Eldritch Horror Theatre

'Care to guess why I'm interested in sealing away someone else's Transcendent Perception?'

'Warehouse, this Ring of yours is great and all, but any way you look at it, it requires perception to activate, right?'

'My Transcendent Perception has to be above zero to trigger the effect that drops the target's perception to zero.'

'But if my perception is already above zero, why bother with the extra effort?'

'The applications seem pretty narrow.'

With a long sigh, Fu Qian was already considering revoking the Considerate Medal he had previously awarded to the Warehouse.

To put it in perspective, it was like jumping into a pit to drag an opponent down, only to realize in shock that you had to be standing above the pit to pull them in.

'Whatever... At least it looks decent. It won't disgrace the Lord of the Rings.'

Of course, as an administrator familiar with the Warehouse's style, Fu Qian knew better than to be overly demanding. What he had in front of him was actually pretty good.

It was indeed made of a transparent material, though not entirely colorless.

Within the smooth, slender band, a trace of blood-red drifted, its ends connecting in a loop.

Looking closer, the crimson hue wasn't tangled like hair, but formed from a cluster of radiating, thread-like segments.

Despite its cold, unyielding vibe, the blood-red mark carried a profound charm, bringing to mind the traces that had previously appeared on his palm.

'So this is the "filth and corruption" resonating within the Ring?'

'Isn't it a bit rude to describe His Excellency the Solitary King like that? Besides, it barely affects the transparency.'

Recalling the item's description, Fu Qian felt the slightly negative evaluation was a bit too harsh.

At the very least, as the Lord of the Rings with his eclectic tastes, he didn't mind wearing it—though his hand apparently did.

Realizing the size wasn't quite right after testing the fit, Fu Qian set the Heart Seal on the table for now.

'No more free healing... I really need to get used to this new normal.'

His body being riddled with wounds aside, Rom's Beyond Categorization banishment was no laughing matter.

As described at the time, even his Transcendent Tier itself was undergoing unpredictable distortions due to the loss of its external Anchor Point.

Though the duration was short and he hadn't noticed any major issues yet, a few minor side effects had still manifested in his flesh and blood.

Compared to a normal finger, the digit he had just tried to slide the Ring onto retained almost nothing in common with a human appendage beyond the vague concept of a cylinder.

Fortunately, it wasn't a major issue. His Rank rapidly climbed, and in the blink of an eye, the King of the Abandoned Prison descended once more.

The unbearable burden placed on a Tier 2 body was, in the end, nothing more than a passing breeze to the Tyrant.

Having played the puppet the entire time—slinging mud, shifting blame, and doing absolutely no good deeds—he hadn't actually suffered any absurdly heavy frontal attacks.

This minor targeting was far from fatal for a Tyrant already specialized in having a massive Health Bar. Mostly, he just hadn't wanted to frighten the other attendees earlier—after all, even after so many encounters, the Warehouse still tensed up.

As his Rank recovered, Fu Qian noted that while there was no obvious instability this time, the atmosphere still tensed up for a moment.

[Yes]

Never one to care about empty vanity, Fu Qian carefully molded his flesh back into its proper shape while pulling up the event log, making a rare choice to watch the replay.

...

'It really just lacks the magic of a live broadcast.'

Back when Excellency Patches told him not to miss the show, Fu Qian had already thought of the Warehouse's recording capabilities.

The recording system clearly hadn't broken down, but watching it on screen still couldn't compare to being personally on the scene.

Ever since fully ascending to the Mechanical King of the Abandoned Prison, not only was he denied healing at the end of a mission, he didn't even passively regenerate his Health Bar while standing in the Warehouse.

Restoring his Rank was mainly an attempt to examine that previous scene from a higher vantage point.

Unfortunately, viewing it now, that blooming brilliance was no longer quite as blinding.

It was still breathtakingly gorgeous, dazzling the eyes and captivating the soul, but that was all.

Even the Warehouse, acting as the media player, seemed entirely unmoved.

Even so, Fu Qian diligently watched the entire recording from start to finish, committing the final ripples of the three higher entities to memory.

'Was that the ultimate manifestation of the Order of Blood?'

During his discussion with Patches back then, Fu Qian had been extremely pragmatic.

Although he lacked anywhere near enough evidence, it had indeed been his first thought.

It was a known fact that throughout the entire process, the greatest significance of Patches' manipulation was turning Rom from a seed into fertilizer. That was what ultimately allowed for such a reckless, cost-no-object blossoming.

'It was certainly a moving spectacle, but what exactly was Patches' goal?'

'Even if it was something like an authority slipping out of control, that shouldn't be too rare an occurrence in a transcendent realm that has weathered the Long Night.'

'And it wasn't a vendetta, nor a murder for profit... What was he searching for in that blossoming?'

'Or was he verifying something?'

'I feel like that was the most brilliant part of it all. It's just a shame that we were having such a nice chat, yet the party involved ultimately chose to keep me in suspense.'

Aside from that, there was another minor detail—crystallization.

As the replay ended, Fu Qian finished molding his finger back to normal. He finally picked up the Heart Seal, put it on, and examined it closely.

'How many times have I encountered this concept now?'

'Given the Warehouse's habit of ruthlessly exploiting every advantage, it's hard to believe this is purely a coincidence.'

'And yet, there were absolutely no similar elements visible in the entire incident just now.'

'Could the information Patches withheld also be related to "crystallization"?'

"A structure reflecting the Truth of the universe"—the Warehouse's appraisal of this Ring was remarkably high.

Amid his reverie, Fu Qian not only left the Ring on his finger but proceeded to equip the entire pile of Items resting in front of him.

He hadn't forgotten his main business. The core purpose of this visit was to prepare for his upcoming exploration of the Nightmare Corridor alongside the Witch.

And aside from verifying his hypothesis regarding the attributive pollution of the Other Shore, his goal was to arm himself to the teeth.

Now, it was time to begin.

"[Today's task has been completed. You may now leave the Warehouse. Weekly work progress: 3/4.]"

See? Even the Warehouse was prompting him.

Having packed his gear, Fu Qian deliberately saved Mercy for last. Picking it up, he struck a pose in his cold Armor.

"Excellency, times have changed."

Ultimately satisfied with the look, he picked up the Emissary and donned the mask.

...

In the end, the sight before his eyes was far more pleasing.

The moonlight was tranquil and deep blue, illuminating bright flowers that swayed without a breeze.

Even though she had her back to this scenery, and her face was hidden in the shadow of her hat brim, it was still impossible to find words to describe those eyes of the Witch as she gazed in his direction.

Therefore, Fu Qian didn't bother trying. He simply offered a slight nod in greeting.

"Ready?"

Although theoretically zero time had passed between then and now, the Witch's tone was completely natural, as if she had been keeping watch here for a very long time.

"Ready."

Twirling Mercy in his hand, Fu Qian made sure to show off an outfit that wouldn't lead to any unfortunate misunderstandings.

"Very good."

The Witch scrutinized him earnestly. Accompanying her appraisal, she handed over a familiar Bone Chain.

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