Old Ed was right.
In his current tattered spiritual state, Elias really wasn't fit for a deep, long-term dive into the dreamscape.
If he stayed much longer, he might actually undergo spiritual dissolution right then and there and become the Moon Lord's chosen wage slave.
However, he knew he had to persevere.
Even though that damn gun Ms. Cecil lent him had the side effect of precisely erasing his memory of the Dream Prayer Ritual process...
Fortunately, he still remembered the events of the last ritual and the specifics of their conversation.
“Let’s keep this brief.”
Elias rubbed his brow weakly, forcing himself to stay alert.
He looked up at the horse standing before him.
“I want to know about the pendulum from the Fortville family that I have now. What exactly can it do?”
At the mention of the “pendulum,” the Peak Horse’s massive head lowered slightly.
It didn't answer immediately.
Instead, it closed its eyes, and two plumes of white mist snorted from its nostrils.
A moment later.
The old horse reopened its eyes, a serious expression appearing on its long face.
“This containment object is far too dangerous.”
Elias's heart skipped a beat.
For a high-level existence in the dreamscape to label something as “too dangerous”...
This thing was definitely bad news.
“It has four positive traits,” the Peak Horse said slowly, its tone grave.
“And it has four negative traits as well.”
Well, damn. Four positive and four negative. Going for that perfect balance, are we?
Elias complained inwardly but listened intently.
“Trait one.”
The Peak Horse ignored his internal monologue and began its explanation.
“It is incomplete; there seems to be another part to it.”
“It can be combined with that other part to produce a powerful effect.”
“However, based on what I can perceive now, there is not enough information to know what specific effect the combination would produce.”
Elias nodded in understanding.
“Trait two.”
“It possesses necromantic abilities, allowing it to absorb and store the spiritual remnants of living beings.”
The horse's voice paused.
“The storage limit is related to its own saturation.”
“Trait three.”
“The pendulum can naturally absorb dark erosion energy from the environment for storage and release.”
“Finally.”
The horse’s massive eyes stared at Elias.
“If the spiritual remnant of a soul is stored within the pendulum...”
“Then that soul can use the pendulum as an anchor to persist in the material world.”
Elias nodded slowly as he listened.
Case closed.
This indirectly proved that John hadn't lied to him about the pendulum.
John’s spirit had indeed been attached to the pendulum, which allowed him to wander the material world so brazenly for so long and even communicate with Elias without any issues.
As for later...
After Elias had released John's soul, it had mutated into a mountain of flesh.
Looking at it now, that was essentially the pendulum's supernatural traits acting up.
The spiritual anchor combined with a surge of necromantic energy had directly triggered the fleshly mutation.
Thinking of this, Elias felt a chill run down his spine.
That lethal pendulum was currently lying quietly inside his Gluttonous Stomach.
The obsession John left inside should have completely dissipated by now, right?
He prayed that the next time he opened the stomach to get something, the pendulum wouldn't decide to serve up another mountain of flesh.
If it did, he’d be truly screwed.
“Negative traits,” the Peak Horse continued, giving Elias no time to process his fear.
“It induces a powerful craving in the holder for the ‘other part’ of the pendulum.”
“It constantly drives the holder to seek out the missing half.”
“This psychological suggestion increases exponentially as the distance between the two parts decreases.”
“Long-term contact will also lead to the holder's spirituality being slowly eroded.”
The old horse paused.
“If the holder's spirituality level is not high enough...”
“It can even lead to cognitive disorders and physical mutations.”
Right...
It was basically like carrying a high-intensity radiation source.
If an ordinary person with low spirituality held onto it, they’d probably turn into a tumor-covered non-human within a few days.
“Furthermore...”
The horse's voice grew even lower.
“When the dark erosion energy and obsessions accumulated within the containment object reach a certain level of saturation...”
“It will naturally awaken all corpses within a five-hundred-foot radius.”
“And it will control them, making them spontaneously protect the pendulum.”
“Holy crap!”
A five-hundred-foot radius!
That was over a hundred and fifty meters!
No wonder the mountain of flesh at the convent could gather so many corpses to use as armor.
“Additionally, when the pendulum has absorbed a sufficiently powerful obsession...”
The horse ruthlessly interrupted his shock.
“It will actively seek out surrounding corpses to merge with them.”
Everything clicked.
John's obsession, plus the corpses in the cemetery, plus the pendulum's dark erosion energy.
A perfect evil chemical reaction.
“You had best keep this containment object in an absolutely safe place.”
As it spoke, Elias could read a deep sense of gravity and wariness even on the old horse’s long face.
“I will.”
He nodded heavily.
On second thought, though, the situation didn't seem entirely beyond salvation.
Based on the horse's explanation, at least one thing was clear.
The Gluttonous Stomach provided excellent isolation.
It seemed to act like a mystical Faraday cage.
Looking at John's previous experience...
That guy had carried the pendulum all the way from Galloway City to Hope County.
Despite the long time and the vast distance covered, he hadn't suffered any severe physical mutations or cognitive collapses from holding it.
This was enough to prove that keeping the pendulum isolated within the stomach was quite safe.
As long as he didn't take it out to play with it, this time bomb wouldn't go off for now.
Whew...
Elias let out a long breath, feeling his tense nerves relax slightly.
“So, what is the connection between the pendulum and Moon Bay?”
This question involved the schemes of that old sea dog Crowley and the movements of the Seventh Agency.
It even involved the Mist Veil Society.
He had to figure out just how deep the water was.
However.
To Elias's surprise...
The Peak Horse, which usually answered every question—even if impatiently—remained silent this time.
It simply shook its head.
“That is not something for us to pry into.”
Its voice carried a trace of undeniable awe and evasion.
“It involves two secrets from a thousand years ago.”
Two secrets from a thousand years ago?
Elias was stunned.
That was an incredibly long span of history.
Before he could even voice a question, the horse's next words nearly made him fall over.
“It concerns the gods.”
Four simple words.
They hit Elias's tense nerves like four heavy hammers.
It concerned the gods?!
He was startled, feeling as if he had been dropped into a pit of ice.
He had originally thought that a necromantic containment object like the pendulum was, at most, inextricably linked to the so-called “Fifth Element.”
But now it seemed...
The water had long since risen past his neck and was flooding the heavens!
It actually involved the high and mighty gods!
No wonder the people from the Mist Veil Society were willing to die to get their hands on it.
No wonder Wayland Capital wanted a piece of the action.
And then there was Crowley, whose stance was still unclear.
This wasn't just a hot potato; it was a scorching nuclear reactor!
Elias's mind raced, trying to find a breakthrough in this suffocating amount of information.
Since asking about the gods directly was taboo...
What if he changed his perspective?
“Let me ask it another way.”
Elias spoke again.
He remembered the indescribable whispers he'd heard beneath the lighthouse and the madness of those mutated monsters.
“Is it related to a certain being in Moon Bay?”
After asking this, Elias stared intently at the horse's reaction.
However.
The majestic face of the Peak Horse did not show the wariness or fear he expected.
Instead, it showed confusion.
The horse tilted its head and asked a question in return.
“What being?”
Rate on N.U.
