Cosmic Awakening: Ascension of the Cosmic God-Chapter 27: The Making of a Monster 1b

...

The courtroom spun. The blood drained from his face. A crime he didn't commit. A punishment he didn't deserve.

He was led away in chains, past reporters who didn't care about the truth, past guards who had already written him off as another lost cause.

Sitting in his prison cell, staring at the cracked ceiling, he thought about how the world had never given him a chance.

He thought about how much he hated it.

Then, a light flickered. Then, in an instant, it expanded, engulfing everything in a blinding radiance.

One moment, he was drowning in the suffocating reality of his fate—the cold prison walls, the judge's monotone voice sentencing him to death, the cruel laughter of the corrupt officers.

Next, everything was consumed by an overwhelming light.

A weightless sensation overtook him as he plummeted through a vast, endless void. Colors swirled around him—violet, indigo, silver—all blending into something incomprehensible.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears, but before panic could set in, a voice echoed through the nothingness.

[Welcome to the Tower.]

The words sent a shiver down his spine. Then, just as suddenly as it all began, gravity took hold.

With a thud, Ethan landed on solid ground. Gasping, he pushed himself up, hands grasping at soft, grassy earth. The air was different—crisp, charged with an unfamiliar energy.

Lifting his head, his breath caught in his throat. He was surrounded by a lot of people, all of whom were lost like him and scared.

Before him, a humanoid rabbit—dressed in a black three-piece suit that didn't quite fit with her fluffy ears and twitching nose—stared at him, no, them with unsettling gold eyes. Its fur was pristine white, its long ears twitching slightly.

"Greetings, dear Challengers!" she announced, spreading her arms theatrically. Her voice was warm, almost soothing, yet tinged with something unsettling. "I am Alice, your guide for the tutorial phase. Before you officially become Explorers, you must pass through this necessary initiation."

Alice continued, her smile unwavering. "Now, pay close attention. During this tutorial, no matter what you do—" Her tone turned sing-song. "—you cannot die. Not permanently, anyway. But that doesn't mean you won't feel pain or... break, let's say, mentally." She clapped her hands together, the sound sharp in the otherwise silent chamber. "But don't worry! It's all part of the process."

The words sent a shiver through the group. Ethan body froze from the cold words.

"I'm not doing this!" a booming voice interrupted beside him.

Ethan scrambled to his feet, his mind struggling to keep up. "What the hell—?"

A man built like a professional wrestler shoved his way to the front, his face contorted in anger. "I don't care what game this is—I'm not playing! Send me back home! I need to prepare to get my child from piano lessons!"

Alice's ears twitched. For a moment, her cheerful expression faltered, replaced by a cold, predatory glare. "Interruptions are... inefficient," she said sweetly. With a snap of her fingers, the man vanished in a burst of light.

Gasps erupted around the room.

Ethan's fists clenched. He was afraid of voicing out his own opinion now.

"Let that serve as a reminder," Alice said, her smile now razor-sharp. "The tutorial is mandatory. Complaints? Questions? Disobedience? All irrelevant. Now, let's keep moving."

A sudden pulse of energy rushed through the air as multiple weapons appeared in front of Ethan—swords, daggers, bows, even spears. Other figures flickered into existence around him—some looked as dazed as he felt, while others eagerly reached for the weapons.

[Select your Weapons.]

Ethan scanned the selection. His instincts screamed at him to pick something lethal—a blade, a dagger, something sharp. That's what he was used to, right? But his eyes lingered on a simple wooden staff, resting alone at the edge of the display.

It looked... unassuming.

But when he reached for it, the moment his fingers wrapped around the smooth wood, something clicked.

A warmth flooded through him, unlike anything he had ever felt before. The air itself seemed to shift in response, as if the world acknowledged his choice.

Ethan ignored the noise of his surroundings, gripping the staff that appeared in his hands. He didn't know why, but this felt right.

[Weapon Chosen: Beginner's Staff.]

The voice in his head confirmed it.

"Good luck, Challengers!" Alice called, her voice fading as darkness consumed everything.

And just like that, the ground beneath him disappeared.

Ethan landed in a dark forest.

[Tutorial: Survive. Objective: Defeat the predator hunting you. Time Limit: 8 hours.]

Twisted trees loomed overhead, their gnarled branches clawing at the blood-red sky. A dense fog curled around his ankles.

Then came the sound.

A guttural snarl.

Ethan spun around just in time to see the goblin lunging at him.

It was hideous—yellowed skin stretched over a hunched frame, jagged teeth dripping with saliva, and beady black eyes filled with hunger. A crude dagger gleamed in its bony fingers.

For a split second, Ethan froze.

Then something inside him snapped.

Memories flashed through his mind—his mother's dismissive eyes, the sneers of his classmates, the cold glare of the judge, the mocking laughter of the officers who sealed his fate.

Rage surged through his veins like an unstoppable flood.

With a roar, Ethan swung the staff with all his strength.

The wood connected with the goblin's skull. A sickening crack echoed through the clearing.

The goblin barely had time to screech before its head twisted unnaturally, its body flung backward as if struck by a hammer. It collapsed in a heap, twitching once before going still.

Silence.

Ethan stood there, panting, staring down at the crumpled corpse. His hands trembled—not with fear, but with a strange sense of... relief.

It was as if all the anger, all the resentment, all the bottled-up agony he had carried for years had found an outlet.

For the first time in his life, he had struck back.

And it felt good.

Before Ethan could process the kill, a familiar chime rang in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Tutorial Complete.]

[Evaluation in Progress...]

[You have successfully killed a very ugly goblin!]

[Kill evaluation: SSS]

[You have passed the tutorial!]

[System will distribute rewards!]

The world around him flickered. The fog lifted, and the air grew still.

Then, a new message appeared.

[A deep, unconscious desire has been detected.]

[You have longed for something, even if you have never acknowledged it.]

[Skill Granted: Charm Lv.1 – Enhances charisma, influence, and the ability to attract others.]

Ethan blinked as he took in the words of the system.

Ethan tightened his grip on the staff, a storm of emotions swirling in his chest.

He had come here with nothing.

And yet, piece by piece, the Tower was giving him something new.

Power.

And, apparently... something he had never known before.

A chance to make the world love him and rule over the world.

When Alice the rabbit human came again to explain and show him the fate of countless dimension being destroyed. The first thing he asked was.

"Will this place every get destroyed?"

"Huh...? That is impossible, this place is not like the outer susceptible dimensions."

The source of this c𝓸ntent is freewebnøvel.coɱ.

"Good, I don't care if that dimension gets destroyed anyways; I will enjoy my new power," he said as he found himself smiling.

"This is a first even for me," Alice said as she moved back, being disgusted by his smile. "Well, do as you like; you can now go to the first floor; it is a safe zone..."

He was no longer listening to her; he looked at his body. His handcuffs were gone. His prison uniform was still there, but he could now happily change it.

More importantly, he felt something he had never felt before—hope.

He was free from that world that was always against him, now to one that gave him power.