Golden words appeared before me—written in a language I had never studied, yet I could fully understand their meaning.
"[Soulstess]—"
The moment that word left my mouth, the world changed.
Everything around me became transparent, except for the white lights shining almost everywhere.
"What's happening...? Argh—"
A sharp pain stabbed my head, cutting the phenomenon short.
"What was that...? It felt like everything became see-through… It happened right after I said that word."
The word that shall not be named.
I hesitated to speak it again. The headache it triggered was not something I wanted to experience a second time. But the curiosity… the need to know… was too strong.
So, with cautious resolve, I whispered it once more.
This time, instead of standing idle, I moved. I walked toward one of the glowing spheres, this one buried beneath a book. I lifted it.
"A centipede."
The light had been coming from inside the bug.
"Is this a skill as the words mentioned? Maybe it's showing me where bugs are...?"
I wasn't sure what I was looking at. I turned toward another light—a larger one—glowing faintly from behind the mirror.
"What...?"
As I approached, I realized something unnerving. The light wasn't behind the mirror. It was inside me.
A swirling sphere of white light—much larger than the centipede's—shone from within my chest.
I leaned in closer, staring at the mirror.
"Is that my soul?"
And then I noticed something else.
A tiny red dot glowed at the very center of the light. Curious, I reached forward and touched the mirror—pressing my finger against where the red dot aligned with my chest.
The surface rippled like water.
And then—this appeared:
———
Status]
Name: Jack Jackerjack
Race: Death Doll
Age: None
Title: None
Skills:
[Blood Puppeteer], [Soulstess]
Traits:
[Oblivious]
Origin Skill:
[[Law Of Death]]
———
"Jack Jackerjack... That's indeed my name. So I'm a Death Doll? What's that? And 'Law of Death'... where have I seen that before?"
The mirror told me more than just my name. It confirmed what I had started to suspect—this was not Earth.
Skills? Origin abilities? A living, talking doll?
If I were still human, I'd be locked in an asylum.
Using skills was simple—just say or think their name. [Soulstess] allowed me to perceive souls, energy, and even see through physical objects.
And then there was [Blood Puppeteer].
Curious, I pressed the word in the mirror.
It rippled again, displaying more information:
———>
[Blood Puppeteer]: Allows you to control those weaker than yourself using their blood.
———>
"Well... that's rather straightforward."
Next, I scrolled through everything I could find.
A "Death Doll"—myself—was a rare monster born in places saturated with death and lingering malice. The perfect storm of tragedy.
Skills could be activated, while traits were passive—or perhaps conditional.
[Oblivious] made me immune to pain, heat, cold, hunger, thirst… and even aging. I wouldn't die from natural causes. Oddly enough, my emotions remained intact. And my headaches… they defied that trait. I still didn't understand them.
Then came the most important piece of all—my Origin Skill.
[[Law Of Death]]—a skill said to be part of the very foundation of this world. A power belonging to the creator of the world.
It allowed me to absorb every skill of any being I personally killed.
A beautiful gift—for a killer.
With that, I began forming my plan.
Step one: Leave the room. Figure out where I was.
If I was born here, that meant many had died in this mansion. I didn't want to be the next.
"Should I just break the door? But wouldn't that be barbaric? A gentleman such as myself—"
Crash!
The door flew off its hinges with a single kick.
Truly barbaric. Truly gentlemanly.
I stepped out.
"Finally, I'm free. It felt like I spent—"
I stopped mid-sentence. A sudden sensation prickled my senses.
A web flew toward me.
I dodged left on instinct, the sticky strands barely missing me.
I looked up.
A spider—massive and furry—perched in the corner of the ceiling. It was the size of my torso. Its many red eyes shimmered as it glared down.
I activated [Soulstess].
Its soul was almost the same size as mine.
A perfect test subject.
It shot more webs, but my nimble movements let me close the distance. I stood before it, only a few meters away.
"Dance, my doll—[Blood Puppeteer]."
The spider froze. Its eyes turned gold. Then—its own leg pierced through its head.
It collapsed silently.
"[Blood Puppeteer] is harder to use than I thought—Argh!"
Pain split my skull again. The headaches… why did they come?
I gritted my teeth.
This happened after using a skill. Always after using a skill...
I tried something next. I had wondered—if I used [Blood Puppeteer] to make a creature kill itself, would [[Law Of Death]] activate?
The answer?
No.
The spider died by its own hand. I didn't qualify as the killer.
Figures. Just like someone else taking credit for my hard work.
Its soul faded entirely. Even [Soulstess] couldn't find it anymore.
So they were indeed souls. And that spider had ruined the corridor.
I stepped past its corpse and turned left. A grand staircase descended toward the main hall.
The exit stood in plain view.
Each step groaned under my weight. I leapt over the broken ones, reaching the ground floor at last.
Wood splinters. Nails. Traps for human feet.
But I wasn't human.
I walked through the ruined foyer, ignoring broken furniture and torn paintings. I gripped the door and twisted the knob.
It creaked open, revealing a breathtaking forest bathed in the light of a bright blue moon.
"Ah~ Beautiful. A moon like still water. A forest of emeralds. Finally, I can leave this crumbling man—"
A gust of wind swept in.
Not touching my skin—but brushing past everything around me.
I looked up.
"...You're kidding me."
A colossal winged creature flew overhead, casting its shadow across the mansion. Its gaze locked onto me.
I slammed the door shut.
"Maybe going out isn't the best idea after all."
Inside wasn't much better.
Two spheres glowed within the house—each larger than my own.
Still, I didn't panic.
"No use worrying. First, I'll clear the small ones. Can't have potential 'deaths' crawling around my new home, right?"
Thus began my purification.
The one thing every serial killer adores.
"Get ready to witness the beauty… of a killing spree."