COI C260

Fae-chan is in a deepest realm created by its original mistress. The creator of all. The bodies made and formed into the doll. The spirits lie within are not originated by the goblin spirits. The world was or should’ve been more than a few races. These spirit dolls are more than guardians for the daughters of her people. They are mentors, champions, and symbols of her heritage of the past since she ascended into godhood. Delilah observes her creation slowly thrown into air after hit by the void magic.

She smiles at the doll for its tenacity and dedication to protect the young girl, Aoi. Never have been for to remain still like the others. Her magic flows through like stream descending from above. It is more gallant and at the same time terrifying to ever not know about this city, especially the doll right in front of her. This magic fused together with the waterfall is not only a spell she could control. There something lies inside the water gushing down able to take down a lot of things or life whomever touch it.

Around them, there is no water left. The motion in hyper speed won’t be any water falling or rising anytime soon in this time state. Yet her curiosity took the better of her and forces herself to see which family names who allow this doll to be here in the first place. She casts her spell and memories of its service dated back to Enders Bridge to the beginning of where it was made for. Her lips shake of frustration remembering those kinds of kids she had always concern about. The troublemakers, her own children she raised herself. They’re acting up again

“Again! I heard here in this ruin. One of my adopted names: Del’kr! E’a! Ankr! You bring a non-relative to speak my words”

One of the heads of Delilah’s descendants speaks out the quotes messaged to the East Coast. This is more than once Yui have to hear that message again both her and her aunts. The sisterhood gathers around and not brought the men of their family members. It is the problem only to the daughters as one of the dolls are on the hands of a non-blood related family.

Yui miserably listens to the family head

“You’ve brought the doll to a woman not only a citizen, but a non-blood relative”

She quickly talks back “You think I don’t know anything. I have given that doll to a young boy and . . .”

“The boy is a child from their standards. Although we won’t allow it. There is an exception for that young boy. The doll can see through his head. A child dares to act like his own parents. Like you behaving like your mother:

Yui feels insulted “Dare to speak ill to my mother, aren’t you?”

The head gives a stern look at her as she knows who is talking to.

“This is our 1st head’s complaint. Trying to fight back is nostalgic for her, but she has issues when dolls bringing to the lost city is, you say, troublemaking”

The head is trying to say to her the most obvious statement. This is not her causing the complaint of bringing her involving with 1st head. But a certain doll she brings to the East Coast. Yui couldn’t care to why that certain doll is not allowed. The stubborn look at her face have already giving away for the female relatives seeing a mature woman, Yui herself, showing no empathy for the well-being of the doll. The 1st head made them personally for the three families. That certain doll is better than the descendants could ever made by their artistry and skills.

The sisters around Yui whispers about the doll

“Do you think?”

“She has the Ankr name. It proves she raised by one”

“How about you? Your E’a name was lost, but you are the descendant”

“We are all her children. Our culture preserved and protected by many eras have brought our society to its downfall”

“True, our relative. Oue has the heirloom doll”

“Heirloom? This is not going anywhere, there are too many dolls with special status and prestige. I don’t want to hear any hierarchy for such a daughter’s toy”

The head keeps rubbing her head as her patience broaden as this is how the Ankr family have always been. The differences are that they never share their hierarchy doll to anybody. Its purpose is to protect the daughters, and which the daughters are not her descendants. She could provide her any dolls possessing specific trait needed for their journey. Not only she uses the hierarchy doll, but also no knowledge how to use it. This correlates its origin to Fay’mae Thulz’Yulfrit. The heiress of the guild. If the doll returns to the actual owner, either it be Oue or Fay’mae. They’ll become the suspect of Ankr’s doll entering the ruins.

Someone appears behind the crowd of women. An elderly comes forth with her large doll carrying her above the crowd. The head points out to Yui

“Your grandmother is here”

“What?! WHY!”

A loud shock from her expression made the head shocked too. Yui is being cheeky from the beginning. To suddenly getting surprised by her own grandmother divert her own ego. When the elder woman stands on her two feet, she reveals herself not from the Demyr clan.

The head softly spokes out her last name “That’s Ankr’Cylvia”

They all show respect to her as she slowly goes to her granddaughter. Yui behaves herself and tries to kneel. Her grandmother stops her as the doll releases its threads towards her to stand up.

“Elder! I!”

“I am your grandmother. You still need to discipline yourself from what you’ve done”

“That’s why I am acting remorse . . .”

“Remorse? For what?”

Yui remains silent as she can’t figure out why. Her grandmother always disciplined her with the fact that she is the descendent of Delikor, E’asta Ankra. The first head of their generations. Ankra gives the personal meaning for independence. The child who is not letting her mother control of her as she is given a nickname as Ankra for rebelling the strict rules due to its unlawful acts. It is also the caring name that helped her mother remorse from her own mistake when she has her own daughter. This is how Yui behaves. She always made mistake of her own personal ambition.

Her grandmother whispers to her where her large doll covered them from view. Yui left stunned as she uses her spell to detect Juela. She didn’t leave the East Coast. She turns to her grandmother.

“Where’s HAW!?”

Desperately pleading for her plan to succeed. Her grandmother only said to her with a mischievous grin

“They act just like you. My dearest Ankr”

She hugs Yui leaving a froze bleak expression as the consequences of their actions will reveal why it has to be Tabitha, Silfa, and either the Unworthy guild’s Benedictus or Dexter guild’s Military Corps.

Yui responds “Then how about the boys?”

“They are men. There is no need for the doll to take care of them. Why are you so worried? They are citizens. They can overcome it with their gifts”

Yui deeps down her thought not letting her grandma hears her

“They are humanesques like us. And you, you never care about the citizens because of their powers”

Enders Bridge will keep reminding the Raker Mawn Guild that they never want good relation with Isekai City. Business is business, and power is power. What else they want to care to a slave city state like Agatheus City.

Tabitha’s team made into the final depths of the ruin. Further below is the crystal-clear floor blocking the route as they see as it looks like a city. A resemblance of what the city was, but when one of the steps on the floor, they feel their bodies drag down as the weight of their mana pushing them deeper. Aoi barely takes a few more steps.

“Is this really going to help them free from their curse?”

Juela stands fine as everyone else with their mana free flowing around their bodies

“Might be, we can’t even go back in our own time pace either”

Silfa agrees “More than that, we are freeing these kids and finally remember what really happened to them. Aoi, I know it is a bit early to ask. But I’m really curious who is this hunter and dwarf guy. Do you know what they look like?”

“That’s, I know about the dwarf guy. He never been passing through the underground. Including going through the caves himself. But not there, there, from what I remember. The hunter is the only one I can remember clearly for being hard to get along. He didn’t explain and leave them some notes behind. I’m sure it fell here after we sink into the shore”

Everybody prepares themselves as one by one, they begin to free themselves from the influence and a sphere surrounding in each one of them. The sphere breaks apart the moment the influence holds them. Their faces are all sweaty as if they have remembered then quickly gives up. Except for Kenta as he is not sweating but he looks shocked and daze looking at the city below them. Kenta says to Aoi

“It didn’t work, is something wrong about me?”

“I listen to Delilah carefully. I don’t know what to do next in this situation”

Tabitha tries to understand what these trials are. In their view, most of them are puzzles or challenges. The game features really made everyone to think like that. To cure from this curse by solving puzzles or beat it does not make it feel reasonable. This trial though is a bit different, it’s like it is already curing them but the influence pulls them back in. Is there a way to get rid of it first? This is hard to figure it out without some hints.

“How did you get your memories back, Aoi?”

“Huh? It was the charm. I had it with me and, wait. Urgh! My head”

Aoi sits down and feel the pain inside her head. Flashes back inside her mind to someone who picks up the charm and did something to it.

“Wait, it’s the hunter. He carries some vile and places it on my charm. Yeah, it must be him who helped me free myself from the influence”

Silfa gets her head all over their explanation “Wait a minute, you bring us to Delilah on how to free the others, and now this hunter knew how to make it. Okay, this is not getting anywhere straight. If we can’t continue the trials. We have to find him. Like how would be able to find someone who”

Silfa turns around as she whispers inside her head “Haw”

Tabitha checks on her “Who?”

“It’s Haw, damn it. I should’ve known we are missing someone. He is also able to trace anyone with his abilities. I knew . . .”

Juela pulls closer to her and shakes her around “Stop getting lost in track. There’s Tabitha’s bodyguards. Haw is not the only one who is a former Dexter Guild”

“Sorry, that jar of his fell on the monster is really get to me”

Silfa embarrassingly laughs as she can’t help herself why she kept thinking about him. Whether anyone from the Dexter Guild exactly, their reliance on them is putting her on edge.

Tabitha agrees “Both of you are right?”

“Did you have any leads”

“Yes, Juela. This should be what they say a logical answer why they were brought here. After how cold they are, they have the knowledge of this place for some reason. We can’t deny it. We have to find them”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The group are shaking their heads from the bad situation they are in. Little knowledge how to do this trial is impeccable to the least. It is really nothing else they could do but to study it. Juela knows about trials and pacts originated from the center region of this world. Unfortunately, there are times it will be hard to be accurate with this kind of trials. To be free as a reward is not what she had in mind. Aoi is free, only given by one of her fellow guild members. However, she still goes and follows what the voice instructed her to do. This same voice is other than Delilah, an immortal. If she and her guild member managed to break the influence. This brings the question why they didn’t report it to the guild.

“To break the curse, we have to get either the Dexter Guild or the Unworthy Guild”

“Unworthy guild? Oh, you mean the Benedictus”

Silfa mentions it as she starts to remember them. A name they don’t know it is true. The ripples of the clear glass have turned water for a moment. It distracts them as they move aside from the ripple. Everyone is confused of how the glass turned water. When the ripple clears, they see below are the people they have trying to find in their journey.

A banner carried by a group of men. With them is McS4, exploring to the depths they could not go through. They see the ripples bouncing up as they use their magic to trace them. A strong force pushing along with the wind, searching them. It ripples them up to their feet as they continue to react. Tabitha tries to call them out

“HEY! We’re over here!”

Mina’s team joins in. They tried to call out through the clear glass barely getting through even with magic. Failed and impossible to get them to notice.

Aoi steps in and begins to sing. She places her hand moving her finger on the glass. The ripples they cast through follow the waves on her finger tips. She feels the flow of glass sealing the sounds and the force between them. The ripple starts glowing like it is being cracked. The man catcher’s men notice from above. A ripple of light shape into the glass. They called each other one by one. Until they reach the last man, the man catcher himself.

“Sir, we saw something moving. It must be them”

“It doesn’t look like it’s one of them. The demon had stop fooling us after our first encounter”

McS4 thought so too. If that is Tabitha, then only thing he could try to know through her telepathy. But he knows someone is listening. When McS4 and R-cord trying to give her the message of not to respond and plays along only for these two to communicate only. She has to know by herself without exactly get the words directly. They are still suspecting someone out there is tapping their conversation. Tabitha still wonders why. Transmission turns on as the two communicate once more.

“Cor, Cor, can you read me?”

“Affirmative, have you found any of the survivors?”

“Negative, again no repeat”

“Copy, I have seen strange lightings and the trace magic in my group is always going up”

“I spotted your activity. I am below of you”

“Below of us, we can’t go any deeper we are at”

“Inability to get through down is a sign of labyrinth. These cracked like glass must be the caused to barrier us in different rooms”

“Is your analysis confirmed?”

“There are notes here. The Enders guild have keep leaving notes made out of cloth. This is the same ones I found back with the team”

“Noted, continue the search”

Tabitha sits down as they are still pretending not communicating with her. The threat they are trying to hide is making her curious again. Again, with the same notes topic she wanted to hear. She is tempted to ask, but she kept her words after hearing R-cord to not repeat.

Aoi notices her using telepathy and asked “Are talking with your team again? Are there any leads how we are going to do with the trials?”

“Barely, but those people down are hard to keep in touch”

“But you can still try”

Tabitha looks at her acting sad “You’ve no idea those guys have done for me. Even if they have their little secrets, going to save you guys are the least of their worries”

While Tabitha tries to explain it to her, she hears people making a commotion. It was McS4’s group.

“. . . A break? Here? Why not have a little picnic in this edge of the abyss?”

“Well, if you put it that way. This place is what is left of Del’Montra Esteval. Historically having a picnic is great”

“Oh, bugger off! I am saying this because we are beneath the abyss of that blasted thief”

“You almost say the demon’s name. People who say their name will find us like it were prayers”

“Why not? The only people here are this heavy suit of armor”

“And we still can’t believe how you can’t be force down by the strength of the waterfall”

Tabitha can’t believe what she is hearing. McS4 is using her card to stretch his hearing so that she can hear them too. She hears their conversation as they finally done arguing. Finally, one of them speaks out about this place.

“. . .If we are going to take a break. It must be the right time to explain you about this place. More importantly, with this glass border”

“Glass border?”

“It is like what you’ve seen those living steels on the crystal wall. This bottom pit of abyss is like that. It is hard to explain, yet it is similar”

“Similar, from what I can observe about this place. Cor mentions about it before entering this realm”

“Cor? The guy you reach through your telepathy, right?”

“In many ways, yes . . .”

Tabitha starts smiling, the brilliance of them using their conversation to help her get the information she needed. If McS4 gets the right topic for them to figure out how to do with the trial. Then maybe they could finish this fast. She suddenly turned serious as she carefully listens to them.

Juela and Silfa are watching her.

“Is she?”

“That’s the same look as she trying to understand “guildmember’s” telepathy”

“I thought telepathy would be as it directly connects between minds, right?”

“Well, “guildmember” is not perfect using telepathy”

“Wait? “Guildmember”, not guild member, member”

“That’s right, we have in our guild whose name is Guildmember”

Silfa chuckles “Then how about we need a nice long week to discuss all about it. I hope you’ll bring friends that would be like an all-girls out”

“I’d like that”

Juela starts remembering Kiege “Well, if you don’t mind troublesome friends”

Silfa laughs again “Oh, you don’t know mine”

The two laughs.

The conversation is getting right on the mark. Tabitha gets the clear information as their discussion is slowly building up for her to understand about this ruin. The more she listens, the more she realizes this place have drawn all sides to get here. The men tell the story. McS4 wants to know

“Then tell me first what caused the changes of this new trial”

Direct to the point, a trial. This is what Tabitha really want right now. The man who McS4 talked to looks around and expect the obvious

“I guess your metal head still see what’s going on here. It’s true. The ruin still has its ruler. But it fell from the sky years ago”

“First, the new trial”

“Ah, yes. My apologies. This new trial is a safety design to separate what the people from Isekai City called the influence. It is obviously another demonic entity speaking nonsense. The one who designed it had already known this demon and created what left in this ruin. The once protected barrier becomes a cleansing structure. Forcing what magic left to form a glass made out from seawater. Seawater then slowly turned to crystal then to its rich form as glass”

“Old trial was supposed to be the ceremonial of the old society. The daughter becoming a woman”

“The Matriarchal Ascension from what we all heard”

They are starting speaking out. McS4 needs to get it quick

“I have no interest in noble terms. Why is that the most powerful trial lead to cleansing?”

“It has the values to help against the influence. Delilah, who gives the identity of the Matriarch: Womanhood, Motherhood, and Sisterhood. These three roles are enough to dissuade from the influence”

“Is there an example who gotten it?”

“Is there any idea how did we able to use this power?”

“. . .”

“I am clearly asking why we need a break when the hyper speed is over. All of us here will fell into an extreme fatigue. We have to go deeper down to get to the fort”

“And here we are, can’t even to go down further”

“Quiet! I am talking to our rival guild”

The man can’t say anymore as the conversation turned provocative. Tabitha is so close to hear what to do with the trial. Their rivalry had burdened them to use the trial properly. The introduction is good and all, and surprised how it is about coming of age, but in a Matriarchal sense? Now that’s really go beyond from what she thought about Yui, then it hits her. Yui is so mature from her own age. She’s 28 or was she 26, it is hard to judge because of her short appearance. This makes sense who she is now. To overcome the influence, Mina’s team have to face what they tried to get away, reality. Sadly, they are just 14 years old. It is not the right age to be a woman.

Another conversation, this time it was the man catcher

“You’ll be surprise how it is parallel with the men’s side of becoming a man. Although the cleansing changed the trial, but practice is still the same. One of our companions, who is a descendant from this tidal city. She tries the trial and it is become easier than she had thought. The trial only gives only three things. It is the same but less weight carrying it because it didn’t give the future, but only the past. That’s good enough to get rid from the influence. This questions us because our guild has much greater resolve. We thought of using it to help the citizens, but we listen to their stories. This trial is nothing but torture to them. Their sad life will swallow them whole if we tried to use it”

McS4 knows it too

“I’ve been in their city. They are free in the most part, and, what word that I could get us to familiarize their situation”

“There’s no need to explain. Let’s say they are man by their own flaws”

“It’s vague”

“Unless, if they don’t have that curse to limit their memory. The influence won’t be any problem”

McS4 thinks back from their previous conversation.

“The trial?”

“Oh yeah, you didn’t even know the citizen’s curse. Their memory is limited to only best needed to survive. The curse cut off all memories that lead them into grave actions. They are trapped, can’t escape, only the voice in their heads trying to bring them what the demon wants them to go. With their memory returns, even the people who are close their ends. It is enough to break it. We almost succeed until they remember their envy”

Tabitha raises her head high and starts to understand what’s going on. The defectors who venture to the East Coast were influenced by the demon’s call. They bring people along who wished to live but companied with their grieves and sufferings. They left the city because of being alienated, hated, criminalized by their past. Running away as they will never go back to the city ever again. Yet, others take advantage of it. Fooled the others as tools to form their own community. Needed manpower to jump up a new life to recreate their civilization anew. By the time they reached East Coast, they fell into the influence.

The curse limits their memories to drawn them further into it. Causing many sufferings for other people both victims and deceivers. Those defectors managed to escape, but those who left behind is fully consumed by the influence, leaving the rest in a spiral of never-ending repeating life beneath the caves. Creating havoc, forgetting who are allies or not. But she can’t confirm it. To be free, leads to their true self. To resolve their life just like her. To have goal. In order to free them, they must return who they really are. The worst of them will come out. Aoi was a victim, but what about those four. Tabitha shakes her head thinking about how bad these preteens are.

Aoi is struggling, her friends are not going through the trials. Multiple attempts as they tried. None of them couldn’t try a second time.

“Guys!? Come one, I know it is hard for us to get our memories back. We’re so close to get ourselves back to normal and leave this terrible place”

They are hesitating, and only Kenta seems not shared the same hesitation as them.

“Aoi, look around you. They have something to hide they don’t want to show us. We all know our backgrounds. I’ve never remembered us talking to Tabitha about it by the way . . .”

Tabitha’s team already know who they are. Not in full detail, but Aoi tried to explain her about them. Silfa is ready to face whenever if all of them remembered simultaneously. Looking at Kenta not having the same guilt as them when the trial starts, made her raising questions whether Kenta actually put into trial. Kenta continues

“. . . Or maybe I am really good at hiding my past. We’ve never met until I met you with Mina”

The glass floor shines from below, collecting mana flowing beneath them. Juela calls out to everybody.

“Alright, we are going to use the trials again. Aoi you’ll be the one is going to pick who will take on first”

“Me!?”

“Yes, you. At least you know who are the least sufferable”

That’s right. Aoi heard the voice mentioning that. When coming here, everybody got into the trial right away. It was supposed to be her trying to break the curse one by one. As everyone starts to get sealed and covered into the sphere once more.

“Of course!” Aoi says to her readily.

Tabitha starts preparing the trial. Along with the man catcher giving every detail about the new change.

“. . . Our companion began single handedly confront her past. Dangerous memories deep within her consciousness that any demon tries to use it against her. It will reenact and all senses perfectly match and felt it like it was a dream. Alone, she is able to ascend. Facing what she fears and overcome with steady mind and values. It was, what she heard from the voice, lucky . . .”

“. . . Our companion was not live brokenly, shattered, nor ruined. This warning keeps us in mind that they alone will the citizen ever tried to face it for having such horrible motherhood, sisterhood, and immature enough to be an actual woman. Unless, to those who are close to them. Something makes them feel open and willing to change the perspective from any of the three matriarchal trials. At least one, enough to get rid of the influence on them”

“What can the trial help if the citizens have done it too?”

“Sorry, we don’t know. We know nothing how the citizens truly suffer and they still betrayed as we almost saved them”

“AAH!”

“Come on, Toba! You’re the one I know would be able to get it right”

Tabitha hears Aoi breaking Toba’s curse. She thought it was her friend who always on her side, Sakura. Aoi’s choice, it is what Aoi knows about them made it better who are the first to break from the influence. Toba is screaming to the point the sphere is trying to break apart like it did before. But Aoi is not having with that. Using Tabitha’s card to force into their minds. The two argue into their very thoughts causing a loud thunderous roar on Toba’s mind.

The spheres shatters, breaking the influencing out along with the trial to begin. Everyone except for Toba who are still lock inside the sphere. Silfa has to used her forcefield to enclosed them as they focus first on Toba. Tabitha, Juela, and Silfa were pushed back as the three moved closer together.

“What now, Tabitha?”

“Is the trial always about might, right?”

“Silfa, this is not a game. This trial was made by Delilah”

“Then care to explain it to me”

“I told you, I’ll tell you guys later”

“You got to be kidding me. If there’s about to happen. I’ll really going to blame you for it”

“Just trust her, Silfa. There is time to talk after all of this is over”

Tabitha still hears McS4’s conversation with the man catcher. One last say as the trial is weakening her telepathy. “Originally, it is meant to solve what the people of Del’Montra Esteval should become. However, from our companion’s action is doing what she really wanted. The consequences we expect is do whatever the people want to do in the trials. If those people are the bastards or worse. Then they have to successfully let them fulfill their horrible desires. This is the only thing we can’t let them do . . .”

The trial begins and Toba is in a full trance. A being in front to test her, her doubts, fears, and humiliation. All absorbed into one. This same being appeared to be human. A normal human with a cane meant to discipline unruly brats. An old man appeared and the environment turned into a park, by the hour of sunset. A summer sunset as the old man calls out to her.

“You no good girl. What did I tell you not be late going home? Your mother is worried sick”

Toba responds in a horrendous loud voice “I told you old man, I don’t want to be here. I can’t stand any of you not understanding what I’ve been through”

Silfa sees the illusion and her eyes widened as she sees the old man.

“Old man Ban? Why he is in Toba’s trial? No, it can’t be”

Whispers from her confused voice. Never been her life to see someone who is actually related to him. She sees Aoi backs away from Toba’s intense voice. Silfa reaches out to her

“Don’t tell me, that Toba’s grandfather”

“That’s not true. They are not related. Those two are actually met before. Toba was involved with the wrong crowd. That old man you see is . . .”

“!!!”