Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 2267: Chapter 2262: The Mastermind

Corridor, Nightmare, Depth Six.

Fu Qian observed the small chapel in front of him, his mind receiving enlightenment.

Although the size was quite miniature, it rather brought a peculiar sense of subtle happiness.

Indeed, saying so didn’t seem incorrect.

Though the Witch brought him here without a word, this place undoubtedly belonged to one of the top secret corners of the Nightmare Corridor.

Demon Moore and the Dark Moon.

He appeared to be one of the top five big shots, not only corrupted by the former Dark Moon but even unaware of it.

And the other prisoners.

The reasoning was that until now, this place remained very quiet, with nothing untoward coming in.

Even the rust marks on his hand began to settle down.

”They can’t pinpoint it yet.”

At this moment, the Witch beside him affirmed, her tone calm and certain.

”But is this indeed behind the door?”

Fu Qian nodded, deeply feeling the wonder of this resting sanctuary.

”Yes, we’re currently in a deeper realm of the Dream, already touching upon the essence of this place, while Demon Moore’s will is still active.”

As the Witch spoke, she had already moved forward along a passage so narrow that it was almost too tight for one person, turning to face the front of the statue.

In truth, the inconvenience wasn’t just due to the small space—what seemed upfront was actually the back.

Indeed, in that moment, Fu Qian could see clearly that even though the chapel was small, its structure was complete, and the statue placed there seemed intended to face away from everyone.

”I forcibly broke through the barriers they set and even caused some damage to Demon Moore, but not enough to disable his resistance.”

Pausing again, quietly looking at the statue’s face, the Witch continued, emotionless in her tone.

”Then I discovered this place—it’s her.”

...

So was it really like being robbed in broad daylight? The First Generation Dark Moon surely deserved its notoriety as a schemer against the Tyrant.

Believing no one could speak more on the matter, the Witch’s final words seemingly confirmed that the statue was the sought-after target, the counterpart to accompany her.

Combining the description of how they arrived there, Fu Qian appeared to see a figure harshly tormented by two generations of Dark Moon.

Mr. Demon Moore’s will always active, yet unaware of the victimization process?

In the end, even a part of his essence was corroded, leaving a trace for the First Generation Dark Moon here?

What unfortunate souls these are.

As for why it’s said the other prisoners hadn’t seemed to notice?

The Witch’s description of the process was quite clear.

Even under the reflection of the dual moon, she was not the first to locate this small chapel before breaking in.

The situation was never so idealized; she followed a lead purely using bold decisiveness.

Even the conversation before breaking in wasn’t shielded from eavesdroppers.

Thus, if the prisoners had been aware of this small chapel, it’s hard to believe the Witch would have found it so easily, without a hint of cover or transfer before breaking in.

So it was rather like those people had sensed the connection between the two moons and even tried to obscure it, yet failed to locate the source?

The First Generation Dark Moon’s abilities were certainly extensive.

Of course, the most astonishing part was indeed the bow in the statue’s hand.

Was Blasphemy’s Embrace the weapon of the First Generation Dark Moon? If so, the mission when I first entered the World Within the Painting seemed even more peculiar than imagined.

...

Disorder, the mission that forced Fu Qian to travel not long after the career began, made a deep impression.

Besides, although numbered as 1, anomalies had already shown—

For instance, the two-choice reward, which never appeared again afterwards.

Among the rewards was the ”Perfectly Completed Advancement Ritual,” allowing for a seamless transition to become a Demigod.

Additionally, there was the later occurrence of ”unable to find the containment item.”

Yes, resembling the small maneuvers accomplished by the Prism of Radiant Transformation, clearly successful containment, yet the item couldn’t be found in the warehouse.

The situation with the Prism of Radiant Transformation occurred because the item was, in essence, an anchor to its power, a backdoor utilizing warehouse characteristics, waiting opportunistically to lead the Administrators astray.

Lastly, let’s not forget that it was previously verified the warehouse tasks often prioritized proximity.

And among all the containment operations, apart from Disorder, nearly only the Furnace linked to the Prism of Radiant Transformation seemed to visit a completely different world.

Is [1-019] really a backdoor left by the First Generation Dark Moon?

The suspicion isn’t new to Fu Qian, considering the subject was later proven to possess truly vast abilities.

Involved in countless secrets, and even able to traverse between two worlds.

Given the subtle connection between the Nightmare Corridor and the warehouse, having such a hidden manipulator knowledgeable or attempting to exploit it seems entirely unsurprising.

It’s merely speculation, though; communication with the Witch earlier revealed her limited knowledge—until the identical bow was held by the Dark Moon.

Faced with the task’s completion reward at the time, due to distrust in rituals, I eventually chose Blasphemy’s Embrace, which seemed useless at first sight.

But could both options have held peculiarities?

If higher-ups had a hand in the mission, such a situation wouldn’t be surprising at all.

Could arrangements by the Divine Beings really be bypassed through simple ”non-greediness”?

Not a conspiracy theory; think about what happened after choosing Blasphemy’s Embrace?

Through temporarily sealing the sun, the Dark Moon’s radiance briefly manifested in the Bookstore World—while the ”Witch,” suspected of inheriting his power, sensed my presence.

As a Knight of the Pontiff, my journey of traversing worlds thus began.

...

Is this cunning to such a degree?

For a moment, Fu Qian seemed to perceive an elder Superior Being’s many schemes from long ages past—

Stirring storms in the Bookstore World, successfully assassinating the Tyrant...

Then, in the Witch World, weaving a false starry sky with the Law Core, erecting a barrier against the Outer God...

And when the barrier broke, after Doomsday, an outsider from the Bookstore World reached the brink of the World Within the Painting through warehouse-mediated missions...

Even suggesting this World Within the Painting was a sanctuary left behind by it...

Upon the task’s completion, the obtained reward was his weapon, enabling a connection between the two worlds upon use...

A hidden manipulator behind schemes spanning two worlds seemingly stood right before him—

Then, at that moment, Fu Qian wanted to ask, regarding being regarded as the village fool day in and day out, what did the honorable warehouse have to say?

With this sentiment, Fu Qian moved alongside the Witch to the front, looking up.