Eldritch Horror Theatre

To look so fragile, yet become an eternal, indestructible cage once formed?

It truly lived up to the name of a Miracle.

Besides, if that statement were true, wouldn’t that mean there was more than one such cage drifting through the Ash Sea?

Like a literal ball pit?

Imagining the scene, Fu Qian marveled at the thought.

He didn’t care much about the cage aspect. After all, he was practically an escape expert himself.

The key point was Li Min’s claim that this Miracle was nothing new to the Ash Sea.

At first glance, all his efforts up to this point still seemed fruitless.

But as the first major change following his string of reckless actions, Fu Qian wasn’t about to easily rule out the possibility of a stress response.

”I think I get it. So, what happens if we just keep walking in one direction? Do we hit an unbreakable wall?” Fu Qian asked.”I asked my teacher the exact same question back then.”

Li Min fell silent for a few seconds, seemingly lost in a distant memory.

”Her answer was that the Shattered Crown isn’t actually a cage violently mashed together from individual fragments. Its true nature is that the concept of distance between all the trapped areas is twisted and erased, allowing you to step directly from one area into another.”

”So even if you keep walking in a single direction, you’ll just continuously cycle through these areas. There is no concept of a boundary.”

A miraculous spatial structure. It didn’t sound like something that could be easily brute-forced.

Fu Qian nodded thoughtfully.

”Did your teacher mention how to get out?”

”No... My teacher only collected data on it, after all.”

”But someone has made it out before.”

”Yes. Otherwise, this information wouldn’t have survived.”

Li Min sighed.

”It seems we can only carry that hope and figure it out ourselves.”

”Sounds like a lot of work.”

Fu Qian looked up at the sky.

”Good luck to both of you.”

...

Fu Qian’s parting blessing clearly caught both Rachel and Li Min by surprise.

To them, this Mister Fang might be bizarre and dangerous, but the way he had just granted that wish proved his overwhelming strength.

Trapped in a predicament like this, having such a powerful ally was ultimately a net positive.

Who could have expected him to just wash his hands of them and walk away without a second word?

”Mister Fang, if it isn’t too much trouble, could you take us with you? Rachel and I are in desperate need of your help.”

Li Min reacted decisively, asking for help straight away.

”I will do my utmost to share any information I know, and we will strictly follow your orders.”

...

Rachel hesitated at her friend’s proposal but ultimately held her tongue.

Ever since she acquired a literal external brain, her own mental activity had taken a noticeable dive, leaving her severely dependent.

She couldn’t say she liked the man at all, but her best friend clearly believed they had no chance of escaping on their own.

”You’re worried I’ll think you’re holding something back?”

Yet, to her surprise, Mister Fang stopped in his tracks and squinted back at them.

”Yes, but my offer was completely sincere.”

Facing the slightly eccentric question, Li Min was quick to answer.

”Good.”

His gaze wasn’t sharp, yet under his scrutiny, Rachel felt her body stiffen rapidly, goosebumps rising on her skin.

Fortunately, the scrutiny didn’t last long. He nodded with a much more easygoing demeanor than she expected, then turned and led the way.

”Let’s move, then.”

”Did he mean holding back a way out? Did you ask to tag along so he wouldn’t think we were keeping vital information to ourselves to escape on our own?”

Only then did Rachel realize the implication, whispering in shock.

”Yes. I didn’t want to invite trouble over a misunderstanding. Besides, I really don’t think we have much chance of escaping on our own.”

Li Min admitted freely.

Knowing a way out but refusing to share it—if a dangerous man like him suspected them of that, they would absolutely be the ones in trouble.

With her guess confirmed, a wave of belated fear washed over Rachel just as Li Min urged her on.

”Keep up. Let’s not keep Mister Fang waiting.”

...

”Mister Fang, why are you heading this way? Are you planning to...”

Urged by Li Min, Rachel hurried to catch up with Fu Qian, who was already walking ahead.

Seeing that he didn’t seem annoyed, she breathed a sigh of relief. But as she realized exactly which direction he was heading, she faltered for a moment before finally asking the question.

”To find transportation.”

He answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He really knows what’s over there...

Rachel fell silent.

The reason she had blurted out the question was that she had quickly realized they were heading in the exact direction she had come from—meaning, they were walking straight toward where the Poaching Collective had landed.

This Miracle known as the Shattered Crown had astonishingly swallowed up an entire section of the Floating Islands.

Under the current circumstances, Rachel obviously had no desire to bump into her former colleagues.

But since this man clearly had a set destination rather than just wandering aimlessly, she naturally had no room to argue.

Not to mention, he even had a perfectly sound justification: a boat.

...

Fu Qian, of course, didn’t need a boat.

If he wanted to, he could effortlessly skim across the water or swim through the waves with perfect ease.

His reason for heading toward the Poaching Squad was entirely simple: it was about time.

Between the earlier appearance of the Sea God and the Descent of this current Miracle, the members of the Poaching Squad had likely already grasped exactly how perilous their situation was.

From the very beginning, Fu Qian’s strategy had never changed: whenever he couldn’t uncover any distinct connections himself, he would apply extreme pressure, driving everyone else to gather anomalies so he could forcefully deduce the hidden links.

To him, the phrase ”exploring a Miracle” meant far more than taking a simple sightseeing tour.

Much to his relief, the largest group of ”volunteers” had clearly been swept up into this mess alongside them.

It was time to pull in the net for his first round of observation.

...

As it turned out, the Poaching Collective possessed a remarkably strong will to live.

Even from a distance, it was obvious that things had changed since he had left them. Nearly half of the men were crowded around the small landing boat they had beached, desperately trying to repair it.

It was a perfectly natural reaction.

Believing themselves to be at the edge of the Ash Sea, only to suddenly find themselves surrounded by endless grayish-white on all sides, the group’s need for a vessel had understandably skyrocketed.

They might all be Tide-Controlling Immortals, but none of them likely fancied the idea of taking a swim in the Ash Sea.

”Burning Ash?”

The group’s vigilance was running equally high. Facing two figures approaching without any attempt to hide themselves—along with Rachel, who had taken off her mask—Lane, already warned of their arrival, called a few men to his side and eyed them warily.

”Who is this? That bizarre phenomenon just now—was that your doing?”

”I hope so.”

Fu Qian gave a slight nod, replying with utmost politeness.