The next moment, a shock occurred.
The irregular lines on the surface of the cube softly lit up, as if responding to the release of a hidden seal.
Bluish light flowed from its cracks, and thin wisps of vapor, like the warm breath of a panting girl, slowly rose.
In an instant, the geometric shape rippled, softened, stretched, and began taking the form of a tiny human girl sitting on the floor.
Her hair was long, flowing, silver with a bluish tint; her skin as pale as marble, and her eyes a clear, piercing red, still glistening with tears.
The girl was none other than Fear Kubrik.
Fear's transformation from cube to human form was striking. Yet what stood out most was that she wore no clothing— not a single thread.
Her gaze fixed on Rian, her face flushed bright red, a mix of embarrassment, anger, and indignation.
Tears clung to her eyelids, revealing a whirlwind of emotions she could not put into words.
It was the expression of someone… who felt as if they had just been violated.
Yet before Fear, Rian merely offered a warm, ambiguous smile, utterly devoid of guilt, as if what had just happened were nothing more than "booting up a device."
"Hi," Rian said lightly, as if greeting a new neighbor. "What's your name?"
"Y-You devil…"
Fear's trembling voice escaped her lips. Her face burned an even deeper red, a mixture of embarrassment, anger, and something else.
In an instant, Fear lunged at Rian from the front, her naked body streaking like a hot silver projectile.
Rian could have blocked the attack with Infinity, but he deliberately didn't. Not because he couldn't, but because he wanted to see what would happen.
From Rian's perspective, this wasn't merely violence… it was intriguing, in a way no ordinary person could understand.
Finally, Rian's body was thrown backward, crashing onto the marble floor. Above him, Fear pounded on his chest with her tiny fists, full of rage.
"I curse you!"
"I curse you!!"
"Die, perverted human!!"
Fist after fist landed repeatedly on Rian's chest, unrelenting. Yet none of them caused him pain.
Not because of Infinity, but because Rian had deliberately deactivated it.
After all, his body was now strong enough to withstand the wrath of a newly emerged weapon-girl in this world.
And what did Rian do?
He laughed. Freely. Loudly. Without restraint.
"You are the most fascinating artifact this handsome man has ever seen!"
Fear froze in place. Still on top of Rian's body, her right hand raised, her breath ragged, chest rising and falling rapidly. Her entire tiny frame trembled with emotions even she didn't fully understand.
She bit her lip. Her red eyes blazed, as if ready to explode… or to cry.
"Don't look at me!" she shouted.
And with that, Fear resumed pounding on Rian, her emotions erupting uncontrollably. Anger, embarrassment, confusion—all spilled out with no direction.
Rian just laughed even harder, watching Fear's expressive face. The more she attacked, the more alive she seemed. And that… only made Fear even more irritated.
"Father, Alice is home!"
A cheerful young girl's voice echoed from the window, accompanied by the appearance of a translucent blue cube.
It was Alice, the Tesseract cube, with the Mind Stone at its core, and the Time, Space, and Power Stones orbiting within her body.
Without opening the glass of the luxurious, minimalist room, Alice passed straight through it, using the power of the Mind Stone she possessed.
But the moment she stepped in…
Alice froze.
In front of her, her father Rian was lying on the floor, his pajamas unbuttoned… with a strange, naked girl sitting atop him.
The scene was unmistakably misleading, especially for a "child" as innocent as Alice, just newly born.
Fear, who had moments ago been brimming with emotions, now froze. Her face flushed a deep red, more from embarrassment than from anger.
Meanwhile, Rian simply smiled casually, as if nothing unusual had happened.
Psss~!
Alice's cube body glowed red like a warning light. In a soft, trembling voice, she muttered, "Y-yah… Father is… also a man… Alice seems to… have entered the wrong room… s-so… enjoy yourselves…"
Then, without waiting for any reaction, Alice awkwardly turned and floated out, leaving the room in an unusual silence.
***
Some time had passed since the previous incident. The atmosphere in the room was now much calmer.
Fear sat on the edge of the bed, wearing Rian's oversized long black shirt. Though the garment covered her small frame, her expression remained wary.
Her posture was defensive, still shadowed by the concern that Rian might repeat what had happened before—or even go further—especially now that she was in her human form.
A little farther away from Fear, Rian sat casually with Alice on his lap.
The sleep mask he had worn earlier had been replaced with sunglasses, and his pajamas were now buttoned neatly.
At least this time, by Rian's own standards, he looked somewhat more civilized.
"So," Rian finally broke the silence, turning toward the girl who was watching him warily, "your name is… Fear-in-Cube, right?"
Fear only gave Rian a brief glance before turning her gaze straight ahead.
"Don't call me that. Just… Fear."
Hearing her words, Rian's left eyebrow lifted slightly. From her tone and demeanor, he could tell that the girl carried a complicated past.
His suspicion began to crystallize into one possibility: that Fear might indeed be a cursed object.
This notion was further reinforced by the dark aura emanating wildly from her small frame, as if barely restrained.
Yet Rian knew that forcing the issue wasn't wise right now. He chose to save his questions for another time—when Fear was truly ready.
After all, Rian wasn't in a rush this time. The situation was different from Koneko and Akeno in the DxD world.
Back then, Rian had wanted to complete a side mission, and finishing it was the top priority.
That was why he had pushed Koneko and Akeno to confront their darker sides and come to terms with their pasts.
"Seems like you carry a heavy past," Rian said in a calm, friendly tone. "It's fine if you're not ready to tell me yet. Just relax… my beloved cube."
Hearing that, Fear blushed and muttered softly with a pout, "I'm not yours…"
Rian then stood, stepping slowly toward Fear while holding Alice in his hands.
When he reached her, he bent slightly and placed Alice in Fear's lap, as if entrusting her with something precious.
Without saying much, Rian turned and walked toward the bedroom door.
"You're both six-sided beings, after all," he said casually, waving a small hand. "You two should get along quickly. Alice, take care of Fear's needs too."
Alice huffed in annoyance, glancing toward the door. "What kind of logic is that, Dad? In the end, you're just going to set up a date with Ashley, aren't you?"
"A date?" Fear said, placing her hand over Alice's head. "You perverted womanizer… hope you get cursed."
A light chuckle came from the doorway, followed by the click of the door handle opening.
With his usual nonchalant manner, Rian stepped out, leaving the two cubic beings to fuss quietly in their own strange warmth.
After Rian departed, leaving Fear and Alice alone in the room, Fear glanced at the door for a moment before shifting her gaze to the object in her lap.
She lifted Alice.
"Your name… is Alice, right?" Fear said, studying the soft gleam of the crystalline cube. "I don't feel anything like me from you, Cursed Tool. What… are you? And this place… where exactly is it?"
Fear tilted her head slightly, still staring at Alice. Her expression was confused, almost restless.
"Just now… I heard strange voices before I got here. Is this another world? A multiverse? What is all of this? Do you know something?"
Taking a slow breath, Fear added, "Have you heard them too? Those voices… before, I couldn't really understand them, because of that lewd human's actions."
A stream of bewildering questions spilled effortlessly from Fear's lips, as if she wanted to release them all at once.
But Alice responded in a calm, gentle voice, "You have many questions, don't you? It's alright. Alice will answer them one by one later."
Alice's attention shifted to the clothes Fear was wearing, and she added, "First, you should change. What you're wearing now is too big. Leave matters of your identity to Father."
Then Alice detached herself from Fear's lap and floated lightly in the air. "And while we're at it, let's take a walk. This place is quite interesting. Alice is sure you'll like it."
Without much hesitation, Fear followed Alice's suggestion, leaving Rian's room and stepping into a world she had yet to fully understand.