Eldritch Horror Theatre

You could always trust the Dark Moon Pope, Nelgria.

When the Witch indicated she needed no help, Fu Qian didn't insist.

The changes that immediately followed seemed to prove that trust was well-placed.

Beyond having a clear objective for this trip, the Witch had clearly assessed the dangers; she never expected an easy success.

The omnipresent, seemingly burning moonlight before their eyes was undoubtedly the ultimate, enhanced version of her earlier approach.

That rusty, murderous aura was instantly suppressed to its absolute limit.

But it was important to remember how the Witch had achieved this: by merging with the moonlight originating from The Corridor, infiltrating it with her authority.

On one hand, it was an extremely flexible response that easily restricted the omnipresent attacks.

On the other hand, it meant the Witch was actively drawing closer to the Nightmare Corridor. Simply put, it was as if she feared she wasn't being corrupted fast enough.

And now, the scale of that risk had more than doubled.

Fu Qian believed that what The Prisoners behind the scenes were receiving right now was not just the freezing power of the Dark Moon, but also a resolute refusal to waste any time on them.

If they wanted to continue, they would have to come to terms with certain realities.

Even if they wanted to stop, the choice might no longer be up to them—

After letting the moon's radiance wash over the entire Corridor, the Witch's actions did not end there.

It was as if all the moonlight illuminated her alone, or as if she herself had become the moonlight.

Surrounded by a multitude of rusted, deformed Weapons, she reached out a translucent palm, as if holding up something incredibly heavy.

The extreme contrast made one instinctively hold their breath. Even the Avenger Persuader's thoughts were forcibly suspended, leaving him trembling at the sight.

An even more terrifying scene quickly followed.

Right above the palm the Witch held up—where there was clearly no physical obstruction—a cluster of impenetrable shadows materialized.

...

Lightless Night? Time-Moon Slumber?

To be honest, it really did look somewhat similar—as if she had conjured a sphere of pure "beyond vision" out of thin air.

Except it was far smaller, and visually far heavier.

Even so, Fu Qian had no intention of describing it as a black hole.

Luminous Darkness.

He preferred to crown it with this title.

At this moment, the concept of "darkness" underwent a complete Sublimation, transforming into an entirely independent domain, much like the universe's most fundamental unknowable nature—crack!

This unknowable entity was even expanding, though it wasn't the source of the sound.

At that moment, the murderous Weapons—already slowed to a near standstill—began to bend and shatter one after another, despite never even touching the black mass.

Immediately after, the black mass itself shattered. It dissolved into hundreds and thousands of dark stars that circled each other before scattering into the dense fog.

"What an intoxicating radiance. It is more dreamlike than the Primordial Moon, especially as it glimmers along the Edge of Nightmare..."

The Inner Persuader's aria was still echoing out, overflowing with praise for the spectacle the Witch had orchestrated.

"Was that night just as dark? What a fascinating, sweet allure..."

The emotion poured into those words was undeniably rich. One could almost imagine a fairy-like silhouette drifting amidst the phantom fog—perhaps even many such silhouettes.

Behind the shattered Weapons were shattered insects, yet for a fleeting moment, Fu Qian seemed to sense that same ethereal grace upon the bugs themselves.

Nonexistent, yet omnipresent.

So much so that a certain thought naturally sprang to mind.

The Inner Persuader, whose true name remained unknown, seemed to have transformed into countless avatars in that instant, permeating every direction.

...

It was indeed a high-end hide-and-seek technique. He had a feeling this guy was a Psychic Type.

Even as an opponent, Fu Qian couldn't help but acknowledge it.

The enemy's actions weren't entirely unexpected.

Even if they were unwilling to risk their Combat Power in a direct confrontation, they would exhaust every method to stall the two of them at this current level, preventing them from advancing too efficiently.

It was just that this method was genuinely astonishing.

In truth, when he tried sweeping the area with his Vision Radar earlier, he could already sense that ungraspable, elusive quality.

Just as the Witch had said, this place provided the entity with a kind of concealment and camouflage that defied logic.

On one hand, it might be the home-field advantage of a host; on the other, could this entity's power be exceptionally compatible with dreams?

To Fu Qian, this seemed perfectly reasonable. When playing hide-and-seek, you naturally looked for the best hiding spot—like a player who came dressed in full camouflage.

In short, lacking any deeper connection, his Disaster Eyes had been unable to locate the target the instant he vanished.

That was also why he had specifically checked whether the Witch needed him to take further action.

Of course, he wasn't completely helpless. The Tyrant possessed plenty of tricks, and his inventory was armed to the teeth.

However, most of those methods were rather violent. He could try them, but he had to consider the risk of disrupting their clues for tracking down the Dark Moon.

Ultimately, the Witch's choice to actively merge with the Dark Moon and seize control of the situation effectively circumvented that problem—though it exponentially increased the risks she had to bear.

In theory, if they couldn't quickly flush the enemy out or directly locate the Dark Moon, they would essentially be playing into The Prisoners' plans—

As long as they dragged it out a little longer, the guests would naturally become increasingly inseparable from the dream.

"Which door?"

The Witch ignored the provocative remarks. Having finished her earlier sequence of actions, she looked directly at the Persuader, as if confirming the next tourist attraction with a guide.

...

"Not this door..."

At that moment, the pressure bearing down on the Persuader seemed so immense that his bones were creaking.

Yet, as an "avenger," he stubbornly regained his wits. Gritting his teeth, he made a rather uniquely refreshing judgment.

The next second, he simply turned around and led the way deeper into The Corridor, entirely ignoring the surging murderous intent around them.

Of course, this mainly relied on the Witch's moonlight freezing everything in its path.

Perhaps due to his "betrayal," the Weapons clearly no longer avoided the Persuader, treating him as a target just the same.

If it weren't for their near-stagnant speed, no amount of fearlessness would have allowed him to take even two steps intact.

"I don't know why, but my intuition tells me it's here."

He hadn't walked far before stopping in front of a familiar Silver Door.

Offering this highly subjective reason, he pushed the door open.

This time, there was nothing unusual behind the door. The Persuader rushed without stopping to open an even larger door on the "wall" further back—

"A Nightmare always starts anew at its end, so how do you plan to celebrate?"

The Inner Persuader's welcoming words washed over them, sounding as if he had been waiting for a long time.

However, his question received an instantaneous answer.

Stepping past the dumbstruck Persuader alongside Fu Qian, the Witch thrust out her hand, and the Luminous Darkness condensed once again.

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