Hesitating for a moment, Dudley grabbed Terrence Thorsten's Brass Book and ran directly upstairs to his bedroom.
"Oh, dear Dada, what's wrong with you?" Petunia exclaimed, completely bewildered by what had happened.
Vernon glared at Harry, convinced that Harry had caused the commotion.
Harry was entirely innocent; in reality, he hadn't done anything. But he was accustomed to such situations—whatever happened, it was always his fault.
After Dudley reached his bedroom, his breathing was still slightly rapid. He carefully placed the bronze book on the table.
"Terrence Thorsten's Brass Book... this name and concept, it's as if they suddenly popped into my mind. Why is that?"
After transmigrating back, Dudley hadn't properly recalled the events of that mysterious world. Now, thinking back, he found that many things seemed forgotten—or more accurately, his memory was blurred. If he concentrated, he could recall some insignificant details, but nothing truly tied to the core of that bizarre world. Even the memory of Terrence Thorsten's Brass Book only surfaced after he saw the book.
"Part of my memory has been sealed because of some eerie things. Merely understanding them causes pollution, and merely thinking about them brings disaster..."
Dudley soon deduced his current situation. Memories weren't always harmless; in that bizarre world, anything could happen.
"My name in that world was Dali Terrence Thirst, which means I should have some connection to this book," Dudley murmured, trying to recall details about that world. He quickly gave up, unable to remember anything truly tied to the bizarre.
His gaze fell on Terrence Thorsten's Brass Book. His memory seemed to have a unique trigger mechanism; only when he encountered objects of that level could he recall certain details. For instance, if Terrence Thorsten's Brass Book hadn't appeared, Dudley would never have remembered this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.
"So, the problem now is... how do I deal with it?"
Facing this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, Dudley was at a loss. He currently had no extraordinary characteristics and couldn't possibly seal it. From the information extracted from his memories, this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact was alive; once awakened, it would be a catastrophic disaster for the entire world.
After pondering for a moment, Dudley slowly approached the book. At least when he touched it earlier, nothing happened, indicating that the Sealed Artifact was likely in a very low state of activation and should be temporarily safe.
His hand rested on the bronze book, feeling its cold metallic touch and the strange patterns engraved on it. It seemed as if an unspeakable power was brewing within. After a long pause, Dudley opened the book, his gaze falling upon it.
He saw a section of mercury-colored text, but the words were blurry and impossible to read clearly. Dudley's expression shifted, and he didn't force himself to decipher them, instead flipping through until he found a blank page.
"Terrence Thorsten's Brass Book, also known as the Book of Rules, possesses the characteristic of being alive, but most of the time, it remains at a very low level of activity. Its first half contains nearly all major underlying rules, while the second half is blank, meant to be written by its user. It dislikes distorted, unaesthetic rules and hates having its loopholes exploited," Dudley murmured, his understanding of the book deepening as he flipped through it.
Taking a deep breath, he sat down by the bed.
"From the current situation, it seems Terrence Thorsten's Brass Book is in an extremely low state of activation because it's not in its original mysterious world. There shouldn't be any major problems for now, but it's uncertain if something will happen in the future."
Dudley sighed. Without extraordinary characteristics, influencing, let alone restricting or sealing, the book was nearly impossible.
"I hope it stays in this extremely low state of activation," he thought.
"My dear darling, are you alright?" Petunia's voice came from outside the door.
"I'm fine, Mom. I just haven't fully woken up yet. You don't need to worry about me," Dudley replied immediately. His mind was complex, and he didn't want to be disturbed, so his tone unconsciously carried a hint of authority.
"Oh, oh, alright, alright, we won't disturb you," Petunia said quickly, not daring to linger, and hurried downstairs.
Dudley fell into contemplation.
"My extraordinary characteristics have failed, but why did Terrence Thorsten's Brass Book appear in this world? Is all of this fake...?"
He began to doubt whether the world he was in was the same one from before his transmigration or if it had been constructed by some malevolent entity. Had the previous prohibition order been ineffective for some other reason?
As he pondered, Dudley suddenly heard a strange murmur whispering in his ear. His mind grew chaotic, as if he were about to lose control and descend into madness. His entire being began to distort.
"What... what's going on...?"
Dudley was all too familiar with this sensation—the feeling of losing control when the Potion within extraordinary characteristics hadn't been digested. He had experienced it several times in that bizarre world, each time unforgettable.
Suddenly, Dudley felt a dizzy spell. His body seemed to fall, and everything in the bedroom faded as he plunged into a black, bizarre space. There, he saw two gelatinous objects emitting strange light, each about the size of a child's fist. One was interwoven with iron-gray and dark red, the other pure black.
"Extraordinary characteristics!"
Dudley's breathing quickened. What else could these be? He recognized the pure black one as the Black Emperor Pathway Sequence 9 Lawyer's extraordinary characteristics. The other, interwoven with iron-gray and dark red, was the Judge Pathway Sequence 9 Arbitrator's characteristics.
"This is inside my body; these two extraordinary characteristics have already begun to erode me," Dudley realized almost immediately.
His gaze shifted to the depths of the darkness. There was nothing there, yet something seemed to emanate a faint light, allowing him to vaguely perceive a pure darkness.