Eldritch Horror Theatre

How did the saying go again? "When the rooster crows and the lamp goes out, do not touch gold"?

It seemed rather fitting for the current situation.

Instead of rushing to relight the Lantern, Fu Qian silently reflected on a few maxims of life.

It didn't sound good, either. The crying carried a hint of innocence amid its eeriness, like the final elegy for this desolate place.

Furthermore, Fu Qian knew very well that the Lantern hadn't been blown out by some ghostly wind; the cold had literally frozen it to the point of Suffocation.

In all fairness, however, the current mission now seemed rather straightforward.

The Gate of Freedom could be found just by casually looking around, the Darkest Night could be entered by taking a single step, and the Containment Conditions were simply to end it.

Aside from his earlier doubts about the mission prompt's triggering conditions, it could only be described as simple and crude.

To the point that his next step apparently just required using every means at his disposal to crush this "true Unseen Hill."

For instance, he only needed to add the Resplendent Tyrant form to his earlier Commandment Residue and wait to see the results—but how could a true psychiatrist abuse the lobotomy procedure?

During this visit to the Unseen Hill, many old friends had yet to actually be seen.

"Impossible... Did Akasha tell you?"

As he waited silently, a voice really did ring out from the darkness.

"Careful, the ashes are very fragile."

Fu Qian casually reminded her.

Not only had the Lantern gone out, but even the goat-headed demon had wriggled deeper into the shadows, making visibility truly poor.

...

That's right, it was precisely the voice of Excellency Crystal.

A communicator with the initiative completely in the other party's hands?

Granted, the demigods here were a bit like greenhouse flowers, lacking the rich and varied experiences of the outside world.

But at the very least, they were used to dealing with numerous heinous criminals, and with an expert like the Prophet guiding them, they ought to be somewhat flexible in their thinking.

For Fu Qian, specifically asking if she had anything else she wanted to do before entering the door had originally been an invitation.

There were many ways to cooperate, and mutual exploitation was one of them.

To his gratification, she had indeed made arrangements.

There was one thing Fu Qian was absolutely sure of: the item she gave him was very important to Crystal.

Although its specific effects were probably not so simple.

And now that truly seemed to be the case. That thing was far more than a communicator; it possessed some of the flair of a Soul Phylactery. She had actually followed him straight in.

"How could this be... even the Prophet might not know this secret."

Receiving his reminder, the demigod's voice quietly drew nearer. Judging by her footsteps, she had genuinely accepted Fu Qian's suggestion and avoided crushing the things beneath her feet.

"Don't overthink it, I just had higher expectations for you. If you don't even have this level of skill, how do you expect to find Akasha?

"Besides, look on the bright side—it seems we've both made significant progress."

Regarding Crystal's wild speculations, Fu Qian merely signaled that there was no need to overcomplicate things and that they should look forward.

Snap!

With a soft click, he relit the Lantern once more.

Although the flame was much smaller than when it had first started, it still bathed their surroundings in light once again.

"You look well."

Fu Qian naturally turned toward the source of the voice, looking at the somewhat unfamiliar face illuminated by the lamplight.

...

Like he'd thought, it wasn't that simple. She looked practically identical to the one in the Amber.

Excellency Crystal, who had broken out of prison alongside him, had actually changed her appearance entirely, completely transforming into a human shape.

It wasn't just her appearance; that look of profound sorrow on her face didn't seem like something the old her could display—or perhaps, it wasn't something she should be displaying right now.

He had evaluated the crying just now as having an infant-like innocence.

Confusion and dashed hopes were perfectly normal reactions, but such a strange expression appearing on the face of a High-Tier Transcendent was simply too bizarre.

Coupled with the wailing from earlier, a painful sense of Descent into the mortal world nearly washed over him.

Fortunately, her face was already rapidly returning to normal, replaced by confusion and bewilderment.

It was understandable. Leaving behind a mixture of true and false countermeasures only to have them seen through so early was certainly not a good feeling.

"I... never expected there would come a day when I actually spoke using this face."

However, Fu Qian's words evidently served as a reminder. A moment later, she touched her own face and spoke.

"In essence, it is still the result of your own hard-fought efforts... The way you look now, it doesn't seem as simple as just transforming into a human, does it?"

Fu Qian waved a hand, indicating that her courage to use Dayun Mingwang was the core reason Crystal was able to achieve this breakthrough, then curiously asked for confirmation.

"...Indeed it isn't. This is another me, my true self."

It seemed the praise had taken effect. In that moment, the sorrow on Crystal's face entirely vanished, and even the chilling aura seeping from her body began to retract.

"I said before that simply cutting off a piece of my body and tossing it in would be useless, but if it were a piece of my 'self,' then it might actually work."

...

Just as he'd thought, she was still somewhat decisive and ruthless.

So she had directly carved out a piece of her fundamental self and let him carry it?

The earlier mention of a Golden Core was becoming more and more fitting. Or perhaps Nascent Soul was more appropriate?

Crystal's somewhat candid remarks revealed undeniably interesting information, and logically, there were no major flaws.

But as Fu Qian clicked his tongue in wonder, he knew full well that this wasn't an operation just anyone could pull off.

There was another true self within the fundamental self? Ordinarily suppressed in such a manner? And it could even be carved out and taken away?

As expected of the Unseen Hill. Even Excellency Crystal of the Justice Faction felt a little twisted.

Though by relying on this twistedness, she had still achieved her goal.

"Then going by that logic, would it be better to call you Amber? To differentiate you from that not-so-true self."

Amid his reflections, Fu Qian didn't forget to offer a suggestion.

"Whatever you want... So this is the truth? There is simply no path to freedom at all?"

"Amber" had already shifted her attention to their surroundings, returning to the main topic.

And the scene before her obviously forced her to accept a tragic possibility, weighing heavily on her heart.

"Even the Prophet got it wrong, leaving his last words before coming to this place, only to finally discover the truth?"

It seemed her senses were indeed sharp, having already noticed Yuan Fang on the shore.

"It does seem it can be interpreted that way. So, you just crawled out from that pile of people?"

Fu Qian didn't deny Amber's claim, merely confirming more details.

"That's right... it was like waking from a dream."

Amber hesitated for a moment but still answered honestly.

"Excellent. Now, we might as well look around for anyone else who has woken up."

Fu Qian was thoroughly satisfied, casually issuing an instruction.

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