We immediatelymenced our departure to the northwest.


    With Verina as the agile vanguard and scout, we hastily make our way through the stray Cmity Objects wandering beyond our sight, and avoid the cmitous event altogether.


    One time, I looked back to see the very Qliphoth Object that was sent to our door.


    Wherever the Molded King moved, the ground seemed to crack and cken, as if drained of life, copsing into ash.


    The air grew thick with a suffocating heaviness, a strange, acrid scent filling the lungs as it appeared. In one hand, it carried a staff that, when raised, released a cloud of something foul, spreading out slowly over thend like a creeping shadow.


    It did not chase after us.


    It only stood still, surveying thendscape, an unsettling stillness in its silence. Yet, despite itsck of motion, thend seemed to shrivel beneath its gaze.


    We tried our best to escape the corruptednd, and we managed to stay unscathed as we witnessed the overwhelming power that a single Qliphoth Object could bring.


    It was the same with the first two Qliphoth Objects we faced back then. A single stray of the Wild Hunt took us our utmost effort and hours of risky sh in order to gain advantage over it. An endless wave of them could easily bury an entire civilization in just a matter of hours.


    As we continued our cautious retreat, the oppressive atmosphere of the Molded King''s presence still weighed heavily on us, even though we had sessfully distanced ourselves from him.


    Thankfully, we didn''t meet a lot of stray Cmity Objects in our run.


    The silence of sheer focus and mind-churning between us was palpable, broken only by the quiet rustle of Verina''s ming ck Wheels as she led us through the safest paths.


    It was Kuzunoha who eventually broke the quiet. Her voice, as usual, carried a sharp edge of sarcasm, but beneath ity an intellectual curiosity that seemed almost indifferent to the danger we had just evaded.


    "A Qliphoth Object as a king of rot." She tilted her head, her crimson gaze still half-lidded with disinterest, though I knew better. "A royal embodiment of decay that doesn''t even need to lift a finger to ruin everything in its path. I''d say we''re lucky that it didn''t find us interesting enough to give chase."


    Verina nced back from her position in the front, her eyes narrowing slightly as she caught the tone of Kuzunoha''s words. "You speak as if you wanted to engage it. We are fortunate we avoided direct confrontation." Her voice was calm but firm, with a hint of reproach.


    Kuzunoha shrugged, her umbre twirling in her fingers. "Not particrly. It''s just fascinating, the way these Qliphoth Objects manifest. Each one with its own set of rules, its own twisted logic. The Molded King… reminds me of how decay overtakes everything in the end, no matter how strong or beautiful."


    I never mentioned that it was named the Molded King.


    As expected, Kuzunoha''s knowledge of the unknown could be intimidating.


    I could always sense the thinly veiled implication behind Kuzunoha''s words. Her interest in these entities was far more than casual observation.


    She was always thinking, always analyzing—and perhaps, scheming against something beyond her own realm of influence.


    "I take it you''re wondering if there''s a way to turn such an abomination for your own advantage," I remarked, keeping my tone light. It wasn''t hard to guess what was running through her mind. "You want to acquire them, because their intrinsic traits are different from Cmity Objects."


    Kuzunoha smirked, her eyes glinting with that familiar predatory amusement. "Oh, of course. A mind like mine can''t help but wonder. Imagine the potential if someone could harness that level of entropy. A walking gue that rots everything it touches… it could be quite useful, no?"


    Verina''s expression darkened. "That is a dangerous thought. These Qliphoth Objects exist outside our understanding for a reason, even beyond the realm of Cmity Objects. Trying to use them would be no different than inviting your own destruction."


    Kuzunoha''s smile widened, though it didn''t reach her eyes. "Perhaps. But isn''t that what makes it fun? Pushing the boundaries, seeing how far one can go before the abyss stares back?"


    Yeah right. Thest time you did that, you were being lovingly embraced by me for hours, Kuzunoha.


    "The Qliphoth Objects are far more dangerous than Cmity Objects, yes." I smirked, intrigued by the topic at hand regardless of the intention. "But they''re also supposed to be unpredictable and unreasonable, no?


    "Even if we managed to find a way to manipte their power, the cost could be far greater than we''re willing to pay."


    Kuzunoha didn''t argue, but I could tell she was still considering it, turning the possibilities over in her mind like a puzzle she couldn''t wait to solve.


    Verina, on the other hand, seemed far less inclined to entertain the notion. "These creatures are a blight on existence itself… they aren''t things to be toyed with."


    "True," Kuzunoha conceded, though her tone suggested otherwise. "But sometimes, Verina, the most dangerous toys are the ones worth ying with."


    Verina red at Kuzunoha, and for a moment, I wondered if the tension between them would escte like usual.


    But then Kuzunoha shrugged again, as if the topic no longer interested her.


    "Regardless," she continued, her voice softer but still tinged with amusement, "I do wonder how these objectse to be. What kind of cosmic horror could birth something like the Molded King? A being that embodies the inevitability of death and decay… makes you think~"


    Verina remained silent, but I could see the unease in her expression. She wasn''t the type to ponder such dark, abstract questions, preferring instead to focus on the immediate, tangible threats—or the betterment of herself.


    Even though both of them lived in this world for years longer than me, I felt like they were still far from evenprehending the existences of these horrifying entities.


    It made me wonder.


    A world that always threatens to end your existence everyday, is that world worth living in?


    Then again, I always felt the same way with the real world outside of Carcosa.


    Which makes me question myself on whether I was weak, or just gued by overthinking.


    An hour of journey toward the northwest, we re-established our temporary bastion and performed our usual deed of preserving our own lives.


    After another 12 hours of facing the Ordeal of the Midnight, the dawn arose and I was weed by the fourth day of my life in Carcosa''s morning.