Eldritch Horror Theatre

To hear the Dao in the morning is to die content in the evening.

As mentioned before, Fu Qian had never really doubted Excellency Nepheli's dedication to seeking the truth.

Igniting oneself with the Flame of Frenzy was not something an ordinary person could bring themselves to do.

Therefore, it made perfect sense to Fu Qian that the bones atop the Lighthouse belonged to the former dean of the Benevolent Curse Institute.

At the same time, this raised a very practical question: what kind of state was the senior in after "dying"?

At first glance, it sounded like a paradox. Although she was a genius, there was clearly still a gap between her and those hard-to-kill higher entities. Shouldn't death mean complete and utter annihilation?

Fu Qian didn't disagree with that logic, but he hadn't forgotten Excellency Nepheli's original intention in burning herself with the Frenzied Flame.

She wanted to confirm whether the world before them was real or fake, and whether everyone had been trapped in a Lie all along.

His own subsequent explorations seemed to indeed support her theory—the world was already a crystallized doomsday. Even an entity as powerful as the Warehouse could not reverse it, leaving it to run euthanasia-like projects in this post-apocalyptic era.

Faking her death to escape?

That was too low-level. In Fu Qian's view, Nepheli lacked the motivation for such a thing.

Using that method to try to touch the reality of the world?

It was undoubtedly a mad course of action, but Nepheli's prior actions had already been crazy enough. Besides, at the end of his exploration of the Ash Sea, he had seen a similar case.

Li He.

That former dean of the Academy seemed to have also had an opportunity to touch the reality of the world, though in the end, it appeared he had refused.

By comparison, Nepheli clearly wasn't quite as wise when it came to the philosophy of life, so it was perfectly normal that her methods were a bit more extreme.

So had Nepheli abandoned that portion of her physical body, allowing her consciousness to successfully slip into the real world? Like waking up from the Matrix?

It sounded somewhat reasonable, though Fu Qian still harbored reservations.

A crystallized doomsday wasn't as simple as being chased around by a few mechanical squids.

Based on what he had seen so far, even the higher entities were struggling to hold on.

Under those circumstances, how far could a wisp of a remnant soul from a Tier 2 combatant possibly struggle?

And that was exactly what Fu Qian was curious about.

Dead was dead; he didn't think Nepheli had merely switched to an undead race.

But at the same time, had her will truly left no traces behind?

For example, had it turned into vibrations between the crystal lattices, stirring up an Echo of the Truth?

All of this could be tested and confirmed through this method of netherworld observation.

If he could actually gain something from it, it would be of immense benefit to his research.

...

Unfortunately, it seemed there was no response.

He had already mentioned why he specifically sought out Kisaragi Chie for the netherworld observation.

The most optimistic and vivid result he could imagine was that, after he explained his purpose, Nepheli would immediately possess her just like last time, beginning to relay her views from an alternative perspective.

Yet up until now, the woman looked perfectly normal, earnestly displaying her second-rate skills.

"So, what you want to ask about is a friend and the future..."

For example, giving irrelevant answers to her customer's questions and feigning profundity.

Regarding Fu Qian's earlier question about how complicated his destiny was, Kisaragi Chie clearly hadn't given a direct answer. She merely kept her head down, slowly arranging three cards into a triangle.

"Not necessarily a friend. An acquaintance might be more accurate."

Watching her actions, Fu Qian didn't mind and simply corrected her phrasing.

"I understand. It seems your relationship truly couldn't be called very good."

Having such an easygoing customer gradually calmed the diviner down. A moment later, Kisaragi Chie pushed one of the cards in front of Fu Qian.

"This card represents why the two of you lost touch."

...

Oh?

Fu Qian didn't actually have much interest in things like divination, but the methods involved were somewhat similar across the board.

Looking down, he saw that the illustration on the card indeed wasn't very heartwarming; it was a deer crafted from white paper.

"It seems there were some disagreements between you two, and the more your paths crossed, the sharper those disagreements became."

Seeing that her customer didn't have a strong reaction, Kisaragi Chie offered a timely interpretation.

"That is true. We shared some overlapping interests, but our views were quite different."

Recalling their multiple technical exchanges, Fu Qian nodded.

Kisaragi Chie's words might still smack of generic fortune-telling jargon, but he didn't care.

"But that is exactly what makes it special. Disagreements must be founded on intersecting paths. Logically, such a parting should eventually lead to reuniting one day, yet it appears..."

Frowning slightly, Kisaragi Chie pushed the card closest to her forward.

"This card represents the final outcome. It seems that day will never come."

...

It looked even more ominous.

To his surprise, she hadn't kept him in suspense but had instead directly revealed the final result. In that moment, Fu Qian's estimation of the second-rate diviner rose a few notches. Following her words, he looked down at the card.

Compared to the previous card, this one depicted a living creature, although it looked like it was about to die—

It was a humanoid figure lying flat on its back, both arms stretched straight up as if holding something.

However, nothing was pressing down on it. A sun could even be seen shining overhead.

The reason it looked like it was about to die—aside from its bizarre posture—was mainly due to the distinct set of gills growing on its head.

It faintly resembled an aquatic creature, to the point that just seeing it sunbathing gave off a sense of suffocation.

"Drowning. The meaning of this card is very special..."

Kisaragi Chie then provided a very fitting name for the card and continued her interpretation.

"Specifically regarding your search for someone, it likely signifies a rather unfortunate outcome: you will never see that old friend again."

...

Such a pessimistic forecast?

Kisaragi Chie didn't seem worried about getting hit at all, which momentarily made Fu Qian view her in an even better light.

It was common knowledge that in the divination industry, beating around the bush when faced with thorny questions was a basic skill, while personal safety was a mandatory course.

Interpreting the cards too bluntly without considering the seeker's feelings was an easy way to make a big sum just once—and successfully earn some physical trauma.

Yet this second-rate diviner, who was usually good at avoiding such things, was surprisingly blunt this time. Could she have realized that her customer was as open-minded as an empty valley and wouldn't make things difficult for her over such a matter?

"So does this mean she's dead?"

Naturally beautifying his own image, Fu Qian asked directly.

"...No, your old friend is still alive."

Kisaragi Chie hesitated slightly before giving a truly shocking answer, directly flipping over the third card.

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