Eldritch Horror Theatre

"What's going on?"

In the freezing basement, Amira clenched her teeth against the sudden change, barely managing to swallow a scream.

Her reaction was swift. The barrier she had just dismissed instantly unfurled again, enclosing all three of them.

But she quickly realized it was completely unnecessary.

The grotesque, abnormally fierce creature draped over An Ke had rapidly ceased all movement, condensing layers of white frost.

"Something really did change..."

Beside her, Reginald wasn't faring much better. He watched the scene in incomprehension, his emotions a tangled mess.

'Were we really just one step away from the answer?'

'Our reasoning wasn't wrong at all. Having him enter the Nightmare really did yield a special discovery...'

'Yet if this guy hadn't been so insanely reckless, we would have missed the answer entirely.'

...

"So it is fundamentally the same Nightmare, just hidden too well?"

Amira clearly shared the same thought. The source of this magnificent, freezing chill was the man trapped beneath.

"The same goes for its effects on the victims."

"It wasn't triggered until it came into contact with the corruption from other Nightmares?"

The more she thought about it, the more her scalp tingled with dread. Amira looked at Reginald.

"What do we do now?"

If that were truly the case, they could never overestimate the importance of this Nightmare.

Given the massive number of victims, if there really was a hidden danger, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Unfortunately, we didn't see any special connections or pathways... We're still too far from the results we want."

Reginald slowly shook his head, tearing his gaze away with difficulty.

The Burning Frost enveloping the man's entire body seemed to carry a chill that froze everything; staring at it for too long made even his thoughts feel congealed.

Not a trace of liquid moisture remained in the entire room. The mutilated corpse that had spawned the blood-sucking worms was coated in a layer of crystalline white frost, showing almost no signs of life.

"It's almost over. Let's deal with the threat of the corruption first."

The next moment, Reginald let out a low shout. Lead Flame flared to life in his hands once more, and he charged straight ahead.

'Are you sure it still needs dealing with?'

Watching this, Amira felt genuine bewilderment.

Leaving aside the fact that An Ke showed absolutely no signs of being invaded—other than having this special power triggered—

The mass currently covering his upper half had practically turned into an ice sculpture, entirely stripped of vitality. By comparison, the fire in Reginald's hands was far more likely to cause harm.

Crash!

But Reginald's movements were resolute, striking the target in an instant.

The creature had indeed lost all its resilience. The heavy, metallic flame struck like a Heavy Hammer, sending countless shards scattering across the ground.

Accompanying the shatter, an invisible wail seemed to flash and fade away.

"Thanks."

The volunteer "rescued" by that single strike didn't show the slightest intention of dodging Reginald's still-burning hands. Instead, he took the mask off his face.

The radiance enveloping his body dissipated along with it.

...

Reginald's expression was slightly complex. He didn't respond, but instead lowered his head to look off to the side.

There, mixed within the scattered, multicolored ice crystals, lay a glint of gold.

'This...'

Amira subconsciously followed his gaze, her brows knitting tightly together for a moment.

"There's no need to thank me."

Reginald finally spoke. Stepping two paces forward, he plucked the object from the pile of ice shards and laid it flat on his palm.

"It's over."

...

But before he could say anything else, Amira's warning rang out beside him.

Before her voice even faded, everything before their eyes silently dispersed, and the somewhat cramped bedroom reappeared around them.

...

Everything was exactly the same as when they left—the dim lighting, the sleep-inducing Incense, and even the owner of the bedroom lying quietly there with the Brain Fork embedded in his face.

No abnormal changes had appeared on his body, and his expression was already rapidly smoothing into peace.

Yet everything also felt changed. At the very least, Reginald and Amira both remained completely silent for a time.

"It really was just a minute, huh?"

Taking in the scene, Fu Qian looked toward the corner of the room, breaking the silence with a sigh of realization.

Realizing what he had just said, Amira and Reginald subconsciously followed his gaze. There, in the corner almost furthest from the bed, sat a small desk clock.

Its wooden casing featured exquisite, colorful painting, and it was clearly running normally. But it had been tossed on the floor by itself; one would easily miss it without being familiar with the room.

And not only had this guy spotted it, he had even memorized the time to verify their earlier claim.

Amira and Reginald exchanged a glance, both able to read the complex emotions in the other's eyes.

This guy had truly brought them too many surprises today.

"That is one of the traits of the Nightmare," Amira finally spoke up, explaining softly. "As long as you enter, no matter how long you stay or how you get out, only one minute will pass in reality."

It sounded like a special countermeasure aimed at the one-minute ban.

Fu Qian nodded slightly, marveling once again at the strictness of certain rules in this world.

After today's trip into the Nightmare, he realized that something clearly involving a considerably high Rank could only be dealt with by circumventing it in such a disguised manner.

"Of course, he won't wake up until we pull the Brain Fork out. He's currently in a special comatose state."

As she spoke, she pointed at the man on the bed.

"So that's how it is. It seems this guy will finally get some decent sleep today."

Fu Qian sighed in admiration and handed the mask he was holding back to her.

Having returned to reality, the patterns upon it had grown dull and lusterless.

"...How are you feeling?"

Reaching out to take it, Amira was far more concerned about any changes in him.

"Better than ever."

Fu Qian answered quickly, a genuine smile on his face.

"Thank you both for everything you've done today."

"...It should be The Order thanking you. We gained quite a lot as well."

Faced with this gratitude, Amira didn't seem to know how to respond. She forced a smile and glanced at Reginald.

"Yes, Mr. An Ke truly brought us many surprises today."

Reginald, who had been staring at Fu Qian the whole time, seemed to hint at something in his words. The next moment, he withdrew his gaze and looked down at his palm.

Glinting with golden light, the final harvest from the Nightmare just now had actually been brought out with them.

At a glance, the object was unmistakably a Pocket Watch.

Though quite worn, it was clearly made of gold. The only pity was that the dial had been shattered.

"Looks like an antique. That really is a nice piece of loot."

Glancing at it, Fu Qian offered a smiling compliment.

"To actually be able to bring it out from inside... it's a very unique phenomenon... But this thing clearly doesn't have any anomalies. It's an ordinary item..."

Reginald muttered to himself. He looked up at Fu Qian, his expression somewhat complicated. The next moment, he actually held the Pocket Watch out to him.

"Take it. Theoretically speaking, this is your loot."

"The Order won't take pointless advantage of you."

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