Eldritch Horror Theatre

Truly as fragile as a soap bubble.

After forcefully suppressing a tide of destruction, Fu Qian offered a silent critique.

He didn't mean the "Sea of Sweltering Heat," of course. Strictly speaking, that thing matched the Witch's description perfectly; it couldn't even be considered a Transcendent creature.

It was a pure amalgamation of chaos and destruction, like pus oozing from the rot of this world.

And it was absolutely not fragile. By Fu Qian's estimation, based solely on the impact it had been brewing a moment ago, no rational Tier 1 would ever want to face it head-on.

Yet, such an amalgamation of filth and chaos had still managed to lock onto this subterranean Doll Workshop with startling efficiency.

It was hard to say whether such a thing possessed any clear subjective will.

So this development likely stemmed from the special nature of the Doll Workshop itself.

Once a foreign element entered and caused a disturbance, it would immediately attract numerous Transcendent entities through certain abstract concepts.

The time the Witch spent here back then must have been exhausting.

And the Witch's reasoning for this trip was starting to make sense now—

It wasn't a perfect monitor, but because of the location's sensitivity and fragility, if the world had truly undergone some subtle change in its underlying rules, they might just find a few clues here.

"It's too chaotic outside. It's relatively easy to detect anomalies here. What do you think the origin of this place is?"

The Witch casually confirmed Fu Qian's deduction, explaining why she had recommended this spot.

As for Fu Qian's violent behavior, she clearly had no objections and even seemed quite satisfied with the result.

"It should be related to the barrier breaking, but it doesn't seem like a specially designed sanctuary."

Possessing such a special nature despite not having a high Rank was something Fu Qian also found well worth exploring.

Because of that, he had actually already been pondering the Witch's question.

"I share the same view. We're here."

The Witch nodded, gesturing straight ahead.

...

It really was a house with a blue roof.

Though this blue didn't look like it had been painted on.

It wasn't located at the highest point of this cluster of buildings, but rather tucked into a hidden spot just above the middle. Prompted by the Witch, Fu Qian naturally sized up their destination.

It was no larger than the other buildings. Aside from its color, its biggest defining feature was probably the lack of toys displayed outside.

At the same time, the roof possessed a different sort of childlike charm. It had the translucent luster of blue ice, and it looked incredibly supple.

Indeed, to Fu Qian's eyes, the house seemed to be sporting a head of brilliant blue hair that plunged straight down into its interior.

Knock, knock!

Without needing a reminder, Fu Qian stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Even before a response came, a faint noise drifted from behind him.

He didn't need to look back to know the Witch had just casually crushed another highly responsive contestant to death.

Creeak—

Fu Qian didn't have to wait long. Though no one answered, the door slowly, leisurely swung open inward a moment later.

This was quite literally a bare-bones sight.

He had to admit, the blue hair's light-blocking efficiency was astonishingly high. Even under such a blazing sun outside, the room's interior remained completely gloomy.

Of course, that wasn't a problem for Fu Qian. Even from outside, he could clearly see what had opened the door for him.

A ghastly white, bloodless skeletal claw was slowly retracting toward a figure inside.

Compared to Airo from before, this actually adhered a bit more to the laws of physics.

The skeletal claw's movements weren't driven by invisible muscles, but by strands of long blue hair.

Around that figure, even more long blue hair twined up and down, pulling and guiding their every movement.

As for the specific details of those movements... Fu Qian took a moment to confirm them.

Yes, the figure was currently sewing pieces onto its own body.

...

It wasn't just the skeletal claw. As mentioned earlier, this body was incredibly bare-bones, to the point that large sections of the skull were exposed.

The stripped-away parts hadn't been discarded, either.

For instance, he could clearly see a head—its surface stitched up and its interior stuffed—being sewn right onto the figure's chest.

Further down were other parts, revealing a human anatomical structure composed of both real skin and solid wood.

At first glance, it ultimately looked like a skeleton embracing a living person.

"Excuse the intrusion. We are looking for the Deer Cart."

Regardless of their appearance, the entity was busy, after all.

Having walked right up to them, Fu Qian—fully aware that he was an intruder—offered a polite greeting and stated his purpose.

"...Let me see your hand."

To his relief, the host didn't seem disgruntled. After raising its head to inspect him for a moment, the skeletal claw reached out, guided by the hair.

"Alright."

Fu Qian didn't refuse this minor request. Before offering his hand, he even made a point of taking off his Glove.

...

He had to admit, the contrast was quite amusing.

The Palm Reader's claws naturally had no flesh on them, but truth be told, Fu Qian's hand wasn't in much better shape.

Though he had continuously crossed several dimensions, less than half an hour had passed since his last mission ended.

Chopping off heads was hard physical labor, especially the head of a higher entity.

Under the annihilation shared by the Serpent of Destiny, the hand Fu Qian offered hadn't even fully regenerated its five fingers yet. Cradled within the skeletal claws, it fit the scene perfectly.

"Very smooth..."

And he had to say, this palmistry master truly possessed a unique eye.

Staring right at that mangled, bloody limb, they somehow managed to deliver the compliment with extreme naturalness.

"You will be able to find the Deer Cart... Do you wish to search above or below?"

Before Fu Qian could offer a few modest words, the Palm Reader steered the topic back on track, though the phrasing of the question was a bit strange.

"Let's go above."

Noticing that the Witch, who had followed him inside, still showed no intention of chiming in, Fu Qian naturally improvised.

"A fine choice. You will find the Deer Cart."

It seemed this multiple-choice answer pleased the Palm Reader. Offering a word of praise, they released Fu Qian's hand.

...

So... hadn't they forgotten something?

Although the auspicious words sounded nice, the Palm Reader hadn't actually provided any substantial directions.

Putting it all together, they really were just like a street-side fortune-teller.

However, seeing that the Palm Reader had already lowered their head to focus on stitching the other head, Fu Qian didn't interrupt. He exchanged a glance with the Witch, and the two left the room together.

"So, if I had refused to hold out my hand, what would they have done?"

Courteously pulling the door shut behind them, Fu Qian casually asked the question as he and the Witch continued their journey upward.

"They would have refused to answer you."

The Witch's tone was certain.

"And what if I had chosen to go below?"

"They would have told you it was an interesting choice."

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