The Eldritch Files

He just couldn’t bring himself to bow his head.

Han Su simply couldn’t revere them as Gods!

No matter what others said about them, he had always fought them, escaped them, and even managed to injure them.

’I can’t be devout toward my own opponent!’

And as Han Su realized this, he immediately felt an indescribable shudder.

A sharp, tearing sensation started on the back of his left hand.

It was as if some active will within his body was rejecting him, boring its way toward the back of his left hand. He couldn’t lie to himself. The moment he resisted this entity, the Copper’s Will began to distance itself from him as well.

...

...

”Success!”

Beneath the Mother Divine Tree, Bai Shi stared intently at Han Su. He sensed the strange spiritual fluctuations emanating from Han Su’s body and saw the copper-colored blood on the ground around him. It was as if an invisible force was pushing the blood away, repelling it.

An ecstatic joy filled his heart.

All his risks and all his madness were finally about to pay off.

’I’m finally going to get what’s mine.’

His long tongue licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with greed. All the copper-colored blood around Han Su’s body fell under his control once more, transforming into sharp copper spikes that closed in.

Meanwhile, a bright, copper-colored substance began to rapidly seep out from the Cross Copper Scar on the back of Han Su’s hand.

It was the Copper’s Will, the very essence of Copper, escaping Han Su’s body bit by bit.

In that moment, Bai Shi sensed the exalted nature of this Mysterious Power.

He was so thrilled he wanted to kneel and kowtow before this incomparably pure copper, to show it his devotion.

As if reaching for God himself, he slowly extended a finger, attempting to touch that brilliant gleam of copper.

But Han Su was completely unable to resist the copper’s departure. Without the Copper’s Will, he was reverted to his original state. Whether facing the corruption of the Mother Divine Tree or Bai Shi, his own power level was far too low. He was utterly helpless...

SWOOSH!

But just as Bai Shi was about to touch that streak of copper blood, Han Su’s eyes suddenly flew open.

The scene was so unnatural that even Bai Shi was startled, his body flinching back slightly.

But his greed for the copper snapped him back to his senses, and he lunged for Han Su’s hand without hesitation.

At the same time, the scattered copper blood on the ground, influenced by his Spiritual Power, returned to his command. Following his will, it all floated back into the air.

It twisted, changed, and solidified, growing points, thorns, and sharp, bladed edges. From all sides, the weapons took aim at Han Su, then suddenly converged.

The very power that had just protected Han Su had once again become a deadly threat.

But in that same instant, Han Su clenched his jaw and laboriously raised his hand.

Then, he began to chant in a low voice:

[I, as a God, issue this decree!]

[...]

Han Su’s voice was faint, almost inaudible, but the moment the words left his lips, they unleashed a tempest.

It was like a line of dominoes being pushed over, only for the last one to topple entire mountains.

An invisible force descended. The air filled with what sounded like ancient whispers and prayers. Space itself seemed to tear open, and a divine gaze fell from the heavens. The power on the back of his hand, which had been trying to escape, was suddenly and forcibly held in place.

At that moment, Han Su’s Spiritual Activity surged to a new peak.

This surge in Spiritual Activity even allowed him to finally reach a new understanding of the Fishing Song he had chanted so many times.

’This Fishing Song isn’t ”The Gods issue a decree!” It has two more words.’

[I] [as]

’It is I who issues a decree TO the Gods!’

’It was the same when facing the Copper’s Will. I don’t need to bow to you to earn your approval.’

’But I will take your power, your weapons, your very being. I want YOU to kneel and obey MY decree!’

In an instant, everything changed. Han Su flipped his left hand over, grabbing Bai Shi’s palm. The next moment, the endless copper spikes that had been aimed at him all flipped around in mid-air, now pointing, one by one, at the stunned Bai Shi.

The monster’s voice rose in a sharp, crazed shriek. ”Impossible! How can this be...?”

...

”Nothing’s impossible...”

Facing Bai Shi’s uncomprehending fury, Han Su felt the power of the surrounding copper respond to his every whim.

A strange epiphany bloomed in Han Su’s mind. ’Or rather, this is how it was always meant to be!’

Chanting the Fishing Song just now had been a purely instinctive reaction.

He hadn’t actually understood its meaning before he said it, so he couldn’t have predicted the outcome.

From past experience, chanting the Fishing Song had always resulted in a massive boost to his Spiritual Activity. But now his own Activity had already reached the level of the Divine Forbidden Area, so that particular advantage was no longer as significant.

But now, he had discovered the Fishing Song’s true power.

He hadn’t chosen the path of the Mysterious Organization, which was to submit to the power of copper.

Theoretically, as long as he refused to submit, he could never become the true Heir and enter the domain of copper.

And yet, the Fishing Song had let him in anyway.

And unlike the temporary boost to his Spiritual Activity he’d gotten before, this effect was permanent. He was in, and he was in to stay.

He even, acting on instinct, grasped the different concepts between the tiers of Mysterious Power that Miss Crow had once described to him:

Tier One: Activity, Penetration, Transformation.

Tier Two: Understanding, Stealing, Mastery.

The final goal of Tier One was the Life Code. Perceiving the existence of the Life Code meant completing the final step of Tier One and crossing the threshold into Tier Two.

The first step after crossing that threshold was Understanding. This could be interpreted as understanding the nature of a Mysterious Power, or as achieving a preliminary resonance with it. In any case, only with this foundation could one consider the next step: ”Stealing.”

The Mysterious Organization’s path to Understanding was the most straightforward: worship and devotion.

But now, Han Su had used the Fishing Song to achieve ”Understanding” through a completely different method.

To put it simply:

’You kneel. I have a favor to ask.’

...

...

Han Su didn’t have time to think too deeply. His entire being was filled with this overwhelming power. He slowly clenched his left fist, and the copper cross emerged on the back of his hand. In response, the dense power of copper howled through the air, descending upon Bai Shi.

The tables had turned. A moment ago, Bai Shi had Han Su suppressed; now, Han Su was suppressing Bai Shi.

Han Su didn’t know what other abilities Bai Shi possessed, but he understood one thing: at least in the domain of copper, he would not lose. He could even, if he wished, summon the Living Copper Puppet all the way from Dingxiang Mansion.

’But that would cause too much of a stir. Plus, the distance is too great, and it would consume too much Spiritual Power. Better not.’

’Spiritual Range is still my greatest weakness at the moment.’

”You stole my things, and now you’re using them to bully me?”

Bai Shi shrieked in fury, his eyes burning with jealousy.

He refused to concede defeat. At first, he still tried to fight Han Su in the domain of copper, to prove his superiority.

But reality quickly and cruelly crushed that notion. He couldn’t feel any response from the surrounding power of ”copper.”

He desperately tried to pull his hand back, but Han Su held his wrist firm. Without a moment’s hesitation, Bai Shi severed his own hand and shot backward, his form like a white Ghost.

But the copper blood pursued him like a rain of bullets. He couldn’t dodge, couldn’t resist. As it tore into his body, his golden wig was knocked to the ground, revealing a bald head.

What struck him as an even greater blow, however, was seeing the copper blood now floating back to circle around Han Su.

He felt the vast Copper’s Will gathering around Han Su, and intense pangs of jealousy stabbed at his heart.

’I can’t get it back...’

He could clearly feel that the Copper’s Will had fused with Han Su. He would never be able to take it back. Even the copper within his own body was being influenced by this new will, giving him the urge to kowtow and worship Han Su.

’How is this possible? This is blasphemy!’

He now had to frantically use his own Spiritual Activity just to suppress the power of ”copper” within his own body.

Han Su saw his bald head, and his brow twitched.

Bai Shi’s head, just like Pot Lid Head’s, was a web of crisscrossing cracks, as if it had been pieced together.

”Are those... the marks from when they tortured you?”

Meeting Han Su’s gaze, Bai Shi suddenly realized what he was looking at. He abruptly clutched his head, seemingly terrified of anyone seeing it.

Unlike Pot Lid Head, who just left his head out in the open for anyone to see.

”No! This isn’t what I look like...”

He roared in fury. The Spiritual Power around him radiated chaotically, slicing and tearing through the air. His gaze, fixed on Han Su, was a vicious storm of conflicting emotions—at times venomous and resentful, at others jealous and full of awe.

The intense, chaotic emotions made the air feel dangerously oppressive.

The power of copper he commanded had been completely suppressed, if not stripped away entirely, but a bizarre, twisted Spiritual Power still churned in his eyes.

His own intrinsic power level was terrifyingly high. Even with the complete Copper’s Will, if he and Han Su were to truly fight without restraint, the outcome would be uncertain.

But Han Su’s voice was sincere as he looked at Bai Shi and said quietly, ”But I don’t want to kill you. I want to talk.”

Bai Shi knew he was powerful. He even knew that if he just charged forward and truly fought Han Su, he might well be able to pin the man down and finally get his revenge for what happened ten years ago.

But for some reason, the sight of Han Su standing like an emperor amidst the swirling copper blood filled him with a boundless fear. The fear was agonizing. He suddenly let out a great Howl and charged toward the Mother Divine Tree.

”You’re a thief! A thief! You stole my things and used them to bully me...”

”But I won’t fall for it this time...”