The nightmare? Or Cthulhu's Eye?
Arthur didn't even know whether that almost dreamlike murmur had been directed at him.
But now, in reality, he sat down beside the junior and whispered his answer.
"Yes… at least this time."
"..."
Hearing the senior's clear reply, Komini still didn't speak.
She didn't know if this was the answer she wanted.
Lying amid the foul-smelling flesh, she couldn't even move the hand covering her eyes. Even though the evil clouds in the sky had dispersed, the world before her looked completely different.
She even felt that perhaps going completely insane would be better—so that whether in the City or in this world, she wouldn't have to face those nightmarish scenes with a clear mind...
But she was still alive, and she hadn't gone mad either.
"Senior… pull me up… I can't do it…"
Tears streamed from the corners of Komini's eyes, yet the hand covering them slowly lifted...
Arthur grabbed that hand and pulled her up.
"Feeling better?"
"Mm..."
With red-rimmed eyes, she finally opened them and saw the surrounding scene. Pus covered the ground as far as she could see, with flesh and debris scattered everywhere.
An evil aura still lingered in the area. This residual pressure would temporarily prevent monsters from appearing. Although that was technically a good thing, the sight alone made her want to vomit. Seeing the senior's calm expression, however, she forcibly suppressed the urge.
"I'll adapt..."
She forced herself to look up at Terraria's brilliant starry sky, beneath which unknown existences lay hidden.
This hell was one she had walked into herself—and she had to walk out of it on her own.
'If I cry and die here in such a pathetic way after accepting Senior's invitation, that would be truly unacceptable…'
"Mm… that's good."
Arthur didn't know what Komini was thinking, but seeing the earnest determination on her face, he knew she was probably fine.
So, without offering further encouragement or comfort, he pointed directly at her right hand.
"Since you're fine now, can you give me the thing you're holding first?"
"..."
Only then did Komini realize—following the senior's gaze—that in her confusion she had been clutching a blood-soaked object tightly.
It was a bag. Not heavy, but the blood-thread bindings wrapped around it made it feel anything but ordinary.
She handed it to Arthur.
Arthur tore open the blood-rope seal.
The moment it was pulled apart, the packaging dissolved into black mist and shattered, releasing countless strange auras.
As expected, two shields and a large quantity of red ore fell out.
The instant Komini saw them, she instinctively reached for the Terra Blade, and her already-limited Sanity dropped even further.
They were two round shields, each about the length of a forearm. Carved upon them was the unmistakable image of the second-stage gaping maw of Cthulhu's Eye—the very thing they had just faced.
[EGO Accessory: Cthulhu Shield]
Category: One-handed Shield
Effect: When charging at an enemy, gain brief invincibility and deal 5 points of Erosion damage (0.5s duration, 3s cooldown).
Increases Health by 5.
Increases Suppression work success rate by 10%.
This accessory is indestructible.
Description:
The strangeness still spreads within this thing's body. Even if it is not It, it still yearns for the flesh before it….
"What… is this?"
Even though she had just seen the item equipped on the senior's left arm, Komini's expression was still strained. After all, the shield forcibly dragged those unpleasant memories from only minutes ago back to the surface.
"An EGO Accessory…"
Arthur naturally knew exactly what this Terraria drop was.
As one of the strongest early-game accessories in Terraria, the power of this shield was beyond question.
"You take the other one. This item can be worn at any time. Just tell the company it's an EGO Accessory gifted by G-01-05, and it'll be fine."
"Senior… what I mean is, is it really okay to carry something like this?"
There was none of the excitement she'd felt when first obtaining EGO Equipment. Komini spoke hesitantly—this felt completely different from the Terra Blade she had acquired in the Sword Tomb. This thing genuinely radiated strangeness.
"All EGO Accessories are like this."
Arthur rotated the round shield on his left arm.
"The essence of E.G.O is borrowing power that belongs to an Anomaly. They're entities created from intangible concepts. At their core, they're materializations of human minds."
"Materializations… of minds?"
Komini looked confused and muttered quietly,
"What kind of minds would create something like this…?"
Her whisper didn't reach Arthur. With a sigh, she finally steeled herself and equipped the shield.
As she did, the familiar strangeness washed over her once more, and a chilling thought surfaced.
"By the way, Senior… they won't come to the City, will they…?"
If something like this could be materialized and removed from a containment space, then wouldn't everything in this world be capable of the same?
Her body trembled from the fear rising in her chest.
'Just imagining it is terrifying. Existences like that should never appear in the City…'
"No."
Arthur interrupted immediately, though his eyes drifted away.
"Don't overthink it. The City is a normal place. You should believe in science and Singularity technology."
He said it confidently—despite the obvious lie.
After all, he had already seen it on the system panel: the summoning of the Suspicious Eyeball was classified as a summoning native to this world.
Which meant that if he wanted to—
He could summon one inside the City.
And more than that…
His drifting gaze settled on the system panel beside him.
[Anomaly Defeat Confirmed]
Added to Database
Anomaly Name: Cthulhu's Eye
Designation Number: ???
Observation Level: 1
Containment Level: ALEPH
Qliphoth Counter (Max): ??
(When this value reaches zero, containment breach or catastrophic abnormalities will occur.)
Max PE-BOX Production: ??
EGO Equipment: ?
EGO Accessory: ?
Damage Resistance: ??
Attack Method: ??