Eldritch Horror Theatre

Combining arguments with evidence always produced an effect greater than the sum of their parts.

Faced with the spoils Fu Qian presented, the expressions of Amira and her companion looked even more rusted than the items themselves.

It was obvious there were things they weren't blind to, but simply chose to ignore.

Which made the current effect all the more spectacular.

"So what exactly are you trying to say?"

The concrete proof of this was His Excellency Redinard stiffening his face and firing off a question that was tantamount to suicide when dealing with Fu Qian.

"Very good. A willingness to face the problem is always the First Step. Though it would be best if we walk while we talk."

Fu Qian adopted a lofty stance, showing no intention of mocking them further. He resumed walking as he spoke, fiddling with the rusted gun barrel in his hands.

He had promised his good man Simon they would hurry. Even if they were just lost lambs to him, a promise was a promise.

Empty.

"It looks just like that sword. It never fulfilled its duty."

After showing it to Amira and her companion, Fu Qian sighed and casually snapped it shut.

"So, as far as you're concerned, a thick fog descended from the sky a month ago, deformed discarded pieces ran rampant within it, and all the desolation we've seen along the way was caused by it?"

"It sounds like a coherent story, but there are a few problems with it."

"First, we haven't encountered a single living person on our way here—or a corpse, for that matter."

"Second, the two weapons we found look like they were discarded a very long time ago. Far longer than just a month."

"Finally, I don't know how road maintenance duties are divided around here, but the latter half of this road is clearly unfit for carriages."

Stepping sideways around a slanted piece of deadwood, Fu Qian sighed faintly.

"And it likely hasn't been fit for a very long time."

"Why don't you tell me how to explain these three things?"

Tucking the roughly cleaned short gun into his waistband and admiring the look, Fu Qian glanced at Reginald, his voice gentle.

Unfortunately, even so, the latter still averted his gaze instinctively.

...

"That is indeed the newest model of Law Enforcement Equipment, provided to police officers by The Order."

While Reginald pondered, unable to formulate an answer, it was Simon beside him who replied.

True to form, the hunter was trying to maintain a polite posture.

"Regarding the wear on the weapon and all the traces around us, The Order has yet to reach an absolute conclusion."

"Currently, the Sanctuary's stance leans toward the idea that the Mist carries a special kind of pollution. The flow of time was infinitely magnified the moment it descended."

Simon's tone remained devoid of emotion, yet the picture he painted was bone-chilling.

At the very least, Amira and her companion looked quite ill.

"But we haven't felt anything unusual since coming in."

Fu Qian tossed out the question casually, having listened with rapt attention.

"It was the same for The Order when they first entered. These changes seemed to have completed in an instant."

"Understood. If we accept that premise, it does reasonably explain my three problems."

Fu Qian seemed quite satisfied with Simon's answer.

But in the next moment, he turned his head, still refusing to let Reginald off the hook.

"So, do you accept it?"

"...I will always trust the wisdom of the Sanctuary."

The latter's momentum was clearly utterly suppressed. He took a deep breath before answering slowly.

"Very good. Then we can proceed to the next step."

Fu Qian pointed around them.

"The place we are walking right now rapidly traversed a long span of time at a certain moment about a month ago, giving birth to deformed monsters."

"Don't you think this change feels extremely similar to a certain kind of event... one that has been happening quite frequently lately?"

"A Nightmare..."

His Excellency Reginald was still proving a bit slow on the uptake. Even with the hint, Amira beat him to the answer.

Of course, the latter didn't look thrilled about her deduction. Her face grew even paler than before.

"Right. Nightmares that never last more than a minute on the outside, yet the people trapped inside experience long, drawn-out years—just like The Rayson Couple in the Painting World."

Fu Qian sighed softly, his voice like the whisper of a devil.

"So the question becomes: compared to them opening their eyes at midnight, what do you think is your fundamental difference?"

"How can that be the same concept? They woke up from the Nightmare and successfully returned to reality."

This time, Reginald didn't seek help from the audience, directly gritting his teeth to answer himself.

"But doesn't reality seem to have passed through long ages, just like their experience?"

Fu Qian jutted his chin at their surroundings, unbothered by the man's tone.

"And this comes from the wisdom of the Sanctuary."

"So is it possible that their experience wasn't the Nightmare, and that this one is?"

Fu Qian pointed behind him toward the direction of Laerdin and blinked.

"What they call waking up... was actually just opening their eyes inside a Nightmare?"

"Don't be so rigid. The term 'Edge of Nightmare' can refer to reality shifting into a Nightmare, or a Nightmare shifting into reality."

"It's all nonsense, nothing more than a simple resemblance. At the very least, I have never heard of a place with seven lights in the sky."

He was a devout believer who had been bestowed a Gorgeous Shawl, after all. Though his emotions were growing increasingly unstable, Reginald wasn't so easily swayed.

"Besides, of all those Nightmares, not every single one had such a long time span."

"I would rather believe this is a type of pollution we've never seen before. Both Laerdin and what lies before us are real!"

"I also agree with His Excellency Reginald's view."

Beside them, Amira couldn't resist chiming in again.

"Whether inside or outside the city, I can feel that the Stars above us are the same, without that profane feeling you get when entering a Nightmare. I don't believe the Mist signifies anything—these are two completely normally connected places."

"Well said. Moving on from simply finding problems, you've started learning to think dialectically."

Unoffended by their rebuttals, Fu Qian even offered a magnanimous smile.

"As of right now, I agree with your conclusion."

Agree?

For a moment, not only were Amira and Reginald dumbfounded, but even the Hunter Simon shot him a sidelong glance.

Just a moment ago, he had looked like a street preacher peddling his theories, and now he was actually agreeing with the very arguments rebutting him?

Truth be told, this reaction was even more devastating than mocking the lambs for their self-deception.

Amira, for instance, couldn't help but reexamine the conviction she had just solidified.

...

Seeking truth from facts was always a Virtue for a task runner.

Fu Qian naturally knew what they were thinking. He didn't say anything more, but merely stared straight ahead, musing inwardly.

He didn't have any special connection with the Stars, so it was hard for him to confirm whether the starry sky had been profaned.

But as a Tier 2 False God and a Dream Dominator, it was hard to imagine he wouldn't notice the transition between reality and dreams as he walked along.

Therefore, there was a very high probability that both shared the exact same nature.

The problem now was that the scene before his eyes was a little too similar to the ruined world the Witch had spoken of.

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