Eldritch Horror Theatre

So, what should they be called?

Occult Prosthetics? Doll Ascension?

During that brief glance just now, he could tell that all the flesh on Airo's forearm had been hollowed out and replaced with combed cotton.

Setting aside where the idea came from, the craftsmanship alone was worthy of praise.

The final result was equally astonishing—it didn't seem to hinder her movements in the slightest.

A place that would immediately come to the Witch's mind was far from simple indeed.

"You could say that. So, what else did you notice?"

The Witch clearly didn't need him to clarify to know what Fu Qian was referring to.

Her earlier gesture for him to step up and say hello had obviously been so he could examine it up close.

It wasn't even over yet. Faced with the Witch's new question, Fu Qian thought for a moment and actually brought up their awkward small talk from earlier.

"You're right. Perhaps that thing was painted a bit too large."

The Witch's reaction seemed somewhat illogical; the next moment, she actually raised a finger and pointed overhead.

...

So this really was the Underground?

Fu Qian looked up at a sky that even featured a few scattered clouds.

Honestly, at first glance, it looked quite natural.

That is, if it hadn't remained completely motionless this whole time.

The Doll Workshop located in the Underground, the workers ascended through Occult Prosthetics, the painted sky sheltering them as they manufactured vast inventories over the long years...

He had to admit, the combination of all these elements created a rather bizarre impression.

"So, how did you first discover this place?"

Amid his marveling, Fu Qian actually grew curious about how the Witch had found this place back then.

"Just as I told you before, I wandered around after I was born. My only instinct was to search for traces of 'Mother,' but I didn't find anything."

The Witch clearly didn't mind sharing this with the Knight, falling into reminiscence for a moment.

"Then I started exploring places more detached from the Real World—like dreams, and later the Painting World.

"This place was quite special. It is fundamentally reality, yet it possesses certain abstract properties... so I stayed here for a while."

...

So that was it. It was obvious she knew this place very well.

Watching the Witch stroll casually past the houses, Fu Qian could almost picture the exact same scene from years ago.

Although the humans inside were a bit peculiar, they were at least capable of communication. Compared to the apocalyptic scene outside, at first glance it felt somewhat like a secluded haven; it was no surprise the Witch had made such a choice.

Don't forget that even in the Painting World, the condition of that group of people couldn't exactly be called normal either.

"So, what do you think is the reason for these special properties?"

Empathizing was one thing; Fu Qian was naturally very interested in the uniqueness the Witch had acknowledged.

"That was something I wondered about during my first visit as well. Although it is deep underground, it isn't completely cut off from the outside world."

As she spoke, the Witch suddenly stopped in her tracks, as if sensing something.

"In fact, this connection is related to those abstract properties I just mentioned—"

Before she even finished speaking, she had already reached out, as if grasping at the void.

Splash!

The next moment, the void seemed to literally be torn open, and a spray of fresh blood spilled directly out.

Although the blood vanished into nothingness before it even hit the ground, Fu Qian, standing beside her, still seemed to hear a strange wailing.

It sounded like an infant, or perhaps a lamb, or maybe a mix of both.

To Fu Qian, however, this wasn't a wail of pain caused by the Witch's sudden violence; conversely, it was a retaliatory attack after being exposed.

Beyond the wailing, the obvious focus was an impact aimed directly at the mind.

Although, thanks to his magic-immune state, he honestly didn't feel much of an impact.

"Can you see it like this?"

The Witch naturally didn't even furrow a brow. Without retracting her grasping hand, she simply turned her head and softly checked with Fu Qian, looking for all the world as if she were holding a specimen.

"I see it."

With the Pope taking such good care of her dull-witted Knight, how could Fu Qian dare to slack off?

Not to mention the Witch's movements were so dramatic that she looked as if she were about to drag the attacker right out of the void.

Although there was empty air in front of him, by relying on his Calamity Perspective, Fu Qian currently had no trouble grasping exactly what had fallen into the Witch's hands in that spot.

He could even see its struggles.

...

"From the apocalypse?"

Although its specific outline was hard to discern from an abstract perspective, determining its Rank was easy.

The thing behind the void undoubtedly already possessed divinity, and was vastly more powerful than an ordinary demigod.

Unfortunately, after its disturbed ambush failed, the entity had clearly sensed the danger and was now struggling frantically to break free of her grip.

Observing this scene, Fu Qian asked for confirmation.

"Yes, and it should be related to us... it normally shouldn't be able to lock onto this place."

The Witch confirmed Fu Qian's question, and as she spoke, a trace of chill seemed to sweep over her hand.

Fu Qian thought he heard the sound of shattering.

Within his perspective, the Calamity Eyes quietly dissipated in response to her actions.

Because the originally locked-on target no longer existed, all the malice and struggling returned to nothingness.

"Our arrival seems to have caused a special disturbance, letting it sniff out this place very quickly."

Effortlessly crushing the target, the Witch's little lesson wasn't over; she continued to share her personal thoughts.

Reasonable. Otherwise, it would be hard to believe this place could have been maintained for so long.

Fu Qian had no doubts about the Witch's judgment.

Besides, causing a disturbance was one thing, but for it to establish contact so swiftly meant the properties of this place truly were a bit unusual.

The Witch really had found an apt demonstration prop.

"A transcendent place similar to the Other Shore of the Stars? Honestly, I feel like the level here is a bit lacking."

Mulling it over, Fu Qian offered his own thoughts.

"It is indeed lacking, but it possesses a certain conceptual nature, ultimately making it particularly sensitive and fragile. I'm actually quite surprised it managed to survive the previous recurrence of the Law."

Casually expressing agreement, the Witch reached out again and touched the void.

"Because the other end of the connection might not even be a transcendent creature in the traditional sense."

Indeed.

This time, Fu Qian didn't need the Witch to grab it and demonstrate; he had already locked onto what she was pointing at.

Searing heat.

He had just joked that the sun was a bit too large, but compared to the heat radiating right now, it was simply in a different dimension.

This time, what lay behind the void felt like a fractured domain of countless chaotic forces, unstable to the extreme.

The endless conflict and tearing caused everything to run blistering hot, surging into what resembled an ocean of magma.

And this 'ocean' was throwing up massive waves, looking as if it might flood in at any moment and incinerate everything—

"So you think that if the world undergoes some hard-to-detect change, this place might react?"

While expressing his understanding of the Witch's thoughts, Fu Qian simultaneously detonated a Calamity Eye, and the restless 'magma' instantly fell still.

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