Eldritch Horror Theatre

Very good, very cooperative.

Although he wasn't the target, the visitors had undoubtedly brought some interesting news.

A prison visit turned into a jailbreak in a split second. Fu Qian wasn't really surprised by the sudden turn of events.

After all, it was a rare day when a place the Warehouse dumped him into didn't have some sort of anomaly.

What intrigued him was the move the female visitor, Mariana, had just pulled off.

It was a very special technique. Judging by appearances alone, it easily brought to mind the commandment patterns that surfaced on the bodies of The Order or the Blood Clan when they took action.

Even its Rank was quite high.

At the same time, however, there was a fundamental difference.

For one, it manifested directly as a physical object. After all, even the Spear of Fatal Death that had targeted him several times—one of the Blood Clan's top-tier methods—was essentially just an amalgamation of concepts or rules. This thing, however, already looked like a hybrid of plant and animal.

Not a single trace of the beauty and solemnity of the Law remained.

The scene just now, where it stabbed Dean Glenn and drew blood, carried the corrupt sense of slapping someone in the face with a shit-smeared codex.

Of course, the wielder herself clearly didn't think so.

...

"Rest assured, I'm not joking. We aren't like Dean Glenn here, who drew his conclusions from earnest testing."

Seeing that the prisoner finally showed a hint of interest, Mariana smiled in satisfaction and pointed at Glenn.

It seemed she really wasn't in a hurry to escape this place, just as she had claimed.

Being pointed at, Glenn's expression turned even uglier.

Being mocked was one thing, but her excessive confidence made it obvious she had everything perfectly planned out.

And that only made him worry even more about what would happen to him next.

Naturally, the biggest impact came from the two steps Mariana took forward as she spoke.

Glenn's gaze practically froze on the two worm-like vines extending from her.

Their tips were even stained with blood. His blood.

Was this what had just stabbed him?

Even though the weapon was no longer touching him, Glenn remained stiff, not daring to move a muscle.

"What... is this?"

Still, he forced himself to voice the question gnawing at him.

"Aren't you the expert? Why don't you try analyzing it again?"

Mariana actually answered him, her tone drenched in mockery.

As she spoke, the bloodstained vines even swayed slightly.

Those two sways seemed to shatter the last of Dean Glenn's sanity. He stood there in a daze, his jaw slack.

"What about you, Esther? Do you know what this is?"

Mariana was quite satisfied with his reaction. Smiling, she turned back to the prisoner still sitting on the floor, her voice softening significantly.

"I don't know..."

After a long silence, Esther finally spoke. She sounded like someone who hadn't talked to another person in a very long time.

"No, you do know."

Mariana's response was firm, leaving no room for argument.

"Think again. You've seen it before, in the world from when you were nine."

The world from when she was nine...

Esther didn't reply, but her breathing seemed to quicken slightly.

...

Another world? The situation was getting more and more interesting.

Naturally, Fu Qian had caught every word of the conversation next door.

While Mariana's technique was one thing, the audience's reaction seemed a bit exaggerated in his eyes.

Star Law, corruption, Nightmares—the place where he had just finished eating his midnight snack was a world teeming with Transcendent Tier beings.

Setting Esther aside for a moment, Glenn was the director of this asylum; he should have been far more knowledgeable and experienced.

Even though those flamboyant Flesh Vines lacked any aesthetic appeal, they still shouldn't have elicited a reaction like he'd just seen a ghost.

Unless this wasn't that world.

If he was currently in a Nightmare scenario similar to the hospital that treated boiling blood disease, and the "another world" Mariana mentioned referred to the realm where The Order was located, everything would be much easier to explain.

And if that truly was the case, the origin of the thing on Mariana's body was undoubtedly even more intriguing.

It clearly wasn't The Order's style. Were the Stars reverse-infiltrating this Nightmare?

"I am not nine years and five months old. I am thirty-three. I killed many people, and I fantasized that they harmed me."

While Fu Qian was deep in thought, Esther shook her head in the adjacent cell, disagreeing with Mariana as she recounted her life experience.

"I look in the mirror often. Both my body and the scars on it prove this beyond a doubt."

"Look at me, Mariana."

Her voice was cold and resolute.

"Does the reflection in your eyes show a nine-year-old girl?"

...

It seemed this isolation therapy actually had some effect.

Esther's increasingly rapid and clear articulation showed a very firm stance.

She clearly identified much more with her current persona.

Fu Qian didn't know if Glenn's earlier sarcastic remark about the "little girl inside her" had been some sort of treatment method.

But it was evident that the attempts to correct her perception had played a role.

Of course, all that effort now looked like it was going to fall short by a single basket of earth.

"I know you might not believe me, but to answer your question: yes, I see a nine-year-old girl."

In the very next moment, Mariana answered without any hesitation.

"Deceived, manipulated, hurt... none of these are things you ever should have had to endure... But don't be afraid. We found you."

"...But I really don't know anything about another world. I've always lived in Laerdin; I've never been anywhere else."

Mariana's words seemed to touch Esther, but after a brief silence, she stubbornly held to her own judgment.

And her stubbornness successfully stirred something in Fu Qian as well.

This place was actually called Laerdin too? Things were getting more and more surreal.

"Really? In any form whatsoever?"

Mariana let out a soft chuckle.

"I know people easily forget their dreams, but do you truly not remember even a tiny glimpse of your nine-year-old self walking through another world?"

"What are you doing?"

Faced with her question, Esther didn't rush to answer. Instead, it was Glenn, watching from the sidelines, who finally couldn't hold back anymore, seemingly unwilling to watch the fruits of his therapy be destroyed.

"You're going to aggravate her symptoms—"

"Explain."

Unfortunately, Mariana instantly cut him off, once again displaying the bloodstained vines.

...

Clearly, the lethality of this irrefutable sight was absolute. Glenn tried several times but ultimately failed to make a single sound.

"I love seeing that expression. No matter how many times."

Mariana commented, laughing recklessly.

"It symbolizes everything, and no amount of acting can fake it."

"In fact, that's exactly why I wanted you to accompany us, Dean. Thank you for your cooperation."

She actually thanked him with complete sincerity before turning back to Esther.

"Did you see that? That expression."

"So, do you remember now?"

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