Eldritch Horror Theatre

Breathtakingly beautiful.

In that moment, it was the adjective that naturally came to Fu Qian’s mind.

Not only did it look female from behind, but the front of the Statue lacked any bizarre anomalies as well—it was a perfectly human face.

Even more remarkably, there was no crown, mask, veil... it lacked any of the usual coverings, presenting a completely bare face.

At a glance, of course, this confidence was entirely understandable.

It was a truly unforgettable face.

Not only was its age impossible to discern, but its aura was constantly shifting as well.

It radiated the gentle, loving compassion of a holy mother, yet seemed to harbor an innate, seductive allure. A single glance was enough to ignite humanity’s most primal desires, and even those who wielded divinity were no exception.

And this was despite the fact that the Statue’s eyes were closed.

...She looked nothing like the Witch.

Experiencing that miracle did not stop Fu Qian from drawing his first major conclusion.

Indeed, his immediate reaction had been to compare the faces of the new and the old Dark Moon, and his verdict was that they didn’t really resemble mother and daughter.

Truth be told, this had even been one of the core purposes of the trip.

From their first meeting until now, the Witch had actually shared quite a bit about her own past.

So much so that, from Fu Qian’s perspective, her ”birth” was fundamentally bizarre.

A Natural-Born Deity born after the apocalypse, inheriting the complete authority of the Dark Moon.

Ignorant of how she came to be, she nonetheless knew immediately that she had a ”Mother.”

Despite wielding such tremendous power, she later encountered the highly targeted Starry Sky Law and was dragged away to be used as fuel without the slightest ability to resist.

Now, it was almost proven that her encounter with her Templar Knight hinted at orchestration—so could all of this have been arranged?

From her very birth, up to this exact moment standing right here?

True, Fu Qian considered this trip incredibly dangerous—requiring them to directly shatter the desire for freedom of five higher entities—but the more pressing danger actually stemmed from the target of this trip.

Put simply, the Witch’s actions right now were equivalent to delivering a peerless genius straight to a departed ancestor.

Given the mounting signs of manipulation, the suspicion that the First Generation Dark Moon had orchestrated everything specifically for this moment obviously couldn’t be ruled out.

He had already theorized that the Witch’s inability to resist the Law of the Stars was likely due to the First Generation Dark Moon’s handiwork.

So who could guarantee there wouldn’t be a similar mystical restriction waiting right here?

Because of this, Fu Qian figured that if the Statue’s face strongly resembled the Witch’s, the risks on that front would be even more concerning.

After all, a scheme always required a motive.

If the Dark Moon wanted to survive the apocalypse, or had encountered some sort of fatal flaw and planned to use special means to achieve Rebirth, then many of those arrangements would make a lot of sense.

And if the Statue wore the exact same Dazzling Visage as the Witch, only to ultimately tell her something like ”you are me and I am you,” it would clearly be much more fitting.

Instead, this entity presented a bare face, acting almost overly candid.

Although that face was breathtakingly beautiful, it was still fundamentally different from the true Dazzling Visage.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first time the Pope had achieved this kind of overwhelming aesthetic suppression—

Back at Ehm Palace with the Laria Family, when he had been preaching the Dark Moon Gospel, he had evaluated their Face of Gods and Men in exactly the same way.

...

Different, yet somewhat similar.

As an aesthetics connoisseur certified by the Pope, Fu Qian was quite confident in certain regards.

So much so that the moment he laid eyes on the true face of the First Generation Dark Moon, the connection immediately clicked.

As a family with a unique inheritance, the Face of Gods and Men belonging to the Laria Royal Family was undoubtedly an extremely unusual power, perfectly interpreting the concept of a genetic code.

It was so potent that His Excellency Rom hadn’t hesitated to make a move back then, determined to obtain it with the help of the Record of Recollection Annals.

Crucially, thanks to the Primordial Council’s efforts during that incident, Fu Qian had indeed seen a nearly fully formed Face of Gods and Men.

It, too, had been breathtakingly beautiful.

While overusing the phrase might make it seem cheap, both faces were entirely worthy of it, and it even highlighted a certain consistency between them.

Of course, Fu Qian was certain it wasn’t a 100% replica; the resemblance lay more in the underlying spirit.

To put it specifically, it was like plastic surgery: the Face of Gods and Men looked as though it had been modeled directly after the face currently in front of him.

The bone structure was the same, but the spirit was slightly different.

It was truly hard to believe it was pure coincidence—especially since the entity before him was already the mastermind behind so many other events.

Did that mean the talent of the Divine Human Family was also connected to the Dark Moon?

It looked like the subject of the Order of Blood needed to be upgraded from a high-priority project to a core focus.

”This was left for me.”

Even as Fu Qian summarized his gains and arranged his next research plans, the Witch beside him gestured at the Statue’s hand, her tone absolute.

...

So it really was an arrangement made specifically for this moment?

This was the benefit of working with smart people: once the obstacles were cleared, progress was shockingly efficient.

Aside from recognizing the Blasphemous Embrace, the Witch was clearly gesturing at the Statue’s other hand.

Unlike the former, which was carved as part of the sculpture itself, the hand resting against its chest had an actual object tucked directly into its grasp.

It wasn’t a weapon meant to match the bow, but a small scroll.

It shared the same grayish-white color as the Statue’s stone; its luster was dull, yet the patterns upon it were exquisite, and it bore no visible signs of damage.

In short, a single glance was enough to reveal a dense, scholarly aura.

Although Fu Qian couldn’t sense anything from it other than an astonishing Rank, he obviously had no reason to doubt the Witch’s confident judgment.

”Want to give it a try?”

Nodding slightly, Fu Qian casually prompted the Witch, choosing not to waste time on pointless worrying.

If something was genuinely waiting here specifically for her, the previously mentioned risk factor seemed to have spiked once again.

But after running all the way here, how could the Witch possibly refuse this gift?

”Mm.”

Wasting no time whatsoever, the Witch stepped forward as she answered and grabbed the scroll.

In that instant, Fu Qian felt as if a deep blue full moon had directly descended before his eyes.

...

”It is done.”

Even with the might of the Tyrant, he couldn’t help but be momentarily entranced by that brilliance.

Fortunately, beautiful things were always short-lived. After just a moment’s daze, the dust settled, and the Witch’s voice rang out once more.

Turning his head, he saw that the scroll was already unfurled in her hands, and she was studying it closely just as she had flipped through the Book of Precepts earlier.

Even from Fu Qian’s angle, he could see that the scroll definitely contained illustrations.

Unfortunately, while the format might have been different, it was just as completely indecipherable as the flowing runes on the Book of Precepts.

That wasn’t a problem, though—the interpreter was standing right beside him.

”A very fascinating item. And...” She paused. ”Even if the Law reappears, the Stars can no longer bind me.”