11

Transformed into Cosmic Horror in a Sci-Fi Universe – 11

EP.11 Special Knowledge

[Others are coming. I don't want our conversation to be interrupted.]

Nyarlathotep said this and began writhing its grotesque tentacles again.

In the next moment, I sensed a new space forming around us, centered on Nyarlathotep and me.

I could have avoided entering the space or even disrupted its formation, but it didn't feel particularly dangerous, so I accepted it.

The once empty space transformed into an infinitely expanding, pure white space.

At its center was a small tea table and chairs, where an ordinary human could sit and drink tea.

"How about this? I changed it to a form that might make you feel more comfortable for our conversation."

A human voice reached my ears.

Looking down at the source of the voice, I saw a beautiful human woman with long silver hair reaching the floor and red eyes.

I realized immediately.

Amazingly, this was the same mass of tentacles that had been in front of me moments ago… Nyarlathotep.

Wait, it suddenly transformed into a human?

"Hm, I changed my body, voice, and even manner of speaking to a form that might make you feel comfortable. Don't you like it?"

She looked somewhat dissatisfied.

It seemed my reaction wasn't very positive.

Well, that's understandable.

I was caught off guard by the sudden transformation into a human.

Still… this is definitely better than having a conversation as gigantic, grotesque monsters in a formless space.

…But why a pretty female character…?

Outer Gods, naturally, have no meaningful concept of gender.

So, that form must be a reflection of her personal taste.

…Interesting taste you have there.

Anyway.

I quickly transformed my body into a human form as well.

It seemed she wanted us to comfortably enjoy teatime and converse in human forms.

I chose the appearance of Eugene, the form I had originally created.

"I like it. Very comfortable."

I said this as I gently sat down on the chair.

"Good, good."

She smiled, seemingly pleased.

It appeared she had also adjusted her personality and speech to resemble that of a human woman.

Wow… facing her like this, she really is stunning.

If I were still my former human self, I probably wouldn't have been able to utter a single word to someone with such a celestial appearance.

She sipped what appeared to be black tea and then looked at me.

"So, tell me. Who are you? Where did you come from? What do you mean by newly born?"

A barrage of questions came at once.

But I could only provide a precise answer to one of them.

"I still don't fully know who I am. Other than being an 'Outer God' as mortals call us. As for being newly born, it's literal. I don't know the exact details either. I possess information about the entire universe… but I lack information about myself and my birth."

Where did I come from?

This, I could answer with certainty.

"I was once a human. By the standards of the universe I was born in, a 'Terran.' I must have been a mere insignificant being born in one of the countless universes within this rift."

"I see. So that's why you retain the ego of a weak life form. Fascinating. It's not an artificially created ego like mine, but an original one."

Though I shared my origins, Nyarlathotep didn't seem particularly surprised.

However, she did find it intriguing.

"How can the information entity of a weak life form become a being of the Source? And to be newly born, not created, but naturally…"

An information entity is commonly referred to as a 'soul.'

When a life form dies, it becomes a kind of energy entity that retains the memories of its living self.

After I died, I transformed into one and somehow drifted into another universe, becoming what I am now.

It seemed she was quite confused, as she had never encountered someone like me before.

Beings of the Source… meaning high-ranking Outer Gods like Nyarlathotep and myself, create most lower-ranking Outer Gods.

Despite being mere creations, they are residents of the rift and possess the abilities of Outer Gods, capable of defying the laws of the universe.

Thus, I am a unique anomaly, a primordial being that wasn't created but was newly born, an impossible trait.

An especially peculiar existence among Outer Gods.

Fascinating.

Whoosh─

"…?!"

Suddenly, Nyarlathotep lunged at me, extending her hair like tentacles to bind my entire body and pin me down in a mount position.

What the hell is she doing, this crazy woman?!

"You are incredibly fascinating! I'd love to capture you and thoroughly investigate and study you… but that's not what you'd want, is it?"

This lunatic! Her eyes are gleaming with a desire to dissect me!

"…I'd appreciate it if you refrained."

I said, trying to push her away.

Her hair, like tentacles, was tightly wrapped around me, making it quite difficult to free myself.

…Thank goodness she transformed into a human form.

If I imagine a massive tentacle monster wrapping its tentacles around me… ugh!

"Well, I still gained a lot. Just knowing that you were originally a human… a weak mortal, is a significant discovery."

Nyarlathotep tidied her writhing hair as she spoke.

Once again, I was genuinely relieved that she had taken on the form of a beautiful woman.

"Perhaps your information entity is somewhat different from ordinary life forms. It might have been something else from the beginning. That could be why you became like us."

Hmm, I doubt that.

In my past life, I was an utterly ordinary person.

Nothing special about me at all.

"Now it's my turn to give you a gift."

Ah, finally.

I'm about to receive some amazing know-how from this ancient Outer God senior.

"It seems you only possess knowledge from the universe you were born in."

Well… I haven't been to other universes yet.

If I go to another universe, I should be able to acquire its laws and knowledge.

"I'll teach you how to obtain knowledge from other universes without having to travel around."

Oh, there's a way to do that?

That would indeed be incredibly useful.

I could showcase new abilities using knowledge not found in this universe.

And if I find something interesting among the acquired information, it might be fun to explore that universe and experiment.

"Beings of the Source can connect to 'the one who is the ultimate Source, yet has no Source' and receive knowledge from all universes within this rift. I'll teach you how to connect to it."

The one who is the ultimate Source, yet has no Source… it sounds paradoxical.

Connected to all universes within the rift.

An absolute being that surpasses even the Outer Gods… could it be something like 'Azathoth,' known as the pinnacle of the Cthulhu Mythos?

Now that I think about it, their code names are similar to the Outer Gods in the Cthulhu Mythos.

And the term Foreign God is synonymous with Outer Gods… there might be some connection.

"I've implanted the method in your mind. Try connecting and receiving the information."

Nyarlathotep pointed to my head as she spoke.

As she said, new knowledge had entered my mind.

I drew a bizarre sigil, one I had never seen before, and uttered strange words that couldn't be pronounced by a human mouth, using a method similar to my original form's speech.

[■■■, ■■■■-■■■, ■■■■■.]

And then, in the next moment.

"..."

…Huh? What's going on? Nothing's happening.

According to Nyarlathotep, I should now be accessing a vast archive, with information from countless universes within the rift laid out before me.

But nothing of the sort is happening.

Yet, I can feel the information pouring into my mind.

Instead of an archive appearing, the information is directly being input into my brain.

Ugh… even as an Outer God, this amount of information is a bit overwhelming.

Just how much data is this?

The sheer volume of countless universal laws and diverse knowledge from innumerable universes is staggering, enough to take an eternity just to list.

"…This is incredible."

After it all ended.

I realized I had acquired an unfathomable amount of information, incomparable to before.

It was so much that it was hard to keep track of what knowledge pertained to what.

I thought about asking Nyarlathotep why it seemed different from what she had described, but I decided to chalk it up to me being a somewhat anomalous Outer God… and let it go.

Well, thanks to this, I now possess vast knowledge of the multiverse.

I'll have to take some time to organize it all in my mind later.

"It seems we're done here. Let's have more conversations in the future. Unlike with others, talking with you isn't boring. I like it."

With that, Nyarlathotep began to retract the space.

Swoosh─

We returned to the twisted void, and both Nyarlathotep and I reverted to our original forms.

[It was a useful conversation. Farewell.]

Nyarlathotep wriggled her grotesque tentacles and went off to another place.

…The gap between her previous beautiful girl form and her current one is dizzying.