Eldritch Horror Theatre

’Such a serious title? I feel like my own image just got a bit darker.’

Fu Qian wasn’t surprised that the Witch knew the entity so well, but the honorific name she offered was a stark contrast.

’Precept Angel?’

It sounded full of holy asceticism, which only made his current scheming with the Witch seem that much more wicked.

”Of course, this is just what I call Him. I don’t know His true name, or rather, I’m not sure He even has a normal one.”

The Witch continued her explanation. Surprisingly, she was the one who had coined the title.

”But there is a benefit to it. Although I’m fairly confident I can hide our communication, not using His true name minimizes the chances of being noticed—let’s head out first.”

As she spoke, the surrounding visibility rapidly plunged.

Under the shroud of darkness, a familiar sensation washed over him. In the very next moment, even the scenery before him grew familiar—

The Doll Deer Carriage was gone. In its place was a pool of black-rippled water beneath his feet.It was the deepest part of the Fallen Stars’ Underground Base, where the Sacred Relic was enshrined.

It made sense. The Witch probably wouldn’t just take the Clockwork Bird and risk plunging Inner Laerdin into collapse.

But since they had used its connection with the Doll Workshop to successfully cross space earlier, it stood to reason they could just reverse the operation and cross back.

Taking in the sight, Fu Qian clicked his tongue in wonder—especially when he realized they weren’t the only ones in the Sacred Land.

Yes, it was quite obvious. Madam Xia’s earlier actions had indeed caused an uproar.

Right now, in this underground Sanctum, besides the Female Magnate arguing with her, even Frankie—whom he had met once before—was present.

On one hand, he wasn’t sure why the last member of the Big Four hadn’t shown up. On the other, Fu Qian was absolutely certain that the three magnates before him had not reached a consensus.

Both Frankie and Madam Xia were red in the face, visibly worked up.

The remaining Female Magnate, however, maintained a relatively peaceful expression.

Though, in Fu Qian’s eyes, a large part of that calmness came from admiring the fruits of her own labor.

Clearly, when she insisted on taking Xia to see Frankie earlier, this was exactly the kind of scene she had envisioned.

Of course, this didn’t mean the Female Magnate was a master instigator. Under extreme survival pressure, most people’s resistance to provocation dropped significantly.

For Inner Laerdin, although the situation seemed excellent—proving once again that they were the ”truth”—

...being right didn’t always mean victory. The scene before them was fraught with peril by any metric, and as long as these leaders had any brains, their optimism would be strictly limited.

Naturally, they were far from knowing what the true situation was.

Because certain things were simply beyond their cognitive abilities—like this stretch of time outside their perception.

Indeed, the three arguing individuals were once again frozen in time, just like everything else around them.

”Let’s hope they can bring some good news later.”

The Witch, having pulled off this feat once more, was also looking at the trio as she expressed her fond hopes.

She didn’t say anything else. The next moment, their vision suddenly brightened.

Grand and expansive. Fu Qian realized the two of them were already back at the top of the West District Church of the Celestial Sphere Cult.

Of course, it was the Dark Moon Church now.

He had to admit, tagging along with the Pope made scene transitions incredibly convenient.

In no rush to speak, Fu Qian silently watched the Witch pull the Brain Fork out of her hand.

...

”Remember the discarded pieces you encountered in the Mist Outside the City the last time Laerdin was recreated?”

Still without spilling a single drop of blood, the Witch put the Brain Fork away as she asked the question.

Even though she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, it wasn’t strange that she knew about his operations outside the city.

It was obvious earlier that after the Knight left, the Witch had thoroughly investigated everything that had happened.

”I remember. They were a very unique form of existence, defined by the recreated Law of the Stars, yet their defined attribute was to disobey the Law.”

Fu Qian selectively retained clear memories of peculiar things, so he answered immediately.

He didn’t believe that the numerous discarded pieces he had devastated were generated out of thin air.

He leaned more toward the idea that, just like the Painting World that had transformed into a Nightmare, they were originally part of this apocalypse, only to be forcibly defined by the recreated Law.

”Indeed. And to some extent, the Precept Angel shares similarities with them.”

”I am not clear on His origins, but if we treat the Law of the Stars as a sort of rulebook, then right up until the moment those rules collapsed, anyone inside must still have been bound and protected by it, right?”

The key point the Knight had drawn out was clearly to her liking. The Witch immediately continued discussing their upcoming target and posed a question.

”Correct.”

Fu Qian had already come into contact with the power of the Law many times.

Among those instances was the recent encounter over in West Plain City, where he had faced a version supported by a genuine core.

So, he knew full well that it wasn’t some mere evening study hall discipline or workplace safety regulation.

To describe it seriously, it could be considered akin to a custom set of laws governing the world’s operation—something an entire dimension higher than mere rules.

”Such a model brought considerable stability, but the price was that once it broke, the collapse would be incredibly rapid...”

”The victims in the apocalypse freed themselves from its bounds, but also lost its protection—yet someone was unwilling to accept this. Even after losing that protection, they still wanted to bear those bounds unilaterally.”

With a soft sigh, the Witch gave a unique analogy.

”Oh? So that’s the ’Precept’?”

Imagining such a scene, Fu Qian once again found it deeply fascinating.

”That’s right. I feel this word is the most fitting... And the bounds these people voluntarily bear are mere tiny fragments of the Law, inconsistent and full of fallacies.”

”Now imagine tens of thousands of such masses of flesh and blood smelted together to form a special will.”

He had to admit, the Witch’s description was vivid.

So much so that, following her words, Fu Qian could almost perfectly picture that grotesque amalgamation.

”And what smelted them together were equally chaotic Transcendent traits. Finally, through this mixture, an ultimate creation representing this distortion emerged.”

The Witch seemed to fall briefly into a memory.

”When I discovered His existence, my first impression was that this title suited Him perfectly.”

”Understandable. So it’s precisely because of this that He would be especially sensitive to the earlier revival of the Law? Is that why He noticed Laerdin so quickly?”

He could completely understand how the Witch felt. Moreover, Fu Qian was always quick to connect the dots, instantly realizing why there had been such a commotion outside when he arrived this time.