Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Revisiting an old haunt. Any special feelings?"

Fully embracing his role as a special guest, Fu Qian walked a step behind Lisa, studying her expression as he chuckled out the question.

"Do you want me to write another reflection essay, too?"

At that reminder, whatever faint trace of nostalgia she might have felt vanished instantly. Professor Lisa turned to look at Fu Qian, retorting with a tight, humorless smile.

Clearly, those words alone were enough to stir up some intense memories.

The memory of this man teaming up with Cass to test her field expedition insights on the spot was still painfully fresh.

As was the sheer agony of having to compose an essay right then and there.

"Not bad at all."

Faced with her sarcastic suggestion, Fu Qian actually looked pleasantly surprised and offered generous praise.

"No need!"

She cut him off in a heartbeat, already looking as though a headache was coming on.

"Which way are we going?"

Not wanting to waste another syllable on the topic, Professor Lisa quickened her pace. She strode straight out of the entrance tunnel as she spoke, frowning as she considered their route.

Ah—

Faced with her profound lack of enlightenment, Fu Qian gave a soft sigh but didn't press the issue. He followed her out of the tunnel and surveyed their surroundings.

...

Just like his last visit, the landscape was magnificent and breathtaking. A perfectly uniform circular rim enclosed the dense Mist pooling within the massive crater.

Various creations forged from bone and phantom light drifted through the haze, phasing in and out of sight.

The Skull that Professor Lisa had spent all this time studying had been collected right from this very pit.

"We went clockwise last time, right?"

Fu Qian nodded slightly as he took in the magnificent view once more, double-checking the details of their previous expedition.

"Yes. Should we go the other way this time? Though we don't actually need to walk the entire perimeter again; we just need to find a suitable target."

Not quite understanding why he asked, Lisa confirmed his memory was correct and offered her own suggestion.

"Going the other way is a good idea."

Without any objections, Fu Qian stepped right up to the edge of the immense pit and peered down.

"There should be a way down around here, right?"

...

'Why are we suddenly talking about going down?'

'That wasn't what I meant when I said we should go the other way...'

Finally realizing what Fu Qian was looking for, Professor Lisa could only lament the sheer disconnect in their communication.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me Linghui's people have just been doing laps around this outer rim all these years."

Seeing her reaction, Fu Qian actually beat her to the punch by acting surprised.

"No, that's not it... Rumor has it they've already explored it to a considerable depth. In fact, that's one of the main reasons they have the confidence to demand we don't go hunting at random."

Seeing that he wasn't joking, Lisa quickly reined in her exasperation and shared what she knew.

"The structures exposed along the rim are supposedly ancient Ruins of incalculable age. Aside from what we can see here, there's even more buried deeper down."

"They even speculate that the Ruins might continue beneath the very bottom of the pit."

Lisa pointed into the depths of the Mist as she spoke, her expression grave.

Ancient Ruins? It certainly looked the part.

Following her gaze, Fu Qian withheld his opinion for the moment.

Just as they had noted during their last expedition, this geometrically flawless ring was essentially the rim of an equally uniform, massive crater.

It looked as if a flawlessly controlled explosion had neatly carved out a chunk of the earth, exposing the structures buried beneath.

Layer upon layer of architecture descended downward, arranged in a faintly discernible pattern.

The sheer depth of the hemispherical pit was already staggering; if there was actually more beneath the bottom, the scale of these Ruins would be unfathomable.

"So from what you're saying, Apocalypse hasn't conducted any deeper explorations like they have?"

After studying the pit for a moment, Fu Qian finally spoke up again.

"No..."

Lisa answered, a trace of shame actually coloring her tone.

"For one thing, Linghui guarded this place like a treasure before, making it a huge hassle to even apply for entry. We've only been in charge for a few days."

"For another, every layer you descend brings an increasingly intense mental influence. They're just much better equipped to handle it."

So that was the catch. Fu Qian looked thoughtful.

"What kind of mental influence?"

"Your thoughts turn sluggish, and you feel your life draining away—but not in a physical sense."

Lisa tapped her head.

"Your emotions gradually vanish, and your willpower sinks into a state of total tranquility, like being invaded by Death."

"Just like them?"

Although Professor Lisa's description was pulled from the exploration logs of others and sounded a bit abstract, Fu Qian still listened intently. At the end, he pointed toward the depths of the giant pit.

"True, it does sound a lot like them. That's also why the people from Linghui are so fiercely opposed to hunting."

"In their eyes, these are pure creatures that have achieved mental Sublimation, similar to the undead of the Underworld in mythology."

Fu Qian was naturally pointing at the creations of spirit and bone gracefully and peacefully drifting in and out of the Mist. Lisa hesitated for a moment before agreeing with his comparison.

"In short, this influence is incredibly difficult to resist. Even the few expeditions Linghui made were led by Demigods."

"Understood. Now, show me this path you mentioned earlier."

Having grasped the dangers involved, Fu Qian nodded in admiration and smoothly gestured for Lisa to lead the way.

"I only know the rough location. If worse comes to worst, we can honestly just jump."

Lisa was quick to reply this time, sighing as she took the lead.

She clearly didn't think this level of danger would scare off Apocalypse's newest Demigod.

...

"So we really are just jumping down?"

A moment later, Fu Qian frowned in skepticism as he looked at where Professor Lisa was pointing.

His accusation wasn't without merit. After a bit of searching, she had simply led him to another section of the pit's edge.

Peering over the rim from here, all he could see below was a crooked, square boulder with a chunk missing. It hardly looked like a proper path.

"This is a relatively clear route mapped out by the people from Linghui. If you head inward from here, you'll find a rather long downward pathway."

"We'll need to use this path on the way back, too. Supposedly, the structure down there is like a labyrinth, making it incredibly easy to get lost. It's simply not a place meant for the living."

It was clear that Lisa really had put a lot of work into this assignment recently.

"Is it meant for them, then?"

Fu Qian gestured toward the peculiar creatures.

"It's hard to imagine they'd need pathways, though rumor has it they do wander around inside."

Lisa shook her head, answering without missing a beat.

"Then there's only one logical conclusion. This is a place meant for the dead."

Fu Qian delivered this conclusion with a perfectly straight face.

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