It had been a few days since Jack dealt with the Drenched Woman. He still remembered her clearly. A terrifying, waterlogged specter fueled by pure hate and excessive vengeance.
He had won. But the victory felt hollow. A gnawing guilt, not relief, lingered in its wake.
But Jack had his self-imposed duty. He was the harbinger of vengeance. A just vengeance.
Now, he patrolled Lotogear City. He played a role of a ghastly judge of petty crimes. He dispensed spectral justice as he saw fit.
He knew others might not agree with his sense of justice. But he didn't care. His sense of unease from the Drenched Woman case seemed to weaken with every judgment. He saw it as a hint that he did the right thing.
For what he did to the sinners...
Pickpockets? At most, they would get a quick vision of their own rotting corpse. It should be enough to make them shivered. But it should not be bad enough to make them traumatized.
Bullies? Most of the time, they would received instant, pants-wetting terror. The terror should be strong enough to make them embarrassed in public.
Evil employers who squeezed their workers dry? They would be treated to at least a week-long nightmares, each one a twisted reflection of their own greed.
Unforgivable sinners? Well, other than Rawald Hamlow, Sheton Orblack, Samael Guarnier, and his two nurses, Jack hadn't encountered others who were that bad. But, if he encountered anyone like them, they would definitely be tortured tby nightmares to either insanity or death.
Jack never believed in absolute justice. He, most of the time, would consider the circumstances before he delivered punishment.
He had let some food thieves free without any punishment, for example. Because he saw they wouldn't survive otherwise.
He had also allowed a pickpocket to do his crime without any desire to punish him. That was because the target of the pickpocket was a rich jackass who mocked and taunted anyone from low economy class.
In another case, he even deemed a wife who poisoned her husband to death not guilty. He didn't bother punishing her. Just because he discovered that the husband was extremely abusive to his wife.
Jack considered it fair. In his point of view, he was an efficient judge, jury, and executioner. All was rolled into one translucent, faceless package.
Tonight, a gang of thieves was his target. He wouldn't care if their target was a corrupt rich men's mansion or something like that. But they tried to break into a decent merchant's house. A decent merchant! Didn't they know how rare a decent merchant was?
This particular gang learned the hard way that preying on the innocent wasn't really nice. One collective shriek later, they were all sprawled on the cobblestones. They were all unconscious and dreaming of hell.
Then... Jack felt a familiar tingle.
[LEVEL UP!]
[AVAILABLE NEW ABILITY] CHOOSE ONE:
[BLOODY MARY'S MIRROR WORLD]
[YUKI ONNA'S SNOW MANIPULATION]
[E GUI'S STARVATION CURSE]
Jack floated upward from the grimy alleyway. He still had no idea what could give him a chance to level up. Experience points from scaring others? Fame? Notoriety? The status screen gave no information at all.
He also had no idea why it was called 'Level Up'. There was no 'Level' in his status screen. Was it a hidden attribute? Did he need to unlock something to see his level? No clue!
However, he would use anything that could make him survive. Including this level up choices. He stared at the notification. He knew the drill.
It was time to rummage through the corners of his memory palace. It was time to look back to the horror lore from his previous life.
"Alright, let's see what we've got." He muttered. His voice, created by his [Banshee's Requiems] ability was a low and creepy hum that only he could hear.
First up was [Bloody Mary's Mirror World].
'Ah, Bloody Mary. The classic,' he thought.
In his old world, the origins of this legendary horror varied. But the core of the story remained. It was a vengeful spirit summoned by chanting her name in front of a mirror.
Who was the spirit? Some said she was a woman murdered brutally. Others said she was a witch executed unfairly. Whatever her origin, she was bad news.
If he picked this, he'd likely be able to go into the mirror. Or, he could trap someone within a mirror dimension.
Mirror world is said to be a twisted reflection of reality. Forcing the targets to confront their deepest fears there seemed interesting. It was potentially useful.
He considered the implications. Trapping someone wasn't his usual style. He preferred quick, impactful punishments.
But the ability to enter the mirror world… that was tempting. It reminded him to... the ability of sorcerers in Marvel Universe. It was really tempting.
Next, there was [Yuki Onna's Snow Manipulation].
"Yuki Onna. The Snow Woman," Jack murmured. His [Banshee's Requiems] twisted the murmurs into a strange sound with discordant harmony.
Yuki Onna was beautiful but deadly spirit from Japanese folklore. She lured travelers to their deaths with her icy breath. She froze them solid in the mountain snows.
Some stories painted her as a tragic figure. She was forced to kill to survive in those versions. Others portrayed her as a purely malevolent force of nature.
He pictured the possibilities. Creating blizzards on command? Turning enemies into icicles? It was a powerful ability, no doubt.
But Lotogear City wasn't exactly known for its blizzards. He didn't even think it would snow that much there in winter. It was a gritty, industrial landscape of soot and steam. Snow manipulation felt… out of place.
Besides, he didn't want to stay in this city forever. He had already missed tropical views. If he moved closer to the equator, the ability would be pointless.
Still, the idea of elemental manipulation at his command... tempting.
Finally, there was [E Gui's Starvation Curse].
Jack shivered, even though he was already dead. "E Gui. The Hungry Ghost," he said. The creepily echoing words carried a hint of dread.
It was from Chinese mythology. These were the spirits of those who died from starvation. Or ones who were denied proper burial rites.
These spirits were cursed with an insatiable hunger. Their bellies were perpetually swollen, but never full. They craved anything and everything. But nothing could ever satisfy them.
He imagined the curse. Inflicting an unending hunger on his victims. Creating a gnawing emptiness that would drive them mad. It was… brutal. Even for him.
The Drenched Woman's vengeance was far less sinister than this. The suffocation curse was bad. But at least the target would die in a few minutes. Hunger curse would torture someone for days before they died.
He saw its usefulness, though. He was slightly tempted to use it against greedy merchants and corrupt officials. It would make them feel the constant craving they inflicted on the poor.
Jack floated aimlessly above the alley. His spectral form flickered in the dim gaslight. He was thinking, considering the best choice.
Each ability offered a unique tool for his brand of vigilante justice.
Snow Manipulation was powerful but situational.
The Starvation Curse was effective but arguably too cruel. And he had no idea if he would be able to control the hunger once he inflicted it.
Bloody Mary's Mirror World... It was a gamble. It could be a home, an adventure, or a prison. But it also offered the potential for true, more impactful choice.
Jack stopped pacing. He knew what he had to do. He would take a gamble this time.
Bloody Mary's Mirror World! He decided, choosing the first option.
The notification shimmered, then vanished. It was replaced by a new sensation. He could sense a tingling awareness of the reflective surfaces around him. He could feel the potential power. Power to manipulate the other side of reality.
He tested it out tentatively. He tried to access the mirror world. Failed. Something was missing. What was it?
Jack focused, letting the tingling sensation guide him. It pulsed around the nearby windowpane. A faint echo resonated from its smooth surface. That was it!
It's [Bloody Mary's Mirror World]. Mirror. He needed a mirror.
Wait! No. It didn't have to be a mirror. The 'Mirror World' wasn't just an imagination here. It was a real, existing dimension. It was intrinsically linked to actual reflections.
To use this, any reflective surface would do. Any reflective surface could be the gateway, the focal point, to the Mirror World.
Now, the question was: what existed in the Mirror World. Would it be an empty, no-living-creature dimensional space? Or, would it be filled with living-creatures? Would it be full of creatures born from the twisted reflection of humanities?
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[CHARACTER STATUS]
[Name: Jack Night]
[Race: Formless Ghost]
[Archetype: Supernatural Entity]
[Attributes: Physique (00)]
[Attributes: Mysticism (42)]
[Attributes: Passion (56)]
[Attributes: Essence (99)]
[Karma: Neutral]
[System Sight Modes: Information Panel; Fear Detection]
[Supernatural Traits: Nightmare Shapeshift; Banshee's Requiems; Poltergeist's Telekinesis; Bloody Mary's Mirror World]
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