Eldritch Horror Theatre

It wasn't just the taste that was good—the effects were remarkable.

The Witch's expression and tone when handing over the Moonlight Rose had felt exactly like someone offering up a legendary healing potion.

And though it felt a bit too mystical, that was exactly where its magic lay.

It did not betray his trust. The moment the potion hit his stomach, Fu Qian instantly felt his body changing, the transformation happening in the blink of an eye.

His condition rapidly improved and his missing pieces mended themselves. It was as if that single mouthful had genuinely restored a chunk of his Health Bar.

The legendary miracle of resurrecting the dead and fleshing out bones was exactly like this.

Furthermore, despite his dulled perception, he was still the majestic King of the Abandoned Prison. Yet Fu Qian found the entire process of his Health Bar recovering somewhat difficult to track, making the potion's effects seem all the more miraculous.

The final detail that made it feel like a true healing potion was how abruptly the effects stopped once that chunk of his Health Bar had filled back up.

Regardless, for a Tyrant with an already massive Health Bar, this was a considerable boon.

"Did it work?"

While Fu Qian marveled internally, the Witch studied his face, making no effort to hide her gratification.

"It only works once."

Before Fu Qian could respond, she pointed at the ground and continued her explanation.

There was another bottle lying on the floor, but the Witch was clearly so confident in her grasp of the potion's effects that she didn't even intend to pick it up.

...

Was that so? That made it sound even more abstract.

"That fits the nature of this place perfectly."

Fu Qian gave a slight nod, his appreciation for the miraculous nature of the "healing potion" deepening a fraction.

"Right. To sum it up, it has healing properties. At least, that's what the stories say."

The Witch clearly understood what he meant.

Once a certain perspective took root, it was inevitable that other things would be drawn into it.

If one viewed this place as a compensatory effect for the vanished "pseudo-biological spirituality," then it made sense that the Items within it would easily take on transcendent qualities.

This bottle of potion, for instance, might function just like the magic beans from stories that cured any injury upon being swallowed.

As for how it actually produced such an effect, no explanation was necessary.

"It falls into a rather miraculous Transcendent Tier. Though perhaps because it's been this way since I gained consciousness, I haven't felt its absence very deeply. What about you?"

While expressing her gratification over the Templar Knight's condition, the Witch didn't lose sight of their earlier exploration, continuing to share her thoughts.

"Unfortunately, the world I come from doesn't just lack this kind of spirituality—it doesn't even have the concept of the Transcendent Tier. So, my feelings on the matter are even shallower. My earlier conclusion came from a purely logical standpoint."

"That being said, I have indeed seen similar cases in the world of the Other Shore."

Fu Qian admitted to his own lack of emotional connection to the subject, casually bringing up Midas, who had nearly become a legend in the Sacred Night Capital.

"Dolls, sculptures, and even characters in stories... whether concrete or abstract, can they all be broadly considered imitations of life? And were they originally meant to hold some kind of Transcendent Tier concept?"

"Honestly, my first thought was that there's no point in keeping Statues in the Church anymore. They don't do anything anyway."

Even though he was the one who had made the initial deduction, Fu Qian still found this absence entirely bizarre and abstract.

"Back in the very first painting, I never allowed them to put up those things either."

The Witch didn't seem to care much for things that encouraged a cult of personality.

"I noticed."

As for her statement, Fu Qian found absolutely no fault in it.

Having walked through it many times since then, he could attest that the empty First Church of the Dark Moon looked no different than it had during his very first exploration.

"So, how do you think we should handle this place?"

In agreement, Fu Qian deferred the choice to the Witch, gesturing at their surroundings.

...

They hadn't exactly accomplished their main goal this time around; they had gained no definitive results regarding the "changes in the world's underlying rules."

However, not only had he recovered some of his Health Bar, but they had also uncovered a potential hidden threat.

Even though this world was already riddled with holes and they didn't need to care too much about this erosion, it was probably best to leave early to keep the place from collapsing even faster.

"I don't think there's any good solution. This place is incredibly fragile as it is."

Despite having stayed here for quite some time, the Witch clearly wouldn't let that affect her judgment, evaluating the situation quite pragmatically.

"Right now, there seem to be two approaches. The first is to maintain observation through special means. We monitor the activity inside to see if or when we need to intervene."

"The other is to take a more proactive approach. We could try tracking down more clues through that old friend of yours and see if there's any connection to the changes in the world you mentioned... Do you have any possible method to do that, aside from marching right in?"

Not only that, but she clearly didn't mind continuing to exploit this place's value.

"I do, but the effects likely won't be any better than that flashback you just performed."

Fu Qian nodded. He was, of course, referring to Insight.

"You mentioned earlier that your method was similar to adding an annotation to a story. I was wondering if we could use that same logic to directly transcribe this entire place? We might be able to reveal something new from it."

Right after that, he proposed an idea of his own.

...

"That would be very difficult. We lack a medium."

The Witch answered almost instantly, as if she had already pondered his suggestion.

"Based on my grasp of this place, it's not entirely impossible."

"But to achieve an effect like that, we'd probably really need blank pages to transcribe onto, just like you said. The Clockwork Bird won't cut it—its power level is still too low. And if we genuinely managed to extract it all, Inner Laerdin would likely be unable to maintain itself."

It even sounded as though she had already picked through the potential options.

"Are there any other suitable candidates out there? Since I'm still here, we can go harvest one together."

Fu Qian indicated that she shouldn't worry about the trouble; he had plenty of time.

"I can't say for certain, but there is indeed one potential target... Do you remember the unusual disturbance in Laerdin back when you first arrived?"

The Witch clearly received this sentiment. She glanced at him and actually nodded; it seemed she had even considered a backup plan.

"The one we discussed finding time to deal with earlier?"

Fu Qian thought back to the unusual weather in Laerdin when he had arrived this time.

According to the Witch's description, the Rank of the entity that had brought the Mist didn't seem too low.

Of course, he didn't think the Witch had held off on proposing it because she found it too difficult to handle.

Her main consideration was likely that, unable to guarantee the complete elimination of any subsequent fallout, she wanted to avoid having him delayed here for too long because of it.

"Exactly. You can call it the Precept Angel."

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