“What… where are we?” The Azure was clearly on the verge of tears, fighting with her feelings. “What’s going on?”

“It is difficult to say. They bring back our most painful memories, drawing out our emotions. I have presumed that you were most vulnerable when…”

“Please don’t,” the girl pleaded and buried her head in his shoulder.

Viktor, who had been standing there for a while with a don’t-mind-me face, pretended to clear his throat. “So, should we go look for the others?”

“Of course.” Izumi stepped away from the Summoner, and the three of them moved down the paths that meandered through the theme park.

“Where could they be…” Hitomi mused.

“My assumptions are the following: someone has managed to create believable illusions by activation of the victim’s physical memory and unconscious mental processes. Then the construction of the associative series takes place, and the person becomes encapsulated within a sub-reality. If we adhere to this version, we could possibly find Eleon—ah, Elia and Elio—in the funhouse mirrors. However, I have little knowledge of Niji-chan’s personal life and zero of Mira-chan’s. Maybe Viktor-san could provide some insights?”

“Didn’t I ask you to speak in tank? What do you need from me, exactly?”

“Are you aware of something important that happened in their lives? When they might have experienced intense emotions.”

“Like when Mira went all sparky like a dope when Dammit had brought her an exclusive Sakura S collectible from a gacha machine?”

“Um, I guess it passes in terms of ‘intensiveness,’ but I actually meant a more unpleasant side of the spectrum.”

While Viktor was busy recollecting and sorting out the options, Hitomi gave another try at summoning a spirit, but only a thin stream of dark blue smoke flew out of her arcane circle.

“You know, nothing comes to mind,” concluded the Amber. “Mira is the most cheerful person in the whole world, and Niji is a bit of mystery to me. Sorry.”

“Come to think of it, Shadow is hard to read as well, despite the fact that we’ve been working together for—”

Stolen story; please report.

“I see him!” Hitomi stopped, her head up in the air. “Over there!”

Everyone stared into the black starless sky, the enigmatic background of the cold metal of the enormous Ferris wheel. It was slowly dawdling without any stops, so taking this ride would definitely take up a whole hour. In one of the glass capsules, rising on its way to the top, was Shadow, facing the opposite direction from where the mages were.

“Oi!” Viktor cried out, but it was unlikely that the captive could hear anything from such a distance.

“It moves ridiculously slow,” Hitomi said, looking worried. “Can we speed it up?”

“We have no time to wait!” Viktor zipped over to one of the wheel’s lateral support arms and started climbing toward Shadow’s cabin.

“I’ll try to stop it.” The Viridian reached the control booth, blasted the door open and began inspecting the complex panel to find a proper switch, while Hitomi stood next to him.

“Damn it!” swore Izumi.

“Why him again?”

“...Your communication with Harold certainly affects your sense of humor.”

“My, my.” Hitomi crossed her arms, pretending to be insulted. “Anyway, what’s the matter?”

Izumi stepped aside from the panel. “It’s no use. This Ferris wheel cannot be stopped.”

“How so?”

“I know that the idea I will convey will strike you as somewhat unrealistic, but given the circumstances we are in—”

“Just spill it already.”

The investigator adjusted his glasses and sighed. “The wheel is working on its own will. And only at this moment I did realize that it was the case with all the other rides.”

“But you stopped two of them, didn’t you?!” Hitomi exclaimed, now completely lost.

“I did, but here I feel some kind of… resistance.”

“They know we are here? That we are trying to get out?”

“It is even worse than that. This interception comes from Shadow’s own determination. He doesn’t want to leave his illusion.”

“Say what?”

The Summoner abruptly turned toward the wheel. The capsule slowly crawled into the darkness of the skies. Luckily, Viktor’s magical military training had given him the ability to conquer incredible altitudes. He tenaciously scrambled up the rim, girder after girder, and didn’t stop for a second. Orange flashlights of energy danced frenetically all around his body. The ascension was harder than Viktor had expected; he was more into defense than dexterity.

The Battle Mage almost ran out of powers when he finally reached the desired capsule. He hung down and pulled the handle, but it was locked. The prisoner was conscious, but looked a bit spaced-out, completely ignorant of the intrusion.

“Shadow, open the door!” Viktor shouted, but the mage ignored him. Then Viktor just tore the piece of metal away and joined Shadow within the cabin, plopping down on the opposite seat.

The healer reluctantly moved his eyes away from the sky. Still supporting his chin with his hand, he answered, “Ah. It’s you.”

“Hola! Glad you can see me. Y’know, we’re kinda bewitched here, so we’d better leave this lovely place. At once. Got it?”

“Bewitched? … ah. You must be speaking about these illusions woven upon us?”

“You made it through your nightmare, right? Cool, let’s—”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘a nightmare.’ A pure conception, rather. Your own demon you ought to fight. And I’ve succeeded.”

“Eh… what?”

“Take a look outside. Don’t you have a feeling that nothing truly exists?”