Eldritch Horror Theatre

”It is indeed the right time.”

Aside from using the Book of Precepts, the Knight’s other suggestion quickly won the Witch’s approval.

Her decisiveness was on full display once more. With the book in one hand, the Witch turned her gaze to the black pool and reached out.

Was this... a mirror?

Fu Qian watched to see what would happen next.

This time, the black water neither churned nor spewed out anything new.

Instead, streams of hazy light materialized in the empty air above the pool, gathering into a ring in the blink of an eye.

Although perfectly round, Fu Qian still found it impossible to compare to a moon.

It looked more like a mirror with its center shattered, leaving nothing but the frame.

The mirror lacked any intricate patterns, yet its hazy, tranquil glow captivated the eye at a single glance.Even the black water below seemed to fall completely silent under the soothing light—or perhaps it had frozen over.

Although phrasing it that way ruined the mood a bit, Fu Qian knew perfectly well that this place was far from simple.

Not only was it the Sacred Land of the Fallen Star Clan and the former battlefield for him and Brother Proxy, but the black water and all the Items inside it could even be considered the Existence Core of the entire Inner Laerdin.

”You manifested the connection between here and the Dead Sea of the Mind?”

Watching the Witch, Fu Qian asked for confirmation the moment the broken mirror fully formed and she withdrew her hand.

Compared to other Nightmares, Inner Laerdin’s power was a bit of a chaotic mess, but it was still ultimately a stable state maintained through coupling.

Just as casually taking the Clockwork Bird earlier had increased the risk of this place collapsing, adding extra elements wasn’t something the Witch would do unless absolutely necessary.

Considering that the collective already contained a Nightmare with her power as its core...

In Fu Qian’s view, her current action felt more like opening a channel to let the chilling cold from the Dead Sea of the Mind reflect into this space.

”It’s time to provide a little stimulation. This place’s sheer volume and stability make it well-suited to serve as a diffusion channel.”

The Witch nodded, confirming Fu Qian’s guess.

”True. If some of the more fragile dreams were to suffer a direct impact, they might mutate on the spot, or even shatter.”

Fu Qian completely understood her choice.

The reasoning behind ”the right time” was actually quite simple.

After the reemerged Starry Sky Law shattered once again, the Nightmares drifting in the apocalypse were pooling together. From the beginning, the product of their fusion had been chosen as a crucial site to search for the Dark Moon.

Despite their exploration up to this point, they hadn’t found any obvious traces.

And given the influence of the Other Shore’s properties, the situation had undoubtedly undergone another subtle change.

Originally, they hadn’t wanted to make any massive moves during their search, lest they accidentally annihilate some fragile clues before they could even touch them.

But if the Other Shore’s properties were going to cause an impact on this Nightmare collective anyway, then taking things slowly was no longer a viable option.

So they might as well apply a bit of stimulus and observe the reaction from the entire dreamscape.

Even so, the Witch had still chosen a relatively mild method.

As an undisputed behemoth within the collective, using Inner Laerdin as a transit point could maximize the area of effect while simultaneously acting as a buffer.

Now, they could simply find a place to wait and observe the results.

Inner Laerdin and the Dead Sea of the Mind were both clearly suitable choices—hmm?

Amidst his internal commentary, he heard a trace of mild surprise from the Witch.

”I don’t care if I suffer the same fate, I will absolutely not resign myself to it!”

The next moment, Frankie, one of the Three Giants of the Fallen Star, voiced his firm resolve to his two colleagues.

...

Sure enough, how domineering. This is the true style of my Dark Moon Cult.

Having made an immediate discovery, the Witch abruptly ended the temporal freeze.

The Three Giants of the Fallen Star, naturally oblivious to what had transpired during that gap, simply continued their previous topic.

”Ah?”

But no matter how unobservant they were, it was impossible not to notice such a glaring change in the lighting.

Frankie cut off mid-sentence as if he had bitten his tongue, whipping his head toward the adjacent Pool of the Sacred Land.

The other two did the same.

Without a doubt, bathed in the moonlight, it truly looked like a sacred pool.

The proof was that, even though this was theoretically a massive blasphemy against the Fallen Star Clan’s faith, all three of them simply stood there in a daze, unable to muster any anger.

At the same time, they showed no reaction whatsoever to the Witch and Fu Qian standing right next to them.

This was entirely normal. The Dark Moon’s concealment ability had the dual certification of the Tyrant and the Mechanical Tyrant.

To the Three Giants, this was a dimensional strike on a level completely beyond their comprehension.

”...The moon?”

As it turned out, the broken mirror still carried some symbolism. After a moment of shock, Frankie couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, looking over at Xia beside him.

Given her previous experiences, she was undoubtedly the most qualified to speak on the matter.

”I think so... but I don’t know what it means.”

Madam Xia’s voice was dry. She agreed, yet her mood seemed complicated.

”Didn’t you say they harbored no malice?”

Frankie, who had been so resolute just a moment ago, sounded frantic now.

Still, it was only human nature.

If Madam Xia had reported everything truthfully upon her return, it was clearly enough to make him realize the sheer chasm in their strength.

And after the initial shock faded, the appearance of such an astonishing scene in a place like this made the severity of its underlying implications obvious.

”I still feel they harbor no malice... but they probably don’t care about our attitude, either...”

Xia hadn’t changed her opinion, but her voice sank low.

...

It seems the psychological trauma from back then was a bit too vast.

Especially combined with his final remark to ”say hello to Dean Glenn,” it seemed to have seeded a sense of powerlessness against fate in her.

As a spectator, Fu Qian perfectly understood the Giants’ reactions, and he even took a moment to reflect on his own actions.

Of course, Madam Xia was actually right. Their attitude simply wasn’t a factor in his plans.

”Dark Moon Apostle Herbert... so what was his goal back then? And what is he planning to do now—what are you doing?”

Sure enough, based on that final remark, the Fallen Star Giants had deduced that he was the Herbert of the past.

Frankie’s voice was bewildered and gritted with hatred, but before he could finish his thought, he suddenly roared in sheer disbelief.

The target of his roar was the Female Magnate, who had remained silent this entire time.

As for the reason—

With a single glance, one could see the Female Magnate holding the Soft Skull—the only surviving Sacred Relic of the Fallen Star Race—and slowly placing it over her own head.