Eldritch Horror Theatre

”So there are... two moons?”

Did its incredibly natural appearance just now actually operate on an entirely different logic?

It wasn’t a manifestation shared by the Witch, but her resonating with the Dark Moon in midair?

The implications behind that seemed a bit staggering.

”The Nightmare Corridor?” Fu Qian blinked, asking casually.

”Most likely... Even with this connection, it remains difficult for me to touch.” The Witch confirmed his thought, exactly as he expected.

”Interesting. So the reason Dead Star could react so quickly just now was likely because It reacted quickly?” Fu Qian pointed at the sky.

Given Dead Star’s situation, he would undoubtedly exhaust every option to find a way out, but the time between the Witch’s stimulus and his reaction had been far too efficient.

While it could be attributed to his sheer will to survive, looking at it now, there was clearly a more reasonable explanation.

The entity that immediately responded to the Witch was actually the Dark Moon overhead, which in turn lit the way back for Dead Star.As for why the response was so fast—it was because the power behind it shared the same origin as the Witch.

Then why hadn’t there been a response before? The Witch had been searching for many years.

Because it was hidden too well, and there was no unlucky person like Dead Star to help locate it? Was this discovery just an accident?

To Fu Qian, this reason wasn’t convincing enough.

There was an issue of chronological logic.

The Dark Moon overhead reacted and Dead Star attempted a Descent on the Female Magnate before the Witch followed the traces to locate this place.

Dead Star might have played a part, but he wasn’t involved in that initial response.

So, was it because of the great convergence of nightmares that this originally hidden place had been drawn closer to Inner Laerdin and the other nightmares, making its reaction so sensitive?

That would be an explanation, if not for the Witch’s later comment—that even now, relying on this origin connection, she still found it hard to touch.

Layering these factors together yielded a much more reasonable explanation: the source of the Dark Moon’s reflection transcended this world entirely.

It wasn’t just because it was well-hidden; rather, certain changes had shortened the distance, allowing for such a sensitive reaction.

And while this world had undergone many massive changes recently, the latest was what he had discussed with the Witch earlier—the Other Shore.

The paradox the two of them had introduced seemed to have imbued this world with a special attribute.

And this special attribute was suspected to be connected to the Nightmare Corridor.

Even the Persuader trapped inside had already proven that the Nightmare Corridor could influence this world.

...

The passageway he constantly traveled contained traces of the Witch’s ”Mother”?

It had to be said, this was explosive news.

”I can’t feel an active will. It might be similar to here, just some kind of remnant.”

Though the Witch’s follow-up made everything sound a bit more reasonable.

Just a trace, not the person herself.

Right now, the Witch was the undisputed symbol of the Dark Moon. If there was a second one, it would indeed be strange.

And since the Primordial Dark Moon had left traces here and still managed to participate in the Long Night, she could clearly shuttle between the two realms. There had to be a passageway.

In summary, the probability of her taking the same path as him was quite high.

”But you still want to take a look?” Fu Qian continued as he evaluated the situation in his mind.

Although she emphasized it was a remnant, based on his understanding of the Witch, she probably wouldn’t want to pass this up.

Even if that place looked like a prison for a higher entity.

”I think it is very necessary.” As expected, the Witch nodded.

”I can try to take you over.” Fu Qian was very straightforward, respecting her opinion.

As for it being ”hard to touch,” that might be true for the Witch alone, but one shouldn’t forget that not long ago, the two of them had cooperated to complete a dimensional jump.

And their destination had been the Bookstore World, a place that seemed even harder to touch than the Nightmare Corridor.

So they could simply repeat the trick. He would cross over first, bringing the Bone Chain inside with him.

Theoretically, as long as he activated Extreme Hunger Infection one more time right now, he could achieve that...

”But wait for me a moment.” Fu Qian didn’t do that; instead, he reached up and took off the Emissary Mask.

In a mere instant, the familiar Warehouse appeared before his eyes once more.

...

Smooth as expected. The previous occurrence wasn’t a fluke.

Realizing he had successfully returned by taking off the mask again, Fu Qian marveled silently.

To the Warehouse, it felt no different from the Bookstore World.

And considering his long-held suspicion of a special relationship between the Warehouse and the Nightmare Corridor, the Witch’s theory that the Imprint came from the Nightmare Corridor had received some indirect confirmation.

Because of the corruption from the ”Other Shore” attribute, that world’s significance to the Warehouse had changed, and the same was true for the Nightmare Corridor.

Then, under the Witch’s stimulation, the trace of the Dark Moon left in the Nightmare Corridor might have been faint, but it still reacted very quickly.

If this guess was true, then this discovery was a stroke of serendipity born from rational decision-making.

If Dead Star hadn’t fallen into it, that place just now might never have been detected before it shattered and dissipated.

And if it weren’t for his and the Witch’s previous actions in the Other Shore, which brought out this special attribute, then even if they found that place, the Dark Moon Imprint in the Nightmare Corridor likely wouldn’t have reacted.

All in all, Fu Qian highly agreed with the Witch’s judgment.

As for her decision, Fu Qian naturally didn’t think it was just to satisfy her curiosity.

”Very necessary” were not empty words. Right now, there were simply too many mysteries surrounding the Dark Moon.

Not to mention the Witch had just suffered a huge loss.

If they didn’t have a comprehensive grasp of the situation, they might unknowingly walk into a trap or a dead end later.

As for why he agreed with the Witch’s idea and even had a plan of action, yet still asked her to wait a moment?

Naturally, there was a reason.

The first was what he was currently doing: verifying his previous theory a second time by taking off the mask to return to the Warehouse, minimizing the possibility of overthinking.

The second was very simple. Fu Qian’s gaze fell on the table before him.

Exploring the Nightmare Corridor was different from standard Warehouse missions; he could afford to properly arm himself. He had come back to grab a few things, and finally—

[Warning, Leak Incident]

Right. Though theoretically, he had just finished a mission.

But he couldn’t forget that he had been dragged in forcibly. In other words, according to the Warehouse’s standards, that moment belonged to the very last second of the day.

So theoretically, as long as he entered the Warehouse again, the second day’s leak would appear immediately.

And the content of the leak could potentially help further verify his theory.

[Name: Solitary King, Designation: 1-423]

[Today’s tasks have been updated. Enter the Containment Scenario of 1-423 and complete Containment once more.]