"This feels familiar,"Othello muttered, staring at the lightless void around him.
It was the same as when the book changed him, cold, quiet and eerie but strangely, he didn't feel that uncomfortable.
"I really have changed," he articulated once more.
"Wait, why am I saying what I'm thinking about?" His expression condensed as a comical thought sprung up in his mind.
"Could it be that there are no secrets here? Whatever you think shall be said..."
He chuckled dryly.
In truth, he was trying to make his mind tone down the irrational sense of fear he felt in this place. The horrible pain and chilling screams that he had been unable to let out during his last time kept replaying in his mind, making him shiver.
It didn't help that even that memory was being played out before him vividly.
"Damn," he cursed.
He wasn't able to bask in the unnerving sight for long though, as a soft sound suddenly permeated the void. The sound was subtle at first, then it grew to a loud roar filled with resentment and rage that shook Othello to the core.
Thw first thing Othello saw was a gargantuan tentacle. It was smooth and glossy, lacking suckers and patterns that could tie it to any known creature.
Then another.
His wide eyes witnessed 16 tentacles extend from a point in the void to cover the "sky" above his head, then they suddenly pulled taut.
Othello gasped. "Could it be...?"
Just as it seemed like the tentacles would pull out something from the void, a lone feminine figure suddenly outlined itself before the farthest tentacle.
"Who's that?" Othello asked himself, trying to take a closer look at the obscure outline. He tried to move forward but was blocked by a transparent film that had appeared around him at some point in time.
"Huh?" He questioned, visibly surprised. He would've tried harder to get out of the film, but the outline spoke at this moment.
The voice was cold and calm, speaking in a language he did not know. Strangely, he understood what the words meant.
His thoughts were interrupted by an enraged roar. Dephilus seemed to have been enraged by the words of the figure as he lashed out with his gargantuan tentacle. In an instant, it was already before the figure.
The figure was unfazed and stepped aside, dodging the tentacle by a hair's breath.
Then, she spoke slowly.
She stepped forward, revealing a thin blade in her right hand. Her voice floated emotionlessly as she chopped down on the air.
Her blade didn't seem to cut anything, but a pained squeal came from the void, followed by a massive river of red falling out of nowhere.
The figure took another step forward.
The figure disappeared instantly, followed by a rain of blood and gore as multiple deep gashes appeared on the body of the creature.
<...and weakness>
A roar of indignation and fear echoed in the void for a long time before everything went silent.
Othello stood in the void, motionless as the final words of the female figure kept echoing in his head. The moment he heard her words, he instantly knew that the information was meant for him.
"Observation and detection, huh? But what about the physical enhancement and memory?"
He wanted to ponder further, but a familiar sharp pain turned his vision dark instantly.
---
Joshua was quite the popular man in the slums. He owned the largest food stall and could get whatever he wanted as long as he put his mind to it.
His name was synonymous with fear and apprehension in the slums, and he had a personal entourage of goons who responded to his beck and call. Only, he never had much reason to use them...
Until today.
Five men with menacing glares armed with knives and metal bars stood before him, looking at him with a mix of apprehension and flattering.
Joshua observed the men for a moment and thought to himself.
'You were so cocky yesterday. Let's see how cocky you are when five men stab you till your parents can't recognize you.'
"Listen up," he said calmly. "Some brat thinks he has the right to order me around. I don't know where he got the guts, but I want us to teach him a lesson he'll never forget."
Shouts of approval came from the five men,their blood boiling at the prospect of spilling blood on the dark soil of the slums.
Joshua chuckled, hiding the faint unease he had been feeling for a while behind a cold smile. "Tomorrow at 6am, when the sun breaks the night sky, we shall meet this brat."
It was at this point that one of them raised a question. "If it's just one person, why not let two of us go?"
Joshua responded languidly. "Some people are forgetting who I am because of my calmness these days. I need an example to remind them."
The men responded with laughter and dispersed after a while, leaving on Joshua whose expression had turned ugly.
'I can't remember him anymore...
'I remember the conversation, the punch he gave Thias, the crumpled bills and even his oversized clothes...
'But I can't remember what he looks like.'
Such a situation made his spine tingle, but he steeled himself and ignored it. 'No matter what, he's still human. And no human can survive the assault of five trained hooligans.'
Thinking about this, a small smile appeared on his face.
'Seems my memory is deteriorating as I grow older...'