Eldritch Horror Theatre

”The sun—or the Wheel That Cannot Be Looked Upon—has been an indispensable symbol ever since humanity developed consciousness. Naturally, this was no exception before the Long Night.”

Shangjing, afternoon, a small street-side shop.

Chief Yuan Shan of the Night Watchers had commandeered the shop owner’s seat, examining the sun flares slanting through the window from this exact perspective.

Though she wasn’t speaking with impassioned fervor, her voice carried an unprecedented solemnity in that moment as she murmured historical secrets in a low tone.

The Wheel That Cannot Be Looked Upon? It really was a rather fitting description.

Fu Qian naturally listened in silence, offering a slight nod.

Her words even reminded him of a certain item in his possession called the Pseudo-God Incarnation. When he acquired it, it had come with a note: It is not only a Deity who can look directly upon a Deity.

”And the name you asked me about,” she continued, ”seems tightly bound to this concept.”

”Eckhart... Pure Gold, the Ancient One—he actually has more than one title. Rumor has it that at the end of the Mythological Era, he was an extremely prestigious Sun Apostle, and a devoutly pious one at that.”

Chief Yuan proved quite reliable when she actually got down to business. She clearly remembered his aliases, rattling off several titles in quick succession.The Ancient One...

Fu Qian remembered that particular title even more clearly.

During his mission in the Realm of Bliss, the Warehouse had directly referred to the target by that exact name.

That single term alone powerfully proved the accuracy of Chief Yuan’s intelligence.

”Good work. Your efficiency is much higher than I imagined.”

However, Fu Qian didn’t immediately mention his own findings, choosing instead to first praise her competence.

His phrasing might have sounded a bit sarcastic at first glance, but they had been causing chaos in Shangjing together for quite a while now. Fu Qian trusted Chief Yuan wouldn’t have such a pointless misunderstanding.

...

”It’s higher than I imagined, too.”

It turned out Chief Yuan’s thick skin was also battle-tested. Shaking her head with a soft sigh, she only showed a sense of the impermanence of worldly affairs, without any intention of taking the credit.

”I originally thought my teacher would need some time to reply.”

The slight oddity in her earlier wording hadn’t just been Fu Qian overthinking things after all.

It sounded like Chief Yuan had dragged her teacher, Henry, into this again.

”How shameful of me, disturbing the old man’s peaceful retirement again. Is he doing alright?”

Sighing softly, Fu Qian couldn’t help but recall the condition of the retired Tier 2 Night Watcher at the end of their last meeting.

”He’s already started going to the Church again. Don’t worry about it.”

Yuan Shan had obviously recalled the exact same events. Her teacher and the man sitting across from her had built a friendship forged through conflict, leading to that utterly chaotic final scene... Even now, looking back on it felt surreal to her.

”Actually, my teacher asked about you a few times afterward, but I didn’t tell him too much...

”Even this time, I only told him that because of the recent string of incidents, I was looking into some ancient history and had stumbled upon a name.”

She was quick to emphasize that she had strictly adhered to confidentiality protocols, even with her own teacher.

”I appreciate his regard. I’ll pay him another visit when I have the time.”

Fu Qian nodded. During their last experience in the Sacred Night Capital, even though he hadn’t excessively or violently beaten the old senior, Old Man Henry’s final condition had still been somewhat severe.

Given the old man’s broad-mindedness, he probably wouldn’t hold a grudge over it, but a little curiosity was just human nature.

After all, during their first true meeting, the old man had even been curious about his business plans and whether he knew how to drive.

...

”You really don’t have to force yourself...”

Unfortunately, even though Fu Qian spoke politely, Yuan Shan’s brows visibly furrowed.

They might have had some friction in the past, but she wasn’t actually worried they would start fighting again if they met.

On the contrary, given that both of them were somewhat unhinged, the prospect of them meeting and not fighting gave her an even bigger headache just thinking about it.

”Anyway, my teacher replied to my message incredibly quickly,” she said. ”He emphatically stressed that the ’sun’ of the Mythological Era had indeed fallen long ago, which meant Eckhart’s act of sacrificing himself for his faith wasn’t quite as foolish in comparison.”

Clearly unwilling to dwell on her headache-inducing hypothetical scenario, Yuan Shan firmly forced the conversation back on track, quickly detailing how she had gathered the intelligence.

”So what’s a more foolish act?” Fu Qian asked. ”Martyring yourself for your religion, only to find out the object of your faith isn’t actually dead?”

Her phrasing had undeniably piqued his interest.

”Yes. In the face of death, things are far from fair between Gods and humans. They can go mad or fall into a deep slumber, but they rarely ever dissipate completely.”

Yuan Shan’s answer was crisp and direct.

”But the Wheel That Cannot Be Looked Upon fell completely, without any risk of recovery?”

A higher entity symbolized by the sun—no matter their specific honorific name—was indeed an extremely classic concept.

Even during his recent trip to the Nightmare Corridor, he had met the Inner Persuader—the prisoner with the most beautiful mental state—and one of His lines had left a deep impression on Fu Qian: ’The moon is not just a moon, but ignorance is truly ignorance.’

Setting aside the philosophical implications for the moment, the significance behind the disappearance of the sun and the moon during the Long Night had indeed given Fu Qian some deeper insights.

Theoretically, the sun and moon were just two celestial bodies, elevated to an exaggerated status solely because of the limitations of human perception.

So why was it that during the Long Night, while the Stars continued to twinkle, the absence of just those two meant the apocalypse?

The answer was simple: the moon had long surpassed the mere concept of a lunar sphere.

Just look at the Lightless Darkness that the Witch had conjured with her own hands.

The on-site assessment at the time was that it was the direct manifestation of the universe’s dark side, existing beyond the unknowable event horizon.

And the Witch had casually tossed out three of those attacks without even blinking, completely scaring off a certain higher entity from ever acting crazy again.

From that perspective, whatever was represented by the title of ”sun” seemed to be far more than just a giant fireball of light and heat.

”Absolutely no risk of recovery. My teacher said he was very certain about this. Even among the upper echelons of the Council, it is an undisputed fact.”

Yuan Shan nodded firmly.

”And that is exactly where Eckhart was most fortunate. As one of the most devout members of his sect, he chose to end his own life when he received no response... Yet the higher entity didn’t ignore him out of malice, but because they truly couldn’t respond.”

Fu Qian got the distinct feeling she was parroting someone else’s tone with that last sentence, once again sensing Old Man Henry’s absolute conviction in this view.

”What, do you think there’s still room for doubt?”

Yuan Shan misinterpreted his silence as disagreement and couldn’t help but ask.

No, I’m actually very firmly convinced of it too—because the Lord of Heaven is no longer here.

Fu Qian thought to himself, though he proceeded to raise a question anyway.

”But back then with Ariel, didn’t we see the sun’s Descent upon his body with our own eyes?”