Eldritch Horror Theatre

Truly astonishing. Is his wisdom actually still growing?

The fire Fu Qian mentioned was naturally the same burning power that had appeared on the bats from the very beginning.

It turned out this wasn't an isolated case. Similar traces could be seen on both the old man and the minotaurs.

Most were scorch marks left by the flames, but on a few, the glow of fire could still be seen.

It felt like a common mark shared by every lifeform in this place.

The bats belonged to Excellency Serana, but did the flames belong to the God of Death?

This gave the Fire Bats he had seen earlier a sudden new explanation.

However, the old man's answer to Fu Qian's question completely overturned his assumptions.

They had only appeared recently?

Furthermore, living up to the title of a Wise Dead, the old man had clearly never believed they were of the same kind.

"So when did the fires start?"

Fu Qian's expression remained entirely unfazed as he naturally continued his questioning.

Thinking he was perfectly hidden, only to look up and find himself being stared at so meaningfully—it was certainly a shocking twist.

On one hand, it was a classic horror movie trope. On the other hand, it wasn't exactly a surprise to Fu Qian.

As he noted earlier, his primary focus had always been the old man's mental state.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have casually introduced himself as one of their kind at the start, only to make no effort to maintain the facade in his later wording.

For example, when asking about the state of the dead, he had always addressed them as "you all."

Nor had he bothered to physically disguise himself, not even faking a few scorch marks.

Now it seemed the old man wasn't just clear-headed about his own condition; he saw right through this outsider with crystal clarity.

Coupled with the bizarre atmosphere before them, one could only say the caliber of a Wise Dead was continuing to rise.

"Just a few days ago."

Sure enough, the old man didn't linger on the tedious matter of exposing his disguise. Looking quite satisfied with Fu Qian's reaction, he answered the question directly.

"Something ignited the storm, and none of the dead within it were spared."

...

A few days ago?

It couldn't be that Excellency Serana had discovered this place long ago and was just playing dumb, could it?

It had to be said, the old man's answer flipped everything on its head.

The flames hadn't always existed; they had appeared suddenly.

The timing was also peculiar. It didn't quite line up with Excellency Serana's disappearance, which meant the chances of her causing it were rather slim.

But it did seem to line up with something else—

Excellency Solondil suddenly starting to surf the waves? And the message Kelsen left for him.

The former's opportunity for advancement was right here. The credibility of this theory was only increasing.

To summarize, did some sort of anomaly first occur here in Moore, which then attracted Solondil's attention and led to the subsequent series of events?

More causes and effects were starting to connect.

"Is the weather in this place always like this?"

Fu Qian's focus, however, was rather unconventional. In the old man's narrative, he subtly treated the storm as an essential attribute of this place.

"Of course. The storm here never ceases."

The old man's tone was absolute.

"What if the world of the living clears up and becomes sunny?"

Fu Qian did not let the subject go so easily.

"You ask a very interesting question."

The old man showed a rare flicker of surprise, not denying the mention of the world of the living.

"This is the Land of the Dead within the storm. When the storm does not exist, it naturally does not exist either... I said earlier, death is far more than just the simple opposite of life."

...

Born of the storm, even?

The old man's final statement was somewhat abstract, but Fu Qian still managed to extract the keywords from it.

When the weather on the other side in Moore was clear and sunny, did this place simply cease to exist?

Suddenly, comparing the two realms to Yin and Yang didn't seem quite fitting anymore.

Naturally, the probability of encountering Excellency Solondil here rose once again.

"Thanks for sharing. This should help me verify where the fire came from... Is there anything in here that differs from your impression of it?"

Feeling he had gained a great deal, Fu Qian thanked him while simultaneously inviting the old man to join his game of spot-the-difference.

"Someone has indeed been here... Something is wrong over there."

The old man did not disappoint. He offered a clear conclusion right away, even pointing a finger toward a specific direction below them.

"You mean the one with only a single horn? He is certainly unique, but the reason shouldn't be that simple, right?"

Fu Qian followed his gaze, naturally locking onto a specific figure, though he also raised a doubt.

The figure was short in stature, yet the bull head on his neck was exceptionally large. Compared to the others, his appearance was indeed far more distinct.

"Of course not. You tell me the reason."

This time, the old man's reaction was different. Breaking from his previous style of sharing everything he knew, he stared at Fu Qian and prompted him to explain.

"Disharmony. It looks like someone is missing in front of him."

The test came out of nowhere, but Fu Qian wasn't the least bit displeased, providing the answer in an instant.

...

As mentioned before, assuming that special buildings would definitely spawn elite monsters or treasure chests was a bit too heavily rooted in gaming logic.

From the moment he entered the slaughterhouse until now, the most unique thing he had found in the entire place was actually that door.

Although the scene inside the building was eerie, there was absolutely nothing broken, nor were there any fallen corpses.

It was enough to make one doubt whether Excellency Serana had even been here at all, or if she had merely peeked through the door before leaving.

But that was only on the surface. Observation was never such a simple matter.

As they walked along just now, besides verifying that all the parts on the minotaurs' bodies were intact, there was one other detail Fu Qian had not overlooked: the rhythm of the crowd's movement.

They were neither customers nor merchants. This densely packed flow of people was simply walking along a specific route, looping over and over again.

Many things might appear chaotic, but if you observed them long enough, it became very easy to spot the disharmonies within.

And the spot the old man had just pointed out was exactly that.

There wasn't an exaggeratedly large gap left open, but the rhythm of the short minotaur's footsteps constantly gave off the impression that he was carefully dodging something in front of him.

What could it be?

Rather than some invisible person walking there, Fu Qian leaned more toward the possibility that someone used to walk there.

"Yes, someone was once there, but they have departed... I now believe you can solve the matter of the fire. Could it be the woman you are looking for?"

It turned out the old man's view was identical. Nodding in agreement, he finally looked away, even offering Fu Qian a word of praise.

"Highly probable."

Faced with such a blunt question, Fu Qian let out a sigh.

Given Excellency Serana's personality, how could she possibly tolerate coming to a place like this only to end up empty-handed?

While she might not be uninhibited enough to outright suck some blood for a taste, she would definitely try her best to probe for useful information, provided it was safe to do so.

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