The cold, logical truth of the situation settled into Jack's mind with the weight of a lead anchor.
The Grand Arena was now an active hazard zone. The [Yrenlobeng Pearl] was not just a passive, shiny trophy. It was a predatory, living artifact.
It hungered for life. Well, specifically, it craved human life to repopulate its mysterious, cursed "Lost Paradise".
If anyone... either rescue squads, royal guards, or clueless scavengers wandered here into the arena, the pearl's black-hole would trigger again. The cycle of mass abduction would repeat.
"A literal human-trafficking object." Jack muttered again. His low voice echoed with the hollow, multi-layered whispers. "What a troublesome thing."
Beside him, a tiny, brilliant-orange wisp bobbed in the air. Rune, in her wisp form spun in a tight circle. Her silent light-signals seemed to be asking Jack a simple question... what to do now?
"It can't be left here." Jack said bluntly. He looked down at his translucent, misty hands. "The good news is, I'm currently a specter. I'm not technically alive."
He grinned behind his featureless mask. "What a luck. To this damned pearl, I should be as dead as a stone. That's why it doesn't try to suck me into that cursed vortex."
Jack considered his choices. He couldn't leave it here. That much was obvious. But, he couldn't simply shove that spatial-warping, living artifact into his pocket and take it away just like that either.
He needed a plan. And he did have one. He had several actually, but he had chosen one of them. He needed to execute it with absolute efficiency.
But, first of all... he had to secure a safe place for his crew and the rescued people in his Mirror Mansion.
Jack immediately turned away from the hovering pearl. Utilizing his invisibility, intangibility and power of flight, he shot into the sky. Just like a transparent, ghostly comet that phased through any solid objects in his way.
Soon, he was far above the Sweetmoon City. Below him, the city was in absolute chaos. Smoke billowed from collapsed buildings near the arena. And further away, panicked screams of citizens echoed through the cobblestone streets.
Jack saw most people ran away from the area. Recognizing the great danger of the location. He ignored them.
The most efficient way to suppress the chaos now was to handle the [Yrenlobeng Pearl]. But to do that without burden, he needed to unload the people within the Mirror Mansion first.
He flew at his top speed directly toward the royal palace grounds. But he bypassed the palace. Instead, he sought out the large meadow near the palace's botanical gardens.
It was currently empty. A good place to unload the ones inside his mansion sanctuary.
He descended into the middle of the meadow and waved his hand in gesture toward the hand mirror that floated alongside him. Mentally reactivating his [Mythical Mirror Realm] and commanding the Mirror Mansion to spit out the people inside.
The air rippled and the hand mirror glowed. The gate was opened. Out of the mirror, tumbled his crew first. Reina, Baroness Artheim, Ned Midlane, Barnaby, and the rest... Followed closely by a few hundreds of unconscious civilians they had rescued from the arena.
Reina looked at Jack's spectral, floating form. "Jack?"
"Night is fine." Jack immediately replied. Reminding Reina that he was playing a different role at the moment. "I'll switch with him later, after I handle that damned pearl."
"You lot! Listen carefully!" He continued. Addressing the whole crew. "The [Yrenlobeng Pearl] is a living artifact and it will suck in anyone with a heartbeat who gets too close. You are lucky Night switched places with me. Or else, none of you, living things, could handle it."
"The pearl is a living artifact?" Baroness Artheim asked in surprise. Her fingers crackled with faint, residual lightning. Recognizing the massive threat of that fact.
"I'll handle it." Jack said. "I'll bring it to a place where no living beings around. Just undead... a lot of undead things. It might take a while though. I'll switch back to Night and let him return to you once I'm done."
He twitched his ring finger, where his [Nine-Anchor Portal Ring] was. Secretly channeling his mystic energy to drop an anchor point on the ground. Only Reina realized what he did. But she kept her mouth shut.
"You lot take care of these people." Jack said. "I'll take care of the damned pearl."
The wisp, Rune, floated around Jack. Pulsing a reassuring, gentle green glow that promised Jack would be safe.
Reina, the only one who recognized the fairy in this form, nodded silently. Indicating that she knew what to do.
Jack grinned again behind his featureless mask. Without another word, he dissolved back into a streak of translucent blur and shot back toward the ruined Grand Arena.
...
The crater in the Grand Arena was silent. Save for the crackle of lingering magical fires. Right in the center was the [Yrenlobeng Pearl]. Hovering about a meter above the shattered earth. Pulsing with an insidious, seductive dark light.
Jack floated down slowly. The pearl didn't react. His specter form wasn't recognized as a living thing by the pearl.
So... he didn't hesitate. He extended the telekinesis power of his [Mysterious Anomaly]. He wrapped the mysterious energy around the pearl and lifted it. Up close, Jack could feel its freezing ambience. And how it vibrated with an unsettling, rapid heartbeat.
"Time for a change of scenery." Jack muttered.
He activated the [Nine-Anchor Portal Ring]. This time, he targeted an anchor he had established once. A location he hadn't expected to visit again so soon. The Despair Valley.
This place was a pocket realm. A desolate, abandoned wasteland choked with thick gray fog and populated entirely by undead things... skeletal warriors, ghouls, and wraiths. No living human roamed there normally. It was a realm of the dead.
Unless, of course, there was another demigod using the place for their entertainment. Jack remembered clearly how Saint of Joy toyed around with those illuminated beings during the chaotic struggle for the [Forbidden Chalice].
Flash! The ring was activated.
The world seemed to warp violently. The bloody scent of Grandmoon Island's ruined arena was instantly replaced by the stagnant, sulfurous stench of rot and cold ash.
Jack stood in the middle of a barren gorge. The bones of dead humans and beasts littered the gray soil around him. And in the distance, a crumbling, ruined castle could be seen clearly.
Jack flew straight toward the castle ruins. The undead denizens of the valley looked at him as the powerful specter drifted past them. But none reacted much. He was just another undead being for them.
And, the [Yrenlobeng Pearl] didn't show any reaction toward those undead creatures either. He was right. Only living beings were targeted by the pearl.
Jack entered the castle's deepest underground vault. An empty room of dark, reinforced stone. He placed the [Yrenlobeng Pearl] onto a cracked stone table down there.
"There!" Jack said. Crossing his spectral arms. "Drag as many undead beings as you want to repopulate your Lost Paradise, if you'd like it."
He chuckled and continued. "And if one of those illuminated beings managed to seize your [Yrenlobeng Heart], let's see how he'll get out of this realm."
The pearl pulsed as if to respond. But nothing happened. There were no living souls within range to trigger its vacuum effect. The undead didn't register to its senses. It was perfectly contained.
"I'll check this place once I break through to illuminated level." Jack decided.
During his daily meditative contemplation, he had sensed the 'reality bubble' he needed to break to reach the level of illuminated transcendence. But, it might still take some time before he managed to break it.
Rune floated around the pearl. Her light turning a curious, deep purple as she observed the artifact. She was also unregistered as a living being to the [Yrenlobeng Pearl].
Jack sighed. Now, he came to the tedious part. Waiting. The [Nine-Anchor Portal Ring] had a strict cooldown before it could be used again. To teleport back to the anchor he had just established at the Grandmoon Island's meadow, he had to wait until after midnight.
Jack floated above the ruined stone throne in the castle hall. Preparing himself to either explore this gloomy, creepy realm; or do a meditative contemplation to sense the 'reality bubble'; or enter the Mirror Mansion to work on one of his steamrune projects.
But, before he made any decision, digital chime echoed directly inside his mind. It was a sound he knew all too well.
The holographic panels of his unique system flared to life. Casting a bright glow across the eerie, ancient throne room.
[LEVEL UP!]
[AVAILABLE INCARNATION EVOLUTION CHANCE!]
[ANALYZING INCARNATION AVATARS...]
[TARGET DETERMINED: KAMAITACHI - RACER JACK!]
Jack's ghostly eyebrows raised behind his mask. "Oh? Racer Jack is finally getting an upgrade?"
At the moment, his kamaitachi form had been one of his least utilized incarnation. It was the fastest of all his incarnations. And one of the most 'fun' incarnations he liked the most.
But, since he was in this long treasure hunting expedition, he never used it even once. He had made a plan to fix that. His creation of the fake [Switch Medallion] was the first step in his plan.
And, this 'level up' might actually help. Providing a good reason why the speedster vigilante never appeared in Lonestone City these days. He could say it was simply because it needed time to evolve.
The system screen flickered. Presenting five distinct, glowing options:
CHOOSE ONE EVOLUTION:
[LIGHTNING RAIJU]
[SHADOW ONMORAKI]
[FIRE KASHA]
[ARMORED TENGU]
[STORM KAMAITACHI]
Jack sat cross-legged on air. Hovering above the broken throne. His mind immediately shifted into analysis mode. Recalling his past life on Earth, when he had been a content creator specializing in mythology, folklore, and horror.
He stared at the choices. The first thing he noticed was that... they were all Japanese mythical creatures.