The Eldritch Files

Han Su’s vision blurred, and he felt as if he were about to pass out.

He forced his eyes open and took a long moment to steady himself.

Endless voices flooded his ears, pouring straight into his head. An indescribable discomfort welled up inside him.

After a long while, the sensation finally began to fade. Han Su tried to stimulate his own Activity again.

The results confirmed his suspicions:

His own Divine Material had become distinctly clearer and stronger than before, as if it had grown.

It was still pure, which was likely thanks to Han Su’s swift decision.

Even his Spiritual Activity had been tempered in the process, rising from 71% to 75%.

If he hadn’t been exposed to Li Moxi’s theories, Han Su would have been clapping his hands in excitement.

But now, his heart was filled with nothing but immense dread and lingering fear. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if he had just allowed himself to become engrossed in the Emperor’s Script.

’This Emperor’s Script is truly incredible. With it in hand, my advancement in the realm of Mysterious Power could skyrocket. The training others struggle to survive would become a mere formality for me, a process I could almost skip entirely.’

’But the script itself is also supremely bizarre. If I trained using this method, I would unwittingly become one of his believers, or even... a vessel for the Emperor’s Script...’

’...’

It was as if he had broken out in a cold sweat without realizing it. Han Su calmed himself slightly before turning to look at his briefcase.

The Emperor’s Book was inside.

Han Su was certain the book had changed.

He held his breath and carefully opened the briefcase.

He took out the black book. Its cover looked exactly the same, and when he opened it, it was still filled with all sorts of strange characters.

With a slight stir in his heart, Han Su activated his Divine Material. In an instant, the characters before him seemed to come to life, rearranging themselves.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Clear lines of text appeared on the book’s pages:

[Thirteen Mysterious Origins, Number 04—Pale]

[Origin: Northern Europe]

[Active Period: 37th–38th Century AD, Giant Dynasty]

[Description: The appearance of this anomaly has been confirmed to be related to a loss of control of the Flesh Proliferation System that emerged during the Radiation Age. However, the autonomous evolution of its hive life and the establishment of a spiritual anchor point have granted it unexpected stability...]

[...]

"Hm?"

Seeing these words, Han Su couldn’t help but be startled. Dread and elation appeared in his heart at the same time.

The dread came from the fact that his guess had been correct.

It had seemed like his Divine Material was Stealing the Mysterious Power, but in reality, it was the Emperor’s Script—or rather, the Emperor’s Book—that was Stealing that power. He was merely a medium.

The elation, on the other hand, came from the content revealed in the Emperor’s Book. Was it related to the Mysterious Power it had just come into contact with?

’Did it steal the Mysterious Power and then analyze the knowledge contained within?’

’Or perhaps the Emperor’s Book already contained the relevant knowledge, and contact with the Mysterious Power simply made it manifest?’

Of course, it seemed this content would only appear when it resonated with his Divine Material.

What was this, then?

’There are fingerprint passwords, iris-scan passwords, and voiceprint passwords... but the Emperor’s Book requires a password that uses Divine Material as the key?’

’In a way, doesn’t that make me the medium through which this knowledge enters reality?’

Han Su felt more and more that this book’s strangeness far surpassed his imagination. For now, he could only make a simple judgment.

He had been thinking about it the wrong way from the very beginning.

He didn’t need to recognize the Emperor’s Script or decipher its meaning character by character.

Because the script itself was a trace.

The trace of the Emperor’s past presence in this world!

The correct way to understand the Emperor’s Book was to be contaminated by it, just as many people came to understand mysterious things by being contaminated by Mysterious Power.

After pondering for a long time, he calmed down. Looking closely at the information, he noticed that the calendrical system and some of the terminology used were different from modern conventions, possessing a very ancient and dispassionate style.

He couldn’t understand all of it, but he could intuitively grasp the value of this information. His mind even involuntarily drifted to another document.

The report on the Pale Giant that he had managed to grab during the Mother Divine Tree incident.

That report was, in essence, the record of an experiment on the Mysterious Power codenamed "Pale."

Why did he feel like the two were somehow related?

For a moment, a thousand thoughts raced through Han Su’s mind. He could clearly recognize the book’s mysterious nature, as well as its danger. However, a book that could devour Mysterious Power and reveal unknown knowledge... its utility was simply too great.

Of course, Han Su never considered giving up the book. It was dangerous, to be sure, but he wasn’t in a position to refuse things that were dangerous yet useful.

Besides, in the Mysterious Circle, what wasn’t dangerous?

Li Moxi had already made great strides in the kidnapping case, and Han Su had a feeling that he would soon be coming face-to-face with those highly ambitious people. He couldn’t afford to not have a few trump cards up his sleeve.

Therefore, he had to use it, even knowing the danger. At the very least, he first needed to understand the Mysterious Power he possessed and then use that knowledge to enhance his own Divine Material.

As for the risks... wasn’t that just the price he had to pay for chasing after these things?

’And then there’s the Fishing Song...’

’That Spell exhibited too much high-level divinity. And now, it can even resonate with the Emperor’s Book...’