Eldritch Horror Theatre

Fu Qian now had a good idea why this task existed, and he understood why Madam Madeleine was considered a perfect doll.

The key lay in what the girl had said—that she was always quiet, never spoke, and never left.

This meant she had never participated in the free hunt that unleashed their true natures.

All of this pointed to a single conclusion: Madam Madeleine most likely lacked any self-awareness.

In other words, when she split from the girl, she hadn't carried away any fragments of consciousness.

She was a true, pure doll.

And that made her a perfect vessel.

Fu Qian looked at Madam Madeleine in the girl's arms. Even in the face of imminent destruction, she showed no reaction.

Flawlessly white and exquisitely featured, she looked exactly like a toy doll.

It was highly probable that self-awareness acted as a disruption to a High-Tier Existence.

Therefore, the inherently unconscious Madam Madeleine became the most suitable vessel for a Descent of power.

Over the years, Madam Madeleine might have avoided drawing attention due to a unique cloaking effect, which explained why her behavior had remained relatively normal so far.

But the moment she was exposed, it was highly likely that something terrifying would descend upon her without suffering any side effects.

"I'm sorry."

Fu Qian sighed as he looked at the girl hugging the doll tightly.

"Madam Madeleine's existence will invite uncontrollable danger."

"But it isn't her fault! She hasn't done anything!"

The girl glared at Fu Qian.

"That's undeniable, but sometimes, being perfect and pure becomes a sin in itself."

Fu Qian stepped forward and pointed at her face.

"This is exactly why your mother made you do this. As you grow up, you'll slowly realize this truth—you'll realize the helplessness of life."

Smack!

Without even turning his head, Fu Qian swatted away a branch swung at him by Ai Lei. He kept his eyes fixed on the girl.

"Alright, heart-to-heart time is over. Let's begin."

Seeing the girl's tear-streaked face as she endlessly stroked the doll, Fu Qian felt like he was giving off massive final boss energy today, leaning further and further into pure evil.

But there was nothing he could do. With his personality fragmented, the murderous desire inside him was exceptionally difficult to suppress.

If he dragged this out any longer and a single fragment of his mind lost control, he would grind his surroundings to dust.

Time was running out.

...

As it turned out, the girl was someone who had grown up in a cruel environment after all.

Tears fell in heavy drops. Despite her intense reluctance to part with her playmate of many years, she eventually held the doll out.

She could read the situation well enough not to attempt something like running away.

"Does Madam Madeleine really have to be destroyed? Just like... the others?"

"Not necessarily."

...Hm?

Meeting the girl's astonished gaze, Fu Qian gave an unexpected answer.

He had just realized something. His task was to [Destroy the Perfect White Porcelain Doll], and the definition of 'destroy' was actually quite thought-provoking.

For example, what the girl's mother made her do to her own face was, at its core, an act of destruction.

Applied to the doll, there was actually a similar method.

"If you can find a way to make Madam Madeleine come alive, then she might not need to be destroyed."

Come alive...

The little girl pulled her hands back, staring blankly at the doll in her grasp.

"But she's just a doll. How can I make her... come alive?"

"I can only offer a general idea. Just like your kin, you need to share a bit of your humanity with her. But as for exactly how to do that, you'll have to figure it out yourself."

"Just a heads-up, though—you only have five minutes."

He wasn't giving her pressure on purpose. Given his current condition, Fu Qian was fairly certain he could hold out for five minutes at most.

Beyond that time, it was highly likely he would fail to suppress his murderous desire and just clear the field with an ultimate attack.

When that happened, let alone Madam Madeleine, even old man Ai Lei wouldn't survive.

...

Gripping the doll tightly, the girl suddenly thought of something.

Her expression brightened the next moment, and she took off running toward the Small Island with Madam Madeleine in her arms.

Just as he thought. When she had been hiding in the tree earlier, she had overheard everyone's conversation and knew the effects of the Fool Tree.

Watching the girl stumble and trudge her way through the swamp, Fu Qian let out a sigh.

Truly decisive and ruthless!

After a harsh struggle, the girl finally crossed the swamp and stepped onto the forbidden grounds she had never visited before.

Ignoring the stench of rot covering her body, she clutched the doll and dashed straight up to the Fool Tree.

Because Fu Qian had snapped off branches to weave the Circlet, the azure blue Fool Tree Sap Fluid was still steadily dripping down.

Every drop was crystal clear, looking as if it had condensed from countless ice crystals and reflecting layers upon layers of human faces.

Holding the doll with one hand, the girl threw her other arm wide and hugged the Fool Tree directly.

As an ordinary person with particularly poor Mental Resistance, her eyes rapidly clouded over.

"One minute left."

Fu Qian, who had followed her onto the island, did not stop her. He merely offered a verbal reminder.

One minute...

Her eyes were completely unfocused as she dazedly repeated his words.

She looked down at the doll in her arms. It remained perfectly quiet, lacking any reaction.

A look of absolute resolve flashed across her eyes. In the next moment, she reached her hand forward, caught a handful of the Fool Tree Sap Fluid, and stiffly shoved it into her mouth.

A suppressed groan of agony followed. Fu Qian could almost see the girl's soul struggling as it was torn apart.

She collapsed onto the ground the very next second, curling into a tight ball of pain.

Countless fine cracks appeared across her body, making her look as though she would crumble to pieces at any moment.

Crack!

At the same time, the sound of shattering echoed from the doll in her arms, rapidly growing more frequent.

[Task completed. Containment of 2-090 successful.]

At some point, just as Fu Qian's own consciousness was beginning to blur, the notification for task completion finally rang out.

Beneath the Fool Tree, the blood-soaked girl had stood back up, her gaze vacant and unfamiliar.

Madam Madeleine was gone. In her place, the entire left half of the girl's body, from head to toe, was covered in patches of White Porcelain.

She was merely one personality fragment now. Fu Qian instantly understood the girl's condition.

"If you want to leave, just keep walking in that direction. You have enough strength to protect yourself now."

Fu Qian pointed toward the Dense Forest.

"Once you get outside, you can go look for an organization called the Night Watchers. They should be interested in your story."

Hm?

The girl responded with a sound of partial understanding.

At the same time, the scenery in Fu Qian's vision rapidly blurred.

Wait a minute!

Just a split second before he was teleported away, Fu Qian caught one last glimpse of her face.

Because the left half was completely shattered, it was no longer covered by fake mold spots.

Fu Qian felt that it rapidly overlapped with a certain figure in his memory... Su Gao?

Although she looked much younger, the resemblance was uncanny!

Come to think of it, he had actually never asked for her name.

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