Eldritch Horror Theatre

Dark Moon?

That was certainly effective.

Although the space behind the door still wasn't an open-air area, just this moonlight alone was incredibly familiar to Fu Qian.

The Pope truly hadn't lied; another Dark Moon was actually here.

And Brother Persuader had indeed lived up to expectations. The very first stop he led them to appeared to be the exact right place.

Of course, it only appeared that way.

"We're closer to her, but we still can't lock onto her yet."

The Witch offered her assessment while calmly observing the scene.

"To find her, we need to go deeper into the Nightmare?"

Back when he instructed the Persuader to lead the way, he had noted that this was essentially a conversation between the two of them and The Prisoners.

So no matter how naturally the Persuader acted, or how poised and unconstrained he appeared throughout the process, this sudden moonlight had nothing to do with him. It solely reflected the will of The Prisoners.

The vanguard Mechanical Tyrant had already confirmed this place was a Hongmen banquet, yet the other Dark Moon had rushed over anyway. This was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for The Prisoners.

But it brought with it an overwhelmingly powerful sense of oppression.

Maintaining a fragile Alliance wasn't easy. If they failed to mount some sort of response, the blow to their morale would be severe, and internal rifts would be inevitable.

Not to mention that he and the Witch had been openly discussing everything the entire time, including their assessment of the current situation.

Given these circumstances, whatever the Persuader led them to find was undeniably a targeted response from The Prisoners.

It also signaled an almost complete showdown. They were no longer masking the trap's existence; they were attacking head-on.

As for the nature of the attack, it perfectly validated their earlier guess.

Namely, as the hosts, The Prisoners could indeed sense the bond between the two iterations of the Dark Moon.

While locking onto this connection, they also seemed to possess a certain ability to obscure it.

It was easy to deduce that the moonlight existed behind this door because it was located in a deeper layer of the dream.

But with the spaces in front of and behind the door so clearly demarcated, it felt as though The Prisoners were deliberately presenting a specific symbolic meaning.

Just as previously stated, one had to blend into the dream to perceive more and ultimately track down the Dark Moon.

But if they failed to properly control that immersion, they would very likely become scapegoats.

With the moonlight appearing right now, it was an open scheme laid bare before their eyes.

Earlier, The Prisoners might have deliberately obscured it to make the situation more elusive.

But with the firm resolve of the two explorers fully displayed, there was obviously no longer any need for concealment.

In fact, taking the initiative to reveal this might actually help solidify the duo's determination, reducing the likelihood of them fleeing halfway.

"Keep going."

Proving that firm resolve, the Witch nodded to confirm Fu Qian's statement while immediately gesturing for the Persuader to stop wasting time.

...

It was obvious the Persuader was displeased.

Though that likely wasn't because he was being ordered around.

Fu Qian believed that even with this entity's discernment, watching Sister Ox-Head get instantly killed earlier was enough to make him realize a few things.

The main reason for his current attitude was probably Fu Qian's own words.

He had just pointed out that the Persuader's subjective initiative was entirely meaningless; whether he wanted to or not, he was definitely leading the two of them into a trap.

Everyone possessed a sense of pride. Making the decision to open this door might have involved a complicated mental struggle, but it likely carried some desire to prove himself.

Unfortunately, no matter how foolish he might be, after the repeated provocations culminating in the scene before him, the Persuader couldn't just stubbornly write it off as a coincidence.

This sense of an inescapable "destiny" was undoubtedly quite a blow.

Bang—

And in the next moment, he nearly suffered a physical blow to match.

As the muzzle flashed, Fu Qian blew on the smoking barrel of Mercy.

Time was tight, and their guide had no excuse to slack off.

Turning a deaf ear to the Pope's words was a grave sin of disrespect.

Firing that shot was merely a warning. However, after it grazed the Persuader's head, there was no sound of it hitting a wall or anything else, making one wonder if the bullet had simply melted into the mist.

It wasn't impossible. After all, against the Nightmare Corridor, the Rank of such mass-produced consumables made by the Night Watchers was far too lacking.

Hmm...

But that wasn't important. The goal had been achieved.

Jolted awake by the reminder, the Persuader instantly snapped to attention and stepped inside.

Of course, before doing so, he didn't forget to shoot a few extra glares at the Knight holding the revolver.

...

This place seemed a little different.

Feeling no issue with his own posture, Fu Qian immediately followed alongside the Witch, stepping into the intoxicating radiance.

And the moment he took that step deeper into the dream, Fu Qian noticed the difference—

It wasn't just brighter; it was significantly livelier.

The same descending stairs waited behind the door, but if the previous layer had been defined by Sister Ox-Head's solo, this place felt a bit like walking into a concert hall.

Musical notes flowed through the air, blurring together indistinguishably, yet clearly produced by many different individuals.

It made one suspect that a wedding procession—or a funeral march—might step out from the moonlight and mist at any moment.

The mist churned and the moonlight rippled. In the next moment, the spot where the bullet had failed to echo actually revealed a hint of a physical shape.

Even the monotonous stone walls were gone, replaced by hanging white curtains swaying in the air.

Although the splatters on them weren't blood but the color of rusted iron, a single glance still provided an excellent atmospheric feel...

More and more new things were appearing. If this continued, would the endpoint just be The Prisoners' uncreative scenarios?

Just thinking about it made it hard to muster any interest.

Never pausing his steps, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

Honestly, he wasn't surprised by the change.

The deeper parts of the dream were no joke. If moonlight could manifest, wasn't it normal for other elements to gradually enrich the space?

And just like Sister Ox-Head from before, these things most likely weren't put here just to keep the two of them entertained on their walk.

"Any form of contact is equivalent to touching the dream and forging a tighter connection, including merely seeing or hearing them."

Sure enough, the Witch beside him began sharing her insights, pointing out the danger of these new elements.

As expected... if merely observing them caused one to fall deeper into the dream, then their previous interaction with Sister Ox-Head went without saying.

Fu Qian understood the Witch was specifically explaining the situation because she knew his current perception wasn't very clear.

And her explanation perfectly highlighted The Prisoners' meticulous scheming.

As the dream deepened, all sorts of things were being thrown at them.

The entities didn't even need to cause fatal harm to the two of them; even getting killed themselves achieved the desired result.

No matter how he looked at it, this was a process of exponential degeneration.

Yet, even as he recognized this, Fu Qian's footsteps, seemingly marching straight toward hell, didn't pause for a single moment.

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