Eldritch Horror Theatre

'What was this? A fragment of information from the collapsing samsara?'

'A record of one of Lasik's failed attempts?'

Fu Qian thought silently as he "watched" the images flashing rapidly through his mind.

Also, Lasik was actually a woman—he genuinely hadn't realized that before.

Even with those roars echoing across the mountains at the very end, it had been too manic to distinguish her gender.

It seemed that in the story, her identity was a vacationing outsider, though she wasn't with Ray and his group.

As for the scene just now, it was quite easy to understand.

The timing was probably the final day. Mrs. Harold had most likely been killed by Lasik, and after drawing the police's attention, she had sought out Mrs. Mary.

Judging from her final soliloquy, this had occurred after quite a number of attempts. Seeing them all fail, she began to suspect the problem lay with the people.

It was sheer torment!

For Lasik herself, and for everyone else.

Fu Qian sighed and sat down on the stool.

With the task complete, he had been teleported back to the Warehouse, and the mission summary chimed in.

[Mission Rating: Moral Degradation]

[Surpassing oneself is a Virtue; it allows you to become someone even you find unimaginable.

On this exceedingly ordinary day, Harold had never felt the world present itself so clearly before his eyes. Countless possibilities were well within reach, and the suffocating cage no longer existed.

He had no doubt that this was a better version of himself, the way he was always meant to be. He remained certain right up until the moment he pushed his wife out.

Amid the sharp screech of brakes, he found that fear had enveloped him once again. The future seemed to be rapidly pulling away, abandoning him in this Dense Forest.

After fleeing home in a panic according to plan, his heart was filled with torment.

Fortunately, the yearning for that perfect self still lingered in his consciousness.

Finally, when the agony reached its peak, the familiar sensation reappeared.

Harold was ecstatic, certain that he was drawing even closer to God.

However, what he didn't know was that a soul named Lasik had already watched him countless times from the posture of God.]

[Kills: None]

[Rewards: SAN Value +20; Decree of Return]

[Current SAN Value: 107, current inspiration: 99]

[Play event recap?]

'Looking down upon the masses from the posture of God? That description is quite fitting.'

Listening to the mission summary, Fu Qian nodded silently.

Though it was only mentioned at the very end, it undoubtedly proved that Lasik's encounters were roughly what he had guessed.

For some unknown reason, she had been thrown into this Small Town, beginning an endless samsara.

Once she realized this, she attempted to break her fate and escape the cage.

The eerie existence of the courtyard halfway up The Mountain became her primary target of suspicion.

He believed that the information she had, including the Underground passages, had been gathered through countless explorations.

Along with the marks beneath the picture frames.

Unfortunately, even after turning the entire courtyard upside down, she didn't find the secret behind the samsara.

The scene he had just witnessed indicated she had shifted to considering the influence of "people."

He believed she had most likely acted on theories like achieving a "happy ending" as well.

Alas, all that greeted her was despair, time and time again.

At the end of the story, her will finally reached its limit, collapsing to become the "Virtue" scattered across the samsara.

And such a special existence became the "path" for him to accomplish his objective.

'I wonder what that world will look like now that I've left?'

'Will the corruption be lifted and the samsara continue, or will it simply vanish altogether, allowing everyone to attain Transcendence?'

Fu Qian was suddenly a little curious about what this item named Virtue looked like.

With the thought in mind, he didn't even finish checking his rewards. He stood up and walked directly over to the shelves.

Following the serial numbers, he quickly found [2-205].

As the silver-white square box opened, what appeared before his eyes was quite intriguing.

Black, palm-sized, rectangular.

It wasn't some formless, intangible abstract existence. Inside sat an actual videotape!

'Does it automatically alter its manifestation based on the observer's perspective?'

As a professional, he naturally wouldn't casually believe in coincidences. After staring at it for a few seconds, Fu Qian thought of a possible reason and found it increasingly suspicious.

The difficulty of this mission hadn't been exaggeratedly high, but it carried a heavy scent of deliberate design.

He had a faint intuition that Lasik might not have stumbled into the samsara out of sheer bad luck; rather, she had been purposefully placed inside.

However, considering he could only inspect it for now, there was no way to actually take the videotape out and play it.

After taking a couple more glances, Fu Qian closed the lid and returned to his seat.

There was still one reward he hadn't looked at.

[Name: Decree of Return]

[Adds a new form to your Commandment Residue]

[Description: Nothing exists outside the mind. Upon activation, the user becomes the center of the concept of existence. Affected targets will automatically convert toward the original order, recovering slowly after separation.]

[Note: Everything is as pure as before.]

'This... a new effect for the Commandment Residue?'

Looking at the reward's notes, Fu Qian was thoughtful for a moment.

'When I first obtained this skill, it was mentioned that it was merely the melted residue of commandment patterns. Has the residue now found a special combination?'

The name sounded mighty and domineering, but as for converting toward the original order, he was still a bit unsure of its specific effect for the time being.

Moreover, the conversion was temporary. As expected, was residue just residue after all?

While pondering, Fu Qian had already tried activating the new halo based on the extra intent that had appeared deep within his consciousness.

It didn't seem like anything special.

Fu Qian looked down at himself and found that even the visual effects were gone.

'Wait a minute, it seems there is a little something.'

The next moment, he looked at the table, where the removed Emissary Mask lay.

At this very moment, the dark red bloodstains on the White Mask were actually slowly squirming and shrinking. In the blink of an eye, almost a third of them had vanished.

'This is returning to the original? Why does it feel like this isn't quite a good thing?'

'If I remember correctly, I painstakingly dyed that with the Blood of Thorns.'

Fu Qian thought for a moment, then picked up the Emissary and put it on.

A strange sensation washed over him. The next moment, Fu Qian found himself in a dim void, with an illusory radiance up ahead.

Through the light, he could see the familiar layout of the Bookstore Second Floor, as well as Su Gao sleeping in her clothes.

The effect of the Emissary was to synchronize to an established Anchor Point. Under the influence of the Decree of Return now, was the anchored information being dispelled?

Watching the rapidly dimming light, Fu Qian had reason to suspect this connection would soon be severed.

Did that mean he would no longer be able to synchronize to The Bookstore?

Thinking about it, Fu Qian stepped forward and grasped this final ripple.

In an instant, Fu Qian found he had appeared beside the bed on the Bookstore Second Floor.

Su Gao, who was sleeping peacefully, made no reaction to this at all.

'Sure enough, a heartless and carefree employee is the happiest!'

With a sigh, Fu Qian went downstairs silently, arriving on the street outside The Bookstore. After admiring the moon for a few minutes, he took off the mask.

When he returned to the Warehouse, he could see that the blood on the Emissary had almost vanished without a trace.

Trying it on again, Fu Qian found that this time he had returned to the street outside The Bookstore.

'With the original anchoring information dispelled, did it automatically record the location where the mask was removed as the new Anchor Point?'

'Although it isn't permanent, with a little manipulation, it seems it can achieve the effect of binding a Hearthstone anytime and anywhere.'

After a simple test, Fu Qian quickly thought of the first improper application for the new skill.

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