Eldritch Horror Theatre

He even left an instruction manual? Isn't that a little too considerate?

Crystal's description was so vivid that Fu Qian could easily picture the scene.

Yet beneath that apparent naturalness, a closer thought revealed glaring inconsistencies.

The Prophet was dead... Crystal's account finally completed the picture he had gathered from the Lord's earlier intelligence.

The situation over at Room 802 was locked in a legendary superposition of life and death.

Although his old friend Yuan Fang had made one last broadcast before his "death," an old veteran of the jianghu like Fu Qian couldn't help but be skeptical when there was no body to be found.

Setting aside whether the man was actually dead, leaving behind something as abstract as an instruction manual felt slightly out of character for Yuan Fang.

Despite his lackluster appearance, their past dealings had proven him to be fairly reliable.

If his final words were true—that he believed a new era had arrived, that the dark days of Unseen Hill were over, and that he was even the one who created that strange door—then his instructions should have been much more detailed.

To believe it, or not?

If they believed it, freedom was right in front of them. The outside world was a wondrous place, and a single step would take them out of their cage. What were they waiting for?

Yet there were just as many reasons to doubt. The Natives clearly understood Yuan Fang much better than he did, making it perfectly natural for them to suspect a trap—but what good would worrying do?

As long as the door stood there, the itch in their hearts would never fade. Even if they found a thousand reasons to prove it was a trap, they would inevitably suffer the inner torment of temptation.

Even trying to destroy the door to spare themselves the torment wouldn't be easy, because someone would inevitably stop them.

Even if they suspected it was a trap, the anxious onlookers would only allow someone to risk their life testing the waters; they would never let the path be destroyed.

All things considered, it was almost vicious. A single sentence had dragged Unseen Hill straight into the abyss of game theory.

"Were Yuan Fang's final words left for everyone?"

Marveling inwardly, Fu Qian casually asked Crystal for confirmation.

The number of Demigods here might have been on the higher side, but it wasn't enough to significantly impact the overall population density.

Crystal had mentioned that many places were empty because so many people had gone on a pilgrimage. No matter how he looked at it, the vast majority of those pilgrims had to be the general public.

"It appears so for now." Crystal nodded with a heavy expression.

"Did you hear it as well?" In response, Fu Qian glanced at Catherine, inviting her into the conversation.

...

'Ah... me?'

During their one and only previous encounter, Catherine hadn't exactly acted like a saint.

He still vividly remembered how she had slapped a man in public without a second of hesitation after being groped, immediately transforming and devouring the culprit right then and there.

Yet right now, the woman he had once dubbed "cheap cosmetics" looked incredibly docile. Upon being addressed, she even seemed slightly flattered.

Granted, the oppressive presence of two Demigods was enough to keep anyone in line, but the stark contrast in her behavior was still jarring. Perhaps her mental state back then had simply been unstable?

Fu Qian didn't rush her. He merely marveled at how fitting it was for the new era—it seemed everyone's mental outlook had drastically improved.

"I apologize, your excellency... I really have no recollection of it. It's likely because my mind was clouded, and I was acting entirely on instinct at the time."

After carefully considering her words, Catherine shook her head timidly, her tone utterly humble.

"She isn't lying." Crystal chimed in from the side, backing Catherine up. "When the Prophet left his final words, she likely hadn't undergone Rebirth yet."

"What about Akasha?"

Fu Qian nodded slightly, remaining noncommittal.

"That is exactly why I'm telling you all this. I'm just as interested in the things you want to verify..." Crystal admitted. "Akasha's disappearance and the Prophet's final words occurred at almost the exact same time."

Crystal was quite frank, casually pointing out the suspicious timing and adding that she was equally curious to find out if the Prophet was truly dead.

"I see... So, as of right now, has anyone who walked through that door ever returned?"

Fu Qian had never believed that Crystal was simply overjoyed to reunite with an old friend and was chatting with him out of nostalgia.

They were merely probing each other for mutual usefulness. Now that she had openly laid it out, communication would be far more efficient—a development he was highly satisfied with.

With the Crystal Demigod's help, the timeline was gradually becoming clear, and Fu Qian focused his attention on the core issue.

"How did you know?" Crystal was genuinely surprised this time.

...

"It's simple. First, someone must have already gone in. Since you're all still agonizing over it out here, the only logical conclusion is a one-way trip where no word makes it out."

Dayun Mingwang's aura of mystery continued to grow. Crystal had even begun to harbor some doubts for a moment, but Fu Qian immediately dispelled them with a purely logical deduction.

"Why must someone have already gone in? Didn't you just say it was suspicious?" Crystal wasn't so easily convinced.

"Anyone would be suspicious. But even if you wouldn't go in yourself, you could always toss someone else inside to test the waters. That's just standard procedure. Don't tell me you haven't tried it?" Fu Qian shot her a half-smile.

"I haven't..." After a brief silence, Crystal admitted that he had hit the mark. "But I've watched it happen. More than one person has been thrown in."

"It was exactly as you guessed. A one-way trip. No sounds of falling, no screams, not even a drop of blood. Whoever was thrown inside simply vanished—"

"Just like when an outsider leaves this place."

Fu Qian immediately summarized the phenomenon.

"Yes, even though the Mist on the city's outskirts still doesn't seem to have any effect—" Crystal paused, suddenly steering the conversation toward him. "Did you experience anything unusual when you came in this time?"

Having readily agreed with his assessment, she finally voiced the question she seemed to have been holding back for a long time.

"Unfortunately, I took the fast track." Fu Qian sighed, emphasizing that some people were just different.

"Let's go."

Before Crystal even had time to be disappointed, he had already stood up.

'You...'

It was incredibly abrupt, yet possessed an inexplicable magnetism. For a moment, his audience nearly failed to stay seated.

"To go take a look at that door." Without waiting for them to ask, Fu Qian elaborated.

"...Are you really going to go in?" Crystal looked at him in disbelief.

"There's no one better suited for it than me, is there?"

As he spoke, Fu Qian slipped the mask back on, hiding his eerily smiling face.

"Isn't this exactly why you shared all this with me? You wanted me to do it."

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