Eldritch Horror Theatre

Declining was impossible, especially since the turn had truly come full circle.

One could only say that in this final trio act, everyone was employing their own methods, performing with distinct flair—

The Harbinger struck preemptively. What looked like a casual opening move had silently delivered a minor check.

The Columnist, never resting until their words astonish, casually introduced the element of Judgment Day, casting a layer of gloom over the entire world.

The Attending Physician responded with perfect composure. Faced with the complex and delicate situation, they did not blindly follow the pacing to nitpick details, but instead maintained a commanding presence at the center, acting as a true sea-calming divine needle.

It did not matter what loopholes the others had found or what they were here to do. The only thing the physician needed to make perfectly clear was their own role—

I am Servis, the heaven-ordained healer, unquestionable and undeniable... now, continue your performance.

This display of handling heavy burdens with effortless ease simply proved they were a seasoned professional who had spent years manipulating the human mind.

Through this seamless deflection and counterattack, the pressure was successfully tossed back. The Harbinger now faced a new test.

”It seems we really can give it a try.”Fortunately, the latter did not seem to expect things to be resolved so easily either.

Sharing a single glance with Servis, the Harbinger calmly took the pen once more, even noting with a smile that the honesty index today was indeed a bit high.

[The Harbinger’s assistant, Lester, does not believe in his prophetic abilities.]

Without much hesitation, he truly turned to a new page and wrote down that sentence.

...

Assistant Lester?

To Fu Qian, the new statement drafted by the Harbinger was very easy to understand.

Furthermore, it seemed to be touching upon a forbidden zone, directly mentioning his prophetic abilities.

The content was rather pessimistic, of course. It seemed that not even the Harbinger’s ”assistant” believed he was a master of prophecy.

Beyond that, the name itself... was undeniably unfamiliar to Fu Qian.

Fortunately, there were still clues to follow, making it easy enough to form a slight guess.

First of all, would a patient really have an assistant?

The title alone was rather odd, let alone the fact that the man in question sounded like he had been trapped here for quite a long time.

Even if he had brought one along when he came to the Sanitarium, that person would likely have quit by now—so was this a new assistant assigned by the Sanitarium?

Indeed, one should never limit their imagination; there were plenty of people doing strange jobs in the Sanitarium.

For instance, a certain night guard he had encountered earlier was even acting as the assistant to the Attending Physician.

So, was it possible that he was the assistant to more than one person?

This was far from nonsense. When he first met Brother Buyiren, he had deduced that the man must be the Harbinger’s trump card, which was why he had been entrusted with the heavy responsibility of handling the emergency.

What kind of person could earn that level of trust?

Considering Servis’s Immersive Roleplay Therapy, it wouldn’t be strange to secretly assign an assistant to aid in the Harbinger’s grand operation, would it?

Someone cleverly placed by his side, who shared his ideals, believed his story, and was willing to fight for the cause alongside him.

After all, Brother Buyiren seemed to love taking on part-time jobs.

In short, someone was playing the role of an assistant and had gotten very close to the Harbinger.

It might even be him who relayed the contents of the prophecies, helping Servis build up the perfect atmosphere for the Harbinger.

Only, it seemed that the Harbinger’s mind was still perfectly clear.

Although he had entrusted that man with heavy responsibilities, he fundamentally always knew the other party was merely a temp, and that he himself had always been a loner—oh?

Amidst these reflections, he noticed that the man in question was not finished yet.

Without even glancing up to check the audience’s reaction, the Harbinger proceeded to write another line at the bottom of the same page.

[The Harbinger’s assistant, Lester, believes in his prophetic abilities.]

...

He could write it like that?

Truly a case where a hair’s breadth leads to a thousand-mile error. The similarity between the two lines was so high that one might mistakenly think the Harbinger had been punished with copying lines.

Crucially, after carefully savoring the difference between them, it felt even more abstract than before.

Two sentences with completely contradictory meanings, appearing together in the True Word Notebook?

And even after several breaths had passed, both sentences remained just as stark, neither fading in the slightest.

Such a sight was undoubtedly highly impactful, completely subverting the onlookers’ understanding.

”Does this mean it’s broken?”

Someone was even fanning the flames.

The Harbinger, having just written these two completely contradictory sentences, suddenly let out an ”Ah!”—awaking as if from a dream—and looked at the Attending Physician in surprise.

Hmm...

For the first time since this trio act began, a trace of astonishment appeared on excellency Servis’s face.

Faced with the Harbinger’s aggressive move, Servis momentarily failed to respond, looking as if their entire worldview had suffered a massive blow.

Yet, one couldn’t even blame the Harbinger for an excessive reaction, because just a few sentences ago, it had been Servis who suggested he test whether the notebook might be a fake.

Indeed, one had to admit that the Harbinger had executed this move with absolute finesse. It looked as though he had even calculated the Attending Physician’s exact reaction into his plan.

The odds of him coming up with these two lines on the spot were incredibly low. That meant he had not only planned this move long ago, but had specifically saved it for the moment he was invited to try.

The sharp contrast further amplified the impact, overwhelming the opponent in one fell swoop.

Moreover, this was no longer a matter of simply gaining the upper hand. It had all the makings of a lethal trump card.

Such a glaring contradiction instantly knocked the True Word Notebook off its pedestal.

If two completely contradictory sentences were both accepted, it meant one of two things: either what the book represented wasn’t absolute Truth, or it was nothing more than an ordinary notebook.

Regardless of which it was, it virtually declared excellency Servis’s Immersive Roleplay Therapy a complete failure.

Because the very tool relied upon to deliver a fatal blow had lost all its credibility.

One could only conclude that the Harbinger had indeed come prepared. The earlier mention of Old Man Mosson’s name had been mere child’s play; the true fatal blow had just been delivered completely unawares.

”What do you think?”

He was even preparing to sweep the board completely.

Seeing that Servis was remaining silent for the moment, the Harbinger unexpectedly turned to stare at Fu Qian, consulting this third party for an opinion.

Actually, he couldn’t exactly be accused of getting carried away.

After all, the Truth only became clearer through debate, and the Attending Physician’s theoretical foundation had already begun to collapse.

Regardless of which side the Columnist actually wanted to help, saying anything at this point would only cause the physician to fall into the execution range even faster.

”A very interesting attempt. What’s today’s date?”

As it turned out, the Columnist was always accommodating.

Faced with the Harbinger’s prompt, Fu Qian first nodded slightly, offering high praise.

Then, shifting the topic, he inquired about the current date.

”Good question! You really didn’t disappoint me!”

Unexpectedly, this casual question provoked a tremendous reaction.

In that moment, the Harbinger even started clapping loudly, looking incredibly appreciative of Fu Qian’s insight.

”Today is the 55th, of course. That is why the notebook could display something so completely contrary to what came before.

”But have you ever considered that there might be something wrong with the timeline in this place?”