The Eldritch Files

Han Su was suddenly at a loss for words.

What Rong Qiyue said sounded absurd, yet it was all true.

Many people knew the names of the Emperor and the Twelve Knights. He himself had heard the long-haired female student from the Midtown Science and Technology Museum mention them twice.

But in the Disaster Management Bureau’s records, there was nothing about the Emperor, nor were there any titles or other information about the Twelve Knights.

They were only ever referred to as ”the Emperor” and ”the Twelve Knights.”

Their profiles were so sparse they were even less detailed than the Gods recorded in history or the various aberrations active in different regions.

At first, he thought it was simply because his security clearance wasn’t high enough, or perhaps it was outside his specialty. He assumed the Hidden School would know plenty about things the Disaster Management Bureau didn’t. But now that he’d met someone from the Hidden School, they only knew a name, too?

A question immediately followed. ”If that’s the case, then where did the term ’Emperor’s weapons’ come from?”

”That has to do with how humanity subjugates aberrations...”

Faced with Han Su’s question, Rong Qiyue felt a strong sense of satisfaction.

He straightened his posture, his gaze as gentle as if he were looking at a pretty female student. ”Of course, ’subjugate’ is too strong a word.”

”This is a step in the mysterious ascension we all must face.”

”Stealing!”

”...”

Han Su’s interest was suddenly piqued. ”Stealing?”

Rong Qiyue adopted the air of a lecturer. ”It means to take this kind of power and make it one’s own.”

”Although those mysterious species disappeared from this world long ago, their resonance with it remains. So do the residual mysterious substances and Spiritual Power.”

”These powers have all sorts of wondrous uses that exceed reality, imagination, and even time. The process of humanity Stealing these foreign powers is one of finding and containing these traces, and Mastering the codes of their transformation.”

”However, one must admit that this step is actually very difficult.”

”Humans only want their incredible powers; they don’t actually want to become like them.”

”While Stealing this Mysterious Power, one must also prevent oneself from being influenced by the mysterious will that coexists with it.”

”To date, there have been many successes, but the cost has also been great.”

”Those mysterious, surreal species have already vanished from the world.”

”But humanity began excavating their relics and studying their Mysterious Power, which in itself is...”

He paused here. Han Su, however, suddenly understood and finished the sentence for him: ”Summoning the spirits of things that have passed!”

”Exactly.”

Rong Qiyue nodded, his smile complex. ”My grandfather used to say that humanity’s study of those aberrations from history is the most foolish of endeavors.”

”But it has to be done, because everyone knows that people don’t listen.”

”So not only must we study them, we must also stay ahead of everyone else, to prevent some idiot from destroying the world.”

”And speaking of research, that brings us to the script you have in your hands.”

”...”

Han Su’s spirits lifted. ”How so?”

”The Relic Academic Community divides the study of Mysterious Power into three stages. The core of the first stage is ’Imitation,’ the core of the second is ’Stealing,’ and the core of the third is ’Abyssal.’”

”But Abyssal is another matter entirely. It’s a taboo topic in the Relic Academic Community. Even my grandfather doesn’t have the clearance to access it. Anyone who dares touch it is either a genius or a madman.”

”Focusing just on the second stage, ’Stealing,’ countless branches and schools of thought have already emerged. Each has its own ideas and theories. There have been successes, but far more failures. As a result, many have grown disillusioned and have gradually lost confidence.”

”Damn it, right now we’re only trying to subjugate Beast Level or Clan Level entities. We rarely even encounter Faith Level aberrations...”

”So what are we supposed to use to subjugate the even higher-level ones?”

”As people grew more and more puzzled by this question, with no answer in sight, some began to seek answers from history. They believed in one theory: no matter how terrifying those aberrations may seem, one thing is certain.”

”The Emperor, after all, defeated those aberrations and ushered in the Age of Reconstruction.”

”So how did the Emperor win?”

”...”

”Yeah...”

Listening to Rong Qiyue, Han Su also realized what was, in fact, a very obvious question.

’Humanity won back then, giving the world over two thousand years of rebuilt civilization. But the key was *how* they won, wasn’t it?’

’From the selfish perspective of a rebuilt civilization, humanity forgetting the Emperor and the Twelve Knights who founded the Age of Reconstruction isn’t that important. But another question is crucial. We can forget *them*, but we can’t forget how they *won*...’

”It was precisely in the search for the answer to this question that this script re-entered the field of view of relic scholars.”

At this, Rong Qiyue put on a mysterious expression and said in a low voice:

”This script was actually discovered long ago, existing in various relics. And the closer the relics are to the Age of Reconstruction, the more of it you find.”

”But it doesn’t match the other items from the relics; you can clearly see it’s a completely different style.”

”Furthermore, the Emperor and his Twelve Knights are too mysterious. Many of the excavated relics have been confirmed to contain Mysterious Power far beyond imagination. So, some have speculated whether this is related to how the Emperor once defeated the Gods.”

”Perhaps the Emperor used this script to Steal—or subjugate—those anomalies. That might be how he rebuilt an era and forced the Gods, who already possessed all sorts of bizarre powers, to be relegated to the past.”

”However, too little of this script has been discovered and deciphered so far.”

”...”

Hearing this, Han Su’s brows furrowed tightly. ”So, you can’t identify it either?”

”I can still identify the few you gave me.”

Rong Qiyue sat up a little straighter, with the seriousness of someone undergoing a test. He said, ”This script shows a trend of being kept more and more secret, but in the very beginning, some of it was made public.”

”I compared the script you gave me and found meanings like ’supreme’ and ’knowledge.’ If I were to translate it, it would be ’Supreme Knowledge,’ or...”

He paused, then said in a low voice, ”The Emperor’s Book!”

”!”

Han Su’s mind suddenly sharpened. Those simple two words seemed to instantly part a great deal of the fog in his mind.

Pondering this, he asked seriously, ”Then how can I learn more about this, or, how can I verify it?”

”It’s very difficult!”

Hearing this, Rong Qiyue slowly shook his head. ”To understand this area of knowledge, you either have to enter a Hidden School, produce all sorts of extraordinary research, and eventually be noticed by some big shots who will send you to a higher-level Hidden Knowledge Hall.”

”But that’s very difficult. Even my grandfather couldn’t do it. Another way is to go through a Mysterious Organization, for example... the Crystal Skull Organization.”

This was a huge surprise to Han Su. ”What do they have to do with it?”

”The Crystal Skull is a unique organization.”

Rong Qiyue let out a soft breath and said, ”They share knowledge and have the ability to download memories, so their members don’t fear death. But none of that is important. The most incredible thing about the Crystal Skull is that they possess a Crystal Skull excavated from a relic.”

”This skull contains countless hidden secrets from history. Perhaps within it lies the explanation for this script.”

”That original Crystal Skull is essentially an encyclopedic library of the Mysterious World.”

Han Su frowned. That was also something very difficult to achieve.

”As for the third option...”

Rong Qiyue paused here, as if steeling himself before saying it. ”Secret experiments!”

Han Su was surprised. ”Experiments?”

”Yes!”

Rong Qiyue said, ”The Emperor’s Script’s ability to suppress aberrations isn’t just speculation. Multiple experiments have confirmed that applying the Emperor’s Script can twist the fate of a Stealing attempt that was on the verge of failure.”

”Therefore, when a person feels the will of a mysterious source influencing them, they can also feel the effect that this Emperor’s Script can have.”

”As for the voice of a mysterious source, you can naturally hear it when you are Stealing Mysterious Power.”

”The more you Steal, the more you hear.”

”...”

”...”

”Speaking of promotion to the second stage, I’m a suitable candidate, but I’ve hit a bottleneck...”

’Of the three methods Rong Qiyue mentioned, mysterious ascension is the most suitable for me.’

’After all, I am indeed facing the problem of promotion.’

’But right now, I have no clue about my training for the second stage...’

As he was thinking, he raised his hand to check the time. He’d been out for an hour already, and he didn’t know when Red Sea Studio would make a move. Not wanting to waste any more time, he said to Rong Qiyue, ”Let’s put that aside for now. Are the conditions for you to appraise the mysterious items ready yet?”

Rong Qiyue turned his head to look. The devices in the four corners of the warehouse were already in place, and the workers had withdrawn. He stood up and activated the device first.

He took some measurements with a few instruments, then returned to Han Su and said, ”It’s ready.”

”Bro, take the stuff out and let me see!”

”...”

Han Su nodded, took his briefcase, and removed the pair of Glasses and the Pocket Watch from inside.

When Rong Qiyue saw that the two items were just stuffed in the case without any protective measures, his expression froze in astonishment. But considering the man before him was his ”big bro,” he managed to hold his tongue.

He rolled up his sleeves, put on a pair of special gloves, and carefully picked up the Pocket Watch...

...Relatively speaking, the Pocket Watch looked more like a mysterious item. The Glasses, at least on the surface, looked far too ordinary.

”Hmm?”

Holding the Pocket Watch, Rong Qiyue looked it over twice, his voice tinged with doubt.

Then his eyes widened slightly. ”Oh?”

A moment later, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. ”HOLY SHIT!”

Han Su, watching from the side, had a strange expression on his face. ”What the hell is all that racket about...”