Eldritch Horror Theatre

'The Sanctuary of the Goddess of Sins? Did I achieve ultimate Sublimation?'

That was right. Fu Qian had seen that standing figure before during the survival game in the Wasteland.

Numerous contestants had struck poses and sworn their covenants before her, becoming the "sinners" that the mission had required him to eliminate at the time.

Honestly, out of all the higher entities, her appearance was the most humanoid.

She possessed no bizarre anatomical structures, and even her facial features looked gentle and loving.

With her hands slightly outstretched, she looked ready to embrace the lambs before her and carefully soothe them—except for the one beside her.

Even though she was just a statue, her coldness toward the pregnant figure was unmistakable.

Neither the magnificent wedding hall nor the grand ceremony seemed to move this goddess.

It made the "Solitary King" snuggling beside her look like a desperate suitor throwing himself at her.

The reason remained the same: his Calamity Eyes were locked firmly onto him.

He had to admit that aesthetically, even though the Solitary King was made of flesh and blood, he barely resembled a human.

Draped in magnificent scarlet robes, he wore a crown of the exact same shade, contrasting sharply against his glowing white body underneath.

Details aside, this visual alone instantly made one understand what was meant by a clumsy imitation that accentuates one's own flaws.

All those attempts to smear ash on their bodies they had encountered earlier couldn't capture a hundredth of the charm of this pure, translucent whiteness.

Under this extreme color contrast, he briefly looked like a bride dressed in a traditional wedding veil.

Although this bride's needlework seemed rather lacking.

On the exposed parts of his snow-white skin alone, one could see dozens of broken blades deeply embedded in his flesh. One even pierced straight through the bridge of his nose.

Their shapes clearly differed from traditional sewing needles, looking more like narrow Razor Blades. The handle ends had been snapped off, leaving only the broken blades lodged inside without being removed.

...

'He still needs to learn some needlework.'

Faced with this gruesome appearance, Fu Qian could almost picture the entity sewing his own wedding dress by hand.

He had likely even worn it while sewing to ensure a perfect fit, but due to his poor craftsmanship, he had accidentally snapped blade after blade into his own body.

His spirit might be admirable, but the belief that man can conquer nature simply wasn't enough.

Daydreams aside, Fu Qian felt he understood why they hadn't been removed—pulling them out might cause his whole body to fall apart.

The skin tone was extremely consistent, but the body didn't seem to be a single, cohesive whole. The gaps where the individual parts joined together were clearly visible.

This immediately brought to mind the stab to the heart back during his encounter with Akons.

The broken blades on the body before him looked like nails used to forcibly pin together wounds that could no longer heal.

Distinct mutations could even be seen forming at the boundaries between these body parts.

Perhaps they had originally belonged to the same person, but they had since found better developments for themselves and were seeking independence.

For instance, the previously mentioned nose nailed to his face, along with the other half of his face, resembled a curled-up sleeping infant.

One of his impaled "legs" was even rising and falling with independent breaths.

...

'His Excellency the Solitary King's condition is a bit unusual. Is this a blessing from Fracture Cleaver?'

While finding it incredibly eye-opening, Fu Qian realized the shapes of those broken blades looked somewhat familiar.

Even with only half the blade left, having once played the White-Faced Man, he could easily recognize that they were the exact same weapons.

He could almost imagine the scene: the White-Faced Man, representing the Solitary King's will, plucking out one of those blades and projecting himself into a Lands Between similar to that of Akons to slaughter with wild abandon.

He had previously wondered what the White-Faced Man's true goal actually was.

Looking at it now, could it be that whatever was plundered through those cruel massacres was being used to nourish the mutations of these body parts?

Of course, despite the grotesque deformity, one could still tell the Solitary King was a muscular male.

Judging from the surroundings, this place of worship clearly belonged to the Goddess of Sins.

Coupled with the sights he had seen along the way, could it be that the Solitary King had simply moved in and built himself up by taking over the Goddess of Sins' property?

Not only that, he even wanted to have an "Offspring" with her, not caring if he had to endure the ten months of pregnancy himself.

...

'Quite the postmodern vibe.'

While theorizing about the possible causes, Fu Qian didn't forget to monitor his own condition.

The conclusion was far from optimistic.

Not only had his previous injuries failed to improve, but from the very moment he stepped into this place, the impact on him had been far more than just visual.

Furthermore, Ariel, who had tried to force the Solitary King to execute a Descent upon his own body, was nowhere to be seen.

'A true results-oriented player. His adaptability is incredible.'

Having failed his ambush, Ariel didn't even bother trying again. Instead, he directly chose to help Fu Qian confront the power of a Deity head-on.

As for why Ariel was nowhere to be seen, Fu Qian figured it was the same logic behind His Excellency Needle Witch's missing Burlap Doll: the radiance Fu Qian had been blessed with was so intense that, upon receiving further elevation, he alone had been granted an audience in the Solitary King's bedchamber.

The others simply weren't qualified yet.

It wasn't surprising that Ariel, who had just been fighting him for the qualification to undergo the Descent, would be so generous now.

For one, the Solitary King had already descended upon him to a certain extent, meaning their fight was already settled.

Furthermore, their continuous clashes earlier had likely given Ariel enough data to conclude that Fu Qian simply wasn't interested in that prize.

And most importantly, whether it was the Solitary King or the Goddess of Sins, Fu Qian had thoroughly offended both of them just moments ago.

Sending him here under these circumstances to witness a sight others couldn't observe meant Ariel didn't have to worry about him stealing divine favor. In fact, it was tantamount to tying him up and delivering him straight to his victims.

Especially since these two victims looked absolutely terrifying.

His Excellency the Solitary King's unique appearance undoubtedly belonged to a Mythical Form.

And while the Goddess of Sins might look like a statue at first glance, a closer look revealed a natural divine charm flowing between her gentle brows, making it impossible to look away.

She might not seem alive, but this was essentially her own Divine Domain, so her oppressive aura was even stronger than the Solitary King's.

Of course, even though he was only at Tier 2, there was no way Fu Qian wouldn't dare to look at them.

'If I didn't have such ruthless moves up my sleeve, how would I have the confidence to challenge a high-difficulty opponent like Ariel?'

In short, combining this with his Vision Radar, he quickly gained a deeper understanding of why the Solitary King was so desperate to have a child with her.

If the former was at the level of an unconventional New God, then the Goddess of Sins appeared to be a notch more transcendent.

And even though these two mighty entities hadn't changed their postures since he entered, his pre-existing aggro meant that, aside from the illumination of the Mythical Form, a much more direct attack had already struck him.

The most direct proof of this was that the Golden Flame of Madness had been forced to extinguish immediately.

In its place was a diffuse, dark bloody glow that Fu Qian found quite familiar—

The Fire of Sin, which he had seen back during his earlier mission.

Except, unlike back then, he couldn't feel any boost to his Combat Power; there was only endless agony and corruption.

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