Eldritch Horror Theatre

Upon learning of the Knight's visit, it was only natural for the Pope to hurry back.

After all, she had gone to tremendous effort to perform a Descent using the corpse of a higher entity as fuel.

With no one left to host her on that side, why waste the effort staying? Hurrying back to reverse the roles and host him instead was the only proper course of action.

As for why she hadn't returned the moment he left, Fu Qian could guess the reason perfectly—it was best to squeeze the Other Shore completely dry first.

After his departure, the Witch had most likely abandoned her previous strategy of maintaining balance. Instead, she would have driven that string of bones to devour its surroundings to the absolute limit, draining that invisible Well at maximum speed.

While it might not have provided much in the way of nourishment, it would at least minimize the fallout from the Other Shore's annihilation.

"The size is a good fit, too."

Yet, during this precious time bought with such mighty power, the Witch didn't mind casually evaluating the Knight's new look.

"Though if it were up to me, there is still room for a little improvement."

She stepped forward and plucked the piece of head armor from Fu Qian's hands—a piece that, purely in terms of aesthetics, was utterly impeccable.

Clink—

As she casually toyed with it, the Witch didn't seem intent on altering it into a more practical shape. She merely tapped her finger against it, stirring a faint echo.

With that single tap, a ripple resembling both frost and moonlight materialized out of thin air, spreading outward from her fingertip.

In the blink of an eye, the spectral blue of the Dark Moon saturated the entire piece of equipment, taking on the exact same color tone as the former Bestowed Mask.

Looking closely, one could even see specks of silvery-white snowflakes constantly appearing and vanishing across its surface, much like the Dark Moon Ring.

"Here."

Having casually finished her handiwork, the Witch didn't even hand it back to Fu Qian. Instead, she signaled for him to lower his head and slipped it directly onto him.

Fu Qian naturally had no objections. He cooperated completely, even allowing the Witch's fingers to trace lightly over his body.

For one thing, the Pope's taste was undeniably excellent. This Armor perfectly suited the unique Dark Moon enchantment, elevating its visual flair to another level entirely.

For another, even though his Transcendent Perception was currently absent, his basic senses were still enough to confirm that this was no mere visual effect.

It made sense now that she was back on her home turf. The casual ease of this papal blessing simply could not be mentioned in the same breath as her previous remote manipulations.

...

"Very nice... Try shifting your size."

Withdrawing her hand, the Witch looked thoroughly satisfied with her handiwork and prompted Fu Qian to test it out.

Oh?

This testing method immediately caught Fu Qian's interest. He willed one of his arms to expand.

Without any deliberate modification, his Mechagodzilla form instantly reemerged, its aggressive, jagged lines piercing straight through the new attire.

Exactly as expected, the special effects added by the Pope did not come with the invincible elasticity of the Hulk's pants. As his body expanded, the material tore open along strange, curving arcs.

But at the same time, the split sections did not leave his flesh exposed. Instead, they were instantly filled by surging ice crystals.

Crystal clear and layered in interlocking sheets, this transformation, combined with his already cold and jagged silhouette, delivered a striking visual impact.

Noble, eternal, indestructible... sworn to eradicate all defiance and impurity in the Pope's name.

Riiiip—

A moment later, Fu Qian's entire body expanded, ballooning to the sheer scale of the Resplendent Tyrant.

Just as he expected, the translucent ice crystals spread across his entire form. Together with the torn Armor, they forged a body that looked like a descending holy spirit.

"Very fitting. This is exactly the effect I wanted... So, do you want this to be the guise of the First Apostle or the Seventh Apostle?"

The Witch observed him with growing satisfaction, nodding as she posed a rather peculiar question.

Herbert or Anke?

Fu Qian understood immediately.

When the Stars fell and the Dark Moon Era began, legends spoke of the First through the Seventh Apostles serving under the Pope.

The only ones explicitly named among them were the two personas he had provided.

One had clashed on multiple fronts with the Blood Clan to spread the gospel; the other had received the calling, maintaining an ironclad faith that the Dark Moon was the only truth when no one else believed it, ultimately earning the title of the most beloved Divine Child.

"Let's go with Herbert. Anke's image should probably be a bit more approachable."

The Witch had asked in all seriousness, and Fu Qian pondered it just as earnestly before quickly delivering his answer.

When it concerned the Pope's Gospel, how could he be anything less than entirely serious?

"That is indeed more fitting... I hadn't expected you to come over so quickly. Would you like to sit in my new Church for a bit?"

The Witch clearly had no objections to his reasoning. She nodded and gestured toward the space above them.

"Sure."

Even as he answered, his body had already shrunk back to its normal size.

To his surprise, the Armor bearing the Dark Moon's blessing shrank along with him, seamlessly and naturally reverting to its original state.

...

It was surprisingly like the Red Moon's gift—a case of different tunes played with equal skill.

Walking side by side upward, Fu Qian was quite satisfied with his new look, though it naturally brought to mind the other outfit he currently couldn't manifest.

It likely wasn't intentional, but it had to be said that while both gifts were sets of Armor, both moons had very considerately accounted for his absurdly high clothing attrition rate.

As a result, the ultimate effects of both gifts leaned heavily toward safeguarding his privacy.

"When you went back this time, did you make contact with that blood-red moon you mentioned before?"

The Pope's mighty power manifested once again. They ascended another level, and the First Layer of the Painting World was already in plain sight before them. It was then that the Witch casually brought up the Red Moon.

"I did, but its condition is still quite poor."

Fu Qian offered a soft sigh.

"Not long ago, it devoured a Tier 1 entity and is currently still digesting. Unfortunately, while it did gain a few new abilities, its conscious state doesn't seem to have improved much. Establishing any real communication is nearly impossible."

"It wasn't a total loss, though. It did offer a specific name—Annalise."

Without hesitation, Fu Qian shared the name of the Progenitor of the Blood Clan.

"Annalise... I haven't heard that one."

The Witch paused briefly, muttering the name under her breath before shaking her head.

"Do you feel anything right now?"

Fu Qian wasn't disappointed. He continued to press for confirmation.

"Nothing now, either. That name didn't trigger any special reactions from this world—at least, not within my range of perception."

The Witch shook her head again. She was clearly well aware of why Fu Qian was asking.

Her murmuring just now hadn't been meaningless. Standing in a place exposed to the starry sky and speaking the possible true name of a higher entity out loud—it had all been a minor test.

Unfortunately, much like the Knight who had lost his Transcendent Perception, she didn't glean any special insights from it either.

"Have you noticed the changes here?"

After delivering that answer, she threw a question of her own back at him.

"I can't feel them, but I can see them. The weather doesn't look too good."

Fu Qian cast a glance around them and nodded.

"Has something already noticed the commotion over here?"

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