Eldritch Horror Theatre

As for that final description—the barrier between human will and the Land of the Fallen Gods?

The Warehouse remained as dark as ever while Fu Qian continued to ponder the task summary.

It sounded as though his heinous act of ruining someone's peaceful cultivation was, in the end, actually saving all of humanity?

Considering its past behavior, the Warehouse wouldn't deliberately sugarcoat its words just to spare his feelings.

That made the potential consequences of Akons being "purified" truly thought-provoking.

According to the summary, Akons was located in depths the mind could hardly reach. The outsiders represented those lucky few who thought too much for their own good, ultimately encountering a good doctor and being turned into Dolls.

Regardless of what happened to those people in the Real World, they certainly had no way to venture any deeper.

And the Realm of the Fallen Gods?

Honestly, the moment that name appeared, an image simultaneously surfaced in Fu Qian's mind—a cluster of bizarre, dazzling, and illusorily overlapping bubbles.

That being the case, the origins of the numerous high-level powers rampaging within were quite understandable.

And yet, there was actually a passage leading there deep within the human mind?

It really was better to keep that blocked off.

Judging by his experiences during his travels, if it were smoothly connected to the Mind World of ordinary people, even the slightest mishap would result in an apocalyptic tragedy.

As for the cause of the barrier—the reflection formed by faith deep within the collective subconscious—that made sense too.

Furthermore, it felt like Akons shouldn't be the only place. After all, there were so many ancient faiths, and the task summary also mentioned "burying in heaps."

It would only be natural for a barrier to form if a pile of such faith remnants were stitched together.

...

So, if the people of Akons were all purified by that unknown mighty figure, how would things have developed?

Would Akons cease to exist, creating a hole in the barrier that let things leak out?

Or would it still exist, but with everyone inside having "attained the Dao," resulting in Akons directly transforming into some abstract passage leading even deeper?

That was hard to determine for now. However, looking at the Containment Conditions, the Warehouse's stance was clear—Akons had to exist, and it had to retain at least one Native, regardless of whether they had been eroded by the Bitter Fruit.

This gave reason to suspect that if all the Natives died out, Akons would likely struggle to sustain itself.

He could only say that it was truly a troublesome job. The Warehouse really would have been better off assigning him a task to directly find and kill that mighty figure.

Was it worried that his strength was insufficient, or did the target possess some miraculous trait that meant simply killing them wouldn't solve the problem?

Considering that they were likely above Tier 1, the latter wasn't entirely impossible.

Then again, it wasn't a bad thing. At the very least, he might have a chance to pay them a proper visit later.

For now, he might as well check his extra reward first. The name was quite peculiar.

Fu Qian flipped to the special reward section.

...

[Name: Entwined Umbilical Cord]

[Type: Special Item]

[An umbilical cord entwined with itself, possessing no ends. Being excessively ancient, it should have dried up long ago, yet thick blood miraculously surges within it.

Merely holding this item grants the status of an Ancient Higher Being. However, because the blood symbolizing divinity is overly mixed and filthy, carrying it for more than half an hour will subject the bearer to the desperate prayers within, inducing an unpredictable divine mutation.

Cannot be brought into tasks by any means. Consuming it directly restores 99 SAN Value.]

[Note: The destined end of an umbilical cord is to wither, let alone an ownerless one. Therefore, this rebirth has rendered its very essence even more foul.]

This was... a Pretzel?

After reading the special reward's description, Fu Qian examined the object that had appeared in his hands, even giving it a squeeze to test its texture.

Its surface was smooth and glossy. Though thinner and smaller than a real human umbilical cord, it indeed possessed a similar soft elasticity.

He could even clearly feel the thick flow of blood mentioned in the description.

And his Pretzel comparison was by no means nonsense.

It was about the same size, and just as the description said, it twisted and intertwined into a single seamless whole, as if it were nursing itself.

Furthermore, looking closely, he could see that the various sections, which differed in length and thickness, had subtle variations in color, ranging from deep purple to grayish-yellow.

He seemed to understand the reason behind the "mixed divine blood." Could it be that more than one had been stitched together?

Corresponding to the numerous higher entities of Akons?

Regardless, such an appearance made the idea that eating it would restore health somewhat convincing.

This was his first time obtaining this type of item. Directly increasing SAN Value, and by 99 points at that—it could be called a massive supplement.

It also made him even more curious about the meaning behind it.

Though for Fu Qian, whose SAN Value had returned to the triple digits, the need for it wasn't all that pressing. He wasn't in any rush.

Moreover, the description "cannot be brought into tasks by any means" was also a first.

The Warehouse seemed to dislike it intensely, truly treating it like the scum of the world; the "filthy" description wasn't exaggerated in the slightest.

But that was fine. For a dangerous item that obviously had far-reaching implications and came with a carrying time limit, he hadn't planned on relying on it to complete tasks anyway.

As for the umbilical cord's proper use—granting the status of an Ancient Higher Being just by wearing it—that was a bit more complicated to grasp.

Taken literally, was it like transforming into the King of the Abandoned Prison?

But at least in Fu Qian's perception, having held it in his hands for so long, he didn't feel any change in his own Rank whatsoever.

The next moment, he even casually pulled it apart and hung the reward around his neck like a necklace.

Still no change. It probably had nothing to do with how it was worn.

Would he only carry the aura of an Ancient Higher Being in the eyes of others?

Or did it require a special occasion to take effect?

Fu Qian naturally thought of the barrier formed by the God-Forsaken Land.

Perhaps later, at an appropriate time, he could bring it to a similar place to see what miracles it held.

Additionally, the item's description—especially the wording in the note—seemed to complement the task summary to some extent.

The umbilical cord was undoubtedly related to the gods, but its rebirth despite supposedly being dried up mirrored a doubt he had once harbored—

It was clearly a decaying ruin, so how had the powers of so many higher entities been preserved so perfectly, even managing to suppress him?

And how could a small boon left behind by Excellency Akons, who had vanished a thousand years ago, be powerful enough to repel them?

So, they hadn't miraculously survived until now. Instead, something had granted them rebirth—the "Him" who had "exiled" himself.

Merely by gazing upon Akons and digesting it as his own Mind World, he had caused their powers to be recreated.

Those gods, whose power was so great that even he was suppressed, had been "imagined" into existence by Him.

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