Eldritch Horror Theatre

As the saying went, there was value in hard-won muddleheadedness.

Hilaria's thirst for knowledge was clearly subjecting her to considerable mental strain.

So much so that when Fu Qian offered the Doll to her again, she seemed momentarily to lack the strength to take it.

Fu Qian didn't force the issue. With perfect understanding, he returned the item to its original place.

A stranger showing up with a Doll bearing a lifelike resemblance to her was bizarre enough, but his actual goal was to use her physical body to make a new one.

Even a devout believer would struggle not to be mentally shaken.

"So... are you here to kill me?"

Her gaze unconsciously followed the Doll as he set it aside. After a moment of silence, Hilaria finally recovered her wits and looked at Fu Qian, asking the question slowly.

Perhaps the power of her faith had finally taken effect. Now that the initial shock had passed, she neither turned to flee nor attempted a preemptive strike.

Fu Qian offered no meaningless comfort, genuinely mulling the question over instead.

"Because there are four more tools like this. Theoretically, I could try selecting another target."

...

Fu Qian was undoubtedly referring to Madam Bride and the others.

Unfortunately, this statement only seemed to put even more psychological pressure on Hilaria.

After all, this sliver of survival was predicated on something akin to transferring Death.

And although Fu Qian's tone was flat, it left no room to doubt the truth of his words.

"Who are the other four?"

Ultimately, however, Hilaria still showed her resilient side.

Instead of shrinking back as she asked, she stepped forward, moved to the spot opposite Fu Qian, and slowly sat down.

"I don't know their names, but there is a middle-aged man in a felt hat, a very neat and tidy Old Lady, a burly young man dressed like a miner, and an even younger bride with a somewhat uninhibited mental state..."

Not refusing the request, Fu Qian recalled the scene from the Healing Dreamscape and offered a concise introduction of the four support personnel.

"Put like that, I can't be entirely sure who you mean—"

Hilaria, who had been listening intently, finally shook her head after a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes.

"The man in the hat was sitting right where you are now, and here."

However, her display of helplessness was instantly cut off by Fu Qian.

Gesturing with his chin toward Hilaria's feet, Fu Qian turned and pointed in three successive directions.

"Here, and here..."

"I met them in a special dream. They were gathered in this building, clearly devout believers of Excellency Akons. Does that help you remember anything?"

...

"Devout believers... They told you that?"

It was clear this added detail had deeply affected Hilaria, prompting her to repeat Fu Qian's words with complex emotions.

"Yes, most of them were quite enthusiastic. I had a brief chat with them..."

Fu Qian nodded earnestly.

"The one sitting where you are looked like he could barely hold himself back from pressing right up against the divine statue. Such unwavering faith is truly moving."

Heh...

Though it was practically soundless, one could still tell that Hilaria was laughing.

"That really is a beautiful scene... But if that's the case, where was I sitting in that dream?"

A moment later, she asked the question, seemingly quite engrossed in the scenario.

"You weren't here. You were down below."

...

"And to be honest, they seemed to question your faith in Excellency Akons, finding it beneath them to associate with you."

...

When sowing discord, grasping the crucial point is always the key.

Fu Qian believed that simple curses and criticism would likely have no impact on Hilaria, who had held her ground alone for so long.

However, for a loyal believer to have her faith questioned—and by disloyal apostates at that—the impact was undoubtedly on a completely different level.

Combined with the earlier prospect of Death transference, Fu Qian was undoubtedly very interested in how Hilaria's reaction would change.

Walking here just now, he could vaguely tell that this place seemed to be a town built on the mining industry.

On one hand, this explained the dejected guy's attire; on the other hand, the social structure in such places was generally simpler.

This discarded faith undoubtedly must have played quite an important role in its operation.

Therefore, appropriately applying a little stimulus to this steadfast believer was not, in Fu Qian's view, a waste of effort.

"Is that what they said? I'm actually not too surprised..."

Though it looked as if it had the opposite effect.

After a long, waxen silence, Hilaria was not only unagitated when she spoke again, but had actually entered a state of calm relief.

"An eternal, unanswered cry is a far more agonizing experience than facing The Abyss directly, especially when you are trapped in the darkness."

She didn't angrily spit out the apostates' names and addresses to use Fu Qian for their execution or anything of the sort; she even expressed understanding for their feelings.

"This place is already dead, even including its name..."

"There are fewer and fewer people, and everything is collapsing and rotting. I haven't been able to remember the date for a long time... The darkness will swallow everything sooner or later."

Shaking her head slowly, Hilaria stared through the stained glass window on the wall at the pitch-black night outside.

...

Not bad, she had somewhat the look of the Saints.

As expected, relying purely on fanaticism to hold on amidst the decay was not enough.

"But you still stayed."

Although the stress response of the last believer, Hilaria, was excessively flat, Fu Qian didn't mind, even following her gaze toward the outside.

"Also, I heard that it isn't just a simple, irregular day-night cycle. When the darkness descends, there really are special creatures wandering within it, and its name cannot even be spoken. Do you know about this... or do you know 'its' name?"

Fu Qian sounded as if he had high hopes for her.

"I don't know... I've never walked in the dark of night."

Unfortunately, Hilaria instantly shook her head, calm and resolute.

"Although I have indeed heard some special sounds, they clearly only came from humans. I don't think that can prove the situation you mentioned, let alone provide a name."

"Makes sense."

Fu Qian clearly agreed fully with this statement, but a moment later he blinked, his expression suddenly turning eerie.

"So—do you know my name?"

"You..."

For a moment, she didn't seem to realize why Fu Qian would juxtapose this question with the others, but the next second, Hilaria's pupils suddenly dilated as she realized the other party had arrived precisely from the darkness.

Unfortunately, before she could even say anything more, her face, along with the black veil, was blasted to pieces by an invisible impact.

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