Eldritch Horror Theatre

It symbolized the purest corruption, capable of corroding any object—even concepts—allowing the Fire of Sin to drift through them.

Dark, blood-red light rippled outward with Fu Qian at its center, surging like boiling flames.

As he carefully savored the sensation it brought, Fu Qian recalled the contents of the mission rewards associated with the Goddess of Sins.

Although an honorific name didn't detail a deity's authority, in most cases, it carried deep symbolic meaning.

Which brought up a question Fu Qian had always been curious about—

The Goddess of "Sins"—what exactly did those sins refer to?

Corruption?

Honestly, since taking on this job, he had seen more than enough flesh-warping chaos and filth, and Excellency Stomach had certainly been an eye-opener when it came to mental corruption.

By comparison, it felt like there wasn't much untouched territory left for the entity before him to govern.

Fu Qian had always harbored reservations about that definition, but without evidence, he hadn't been able to draw a definitive conclusion.

Now, however, the sensation coursing through his body didn't seem to support that theory at all.

...

It wasn't too strong; it was too weak.

If the Goddess of Sins truly commanded a judgment-type authority, its sheer power would be absurd. Moreover, it should have inflicted massive bonus damage against someone as blood-soaked as him.

Yet, even after trespassing into Her Holy Temple and directly offending Her visage, the Chastisement he suffered—while heavy—was honestly far from devastating.

By Fu Qian's estimation, he wouldn't even need to reveal too many of his cards. Simply relying on the blessing "from" the King of the Abandoned Prison, his current Tier 2 body could receive a steady stream of foundational power—more than enough to sustain him for a while.

At worst, his body would twist into an unbelievable shape and his thoughts would fester and decay... it couldn't even manage to mutate his transcendent power.

Was the Goddess of Sins severely wounded, Her power diminished? She had been searching for a covenant tool-man earlier, after all.

It was a plausible reason, but this place was practically Her Divine Domain, and She was even capable of gestating an Offspring with the Solitary King... Simply writing it off as an injury felt too flimsy.

Did "sins" refer to something other than the traditional meaning of crime?

That seemed more logical, but it brought up another issue: if not crimes, then what were they?

Fu Qian wasn't just letting his mind wander at a critical moment. He had a good reason for focusing on this: the Original Sin Sage.

Although he had ascended to the mantle of the King of the Abandoned Prison some time ago, he had never forgotten the true nature of his Tier 2 form.

Could this "sin" be connected to that "sin"?

He had wondered about this ever since he consumed the trait and successfully solidified that form.

[all things possess sin yet are unaware of it, and the sage derives strength from this awareness]

This description of the Original Sin Sage had always left a deep impression on him.

It was just a pity that, even though this mission had allowed him the unexpected privilege of gazing upon the Goddess of Sins once more...

...the feedback She provided was still far too vague to serve as a solid basis for his theory.

That didn't mean he walked away empty-handed, of course. He could still sense the wondrous properties of this Fire of Sin.

It was truly omnipresent, seeping into everything. It seemed nothing could escape its corrosion.

Even his own Flame of Frenzy seemed to be taking on a reddish tint beneath its gold...

With one arm and half his body already crippled, Fu Qian opened his remaining hand. He studied the faintly visible Imprint on his palm and the Flame of Frenzy blossoming from within it.

He willed the Flame of Frenzy to blaze once more, sweeping out into his surroundings.

The reaction that followed was quite peculiar. The burning Fire of Sin wasn't expelled by this surge; instead, the Frenzied Flame itself began to suffer the effects of "corruption."

Fascinating—Shk!

The transformation wasn't even finished before a spray of fresh blood suddenly erupted from his palm.

It nearly splashed across Fu Qian's face. In the next instant, the blood coalesced rather than scattering, pulling itself together into a solid beam.

It looked as though a short, crimson spear had materialized out of thin air, piercing right through his palm.

...

He knew it. No matter how much His Excellency the Solitary King worried about disturbing the baby, there was no way He wouldn't follow up when the Goddess made Her move.

The sudden phenomenon was certainly bizarre, but to Fu Qian, it was completely expected.

Not to mention the blood spear had appeared exactly over that special Imprint. The two newlyweds had just tied the knot; there was no way they wouldn't be perfectly in sync.

Fu Qian had been waiting for His Excellency the Solitary King this entire time.

Even though the latter's actions seemed much more subtle than the Goddess of Sins'—even if this crimson spike had truly pierced his brain, it was hard to say how much real damage it would have done—

As if sensing his harsh critique, his crippled arm suddenly jerked upward, firmly gripping the end of the bloody spear.

It wasn't his own idea. Fu Qian was absolutely certain of that.

This sudden movement felt more like the arm had developed a mind of its own and acted of its own accord—and it wasn't just the arm.

The movement didn't stop there. The crippled side of his body continued to exert force, pulling the blood spear out of his palm inch by inch.

...

Another me inside my body?

Amid the rapid changes, Fu Qian finally grasped what was happening.

It was as though another version of himself existed inside his body, executing this series of actions.

More interestingly, "his" control over the body actually superseded Fu Qian's own will.

The rest of his body could still make movements, but he couldn't use his willpower to stop "him."

Riiip—

This led to an even more shocking sight in the next moment. As the short spear was yanked out, the blunt end—which had only been a short stub—rapidly lengthened as it passed through his palm, stretching into a wicked, razor-sharp arc.

The White-Faced Man's blade?

Fu Qian instantly reached this conclusion.

There was no mistaking it. He was far too familiar with this.

The legendary Fracture Cleaver had actually been drawn from his own palm?

In that case, the one drawing the blade was—

As if responding to this thought, the arm gripping the Long Blade suddenly twisted at the wrist, aiming the tip straight at him.

Shk—

Without a shred of hesitation, the long, narrow blade plunged directly into his lower abdomen.

Logically speaking, the flesh of a mighty Tier 2 Transcendent shouldn't have been this fragile.

But Fu Qian knew exactly why it had happened: his body's natural resistance to damage had been suppressed, because the one stabbing him was himself.

His Excellency the Solitary King was turning him into one of those marauding White-Faced Men—and his very first objective was suicide.

He had to admit, it was a fascinating tactic. Even as the victim, he was learning quite a bit—

[SAN Value -5]

As he listened to the prompt in his ear at that moment, an old, lingering question finally seemed to have an answer.

It seemed he finally knew what the White-Faced Men were plundering... SAN Values?

So His Excellency the Solitary King was a senior in this line of work too?

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