Inside Nuwesca City, there stood a large gray-walled apartment complex with numerous floors. Down on the basement floors, one can view the various CCTV cameras placed throughout the building, allowing the security guard currently on shift to watch any suspicious activities.
On one of the cameras placed on the 6th floor of the apartment complex, a suspicious-looking man wearing a baggy gray hoodie and black pants walked up to room 608, with their face covered in the shadows of their hood.
They stopped in front of the door and, as they hid the doorknob from the camera’s view, they shuffled around with their arms and the door seemed to open on its own. Leaning in close to the small gap that opened, their body shifted up and down as if they were struggling to hold back their laugh.
Stepping away from the door, they took off their hoodie, revealing their whole upper body covered in a skintight bodysuit that also covered their head, revealing a haunting, peculiar-looking person.
Unbuckling their belt and taking off their pants, they piled their clothes beside the door and rubbed their hands mischievously.
Then, as if noticing the camera placed at the end of the hallway, they stood up straight and waved to the camera, mouthing the words, “It’s just a prank, I’m not a robber.”
Although they exhibited a friendly gesture, their terrifying appearance akin to a burly humanoid shadow, with only their eyes and mouth revealed through torn holes on their covered face made them appear all the more haunting.
It didn’t matter though, because as of right now, the one that was tasked to keep watch of the cameras was busy opening a pack of cup noodles, forgoing their duty of keeping the residents of the building safe.
The mysterious man looked back at the door, a grin widening on their face. Taking a deep breath, they kicked open the door and rushed in, disappearing from the view of the camera.
A few moments later, they rushed out and closed the door behind them with a bang, before promptly running down the staircase. Then, ignoring the strange gazes passersby gave him, he ran out of the building with clothes in hand.
As the guard watching the cameras finished preparing his cup noodles and was about to eat, they gave a cursory glance at the monitors and didn’t notice anything strange.
…
A while ago.
Lucas munched on a bowl of fresh salad mixed with mincemeat, his eyes locked onto the television that barely illuminated the dark living room. Blue light bled through the shadows, enough light that the person peeking through the slit on the opened door could observe the entirety of the living room.
It was relatively large for a person living alone, with cream-colored walls and a dark brown wooden floor that had a glossy texture. White curtains covered the windows, fluttering softly as the cold winds of the night blew in lightly.
On the sofa placed near the middle of the room, Lucas hunched forward, bowl on his lap, eyes focused on the television screen on top of a simple brown table at the opposite wall. Potted plants were placed beside the television, breathing bits of life into the minimalistic room.
Besides the television and sofa, there was also a small wooden table near the sofa where a glass of water and a remote were placed.
Braun took in all of this information and felt his preparations were enough for this short and simple operation.
Taking off his clothes and piling them near the door, he waved to the camera at the end of the corridor and established his identity—a guy playing a prank to scare their friend in the dead of the night.
Rubbing his hands like a cartoonish villain, he kicked open the door with a loud bang and rushed in before Lucas could even process what was happening.
Lucas looked toward the door, his eyes wide, confusion lacing his face.
Like a scene straight out of a horror movie, a man wearing an uncanny black bodysuit rushed in, their muscles large and well-defined to the point that, instead of supposedly appearing comedic, turned horrific instead.
Unable to comprehend what just happened, Lucas watched as the man closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye, with their hand clutching a pen that appeared out of nowhere.
Braun pressed his hand forward at speeds far faster than any world champion boxer could ever produce. A whooshing sound formed as his hand glided across the air, puncturing the pen deep into Lucas’ eye, and stabbing his brain.
As it did so, his other hand grabbed Lucas’ mouth, covering it to prevent any potential scream from alarming the neighbors.
Blood oozed out from the poked eye, but Braun quickly let go of his grip so no blood could touch his hands. Leaving the pen gouged into the man’s head, Braun turned tail and ran, disappearing from the apartment complex, but he didn’t forget to grab his clothes along the way.
A short while later, through the opened windows where cold winds blew in, a veiny hand clutched the edge of the opened window as a shadowy figure leaped in with a soft thud echoing in the dark room with a bloody stench.
The figure took off the hood of their gray hoodie, revealing Braun’s face. He quickly discarded all of his clothes and threw them to the edge of the room, his eyes gleaming brightly with a ruthless light as he approached the corpse of Lucas butt-naked.
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An amused grin dangled on his face as he licked his lips.
“Thank you for the meal,” he said as his mouth opened wide, revealing rows of sharp white, with a mouth opened so wide it appeared inhumane and monstrous.
He kneeled down on the ground, his hands grabbing the sides of Lucas’ head, and with one big bite, chomped into the skull and scooped out the brain.
…
A while later, Braun finished rubbing the last bits of blood on the ground by using his underwear as a rug and then disposing of it by igniting a flame using his modified gun. Fanning away the smoke inside his bathroom, he heaved a sigh of relief upon successfully completing the initial part of his plan.
Now that Lucas is dead, he can officially begin the second step of his two-step plan of becoming the man known as Lucas.
He stared at his reflection on the bathroom mirror, his face well-defined and sharp as usual. Although his face and appearance bore the same general features as Lucas, he was too handsome to replace the man.
This dilemma made Braun chuckle at how strange it was.
“Here I am, worrying because I’m too handsome, how times have truly changed,” he murmured, pinching his chin to better observe his face.
He closed his eyes and recalled Lucas’ face.
Lucas had an above-average face with a bit of stubble around his jaw and neck, with dark brown eyes and textured black hair. His face was relatively clear with only a few blemishes here and there, and for the most part, if Braun changed from a midpart to a fringe-like bowl-ish textured hairstyle, and grew out a beard, he’d bear a striking resemblance to Lucas.
The only difference was that he would have a bit more defined face and appeared more handsome in general, like a better version of Lucas.
Zenithral Power, as mysterious as it is, seems to focus on a certain concept that could be split into three subconcepts—Zenith, which controls the domains of growth, evolution, and transcendence.
My body grew more powerful, evolved to the limits of humanity, and transcended my limits as a human.
The gun grew in power with a simple augmentation, before evolving even further and transcending its normal form to become this strange contraption. Braun glanced at the futuristic gun placed on the sink, his eyes gleaming with a dim green glow.
Reorganizing his understanding of the concept of Zenith and his power, he felt the green flame inside his body flicker and slightly increase in size, with its intensity turning a bit brighter than before.
Zenith… Considering this flame appears as a connection to a greater whole, with its size and intensity determining how much zenithal power I can draw out from its source, then there definitely exists a metaphysical manifestation of the concept of zenith, like some sort of grand, mysterious force.
Zenithral Force… yes, that name sounds just right.
The flame inside his body flickered brighter, increasing in size as his understanding of his power deepened.
And it seems like this connection grows alongside numerous factors, from an increase in physical strength; to greater wits; to a deeper understanding of the concept of zenith; to expanding my knowledge of the world; learning new skills… It seems to grow alongside myself at all sides, a holistic sort of development.
It’s like this power itself, a literal manifestation of the concept of growth, is urging me to grow as much as possible in all areas I could possibly grow in. From knowledge to strength, to experience, it guides me in ways that could barely be perceived.
He marveled at the deep intricacies the power held, and couldn’t help but sigh as his mind continued to wander.
And somehow, this seemingly limitless ability was granted to me, a side character given a connection to a grand force with no depths. It feels like I’m the chosen one of fate at this point, but… Braun smirked as if finding that idea disgusting. Heh, if I was some chosen bastard of fate, that would truly be the most unfortunate thing to possibly happen to me.
Everything would be preordained, with an end designated before I have even taken a step. It’s disgusting. Braun snorted, dismissing his condescending thoughts over fate.
Instead, he pulled back to the task at hand. He still needed to find a way to look more like Lucas than Braun.
The green flame inside his body glowed brightly, and green veins began to glow inside his body, illuminating through his skin. He saw the shadows of his bones and organs around his naked chest and stomach, causing a mild fit of laughter to erupt.
Employing his knowledge in biology and following his intuition, Braun utilized his zenithral power and relied on the domain of change. Change was also growth, and this time, he needed to change to achieve a new identity, an identity that would open up numerous avenues in his plans, plans that would propel his growth.
Does this mean that as long as it lies under the domain of growth, evolution, and transcendence, I could do about nearly anything with this power? Braun jested, albeit half-serious as well.
Although his understanding was merely rudimentary and he was barely scratching the tip of the iceberg of his own power that held vast mysteries, with an unknown source and origin, he intuitively knew just how limitless its breadth felt.
So, utilizing the domain of change, alongside the domains of growth, he regulated his hormones to morph his appearance. Hair quickly grew around his jaw, forming a thick stubble before swiftly growing out a nice-looking beard.
Braun gazed at his own reflection, grinning ear to ear at his still handsome face. Wetting his hair and pushing his hair forward, his appearance radically shifted, going from a model-like man to a scholarly-looking philosopher with a modern flare.
He inspected his face at various angles and referenced his crystal-clear memory of Lucas, before finally finding that he resembled him enough. It’s like Lucas just got a thicker beard, lost a bit of his body fat, lengthened out his hair, and got a skin-care routine.
Now, for the finishing touch.
Braun returned to Lucas’ bedroom and pulled out a black rectangular box a bit larger than the length of his palm from a drawer after a bit of rummaging, and opened it to reveal a circular-framed glasses.
Phew, there was a chance he threw it out, but it looks like the coast is clear. Braun put on the glasses and adjusted his eyes to their prescription, expending a bit more calories so his vision could adapt in a near instant.
Before he attempted his identity theft, he had encountered a lot of trouble before finally encountering Lucas. From the break of dawn till 10 am, he wandered around the city looking for people who matched his features until he eventually stumbled into Lucas.
From there, he quickly did his research and learned a lot about the man, from his full name, his family, and the schools he attended, and everything was almost perfect. There was even a long period when he wore glasses in university before removing them since he, according to a post he made long ago, felt his eyes hurt whenever he wore his glasses.
So, everything basically checked out. His slight shift in appearance can be attributed to numerous factors, from his glasses to a thicker beard and clearer skin, and the original Lucas’ body was cleanly disposed of, with it being digested into pure energy for Braun’s consumption.
It was a perfect crime with the only trace being the suspicious individual that did a prank on Lucas a few minutes prior, but that too wouldn’t be a problem once he starts learning more skills that will aid him in his future endeavors, such as coding, programming, creating viruses and taking control of the devices of others remotely.
Technology was practically king under the realm of godlike powers, and mastering that medium granted a wide array of possibilities he could undertake.
Staring at his reflection in the glass window beside him, Braun took a deep breath and grinned.
“Hello to you, Lucas Hum.”