Eldritch Horror Theatre

The world fell silent.

They said you couldn’t feel the difference without a comparison. In that moment, Fu Qian truly grasped the meaning of total domain silence.

Yes, that strange sound effect hadn’t appeared out of nowhere; it was the result of the Clamor rapidly fading from his ears.

The Archipelago’s nightlife, which had served as the background track for their entire operation, had its volume muted in the blink of an eye.

”Interesting.”

Excellency Patches spoke up at exactly the right time, proving this wasn’t his doing.

It seemed the coupling theory had not only gained practical proof but had taken effect in an instant.

”But it looks like there might be a problem with it, too.”

Patches immediately gestured toward Fu Qian’s hand, a reminder that every medicine carried a touch of poison—side effects were unavoidable.

”Indeed.”Fu Qian wasn’t blindly optimistic either. The activity on the Glove was truly unusual—their friend Corrupted Blood seemed to have given up the struggle.

If its earlier behavior had been a desperate struggle against imprisonment, its current vibe was that of suddenly seeing through the illusions of life and lying flat.

Even though it was nothing more than a clump of blood, barely even humanoid in shape, it actually exuded a sense of relaxation in that moment. Even the ripples surfacing across it had softened.

In short, it didn’t look like good news. He had originally wanted to open up a winding but hopeful path of ascension for it, but had he just created an environment convenient for it to lie flat instead?

Fu Qian sighed softly, seemingly grasping how extremes breed reversals.

”What’s going on now?”

But as the saying went, if you didn’t do it, someone else would. A new disturbance abruptly broke the silence.

Shockingly, it came from the nearby egg sac. The speaker was Kikuchi, one half of that comic duo.

Having kept quiet for so long, he actually sounded a bit frightened.

”—This sounds like the entire Archipelago. If you listen closely, you can tell they’re all ordinary people.”

Old Man Lu remained calm, offering this judgment after a brief silence.

”Indeed—so what exactly is going on?”

Prompted by the observation, Kikuchi quickly agreed, though it was immediately followed by even more confusion.

”Heh, it might not actually be bad news.”

Lu Ming signaled for him to stay calm; in that moment, he even seemed to be smiling.

”For one, we haven’t been attacked again. For another, don’t you think this might be another way to strike the grass to startle the snake?

”Since they can’t find us, they’re using an unconventional method to twist the sounds of the Archipelago into a single strand, trying to search for traces within.”

o

Had even this been reversed?

This topsy-turvy distortion of the world was truly worthy of the Power of Law.

Old Man Lu and Kikuchi’s conversation was as engaging as always. So much so that Fu Qian didn’t even mind the critical situation, listening to the entire exchange with great interest.

The shift in the situation also became clear.

On the one hand, the chorus of voices across the Archipelago outside the egg sac had vanished. On the other, the commotion had actually reached the interior?

When those two were secretly communicating earlier, it was evident they hadn’t experienced the Clamor of the Archipelago at all.

He had considered that it might be because they proactively sealed off their senses. Now it seemed it wasn’t the result of such caution at all—they simply couldn’t hear it.

Now, the inside and outside of the egg sac had completely inverted, each taking on the other’s state.

Even Old Man Lu’s subsequent analysis sounded perfectly reasonable.

Direct attacks had ceased, replaced by this grand chorus of unknown purpose. It really did resemble a hunter losing their patience and flying into a rage.

”But I already feel terrible. My body feels like it’s collapsing...”

For a moment, Kikuchi didn’t even try to refute him, merely lamenting how much longer they would have to endure this.

”We can only bet that their patience runs out faster than ours.”

Old Man Lu immediately shot back, indicating that he had to endure it even if he felt he couldn’t.

”And from now on, do not say a single word. I’m worried that even this kind of exchange might be intercepted.”

Not only that, but he continued to demonstrate an astonishing level of caution, demanding that even this kind of telepathic exchange be temporarily silenced.

Was this the power of the will to live?

”Hold on, don’t rush.”

While Fu Qian was marveling at this, Patches, who had just listened to the duo’s routine alongside him, showed a subtle shift in expression. He seemed to have caught something.

Signaling for Fu Qian to maintain his stance and not rush to switch auras, he shockingly repeated his old trick, slowly reaching out to grasp at the empty void.

And he wasn’t just bored and looking to cause trouble for the two old men; he was reaching directly toward the outside of the egg sac.

”Urgh—heh—”

”Urgh—argh—”

Even though he held nothing in his hand, the motion seemed to tear a wound in the night sky. As he pulled his hand back, he dragged out a string of pained groans.

”Hah... where is this?”

The highly infectious cries of pain lasted for quite a while. Just when it seemed they might go on forever, everything came to an abrupt halt, shifting into a calm voice.

Like Old Man Lu and Kikuchi, it belonged to a man, though he sounded much younger.

Even that question sounded like a spontaneous reaction to being disturbed by Patches, and the tone wasn’t particularly displeased.

”So it’s here... here again—”

He didn’t even wait for an answer, already replying to his own question.

”He isn’t speaking to us. This is the replay of a memory.”

Seeing Fu Qian remain silent the whole time, Patches nodded in satisfaction, reminding him that there was no need to play along since this wasn’t even a real-time conversation.

”It appeared in place of the voice of the Archipelago?”

Fu Qian also seemed to understand its origin.

It was truly unique. Set against the backdrop of the Archipelago’s fading Clamor, something new had actually emerged.

”Yes. Although the process of its manifestation has somewhat exceeded my perception, it appears your plan is working.”

Patches chuckled, agreeing with Fu Qian, and gestured toward his Glove.

In just a short moment, the Corrupted Blood on it had gone so flat it looked like it was asleep.

However, with Patches’s gesture, the interpreted meaning undoubtedly took a massive turn.

It hadn’t truly given up; rather, its struggle had taken on a different form.

Perhaps its body remained twisted and its facial features were scattered across different planes, but it seemed to have truly found a brief chance for release, beginning to express a trace of its lingering self. ”And who are you?”

Not only that, but a new character seemed to have entered this reminiscence.

”Oh, right, you are me—”

Then, in the very next moment, that interpretation was once again proven wrong.

It sounded like the Corrupted Blood was just looking in a mirror and, having zoned out, failed to recognize itself for a moment.

”Then who are we? Your name... I don’t remember—”

It sounded like more than just zoning out. His mental state was quite concerning, his muttering laced with extreme exhaustion. ”Herbert.”

In a moment of silent empathy, faced with the voice’s final question, Fu Qian glanced at Patches and nodded, actually providing the answer for him.

That was right: the Blood Clan’s First Apostle, Herbert.

He had even heard his voice before inside a certain Item called the ”Ancient Reminiscence.”