."
The city was an impressive sight, a blend of old-world British architecture mixed with the Industrial Revolution's raw power and innovation.
Grand stone buildings and towering cathedrals rose majestically, their intricate carvings and gothic spires reaching skyward.
The night sky above was filled with enormous airships, their engines humming as they floated like leviathans above the city.
Below, the streets bustled with life. Men in thick coats and flat caps hurried through the foggy streets, their breath visible in the cold night air.
Women in long dresses and bonnets bustled about, some guiding children by the hand, while others pushed carts filled with goods to sell.
The glow of gas lamps illuminated the cobblestone streets, casting long shadows that flickered and danced with the motion of the city.
Steam-powered and energy powered carriages rumbled along the roads, their gears grinding as they traversed the fog-covered ground.
Mize couldn't help but smile at the sight, a mix of amusement and anticipation in his eyes.
"Profoundly enough," he murmured, "my strength is a lot more powerful here"
"Gradually, I am transforming my energy into this world's rules of strength. And it is reaching its current limit already."
His smile widened as he touched his chin, pondering the possibilities.
The energy inside him, once bound by the limitations of his old world, was now free to evolve, to grow into something far more potent.
"I wonder how strong I am," he mused, the excitement in his voice almost negligible but the smile remained the same as always.
"Perhaps, a Tier 4 Awakener? Tier 5?"
"According to that guy memories, my strength should be roughly around tier 4 to 5 then, it is in between. Quite an interesting measurement"
His eyes glinted with a mix of interest and curiosity as he continued to gaze at the city.
"Now then, for the next set of plans," Mize murmured, his voice tinged with an innocent lilt that belied the twisted thoughts brewing within.
He edged closer to the ledge of the window, leaning out just enough to take in the panoramic view of the distant city.
The room he occupied was perched high on a mountain, giving him a sweeping view of the world below.
The wind thumped gently against his skin, the cool air carrying the scent of pine and earth.
Above, the clouds slowly parted, revealing two moons that bathed the landscape in an ethereal, silver light.
The forest stretched out between the house and the city, a dark sea of treetops that swayed rhythmically in the night breeze.
From his vantage point, Mize could make out the faint glow of streetlights and the steely glint of industrial structures in the city below, a curious mix of old-world charm and modern innovation.
The city itself seemed like a relic of a bygone era, with its Victorian architecture and steampunk embellishments—iron gears, steam-powered contraptions, and towering smokestacks that belched plumes of smoke into the sky.
He continued to admire the world's beauty, a rare moment of peace amidst the chaos that followed him.
"That merchant... I am curious about where he found those cubes and tablets.
Since he's willing to sell them, it means there are more out there. And given the price—barely several hundred coins—it suggests that not many people see their true value, with the exception of that one fool."
Mize's eyes shifted slightly, his thoughts lingering on the unfortunate man whose soul he had devoured.
"To say the least, he was conducting some sort of sacrifice for a deity in this world"
"The Divine of Darkness, was it? I find these gods quite intriguing, though my current strength won't allow me to meddle too deeply... for now."
He pondered this as he reached out to a vine that crept up the side of the house. Plucking a flower from it, he clasped it tightly in his hand, bringing it close to his face.
He observed the delicate petals, their vibrant colors muted in the moonlight, and smiled—a gesture that held a hint of genuine appreciation, if only for the fragility of life.
"Now there are two goals," he mused, his voice barely above a whisper as he twirled the flower between his fingers.
"One is to find that merchant and discover the origin of these artifacts while experiencing this strange new world"
"The other... is to improve my strength, to ascend beyond my current limits."
His mind was made up. The excitement of the unknown, of new challenges and mysteries, sent a thrill through him.
"It's decided then," Mize said with a final, resolute smile.
He tossed the flower out into the wind, watching as it was carried away, fluttering down towards the forest below.
Mize's grin widened, his eyes gleaming with anticipation as he felt the wind whip past him. "I feed on chaos and emotions," he muttered to himself, the words carrying a sinister weight.
"It's time for a grand entrance to this world. What differentiates me from the rest is the presentation of myself."
With those words, he gathered strength in his legs and, with a powerful leap, propelled himself out of the window and into the night sky.
The force of his jump sent him soaring upwards, and as he ascended, he twisted in mid-air, turning his gaze back towards the house.
His eyes widened in appreciation as he finally saw it in its entirety: a beautiful, double-story house nestled in the heart of the mountain, its quaint charm an odd contrast to the horrors that had taken place inside.
"Ahhh, a beautiful house in the middle of the mountain. Quite an aesthetic choice, Mr. Stalker" Mize mused, his momentum still carrying him upwards.
But as he continued to rise, he noticed something peculiar—he wasn't just jumping; he was flying. His body hovered effortlessly in the air, defying gravity as if it were a mere inconvenience.
"Now then, for a grand appearance…" Mize snickered, his smile widening into a sickening crescent.
A cold gleam flashed in his eyes as he extended one hand towards the sky, his voice dropping to a dark, menacing tone. "That is to light up some fireworks!"
The clouds churned violently as if responding to his dark will.
They began to part, revealing an enormous, spectral palm formed from pure darkness. The palm was an abomination, massive in scale—large enough to cover the entire two-story house below and more.
It was filled with countless tormented faces, their mouths agape in silent, eternal screams. The air around the hand was unnaturally cold, a void that sucked in all light and warmth, leaving only a chilling emptiness.
"Begone," Mize's voice boomed, deep and resonant, commanding the palm to descend.
The hand began its rapid descent, slicing through the air with an ear-splitting roar.
The sound was like the crack of a thousand thunderstorms, a deafening explosion that shattered the stillness of the night.
The wind whipped into a frenzy, howling as it was sucked towards the descending darkness, carrying with it the stench of death and decay.
Trees bent and snapped under the force, their branches torn away like brittle twigs.
The earth trembled violently, the vibration spreading outwards like ripples from a stone dropped into a pond. The very mountain seemed to shudder in fear as the massive hand approached.
The moment the dark palm made contact with the house, the ground erupted with a violent force.
The impact was cataclysmic, a detonation that sent shockwaves radiating in all directions.
The air itself seemed to implode with a deafening *BOOM* that echoed through the valleys and beyond. The house, once a quaint structure nestled in the mountain, was obliterated in an instant.
A massive shockwave burst outward from the impact, flattening everything in its path. Trees were ripped from the ground, their roots dangling in the air as they were hurled away like toys.
The wind howled even louder, now filled with the sound of splintering wood, shattering stone, and the anguished wails of the damned souls trapped within the dark hand.
The surrounding forest was reduced to matchsticks, the once dense greenery now a wasteland of splintered trunks and torn earth.
The tremor from the impact spread far beyond the immediate area, shaking the entire mountain.
Boulders cracked and split, tumbling down the slopes in a massive landslide that further scarred the landscape.
The ground itself seemed to give way, sinking into a massive crater where the house once stood.
Dust and debris shot into the air, forming a dark mushroom cloud that blotted out the sky, making it seem as if night had fallen once more.
As the dust began to settle, the scale of the destruction became clear. The once picturesque mountain retreat was now a smoldering crater, at least a hundred feet across and dozens of feet deep.
The edges of the crater were jagged and raw, as if the earth had been torn apart by a giant's hand. The ground around it was scorched black, the remnants of the forest lying in twisted heaps.
The air was thick with the acrid scent of burnt wood and sulfur, a choking miasma that clung to the remnants of the trees that still stood on the periphery.
At the very center of the crater, where the house had been, there was nothing left—no trace of the building, no sign of life. It was as if the house had never existed, erased completely from the world by the force of the impact.
The silence that followed was eerie, a stark contrast to the chaos that had just unfolded.
Only the faint echo of Mize's maniacal laughter lingered in the air, a haunting reminder of the destruction he had wrought