Eldritch Horror Theatre

So this was the real motive? Truly filial indeed.

Fu Qian recognized it at a glance. What had grabbed hold of him was one of the two-dimensional Seranas, reaching right out from the adjacent wall.

As those limbs—seemingly devoid of any thickness—wrapped around him, an immense pulling force took hold.

And that tremendous force wasn’t merely trying to pin him down. Fu Qian could clearly feel his body being dragged straight toward the mural she inhabited.

Indeed, Excellency Serana hadn’t just thrown herself into the two-dimensional world; she was aggressively trying to sell others on it too.

In the blink of an eye, more and more shadowy figures swarmed over to join in dragging him back.

Was this karma?

Earlier, he had instructed her to go into the painting if she couldn’t find anything outside. Now it was Serana’s turn to pay him back in his own coin and send him into the mural instead?

Silently savoring the bizarre sensation in that moment, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

Such fluid execution, such a methodical step-by-step setup—clearly, when Serana had come to him for ”help,” it had all been for this exact moment.No wonder she had suddenly mustered the courage to ask for assistance right after hitting a wall.

Sure enough, she hadn’t just grown thicker-skinned from all the tempering; she had been playing a much bigger game behind the scenes. ...

Who said Excellency Serana was a poor actress? Her acting was phenomenal.

From start to finish, her goal had apparently been to drag him in.

As for why she would do that?

It was simple, and for the exact same reason the binding force right now was so absurdly strong—

Contrary to what she had let on, the efforts Serana had made earlier under his guidance must have actually borne fruit.

At its core, this corrupted two-dimensional power—strong enough to restrict even him—didn’t actually stem from these shadowy figures.

Assessing it carefully, Fu Qian realized that rather than being forcibly dragged into the mural, it was more accurate to say his own corruption was being stimulated in this manner, creating an intense convergence with that flat plane.

Prompted by his pointers, Serana seemed to have uncovered something about the true nature of this place and quickly figured out a way to weaponize it.

Returning to the original question: why was her very first instinct upon making a breakthrough to turn on her guide?

That was completely understandable too. On one hand, the core persona her guide had adopted for this trip was that of an uninvited menace.

Not only had he used every unscrupulous trick in the book to subject her to threats and inducements all the way here, he had even brazenly held her ”graduation” time hostage. Faced with such an unmistakable villain, anyone would naturally jump at the chance to get rid of him.

And Serana’s discovery undoubtedly allowed her to manufacture an information gap through deception, buying her just such an opportunity.

On the other hand—the most important point, and one already noted earlier—compared to personal advancement, Serana’s trip here was likely driven much more by filial devotion.

She had come to verify what had happened to the Progenitor, and perhaps even find a way to help.

Yet into a place as sensitive and closely tied to the Progenitor as the ”sub-deep layer of the dream,” a devourer like this had barged in?

With his bizarre arrival, his inscrutable attitude, and the already proven fact that he was genuinely devouring the dreamscape...

Even the dullest person’s first reaction would be that they were about to lead a wolf into the house.

To say nothing of the fact that their next objective was to head down to the true bottom layer of the dream to seek out the Blood Nova—something that, by any measure, was intimately connected to Annalise.

If she didn’t find a chance to deal with him beforehand, it was hard to say whether her subsequent efforts would end up saving the Progenitor or dooming her.

Perhaps the cards in her hand were still pitifully thin, perhaps her opponent was truly unfathomable, and perhaps the consequences of failure would be unthinkable... Even so, Serana had acted decisively.

Going to such lengths for a Progenitor who was theoretically already dead genuinely earned her praise for her admirable filial devotion.

It was just a pity—

”Nice try.”

Casually tossing aside the three roses he had just plucked, Fu Qian felt the pressure on his body plummet and offered a favorable review.

...

Hmph, did she really think this professor was the sort of hack who couldn’t even read the problem prompt, only knowing how to apply periodic pressure and harvest the results?

In the dead silence, Fu Qian looked at Serana’s face—which could not have been any paler—and simply sneered inwardly.

The little project she was working on had always fallen squarely within this professor’s field of research.

Even setting aside the fact that he had seen through her filial devotion long ago, and even if she had pulled off a complete ambush, given that he already knew the fundamental principles of this dreamscape, it took next to no effort to deduce how many elements she actually had at her disposal.

Furthermore, because she had so few cards in hand, the entire way she had set the trap was downright crude.

Because her perception was fading, she needed him to pluck the flowers at a crucial moment to give her a jolt of stimulation?

The excuse was barely passable, and for all he knew, it might have actually provided some stimulating effect.

But by holding flowers that symbolized the Blood Clan in his hand, wouldn’t he also take on a certain degree of Blood Clan attributes as a result?

And in this peculiar place, wouldn’t that trigger an interaction with certain concepts? Knowing the true nature of this place, did she really think this professor would overlook a glaring risk like that?

”In your scenario, you were banking on the idea that because of the connection between those three flowers and you, I’d clutch them tight and refuse to let go?”

Facing the silent youngster, however, Fu Qian didn’t berate her harshly in the next moment; instead, he even helped her review the play.

Hmm...

Serana still didn’t make a sound, though the panic of being caught red-handed had faded, replaced by a look of being somewhat at a loss.

”The idea itself was decent enough. When you’re suddenly thrown into an unfavorable position, wanting as many bargaining chips in your hand as possible is a natural human instinct.

”However, against a mysterious figure you know nothing about, pinning the crux of your trap on a misdirection like that makes the whole scheme far too flimsy.”

Fu Qian continued holding forth with ease, not even bothering to shake off the figures still tugging at his hands.

”I... didn’t have a choice.”

Seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly bizarre, Serana was finally ”moved” enough to bite the bullet and join the discussion.

”That is indeed a fair point, and I can understand it. Still, failing to see another way out is often just a matter of limited perspective. Describe what you discovered earlier for me.”

Fu Qian didn’t press her too hard; after all, he was the one who had put her in this tight spot in the first place.

At that moment, he simply gestured for Serana to elaborate, looking every bit like an advisor helping her optimize her plan.

”...You were right. There is something inside the mural, and it’s something very special to the Blood Clan.”

By all rights, her earlier actions had already made her stance crystal clear: she would never allow herself to lead a wolf into the house.

Yet faced with Fu Qian’s prompting now—perhaps feeling that since the suggestion had been his in the first place, basic courtesy demanded she give him an answer—Serana fell silent for a moment before finally speaking up.

”Binding, corruption, imprisonment... It’s hard to describe in concrete terms.”

Her voice dropped low, and at that exact moment, every single Serana froze in place.

”After I managed to immerse myself in it, I quickly discovered it, and then realized it might be an opportunity—a chance to pay a certain price in exchange for restricting your movements—

”Though you’re right. A plan like that was far too presumptuous.”