Chapter 56- A Hand That Stretches From The Darkness (Part 4)

Chapter 56: Chapter 56- A Hand That Stretches From The Darkness (Part 4)

Chapter 56- A Hand That Stretches From The Darkness (Part 4)

Right beneath Rize, a big black puddle of darkness appeared out of nowhere. Rize stared down, his frown growing deeper as he tried to understand what he was seeing exactly. The puddle appeared as if it was liquid, but at the same time, it didn’t seem that way like a homogeneous jelly or slime.

It grew to be two meters in diameter, surrounding Rize’s body from every angle. Then, out of nowhere, that puddle started moving as if it had a mind of its own. It shook, rippled, and then grew still as if it was trying to sluggishly learn how to move.

"... What... the hell... am I looking at...?" Rize muttered. He didn’t even need to remember anything from the story. This was not something that he had ever heard of before. But with the lack of mobility, he could only watch as the puddle tried to figure something out.

Not that long after, something happened. A tentacle-like substance arm emerged from the puddle. It was completely black, consuming the light around it as it moved and wiggled in its place.

It moved left, then right, as if it was discovering its surroundings. Then, it stretched forward as it aimed toward something... The hinge that held Rize’s chain. The tentacle moved for several meters until it reached the hinge, then it tapped it a few times.

"..."

It didn’t seem to understand what it was doing for a few seconds.

[Endless Hunger is learning.]

[Progress: Tier 1 (1%)]

Rize watched silently as Endless Hunger moved and coiled around the chains. Then, eventually, it seemed to figure out what it was doing as it tapped a part and... Rize’s chains descended slightly.

’Yes!’ Rize’s eyes lit up. ’Keep doing whatever you’re doing, black thing!’ He thought to himself as he watched Endless Hunger tap the spot again, and the chain descended again. Then, it tapped it again and again, and again as Rize kept descending to the ground.

Finally, Rize reached the ground as the chain fully released from the hinge.

"No way..." Rize muttered under his breath as he laid there. Then, the black tentacle came back to him. It approached him from the darkness until it stopped mere inches away from his face. Rize stared at it silently, his eyes wide open.

He didn’t know why, but he instantly felt a connection to it. It was as if this black substance was a part of him, as if it was one of his limbs.

"What... are you?" He muttered under his breath as he watched the tentacle sway left and right before it turned around and started going down his body, easily passing under the chains as it turned into a liquid state.

"Hey! Wait, what are you doing?!" Rize panicked when he saw it touch him. However, it was surprisingly warm and pleasant to the skin. "Are you trying to release me?" He asked.

However, naturally, Endless Hunger didn’t reply as it simply tried to find a lock. When it found it, it kept poking and feeling it as if it was learning in real time how to use it.

[Endless Hunger is learning.]

[Progress: Tier 1 (2%)]

The same notification popped in his retina again. Rize read it before he watched Endless Hunger work its magic.

’How are you going to unlock it, hm?’ Rize wondered. Then, as if to reply to his confusion, Endless Hunger suddenly poked the keyhole and entered inside. It filled the hole rapidly as it started taking its shape.

[Endless Hunger is learning]

[Progress: Tier 1 (3%)]

After wiggling around for a few moments, it suddenly twisted around, and then Rize heard a click as the lock opened and released the chains.

The moment that happened, the chains crumbled and loosened around his body. Rize quickly wiggled out of them and finally freed himself. His eyes were wide open with shock. What he just witnessed was simply incomprehensible.

He took a few seconds to try and understand the situation. ’That notification... I have definitely awakened. Is this black thing my gift? It’s called Endless Hunger...’

"Endless Hunger..." As he muttered those words, the tentacle emerged out of the darkness again and reached for him. He stared at it silently and then... He curiously tried to touch it with his finger. The tentacle didn’t move away and left him to discover things on his own.

’Hm, it doesn’t feel wet or anything, but it has the consistency of a wet substance.’ He thought to himself as he felt his own finger.

Then, after contemplation, he decided to try something.

"Can you help me stand up?" He asked. The tentacle stared at him for a second as if trying to understand him before it slowly moved up and angled itself in a way where Rize could grab it. "It can understand what I’m saying..."

To confirm, he grabbed the end of it. Immediately, the tentacle pulled up, helping him stand on his feet. Rize shockingly didn’t find any difficulty standing up even with his own energy. His body felt so energized and sharp that he forgot about the pain for a second.

At the same time, Rize acquired something completely new. He was now able to sense the Essence in the air and even everything around him without looking. The blackish purple aura was still moving around, as active and as aggressive as ever.

Rize looked around him curiously. ’This amount of energy is insane... I don’t even think Rize had this much in the original story. What is even happening?’

Everything was different from the original timeline. This was certainly not Rize’s gift, and this much power was not something he possessed at the start.

"The story has changed... again..." He muttered under his breath. "But this is not a small change... The entire plot has shifted completely."

Rize stared into the empty darkness for a second, his mind trying to understand the sheer scale of this alteration. It was clear that he was not following the main storyline anymore. He was now a different Rize, with a different talent and a different power.

"To think that things were going according to plan. That change has really screwed everything up. Perhaps meeting Venera is what did it." He muttered under his breath. "And now I have this thing... Endless Hunger."

There was a lot to take in and a lot more to discover. However, Rize knew that this was not the place or the time for that. He had been released somehow, and he could finally try to escape.

"Ok, let’s calm down. I need to find a phone. If I can’t find a phone, I need to just escape and figure out how to get to the closest human settlement."

Rize was certain that they weren’t far away from the capital, judging from what Vigil said. Escape was not impossible if he could sneak out before anyone could realize he was-

*Click*

"...!!"

At that moment, Rize suddenly heard the door to the storage room opening slowly. His face paled as he looked left and right, trying to figure out a plan. Eventually, he had no choice but to rush behind the door and hide.

He was about to be exposed before he could even try to escape.... Unless.