Eldritch Horror Theatre

Is it really the concept of Heaven?

Amid that rather overbearing assessment, Fu Qian sat firmly in his seat within the Warehouse.

He felt a trace of genuine amazement at his newly acquired title.

The name ”Realm of Bliss” easily brought to mind the general mythological concept of a post-death Heaven.

Except, everything he had seen and heard inside carried a bizarrely hormone-fueled undertone. Yet here it was, certified as Heaven by the Warehouse?

Of course, these were just details, and they did not delay Fu Qian from first conducting a quick psychological self-assessment.

This situation had been different from the rest; a psychological workplace injury was entirely possible.

Although his successful skull-crushing suicide at the end proved his teetering willpower had not actually collapsed, it never hurt to be cautious.

The assessment result was perfectly healthy.

It was not that his mind was wiped completely clean of those filthy thoughts, but rather that they had lost their supernatural backing. They could no longer exert the slightest influence on his ”self.”Truly an exhilarating tempering process. The Warehouse was reliable after all.

Stroking his head and savoring the recalled sensation of his brains erupting, Fu Qian felt deeply satisfied that he had used a work opportunity to experience a bout of Ecstasy with zero side effects.

However, smashing his own head in at the end had served more than just that one purpose.

Perhaps he had only achieved a certain degree of resonance with the Realm of Bliss at the end, but he had relied on the Stomach’s power to do so. Theoretically, the possibility of helping It erode the realm still existed.

While the mission results showed everything was entirely within the Warehouse’s control, his proactive suicide should have minimized any chance of the Stomach reaping benefits.

Often, the self-proclaimed pure ones were the most troublesome. With a stubborn entity like that, there was virtually zero chance of reconciliation. Seizing every opportunity to weaken It was the only proper course of action.

Fully satisfied, Fu Qian finally focused on listening to the mission summary.

[A post-death Heaven does indeed exist, though the standards for entry may not match many legends.

But that does not matter. Any lucky soul who opens their eyes there will quickly find a reason to justify why they ascended to Heaven.

However, among the countless souls who have resided there peacefully over the millennia, none had a reason as clear as Ancient One Eckhart’s.

During that seemingly endless dark night, refusing to believe he had been abandoned by a great entity, he chose to end his own life in a gamble, and wept tears of joy the moment he truly woke up in Heaven.

Unfortunately, some things inevitably fade. In the ensuing years, he failed to find a single trace of the Lord of Heaven, encountering instead a devil that tempted human hearts.

As more and more new souls arrived, confirming that the catastrophe in the outside world had truly passed, he finally resolved to climb to the summit of Heaven.

If Heaven lacked a master, he would become its master.

Tragically, what Eckhart never realized was that he had already acquired a new master long before he ever entered this place.

Until a far more resolute will informed him of this fact in the final moments of his life.

The summit of Heaven is indeed empty, but Heaven remains Heaven. It does not need a new master.

Just as the souls that enter it no longer need a Church.

Now, there is no longer a Church there.]

[Kill Confirmed: Ancient One Eckhart]

[Reward: SAN Value +24]

[Special Reward: World Poison]

[Current SAN Value 161, Current inspiration 99]

[Play event recap?]

......

So this was what it meant when they said ”the painstaking person is not failed by heaven,” right?

As the mission summary concluded, Fu Qian felt nothing but admiration in that moment.

Eckhart... He had repeatedly asked His Excellency the Ancient One for his true name and been rejected every time, yet the mission summary had stirred up this slight ripple to reveal it.

Although it was an unfamiliar name, combined with certain information in the summary, it would still serve as a far more precisely positioned entry point.

He had walked through That Long Night thousands of years ago, was suspected to be a former member of the clergy, and had worshipped the master of Heaven... That was actually quite a lot of information.

Furthermore, that figure had indeed been corrupted by the Stomach long ago, yet foolishly believed he was hiding perfectly and heading toward a bright future.

And the true reason he had been assigned this mission was evidently that the Warehouse wanted to secure the purity of the Realm of Bliss—Heaven did not need a new master.

It had been stated quite bluntly.

Every ounce of effort the corrupted Eckhart had made was evidently just paving the way for Excellency Stomach. The pitiful fool had still been self-anesthetizing right up to the final moment, fantasizing that he could snatch back the initiative.

Now, however, the cleanup operation in Heaven had clearly been a massive success.

Not only had the hidden threat been eliminated, but the summary had explicitly stated that ”Heaven no longer needs a Church.” Did that mean Excellency Stomach had been unceremoniously kicked out?

Weren’t the results a little too good? By extension, this grudge had just grown even deeper.

In any case, with this name, he might be able to get more information from the Night Watchers later.

Things like his sect, identity, and life story... His object of worship had been the original Lord of Heaven, after all. That would be quite helpful in further understanding matters related to the Realm of Bliss.

In Fu Qian’s eyes, that place always gave off a very distinct vibe.

Not only was there a stark contrast in its aesthetic, but even this name was bizarre.

World Poison... He had actually used that exact term when giving pointers to Godot earlier.

Fu Qian located his special reward.

[Name: World Poison]

[Type: Consumable]

[Primordial Poison, Pleasure Beacon. This Holy Dagger is so fragile that it will shatter after a single use.

Striking any Divine Being with it will result in its destruction, while simultaneously polluting the target with your fundamental self and forging an unbreakable covenant.

It ignores Rank, ignores space-time, ignores death, and ignores rebirth.]

[Note: The surface bears no trace of any applied poison. Perhaps its very existence is the toxin itself.]

This......

Originally, Fu Qian merely felt the reward’s name was a bit mismatched in aesthetic. Since it was Heaven, shouldn’t the reward be a Hammer of Judgment, a Lightning Arrow, Holy Light Wings, or something similar? Yet, it had actually turned out to be a poison.

Looking at it now... it truly was toxic.

It truly lived up to a mission with such an exaggerated numbering. A consumable reward that could only be used once sounded a bit absurd at first, but looking closely at its effects, it would be truly absurd if it could be used more than once.

As long as he struck a Divine Being with it, he could forge an unbreakable covenant and corrupt the target with the concept of his ”self”... Wasn’t this just a portable, item-based covenant ritual?

He had wondered earlier if his identity as the King of the Abandoned Prison would allow him to pursue the covenant route later on, and now he had just been handed an instant shortcut to it.

This method was even more shameless than anything he had seen before. Those other entities at least had to rely on coaxing and manipulation, but this dagger left zero room for negotiation.

Truth be told, that wasn’t even the most exaggerated part. The ”four ignores” mentioned in its supplementary description were frighteningly absolute.

Ignoring Rank... Theoretically speaking, if he found the right opportunity, could he directly turn a higher entity into his personal tool god?

Fu Qian turned his head and stared at the Warehouse.