Chapter 2349: Bane of Those Denied Godhood

[Task Evaluation: Undertaker]

It had all ended with unusual brutality, yet far more swiftly than expected.

Fu Qian only had time to offer the Old Man a brief glance of remembrance before finding himself back in the Warehouse a moment later.

True to its word, the latter hadn't helped him recover a single drop of blood.

Perhaps as compensation, however, the Warehouse delivered a rather imposing evaluation while Fu Qian silently assessed his injuries.

[Years later, as Kadon Dickens lay on a torn mattress, he naturally recalled the night his father had lain there.

As a somewhat withdrawn young man, Kadon had never talked much with his parents.

And by that day, he had already lost the chance to ever speak with his mother again.

Mister Dickens, uneasy about leaving him alone, had chosen to bring him to the remote countryside—only to leave him by himself there anyway.

Kadon couldn't sleep that night. He merely kept trying to detach himself from his current identity—a practice he was well accustomed to for achieving inner peace.

Even if a fiery invitation had made the act far more difficult that day.

Ultimately, at a certain moment, Kadon broke his promise and left the room, carefully avoiding his father.

Yet the more he did so, with every step he took, he found the scene in the next room growing clearer in his consciousness.

By the time he sat in the car, he could already picture his father's hideous face, and even the frantic longing in his mind—but it was meaningless.

Kadon knew clearly that it was merely a mortal's delusion. Hesitating over whether to go wake him, he felt an unprecedented sense of pleasure.

His long-standing habits of thought brought him Transcendent Tier feedback in that moment.

Ultimately, he derived intense pleasure from refusing to help, refusing to attend the appointment, refusing to accept guidance... even refusing his own desire for sleep.

Thousands of nights passed, and Kadon rapidly grew old. Amidst his continuous self-detachment, he knew he was drawing ever closer to a transformation.

Yet, when the end was right before his eyes, he grew terrified.

It wasn't merely confusion over what his true self was, but rather the sensation that he was unleashing some sort of horror, and was powerless to stop it—yet he still chose to stop it.

Drafting a crude Checklist, Kadon decided to walk backward along the path he had come, dying in the process of becoming himself.

Fortunately, though this was just an impractical delusion of his, he received a helping hand from you.

In the final moments of his life, Kadon was already a withered mortal corpse, yet because of this, he managed to seal the name of a higher entity.]

[Killed: The Redeemed One]

[Reward: SAN Value +30]

[Special Reward: Bane of Those Denied Godhood]

[Current SAN Value: 215]

[Play event recap?]

...

Oh? I really killed it?

The task summary this time was rather detailed. After hearing it, he almost felt able to recreate that extraordinary night.

His earlier deductions regarding what Old Man Kadon had actually been trying to do were now confirmed.

It wasn't just about making up for his life's regrets on his deathbed; he had wanted to defy the heavens with a Mortal Body.

He had despised not only the Transcendent Tier power he bore, but even the entity behind it.

Of course, this had been faintly hinted at earlier. What was truly shocking was the final line. Was the "Him" behind that power actually dead?

When the reverse Power of Calamity had detonated earlier, it had felt a bit unusual.

But the damage he had suffered was enough to prove that the power behind the righteous one was extraordinary, squarely at the level of a higher entity.

The approach to the task had always been very clear. The Warehouse might have only required him to kill the righteous one to buy the Old Man enough time to sleep.

But with such a special case, Fu Qian had been unwilling to let the opportunity slip by easily. He had decided to seek deeper contact.

His specific method had been to let the opponent strike first, risking a chunk of his Health Bar to land a counter-grab.

So you're telling me that while the opponent dealt explosive damage in a single strike, they also blew up instantly in the face of mine?

That's a bit too counterintuitive.

However, the kill list below, along with the full ten extra points of SAN Value gained, really seemed to support this claim.

It was worth noting that across so many tasks, even the explicitly killed God of Clamor Hamadus had only yielded a single-digit SAN Value reward.

Perhaps... it's because it knocked off too much of my Health Bar?

Looking down at his mangled hand, Fu Qian thought of a possible explanation.

Although giving it an opening was a factor, striking off such a massive chunk of my Health Bar in one hit—could that be a high-risk, high-reward situation?

He had noted earlier that the righteous one's move against him was something far more unique than mental parasitism.

Even if the Universal Condemnation technique was its ultimate supreme version, to draw upon the power of a genuine higher entity and achieve the effect of a projection striking the main body, it likely required some mechanism of deep connection.

And this same mechanism had also strengthened his counterattack, ultimately leading to this exaggerated kill achievement.

...

That makes some sense, but it's still shocking.

Obliterated body and soul in a single strike. Honestly, such fragile contenders are rare.

But regardless, it seems I've received a special reward for slaying a God?

Clicking his tongue in marvel, Fu Qian turned his gaze to his other hand.

[Name: Bane of Those Denied Godhood]

[Type: Special Item]

[Bane of the righteous one, the Black Dream of the one denied birth.

A comical mask with exaggerated micro-expressions. Despite its widely grinning mouth, it seems to be suppressing itself with all its might. When you meet its gaze, you can almost feel the deep anxiety within.

It is said that the righteous one is the youngest kin of a Deity. Yet, the Deity who was supposed to endow them with the meaning of birth ultimately failed to be born themselves.

This shattered perfection condensed into a mask worthy of ridicule. Anyone who wears it will have their destiny tainted by The Redeemed One's Black Dream.

It is not a true dream; it merely draws you onto an invisible path.

Although broken and ominous, it is a true path to becoming a Deity.]

[Note: That is false, that is true, that is Him, that is me.]

...

This seems even more shocking.

Fu Qian weighed the object in his hand.

It wasn't heavy. With its red-and-white color scheme, it really did look like a clown mask.

And apart from the micro-expressions mentioned earlier, it did seem rather ordinary at first glance.

Moreover, although the description was somewhat obscure, it wasn't hard to draw a conclusion: a certain contender who was supposed to stand at the absolute peak of the Transcendent Tier had truly been crushed to death by his own hands.

And His honorific name is The Redeemed One?

Honestly, it doesn't sound very domineering. It has a completely different vibe compared to titles like Tyrant.

Furthermore, as a special reward, it doesn't seem as exaggerated as the God-Slaying Power—no, it's actually even more exaggerated.

This is the power to become a God.

If I'm not misunderstanding, as long as I put this on, I'll automatically enter a God-ascension ritual.