Eldritch Horror Theatre

The timeline was crucial. He had been guided to discover ”Eternity” even before he chose the Skin of the King of the Abandoned Prison.

With crimson filling his vision, Fu Qian sat upon his ruined throne.

He might have thought nothing of it before, but now that he could partially confirm the Blood Lake was actually connected to the Tyrant, the situation became terrifying upon deeper reflection.

On one hand, it was hard to believe this was a pure coincidence. On the other hand, Fu Qian didn’t think Blazing Rainbow harbored any goodwill toward him—playing the ruthless enemy on the surface while secretly serving as a guiding hand of destiny.

That entity had genuinely wanted to kill him. The only reason it had shifted to tricking him into swallowing Eternity was because its previously arranged cremation attempt had failed, forcing it to settle for the next best thing: permanently locking his potential.

So why did this coincidence exist? Was Blazing Rainbow somewhat curious about the Tyrant’s fall?

In that moment, a vague theory formed in his mind.

”The night and the nightmare are both too long.” This phrase had originally come from Blazing Rainbow.

And yet, despite this Ancient Higher Being arguably being in the best condition of any he had seen, it acted with extreme caution, as if it were constantly hiding from something.

Did it harbor doubts about certain events during the Long Night?Upon discovering the commotion he had caused, had it prepared a trap with suitable materials while trying to squeeze every drop of utility out of him, hoping to use his hands to uncover information?

Of course, fundamentally, it was trying to use the Warehouse’s hands.

His most unique trait remained his identity as an administrator. As long as he fell for the trap, it meant the Warehouse would be dragged into it.

...

From everything he had seen so far, the Warehouse’s authority was undoubtedly staggering.

Anchoring history and suppressing the gods.

To the extent that if the Warehouse had been one of the masterminds behind the Long Night, Fu Qian wouldn’t find it surprising at all.

And such an entity’s perspective and attitude toward certain matters would undeniably be valuable to Blazing Rainbow.

Even its very stance held value in itself—an Ancient Higher Being who had personally experienced the Long Night seemingly believed the Tyrant’s death might have been a key element of that great catastrophe.

Viewed from this angle, the gift Master Yuhun had given him seemed even weightier...

All in all, he seemed to have caught another glimpse of the unspeakable hidden motives of a higher entity.

And lastly, there was the mystery regarding the Phoenix.

The description for Eternal Lock had mentioned that it had once become poison for higher entities.

Considering its specific effects and the Dragon King’s precedent of blindly eating things, drinking poison to quench thirst and swallowing that thing wouldn’t be strange at all.

But if that were the case, combined with the scene where Eternity was discovered, a form reconstructed through it should logically have been a dragon, or at the very least some kind of lizard, right?

Yet it had turned directly into a bird?

Were the side effects so massive that they even altered its Mythical Form?

It sounded utterly absurd—but it was a cold, hard fact.

At that moment, Fu Qian reached out and scratched the back of his other hand as if to soothe an itch.

Because it really did itch a little.

Yet, upon this genuine body of a Deity, a faint red mark actually appeared.

Narrow, long, and slightly curved, it looked at first glance like an allergic reaction.

Moreover, agitated by the scratch, it rapidly turned a more vivid red and even developed specks of gold.

With the two colors accenting each other, the mark suddenly lost its resemblance to an allergy and instead looked exactly like a magnificent feather—the feather of a Phoenix.

He had swallowed far too much Crimson Frenzy, and an accumulation effect was finally surfacing.

Even this effect looked instantly familiar. It was exactly like the long feathers he had seen in the Blood Lake, suspected to belong to the Phoenix.

...

More magnificent, more exalted.

Given that it was condensing from the King of the Abandoned Prison, the visual impact was noticeably more shocking than back then.

Perhaps because it was a mechanical remade version, both its lines and textures possessed a peculiar sharpness, like a blade capable of tearing through anything.

And indeed, more and more blades were tearing through the Deity’s flesh to stretch further out.

His chest had not stopped devouring, and the rest of his body no longer needed to be scratched before more long feathers began sprouting in rapid succession.

A perfectly fine Mechanical Tyrant was transforming into the Star Lord of the Sun Rooster in the blink of an eye.

Of course, it wasn’t anything too extraordinary. Fundamentally, it was just the physical manifestation of Crimson Frenzy upon his body as a result of his gluttonous devouring.

Its greatest significance was further confirming his earlier suspicions regarding the Phoenix.

This curse of Crimson Frenzy, which supposedly had a deep connection to the Dragon King, actually had the Phoenix behind it...

It seemed highly necessary to find time for another visit.

At some point, Fu Qian let out a soft sigh as the large mouth on his chest licked its lips, thoroughly satisfied.

It was about time. Unfortunately, right up to the end, the throne remained completely empty, and no further elements related to the Dragon King had emerged on his body.

Furthermore, although the scene before him was becoming increasingly clear—to the point where he could even see the previously mentioned fleshy pillars—it ultimately seemed to be nothing more than an image. There was no way to directly link the two locations.

Under these circumstances, his harvest this time was already substantial. There was no need to blindly introduce the variables brought by the Umbilical Cord—he could save that for next time.

...

Experimental risks were unavoidable, but those risks had to hold value.

Fu Qian didn’t mind genuinely pushing the Umbilical Cord past its time limit, but he leaned more toward waiting until the Burial Scroll’s cooldown refreshed to conduct an extreme stress test with them together.

As he organized the gains from this trip in his mind, a brilliant radiance surged from his body the next moment, sweeping away the dense aura of decay before his eyes.

Commandment Residue.

Having fought one against four to a heroic end, that Ancient Tyrant had undoubtedly been awe-inspiring.

But when it came to keeping a high profile, it still fell a bit short of the mechanical remade version.

Take the scene right before his eyes, for instance—directly manifesting the phrase ”ruling over the world.”

Under that blinding radiance, the crimson hue that had steadfastly corroded this place was instantly overwhelmed, melting away at a rapid pace.

Of course, the thing truly taking effect was actually the visually imperceptible Decree of Return.

This overly low-profile skill, which possessed an equally superb purifying effect, had been immediately chosen by Fu Qian as his cleanup method.

As for why he activated Commandment Residue alongside it?

Very simple. It didn’t display enough imposing might. Only his current bearing felt just right.

”Hmph!”

Wearing an arrogant expression, his body now utterly devoid of any feathers, Fu Qian confirmed that the noxious auras had been swept completely clean before returning to the Warehouse in the next moment.

After ensuring the latter was emotionally stable, he casually tossed the Umbilical Cord aside and donned the Emissary once more.

...

Very good. A fruitful harvest.

The Laboratory remained empty in the afternoon, offering a sweeping view of tranquility perfectly suited for slacking off to one’s heart’s content.

However, Fu Qian—who had completed a dangerous test in a brief span of time—felt that compared to sleeping on the company dime, his academic gains were far more satisfying.

This trip to the Abandoned Prison not only quickly provided an explanation for Sunny’s earlier abnormalities, but it even faintly linked together many elements that originally seemed completely unrelated.

And while he marveled at the soaring dragon and phoenix, questions concerning the Burial Ground of the Gods were also laid out before him.

Just what kind of place was it? Why did it become like that? And what role did it play during the Long Night?

Behind these three heavy, fatal questions seemingly lay the deepest secrets of the entire world.

The comforting part was that he seemed to have finally found an entry point to investigate this secret.