Her bare feet lightly tapped the ruins as Lilith's figure leapt up gracefully, ascending precisely into mid-air.
Her slender fingers spread open, firmly grasping the cube that emitted a mysterious dark red luster.
It felt slightly cool to the touch, not the icy coldness of metal, but a texture containing a strange vitality.
Her feet landed back on the ground, her light veil fluttering with the movement, outlining a hazy silhouette in the night wind.
That flexible three-meter-long bone tail slithered over silently, like a silver ribbon with a mind of its own, wrapping twice around her chest just right to skillfully bind the loose veil.
It prevented any exposure without appearing tight, instead adding a touch of valiance and unruliness.
At this moment, the entire Tokyo was deathly silent, with only the occasional low growl of zombies in the distance serving as the background noise for this newborn hell.
No one dared to cast their gaze toward the center of these ruins anymore, let alone harbor the slightest delusion of laying a finger on the strange artifact.
The death of Ghost Prison was like the loudest funeral bell, announcing the fate of those who made an enemy of 'Night'.
The moment Lilith's fingers completely closed around the Rubik's Cube—
[Ding!]
A clear, cold system notification rang out.
[Congratulations to 10086 for obtaining a strange artifact—Ever-Changing Rubik's Cube.]
[The Global Strange Artifact Ranking is now open.]
[Note: Starting from this announcement, strange artifacts will descend randomly and continuously across the Earth. The system will no longer provide any advance information regarding the time or location of their arrival.]
[Strange Artifact categories are as follows: General-type, Attack-type, Defense-type, Support-type, and Fantasy-type.]
['Ever-Changing Rubik's Cube' Assessment: General-type strange artifact. Currently ranked third on the Strange Artifact Comprehensive Potential Ranking.]
[Trait Description: Its core unit is composed of 27 independent dark red energy cubes, possessing an almost infinite capacity for physical form transformation.]
[Its final form and efficacy depend on the user's Spirit strength, energy control precision, and imagination.]
Along with the system description, a blurred stream of information on how to initially communicate with and guide the Ever-Changing Rubik's Cube surfaced in Lilith's mind.
"General-type... does that cover all categories?"
There was no ripple in Lilith's crimson eyes as she quietly looked at the cube in her hand.
This meant it could be a sharp weapon, indestructible armor, a support tool with various functions, or even simulate various effects that defied common sense.
Everything was defined by the user.
But often, value is proportional to difficulty.
With a slight thought, Lilith attempted to follow the method she had just acquired, extending her Spirit like the finest tentacles to gently probe into the dark red cube in her hand.
"Hum—!"
The runes flowing on the surface of the cube lit up slightly, and its overall size began to shrink rapidly, eventually turning into a mini cube that could be completely enclosed in her palm. It lay there quietly, yet its sense of weight hadn't diminished at all.
Next, Lilith tried to mobilize one of the most basic cube units.
Intent locked, Spirit outputted.
"Sshhh—"
A sound like energy being peeled away rang out.
A small dark red square separated from the main cube and floated in front of Lilith.
The instant this small square separated—
"Hmm?"
Lilith's brow twitched imperceptibly.
An indescribable sense of heaviness wasn't acting on her palm, but was instead like an invisible shackle instantly placed upon her entire body!
It was as if gravity had suddenly increased dozens of times over!
"Crack..."
A faint cracking sound came from beneath her feet.
Lilith looked down to see that the reinforced concrete wall she was standing on with her bare feet was actually sinking downward with her ankles as the center, spiderweb-like cracks spreading out!
"The weight acts directly on the holder themselves?" A thicker trace of interest flickered through Lilith's eyes instead.
The cost of using this strange artifact was actually so direct.
To master the objects it transformed into, one had to bear the burden brought by their corresponding mass.
Spirit was the key to driving the transformation, while physical strength was the foundation for carrying it.
Lilith focused her Spirit again, attempting to guide a second small square to separate.
This time, the pressure increased sharply!
It was as if two invisible small mountains were pressing down on each of her shoulders!
The depression beneath her feet deepened by another inch, and the cracks spread even further.
"With my current Spirit strength, controlling two units with precision simultaneously is the limit. And the base mass corresponding to each unit after transformation..."
Lilith calculated rapidly.
"Is at least over twenty tons. Two would be nearly fifty tons of extra weight."
And that was just the base mass of carrying it.
If it transformed into a weapon that needed to be swung, or if she moved at high speeds, the actual inertial force she would need to overcome would be even more terrifying.
"The harder it is to control, the greater the potential."
The curve of Lilith's lips widened, and the excitement in her eyes could no longer be hidden.
In her mind, she quickly outlined every detail of that black and red Gothic military uniform William had previously custom-made for her.
The first dark red square floating in front of her seemed to receive a supreme command, and the runes on its surface lit up with a faint glow!
The dark red material writhed, extended, and took shape like liquid metal!
In the blink of an eye, a Gothic military uniform identical to the one Lilith had worn before appeared out of thin air and drifted down.
Lilith reached out to take it.
The touch was cool and silky, smoother than the finest silk and more delicate than velvet, yet it possessed an unspeakable resilience.
She put it on, the size fitting her petite frame perfectly. The black and red color scheme looked exceptionally murderous against the backdrop of the ruins, and the Apocalypse emblem glinted coldly under the dim moonlight.
However, beneath the wonderful touch was a very real heaviness.
Over twenty tons of extra weight were distributed evenly across her entire body surface. Although it was nothing to Lilith's true form,
For her human form currently maintained through Mimicry, the effect was terrifying. Her fair feet had already sunk deep into the ground, encased in reinforced concrete.
"A good way for weight-bearing cultivation."
Lilith evaluated in a low voice, her tone carrying approval.
Turning daily wear into extreme training—the value of this strange artifact in auxiliary cultivation might not be inferior to its combat use.
Next, her gaze turned to the second floating dark red square.
In the next moment, a crimson scythe appeared in Lilith's hand.
Lilith weighed it; it was heavy, but she wasn't very skilled with weapons. So... her gaze fell upon her gently swaying silver-white bone tail.
The tail blade was sharp and was one of her most commonly used offensive organs, like an extended arm—flexible and lethal.
"Rather than mastering an unfamiliar weapon, it's better to strengthen an existing tool."
With her mind set, the crimson scythe moved accordingly, turning into a stream of dark red liquid light that precisely covered the tail blade at the end of Lilith's bone tail!
The liquid spread, encased, and solidified.
In an instant, the silver-white tail blade had been perfectly covered by a layer of crimson material shimmering with a metallic cold light!
The lines of the new tail blade were smoother and sharper, its edges even keener, like a polished blade.
At the same time, the sense of weight was faithfully fed back.
Over twenty tons of extra mass were concentrated on the tail blade!
The moment the cube was fully attached, Lilith let out an imperceptible muffled groan.
Her originally flexible bone tail suddenly sank downward!
"Boom!"
The tail blade covered in crimson metal slammed heavily onto the ground, smashing a shallow pit half a meter wide into the ruins, sending rubble flying!
The tail was different from limbs; the leverage effect meant that when the end bore extra weight, the control requirements for the entire tail's muscles and bones skyrocketed exponentially.
At this moment, Lilith felt a sore, swelling sensation in her tailbone. That was her muscles frantically adjusting to and adapting to this sudden, terrifying load.
"Just right."
She adjusted her breathing, calmness flickering in her crimson eyes.
"I can take this opportunity to thoroughly temper the absolute strength and control precision of my tail."
Lilith tried to slowly lift her bone tail.
The movement was slow and sluggish, as if she were dragging a small mountain.
Every inch it was raised was accompanied by the violent contraction of the bone tail and the frantic consumption of energy.
Lilith had thought of how to use the strange artifact [Ever-Changing Rubik's Cube] the moment she obtained it.
And the system's final tip also made Lilith clearly realize that this was just the beginning.
strange artifacts would descend randomly across the Earth, and the system would no longer provide any advance information.
This meant that every new strange artifact that appeared would become the fuse to ignite a new round of global struggle.
Related information would inevitably be treated as top secret and strictly blockaded by the obtainers or related Factions.
The future struggle for strange artifacts would be more hidden, more bloody, and would further test the intelligence capabilities and comprehensive strength of major Factions.
Holding the shrunken dark red Rubik's Cube in her hand and feeling the heavy pressure from the military uniform and tail blade on her body, Lilith looked toward the distant horizon and the glow of the rising sun.
The blood-colored feast of Tokyo finally came to an end at this moment.