Eldritch Horror Theatre

Three in one? Did each face represent a Divine Station?

Had the previous talk of the Trinity Force actually been a casual remark that proved prophetic?

There wasn't enough evidence to be sure, but if it were true, the being he'd just dealt with in the Long Night had to rank among the most miserable.

Or rather, those three.

Quickly arriving at this bold theory, Fu Qian marveled at it, then took it a step further to deduce an even more terrifying question: assuming this was true, what about the three paths to godhood corresponding to those three faces?

Did they form a predetermined composite class from the lowest tier to the highest? Or did they offer a high degree of freedom, interwoven like a braid, allowing one to swap between them at will?

It felt like it would be a chaotic mess. If he ever got the chance, he definitely had to see it for himself.

This wasn't a random whim. One of Fu Qian's good habits was asking why, and another was trying to answer it himself first—case in point: that suspected New God who had hit him with a lightning storm.

He had previously suspected that this entity and the Three-Phase Great Deity likely shared the same power attributes.

Of course, precisely because of this suspected shared origin of power, his all-out attack during the mission had likely inflicted severe collateral damage on that individual while heavily injuring the Three-Phase Great Deity. They were probably in a rather complicated mood right now.

Hmph. That was the price for opposing this King of the Abandoned Prison.

Reflecting on his own brutality, Fu Qian felt absolutely zero shame. Glancing around with arrogant disdain, he took a moment to check his recovery status—still falling a little short. Going out like this would easily scare people.

Nodding slightly, he let a heavy, textured sleeve extend from beneath his tattered coat, stretching until it completely covered his severed hand.

Although he didn't care about his own image, he still needed some basic civic decency.

With so many lawless elements around these days—he had even personally kicked one off the flight while boarding—the other passengers would inevitably panic if they saw anything too gruesome.

After adjusting his appearance, putting away the Body-Slaughtering Talisman, and donning the Spine Lock he'd just received from the Pope, Fu Qian finally headed over to the shelf area to check the box for 3-339.

Unsurprisingly, it contained an exact replica of the souvenir from that roadside shop in Lanphilai.

Picking it up and toying with it briefly to confirm there was no additional information, Fu Qian put it back and donned the Emissary Mask.

Upon returning to his seat on the transport, he found everything just as quiet as before. As far as he could see, the majority of the passengers had their eyes closed, resting.

Travel fatigue was perfectly normal. Plus, it made it even less likely that he'd accidentally scare someone.

Nodding slightly, Fu Qian withdrew his gaze from the dark night outside and joined the ranks of the resting.

...

This should be the place.

After casually taking care of some official business, the second half of his journey proved completely smooth sailing. Surprisingly, there weren't even any delays.

Even so, by the time he ventured deep into that once-barren wilderness, the faint light of dawn was already breaking.

Of course, that was partly because this place lacked any distinct landmarks, and Classmate Liushuang had absolutely no memory of their past little interlude here. That was fine—it was enough that this seat remembered.

Hidden by the Dense Forest, Fu Qian looked at the collapsed corner of the Stone Tower ahead, finding that everything was perfectly under control.

They were just a bunch of Academy students, after all. How large could their radius for courting death really be?

After just a brief search, he was already revisiting an old haunt.

It was just a pity. Even though it hadn't been that long since his last visit, the sense that things remain while people change was unavoidable.

In the next moment, he was already standing at the edge of the rubble. Fu Qian surveyed the chaotic piles of the Ruins before him.

He still remembered his last visit. Back then, he'd merely been a fringe student of the Academy. Now, he was an academic leader with multiple scientific breakthroughs under his belt.

Of course, the high spirits of youth were hard to forget. Since there was no one else around, he might as well—

He blinked, his facial features rapidly adjusting. Soon enough, Fu Qian had restored his original appearance.

He even stopped trying to disguise his tattered clothes, boldly putting them on full display.

After this return to his authentic self, Fu Qian finally took a step forward, setting foot onto the Road of No Return he remembered from the past.

...

If nothing else, the Warehouse's description of this place in the mission summary back then had been very spot-on.

Some things didn't need to harbor any malice; their mere existence was a danger in itself.

No matter where such a thing existed, it gave the distinct impression of a deep Well hidden in a meadow.

One could just be eating hotpot and singing a song, and with one wrong step, there would be no road back—or even a road forward.

Before him lay the same visceral, nauseating chaos. A thin mist lingered amidst the piles of rubble and ruined walls, making it difficult to find a place to step.

Fu Qian wasn't in a rush to proceed. Instead, he turned around and reached out a hand. A familiar sensation met his fingers—an invisible barrier was already blocking the way behind him.

This was where one had to mention the dual nature of things.

In the past, whenever he completed a mission, the Warehouse would help resolve his physical issues. It was a perk generous enough to be considered premium public healthcare.

But if the perks had always been as stingy as they were right now, theoretically, by the end of his last mission here, he would have actually reached an understanding with this place, allowing him to come and go freely.

As things stood, it seemed he would have to pay another visit to old brother Feng Yunhong's secret stronghold.

...

Indeed, Fu Qian was in no rush to resort to brute force.

It wasn't that he thought there was absolutely no way to breach this Law Grade impassability. In fact, he had plenty of methods.

According to the Ambergris Theory that he had deduced and verified back then, as long as he maintained his true Rank, this thing wouldn't block him at all. Instead, it would reflexively "invite" him out.

That was right. Not only had he restored his facial features, but Fu Qian had also utilized his recently acquired Rank Transformation Technique to directly suppress his power below the High Tier—roughly putting himself on par with the team leader back then, Li Weixuan.

As for why he had done this?

Simple. Because the latter had personally proven that a person of that level wouldn't be rejected by the barrier.

If he went any higher, walking around in here would likely demand extra effort.

Since he was revisiting an old haunt, being so unwelcome would really ruin the mood.

Furthermore, considering even the Warehouse was nervous about his true Rank, forcing his way in would probably easily disrupt the local ecosystem.

As far as Fu Qian was concerned, even though he'd completed his mission last time, there were still plenty of things here worth a second look.

Take the Angel of Comfort. Every entity he'd encountered before with a similar title possessed its own unique set of formidable skills.

And those four counterclockwise-rotating hands were arguably the very first mark he'd seen that resembled the Emblem of a higher entity.

That was also why his first thought earlier had been to try feeding this to the Spine Lock.

Judging by the conditions during the mission, this place felt very much like a shed husk or remnant associated with a higher power.

Compared to the pile of stones inside, it possessed an undeniably "biological" aspect.

Though, admittedly, the actual living creatures inside didn't seem very friendly.

Fu Qian lightly vaulted over a toppled stone pillar, smoothly dodging a burst of black Spikes—just as he had done during his very first visit.

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