Eldritch Horror Theatre

At that moment, the pupil of the eyeball in his hand seemed to reflect gold.

A precise strike. Fu Qian happened to consider that his specialty.

He had even proven earlier that the Golden Flame of Madness was exceptionally lethal against the creations within this Nightmare.

Using Liang Shangjun's status as a Nightmare Native to force the "picture" into sharper focus wasn't just to make things easier for the Witch to observe.

Although he theoretically only had his Vision Radar left, the unique Calamity Perspective of the King of the Abandoned Prison was still present—just as it had been when he dealt with that three-in-one higher entity back in Lanphilai.

So, the moment Liang Shangjun added the catalyst and forced the fear to materialize, Fu Qian had already begun trying to lock onto it.

The Witch's assessment was certainly trustworthy: the entity was so abstract that even she struggled to grasp it.

But one couldn't forget that without Transcendent Perception, the very form of his Calamity Authority was inherently abstract as well.

Throughout the entire process, Fu Qian hardly felt out of his element. It was a bizarre way of turning a disadvantage into an advantage.

Moreover, the Witch was right. That thing possessed no real sentience.

It didn't sit entirely still in the face of such a threat, but its reaction was purely instinctive—the negative effects on his own body were rapidly accelerating.

The sensation was extremely bizarre. On one hand, his blood felt as though it had congealed, yet on the other, it desperately yearned to leave his body.

Even more peculiarly, he actually found himself sharing that exact same desperate urge.

He wanted to drain his bodily fluids, washing away all the filth to become increasingly pure.

This wasn't just a psychological sensation either. With his professional physical intuition, Fu Qian leaned toward classifying it as a curse—one that could continuously spread and grow across his body.

It was a truly unique power and an astonishing method of counterattack. There was just one problem here—

The counterattack made it even more exposed, and the opening speed of his Calamity Eyes was accelerated as well.

As a result, by the time the Witch confirmed she could briefly take over, the charge was already more than halfway complete.

Beyond that, his final provocation toward Liang Shangjun just now had triggered a reaction that not only confirmed the bugs were akin to the Transformation of fear, but also served as a convenient test run. He had designated the Calamity to erupt in the form of the Flame of Frenzy.

The result of that practice run had been excellent, and now he successfully replicated it on the entity matching his charge.

"What did you do—"

He might not have been able to see the exact effects himself, but someone else could.

Almost instantly, Liang Shangjun let out a visceral shriek, sounding as if he had gone completely mad.

It was no exaggeration. As that massive face stared fixedly their way, it rapidly swelled in size.

For the first time, he leapt down and lunged in to take a vicious bite—though this savage, straightforward strike ultimately failed to connect.

Without a sound, the very concept of cold seemed to descend, sweeping over everything.

Although no frost or snow accompanied it, Liang Shangjun froze directly in midair.

His spindly limbs splayed wildly in the open space, presenting a bizarrely elegant sight.

...

The Pope is truly formidable.

Who else could it be? The Witch hadn't exaggerated her earlier claim in the slightest; when she said she could take control, she took control.

Marveling at the display, Fu Qian glanced around. Liang Shangjun wasn't the only one frozen; the writhing bugs in the tunnel had also been reduced to static sculptures at that moment.

It was as if someone had completely pressed the pause button on the world.

Meanwhile, the two of them were the obvious exceptions. They could still move freely.

"Nicely done. Come along."

Seemingly surprised once again by her Templar Knight's abilities, the Witch let her gaze linger on Fu Qian's face for a moment before offering her satisfied praise and, for the first time, walking ahead of him.

"Although its fire resistance seemed comparatively higher, it was still completely incinerated. You handled it cleanly, leaving the surrounding areas virtually unaffected, which made it much easier for me to take control."

The path she chose was none other than that steep slope.

Her steps were elegant and unhurried, almost giving the red sand beneath her feet the visual effect of a red carpet, and she did not neglect to quietly explain the situation to Fu Qian.

"So why was its fire resistance relatively high? Was it not spiritual enough?"

On one hand, he was never blindly confident, which was why even with an exceptionally lethal method like the Flame of Frenzy, Fu Qian had still charged it to its peak before detonating it just now.

On the other hand, his scholarly spirit had surfaced once again. Faced with the Witch's approval, his first reaction was to ponder the cause of that minor anomaly.

"If we go by our earlier hypothesis, yes. I am also inclined to believe it was distinct and not necessarily a pure product of the Mind World."

"But to be more certain, we might still need to discover more on the outside."

The Witch knew what he meant by "not spiritual enough," but she didn't rush to draw a conclusion. As they spoke, they had already arrived before the pile of steles.

Faced with the obstacle blocking their path, she didn't even stop walking.

A miraculous scene followed. The groveling steles actually began to move, parting to either side like a tide, as if terrified of being stepped on.

This feeling even rippled all the way into the distance, infecting the originally frozen bugs as well.

Very soon, a path had been forcefully carved straight through the tunnel.

"It seems there is no fundamental difference between the tombstones and the people carrying them. It is merely a difference in stages."

Walking among them alongside Fu Qian without missing a step, the Witch continued to share the new insights she had gleaned after seizing control of the dream.

So that's why they gave off that personified impression... Moreover, that analogy seems like it could just as easily describe the Real World.

Realizing that everything before them was likely condensed from the sea of mind, Fu Qian was no longer surprised by this outcome. For a moment, he merely critiqued the Witch's words in his mind.

"It hasn't collapsed so far."

The Witch's sharing continued, and in the next moment, she came to a halt.

As the tombstones quickly dodged out of the way, the spot where the red sand had originally leaked in was completely torn open in the blink of an eye. The red sand pouring in through it hadn't even fully stopped yet.

However, the dream had not been destroyed, and this was evidently already the end of the Ruins.

"Looks like we did a decent job."

Watching this scene, Fu Qian casually praised their efforts as he stepped out, once again fulfilling his duty as a knight to clear the way.

There's actually a beach?

They had finally succeeded in reaching another part of the Nightmare, and no anomalies appeared.

Stepping on the red sand beneath his feet, Fu Qian stared into the distance, clicking his tongue in marvel.

First, just outside the exit of the Ruins, there was indeed a red sandy beach.

Secondly, the "mountains" bulging further in the distance had a rather peculiar visual quality—those weren't mountains; they were the legendary dried-up seabed.

The sea of mind—is it dead?

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