Eldritch Horror Theatre

It was indeed this seat's authority. No doubt about it.

This was no mere subtle shift in perception after hearing the Warehouse's explanation.

Rather, it was a comparative judgment made from the professional perspective of a seasoned master of authority.

Beyond the Orange Calamity Eye, it was another similar perspective for examining the world.

Yet its manifestation was entirely different. Even with it colloquially known as "Blue Eyes," he couldn't see any elements of that nature.

Instead, it took the form of something far more abstract and complex—lines?

Unfolding like a wondrous mathematical formula, incredibly intricate closed circuits surrounded everyone in his field of vision.

These were no mere outlines. He could even sense that each line carried a completely different underlying meaning.

If his Transcendent Perception were still active, he probably would have gleaned even more from it.

The only thing he could confirm was that they collectively formed the 'self.'

The unbroken lines seemed to demonstrate the completeness of this concept—but not everyone was like this.

The music's climax had passed. The Dancer's movements gradually slowed; though her professional skills were excellent, she was still panting slightly.

Along with that reaction, a stark difference compared to everyone else grew increasingly glaring—a breakpoint.

At a specific location, her dense network of lines actually radiated out toward some unknown place, only to converge back from another angle.

It looked as if a piece had been forcefully torn open, yet her overall state showed no signs of instability.

Although he couldn't make a simple spatial comparison, the torn gap clearly corresponded in some way to her lower abdomen, where the Inviolable Imprint rested.

He seemed to understand why it was called the Third Cause now.

The team leader was dedicated enough, but he was definitely lacking on an academic level.

Not only did this imprint fail to prevent the 'invasion of foreign entities,' it actually facilitated the invasion itself.

At the same time, as the pinnacle of a certain 'divine power,' it was far from being that simple.

...

Even without the aid of his Transcendent Perception, being the master of this portion of authority meant nothing hindered Fu Qian's insight into the true nature of the Third Cause.

It could indeed be viewed as an invasion of the self, resulting in the individual's incompleteness.

But this was fundamentally different from those previous covenants. It didn't turn a person into the puppet of some colossal entity; rather, it inserted a fallacy at the level of destiny.

It was like wedging a foot into cause and effect: a certain node would introduce a 'completely independent third party' to bear the burden.

There would be a cause without an effect, or an effect without a cause.

From this perspective, the idea of it warding off disasters actually made sense.

The concept of warding off evil simply meant making malicious causes vanish into nothingness.

This piece of folk culture surprisingly contained genuine transcendent power—even if it looked like he was here to destroy that very fact.

Calling him the master of the Third Cause was, so far, absolutely no exaggeration.

With a point of comparison, it was easy to confirm. Just like Calamity, he was practically the incarnation of this authority, and the three concentric circles were merely an additional Emblem of his, freely manipulated by his will.

For instance, with a single thought, the decoration on the Dancer's belly would lose all its power.

Whether for warding off evil or contraception, it would be reduced to a mere placebo effect.

For the city of Lanphilai, the situation was like an unowned, free buffet suddenly being subjected to an audit.

Furthermore, he had yet to see any power capable of opposing this authority of his.

Considering the mission objective was to 'prohibit the desecration of authority,' it seemed the next step was simply to confirm the definition of desecration.

Did it refer to this free-buffet behavior, or did it carry some other, more specific meaning?

...

This was indeed a rare mission format.

Ruling over the world while making an incognito inspection? It amounted to roughly the same thing. His standing was shockingly elevated.

What he needed to do was even akin to the King of the Abandoned Prison's absolute power over life and death—taking back boons stolen without permission from a group of people, entirely on a whim.

Though Fu Qian didn't really think the Third Cause was an authority belonging to the King of the Abandoned Prison.

Before he had claimed dominance over the Abandoned Prison, he might not have been so certain.

But even without his Transcendent Perception right now, Fu Qian knew the King of the Abandoned Prison was already complete, with no extra missing pieces left to repair—let alone an entire complete authority.

The same applied to that Emblem.

This three-ring pattern was indeed 'him,' but it was not the King of the Abandoned Prison.

His current state was closer to holding two Divine Stations simultaneously.

But if that were the case, the reason this mission appeared became somewhat intriguing.

The mission was numbered 3. Undoubtedly, the Warehouse didn't consider it excessively difficult, but he had never encountered this type of mission before.

If it wasn't pure coincidence, and based on his understanding of the Warehouse, could recent changes have led it to judge that he now possessed the ability to complete this task?

For instance, by completely transforming into the King of the Abandoned Prison?

But he had already judged that the Third Cause's authority shouldn't have any direct connection to that Divine Station.

Or perhaps—it was an issue with his Transcendent Perception?

Could his current special state—where his inspiration attribute had completely vanished—be preventing any rejection reactions? Was that why he was perfectly compatible with this authority, allowing him to act as the master of the Third Cause?

That guess felt much more reasonable.

And if that were truly the case, it seemed he had triggered a low-level but exceptionally rare mission.

"...What did you think?"

Amidst his thoughts, the song on the stage finally came to an end.

The Woman in White Dress, who had fallen silent at Fu Qian's earlier comment, watched the Dancer lingering on the stage and the restless crowd before finally speaking up again.

However, just as he had noted earlier, her tone was peculiar. It didn't sound like tourists exchanging impressions; it sounded more like a local asking for a review.

"She danced well."

Staring at those long, smooth legs nearly pressed against his face, Fu Qian offered a fair assessment of the art itself.

Jingle—

He didn't even reject the gift the dancer offered.

Although the performance was over, the audience's eyes undoubtedly still followed the Dancer. Glancing around, she walked right up to Fu Qian. Seeming gratified by his thoroughly sincere critique, she stopped.

Instead, she crouched down until her body was mere centimeters from his. Reaching up to her ear, she unhooked her dazzling veil and draped it directly around Fu Qian's neck.

This was accompanied by a chorus of hoots from the audience.

Though when he looked back at them, the smiles plastered on the group's faces seemed somewhat bizarre.

"It seems today's favored VIP has appeared."

During this scene, multiple figures stepped out from the nearby shadows. Before the man at the very front even reached them, he had already begun explaining the local customs.

"According to tradition, the honored guest must leave a gift in return."

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