Eldritch Horror Theatre

She had been piecing together fragments at home in her spare time, and the moment she finished, the thing actually came to life and interacted with her.

Such a counterintuitive development felt like something plucked straight from an otaku’s fantasy. It was no wonder Professor Lisa had been so deeply shocked.

Without a doubt, this discovery inspired even more speculation about the Abode of Departed Spirits.

”It truly is miraculous. What do you think this represents?”

Along with his praise for Professor Lisa’s discovery, Fu Qian asked for her opinion in all seriousness.

For a true researcher, perhaps nothing brought more satisfaction than having their results recognized.

This was especially true for Lisa, who was always determined to emphasize that side of herself.

She might normally hold quite a few grievances against the interim spokesperson standing before her, but she could clearly sense how seriously and earnestly he was treating this little prank.

”I think it reveals an essential attribute of these unique transcendent creatures—let’s call them ’Bone Spirits’ for now.

”The one we encountered last time—its continuous devouring and the final transformation it underwent weren’t accidental either.”Without holding anything back, Lisa laid out all the theories she had been forming since that day.

”Do you remember the first time we went there? You mentioned they looked like maggots crawling from the same corpse. Their natures share the same origin, to the point where they can be disassembled and recombined.

”I thought it sounded absurd at the time, but thinking back, it actually makes sense.”

It even sounded as though she had integrated various research findings.

”Blinded by their ridiculous sense of superiority, Linghui Courtyard has come up with a lot of unreliable ideas. However, I think they might be right about one thing: compared to the bones, the ’spirit’ is their true core.

”It’s like the relationship between flesh and will, and they all stem directly from that original corpse.

”The reason that Bat Skull lacked spirituality was because it was just a fragment we broke off and dismantled. It was incomplete.

”Only when it was further broken down and reassembled according to a lower-level biological imprint could it act as a vessel. The process is a bit like stacking broken stones to build a marker.

”All the Bone Spirits we saw in there follow the same principle.

”And as for why a spirit can be born from that marker—that transformation stems from the authority of the original corpse... What do you think?”

Having laid everything out in one breath, Lisa’s eyes shone brightly, as if she were a student waiting for her thesis advisor’s evaluation.

...

”A very good theory.”

The ”advisor” seemed to be in a good mood today. Not only had he genuinely listened to her presentation, but he hadn’t even offered any harsh critiques.

”It reminds me of the Blood Clan, who can transform into a swarm of bats. From this angle, that ability could also be explained as an imprint of their essential power, allowing the bat form to serve as a vessel for their will.”

Not only that, but Expert Fu even took the initiative to offer examples supporting her theory.

”However—”

As everyone knew, a turning point was inevitable in any thesis defense. With a rhythmic cadence, Professor Fu continued his deduction.

”According to your theory, as long as someone snapped all the things in that massive pit together like building blocks following a specific set of rules, it would be highly possible to reconstruct the body of a Deity?”

”...Yes.”

Lisa lost a bit of her confidence, but after glancing at the bone fragment in her hand, she quickly mustered her courage.

”That also explains the source of the trace of divinity on this. When we went there last time, what we witnessed was actually this very process.

”That creature continuously plundered and devoured until it finally broke through a certain threshold, condensing a trace of divinity within its ’spirit.’

”I know it sounds hard to imagine, but this is genuinely the pattern I observed. Has Professor Fu seen any similar examples before?”

Professor Lisa’s academic integrity was beyond reproach. Rather than blindly defending her own ideas, she had seriously pointed out the parts of her theory that defied common sense.

Gathering together... creating divinity?

There was, actually. Legend had it that gathering seven magical orbs could summon a divine dragon.

In response to her question, that particular thought had naturally popped into Fu Qian’s mind.

Of course, it was best to keep that to himself right now.

”What do you think, Classmate Liushuang?”

Instead of answering, Fu Qian smoothly passed the ball to the audience.

”Ah... it involves entirely different paths of the transcendent. It’s truly hard for me to conceptualize, so I really can’t make a rash judgment.”

Faced with such an esoteric topic, the cultivation-focused Ji Liushuang was finally at a loss.

”Did you hear that? Being hard to imagine doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong.”

Before Professor Lisa could voice any dissatisfaction at his deflection, Fu Qian smoothly took the reins of the conversation back.

”Go ahead and verify it. If Linghui has any objections, tell them to come see me. This is now a joint project between our two laboratories.”

...

Sure enough, Professor Fu acknowledged her theory to a certain degree, and even offered some academic encouragement along the way.

Though she didn’t say a word, Lisa’s spirits soared in that moment.

”But have you considered what else it implies if your theory is correct?”

Fu Qian took the bone fragment from her hand. Placing it next to the Bone Horseshoe Crab, he scrutinized both closely before suddenly asking with a smile.

”Implies what?”

Slightly creeped out by his smile, Lisa braced herself and asked.

”From a mere bug that can only roar to scare people, to continuously splicing into new forms, growing in strength, climbing the Ranks, and ultimately becoming a Deity.

”If you don’t limit the subject to humans, this can almost be seen as an alternative path to godhood, and this evolutionary chain has no missing links.”

Fu Qian shook his head, his tone mild.

”Looking at it from that angle, doesn’t it seem even more fascinating?”

She truly hadn’t thought about it from that angle...

It was obvious that even Classmate Liushuang was deeply shaken in that moment, and Lisa herself was utterly entranced.

Indeed, it was so much like the process of a transcendent constantly advancing and eventually ascending to the pinnacle.

”Are you saying... that corpse holds a complete path to godhood?”

When Lisa spoke again, her voice was so dry it was almost hoarse.

”It’s highly likely it can only serve as a reference, or perhaps as perfect experimental material.”

Fu Qian shook his head again.

”Even if someone could actually trace that chain, swallowing and digesting each step of the way, I doubt they’d meet a very good end.”

”Alright.”

Lisa let out a long breath. For her, this midnight brainstorming session was proving a bit too intense.

”But you don’t need to worry about the people from Linghui interfering for now. Recently, a young Psychic Type transcendent who just advanced to Tier 4 came to visit, and everyone from top to bottom over there is fixated on her.

”At most, they’ll drag that genius girl over here just to show you the superiority of the Psychic Type.”

A genius girl? I’ve only been inside The Ark for two days, and Eldest Miss Wen has already arrived?

In the face of Professor Lisa’s self-soothing joke, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

”It’s fine. When the time comes, we can just invite her inside for a seat.”