But there was no point in thinking further now—he'd open it soon enough.
"Absolute Sanity—activate."
With that silent command, the skill triggered instantly.
Shiro Sakamaki's once lively eyes dulled into still, lifeless pools, and his entire deanor beca robotic.
Even if he thought of sothing joyful, not a flicker of emotion crossed his face. The sensation was strange and unpleasant—both detached and oppressive.
In this state of pure logic, Shiro didn't hesitate. He gathered his imnse spiritual energy and retrieved the Cthulhu Original Codex from his backpack.
The mont the book erged, all surrounding spiritual power vanished—as though it had never existed.
The book settled silently into his hand. Its surface appeared aged, with frayed page edges and a worn, frosted texture that was oddly pleasant to the touch. It didn't feel cold or cursed—more like tiworn leather.
Then his consciousness began to falter. It was as if his mind beca a warped, skipping record, overwheld with chaotic, discordant sounds. The cacophony threatened to unravel him.
But thanks to Absolute Sanity, his mind remained anchored. No matter how maddening the noise, he stayed unaffected—his heart completely unmoved.
Just as he tried to let go of the book, the cover clung to his palm like it had grown roots. Strange green symbols ca alive, crawling along his hand and spreading across his body.
He could faintly hear eerie chants—like mad cultists singing praises to a god that should not be. The language was obscure, the tones unearthly.
His body felt like it was being tumbled in a washing machine—twisting, turning, reshaped.
A normal person would've already lost their sanity, had their perception distorted, and their soul warped—until they physically transford into an eldritch horror, one more vessel in the choir of madness.
But Absolute Sanity shielded him. Though the Cthulhu Original Codex gnawed at his psyche, Shiro retained clarity—thin but unbroken.
He began to drift through what felt like ti and space itself. Everything beca distant, small, trivial. A strange peace settled over him.
In that dreamlike haze, he saw it: a massive, divine being. Its features fused human, bat, and octopus traits—an impossibly large figure cloaked in green, its bulbous head covered in writhing tentacles.
Its scales shimred with filth. Soft claws extended from its limbs, and a pair of ruined wings hung weakly from its back.
Even with limited knowledge, he recognized it instantly.
Cthulhu.
Within Shiro's body, the domain he was cultivating began to rge with the green runes crawling along his soul.
As if responding to the presence, it surged and expanded wildly.
After what felt like eternity, the connection snapped. The book's power quieted. His vision cleared.
The Cthulhu Original Codex rested silently in his hand—no longer struggling, no longer rejecting him.
It hadn't beco harmless—he could feel that. But he had passed its trial. He had been acknowledged.
Sohow, he just knew.
Opening his system, Shiro checked his updated status:
---
Na: Shiro Sakamaki
Strength: Tier 6: Tectonic ( mid-level )
Skills: Eight Divine Mantras, Thunder Arts, Talisman True Interpretation
Abilities:
Rashomon (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Arrogance (Fulltal Alchemist)
Three Types of Haki
Shadow Manipulation
Dragon Vein Alchemy (Optimized)
Absolute Sanity
Evil God's Favor (New)
Items:
Level-Breaking Pills ×3
Senzu Beans ×5
Cthulhu Original Codex
Octahedron Folk Talisman (Pseudo)
---
[Evil God's Favor (Passive Ability)]
[Effect 1: Under the gaze of the Chaos God, using or learning Cthulhu-based arcane knowledge will not induce madness. Instead, casting speed and power are increased by 100%.]
Seeing this gave Shiro so relief.
The Codex now appeared yellowed and tattered, the title etched in a cryptic language: "R'lyeh Codex."
Shiro slowly deactivated Absolute Sanity, testing for lingering distortion. None ca. He had retained full clarity.
Not only that—his strength had quietly broken through to Tier 6, Mid Stage, nearly reaching the peak. The storm of thunder energy within him surged but remained under his control.
Initially, he worried about rapid breakthroughs leading to instability. But tests confird his spiritual foundation remained solid—stable, yet overwhelming.
With that settled, he returned his focus to the R'lyeh Codex.
Thanks to the Evil God's Favor, he could now study its content freely without losing his mind. Still, out of caution, he reactivated Absolute Sanity before opening the book.
Strangely, though the script was entirely unfamiliar, he could instinctively understand its aning—like the knowledge was being directly implanted into his brain.
It described terrifying things—summoning forgotten dependents, rituals to bend flesh and spirit, reality-warping sacrifices.
What intrigued Shiro most were two aspects:
1. Body Modification Magic
2. Sacrificial Rituals
One technique allowed him to graft attributes of other creatures onto his own body.
The sacrificial rituals offered imnse power—but at great cost. The more power granted by the evil god, the more severe the corruption and loss of self.
Shiro wasn't interested in borrowing power. Instead, he wondered:
What if I reversed the ritual?
Sacrifice to... myself?
Could I fuel my own strength this way?
The idea was bold—but premature. His power wasn't strong enough to attempt such a dangerous ritual yet.
So for now, he set aside that ambition and turned his focus back to body transformation.
As dawn broke, the sky brightened. Morning sunlight pierced through the trees, lting away the chill of night.
Only then did Shiro notice what the Codex had done to the landscape.
The ground was warped, the air tainted with a rotten, damp stench.
Everything within hundreds of ters had twisted—birds, insects, animals—all mutated into unnatural forms, unable to withstand the agony and dying grotesquely.
He carefully cleansed the area, leaving no trace.
Then, he returned ho.
Back at the apartnt, Kanna Kamui was still asleep. He gently woke her, shared breakfast, and then sent her off to Kobayashi's house with Tooru for the day.
With school on his schedule, he couldn't risk leaving Kanna ho alone. And with Thor watching over her, he felt reassured.
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