Eldritch Horror Theatre

So this was what it meant to have no margin for error in life.

A single misstep meant eternal doom.

One second, the deadpan gatekeeper was announcing the results to the rejected candidates; the next, she was executing the elimination protocol.

Faced with such a sudden turn, Fu Qian could only click his tongue in wonder.

"Ah—!"

No matter how sweet the female gatekeeper's smile might have been, it did nothing to soothe the panic.

Screams erupted, splashing outward right alongside the chunks of gore.

The nightmare-like haze clouding the candidates' faces vanished under the sheer shock of it all.

Driven by pure survival instinct, two of the three remaining candidates finally remembered that the door to this place was still open.

"Thank you for coming."

Yet the moment the fastest of the runners bolted, someone appeared right in front of her. It was the male gatekeeper, and his smile lacked any sweetness at all.

After earnestly expressing his gratitude, he reached out and gently pulled the young woman—who looked to be in her early twenties—into his arms.

At that moment, whatever he had been hiding finally spilled over.

Intoxication, profound relief, deep emotion... a joy so intense it bordered on tears erupted across his face.

It was an expression so pure that a single glance conjured the tragic romance of a man who had waited lifetimes, only allowed to embrace his youthful lover in his final dying breath—if not for all the splashing blood.

Frozen stiff in his embrace, the young woman tore apart like wet parchment, right down to her elegant coat.

Every single part of her body instantly liquefied into thick, bloody pulp and violently sprayed outward.

Judging by the male gatekeeper's reaction, he treated this as his lover's reciprocal embrace. Intoxicated, actual tears began streaming down his face.

"Thank you for coming."

At the same time, his female colleague finished dealing with the other fleeing reject and stepped in front of the final candidate, offering a soft word of thanks.

"Yes... yes, this is exactly what I wanted. It's wonderful... wonderful!"

This man was roughly the same age as her, but it seemed he hadn't stayed rooted to the spot out of paralyzing fear. Instead, he was thoroughly enjoying the moment.

Completely oblivious to the imminent threat, the final reject let out a fanatical shout, squatted down, scooped up a severed finger from the floor, and popped it directly into his mouth to chew.

Oh?

The female gatekeeper paused her embrace for a moment, then surprisingly cast a glance toward Fu Qian, her eyes shimmering.

...

So, had this awakened some deep-seated thirst for blood in his heart?

Though Fu Qian caught the gatekeeper's movement out of the corner of his eye, he had no intention of making eye contact. He simply studied this highly unusual candidate.

It wasn't strange for someone to break through their limits under pressure, especially since their current environment was likely some sort of dreamscape that laid one's true nature bare.

Though in Fu Qian's eyes, an assessment like that might actually be selling the candidate short.

Sparse eyebrows, a dark and scrawny physique, thinning hair...

This final survivor was undoubtedly the most unimposing candidate of the lot.

Combined with his lack of any age advantage, it wasn't surprising that he had suffered the greatest psychological strain along the way.

But appearances could be deceiving. This man's acting caliber might be far higher than what Fu Qian had initially suspected—he just wasn't intoxicated enough.

It was obvious he was trying incredibly hard to play the part, but when it came to chewing on the flesh of his own kind, he had still hesitated for a fraction of a second.

That's right. In Fu Qian's eyes, this all looked like a heavy dose of acting.

This wasn't a weak mind snapping under pressure and undergoing a psychological mutation.

Quite the opposite. This entire series of behaviors was most likely driven by sheer, ironclad will.

He might not have understood why they were trapped in this situation, but in the face of such a gruesome reality, the man seemed to have finally figured out what the correct answer to the earlier interview should have been.

[Have you ever killed someone, or fantasized about killing someone?]

The answer to that question should obviously have been yes.

And now, he was proving it with his actions.

...

"It seems a competitor has appeared. What do you think, Ariel?"

It seemed this desperate bid for survival was actually working. The two blood-drenched gatekeepers surrounded the last man without immediately striking, turning to look toward Fu Qian instead.

Impressed by the rejected candidate's outstanding performance, they seemed to be reconsidering their previous decision—even going so far as to call on Fu Qian for his opinion.

"Not bad."

To be honest, it was a genuinely difficult question to answer.

Whether he offered praise, criticism, or even stayed completely silent, it could easily be read as insecurity, causing his earlier show of "firmness" to lose its luster.

Yet upon being asked, Fu Qian simply gazed at his competitor and gave an entirely natural, positive review.

Because it really wasn't bad.

You could argue that the dream state was giving him a boost, but for an ordinary person, that level of adaptability and decisiveness was quite impressive—Pfft!

With a bizarre sound, the severed finger shot out of the outstanding candidate's mouth and splattered back onto the floor.

Along with it went his teeth, his tongue, and a mess of red and white brain matter...

It was as if one violent cough had expelled his entire being.

His head was reduced to nothing but an empty skin. A second later, he slumped over limply, burying his face in the pile of "food" he had been so eager to sample.

"I agree that he wasn't bad. But unfortunately, there is only one open spot, and our candidate was already decided," the female gatekeeper said, finally withdrawing the hand she had pressed to the back of his head. She let out a pitying sigh.

"Mr. Ariel is simply too outstanding."

She even made sure to explain her difficult position.

...

'Did you really need to say that?'

Having gained their approval once again, Fu Qian didn't even bother to act polite.

He wasn't surprised by this outcome, though he didn't quite buy her claim that the "candidate was already decided."

As Fu Qian saw it, a promise held very little weight with these two. They had absolutely been reconsidering their choice a moment ago.

As for why that final eliminated guy had still lost out, the reason was simple—Fu Qian had answered the question far too quickly.

True, judging a competitor was an easy way to look bad no matter what you said, but the actual words didn't matter at all.

Taking too long to answer out of fear of looking insecure—that hesitation was the true sign of lacking "firmness."

Speed was the key.

And by doing exactly that, Fu Qian had undoubtedly crushed the man's last sliver of hope.

As for why he hadn't lifted a finger to save such an outstanding talent from elimination?

Honestly, if the situation was exactly what he thought it was, judging by those outsiders who had been turned into Dolls, sometimes being dead was better than being alive.

"Please accept this."

Perhaps his unshakeable firmness was simply too dazzling. Met with silence, the female gatekeeper's demeanor instantly shifted back to deadpan seriousness, perfectly mirroring the expression she had worn when they first met.

Completely ignoring the blood coating her body, she pulled out an item and held it out to him.

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