Eldritch Horror Theatre

False God, Pseudo-Law.

So this seat really is insulated from honest business practices, huh?

Long tables and high chairs; pools of blood and mangled bodies.

Here in the seemingly eternally silent Warehouse, Fu Qian had finally left a bold, heavy mark.

He didn't even rush to gather the items on the floor. Instead, he simply extended two fingers and manually pinched closed the remaining crack in his skull.

No wonder they said the fiercer the storm, the more expensive the fish.

The liveliness of this scientific expedition had been deeply satisfying.

Not only had the project concluded perfectly, but there was even a bonus drop.

Although this transcendent item—the Record of True Transcription—didn't rank high in Brother Patches's evaluation, reading comprehension always required historical context.

To such an existence, how high of a Rank was actually considered high?

Not to mention its earlier performance: relying purely on his connection to the Record of True Transcription, Brother Sha Ming had forcibly climbed all the way to Tier 2.

And the Night Watchers playing the oriole behind hadn't hesitated to expose themselves, absolutely determined to get their hands on the item.

It was just a pity that such a highly coveted object had ultimately been eaten by him, the oriole 2.0.

And he had actually gained something from it.

...

Insight: devouring targets and obtaining a portion of their abilities.

This was indeed one of the processing methods he'd considered from the very beginning. But if the Warehouse could have helped suppress the item, devouring it wouldn't have been his first choice.

He couldn't forget that Insight also carried negative effects.

Especially during that fleeting glimpse just now. He had seen that although the tree had attained a Golden Body, its twisted, torn nature was completely preserved.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible to say what kind of mess the Record of True Transcription might have plagiarized.

Not to mention everything else it might have collected during the long years the Law was absent.

Even his harvest after devouring it faintly proved this point.

"The essential symbol of a False Law's authority"?

After the Pseudo-God Ritual was completed, it was indeed mentioned that Insight had undergone Sublimation again, and that he could even acquire an authority through it.

But no matter how he looked at this description, it sounded like he was the spokesperson for a cheap knockoff.

Beyond that, however, this further proved that the changes in West Plain had truly been caused by the return of the genuine Law.

To be honest, this could be considered an unexpected harvest among unexpected harvests. It was likely due to the book's own special nature that it manifested slightly in the gains from Insight.

And this newly verified theory perfectly explained his past encounters.

For example, the Decapitation Aura used by Ill Omen—which he had mocked at the time—had been easily fooled by a casual shapeshift.

Or back in Laerdin, how his Commandment Residue could actually hold its own, to a certain extent, against the Star Law unleashed by the Blood Clan.

The reason was that both were essentially Pseudo-Laws at their core—or rather, empty shells lacking the structural support of the "essence of law's" authority.

He seemed to have just experienced a process of rapid flip-flopping—

During the Ill Omen Incident, the "essence of law" was still in the world of the Dark Moon.

But by the time he headed to Laerdin, the "essence of law" had returned to this world. In fact, that whole series of events had likely been triggered by this very shift.

Only during this scientific expedition had he faced the true power of the Law.

And now, he had become its antithesis.

Misanthropy. He had to admit, the name was rather fitting.

Fu Qian snapped his fingers, activating Commandment Residue.

...

Mercury, Golden Law.

What had also been proven again was the "Fruit and Sugar" theory he had mentioned to Su Gao.

The types of laws that had appeared during the Ill Omen Incident were clearly substitutes, born from the struggle of the creations that relied on it as their core power after its essence went missing.

Things cobbled together using power outside the domain of the Law, merely imitating its form.

Their normal fate should have been "losing all meaning once the genuine Law returns."

If he hadn't swallowed that book, that is.

Looking at it now, this harvest of Misanthropy seemed to have provided him with an Anchor Point.

This allowed these things that should have disappeared to be contained by a new concept: the False Law.

On one hand, it certainly didn't sound simple; on the other, he seemed to have really locked horns with this thing called the Law.

Beyond that, there was a very important and practical question—were there any changes to himself under the effects of Misanthropy?

Fu Qian looked down at his body, silently experiencing it.

[Chaotic residue, its power so weak that almost nothing but a visual effect remains.]

This was the description he had gotten when he first obtained this ability.

All along, as his Rank climbed, this visual effect had also grown increasingly brilliant.

Now, there were no obvious changes in that regard.

It wasn't exaggeratedly bright, nor had it toggled into some shadow form or anything similar.

The change had occurred on a much deeper level, as if his underlying code had been rewritten from scratch.

Deep in thought, Fu Qian looked toward the still-silent Warehouse and snapped his fingers again.

He didn't turn off Commandment Residue, but instead activated Decree of Return.

The sacred radiance actually didn't dissipate.

What were originally two forms of a single ability had shockingly become independent of each other.

Although Decree of Return still lacked visual effects, Fu Qian was quite certain it was perfectly superimposed over Commandment Residue.

The bloodstains continuously fading from the Emissary Mask nearby were proof of this.

It was just a pity that the Warehouse still appeared completely unresponsive.

In that case...

Fu Qian snapped his fingers yet again, and his heavily scarred body explosively swelled.

Resplendent Tyrant. How could he forget this third form?

...

Their essence had truly changed.

The core of the fallacy, the singularity of existence, the light of splendor.

Fu Qian was incredibly certain that these three vastly different powers were merging together in a miraculous way, transforming him into a three-halo warrior.

And this time, even the Warehouse was no longer calm.

Invisible ripples centered on him spread continuously outward into the surroundings before finally subsiding.

It seemed he could finally stir up a tiny ripple in this seemingly eternal place.

Though it was still faint, almost lacking any possibility of shaking its existence.

But just this little bit alone proved the weight of the word "authority" to a certain extent.

Although its true effects would clearly only reveal themselves the next time he encountered the real Law.

Moreover, there was every reason to believe he would absolutely run into it again.

The Dark Moon, the Progenitor of the Blood Clan, the King of the Abandoned Prison...

During this recent period, the atmosphere of the Return of the Old Days he had constructed using various alternate personas seemed to have become a case where a casual remark proves prophetic.

Certain ancient powers really seemed to be quietly returning, such as the essence of law this time.

It was just a pity that despite the return of the king, his own actions had resulted in the addition of a false king. The ecological niche was no longer what it once was.

How did that saying go again?

"My lord, times have changed..."

Muttering to himself, Fu Qian—having deactivated his three halos—bent down and dug a Ring out from the mangled flesh at his feet.

The ruby, which was already the color of blood, was now so vibrant and red it looked ready to drip.

Slipping it on casually, Fu Qian directly activated Homecoming.

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