Eldritch Horror Theatre

The road is long and obstructed. Only unyielding resolve can forge ahead.

Seeing that her persistent efforts had finally drawn Fu Qian into deep thought, Lotte maintained a grave expression, seemingly determined not to show a single trace of weakness or hesitation.

Unfortunately, in the dead silence, her violent heartbeat was loud enough that even someone with Fu Qian's ordinary human physique could hear it.

Immersed in his thoughts, however, Fu Qian didn't seem to look down on her for it. If anything, he felt that resolve all the more intensely.

"Interesting! I must say, it seems not even Veil truly understands her own sister..."

When he finally spoke again, Fu Qian's gaze had shifted. He gave a slight nod.

Naturally, it was essential to subtly drop the name of the person the girl cared about most, using it to back up his high appraisal.

"Burn this determination of yours to its absolute limit, and perhaps we really can give her a surprise."

For the first time since this started, and indeed for the first time since they met, Venerable Fu gave Lotte a glowing review.

"What price... do I have to pay?"

They say that when most people are finally presented with the very thing they have tirelessly sought, their first reaction is actually hesitation.

That certainly seemed to be the case here.

Having finally earned his approval, Lotte's heart pounded even harder. Yet, her first instinct wasn't to ask about matters of faith. She suddenly remembered something, and her expression grew complicated as she looked at Fu Qian.

Oh?

Fu Qian's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked Lotte up and down.

Given the circumstances, such a gaze was incredibly piercing.

Even though she appeared to have firmly made up her mind, goosebumps seemed to break out across Lotte's skin wherever his eyes lingered.

But her resolve wasn't for nothing. In the end, she bravely met his scrutiny.

"It's simple. Just don't do what you did earlier."

However, the condition he finally laid out shattered her hard-won composure in an instant. Her voice sounded breathless, as if her brain were deprived of oxygen.

"What I did earlier... you mean..."

"I don't just mean waking people up in the middle of the night. As an adult, you must learn to respect the goodwill of others."

Fu Qian's expression was profoundly meaningful, carrying the air of a wise elder.

"Even if that goodwill only brings you added pain, it is still her goodwill, and her freedom."

"You can refuse it, but you have no right to be angry."

...

"It might be a bit abstract, but you can keep it in mind and chew on it later. As for tonight specifically, you shouldn't have disturbed someone's sleep, acted purely on assumptions without preparing for any awkwardness that might ensue, or... snuck into your sister's clothes."

Fu Qian jutted his chin toward Lotte.

Given her height, the nightgown was obviously a bit long. At the same time, he could even see a recently discarded set of clothes in the room.

"I hope that before you went to your sister's room, you didn't let any self-righteous ideas lead you to wander anywhere else."

...

Silence fell over the room once more. Seeing Lotte's face turn alternating shades of pale and green, Fu Qian confirmed that his 'hope' was clearly dead in the water.

Despite his lack of experience with tragic romances, whipping up a trashy soap-opera plotline for this situation was child's play for Fu Qian—

Following the Archipelago incident, Lotte had been saved by her sister once again. Ashamed of her own actions, she also suspected that her sister had made a massive sacrifice for it and was continually being deceived.

Thus, within this dream that she controlled, and with him boarding at their house once more, she decided to use herself as bait to expose his true colors.

As for the nightgown, perhaps she thought it provided some sort of bonus effect?

Unfortunately, by the time she finished her preparations and arrived at the target location, the room was already empty, prompting her to go check on her sister instead.

During their subsequent conversation, the highly stimulating topic had made her temporarily forget her original goal.

Only now, as things entered this new phase, did she remember it with somewhat complicated emotions.

Naturally, regardless of whether there were any slight discrepancies in his theory, Fu Qian had absolutely no interest in confirming them.

The only reason he had been willing to talk so much was that his control over this dream was still lacking just a tiny bit.

Fortunately, following this psychological impact, it was now enough.

"Are you ready?"

The next moment, he simply made a hand gesture.

...

This was the next step already? Those were really the conditions?

The Illusory Eye above Lotte's head was flickering even more violently than before; her worldview had clearly taken a heavy hit.

More obviously, of course, she didn't dare waste Venerable Fu's time.

"I understand. Please begin."

Taking another deep breath, she forced herself to banish all distracting thoughts, her gaze turning resolute.

Almost simultaneously, a palm opened right in front of her eyes.

A crude and rudimentary, yet profoundly sublime blood-red symbol was slowly surfacing in the palm.

Just a single glance at it brought an oppressive pressure that almost made one afraid to breathe.

"The ancient Divine Entity, the King of the Abandoned Prison. This is His Emblem."

Fu Qian's solemn declaration rang out, and he proceeded to chant the honorific name once more with a measured, rhythmic cadence.

In truth, this Emblem in his palm was precisely the purpose behind increasing his control over the dream just now.

Because he had been overplaying his guest role earlier, even producing such a manifestation hadn't been easy.

"Understood. I need to become His believer and achieve the resolve you mentioned, praying for a merciful boon?"

Listening and committing it all to memory, Lotte showed no stage fright, displaying her memory and quick comprehension.

"No... do not seek mercy. It's obvious that your understanding of the concept of faith has been somewhat polluted by the Night Watchers."

Unfortunately, her statement did not earn his approval. Fu Qian immediately sighed and shook his head.

"Your God does not love you. Even the devil who harms people does not hate you. He simply requires your pain and death."

"All you need to firmly believe is what I just told you: He is the God who presides over Calamity, sublime and pure... and He will bestow that resolve."

...

Clearly, the content Fu Qian mentioned was a bit beyond her current scope. Lotte fell into momentary deep thought.

Fu Qian proved to be extremely patient, even sitting back down.

The talk about the purity of faith was, naturally, just nonsense he had made up on the spot.

Mainly, if he genuinely wanted to take the mental pollution route and use the Real World's faith markings to break free, he naturally had to maintain maximum purity to avoid interference from any anthropomorphic attributes.

"I think I understand."

Lotte didn't appear to disappoint him. After a relatively brief silence, she seemed to grasp it.

"Thank you for the guidance. I've committed everything you just said to memory, and I won't slack off moving forward."

"Is that so?"

Fu Qian was noncommittal in the face of this resolve.

"Then sketch the Emblem for me first."

...

She obviously didn't quite understand why he was testing her on such a simple question, but Lotte obediently complied.

Quickly fetching a piece of paper, she carefully sketched out a design.

Sure enough.

Before she even handed it over for his review, Fu Qian was already sighing inwardly—the design on the paper bore absolutely zero resemblance to the Emblem of the King of the Abandoned Prison.

That Higher Existence, Alakir... His level of awakening was likely far higher than Brother Persuader had imagined.

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