Eldritch Horror Theatre

Besides the changing of times, there was no doubt the Witch had also noticed the change in the Knight's Health Bar.

But having already experienced something similar with Mrs. Harper, and considering the Knight's blood loss was even more ideal than she had expected, she didn't offer any further comments for the time being.

As for the item she gave Fu Qian, it was undoubtedly the same one they had used previously in the Other Shore.

By sacrificing a small amount of Deity flesh and blood, it could serve as the Anchor Point for the Witch's Descent.

Regarding the Dark Moon overhead, their views were completely aligned: there was an extremely high probability that it originated from the Nightmare Corridor.

Due to the dissemination of the "Other Shore" attribute, it was far easier for it to establish a connection with this world.

The stimulation the Witch had applied earlier in the Nightmare Aggregate only caused this connection to fully manifest.

While the Nightmare Corridor posed a certain degree of danger, the Witch—having made this judgment—clearly still leaned toward pursuing this trace of "Mother."

Events involving the Dark Moon were becoming increasingly frequent, and its traces could be seen in many places.

Thus, this wasn't simply to satisfy a psychological urge; it was a risk backed by complete rational justification.

"Let's begin. I'll scout the way."

Fu Qian didn't waste time with pleasantries. He took the Bone Chain, and in complete silence, the Extreme Hunger Infection activated.

It felt like a lifetime had passed since he last saw his old friends in The Corridor.

There was no need to select a target. Like long-stored potential energy instantly releasing, the scenery before him rapidly blurred and shifted as the light swiftly dimmed—though wasn't this a little too dark?

A moment later, Fu Qian stared at the familiar yet profoundly strange sight before him, clicking his tongue in wonder.

...

It was the right place, yet something was undeniably wrong.

The long hall, the massive doors, the intricate patterns... at a glance, Fu Qian spotted numerous familiar elements. No matter how he looked at it, this was the Nightmare Corridor he had visited so many times.

Yet despite the structure remaining completely unchanged, everything here now exuded a pervasive sense of wrongness.

The most obvious change was that everything was bathed in a darkness like The Abyss.

Visibility was so poor it was as if someone had cut the power, with the only illumination coming from the faint, multicolored light seeping out from a few doors.

But even so, the patterns on those doors had lost the sinister, bizarre aura they possessed during his first visit, now radiating only a sense of dilapidation and decay.

In short, sweeping his gaze across the area evoked the specific tragedy of raiding a tomb only to find that all the zombies inside had already starved to death.

There wasn't even a trace of his dear old friend, Persuader, in the gloom.

Were times really this tough? Was even the Nightmare Corridor going out of business?

And it had happened far too fast. In theory, it hadn't even been a few days since his last visit.

They couldn't have all closed up shop just because they heard he was coming, could they?

Unable to make sense of the situation, Fu Qian stepped forward, soon finding a reddish-brown door.

It was perhaps the most familiar door of all. The space behind it belonged to His Excellency Arakiel.

During his first visit to the Nightmare Corridor, he had led Persuader all the way to the end behind this very door, and had even offered some constructive feedback regarding its rather lacking imaginative elements.

All things considered, aside from Persuader, he had dealt with this Excellency more than anyone else in The Corridor.

Correspondingly, the amount of animosity he had racked up with him was quite substantial.

Yet despite such a deep bond, he had already been standing in front of the door for over five seconds without receiving any sort of welcome.

It was a truly chilling sight. Even accustomed to the fickle nature of the world as he was, Fu Qian couldn't help but shake his head.

As for Brother Persuader, it went without saying—there wasn't hide nor hair of him to be seen, either.

Of course, Fu Qian wasn't an unreasonable man.

He could actually think of a few reasons for Brother Persuader's absence, such as the whole Homecoming tale from earlier.

Through his and the Witch's efforts, they had successfully packed that fragile Toy Workshop—which had somehow endured for years—into the book in her hands.

And that book explicitly recorded that the long-lost Persuader had bewilderedly returned to his homeland, only to be surprised to find he had never left at all.

...

Had Brother Persuader already attained his freedom, completely throwing off the shackles of the Nightmare and returning to where he came from?

It was impossible to completely dismiss the idea. After all, besides him being a partner in authoring the book, both he and the Witch had leaned toward the conclusion that the boundaries had blurred during their previous speculations regarding the Other Shore.

He couldn't rule out the chance that the book had provided a solid enough Anchor Point to help Persuader finally break free.

But honestly, in Fu Qian's view, it remained nothing more than a slight possibility.

Persuader had been lingering here for so long that the degree to which he had been eroded by The Prisoners felt practically incurable.

In fact, the only reason they had been able to deduce the blurring of boundaries earlier was by proving he had been used as a pawn to help The Prisoners infiltrate the Witch's world.

Under those circumstances, Persuader breaking free would likely require a general amnesty—which meant it was only possible if all the prisoners here had completely vanished.

And so far, the Witch, who had been keeping a close eye on that tome, clearly hadn't noticed any major anomalies.

So, if Brother Persuader hadn't escaped, where had he gone?

Unwilling to force the issue, Fu Qian simply stepped away from His Excellency Arakiel's door and continued forward, carrying the question with him.

Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility that Persuader had retreated behind the door into Arakiel's Nightmare Theme Park, just like last time.

However, the friendship of gentlemen is pure as water. If Brother Persuader didn't want to see him, busting the door down would be terribly unseemly—actually, didn't his relationship with Excellency Destiny Serpent also fall under the principle that the friendship of gentlemen is pure as water?

Soon, Fu Qian stopped before a Silver Door.

In the faint light, which offered slightly better visibility than the rest of the hallway, he was met with the exact same indifference.

...

The visual impression it gave even seemed to lean toward the one he had seen in the bar last time.

With its familiar texture and color, this was undoubtedly the official residence of Excellency Destiny Serpent.

Yet, the once majestic and sinister doors showed absolutely no sign of opening—just like Arakiel's earlier. They had even dimmed to the point of looking almost cheap, a sight that couldn't help but draw a sigh.

Even though they had only met once during a mission, Excellency Serpent of Destiny certainly wouldn't have minded throwing a few extra stones at him while he was ensnared in the pull of The Corridor.

Yet, even this entity showed absolutely no reaction—creak!

The turning point arrived at breakneck speed. Before Fu Qian could even finish his lament, a similarly cheap-sounding squeak of door hinges rang out as the door before him was pulled open from the inside.

"Long time no see. Were you looking for me?"

A cordial greeting rang out alongside the opening door, though it wasn't the voice of Excellency Destiny Serpent.

Carapace, fine hairs, long wings... Standing inside and peering out was none other than the very old friend he had just been muttering about, the suspected returnee, Persuader.

Not only did his presence serve as direct proof that he hadn't left, but Persuader also looked unusually enthusiastic.

As he spoke, his withered face was filled with the pure joy of welcoming a friend from afar.

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