Eldritch Horror Theatre

Let's see... where is my head?

In the dim Warehouse, Fu Qian fumbled with something that could barely be called an arm until he located his head.

Once he found it, his hand groped further forward and grabbed a heavy Iron Cage resting on the table.

Wait. He seemed to have forgotten something.

His thoughts ground and creaked. After a few stagnant seconds, Fu Qian let go of the Iron Cage and reached to the side.

He hefted the Handbell, which was even heavier than the Iron Cage, and smashed it against his head without hesitation.

Pain no longer mattered, but the ringing that erupted inside his skull stirred up countless ripples, nearly making it impossible to maintain his current form.

The upside was that his chaotic mind cleared considerably.

The effect of the sedatives was truly remarkable—it really could drive away a person's madness.

Earlier, he hadn't wanted anything interfering with his ability to locate the Red Moon, but now he could finally block out the gazes.

...

"Did you find it?"

An unknown amount of time passed before a muffled voice drifted over. When Fu Qian tried to open his eyes, he found it incredibly difficult.

His eyelids felt as heavy as lead doors, and his entire body felt as though it were encased in concrete.

The next moment, as he focused his mind and forced them open, it felt as though countless fine needles were piercing his corneas.

Regardless, his vision finally returned.

Before him was neither concrete nor needles. This was... a swimming pool?

Enduring the strange sensations wracking his body, Fu Qian surveyed his surroundings.

He was currently submerged in a pool of clear liquid. Every corner of the room was brightly illuminated by overhead lights.

At a glance, it looked exactly like a standard swimming pool.

If there was anything odd about it, it was that the water was a bit too deep.

Going by the usual standards of a children's area versus an adult's area, this would have to be called the elephant area.

Meanwhile, the immense pressure crushing down on his body made it obvious that the pool wasn't filled with actual water.

He had seen a similar place once before.

What had pooled inside that one was also a special substance that looked like clear water but was actually crystallized.

Narrowing his eyes, Fu Qian relaxed his body and quickly floated upward.

The voice just now had clearly come from the poolside, and it was quite distinct.

Sweet, gentle, and utterly bewitching.

It sounded just like the entity calling herself "Mother" whom he had faced directly back in Shangjing.

The moment Fu Qian's head broke the surface of the "water," he immediately spotted a figure standing not far away.

It was clearly a woman. Her dress looked as if it were woven from bright red spider silk, clinging to her body as tightly as a second skin. The hem fell to her ankles, revealing her bare feet.

As for her face, even from this close, a blurriness obscured her features, making them impossible to see clearly.

But there was no mistaking that voice.

"Did you find it?"

The woman asked again, her voice soft and full of concern.

"Find what?"

Fu Qian asked in return, gripping the edge of the pool as he observed his surroundings.

It was indeed an indoor pool. The area wasn't large, and there wasn't a single window in sight; all the light came from the rows of bright overhead tubes.

"The thing you lost. Have you forgotten?"

"What did I lose?"

"I don't know, but it fell into the pool."

There was no trace of impatience in her voice, but she also didn't provide any valuable information.

"Who dropped it?"

"You did, of course. Hurry up, we don't have much time."

The Madam in the Red Dress pointed to the side as she spoke.

Fu Qian followed her gesture and realized there was a digital clock over there.

The only problem was that it wasn't displaying the time normally; it was a countdown.

Less than three hours remained.

Shouldn't it be six hours? Had he really been asleep for that long?

His stiff mind rapidly fired up, a series of thoughts flashing through his head.

Without a doubt, the scene before him was not reality, but something akin to a mental projection.

According to the special effects of the Sweet Dream Head Cage, keeping it on for more than six hours would trigger side effects. The countdown was likely related to that.

If that was the case, he could deduce from the remaining time that it had taken him roughly three hours to recover to his current state.

It was acceptable. At the very least, he was much better off than Yasui Tokiyuki.

In the final scene before returning to the Warehouse, Yasui Tokiyuki had clearly surrendered under the tyrannical power of the Red Moon and had been completely "polluted."

Thanks to his connection to the Red Moon, he could sense this with absolute clarity.

It could be called an outstanding victory.

Of course, the price he paid was also exaggeratedly high; the loss of SAN Value alone amounted to a hundred and forty points.

That was right. Yasui Tokiyuki had counted him using The World fourteen times, but in reality, he had used Pseudo-God Incarnation just as many times.

On top of that, there was the Delusion Step Ring, and Mercy, which he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to retrieve.

...

After evaluating his battle record, Fu Qian brought his attention back to the present.

Considering the effects of the Sweet Dream Head Cage, assuming he was currently under absolute isolation, the figure before him shouldn't be a direct projection of the Red Moon. At most, it was a conscious projection born from pollution.

It wasn't surprising; his own condition was only slightly better than Yasui Tokiyuki's to begin with.

Given that his consciousness had cleared up considerably while isolated, all he theoretically needed to do was take off the head cage, wake up, and use the Decree of Return to slowly dispel the pollution.

The only problem was that he couldn't take it off.

Fu Qian could feel that his consciousness was entirely anchored here; he couldn't even touch the head cage in the higher dimension.

So if he couldn't find a way out, his consciousness would be trapped here forever, and his real body would just sit in the Warehouse until he died?

"Are you hurt?"

At this moment, the figure in front of him crouched down and grabbed one of his hands.

On the back of his hand, a long, thin cut was slowly oozing blood.

"You need to be careful. I told you the water would cut you."

The Madam in the Red Dress gently warned, her fingertips lightly grazing the back of his hand.

Wherever her fingers passed, densely packed fine red threads appeared, instantly sewing the wound shut.

"So pretty."

She seemed quite satisfied with her handiwork. After holding and admiring his hand for a good while, the Madam in the Red Dress was reluctant to let go.

"It would be even prettier if your whole body was like this, wouldn't it? Hmph... Hehe... Hahaha..."

Hmm?

The sudden, three-part laugh actually startled Fu Qian for a moment.

Wasn't this shift in tone a bit too fast?!

Hadn't she just told him not to get cut by the water?

However, considering that the Red Moon wasn't exactly in a normal state to begin with, a large emotional swing was somewhat understandable.

Besides, he was currently in a state of absolute isolation. That meant the crazy woman in front of him, although a result of the pollution, was theoretically still a construct of his own mind.

[Current objective updated: Return the Wisdom of the Deity to its rightful owner.]

As he pondered, a voice with an extremely familiar style chimed in right on cue.

It finally came, huh?

Faced with the sudden, eerie prompt, Fu Qian wasn't surprised in the least. Instead, looking relieved, he turned his gaze back to the pool.

The description of the Sweet Dream Head Cage was right on the mark. Absolute self-isolation would indeed birth the Wisdom of the Deity.

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