Eldritch Horror Theatre

Yes, the method Fu Qian had decided to try was asking the Red Moon for help.

Although its condition was poor, its Rank remained. Considering it had existed for a conservative estimate of nearly a thousand years, the probability of it knowing that bizarre location was hardly low.

Keeping an open mind wasn’t just empty talk.

Compared to when he had last seen it, the Half-Step Moon seemed completely unchanged.

Amidst the cold desolation, the crimson moon and the blue planet in the sky echoed each other in a miraculous display.

”Child...”

Almost immediately, that familiar, sweet call rang out, seemingly filled with boundless joy.

Following the suddenly intensified crimson moonlight, Fu Qian observed the bizarre silhouettes faintly manifesting above. He quickly identified the sphere that represented Emperor Yasui.

Although not much time had passed, she looked increasingly harmonious with her surroundings. The Red Moon seemed to be digesting her bit by bit.

’In a sense, does this count as me rearing an evil god?’’It actually fits quite well with my identity of being ”more evil than an evil god”.’

Amidst his wandering thoughts, Fu Qian sent a mental greeting while a blue radiance flickered across his hand.

In an inherently surreal existence like the Half-Step Moon, which was dominated by the will of a God, unfurling a Lucid Dream was no easy task.

Thanks to his God-tier Insight, it didn’t immediately shatter.

Fu Qian proceeded with extreme caution, as if he were asking for permission bit by bit.

Only after a prolonged effort did he manage to expand the dream to the size of an apartment.

Even then, he could feel a unique will permeating the dream and casting its gaze upon him.

’Now this is the true Rank of a God!’

Paying no mind to the Red Moon’s behavior, Fu Qian meticulously adjusted the contents of the dream.

This time, he didn’t recreate his own home, but rather a corner of a magnificent building.

Silent and dim, with toppled wooden shelves and books scattered across the floor, the only visibility came from the motes of drifting radiance in the air.

Indeed, what Fu Qian had recreated was the very hiding place of his predecessor, Liliana.

Given that he knew very little about his destination and the Red Moon’s mental state was lacking, a verbal description was unlikely to yield results. Thus, Fu Qian chose to recreate the scene he had experienced for the Red Moon to see.

’I want this!’

The scene was set; next came the emotions.

Striving to recreate it with flawless precision, Fu Qian focused his will entirely on a single point, recalling the intense gaze and oppressive force he had felt at the time.

Subjecting oneself to oppressive pressure was a rather difficult task. Fu Qian adjusted it repeatedly before finally achieving a somewhat satisfactory effect.

After maintaining that subtle physical imbalance under the pressure for a few seconds, he suddenly sensed something. He turned to look to his left—at a door that stood in an abruptly jarring position.

Fu Qian was absolutely certain that this spot had previously been entirely empty.

Even the style of the door was distinctly different.

Pitch-black as ink, its surface was covered in grooves resembling blood channels. They formed a remarkably sinister pattern, and a blood-like liquid was actually flowing within them.

’It fulfills my request, but also serves as a warning of danger?’

Silently grasping the underlying meaning, Fu Qian stepped forward and pushed the door open.

...

’Miraculous!’

Taking in the scene behind the door, Fu Qian immediately sighed in admiration.

Directly in front of him was a terrace extending outward from the building. With its exquisite design and a sky filled with drifting colors, its style was strikingly similar to the dream he had constructed.

The only issue was that it had already far exceeded the coverage area of his Lucid Dream.

As he passed his hand through a drifting streak of color before his eyes, his very existence noticeably rippled, bringing about a faint sense of imbalance.

’Looks like it really worked!’

’Not only did it actually open a passage for me, but it even accurately pinpointed the location I described. How incredibly thoughtful.’

Refusing to let such good intentions go to waste, Fu Qian stepped straight through the doorway.

As the Sovereign of the Lucid Dream, he clearly realized he had stepped outside its boundaries. Yet, the dream did not dissipate. Instead, along with the door, it formed a stable exit that waited for his return.

...

The destruction he had caused last time seemingly left no trace behind.

Revisiting an old haunt, Fu Qian walked cautiously as he observed his surroundings.

The wall he had collapsed with his ultimate move back then had surprisingly returned to its original state, proving once again just how unreal this place was.

Of course, his predecessor Liliana was no longer there.

Following the traces in his memory, Fu Qian quickly found the stairs and headed all the way down.

He had no intention of thoroughly exploring this place again to fight monsters or anything of the sort; he wanted to take a look outside.

Although magnificent, the building’s height wasn’t excessively exaggerated. Fu Qian soon approached the ground level.

However, the further down he went, the more bizarre the scenery became.

The building, which could initially be described as merely dilapidated, now resembled a skeleton stripped of its flesh, deteriorating and shattering at an astonishing speed.

By the time he reached the ground level, it could hardly even be called a complete skeleton anymore. Only two mottled pillars remained.

Yet, despite all this, it surprisingly hadn’t compromised the stability of the structure above.

’It’s just as quiet as I imagined, though.’

Dropping from midair, Fu Qian landed on a surface that looked like sand and dust but churned like mist and clouds. He waited quietly for a moment, silently offering his appraisal.

There were no abnormal reactions. From the moment he arrived until now, he seemed to be the only person here.

’Not too surprising. After all, this is the spot my predecessor chose as her hiding place; it’s perfectly normal for its safety rating to be high.’

Judging from Liliana’s lingering resentment, her only concern had been the scouring of some kind of ”tide.”

Realizing something, Fu Qian looked up at the fractured building overhead.

’Could it have been scoured into this state by the tide?’

Before the thought could even finish, Fu Qian sensed something and looked down at his hand.

That subtle sense of imbalance was suddenly magnified a thousandfold in an instant, feeling as if a surging torrent were tearing and washing over him.

Looking up, the motes of radiance that had been drifting aimlessly were now like a startled flock of sheep. Their speed surged exponentially, transforming into violent streaks of light.

But they were not the ”tide.” Fu Qian knew this clearly.

The scouring had manifested in an instant. Unlike these streaks of light, there were absolutely no gaps within it.

At best, they were merely a few clusters of foam swept up by the tide.

Amidst this sudden anomaly, a seemingly familiar sense of observation and oppression appeared simultaneously. Both its sheer volume and intensity were exaggerated to a ridiculous degree, as if ocean waves had swept up every chaotic thing hidden within them.

For a moment, even though he had solidified his Demigod Realm class since his last visit, a concept known as ”losing control” was rapidly taking root within him.

’My predecessor really had a rough environment to slack off in!’

Realizing his bad luck with a sigh, Fu Qian decided he should probably come back another time. Just as he prepared to retreat into the building, however, he picked out a trace of a connection transcending flesh and blood from amidst the chaotic gazes.

’...There’s a fortunate encounter here too?’

[SAN Value -10]

In his surprise, Fu Qian directly activated his Pseudo-God Incarnation.