Eldritch Horror Theatre

Have the lambs finally found enlightenment, while the shepherd retreats behind the scenes?

At the Witch's explanation, Fu Qian nodded, feeling a vague sense that his great work was complete. But...

"Isn't it a bit too quiet like this? You don't seem like the type to enjoy being worshipped."

Seeing her Templar Knight deep in thought, the Witch kept walking, curiosity on her face.

"At least from my personal experience, it's incredibly boring. That's why I've decided to let them use their own imaginations this time."

The Witch was undoubtedly referring to her experience in the original Painting World. Though to her sole Templar Knight, she had looked perfectly comfortable lying there.

"Of course, if you're interested, I can always dispatch an apostle to walk the world."

It was certainly nice having a boss who could rewrite heavenly laws on a whim.

"My rent..."

Hmm?

"Looks like I paid it for nothing again. That's an expensive neighborhood."

Under the Witch's gaze, Fu Qian let out a long sigh.

"...That is true."

Truly worthy of the title of Pope, the Witch immediately followed Fu Qian's massive leap in logic.

"Your landlady this time, Mrs. Harper, definitely reaped quite a few benefits."

"Your non-refundable rent is one thing, but she probably won't ever need to rent out her house again."

"Oh?"

Fu Qian clearly lacked the Pope's omniscient perspective, finding himself a bit puzzled by his former landlady's sudden financial freedom.

"Amid the chaos of the falling Stars and the approaching doomsday, a group of evil worshippers jumped out and confessed to their recent crimes."

The Witch smiled faintly, sounding almost like a storyteller.

"Having received the enlightenment of a great being, they recently murdered and cannibalized an Art Gallery worker... By offering him as a sacrifice, they claimed the Law would collapse, doomsday would arrive, and their great being would rule over everything."

An Art Gallery worker...

So poor Brother Anke hadn't been lost in the Nightmare, but had long since passed on?

The Witch's tale made Fu Qian sigh in lament, reminding him of the stack of photos in Officer Rafady's pocket.

It was hard to say this was an isolated incident.

Just as he thought, enduring too many Nightmares rotted the brain. All sorts of ox-headed ghosts and snake spirits were crawling out of the woodwork.

...

"But doomsday never came, did it?"

Fu Qian could already picture the tragic fate of those fine gentlemen.

"They did manage to bluff quite a few people at first."

Walking through this world within a Painting World, the Witch set an even more leisurely pace as she wove her tale.

"No matter how dense someone is, they couldn't possibly miss the anomalies in the sky and the suddenly unfamiliar stars."

"Not to mention that the spokespeople for the Stars, the Celestial Sphere Cult, were immediately paralyzed."

That was completely understandable.

The entity they had worshipped their entire lives, the thing they would bare their asses to seek enlightenment from, was suddenly gone. The ensuing mental breakdown was, at the very least, on the level of a kid finding out Ultraman wasn't real.

Not splintering into their own doomsday cult was already a mild reaction.

"In short, amidst all the chaos, they really did rope a lot of people in. Laerdin was nearly paralyzed in a very short time, however—"

The Witch's storyteller persona was only growing stronger.

"The turning point was quite unexpected. Within the crumbling Celestial Sphere Cult, someone suddenly grasped the truth of the world. She declared that the preceding events were nothing more than the expulsion of a false Law."

"The true, supreme source of power came only from the Dark Moon that had appeared in the sky."

"Not many believed her at first, until she displayed that cold, dark power—a power that surpassed the Stars and embodied the fundamental rules of the world."

"This undoubtedly brought hope amidst the doomsday. Countless despairing people flocked to her, willing to revere her as a Divine Emissary."

"Yet she refused the title, claiming she had merely received inspiration from the shepherd, and selflessly shared this wisdom—even with the resistant members of the cult."

Having delivered this long speech in one breath, the Witch looked at Fu Qian with a beaming smile.

"And the shepherd she spoke of was none other than the Art Gallery worker recently proclaimed murdered—Anke."

"Rumor has it that he resurrected on the fifth day after being murdered by the cultists. He became the Seventh Apostle who received the Dark Moon's boon, as well as its most beloved Divine Child."

...Are you sure you didn't just add that last part yourself?

He naturally guessed that this pioneer the Witch spoke of was Amira, who had received his enlightenment multiple times. And the way things had played out actually sounded quite logical.

Only that final sentence hit Fu Qian with quite the whiplash.

"In conclusion, the place where this Seventh Apostle once lived is now viewed by many as a Sanctum. And by association, Mrs. Harper, who interacted with him often after his resurrection, has earned a great deal of respect."

The Witch seemed to thoroughly enjoy Fu Qian's reaction.

"As for the wicked thugs who murdered him, on the third day after the Stars fell, when the world showed absolutely no signs of apocalyptic collapse under the Dark Moon's protection... the awakened masses tied them up and dragged them before the Dark Moon Believers."

...

"What a beautiful ending."

Not dwelling too much on the Divine Child nonsense, Fu Qian silently listened to the rest of the Witch's tale and gave it a millimeter-perfect nod of approval.

"This one actually makes even more sense than the previous method. It should put less strain on your condition, too."

The previous method Fu Qian mentioned obviously referred to the outer Layer 1 Painting World.

In that old version of the sanctuary, whether they believed in the Seven Lights or the Dark Moon, the power of the transcendents was essentially carved straight from the source.

Although most people wouldn't reach a high Rank and wouldn't cause too much strain, the Witch's current condition was equally grim.

After all, compared to the Small Town, the population of Laerdin was on a completely different order of magnitude.

Emulating the Stars now, establishing the laws of the Dark Moon within this second-generation Painting World—which was built on the Witch's blood and entirely under her control—and distributing this power through different tiers of authority was undoubtedly a perfect fit.

"Also, it looks like I won't need to fill in the names of those five apostles."

Although Amira didn't dare claim the title of Divine Emissary, as a rising faith—with First Apostle Herbert and Seventh Apostle Anke already setting such excellent examples—the contents of the Book of Gospel would likely be completed very soon.

"It is indeed much easier and simpler."

The Witch seemed to completely agree with both of Fu Qian's assessments.

"In fact, just a moment ago, I received prayers from a certain special race."

"Logically, they should have been the most stubborn bunch, but it seems someone had already provided them with some profound enlightenment."

"You're welcome."

This special race undoubtedly referred to the vampires. As Fu Qian politely accepted the thanks, he thought back to that heated summary meeting.

He wondered if it had been Brother Jacques, or perhaps an open-minded progressive like Ms. Barry.

"So, do you want to go take a look? The place you paid rent for."

The Witch suggested.

"No need."

Fu Qian shook his head slightly, decisively letting it go.

"The Art Gallery? The Church?"

"No need for those either."

He had no lingering obsession with revisiting an old haunt. Studying Laerdin in the darkness of the night, Fu Qian's body swayed as he slowly pulled out two legs and planted them on the ground.

"Let's just take a walk. This place is pretty nice."

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