The Stars Above

Chapter 2 - Just had to be worms, huh?

"Hello, this is 119, emergency services, how may I help you?"

Kuraima held his iPhone to his ear as he called Japan's equivalent of 911. "Yes...uh...I would like to report what I believe is a house invasion in progress..."

He wasn't stupid. He wasn't some shonen battle-action protagonist who would recklessly charge into the fray. That worm god didn't even give him a inkling of an explanation of what his new powers were capable of!

"Please remain calm, we're sending police units immediately. Is the intruder armed?"

Were they? Hell if he knew! "I....I don't know...all I know is that there's someone in my house!" If only he could just see through walls! But alas, beggars can't be choosers.

Kuraima continued to mentally thrash around until he felt an overwhelming headache. He clutched his forehead, desperately trying to remain calm.
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The God of the Cosmos could see plenty enough. Only the Devourer could avoid his watchful eyes.
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The amulet was glowing, pouring knowledge into his brain, which was sensually narrated by the disembodied voice of David Attenborough. Items of high value around him began to glow a soft yellow. He could see the glowing silhouette of a painting in the hallway, even through the wall.

A spider roamed beneath the floor, marked with a green, arachnid-shaped dot. In the place he believed to be the downstairs kitchen, the figure of his house intruder, glowing a bright, hostile red. Unlike the spider, he could see a detailed image of this person, almost as if he were a cheater using wallhacks in an online match.

Bald male, rather buff and rigid, flaky dried skin, with a row of spines running down the length of his body. Oh, and the gaping maw of teeth.

'What the actual fuck?' Kuraima thought to himself. 'He looks like those fucking Hell Knights from Doom!'

"Excuse me sir, is everything alright?" The dispatcher asked. The student quickly snapped back to reality. "Oh...yes...I'm still here..It's just..." He didn't even have to put any effort into faking it, he was already mentally drained from the headache and forced insertion of knowledge. "I've just got a migraine, because i'm really stressed out..."

"Sir, I understand this is a very stressful situation, but please remain calm."

"I know...I just got a look at the intruder. It's....a bald dude...and his skin looks really dried out...He doesn't even look human." And Kuraima thought that his own skin conditions was bothersome enough.

Just then, the inhuman invader looked up towards him. He didn't hear him...did he?

Yes, yes he did. He's heading up the stairs...! "Oh sweet jesus he heard me."

Kuraima reached down and grabbed something wedged in the thin space between the bed frame and the mattress; a standard combat knife, a gift from his father. He pulled it from its sheath, ready to make a last ditch effort to protect his precious belongings...and his own life, of course.

For once in his life, he wished he had the Second Amendment™ on his side. But he was stuck here in his home with nothing but a knife and probably some other improvisational weaponry.

"Sir? Are you there? Hello?" The 119 responder could be heard asking as the student leaves his phone on the bed.

A foul stench seeped into the room, giving Kuraima urge to hurl yesterday's lunch. He did his best to steel his resolve, raising the knife into a less-than-optimal attack stance as he took up an ambush position. His hand trembled, as he'd never been into anything potentially more violent than a shoving fight.