Eldritch Horror Theatre

This door...

It was practically his most familiar route through the city, and the rest of Fu Qian's walk went smoothly.

He didn't face any more ambushes—like the shrewd yet bewildered attempt by the Nameless demigod—before arriving at the Prophet Building.

Even the black, white, and gray did not reappear for the time being. The Ash Descent had been left behind.

The biggest commotion he stirred up along the way was merely the stares of the Natives, drawn by his overly striking Armor.

By the time he reached his destination, even those stares had practically vanished.

The crowd of bewildered pilgrims gathered here hadn't thinned in the slightest, but their attention was clearly being drawn elsewhere.

Their eyes were fixated entirely on the door set into the building, the one they had stared at day after day.

Logically speaking, not everyone had good enough eyesight to make out its details under such lighting.

That subtle spread of black, white, and gray brought more than just visual effects.

Indeed, it was another source of the spreading Ash Descent, clearly centered on the Gate of Freedom.

It reached a point where his previous metaphor could seemingly be brought back and expanded upon: a long-inflamed wound that had ultimately failed to heal and was now beginning to fester.

With most people lacking the courage to step through the door, the things behind it were simply seeping out in reverse.

It didn't even seem to rely too heavily on human will as a node.

Because so far, the Ash Descent here clearly hadn't spread beyond the "eye of the storm"; no one was visible within that immediate range.

Yet the spread of the Ash Descent was silent and resolute, as if the door itself symbolized a certain will.

"Did you see it?"

Five seconds after Fu Qian stopped to quietly observe, someone finally noticed him and asked in a trembling voice.

"See what?"

Fu Qian turned to look at her and naturally returned the question.

...

It was a fairly young woman with thin lips and pale skin. Aside from her somewhat delicate facial features, everything above her neck was completely swathed in a large headscarf.

Combined with her emaciated body, she looked much more normal than the other Natives. She lacked any bizarre extra parts and even seemed rather frail.

"That Death and silence, even a calling..."

Her answer carried a similar demeanor. It was obvious she was trying hard not to look at the door, but her heavy panting betrayed her heartfelt fear.

Not bad. Her perception was quite sharp, and her description was reasonably accurate.

Fu Qian evaluated the headscarf-wearing woman's statement as highly precise.

Even her emotional state was completely understandable. After keeping watch for days without daring to take a single step, watching such a scene seep out of the Gate of Freedom delivered a psychological shock far beyond the norm.

Furthermore, as to why she had noticed him in the first place, Fu Qian believed he had faintly pieced together the answer—

Beneath her large headscarf was an equally large dark robe.

And because she was swaying from her intense agitation, her arm was exposed from underneath it.

On one hand, it was just as emaciated as he had imagined. On the other hand, it was hard to tell at a glance if it was as pale as her face.

Because her arm was densely packed with shiny metal flakes covering almost every inch of skin.

Although its structure was fundamentally different from his own Armor, it looked more like individual thumbtacks had been pressed into her flesh.

Excluding the element of suffering involved, it at least reflected a somewhat similar aesthetic.

"I felt it. Looks a bit dangerous."

Staring intently at the sight, Fu Qian expressed that he indeed shared her sentiment.

"Yes... dangerous..."

Having successfully found a second commonality, the agonized headscarf lady seemed to derive a negligible sliver of comfort.

Repeating his words, her voice trembled even harder as she sensed more of what the Ash Descent symbolized—Thud!

The next moment, she collapsed face-down on the ground, completely ignoring everything around her.

...

This... feeling the danger, and then just surrendering without a fight?

The scene before him displayed a rather stark contrast between her words and actions.

Fu Qian saw very clearly that she hadn't collapsed from weak knees; she had actively thrown herself down.

It instantly rendered their previous discussion completely meaningless—though not surprisingly. Hadn't there already been a precedent earlier?

Fortunately, Fu Qian didn't mind this and continued to be understanding.

In fact, sweeping his gaze across the area, he saw she wasn't the only one doing this.

The sweeping Ash Descent was already closing in on the edge of the "eye of the typhoon."

Yet, whether they were about to be swallowed up or were slightly further away, most of them made the exact same movement—they didn't flee, but stayed completely still, as if awaiting judgment.

He could only conclude that human nature truly leaned toward passivity.

Perhaps their long wait and torment hadn't been enough to let them muster the courage to step through that door and embrace "freedom."

But when "freedom" came to embrace them in reverse—even if its style was bizarre and carried many unknown risks—gathering the courage to simply not run away was much easier.

Thump! Thump!

The Ash Descent finally arrived, and the people closest to it continuously dropped to the ground.

"What's wrong with them?"

Only at this moment did Holler, covered in blood, finally arrive.

Having easily spotted the most conspicuous outsider in the crowd, he expressed deep incomprehension at the situation before him.

"Forced freedom. Where's the other person?"

Fu Qian spouted nonsense casually, glancing behind the Ash Emissary.

Crystal was nowhere to be seen.

...

"I'm looking for her too."

Seemingly poked in a sore spot, Holler's voice instantly deepened.

"We were ambushed on the way here. I was directly banished to another place, and by the time I hurried back, she was gone. I figured she might have come here."

So that was it.

Fu Qian nodded without pointing out anything amiss.

Given the density of High-Tier Transcendents in this place, it was nearly impossible for there to be only one big brain like the Nameless demigod.

They were all suspicious figures who had run out of the Ash Descent; if he himself could be ambushed, why wouldn't they be?

Besides, judging from the wounds on Holler's body, his encounter probably hadn't been as simple as he made it sound. He had clearly gone through a bitter battle.

"It's a pity I haven't seen Crystal either. But don't worry, maybe she'll come running out of that door in a bit."

Amidst his commentary, Fu Qian also offered a casual word of comfort, though his phrasing was truly a bit abstract—Squelch!

Along with the strange noise, Fu Qian threw a punch, directly knocking away a bloody claw.

Perhaps because his comfort had been too abstract, Holler skipped the entire process of "bafflement, anger, and frenzy," and attacked without another word.

"The real Ash Emissary wouldn't do this."

After casually blocking the strike without pressing an attack, Fu Qian just looked at him and shook his head.

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