Eldritch Horror Theatre

Golden fire...

Fu Qian delivered his assessment of Excellency Stoss with incredible poise, making it seem as if he had everything under complete control—even when dealing with the higher-ups of the Night Watchers.

Somewhat startled, Nepheli was left both skeptical and intrigued. She undoubtedly wanted him to elaborate, but as for the content of that elaboration...

”Why do you think I would know?”

Nepheli didn’t answer directly. As she spoke, she shot a half-smiling glance at Su Gao.

”Because of Ariel.”

Fully aware of what that glance meant, Fu Qian tossed out the name without the slightest hesitation.

Meanwhile, Classmate Su Gao lived up to expectations—she didn’t so much as bat an eyelash.

As a unique Tier 2, Ariel was an extraordinary figure no matter where he went.

But bringing him up at this moment carried a profound tacit understanding without words for his handler, Nepheli.Fu Qian clearly remembered hitting it off with Excellency Yasui Tokiyuki. The man had personally mentioned that Nepheli evaluated Fu Qian as ”possibly just as special as Ariel.”

This knowledgeable, rogue academic possessed some understanding of the Warehouse.

As for Ariel’s origins, based on various pieces of evidence he had corroborated earlier, Fu Qian was fairly certain that the man was actually a former senior member.

Having been ”optimized” out of his job after his SAN Value bottomed out, he had been shipped off to another world as a top-tier talent. Ultimately, Nepheli had found him and processed him into his current Classmate Xiao Ai mode.

And this was exactly why Fu Qian believed Nepheli might know about the Golden Flame of Madness.

Through his testing back at the Ehm Palace and his consultations with Old Man Li He, he had already drawn preliminary conclusions regarding the difference between the madness inflicted by the Flame of Frenzy and ordinary mental pollution.

The specific conclusion was that the former essentially erased one’s concept of self. It was like forcefully carving out a piece of a whole, eventually leading to complete systemic collapse.

The latter, however, merely scrambled that whole into a chaotic mess. The pieces were still there, but everything was hopelessly jumbled.

If Ariel truly was a senior whose SAN Value had zeroed out, then his condition should resemble the latter—which, seemingly, could be cured by the former.

What did you do when a mind was in complete chaos? Just carve out the chaotic parts, and the problem was solved.

He couldn’t be entirely sure that Nepheli had used this method, but testing the waters didn’t cost a dime.

Furthermore, judging by her current reaction, it seemed he hadn’t been overthinking things.

...

The meaning behind Nepheli’s glance at Su Gao was very simple: Are you sure we should be talking about this in front of a Night Watcher?

This meant that long before he even brought up Ariel, she had already deduced why he was asking her about the golden flame and had walked through the potential logic herself.

In this situation, Fu Qian decisively validated her thoughts. It was indeed because of her enforcer, Ariel, that he suspected she might have encountered the Flame of Frenzy. By doing so, he practically declared that he also knew a thing or two about the Warehouse.

For Nepheli, who had suspected his true identity from very early on, this essentially served as further verification of her theories.

But that didn’t matter. Smart people always loved to overthink.

”Besides, her words are my words. Just as she mentioned earlier, our conversation here stays strictly between the three of us.”

Not waiting for Nepheli to reply, Fu Qian looked at her face—which had grown somewhat solemn at the mention of Ariel’s name—and casually assured her there was no need to worry about Su Gao listening in.

It was a wildly domineering statement, and its implications were truly thought-provoking.

It was hard to say just how much Excellency Nepheli knew about the Warehouse and the special transcendents who grew in power by relying on it.

But one thing was certain: in her eyes, this identity was something that could not see the light of day. It was a secret that had to be carefully guarded, especially around the Night Watchers.

That was the reason behind her glance at Su Gao.

Yet here he was—a highly suspicious individual who made absolutely no effort to hide anything from a Night Watcher.

An easy explanation to jump to was that even though Su Gao was a Night Watcher demigod, she had long since been corrupted by lawless elements and would side with him no matter what. But could anyone actually believe that?

The more rational a person was and the more storms they had weathered, the less likely they were to believe in such an anomalous display of trust. Instead, they would lean toward the idea that there were deeper machinations at play.

Coupled with her earlier speculations about why the two of them had appeared on Ye Island, the stance of the Night Watchers suddenly became highly ambiguous.

For example, perhaps the Night Watchers also knew about the Warehouse. Perhaps he wasn’t actually someone like Ariel, but rather an enlisted hound specially dispatched to handle matters in this region—one who had already uncovered many of the Origin Council’s little schemes.

That was just one possibility, but Fu Qian believed Nepheli would have a hard time not coming to that conclusion.

The main reason was that, as a demigod, Classmate Su Gao was simply too formidable at defying logic.

Other than the two of them, no one would be willing to believe in such an illogical level of trust.

Not to mention that her performance at this moment remained absolutely flawless.

With her astonishing presence and unfathomable demeanor, she simply stared out of the ship in response to his final statement, showing not the slightest hint of denial.

”Thank you for the trust. I can make the same promise—this conversation stays strictly between the three of us.”

Faced with such a scene, Nepheli thought for a brief moment. When she finally spoke again, she had clearly made her decision.

”Furthermore, I know a minor healing Miracle that can calm down manic individuals.

”During the healing process, a golden flame does indeed appear. But as for what it specifically represents, I couldn’t say. Also, don’t expect me to demonstrate it here.”

This was practically an admission of Ariel’s origins. As she spoke, Nepheli kept her eyes locked on Fu Qian’s face the entire time.

”I completely understand. This was just a casual chat over tea, anyway. Besides, we are pressed for time. Once I finish this cup, we should probably be going.”

Fu Qian clearly understood the boundaries of this information exchange. Looking thoroughly satisfied with what he had gleaned, he raised his teacup in acknowledgment.

”Thank you for your understanding.”

The reason he was in a hurry to get back couldn’t have been simpler. The longer the two scouts were missing, the harder it would be for Excellency Stoss to maintain stability on his end.

Seeing Fu Qian express his stance so cleanly, Nepheli seemed to relax a fraction more—so much so that a moment later, she offered a bit of extra information on her own initiative.

”While it wouldn’t be convenient to show you directly, I can tell you the name of that Miracle. It’s called the Tyrant’s Boon.”

Oh... Tyrant?

Generally speaking, a mere skill name wouldn’t mean much. However, a Miracle’s fundamental attribute as a ”true story” meant it likely represented far more. In an instant, Fu Qian’s mind was ablaze with connections.

”You didn’t come up with that name, did you? It was the pioneer who walked the path of that Miracle?”

Simultaneously catching the subtle phrasing in Nepheli’s words, Fu Qian drained the last of his tea and casually tossed out the question.

”...Yes.”

With their gathering drawing to a close, Nepheli hesitated for a moment. Ultimately, she didn’t deny it.