"Tsk. This won't work."
I hit the concrete wall in frustration and my knuckles pierce through the damp material.
—Crack!
Pieces of cement fall into the dirty sewer water, splashing the dark, rotten liquid everywhere.
"Damn it..."
It's been a few weeks since I started this shit.
At this point, no one would doubt me if I said I've become a fucking sewer rat.
Not that I particularly enjoy being in this stinking hole. But it's the most efficient way to move through the city without being seen.
Well, that was my initial thought. Because it turns out the sewers in this city are full of obstructions. One after another after another.
"Hah... Another blockage."
In front of me is a compact mass of garbage, debris and who knows what else.
Of course, I could simply smash through the obstruction with my fists since my current physical strength is more than enough for that.
But that's not the problem.
The problem is that this shit is so compacted with garbage that if I knock it down, all that mess will come crashing down on me like an avalanche of filth.
And frankly? I don't feel like getting buried under tons of rotten garbage.
"Tsk."
I click my tongue again.
So what am I supposed to do? Become a sewer cleaner? Take out all the garbage piece by piece like it's my job?
Fuck that.
I wasn't born a zombie to end up being an underground cleaning employee.
But that's not the only thing that has me frustrated to the point of wanting to destroy walls. I activate my Ghoul Vision and look down, seeing through the concrete. I see red silhouettes with purple objects on their backs moving in much deeper tunnels.
They're way down there. Much lower than where I am now, which means there are deeper tunnels. Probably a whole underground system that ghouls use to move around.
My prey is right beneath my feet and I can't caress them with my claws.
Despite searching for weeks, I can't find a single damn entrance to those deep tunnels.
It's frustrating since it's like seeing delicious food behind glass but not being able to touch it.
And I'm hungry for power. I especially need to work on my second kakuhou which is still immature and weak.
"Ugh..."
I rub my face with my dirty hands.
Okay. This isn't working.
I need to change strategy.
And just as I think that, an idea comes to mind.
"Heh."
A smile spreads across my face.
Yes. It's time to try that.
×××
One day later, stars speckle the night sky.
I'm standing in a dark alley looking down.
In front of me is a headless body because I ate it.
—Grumble!
My stomach makes a satisfied sound as it digests the parasite.
And then I feel the frequencies in my brain intensifying, becoming clearer and stronger, while also becoming much easier to manipulate.
"Good..."
I look at the corpse before me.
The frequencies flow from my brain, so I activate that disgusting ability I obtained a few weeks ago.
'Flesh dreams of biting itself, and every eye aches for a sibling.'
—Splash! Splash! Splash!
The corpse's skin bulges in multiple places, tears open and blood spurts from the wounds.
And from those wounds emerge mouths full of small, sharp teeth. They chew the corpse's own flesh, devouring it from within.
But that's not what interests me now.
What interests me are the eyes.
On the corpse's cheeks, on its forehead, on its hands, eyes suddenly open.
"Perfect."
I use the frequencies to focus on one of those eyes and separate it from the body.
—Squelch!
The eye detaches with a wet, disgusting sound.
Once my brain frequency reached a fairly considerable amount, it became possible to do something similar to 'telekinesis'. Of course, making wooden tables or heavier objects float is naturally still beyond my reach. But for light objects they're quite useful.
And so, using my pseudo-telekinesis, I make the eye float.
The eye floats in the air before me, looking at me.
It seems scared as if it has its own consciousness. The eye will continue to exist until I cancel the ability or until the mouths finish completely consuming the corpse.
I stare at the floating eye.
"Now comes the interesting part."
My plan is simple. If I can connect this eye's vision to my own vision through the frequencies, then I'll be able to see what the eye sees. And if I can do it with one eye, I can do it with hundreds.
Imagine it. Hundreds of floating eyes scattered throughout the city. Seeing everything and spying on every corner. There would be nowhere for ghouls to hide from me.
"Hehehe..."
I laugh alone in the dark alley.
Yes. An all-seeing eye.
That's what I need.
I extend the frequencies from my brain toward the floating eye. I try to connect with it to synchronize its vision with mine.
But...
"Tsk."
It doesn't work. The eye looks at me but I can't see through it.
"Shit..."
I cancel the ability and the eye explodes into a mass of flesh that falls to the ground with a wet sound.
Okay. That was just the first attempt.
I have time.
×××
One week later.
One parasite per day, and only one ghoul. I've consumed them before using my ability with the intention of connecting my vision with the eyes I create.
But no matter how many times I try, no matter how many frequencies I use, it just doesn't work.
Above all, my brain is starting to suffer.
—Grrrr...
I squeeze my head with both hands.
The murmurs have returned and manifest in the form of hundreds of screeching voices.
"Ugh... damn it..."
I look up at the night sky.
The stars are crying. Tears of blood fall from them, staining the sky red.
No. That's not real.
I know it's a hallucination but it feels so real.
I look around.
The streets and walls are transforming into masses of pulsating flesh. Blood spurts from the cracks while the air smells of sulfur.
I stagger backward and crash into a wall. Damn it, even the sensation is so real, I feel hot, wet flesh pulsing under my fingers.
The murmurs grow louder.
Among that chaos of incomprehensible voices, one voice becomes clearer as the seconds stretch on.
This...
My eyes widen.
This reminds me of the time I obtained the ability to grow mouths and eyes on my targets' bodies.
—Crack!
Inside me, I feel chains breaking until they shatter.
And then the voice speaks clearly.
"Separate your seeing from your being, and the seeing shall be your thousand eyes."
The next moment, the hallucinations begin to recede and the murmurs fall silent, making my previously aching head feel light.
"Hah... hah..."
At that moment...
Information flows into my brain and implants itself there.
I open my eyes wide when I understand what I've just obtained.
"Hehe..."
A laugh escapes my throat.
"Hehehe... HAHAHAHA!"
This is exactly what I needed.
I don't hesitate a second to activate the new ability.
—Splash!
A wet sound resonates in the air. Simultaneously in front of me, the space distorts slightly, and then an eye appears.
It's not like the eyes I created before attached to corpses, since this eye is round, the size of a fist. Bright white sclera, crimson pupil accompanied by a non-blinking eyelid. And behind the eye, there are masses of flesh that move and pulse.
"Heh..."
It reminds me of the Eye of Cthulhu from Terraria, a game I used to play in my previous life.
Mmm...
Unlike the game, this eye has no consciousness of its own since it can't see on its own, nor does it have will.
To put it bluntly, it's an object, or a tool I can use.
Thanks to the information implanted in my brain, I know exactly what to do, so I emit a thread of my mental frequency from my brain and extend it toward the floating eye.
The frequency merges with it.
The eye blinks at the same time I blink.
And then in my brain, a second vision appears.
I can see what the eye sees. I can see my own face.
"Hahaha... it works..."
It works perfectly.
I look at the eye and the eye looks back at me.
But actually it's me looking at myself.
"This is fucking awesome."
I make the eye float left, then right, up, down.
I can control it with my thoughts and I can see everything the eye sees in real time.
This opens up so many possibilities.
Never again will I miss a hidden entrance to the ghoul tunnels nor will I ever have to walk blindly through the sewers.
Then I think of something.
If I obtained this ability...
Some time ago, when I obtained the ability to create mouths and eyes on my enemies' bodies, it was because I was furious. I looked at that ghoul who tried to kidnap my dear friend as if I wanted to devour him with my own eyes. Was that the trigger?
And this time...
This time the trigger was my desire to see where my eyes can't reach.
Following that train of thought...
"I can obtain abilities according to what I want to do."
×××
20 advanced chapters on Pa-treon.
pa-treon.com/OlwinMoriarty