Multiverse Sea.
"Let's see which world looks promising…"
The endless current of temporal turbulence surged in chaotic waves.
Anyone unlucky enough to be swept up in it could be hurled anywhere—
To the edge of the cosmos, to a different world, or even across time itself—
To the past, or to a distant future.
But as a species born with innate authority to traverse worlds, Orsaga naturally had enough resistance to these hazards.
As long as he didn't act recklessly, he typically wouldn't crash and burn.
(Unless, of course, he ran into a stronger entity and got smashed. That part was pure luck.)
Right now, he wasn't alone. Countless beings were drifting through the world Sea as well.
Some were other Abyssal Demons like him. Others were entirely different races.
Most of them, just like Orsaga, were searching for a world where they could strike it rich.
Some had a more… opportunistic approach—
Waiting for other world-walkers to appear, then robbing them blind.
Yes, interdimensional muggers were a thing.
That's why Orsaga had only sent a fragment of his consciousness into the Multiverse Sea.
With so many sketchy characters wandering around, he couldn't guarantee he'd make it out unscathed if his main body got involved.
And beyond those random foreign invaders, there were also native species—
Beings that were born and naturally lived inside the world Sea.
Their minimum strength was at the High Rank Demon level.
Some were vicious and predatory, devouring worlds and sentient life for fun.
Others were just plain lazy, floating motionless like dead rocks—entire islands adrift in the endless void.
From a certain point of view, if these beings were ever unified under a single name, they'd be considered just as powerful a force as the Abyssal Demons themselves.
After drifting for a while, Orsaga had dodged countless lifeforms wandering the void and passed by dozens of Worlds…
But he still hadn't chosen a target.
Not because of danger—he just didn't like any of them.
"This one's too cube-shaped... That one's too round... That one looks like a pile of crap…"
In the Multiverse Sea, every world had its own unique shape and appearance.
And Orsaga was acting like a picky shopper at a produce stand—
Choosing one that looked aesthetically pleasing.
Suddenly, one caught his eye.
It looked… oddly like a flying squid.
"!"
"That one... looks delicious."
Driven by that bizarre reasoning, he extended a sliver of his spiritual power toward it to test its dimensional barrier.
"...Damn, this one's tough. Can't get in."
After a few failed attempts, Orsaga gave up and flipped the world the spiritual equivalent of the middle finger.
A moment later, he felt a wave of hostility ripple out from the world—
Something inside had noticed his probing and was now trying to force open a portal to come after him.
'Nope nope nope! I'm out!'
He bailed instantly.
After that close call, the entire scouting process started to feel dull.
So he closed his eyes and chose a random world.
"This one's okay... let's see if I can break in."
Though the dimensional wall wasn't weak, it wasn't impossible either. After several careful probes, he finally located a barely detectable weakness.
With that, his main body began channeling more power across the spatial rift to support the breach.
Eventually—
With a huge surge of energy, Orsaga pried open a narrow fissure.
"Alrighty then—CHARGE!"
He launched his conscious fragment, wrapped in the last of his power, through the gap before it could close.
---
Earth.
London, England.
"BOOM!"
A deafening crack of thunder tore across the pitch-black sky.
The sound was so loud it triggered countless car alarms throughout the city.
People bolted upright in their beds, startled, staring wide-eyed at the stormy sky.
Animals cried out in panic.
Children screamed in fear.
In a narrow alleyway—
A middle-aged man, crouched in the shadows and discreetly snorting white powder, clutched his chest in shock.
"Shit! Damn near scared me to death!"
That thunderclap almost made him choke—he'd nearly snorted himself into the afterlife.
He didn't notice, however, that on the rooftop just above him—
A naked man had suddenly appeared.
Having just shaped a human body based on the ambient biological data, Orsaga—now in human form—stared at a distant digital billboard.
His brows furrowed slightly as he muttered:
"…English?"
Then he glanced around at the pedestrians on the streets below.
White, black, Asian…
Here and there, signs written in Japanese, Korean, Chinese—many of them familiar to him—caught his eye.
"What the hell is this… Did I end up back on Earth?"
He wasn't exactly happy about the realization… but he wasn't upset either.
To him, Earth held no particular meaning. The remnants of memories from his past life didn't give him any sense of "belonging."
At most, it was mildly surprising.
After so many worlds, he hadn't expected to circle back here.
Now certain that he was indeed on Earth, he turned his focus inward.
Since the part of him that had entered the world Sea was just a conscious fragment and a sliver of power—
After punching through the dimensional wall and sneaking into this world, his remaining strength was limited.
Just enough to form a basic human-level body.
What remained was barely sufficient to tweak a few attributes.
If he were to spend it all on physical enhancement, the result would look something like this:
Strength: 2 → 3
Speed: 2 → 3
Constitution: 2 → 3
Magic: 0
In his eyes, that wasn't much of a change.
Of course, that was from his perspective.
In reality, this was already comparable to a professionally trained human athlete at the peak of their abilities.
He could probably win a few Olympic gold medals without breaking a sweat.
Because on this world, humans were just regular mortals.
Even the most pathetic Juviline Demon, though considered walking emergency rations, was still born with magic and innate supernatural talent.
Hardware-wise, the two species weren't even close.
After assessing his residual power, Orsaga flicked his fingers.
His energy surged outward and reshaped itself into a well-fitted black suit.
After a moment of thought—
Between spending it on trivial stats or crafting a good-looking outfit, the ever-dignified Orsaga chose the latter.
Walking around stark naked? Not classy.
Stealing someone else's clothes? Too degrading.
And wearing used clothes? Absolutely out of the question.
Waterproof. Dustproof. Oil-resistant. Tear-proof.
This four-layer-protection suit?
Totally worth it.
Having emptied his energy reserves for the sake of appearance, Orsaga now turned his attention toward the alley below. Where a certain gentleman was still snorting powder in the shadows.
Whenever he was strapped for cash, Orsaga had always enjoyed interacting with kind-hearted passersby.
It was a habit he'd maintained for many years.
And now…
It was time to say hello.
____
T/N: Alright, the moment you've all been waiting for — we're stepping into a movie world! 🎬
Can you guess which one it is? Here's a hint: it's from an old-school sci-fi classic.