Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Excellent and virtuous! Now that's what you call the universal salvation of all living beings!"

Amidst the echoing roars, Fu Qian looked at his spoils of war, deeply gratified.

Right then, both the giant brain and the fleshy mass formed by the numerous heads fell completely silent.

The formless Gospel Shockwave swept across those restless thoughts with unstoppable momentum.

Most importantly, the illusion before him wasn't crumbling; it had grown even more stable.

It seemed his previous line of thinking had been correct.

To retrieve whatever might be hidden inside the brain, he needed to guide and control it on a mental level while maintaining the stability of the entire illusion.

This place was a test of mental control.

Of course, his own method of control was rather unorthodox—directly blasting its ears with the gospel.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Fu Qian realized that the giant brain was changing color. It was even solidifying.

In the blink of an eye, both the brain and the fleshy mass clustering around it transformed into the same material as the headless corpses outside.

This... under enlightenment, how had their thoughts ended up solidifying?

Observing this unexpected change, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

Regardless, the illusion's stability seemed sufficiently guaranteed now. He could boldly proceed with his search.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Madam Sissi, who had been left in a daze by Fu Qian's dramatic lines, stared at the cascading changes in dumbfounded shock.

The scene before her was far too surreal, somewhat breaking past her psychological baseline.

"Is that real flesh and blood? Did it really come from those human bodies?"

"But how could it all change in an instant... Just because you said a single sentence? This is too absurd!"

"Is this where the Bronze Madam came from as well? From this other side of the world that humanity has never known?"

She didn't even wait for Fu Qian to answer. Muttering to herself, she stepped forward.

Stopping before the heavily pitted bronze-colored brain, she examined every broken gap, her breathing growing heavier than ever before.

Then, as if completely out of her control, her right hand slowly lifted to stroke its surface, seemingly trying to feel if it shared the same material as the Bronze Madam.

"It really is..."

A moment later, she let out a dreamlike whisper, followed by a slightly manic laugh.

"So... those past experiences don't actually prove anything, do they?"

"It was all just my paranoid delusion? Just like what everyone told me on the fourth day..."

"A willingness to reflect is a good habit. Unfortunately, I don't know much about your situation, so I can't comment on your specific views right now."

Faced with Madam Sissi's display of complete enlightenment, Fu Qian didn't say much. Instead, he walked up to the bronze-colored brain just like she had and even knocked on it to listen to the sound.

Heh...

Madam Sissi just watched him.

"I understand. Some answers are known only to your own heart, but I still want to ask one thing..."

"What?"

Fu Qian shot her a glance. Her unfocused eyes made her look as if her SAN Value had completely bottomed out.

"How do you think... my performance was?"

In a mere instant, however, not a trace of bewilderment remained on Madam Sissi's face.

It was replaced by a smile worthy of an award acceptance speech.

Clang, clang!

Mimicking Fu Qian, she knocked on the brain, her tone filled with admiration.

"What a brilliant arrangement. I really didn't misjudge you!"

"This place must have been prepared for a long time, hasn't it?"

"I thought I was causing trouble for you, but it seems my little bit of willfulness was entirely expected. You even treated it as a perfect opportunity."

Pointing at her own head, Madam Sissi stared unblinkingly at Fu Qian.

"An opportunity to correct my 'erroneous' perception, right?"

Sure enough, changing preconceptions was the hardest thing of all.

Faced with Madam Sissi's questioning, Fu Qian sighed once more.

Her 180-degree shift in attitude, coupled with her subsequent lines, was simple to understand—she had just been pretending to be overwhelmed by the cascading changes, acting as if her worldview was shaken and her identity as an "actor" was in doubt.

In truth, Madam Sissi's will had never wavered.

She believed everything before her was a setup by the "production crew," aimed at making her doubt her own judgment and forcing her back onto the "right track."

When she asked how her performance was, she was referring to her acting just now.

He had to admit, it was incredibly natural and highly deceptive.

Unfortunately for her, his assessment had always been that her worldview was flawlessly self-justifying. He never believed it could be twisted so easily.

"Very nice. But hold on a second."

At that moment, Fu Qian finally provided his requested critique.

At the same time, he reached his hand into one of the solidified gaps, extending it deep within until he grasped a ring-shaped object.

By this time, the brain—now reduced to a dead object—had lost its shielding effect, allowing him to easily lock onto a distinct, unusual presence inside.

Madam Sissi didn't say a word in response to Fu Qian's praise, merely smiling as she observed his actions.

However, even though she firmly believed all of this was just a bunch of props, the object Fu Qian pulled out from the gap still gave her a minor shock.

It was an exquisitely crafted Circlet. Just like the brain before them, it was bronze-colored. Aside from the symmetrical patterns engraved on it, it lacked any extra embellishments.

Yet this seemingly simple crown possessed an indescribable magic at first glance, making it impossible to look away.

"Let me guess, do you need me to wear it?"

Suppressing a strange impulse in her heart, Madam Sissi took a deep breath and asked with a smile.

"That won't do. You can't wear this."

Fu Qian bluntly shot down her guess.

Unlike everything else before, the thing in his hand was definitively a transcendent item. He even had reason to suspect it was the main culprit behind this entire scenario.

"Why? Because of what I just said?"

Rejected so flatly, Madam Sissi looked at Fu Qian with a hint of amusement.

"I always figured you weren't such a petty person."

"Why?"

In a rather good mood, Fu Qian held the Circlet up to his own head, though he wasn't in a hurry to put it on.

"Just because of the style I've shown earlier? If I can deliberately scheme to mislead you, acting petty should be even simpler, shouldn't it?"

"...Fair point. So, does this magical journey end here? Wouldn't that be a waste of such a painstaking setup?"

Madam Sissi giggled.

"It can indeed end here. But I have one question: how does it feel to see through the 'conspiracy'?"

Fu Qian deliberately emphasized the word "conspiracy."

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