Eldritch Horror Theatre

The Vacuum Flower was certainly favoring the trio.

In reality, having received so much of that favor, Ais's body was already manifesting the horrifying changes she had feared.

Her beautiful, voluptuous figure was now literally ready to bloom.

Smooth fissures with eerie curves were splitting her flesh into three distinct petals.

And the transformation was indeed centered around the three pieces of the Sacred Cloth.

In the original plan, this scene should have unfolded in the dark. Only after fully bursting open and dividing into three would it entangle three fresh bodies.

Of course, this required precise timing. Otherwise, just like Sophia, she would be unable to maintain a human form even with the Weapon's power.

It was a bold risk for survival, but it wasn't enough.

Under the Dislocation between reality and the dream, they could push their burning will to survive to a higher limit and see more.

"Vacuum Flower..."

Following Fu Qian's suggestion, the trio had fallen into a synchronized stupor.

The thrill of finding a way out of a desperate situation was so intense that they didn't even attempt to dodge the two bone spikes shooting toward them. The projectiles accurately struck the two extra faces, eliciting distinct shrieks.

"Is this really Its influence?"

The commotion finally brought Ais back to her senses. Her right arm automatically reached up to yank out the bone spike while she subconsciously sought confirmation.

"Very likely."

Fu Qian confirmed it matter-of-factly.

He had told the truth, of course. It was impossible for changes in reality not to affect the dream.

Even as a Dream Dominator, he couldn't keep someone whose physical body was collapsing intact for long within a dream he controlled.

Since that physical division was already happening on the outside, it wasn't surprising at all for the consciousnesses entering the dream to display more independent behavior.

"Or do you feel like your body is about to collapse?" he asked.

Seeing Ais's eyes still flickering with doubt, Fu Qian completely understood. With her personality, she would never easily trust others when her life was on the line.

But it didn't matter. This was never a multiple-choice question to begin with.

"Even after I just ambushed you... you aren't going to retaliate?"

Ais ignored his counter-question, abruptly dropping the previous topic to raise another crucial point.

"Didn't you say it yourself? The desperation of survival."

Casually stroking the top of his head as his hair fell like rain, Fu Qian spoke without a care, his face now closely resembling a reptile's.

"And I also said, this is the arrangement of fate."

Her attack had targeted his left chest. While aiming for a fatal strike, it also corresponded to the area covered by Ais's breastplate, making it convenient to patch herself up.

Her ambush had been incredibly well-calculated. Aside from eliminating a threat, she had maximized the probability of preserving his body to serve as a vessel.

Of course, it was precisely because he had that much confidence in them that he had stuffed the belt he just removed into that exact spot.

"So what is fate's next arrangement?"

Whether they believed him was one thing, but the trio seamlessly voiced their most pressing concern in perfect unison.

"That depends on the extent of the Vacuum Flower's favor. As I said, I am just waiting for answers, and I'm very much looking forward to your performance."

His posture hadn't changed from start to finish, and not a hint of deceit could be heard in his tone.

"...You aren't worried we'll pull off another ambush in the chaos?"

Dodging the undead attacker once more, the trio understood his meaning: he was waiting to see if they could earn the Vacuum Flower's acknowledgment again, and until then, he wouldn't strike back.

But that only made his behavior even harder to comprehend.

Standing here and letting himself be twisted and deformed, just to witness this so-called fate?

"Can you even pull it off again?"

In response to their final doubt, Fu Qian only chuckled coldly.

...

The trio fell silent, including Scrooge, who controlled the energy beams.

As one of the Weapon's most lethal abilities, they already knew from their previous exploration that the strain it caused was immense, not to mention he had just fired it several times in succession.

Naturally, Fu Qian didn't think Scrooge was entirely incapable of firing one more beam if he put his life on the line. He just didn't think Scrooge would risk his life for the other two.

Ais and the others clearly shared the same thought.

As for why he was twisting along with them—something the three found utterly baffling—there was actually nothing to worry about.

It was precisely because he was immune to the distortion that he was using them as observation tools.

And reassuringly, after grasping the situation, the trio's proactive attitude was quite gratifying.

Crack!

For example, after knocking Sophia away once more, the legs attempting to sprint toward the exit were forcefully shattered by a fist.

"Are you crazy?!"

Plummeting face-first to the floor, Ais and Scrooge roared almost simultaneously.

"Running is pointless. No matter what his goal is, establishing a strong enough connection is our only chance."

Charlotte, who had just "moved" to stop the escape, spoke coldly, displaying the most resolute will among them.

...

They clearly hadn't expected Charlotte to actually believe the earlier conversation, let alone sabotage their escape with his own hands.

Amidst Ais and Scrooge's utter disbelief, the body sprawled on the floor sank, finally ensnared by a writhing mass of flesh.

Of course, even Charlotte himself didn't realize that his intense, desperate urge to seek out the Vacuum Flower's aura at all costs was actually only there because of Fu Qian's help.

At a certain moment, Fu Qian had chosen him to be the core of the dream and bestowed upon him a special mission.

Challenging one's limits was never that simple.

Fu Qian kept his promise and remained perfectly still. In his vision, as the trio fell, the flaming Sophia lunged forward once again, tightly embracing Ais's mangled body.

This move also thoroughly crushed any hope the trio had of escaping.

Ugh—

As the body deformed, the three increasingly independent faces exchanged glances. Suddenly, Charlotte's face ducked down, ravenously tearing into the corpse bugs.

Regardless, this flesh was indeed highly favored. Eating it might...

After freezing for just a few seconds, the other two faces followed suit, mimicking the exact same action.

Almost there.

Checking on the limbs outside the dream that had almost completely lost their form, Fu Qian knew very well that his estimated limit was rapidly approaching.

The only problem was, it still lacked a little something.

He could sense that, driven by their intense thirst for the Vacuum Flower's favor, a certain change—tracing the connection between flesh and soul—was faintly beginning to manifest in the dream.

But it wasn't enough. It was still blurry.

Fu Qian thought for a moment, locked onto the wills before him, and silently unleashed a Gospel Shockwave.

Fiercely inspired by the shockwave, the trio pushed the dream to its absolute limit, and it shattered with a resounding crash.

But at that very same moment, Fu Qian finally captured a glimpse of an image—

A genuine flower-shaped wound, looking as though it had been torn right out of thin air.

And behind this rift lay an indescribable darkness.

Fu Qian was absolutely certain it wasn't a starry sky, nor was that darkness empty.

Yet at the same time, in that place where distance seemed to lose all meaning, he astonishingly discovered a sun.

And another...

And yet another...

As the image completely dissipated, Fu Qian counted the total number of suns while leaning back and spreading his arms wide.

Thousands of tentacles exploded in all directions, completely crushing the flesh and the Workshop.

[Current task completed. Designation 3-0004 successfully contained]

As the dust settled amidst the familiar notification chime, Fu Qian turned around and looked toward the entrance.

The footsteps of Madam Yingzhu and her companion were clearly approaching at a rapid pace.

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