Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 149: Disorder (20)
The cold wind howled.
Although he had turned into a human radar, Fu Qian didn't immediately go into town to start a massacre.
He chose to follow his previous path, making his way all the way to the Old City.
Considering the speed of the flesh-and-blood transformation, there was still plenty of time.
There was one thing he wanted to figure out.
Touching the key in his pocket, Fu Qian headed straight for the snow-covered spire of the church.
...
A few minutes later, Fu Qian once again leaped down from the roof of the church.
In the darkness, the stained glass window he didn't get a chance to examine last time was still dazzlingly radiant.
After confirming there was no movement around, Fu Qian descended all the way, quickly arriving in front of the stained glass.
Observing it up close, the surface of the stained glass seemed to be covered by a transparent veil.
Fu Qian reached out a hand and found that he seemed to touch a hidden boundary.
Applying force and pushing forward, the stained glass slowly opened backward.
Waiting for two seconds without any attack occurring, Fu Qian squeezed his whole body inside.
There really was something!
The scene behind the stained glass made even Fu Qian marvel a bit.
Behind it was actually an independent space.
The area wasn't large, only about ten square meters.
The furnishings inside were also very simple. Under a window that occupied almost half the wall stood a massive easel.
Beside the easel was a tall stool, upon which lay a few paintbrushes and a dried-up palette.
Other than that, there was nothing else.
Fu Qian stepped forward. On the easel was a completed painting.
The content of the painting looked very complex. The most striking element was the seven colored lights in the sky.
It looked exactly the same as the view from the window outside from this angle.
This is...
The next moment, Fu Qian sensed an anomaly and pulled the Starlight Key out of his pocket.
The originally crystal-clear key was now glowing brilliantly, emitting rings of halos.
Fu Qian merely glanced at it before tossing the key onto the stool nearby, continuing to look at the painting on his own.
This painting was clearly ancient.
Not only had it faded overall, but the bottom right corner had also curled up as if rotting, turning a stale yellowish-brown.
Parts of it had even begun to peel off.
Hiss!
This place looks a bit familiar... it seems to be the exact spot I'm standing right now!
Upon realizing this, Fu Qian couldn't help but gasp.
Staring at it for a long time, he suddenly turned his head to the key on the stool.
"No matter how you look at it, honestly, I think it's painted poorly."
"Especially the Seven Lights above; they look like they were just randomly smeared on. A kindergarten kid could paint better than this..."
"The linework and brush strokes are also quite amateurish..."
...
"You were a bit slow at finding this!"
Just after Fu Qian muttered his critique to himself, a voice suddenly came from the key.
The next moment, light converged above it, outlining a pale figure.
A Witch wearing a pointed hat sat on the corner of the stool, looking at the painting in front of her with great interest.
"Can't be helped. After all, as a member of the Investigation Team, I still have to handle cases and catch murderers."
Fu Qian replied casually.
By now, he had basically confirmed that this was the place the Witch wanted him to find.
When he came earlier, it was highly likely that the veil outside the stained glass had acted as a shield, preventing the key from sensing the inside.
That was why the key hadn't reacted at the time.
And once inside, the shield naturally ceased to function.
The Witch scrutinized it for a long time before finally shaking her head.
"I also think it's painted poorly."
"Even though my mother's blood was used."
What?
Fu Qian shot her a glance.
Considering this being's true form, her mother must certainly be a formidable entity as well, yet her blood was used to paint this?
"Speaking of which, do you understand now why I wanted you to find this?"
"Let me think."
Fu Qian looked at the painting.
"You don't mean to tell me that the people outside have actually been living inside a painting all along? Painted with your mother's blood."
"Correct guess!"
The Witch's tone did not waver.
"However, it might differ from your inherent concepts. To us, the concept of a mother is more like an origin or a seed, rather than direct reproduction.
In fact, I've never even met her."
"When I was born, the outside world had already been destroyed."
"Although the specific process is unclear, basically, this world encountered a calamity involving various powerful entities.
At the very final moment, someone hunted down one of those powerful entities and used her blood to paint this world, serving as the last refuge for humanity."
"Miraculous power!"
Although he had already guessed some of it, Fu Qian still uttered a heartfelt sigh of admiration.
"Indeed. Too bad too many years have passed, and blood rots."
"Is this why Calamity started appearing here?"
Fu Qian pointed at the bottom right corner.
"Calamity is just one of the manifestations."
One of the manifestations...
Fu Qian instantly thought of something. He raised his right hand toward the Witch.
"Human Pus is too?"
"Get that thing away from me!"
The Witch displayed a look of sheer disgust.
"But yes, this is also a manifestation of the rot."
"Then what about the Eclipse Curse? I recall you saying earlier that Human Pus and the Eclipse Curse are in an oppositional relationship?"
"Before answering that question, I have a quiz for you. Why do you think the person painted those seven ugly lights at the very end?"
Why specifically add the Seven Lights...
Fu Qian looked at the few scribbles in the sky.
"To give people faith? And subsequently allow Awakening to enter the Sequence?"
"Correct answer! That was the purpose."
"Getting to the root of it, put simply, this is after all a painted world, and it possesses fundamental differences from the real world.
For ordinary people to survive here long-term, they must truly integrate into the painting, otherwise, they are easily rejected."
"So the Eclipse Curse is a manifestation of being rejected?"
Fu Qian immediately understood.
"Yes. Those unlucky ones who were rejected—their existence was slowly erased from this world."
"The Seven Lights were born to solve this problem; they are the channels to integrate into the painted world."
"As long as one can Awaken using the Seven Lights as a foundation, regardless of which path, it is equivalent to completely synchronizing with this world.
From then on, not only will they not fade, but they can also share a long life and power."
"This was originally a very good design, but just as I said, after a long time, blood rots."
"Many years passed, and not only did the loss of the essence of power become increasingly severe, making entering the Sequence more and more difficult...
Even those who had already synchronized were implicated by the world's rot. Human Pus bred within their bodies, which conversely exacerbated the loss of power."
So it was like this...
Fu Qian connected everything together in a flash.
"Is this thing irreversible? Is there a solution?"
"There is!"
The Witch stared at Fu Qian, devoid of joy or sorrow.
"Paint another one."
"But the original world will be destroyed in the process, and these people will all die."
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