Eldritch Horror Theatre

Did it deflect?

Fu Qian never underestimated the methods of such an Ancient Higher Being.

His reason for not taking the attack head-on was simple. The lightning might have looked weak, and he could indeed feel that its light and heat were not particularly intense.

But the consequences of taking a direct hit would be an entirely different story.

He hadn’t tested it, but Fu Qian could still draw this conclusion with absolute confidence.

A highly peculiar authority was attached to it. The specifics were difficult to describe, but in layman’s terms, it could be called the power of cause and effect.

Or the Butterfly Effect.

Simply put, if this seemingly ordinary lightning had actually struck him, the resulting damage would carry a Chaos Multiplier.

It would bypass normal rules to inflict unfathomable destruction.

So much so that, while not entirely identical, it almost brought to mind the Meteor of Fate that had caused the fall of the Archangel of the Envoy Prison.His current condition wasn’t exactly healthy to begin with; taking a blow like that would likely result in severe consequences.

As for how he could deduce all this with a single glance—as if he were reading the skill’s instruction manual—it was because the manual was essentially displayed right in front of him.

It wasn’t materialized as physical text, of course. Rather, the lightning itself carried a flow of information, something a Tier 2 could receive with ease.

Fu Qian could even vaguely guess the reason behind this.

To punish without prior instruction is tyranny; laws would multiply without ever overcoming wickedness.

If this sudden clarity hadn’t been transmitted to him, the Chaos Multiplier might not have actually taken effect.

He couldn’t be absolutely certain, but otherwise, it was hard to imagine any other reason the attack would possess such a bizarre characteristic, virtually slapping its instruction manual onto his face.

Thus, the moment he noticed this change, Fu Qian had not only activated Blood Crusade but also prepared to deploy even more countermeasures at a moment’s notice.

As for why the lightning had ultimately struck the Statue instead, that wasn’t too difficult to understand either—only a rule applied equally to all could be considered a true rule.

Back when he first visited the Academy and sat opposite the Corrupted Sword Heart in the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison, the method it used for their final showdown had actually been somewhat similar.

It relied on authority to establish a rule. That rule had to apply to the user as well in order to inflict unconventional damage on the opponent.

Otherwise, its power could never exceed the upper limits of a normal attack.

So the essence of that lightning strike just now was the enemy calling upon the heavenly dao as a witness to force a game of chance. They were betting their lives against his—whoever lost the gamble would be struck dead by lightning.

Except this entity didn’t have the best of luck. It had lost the very first bet.

Of course, this was all just speculation. The truth would depend on the actual results—what the hell?!

Within his line of sight, setting aside his own Air Bullet, the rather sluggish lightning had finally struck the Statue, torn at it for a moment, and then vanished into nothingness.

Yet the Statue remained completely unscathed, and in the very next moment, it vanished directly from its spot.

...

Wasn’t that a bit too shameless?

When he first suspected he was facing the methods of an Ancient Higher Being, Fu Qian had anticipated some profound mechanics, but this was simply absurd.

Looking at the empty spot where it had been, he was in no rush to give chase.

Through his perception, he could clearly sense that the Statue had merely relocated to another part of this space.

As bizarre as it seemed, it was ultimately no different from the enemies he had faced in the past: running at the first sign of trouble.

Furthermore, the connection that had guided him here—along with the current peculiar state of space and time—had done more than just turn him into a pollutant that temporarily froze the enemy’s Rebirth progress.

It also ensured that no matter where the enemy ran, the bond between them remained intact. He didn’t have to worry about losing his target.

What was truly hard to accept right now was the effect of that deadly lightning strike.

It was exactly because of this bond that Fu Qian was able to sense the finer details.

It certainly wasn’t an ordinary bolt of lightning. The moment it struck, the anticipated Chaos Multiplier truly did appear, completely severing the clear relationship between the attack’s base power and the resulting destruction. However, this multiplier seemed to be inverted.

That’s right. Not only did it fail to amplify into some instant-kill effect, it was so weak that it didn’t even match the power of a normal attack.

Combined with the noticeably high durability of the crystal, the strike ultimately hit with all the force of a gentle spring breeze.

Fu Qian found it hard to believe that the same thing would happen if he were the one taking the hit.

So it was still a double standard in the end?

He should have known. Why would a lofty higher entity use a life-risking gamble as its ultimate move for no reason?

The current situation could basically be understood like this: the rule was indeed in effect. A prince who broke the law was guilty of the same crime as a commoner, but the punishment carried out for that crime was entirely different.

The disparity was so exaggerated that it amounted to a reverse Butterfly Effect.

A colossal storm descended, yet when it struck the butterfly, it merely felt like a gentle flap of a wing.

Whereas for him, it would most likely be the exact opposite.

...

He knew it wouldn’t be that simple.

Being in no rush to give chase didn’t mean he was going to stand still. Emerging from Blood Crusade, Fu Qian didn’t waste a single second and immediately stepped forward.

As expected of a higher entity’s methods, the situation before him was nothing short of grim.

Keeping a close eye out for any new anomalies, Fu Qian simultaneously observed his surroundings.

It seemed this Butterfly Effect was very likely the core authority of the Holy Infant Calamity Star.

Earlier, he had wondered why such a formidable existence would use a rock-paper-scissors-style gambling ability for self-defense when so many ordinary characters possessed similar skills. Looking at it now, it was actually a perfect match.

A positive effect against the enemy, and a reverse effect for itself.

It was like casually gambling with lives; if the opponent lost, they died. But if the entity itself lost, it would at most suffer a bloody nose, wipe it off, and keep going—and sure enough, here came the next one.

Fu Qian hadn’t walked far before he noticed a new disturbance.

Whether it was due to the increased distance or not, it wasn’t lightning this time, but something much slower.

And much more concealed.

At a glance, there didn’t seem to be any noticeable changes.

But upon closer inspection, he realized that the crystal palace-like walls and floor—everywhere he stepped—were reverberating with a strange power.

It was sound. A sonic boom waiting to erupt at any moment.

And the two endpoints of this reverberation were precisely the Holy Infant and himself.

No matter where he moved, the connection relentlessly followed.

Even before the final Die finished rolling, Fu Qian could already picture the scene this seemingly mild power would unleash—how it would tear the loser’s flesh and very spirit to shreds.

Such as his own.

This time, the Holy Infant evidently wasn’t so unlucky.

Although there were no physical indicators, in that exact moment, Fu Qian knew with absolute certainty that he was the loser of this bet.

Yet, the instant he realized this, he didn’t even attempt to activate Blood Crusade.

Against a lock that targeted one’s very essence, that level of Transcendence would likely fall short.

Not to mention the special bond that still existed between him and the Holy Infant.

I wonder if this will work.

As he muttered to himself, a crystal-clear Bell appeared in Fu Qian’s hand, and he immediately gave it a ring.

If evasion can’t dodge it, what about making myself untargetable?