Eldritch Horror Theatre

If the Blind Eye Holy Grail was naturally inclined to understand everything, what about the starry sky?

A moment ago, as Fu Qian tried to understand why this room had been built beneath the Astral Clocktower, a possible answer had struck him.

It was common knowledge that without a strong enough light source, even transparent objects appeared black.

What if the space behind the overhead dial was made of a similar special material, running all the way down to the base of the clock tower?

As for the purpose behind such a design, Fu Qian first thought of the legendary Star Map projected onto the floor of the Astral Clocktower.

What if a special design allowed that projected starlight to travel all the way down, eventually filtering through the holes in the overhead dial to illuminate the room where the Holy Grail was kept?

Wouldn't that effectively leave the Blind Eye Holy Grail exposed to the starry sky?

According to what the Sage had said earlier, the Holy Grail naturally tended to defy comprehension.

As an entity capable of distorting what people saw even in its slumber, it wasn't hard to imagine how troublesome it would be to control.

Since they believed the Gods were omnipresent and that one only needed to truly open their eyes to receive knowledge, could they have used that very principle to suppress the Holy Grail?

By exposing the Holy Grail to the gaze of the Gods in the starry sky at regular intervals, did they make it focus on escaping Their perception, thereby reducing insignificant humans to a secondary target?

It was a guess built on several assumptions, but if it held true, it seemed to explain why the Astral Clocktower had suffered so many disasters.

The Holy Grail did not want to be observed by the Gods, but lacking the strength to resist, it chose instead to prevent its own exposure to the starry sky.

That was why so many people had been inexplicably manipulated into damaging this wonder.

It was also why the clock tower needed to be built in such a densely populated area—the Holy Grail needed pawns.

If there was no one outside to mislead, the members of the Society would be the ones to suffer.

It was a delicate balance.

The massive crowds around it had always been nothing more than tools in this design.

Human ingenuity truly could not be underestimated.

...

There was one more detail. Fu Qian had just realized that the dial overhead wasn't actually broken; it was likely meant to remain stationary.

Plainly visible against the wall was a lever-like mechanism connected to it.

Its purpose was likely to allow the members of the Society to manually control the exposure from down here.

The logic sounded reasonable, but it still required verification from the Old Man Sage.

"Rest assured, not even a transcendent at the Demigod Realm could pierce the specially designed veil overhead to discover the anomaly below. That is why I didn't stop you from shining your lantern. It is a barrier that only the Gods of the starry sky can penetrate."

Speak of the devil. The Old Man Sage provided the answer almost instantly.

"Of course, even the Gods are currently blocked out. Next, we just need to slightly adjust the position of the dial to safely retrieve the Holy Grail."

Adjust it to match the current position of the Star Map on the Astral Clocktower? Give the Holy Grail a little stimulation from the starry sky and then take it away?

What a comprehensive plan!

And of course, this comprehensive plan was now known to him as well.

"Shall I adjust it?"

The Old Man Sage's brief words successfully confirmed Fu Qian's guess, putting him in such a good mood that he actively volunteered for the task instead of slacking off.

"Heh... there's no need. You've worked hard enough on the way down here."

Unfortunately, the Old Man Sage proved quite considerate of his subordinates. Smiling, he turned down the offer, then clapped his hands again.

"The two up top must be getting anxious. Let's leave a little physical labor for them."

'The more experienced one gets, the more cautious one becomes, huh? He found the target and now doesn't dare take any more risks?'

Fu Qian shook his head inwardly.

He could almost imagine it. Once those two came down, the first thing they did wouldn't be adjusting the dial—it would be eliminating him, the final unstable factor.

Even so, Fu Qian was readily accepting good advice, neither forcing his way over to the dial nor striking first.

Thanks to his encouragement, this exploration had successfully progressed by leaps and bounds. Now, it was time to shatter their comprehension.

Fu Qian believed that some sort of change was imminent.

All he needed to do was survive it to the end to verify his guess.

"Sage."

A comparatively heavier set of footsteps rang out, moving much faster than Ais had.

Sure enough, the next one to enter was Scrooge.

He had likely used the punch he took earlier as an excuse to successfully secure priority.

Though his appearance was a bit battered, resting for this brief moment was probably enough for him to fire off another beam.

"Although the process was a bit strange, the outcome is remarkably close to the plan."

Three against one, the Sage offered a concluding smile.

"With the help of the Holy Grail, I believe we will soon be able to give the world a little shock."

"The Society's ideals cannot be violated. However, Trier of the Holy Grail Cult has left behind a valuable treasure for us. By using Gold and knowledge to bind transcendent powers, they can be forged into swords and shields without any side effects."

"This is a more efficient, pristine path, the true way to wield transcendent power... Wouldn't you agree?"

With that final question, he suddenly turned to look at Fu Qian.

"An interesting thought."

Even though he knew the other party hadn't really been asking him, Fu Qian offered a serious critique anyway. Raising the Golden Shield in front of himself, he walked over to the wall.

"Why don't we ask the Gods of the starry sky?"

The lever in front of him was actually made of Gold, still gleaming even after countless years.

As Fu Qian placed his hand on it, a dark red beam struck the shield in his grasp, blocked by rippling waves.

During that brief moment earlier, he had successfully reestablished his connection with the shield.

"Not bad!"

Scrooge's attack having failed, the Sage looked slightly surprised, yet he showed no negative emotion. Instead, he observed the shield with keen interest.

"Setting aside the fact that you have no idea how to adjust it, even if you miraculously achieved the correct alignment, what meaning would it have for you?"

As he spoke, he clapped his hands again, summoning the final member, Charlotte, over.

"If you don't get it, you just don't get it."

Fu Qian returned an equally wicked smile and pulled hard with his hand.

Almost simultaneously, a bloodcurdling scream rang out from the Stone Statue Hall.

It was unmistakably Charlotte's voice as she hurried over. Ais and the other two looked back in unison, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Unfortunately, with their turning motion, all three of their heads fell to the ground in perfect unison.

At the same time, Fu Qian, who had triggered all this, let go of the lever without another word and lunged straight for the Holy Grail.

[Task Failed, SAN Value -1]

Yet he had only taken a single step before the prompt sounded.

The final image in Fu Qian's eyes was the Golden Shield cleanly splitting in two out of thin air, its transcendent effects failing to even trigger.

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