Eldritch Horror Theatre

He seemed to understand now why driving was a requirement to enter.

Even though it was far behind him now, the urging to ”turn back” still carried through the air.

Unfortunately, such persuasion was clearly useless against an addict like Fu Qian. The only things limiting his speed were his physical wounds—and the road conditions.

Regardless of his cheerful banter, his being on the verge of dropping dead was never an exaggeration.

Thus, every second counted along the way; he couldn’t afford to waste any time.

But as he gradually approached the Sanctuary, the vehicle’s speed inevitably slowed.

The reason was glaringly obvious: the oozing secretions on the road surface.

The further he drove, the stickier the ground became, its viscosity visibly increasing to the naked eye.

What had started as a mere visual shock quickly escalated into genuine physical resistance against his forward momentum.

In Fu Qian’s view, without this vehicle, even in peak condition he might not have had the strength to walk from the checkpoint to the finish line.Even so, his current driving experience was quite miserable.

There was obviously a hierarchical distribution at play here: the closer to the Sanctuary he got, the more severe the secretion became.

Accompanying the increasing viscosity was that distinct sweet fragrance.

It was so potent that even sitting inside the car, Fu Qian had to constantly expend effort to suppress the urge to tear the wound on his heart further open.

Moreover, the scenery outside was changing. The ”coral reefs,” for instance, not only grew taller but became increasingly translucent and lustrous, taking on a fragile texture that looked ready to burst at a single touch.

It seemed as though merely piercing a small hole would cause pus to gush out.

Of course, as the saying went, one should always look on the bright side.

Such road conditions might be slow to traverse, but at least there was little risk of getting a flat tire—and besides, he had already arrived.

At that moment, a different visual style emerged in Fu Qian’s somewhat blurry vision.

Amidst a brilliant array of colors, a familiar structure loomed. It was none other than the White-Headed Sanctuary he had visited more than once.

Except this time, its flawless, pure white exterior walls were completely overgrown with patches of ”coral.”

Under this intense visual contrast, there was a profound sense of endless desecration—of holiness fallen from grace—dropping a bomb right into the already irresistible pleasure.

......

So, the Mind Space from earlier really was a secularized mirror image of this place?

It was indeed highly impactful. In that moment, Fu Qian could feel his will blooming into gorgeous flowers, yet neither his vehicle nor his thoughts stopped.

At this point, he could practically confirm that this was his true destination.

And regarding the nature of the Mind Space from earlier, he could seemingly draw a relatively reliable conclusion as well.

It appeared that both that place and those specially invited guests were essentially the means the Warehouse used to provide assistance.

Unable to send him directly to this place, it had to resort to such a roundabout method.

By creating a scene, it translated everything into common elements, then had Professor Fu engage in self-refutation within it.

Only by seeing through the paradox and breaking past his own limits could he arrive at this true destination.

The ladies were both the obstacles in realizing this process and its indispensable aids.

He had to admit, it strongly felt like a cliché case of curing his own mental illness.

Considering that the Warehouse could throw him directly into places like Akons, the Burial Ground of the Gods, and the barriers deep within the human psyche, the probability that this place was the ”outsiders forbidden” sea of mind was even greater.

So Excellency Stomach had staked out a plot of land in the sea of mind? Wasn’t that a bit too resourceful?

After all, according to previous research conclusions, even native higher entities seemed to be naturally repelled by this place. Screech—

At that moment, Fu Qian finally stepped on the brakes, stopping in front of the familiar building.

......

Not bad. The doors weren’t even locked.

The closer he got to his destination, the greater the pressure of self-control became.

However, the moment Fu Qian opened the door and got out of the car, he once again found a comforting piece of news.

It was the exact same door as the one at the Dark Sanctuary, and he could see it was already open by a crack.

This would undoubtedly save a lot of effort, although he had already scrounged up some lock-picking tools in the car on the way over.

Creak—

Fu Qian didn’t stand on ceremony. After slowly climbing the steps, he leaned his battered body against the door, inching it open.

[Task updated. Desecrate the Primeval Beacon of Father’s Amnion]

......

Oh?

Almost simultaneously, the notification of successfully completing the phase one task arrived.

Given his earlier deductions, this clearly no longer counted as a surprise to Fu Qian.

What he found deeply intriguing was the content of this next step.

First was this title... this was Excellency Stomach’s Sanctuary.

Father’s Amnion—could this be the honorific name of his old friend?

He had to admit it was a bit sinister, but mulling it over, it somewhat matched that entity’s style.

Additionally, compared to various ”Kings” or ”Lords,” the title ”Amnion” was undeniably quite unique.

So much so that it almost instantly made him wonder what the preceding ”Father” referred to.

Beyond that, there was the content of this new task.

Desecrate the beacon? It sounded like the theme of this task was akin to sneaking in to raid the enemy base.

After so long, was the Warehouse finally being considerate for once, handing him a job that relied on opportunism?

With his thoughts racing, Fu Qian marveled as he took in the scene inside the Sanctuary.

Long tables and draped curtains—it was the classic layout of the White-Headed Sanctuary, complete with that identical sense of purity that purged all worldly desires.

At the same time, the spot where the Emblem should have been was neither completely empty like at the Dark Sanctuary, nor was it simply an enlarged version of the Finger Orb he had seen before.

This time, the Statue actually featured a specific human figure.

At a glance, there was unexpectedly a female figure with hair almost as long as her body, lying completely sprawled across a massive orb made of fingers.

Even the giant fingers that composed the orb were growing directly out of her body.

So everything he had seen before was an abstracted version, and this was the complete form?

Excellency Stomach was even conceptually female?

Faced with such a sight, even Fu Qian clicked his tongue in wonder.

Meanwhile, time waited for no one. He had already dragged himself step by step to the front of the Statue.

So... how should he go about desecrating it?

From this angle, he had to admit the visual impact was even stronger.

Even on that half-profile looking down from above, though her eyes were tightly shut, she still brimmed with pure holiness.

It was a sharp contrast to Excellency Stomach’s usual style, making it impossible to muster even the slightest urge to desecrate her.

But as everyone knew, Professor Fu often accidentally behaved in ways that were decidedly less than ”human.”

Gauging the height, he reached out his hand the next moment and performed an action that perfectly fit the persona of his current task, flirtatiously pinching the Statue’s chin with two fingers.

[Current task completed. Designation 1-330 Containment successful]