Eldritch Horror Theatre

For an old man on his deathbed, Kadon Dickens seemed to have accomplished something extraordinary.

The silent Warehouse had already chimed with the notification that this week's tasks were complete.

Yet Fu Qian merely weighed the special reward in his hand, in no hurry to leave.

It looked completely unremarkable, yet it contained a shattered destiny for godhood?

Always confident in his reading comprehension, Fu Qian found the effects of the Bane of Those Denied Godhood to be one of the most absurd task rewards he had ever seen.

Tainted by a destiny for godhood, drawn toward an invisible path?

He had just been lamenting his lack of clues regarding a true Tier 1 ritual, and now this thing had delivered itself right to his door?

How very thoughtful.

Of course, there were plenty of problems too.

For another, the Warehouse had dropped the ball more than once or twice before. Its reliability might be slightly higher than the enlightenment Brother Huo had provided last time, but the risk of a hidden trap was still hard to avoid...

And furthermore, this was a "shattered" destiny for godhood, even named Black Dream. It wouldn't be strange at all if putting it on led straight to his demise—but it was still incredibly valuable.

Even with all those caveats, Fu Qian didn't mind trying it out when the time was right.

First was the chance to broaden his horizons by drawing parallels. Even Ancient Higher Beings were still studying modern knowledge—Blazing Rainbow had even opened a disco, for instance. As a youth of the new era, how could he remain stuck in his ways?

There would be danger, naturally, but Fu Qian wasn't naive enough to think he could completely avoid risk on the Path to Godhood.

Looking back at his journey so far, every step he had taken since reaching the Mid Tier could only be described as resorting to any means necessary.

Peacefully searching for rituals and gathering materials?

He could only say that such a transcendent life was far too idyllic for him.

As for the second reason, it was even simpler: his current state was relatively durable.

Even if it ultimately provided zero enlightenment for his transcendent path, it wouldn't matter.

With his current special state, seeing what kind of sparks would fly when colliding with a destiny for godhood was still an excellent opportunity to pry into transcendent mysteries.

He had said it more than once: it was best to take risks while one still had the capital to lose. This was exactly why he had admired old Kadon so much earlier.

With no way out, he had still chosen to stake everything on a single throw.

And the wager itself was that his own life had been a mistake.

Even if he overcame all odds and won the bet, his only reward would be the absolute nothingness after death.

Perhaps that was the origin of the Containment Object's name, the Wish of Oblivion?

Retrieving the box for 2-013, Fu Qian gazed at its contents and sighed silently.

It was actually a Statue with adult proportions—easily bringing the finely dressed old man to mind—yet it bore a child's face.

...

The righteous one was the youngest Deity's familiar; the mask's description had actually been quite subtle about it.

First was the title of the righteous one itself, which suddenly made Mister Dickens's special group seem far from simple.

The task summary had practically stated outright that the organization was essentially nothing more than a group of megalomaniacs.

Even the buried individual was just a mortal, and Dickens, who had gone back to lie down after consuming his fellow cultist, was merely engaging in self-hypnosis.

Yet the concept of the Unrighteous One seemed to be genuine.

The whole situation felt as though a group of people had stumbled upon the Sunflower Manual; the manual was genuine, but they lacked the qualifications to cultivate it.

Even more miraculously, their seemingly unintentional actions had managed to attract a participant who was naturally attuned to the Evil-Warding Sword Manual, successfully prompting him into Awakening.

Was this a manifestation of a Deity's destiny?

After all, old Kadon's experiences perfectly mirrored the growth process of a seed.

As for this "Deity's familiar," Fu Qian noted that the exact nature of the Eve residing within Wen Li had always been a point of interest.

His previous conclusion had been that it was an animated transcendent structure.

Since then, he had encountered many more examples—Bernard, Loretta... and even the Virgo, La Nina, who had incubated the Holy Infant Calamity Star. The same explanation could apply to all of them.

But once they were animated, what was their exact relationship with the corresponding higher entity on the Path to Godhood?

When he first entered the Academy, the Corrupted Sword Heart he had killed had also demanded that Fu Qian become his familiar, offering unconscious protection as a benefit—

The connection between these animated transcendent structures and the higher entities of their respective paths might not be as inseparable as a covenant, but it was undoubtedly far closer than that of ordinary transcendents.

Familiars, minions... such titles were actually quite fitting.

That the Holy Infant Calamity Star could be incubated within La Nina suddenly made a lot more sense.

Then there was the phrasing of "the youngest."

It was common knowledge that certain words couldn't be used lightly. The Warehouse's blunt phrasing made it impossible not to draw a connection to the title of "Those Denied Godhood."

A God was a God. Even if one were completely dead, they would still be a God of Death. What did "denied" mean in this context? It meant that The Redeemed One and His minions had been born at the exact same time.

The subsequent events seemed to have already provided the answer.

When the old man attempted the impossible, he hadn't just prevented the birth of the minions—he had even stopped the birth of the corresponding Deity.

It sounded utterly bizarre, but there was already a precedent for it—his own Tier 2 ritual.

If his actions back then hadn't succeeded, wouldn't the end of the False God path cease to exist?

Blazing Rainbow had even mentioned that the reason He could lay a trap regarding traits was because He had sensed a shift in the transcendent world.

His trait had also been created out of nothing; it had only been born because he had anchored a Divine Path.

In summary, was it possible that the righteous one—this youngest Deity's familiar—served the exact same anchoring purpose for a Divine Station as he had back then?

Did its full growth represent the true birth of The Redeemed One?

Though at the final, crucial step, it had met with a suicidal resistance.

...

His train of thought was gradually clearing up, and with it, the old man's achievements seemed ever more glorious...

So, how did one get to that place again?

Sighing, Fu Qian recalled the night road he had driven down back then.

If he got the chance, he might as well go pay his respects again, and perhaps get a taste of cream soup from Aunt Lucy, old Kadon's dream widow.

Not one to toss the old for the new, Fu Qian first picked up the Emissary and checked himself over.

Not bad. Although his body had suffered heavy trauma, he had carefully sealed his wounds the second he returned to the Warehouse, meaning his clothes hadn't been stained with too much blood.

Otherwise, on top of the ruined clothes, he might easily terrify the other passengers.

Nodding slightly, Fu Qian slipped the Emissary on.

The daylight flared, his seat swayed, and the tram shuttling through the years materialized before his eyes.

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