Eldritch Horror Theatre

Since it was little more than a loose gathering of people, The Monastery had no strict access controls.

Fu Qian found his room again with little effort. Only a few minutes had passed since he left.

Loretta's room was just next door, but Fu Qian wasn't in a hurry to head over.

He had immediately noticed his own door standing wide open; someone was already sitting inside, waiting.

Without any hesitation, Fu Qian strode right in.

"You look much better, Mr. Fu."

Nivalis's tall frame sat there like a wall in the darkness, but his eyes were unusually bright as he spoke in a perfectly flat tone.

"Mostly thanks to Loretta's help."

Fu Qian didn't show a hint of surprise at finding the man in his room.

"Speaking of which, you're looking much better yourself."

"Did we know each other before this?"

The question piqued Nivalis's interest.

"It seems we share the same Attending Physician."

Fu Qian tapped his own head.

"Don't doubt Doctor Kelly's professional ethics, of course."

"I just happened to flip through some medical files."

"You seem completely free of any lingering mania. Congratulations."

Hmm?

Nivalis stared at him. After a moment of silence, he shook his head.

"You must have remembered the wrong person, Mr. Fu."

"I did seek help from Doctor Kelly, but it had nothing to do with mania. It was an anxiety problem."

"Though even regarding anxiety, I'm doing much better now."

"Is that so?"

Fu Qian froze for a second, then patted his head in mild annoyance.

"It seems my problem hasn't improved much after all. I still can't tell fantasy from reality."

"Distinguishing fantasy from reality? I actually have some insight into that. Would you care to hear it, Mr. Fu?"

Nivalis revealed an enigmatic smile.

"Oh? Please do."

"It is quite simple: if you have no way to distinguish between fantasy and reality, then to you, they are both reality."

"That sounds a bit Zen, but isn't that a little too idealistic?"

Fu Qian questioned with a look of surprise.

"Not at all. There is nothing idealistic about it."

Nivalis's smile didn't fade.

"For example, right at this moment... you could try using that weapon you have hidden—"

Bang!

A gunshot rang out before Nivalis could even finish his sentence.

Complying with the request, Fu Qian had immediately drawn his gun and pulled the trigger a mere thirty centimeters from the man's head.

The muzzle flash instantly illuminated the entire room.

Yet in the next moment, Nivalis was still sitting in the exact same spot, completely unscathed.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Fu Qian didn't wait for him to speak. He fired two more shots at the man's head and two at his chest.

When the echoes faded, Nivalis was still sitting there without a single scratch on his body, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

This time, however, Fu Qian saw it clearly. The moment he fired, Nivalis seemed to vanish on the spot for a split second before instantly reappearing.

"It really is you!"

Fu Qian didn't fire his last bullet. Instead, he lowered the gun and casually took a seat.

"It is indeed. And you're calmer than I imagined."

Nivalis readily admitted it.

"You just taught me that. Since I can't distinguish it, I might as well accept it."

Fu Qian chatted away with his usual easy demeanor, as if he hadn't just fired five shots point-blank at the man.

"So you're the one behind all this?"

Fu Qian gestured around the room.

"Yes."

"If my guess is right, you can travel freely between any world? Just like you did a moment ago?"

"Correct."

"The moment I arrived here, you saw me?"

"That's right. Considering my control over this Nightmare, tracking someone I've seen before is quite simple."

"Then you certainly have a lot of patience. You didn't expose me right away."

"That's because I was very curious about your actual purpose for coming here."

"Does Loretta know about this?"

"Of course she doesn't. But at the same time, she is a crucial condition for maintaining this Nightmare."

"About what I guessed."

Fu Qian tutted.

"So the delusions Loretta and her friend Bernard suffer from—are those your doing too?"

"Regrettably, no. But I did discover this talent of theirs."

A trace of fanaticism flashed across Nivalis's face.

"I conducted a long period of research on it during all those years when they were completely unaware."

"That Golden Needle?"

Fu Qian caught on quickly.

"Exactly. That is my masterpiece. Leaves quite an impression, doesn't it?"

"It certainly does. But thinking back on it, I'm afraid its effects don't quite match the description. Is Loretta's ability to maintain that seemingly stable state truly the effect of the Golden Needle?"

Fu Qian frowned thoughtfully.

"You're quite clever. That's right, Loretta's act of using the Golden Needle actually has no direct connection to the stability of her condition. In fact, that's nothing more than a matter of a single thought from me."

"But at the same time, her actions are the key to maintaining all this."

Nivalis seemed to be in high spirits, eager to talk.

"Discovering them initially was a sheer accident."

"But I quickly realized the incredible concept contained within them."

"And after meticulous observation and testing, I found a possible cause."

"Their innate talent, though manifesting differently in each of them, never actually disappeared. It merely shifted into an imperceptible state at a certain point in their development."

"They appeared to have completely lost their talent, but in reality, that state allowed them to form a connection with a very special existence."

"That special concept has a very high Rank. It can practically transcend dimensions and warp reality, forming a Nightmare almost identical to reality—like random bubbles appearing across a vast world."

"These bubbles are fleeting. It's nearly impossible for ordinary people to observe or capture them."

"Only people like Loretta, relying on that special connection, randomly traverse through them—and suffer agonizing pain because of it."

"After figuring this out, I expended countless effort and extremely precious materials to finally forge that Golden Needle."

"And the effect when Loretta uses it is akin to establishing her own will as a beacon, pulling these bubbles back toward herself and fixing them in place to shroud the surrounding world."

"Thus, this inconceivable existence was finally captured."

"And right here, right now, I am the Sovereign of this Nightmare."

Nivalis spread his arms, a look of utter intoxication on his face.

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