Eldritch Horror Theatre

If anything, Fu Qian’s description was an understatement.

Simply gathering a group to gang up on the Tyrant was enough to be considered a monumental feat.

And he hadn’t held back afterward, meticulously sharing the details of that hidden history.

”So the origin of That Long Night might be directly related to Her?”

She knew her Knight was wearing the Tyrant’s Skin, but this was clearly the first time the Witch had learned exactly how he acquired it.

The Knight’s vivid description gave her the sensation of being personally on the scene, allowing her to quickly grasp his meaning.

”The circumstances were definitely suspicious. Orchestrating the assassination of the King of the Abandoned Prison at such a critical moment would require an incredibly strong motive. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been enough to convince the others to join in.”

Even when discussing the Mother, her assessment was completely impartial.

”If that had been their only move, it would be easy to assume the Tyrant was viewed as the source of the Long Night’s chaos. That would explain why higher entities, including Her and the Dragon King, felt he had to be eliminated. But you told me about Annalise...”

Frowning slightly, the Witch clearly hadn’t forgotten the Progenitor of the Blood Clan, nor the shifting roles of the various moons that Fu Qian had previously explained.”If what the maddened Red Moon said is true—that ’Annalise couldn’t hold on until the Long Night’—then the Long Night must have been a known concept before it actually occurred. Furthermore, this concept was already understood by a higher entity symbolized by the moon.

”Yet this specific higher entity happened to perish before the event, and then a Dark Moon with extremely similar powers appeared during the Long Night, acting remarkably active... It is deeply suspicious.”

...

”Exactly. I also suspect that your Mother had a much firmer grasp on the Long Night than she let on, rather than just hastily reacting to it.”

Faced with the Witch’s impartial and sharp analysis, Fu Qian felt it matched his own thoughts perfectly.

There were simply too many coincidences.

His previous, half-joking attempt to trace the evolution of the transcendent realm through the lineage of the moons had surprisingly yielded fascinating results.

Was the entire transcendent realm just one grand ’Chronicles of the Moon’?

”Furthermore, the fall of the Progenitor of the Blood Clan seems to have been kept highly secret. Aside from the Red Moon mentioning her name, I haven’t been able to find out anything about what actually happened to her.

”Even among her own kin, the Blood Clan, there is still debate over whether she is truly dead.”

As for Annalise, Fu Qian honestly had very mixed feelings about this higher entity.

On one hand, as he just mentioned, the details of her death were shrouded in extreme secrecy; apart from her ’looking forward to the Long Night,’ virtually nothing was known about it.

On the other hand, within the Ancient Reminiscence he had destroyed, he had beheld her true face up close, and even witnessed her moments of hesitation before she ascended to become a Deity.

Combined with the skill he acquired through Insight—which clearly originated from her Ancient Reminiscence—he had ultimately come face to face with the Primordial Moon Deity. The lineage of this inheritance seemed completely legitimate.

Out of the four moons, Annalise’s seniority definitely predated both the Red Moon and the Dark Moon.

”Speaking of which, it isn’t just her disappearance that was shrouded in secrecy. The way she passed down her inheritance is equally baffling.”

Recalling what he had witnessed within the Ancient Reminiscence, Fu Qian vividly recounted the experience once more.

”It is indeed strange. At least from my perspective, I can’t fathom any reason why she would need to pass down her inheritance in such a way.”

Just like with the Tyrant’s fall earlier, hearing it from someone who had experienced it firsthand made all the difference.

In that moment, the Witch almost seemed to empathize with the young Annalise’s confusion regarding faith and life—a private vulnerability that was never meant to be seen by the public.

And, of course, she also learned the origin of the Blood Clan’s distinct eye color.

The Witch didn’t try to hide her bewilderment. Speaking from her own perspective as a higher entity, she couldn’t understand why such a complicated method was necessary.

It made sense. Although she claimed the title of Dark Moon Pope, she was far more than just the leader of the faithful; she was the actual object of their worship.

Replacing the clergy was one thing, but why would a Deity need to be replaced?

”Is it possible that you are a special case? For instance, maybe you represent an inheritance that has already been passed down?”

Fu Qian blinked at the thought and offered a theory.

...

”The Mother’s Offspring... That was a concept ingrained in me from the very moment my consciousness was born.”

The Knight’s analysis was rather probing, but the Witch clearly didn’t mind. Following his line of reasoning, she soon murmured a single term.

”It doesn’t involve faith, but in theory, it could be an even purer, more natural form of inheritance. Are you suggesting that my relationship to the Mother might be similar to Annalise’s relationship with the Primordial Moon Deity?”

In the very next moment, she openly compared her own situation to Annalise’s.

”Yes, though we still don’t know the ultimate goal. The Primordial Moon Deity’s motives are hard to parse, but your Mother might not have done this voluntarily. Looking at the layout of this place, it looks like She was even planning for Her retirement.”

Having a higher entity actively collaborating with him on his research made discussing these mysteries an absolute joy.

Sighing softly, Fu Qian strongly felt that he was brushing against the true core of the path to becoming a Deity.

A path that mortals could walk, one that made even Natural-Born Deities seem flawed and made of flesh and blood.

”Indeed. The apocalypse didn’t seem to be what She wanted to see... By using the Law as the core to create a barrier, She likely intended to maintain this place indefinitely. Unfortunately, it still attracted too many covetous eyes.”

The Witch’s gaze fell upon the Deck Chair as she agreed with his assessment.

”But just because She wasn’t inclined to do so doesn’t mean She didn’t know how, nor does it mean She didn’t prepare a contingency plan for the worst-case scenario.”

Fu Qian didn’t hesitate to push the theory a step further.

”Right. After all, the Moon God had already done something similar, and She clearly had strong ties to them... but you seem exceptionally certain. Do you have some other evidence?”

The Witch was incredibly sharp. As she followed his train of thought, she immediately picked up on the underlying certainty in Fu Qian’s tone.

”I do. I think I’ve seen the face carved into that stone statue before.”

Having no intention of hiding it anyway, Fu Qian gestured toward his own face and casually brought up the Divine Human Family of the Laria Royal Family, along with the divine code flowing through their bloodline.

”But overall, there were still some differences. So, while I don’t know the exact motive behind it, I lean toward the idea that it was a failed experiment.”

He added that final thought, decisively laying out his judgment.

”An attempt, or an experiment... That makes sense. If this world was Her true homeland, testing a contingency plan out there in the other realm might have been safer.”

The Witch listened intently, seemingly amazed by the sheer depth of the Knight’s experiences.

As she spoke, she naturally took a couple of steps forward, walking right past the Deck Chair—Swish!

With a soft sound, the door leading out to the small garden was pulled open.

The flowers were still blooming beautifully. The structural stability of this place was holding up perfectly.

Taking in the pleasant sight, Fu Qian gave a slight nod. But a moment later, his gaze shifted to a spot right next to the flowers.

Unlike before, a heavily mangled, hole-riddled afterimage was now standing silently beside them.