Eldritch Horror Theatre

Did this count as proving his innocence with his life?

The sheer force of the self-destruction wasn't actually that great. It felt more like the side effect of an overloaded system; the core impact lay in the projection of pain generated during the process.

Unfortunately, even that failed to cause any substantial damage.

Indeed, to Fu Qian, the display still felt far too mediocre.

Perhaps that kind of agony could torture some demigods into madness, but it still wasn't nearly enough. It hadn't exceeded the limitations of this Rank.

By comparison, righteously refuting the accusations and then directly blowing himself up to prove his innocence delivered a much greater mental shock.

Did that door really have nothing to do with Brother Black Doctor?

Was he really just a High-Tier Transcendent with a twisted sense of humor and a lack of courage?

"Do you really think so? Honestly, I can't begin to fathom what he hoped to gain."

Aside from the earlier poisonous gas, that final projection of pain had clearly put her under immense pressure, even though she had already distanced herself.

But with the Black Doctor blown to pieces, the torment originating from him abruptly lost its source of power, significantly easing Amber's burden.

Out of respect for the dead, she didn't attempt to vent her anger on his remains now that she had finally caught her breath. Instead, she clearly found Fu Qian's theory a bit too conspiratorial.

"What he hoped to gain... That is a question worth considering. But if we completely take his word for it, it means you likely won't be able to go back. What are your thoughts on that?"

Fu Qian didn't rush to argue. Instead, he shot Amber a look and simply followed her line of thought with a question of his own.

...

"The answer is that I won't dwell on it, because I might not need to go back... I never imagined the situation behind the door would be like this. My actions might have created some hidden risks."

The Black Doctor had actually just answered this question moments ago, but to Fu Qian's relief, Amber offered a rather novel response after a brief silence.

"Your waking up here doesn't mean the Crystal on the other side of the door will disappear?"

Fortunately, Fu Qian's comprehension was sharp enough to keep up, and he quickly ventured a guess based on her words.

"It's highly likely. Although she can't sense me right now, and I can't sense her either."

Nodding slightly, Amber confirmed his theory.

She hadn't managed to find her fused friend, but ended up creating two versions of "herself" instead?

Excellency Crystal's experience was truly a bit ironic.

Fu Qian sighed inwardly at the thought.

Truthfully, putting oneself in her shoes would indeed evoke a bizarre feeling. It was no wonder Amber's tone was laced with confusion.

All in all, this circle was truly a mess.

"Look on the bright side. Even though it seems like you can't go back, maybe Crystal will come in. When that happens, the two of you can properly verify this issue in here."

Having no intention of getting tangled in this philosophical sparring between left and right over who was who, Fu Qian casually offered a word of comfort—even if it sounded more like rubbing salt in the wound.

"As for what exactly he hoped to gain, we can actually just ask him."

Before Amber could share her thoughts, Fu Qian casually waved his hand. He activated the Thread of Attachment, dragging another figure right in front of them.

"Excellency Black Doctor, care to explain?"

...

The figure's eyes were tightly shut, and its entire body was covered in gray marks. Even its left arm was missing the lower half.

The one Fu Qian had dragged over this time was none other than one of the slumbering bodies from the bottom of The Lake.

The face was completely unfamiliar. Frankly, at a mere glance, there was no discernible difference between its state and that of the others.

So much so that Fu Qian's act of identifying him as the Black Doctor seemed a bit too arbitrary.

Unfortunately, despite his dedicated acting, Brother Black Doctor clearly didn't understand the power of attachment.

Fu Qian had already used the Thread of Attachment on him earlier. As a result, he didn't even need to waste any effort identifying him; he could clearly see an illusory string pointing straight to this body.

That was right. His earlier self-destruction hadn't been nearly as tragic and heroic as it seemed.

Although dying in this place didn't necessarily mean one couldn't undergo a Rebirth, it appeared Excellency Black Doctor didn't actually treat death with such fearless indifference. He had prepared an escape route well in advance.

And this display of cowardice served as a beautiful backstab to his previous sequence of words and actions, instantly throwing his motives into question.

"With so many people in here, I still managed to pick this one out. The odds that I'm just bluffing are pretty slim, don't you think? Are you really going to just waste time like this?"

The air grew dead silent. Amber seemed to still be processing what this meant, and the person dragged over by the Thread of Attachment simply continued to lie there asleep.

Faced with this scene, Fu Qian only sighed and offered another reminder.

"...How could you possibly know? Who exactly are you?"

Utmost sincerity moves even metal and stone. Finally, after a moment of patient waiting, the person at his feet opened his eyes.

His expression became animated, and his tone was filled with bewilderment.

"I believe I asked first."

The man had finally admitted his identity. Fu Qian's response, however, wasn't polite in the slightest; he slowly reached up and took off his mask, revealing a thoroughly malicious smile.

...

From the very beginning up until now, Excellency Black Doctor had put immense effort into maintaining his persona.

Under the mounting pressure, however, he had ultimately exposed far too many flaws.

And at this moment, his efforts could truly be described as falling short by a single basket of earth.

"Black Doctor... Was that door really your doing?"

Even the dazed Amber had finally snapped out of it, realizing that Dayun Mingwang's seemingly outrageous claim was actually spot on.

The demigod who had appeared willing to shatter like precious jade rather than compromise had actually just sneakily hidden himself away.

Such behavior had undoubtedly stripped away whatever halo of martyrdom he possessed, making him fully deserving of any and all suspicion.

"Heh... You could say that."

Perhaps Fu Qian's demeanor was simply too oppressive, because the Black Doctor shifted his gaze away after a brief moment. He chose to do Amber the honor of answering her question instead, laying his cards on the table yet again.

"Most of what I mentioned earlier was true. I really did go there after receiving the Prophet's last words. But at that time, there were no words on the wall, nor was there a door."

He stood up as he spoke, though he still maintained the original appearance of the body he occupied. The Black Doctor went on to admit that he had indeed opened the door.

"Actually, that's exactly why I was so certain that Akasha hadn't used that door to come here."

In the next breath, he even blinked at Amber, driving the knife in a little deeper with a touch of malice.

Mmm...

Amber didn't say a word.

On one hand, his words were hard to refute, making the hopes of finding her friend even slimmer.

On the other hand, the continuous shifts in the situation were simply too overwhelming to process, leaving her equally bewildered about her own predicament.

"Then aside from Akasha, have you seen a man named A Wei?"

Fu Qian didn't seem to mind. He suddenly interjected to inquire about another name entirely.

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