Eldritch Horror Theatre

Setting aside their Rank, under what circumstances would one player's absence prevent another from arriving as well?

It sounded bizarre, but upon careful thought, it wasn't impossible—if the second player's legs were broken, for instance, they could only be carried.

This was just a metaphor, of course. Leaving aside the sheer unlikelihood of someone at Tier 2 getting their legs broken, even if they were reduced to a severed head, their mobility probably wouldn't be overly hindered.

In short, some special reason had forced it into this state—one where it had to rely on another person just to move, or perhaps even to exist.

Fu Qian suddenly struck upon an explanation for why he and Su Gao had been treated differently.

And for how the other party was minimizing its presence.

Whoever was hiding in the shadows likely employed a highly unusual method of concealment.

He had previously deduced that its method for avoiding his detection might simply be not detecting him in return.

But if it was just sitting right here, mere self-deception—covering one's ears to steal a bell—could hardly achieve such a flawless effect.

It sounded preposterous, but Fu Qian had encountered this exact situation before with Crow Feather.

When that mysterious demigod of the Origin Council first appeared, the effect had been almost identical. Fu Qian had been completely unable to detect its presence, yet Wehle had clearly been able to communicate with it.

He had harbored his doubts at the time, but he had been too busy with the mission to investigate further.

Thinking back on it now, Crow Feather's Rank was identical to his own. That virtually ruled out the possibility of achieving the effect through sheer power suppression.

There had to be some special technique involved.

And the one currently in this living room likely had ties to the Origin Council, possessing that very technique.

...

Looked at from this angle, it perfectly explained why Sakura Asao had come: she was the medium.

If the entity in the shadows were a virus, she was both the host and the vector.

It needed her to "carry" the virus right in front of him and Su Gao to complete the infection, manifesting within Su Gao's perception.

This was a way to establish a connection.

Of course, this didn't mean Sakura Asao was lying. There were countless oblivious hosts out there; even mosquitoes knew to secrete saliva as a local anesthetic.

Judging by Su Gao's reaction, even a demigod could be deceived right now, and Asao was nothing more than a Mid-Tier Transcendent.

...

The Origin Council truly had no shortage of tricks!

As his thoughts raced, Fu Qian quickly arrived at an incredibly eerie hypothesis.

But this didn't seem like good news either.

After all, if his guess was correct, this thing seemed genuinely difficult to deal with.

Judging by the current situation, it had absolutely no intention of parasitizing him. Even if he cracked Sakura Asao's skull open, it wouldn't do any good.

However, he wasn't entirely out of options.

Every state had its pros and cons. This extremely bizarre disguise came with a glaring, inherent flaw—by choosing not to infect him, it ensured he couldn't observe it, but it also couldn't observe him either, much less influence his perception.

Under these circumstances, he could afford to operate with a lot less restraint.

Also, speaking of which, there were only two of them in the room. This differential treatment was far too blatant. Why hadn't it infected him?

For a moment, Fu Qian felt thoroughly indignant.

Even if his brain had already been rejected once before back in Baerluk.

...

"Forget it. There's no need to make things too difficult for Ms. Asao. After all, some things are simply out of her hands."

Amid his internal grumbling, Fu Qian delivered this verbal jab to Sakura Asao in a gentle tone, then abruptly stood up.

Given the scene, a troubled-looking Sakura Asao assumed he was preparing to show them out. As she stood up to follow, she breathed an inward sigh of relief.

She was finally free from this miserable chore.

"As Ms. Asao just said, today is just a friendly chat. Wait a moment while I go brew some tea."

To her surprise, Dancy, who seemed to have a terrible personality, pulled a complete one-eighty in his tone the very next second.

"There's no need..."

Faced with this sudden shift, Sakura Asao reflexively offered a polite refusal. However, leaving no room for argument, he was already looking at Su Gao.

"My skills might be lacking. If I can't manage it in a bit, come follow me and help."

"Alright."

Seeing Su Gao hesitate briefly before nodding in acknowledgment, Fu Qian said no more and turned directly toward the tea room.

Wasn't his tone a little too arrogant? The person sitting across from him was a transcendent at Peak Tier 4. Even in Anjing, she would be absolute top brass.

What on earth was this guy's background?

Under these circumstances, they obviously couldn't just walk out. Expressing heartfelt shock inwardly, Sakura Asao resignedly sat back down.

Only the two of them were left in the living room. Across from her, Violetta remained silent, her gaze even more ethereal and crystalline than before. The inexplicable oppressive weight made Asao feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.

Sakura Asao suddenly felt that the previous version of Violetta was much more endearing.

In just two seconds, she began to wish she could go over and help with the tea herself.

...

This distance should do it.

Having reached the tea room, Fu Qian casually picked up another pot, thinking to himself.

According to his earlier hypothesis, the entity should have almost no perception of his actions. However, just to be safe, he had deliberately put some distance between them.

Now, it seemed he could pull off some bolder maneuvers.

The next moment, Fu Qian twitched his finger. It wasn't the Pseudo-God Incarnation, but rather his other Ring—Lucid Dream.

Wanted to turn its nose up at him, did it? Then let it witness his Domain Expansion!

Time to catch a monster!

Amid a flash of light, the upgraded Nightmare—which was said to be capable of troubling even a Deity—instantly enveloped the entire building.

While inside the Lucid Dream, Fu Qian possessed a natural suppressive hold over anyone else.

Coupled with his mask, Fu Qian didn't believe he would fall behind in Rank whatsoever.

The only problem was how to drag that entity into it.

Even though the description was exaggeratedly imposing, based on what he could see, the item wasn't quite capable of stably pulling a demigod inside.

Which was precisely why he had given Su Gao that specific instruction just a moment ago.

It was to warn her that things might get a little weird soon, and to remind her to follow along.

And judging by her reaction, she had clearly understood—she definitely caught his drift!

At this moment, as the Sovereign, Fu Qian held absolute mastery over every shift within the dream.

Sakura Asao was dragged in almost instantaneously, while Su Gao distinctly sensed an anomaly and instinctively mounted a resistance.

Right after that, however, she seemed to recall Fu Qian's words. She dropped her resistance and began actively embracing the expanding dream. The transition was flawlessly smooth.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Feeling Su Gao's form gradually stabilize within the dream, Fu Qian was thoroughly satisfied.

After gathering the remaining tea sets, he made his way back along the same path.

Back in the same living room, Su Gao and Sakura Asao were still seated across from each other in the exact same positions.

Yet, unlike when he had left, Fu Qian's vision now revealed an extra figure resting in the chair beside them, watching the two women with a beaming smile.

...Emperor Yasui was a woman?

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