IV.

The lift wobbled as it descended. Madoka gulped. It appeared to be made out of stone and her boots gripped the material well enough. She touched the railing at the front, only for it to crumble and fall into the depths. Madoka sent her prayers to the kind gods that Audrey was safe below.

Below, huh?

As she descended, something glowing caught her eyes under the ice wall. They were the spirits. Why could she see them? The lift beneath her jumped as it came to a stop, startling her. Madoka gasped as panic flooded her. She could not be careless or distracted or else one tiny moment could spell her death.

Another lift rose next to hers, beckoning her. It seemed rickety but Madoka steeled herself and tapped on it with her foot. The lift's integrity kept up with her pressure so she stepped completely on it. Simple enough. However, the lift did not move. Across the massive gap a large rune glowed red. She heard the lift beside her start ascending and there was another coming from below her.

Audrey's head popped from the view as it revealed itself.

"Fancy seeing you here," Audrey giggled. "Come here often?"

She looked at the rune. Madoka stepped on the lift next to Audrey. Snow and ice was pushed by her feet to the corners so they could stand safely.

"Well if videogame logic applies here, red means bad," Audrey mused. The ring around her heart seemed to glow a lot sharper. "Too bad I dunno what that symbol means. Or how to make it change."

The lift began to descend again. Madoka's vision was adjusting to the dark, so Audrey's magic circle hurt her eyes.

"What's with the magic?" Madoka asked.

"You see that, right?" Audrey pointed at a darker object jutting out across from them. She focused her eyes and let loose a sharp breath. Two Wind Blades launched themselves at the object. Ice cracked and the spell's light rested upon the dark object. It was similar to the lever Audrey pulled above. The large red rune no longer glowed and faded out of existence. As it did, the lifts began their operation again.

Madoka could no longer see the platform from where they came from. The two have traversed without many difficulties but she knew they could not be complacent. They were nowhere near the top and only the kind god that inhabited this holy space knew how far below was.

"For a videogame jump puzzle," Audrey's breath fogged the air. Madoka's ears felt weird and Audrey explained how it was pressure in the atmosphere changing. Whatever that meant. "This is sure taking awhile, huh?"

"Well, slowly and safely is better," Madoka cautioned. The lifts were seemingly getting smaller. "T-This hardly makes due for a good and tidy work environment."

"Where'd that come from?" Audrey asked, furrowing her brow. "You're not thinking of work again, right?"

"You're wrong, Audrey Elise," Madoka tried to keep her composure up by mentioning her so-called work. "I am always thinking of working."

"Even now, huh?" Audrey's tone greyed out into a sigh. "This place is... Ancient. Not my most profound thing, obviously so is a lot of things, but the root of all of this seems more than whatever fantasy novel BS our palaces and kings in Fiara come from."

She ducked between stone-split ice.

"Yeah, so?" Madoka said as the lift continued its winding descent. Audrey was contemplating it all.

She hadn't noticed it at first, but the lift was traveling diagonally down before moving straight again. Like a simple sword strike form or a pen drawing a letter, the lift traveled a predetermined pathway aided by the attached gears churning with the wind. The rusted frame of this lift's railing rattled as it rocked along, merely a twig in the river of gears and ice.

"In my world, there are not any kings and queens," Audrey mused. "Merely a different form of government, but still—"

The lift suddenly clunked and crashed into something beneath it. The shadow of Audrey's frame warped as she nearly careened off the edge.

"Audrey!" Madoka screamed. Audrey's hand caught the floorboard, making the lift shake and tilt from the sudden weight shift. Madoka caught the other.

"Madoka!" Audrey screamed as well. True fear twisted her face, as well as the sheen of frost now twisting her hand off the lift like a spectre. There was nothing but Madoka's arm and a rattling platform keeping Audrey from falling into hell itself. The chaotic clamor made it difficult to hold on but Madoka saw Audrey became focused on survival.

"Hang on," Madoka pleaded, struggling to pull her up. Audrey dangled. She tried to reach up with her free hand but her eyes were scanning the white sheets around her as well. "I'll get you up I swear!"

Audrey's core flared to life as she sent a Wind Blade at a spot in the wall. A horrible crunch and scraping pierced the air as the lift began to tear from the gears, throwing Madoka off her balance. Audrey screamed as she dangled. Madoka's grip and arm were fine, but the lift gave in.

"Swing me over there, quickly, quickly!"

Madoka had no choice but to take the risk. She used the momentum of the lift cracking apart to throw Audrey towards where her Wind Blade struck. Audrey screamed as she flew through the air and snow, with the sound of glass shattering. Madoka caught a glimpse of her in the many reflections of broken ice as she crashed through.

She was not granted relief, however. Her body fell as the lift gave in. Only the chaotic equilibrium in her stomach matched her heart's shaking desperation. I must grab onto something! Madoka thought as she flailed her arms out to catch anything.

"What a shitty work place!" She screamed in her descent. Though it was about half a second of falling, her stomach lurched like it was a horrible eternity. Her grip connected with the exposed gear. As she dangled between abyss, Madoka realized she would have to make the risky leap into the cave Audrey made.

As the lift threatened to give way with a groan of metal twisting, Madoka swung her legs back and forth before launching herself to the small indent. For a mere moment, Madoka's thoughts and body were free falling in the air. She hoped Audrey was down there. She also wished Audrey was strong enough to catch her.

That was a moment ago and by now Madoka realized she was not going to make a landing in the crevice. She flailed as she reached for the ledge. Before she could latch on Madoka realized she was too short. The abyss was waiting for her.

"Madoka!" Audrey caught the maid's hands. Madoka's body slammed against the ice wall, but pulled herself up quickly. She was saved once again. She would sigh but the two tumbled further into the small cavern they made. "Not this shit again...!"

Audrey's yell was amplified and swallowed in an echo as they bumped off of rocks and ice. Both were padded well by their clothes and Madoka was used to rolling rapidly downhill now. They will survive this fall, Madoka decided. She drew her knife as they tumbled and stabbed into the ice.

Her arm snapped into one place as she scooped the princess's slide into her free grip. The ice offered little resistance to her blade, but eventually grew thick enough to stop their fall into the abyss at the end of their tunnel. Madoka flopped down, landing on her feet as a certain panicking former princess dangled within her grip off the edge. The blade fell into the pit never to be seen again.

"I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead," Audrey's eyes were closed shut. "Am I dead?"

"No," Madoka said simply. She pulled Audrey up and sat her by her side. Madoka pushed the snow off her friend's face and pat her clothes down. Things were gentle between them for a minute before Madoka angrily put her hands on Audrey's shoulders. "But this is the worst idea you've ever had! You have my heart leaping out from the worry in my chest!"

"Aaaah I'm sorry," Audrey whined as Madoka shook her. "Sorry! Sorry!"

"Honestly, what will I do with you?" Madoka let go of her and sighed.

When she opened her eyes she noticed light pouring from the tunnel Audrey broke into. She did not realize that she squeezed her eyes shut. The distant clanking of metal echoed somewhere from below. Even harsher noises rang out through hidden hollows.

"That must mean we are close to the bottom of this hell hole," Audrey mused. The two instinctively followed down the tunnel. The spirits were gathering at the light trail's source. Audrey did not pay them any mind or perhaps there was a small chance she could not see the spirits floating in the light stream.

"Do you see the spirits?" Madoka asked, looking up at the strange, bulbous creatures. They bobbed as they swished through the air.

"Spirits?" Audrey asked. The tone of her voice suggested that she did not. "I see blue specks of mana, if that's what you mean."

"No, nevermind," Madoka said, watching several gather at the ceiling every few meters ahead of them. It was like they were guiding her. But where were they going? Were they servants of Ares?

A distant humming sound was heard scraping below them. It sounded like disjointed music to Madoka but Audrey winced from the jarring notes.

"Gah, that noise hurts my head," Audrey said. "Wait, something's up ahead."

Madoka saw where the spirits were guiding her.

"This is...!" Audrey went over to the source of the noise.

Three sets of pipes and tubes jutted out of the ice. Each had a strange crystal chunk mechanism hovering between each tube, pairing with tubes above them that went into the ceiling. Underneath the crystal, red and blue lightning shot out from the tube and connected to the crystals. Each time it did caused a painful noise. Madoka's nose picked up a dangerous smell. Perhaps the spirits were leading them to a trap?

"A doorway, huh?" Audrey was on the other side of the strange mechanism in front of a gate. She turned and inspected a crystal. Red lightning would strike each crystal one at a time.

"Get away from it," Madoka pulled Audrey away just as a red lightning bolt struck one. An evil black smoke floated around the crystal. It took awhile for the smoke to dissipate.

"Madoka?" Audrey asked wide eyed. "What do you see?"

Madoka had not noticed that her eyes could see both the spirits and gas. There was something wrong in this part of the mountain. The pair of girls watched the lightning strike the crystals but kept their distance.

"I see black smoke everytime the crystals are hit," Madoka told her. Audrey contemplated for a moment.

"Damn, this place truly is futuristic," Audrey mused as the lightning struck again. "How can you see electric gas? Nevermind, we're going to have to figure out how to activate each of these circuits."

"Circuits?"

"Yeah, right now, the system has lost power because the lightning from the pipes is not traveling through these noisy crystals. You can see things that I don't, Madoka. See if you can spot any peculiarities."

"Right," Madoka focused on the spirits instead of whatever Audrey's explanation was. No thoughts came from them. They quietly bobbed at certain places in this small opening. A few gathered next to her on what appeared to be a golden and glowing chain. "I see a yellow... chain?"

"Huh," Audrey looked at where Madoka was staring at but it was evident that she could not see the chains.

Madoka instinctively reached for the chain. Was it just an illusion? Did her mind play tricks on her because she was cold? The chain sparkled and Madoka felt the electric jolt her hand as she did.

"Ah," Madoka shook her hand. Strangely, the electric jolt did not hurt her. It just felt odd. Audrey clutched her head. "What's wrong?"

"It's this... noise, I think," Audrey stared at the crystals. Madoka saw that the blue lightning did not create gas but the red lightning did. Madoka screamed internally. She hated thinking! "It's a frequency thing. I'm a delicate and quiet maiden, you see. Noises like this bother me!"

"Huh? You? Quiet?" Madoka scoffed. Audrey feigned being hurt by her statement.

"Come on, man," Audrey sighed. "I feel like my ears are going to fall off. Let's figure out this puzzle and see if the door will open. Haven't these ancient people ever thought about a keypad? Damn noise!"

Madoka focused. She needed to figure out how this puzzle worked or Audrey's condition will worsen. The chains seemed to connect to somewhere so Madoka looked at another gathering of spirits. They seemed to be attracted to various parts of this "circuit," as Audrey called it. Madoka made a circular path with her arms as she reached for the chains once more. As she touched the chains she felt the stinging sensation again.

"Gah!" Madoka gasped and tossed the chain back. The energy left remained in a traceable streak in the cold air. Strangely enough, its light traveled in the same motion Madoka made when she stretched the chain out.

"Well, okay then," Audrey observed the golden energy of the chain pulsed in light. "Can you tell me what you did?"

Madoka told her she can see a golden chain and when she pulled it the light copied her motions.

"Hmm," Audrey said in deep thought. "These chains might link directly to the crystals. Try the only one that isn't releasing poisonous gas. You're gonna have to be a human jumper cable, I guess."

"But I can't reach it," Madoka said. Audrey did something reckless and touched the blue crystal. She reached for Madoka's hand. "Audrey?!"

"Grab the chain and bring it to my hand, quickly before it does something!"

In a linear motion, Madoka grabbed the chain and brought it over to Audrey and grabbed her hand. After the shock ended, the chain's energy moved in the same path she made with her motion. Audrey yelped and let go of the crystal.

"Yowch," Audrey squeaked, although she sounded more surprised than pained. Madoka could see the chain's energy course through Audrey's arms and connect to the crystal.

"That... worked?" Madoka gawked at the trail of lightning now changing the crystal's color. They began to hum harmonically.

"Well, you remember our impromptu and unwanted anatomy classes with all those dead soldiers, us humans are made out of mostly water which lightning.." Audrey became soothed and distracted by the noise. "Sounds beautiful. Like a song, huh."

The chimes of the crystals being struck by lightning became different colors as new bolts began to flow upwards into the tubes above. Blue light began to travel in hidden ice covered panels above their heads to the doorways. Madoka looked at her hand and thought of Audrey's for a moment. This puzzle was acceptable, she decided in her mind as the door opened with a clunk.

The two peered through the door and found a narrow hallway space. More of those circuits, as Audrey called them, snaked around the walls and floor. Madoka stepped over the lights furtively while Audrey simply stomped on each lighted panel. Nothing happened, but Madoka still gave her a look.

"This is looking crazier by the minute," Madoka muttered. The hallway opened up into a large room where there were more crystals floating. More noise began to whir into a chaotic cacophony. Maybe it was Madoka's superior senses or health but it did not seem to affect her. Audrey on the other hand, clutched her head again.

"Gah," she spat. "More of this?"

A voice called from above them somewhere higher in the abyss, but it was not the same voice that spoke at the gates.

「Unknown bio-lifeforms detected in energy conservation bay. Greetings. All systems are currently disconnected. Request repair on each Pnaunem Node in order to stabilize CO, N₂O and H2S containment breaches. Unknown lifeforms, I sincerely hope you know what your doing.」

"We don't!" Audrey complained. The voice remained silent.

"What are you?" Madoka asked the voice but it remained silent. So she instead turned to Audrey. "I'll try to find more of those chains to link with the crystals."

「Proceed to the terminal in the center of current level. It will guide you. Failure to complete this task will result in system expungement.」

She did not know what any of that meant, but she saw a peculiar structure with an odd screen made out of glass. It rested on a platform before them in the center of the room.

"Terminal? Chains?" Audrey said incredulously. "What is happening right now?"

Madoka stood before the strange terminal and suddenly runes filled the circular platform she stood on. It simply made her shiver. Audrey looked at the screen and then stepped on the platform for a closer look. Immediately, the runes faded and the screen did not react.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"Wow," Audrey mused as she stepped off. "So what are these... chains?"

"You can't see them?" Madoka asked. Chains were gathered in the corners of each room. Peculiar symbols rested above the chains and crystals. The lightning crystals flared to life, beginning their disruptive chorus. "So this is what seeing mana must feel like."

"Not this again!" Audrey held her hand. "Guide me, sensei. You can see what we need to do."

She waited for Madoka's instructions. Madoka felt odd. She has never been one to lead although she cast that feeling aside. Madoka guessed she should match the chains to the matching runes. She had folded many a royal blanket, matched hundreds of window blinding curtains, and prepared thousands of colorful clothing. She could match four simple runes together even if she would get zapped touching those golden chains. The electric was nothing compared to that bear's magic.

The screen revealed many spirits hovering near the chains. It was peculiar how only Madoka could see them. When she peered away from the screen both the spirits and chains disappeared. Madoka just had to remember she would get to hold Audrey's hands if she gets the chains right.

"Got it," Madoka said after scanning. She headed towards her first room in a corner towards the spot where the chains were. "They're unseeable, but I remember just the spot."

Madoka felt around the spot and her skin tingled when the magic strings came into contact with her fingers. She could not see the golden strands at first. To Madoka's surprise, the energy burst with light from the corner.

"Quickly!" Madoka told Audrey to get near a crystal. With a pulling motion, the golden strands manifested and linked up with Audrey as Madoka grabbed her hand.

"Ach!" Audrey said as the strands linked to her and fixed the crystal she grabbed.

"Two more to go," Madoka mused, still holding Audrey's hand. They carried through the area with Madoka locating hidden chains and linking with Audrey. The room was becoming mixed with beautiful chimes from the crystals. Haunting melodies and lightning, huh? Madoka thought. She cared not for music. Those were for Nobles.

"D-Don't you think you're enjoying zapping me a little bit too much?" Audrey asked. The golden chains were wrapped around both hers and Madoka's arms but apparently Audrey could not see them.

"Forgive me," Madoka apologized and squeezed her hand before letting it go. "This must be painful for you."

"Feels like the living tattoo I have," Audrey sighed as they approached the last group of crystals. The bulbous spirits floated away from it.

"Do you think they are made out of magic?" Audrey commented, jumping as the current of energy coursed through her. The final node completed the mountain melody.

Madoka shrugged.

"Maybe its an ancient form of magic! Maybe you can cast magic, Madoka!"

"I-I sincerely hope not," Madoka gasped. "If it's anything like this."

"What do you mean, you hope not? Magic is cool!" Audrey exclaimed. "I have been experimenting with different spells as you might have noticed and I'm totally cool!"

"Totally..." Madoka sighed.

"One day you'll be as cool as me, hmph!" Audrey shook her head and spoke in an exaggerated tone.

「Gas containment levels stabilized. All systems are preserved. Activating barrier mode. Unknown bio-signatures, the exit to the research station is located in the southern exit. Lift is fully operational. You have my gratitude. Give the Holy One my regards.」

A clunk was heard nearby, Madoka assumed it was a door. She hoped no more puzzles awaited them beyond it.

"Mission completed!" Audrey jumped for joy. "Let's go! If only we got loot or something for it. Tsk! Hey, narrator guy, give us some loot!"

The voice above them said nothing as they approached the doorway. Beyond the door was a massive structure with more gears. Glowing spirits were hovering over their heads but Audrey could not see them. Why can I see them? Madoka wondered. Perhaps they were spirits of animals.

Madoka tentatively stepped on the structure and ensured it was safe for Audrey. Green runes surrounded their feet as the gears began to turn. All of this has been foreign to Madoka and she hoped it would all be over soon. Suddenly the gears stopped and sent a force reverberating underneath the lift. Madoka's stomach swam as a humming noise started and she felt the machine lowering with them on top of it.

"I guess we're going down into the depths again," Audrey remarked. The lift was glowing a comfortable green color. "I guess green equals good, in a videogame sense. Ah, nevermind."

"How long have we been at this?" Madoka asked.

"Who knows?" Audrey said. "This has been a helluva adventure so far, right?"

Madoka grabbed Audrey's hand. She squeaked when she did and turned to her maid with a bashful look on her face.

"This place is stupid," Madoka scoffed.

"Awh nae wah!" Audrey whined. "Just relax! We only almost died several times getting here!"

Madoka felt the cold air blasting her. There was light below! The lift gradually lowered under the wall of ice until an opening revealed where they were. Strangely, the lift continued its steady descent despite not being connected to anything. A magical rune below seemed to guide it towards the ground.

Above them, Madoka could see the palace's bridge where their adventure here began. It looked tiny now as a testament of their long journey. The bridge itself was surrounded by thousands of those wondrous spirits like stars in the night. The distance reminded her of how far she has come. They have conquered everything so far and Madoka vowed to free herself from this abyss. Audrey tugged her hand and pointed beneath them with a gasp.

Something indescribable came into view.

"Look! T-The altar of Ares!" Audrey whispered. It was not the altar ruins that startled both of them. Madoka felt faint, for buried underneath it in the timeless glaciers was a shadow of an enormous maw. Several evil eyes were staring at them from beneath the ice. The spirits floated away out of view from its eldritch glory.

V.

The lift descended straight into hell, Madoka was convinced. Specifically, the hell belonged to the fathomless being encased in an infinite glacier. Its eyes did not move and if she were to stare at them for too long she felt like she would lose herself within them and her soul would be snatched. Both girls hesitated to step on the ice that kept a thin barrier up between the eldritch and their own two feet.

"What do we do?" Audrey mouthed to Madoka. The two observed the ominous being for a moment before noticing the altar. It was similar to the one in the forest. The odd and symmetrical pillars jutted infinitely into the glacier and even pierced the creature's... Madoka did not even know how to describe what it pierced.

It hurt to look at any of it, like a stake being driven through her eye slowly as she observed it. From the distance of the lift, the creature seemed like it was many colors of paint smeared across a flat canvas and depending on the angle it went from blurry to blindingly sharp. If she moved her head and kept her gaze, the shape would warp her perspective inside out. Her vision went black, feeling Audrey's fingers lay across her eyes.

"Stop looking at it," Audrey warned. Madoka remembered the mutilated servants and soldiers in the King's throne room so she heeded the former princess's command. "It's got some kind of cognito-hazard on it. And, yes, that word's meaning is just as unpleasant as it sounds before you ask."

"It's... indescribable," Madoka gasped as the darkness calmed her down. She did not realize she must have been going blue by holding her breath in a horrified suspension. A being so dangerous it could kill with its presence, Madoka had trouble processing that feeling.

"We have no choice but to walk, don't we?" Audrey said. "Please be frozen, please STAY frozen. I know objects appear closer in the ice than where they actually are. Or was that a mirror? Anyways..."

Madoka said nothing but followed Audrey's lead and set one foot on the glacier. She was not sure what would happen but she suddenly wished she was back up on the bridge. It was not like an extra bit of weight upon the ice would wake the creature below them up, right? She gulped as she forced her other foot to move.

"Come on," Audrey spoke. A glow burst from her bag. Ares was speaking to her. "Don't you know what is underneath your precious altar? Why does walking have to be so scary?"

The creature remained still beneath their feet. Madoka still could not bring herself to look. The altar was close. The alien aura from its ruins marched across her skin with a clammy and crawling wind.

"Do you think the thing beneath us is the Frost Queen?" Audrey asked. Was she asking the talisman or me? Madoka wondered.

"Maybe this is the thing that ate the Frost Queen," she mused, staring at the ceiling as they walked. Above her, the spires of the Frost Queen's palace looked like upside down castles. Some were frozen midway in their descent. She sensed that Audrey gave her a dirty look.

"Come on, that's dark even for you, Madoka."

"Just looking at it makes my skin want to crawl off my body," Madoka complained. Their steps crunched against the ice.

"Just a little more, Madoka," Audrey encouraged her maid by squeezing her hand. "Then I can return this library book— I mean talisman to the altar."

"I'd like to ask Ares how its altar ended up here in the first place," Madoka sighed. Her neck began to feel cramped so she forced herself to look ahead at the altar. Between an alien feeling and a soul-rending frozen god, she sighed.

"It's not like you to be so vocal," Audrey commented. "Let's get through this. I know you can—"

「I have been waiting to see you for a long time, Madoka.」

A voice called out to Madoka and the world transformed before her very eyes. She froze in sheer horror. Did Audrey hear that? Audrey turned to look at her, who cowered suddenly at the onslaught of visions. She jerked upward as if something's large hand plucked her into the sky.

When Madoka's world straightened out, she realized she was stranded on a blackened pit. It was the creature's eye! The ice rumbled as its pupil rolled, making a sickening sound of squishing liquid and flesh coiling on itself. Eventually, the eye centered itself directly underneath her and the ice began to crack from its rapid twitching.

"Audrey!" Madoka reached up. It was too late! The ice shattered and her stomach dropped and she plunged into the eye's abyss. She flailed and screamed in the pitch black void before latching onto something murky. Madoka sputtered and coughed up black bile, groping about blindly for a way to stand.

She could not see anything although she preferred it that way. Did she really fall into the creature's eye?

All Madoka could do now is groan. She has escaped storms, dealt with an annoying companion who she loved dearly, descended from the scariest heights, electrocuted herself and even defeated a deadly bear only to get lost within an impossible realm. Only the kind gods knew where she was.

Her eyes adjusted and she found herself ragged. Her boots were standing on ice. What a surprise, Madoka grumbled. As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was no longer in a chasm. Something made a clicking noise near her. Instinctively, she drew her axe. The murkiness her boots sank in dissipated and she compassed her head ahead of her for any signs of Audrey. There were none.

Golden sparks started to pour from above her catching a glint of what was ahead. Madoka noted that it has been a long time since she has been alone. Not since her time at the palace during the Fall. The golden sparks reminded her of those chains above so she reached for them. Her hand swished through the glowing speckles.

Another click could be heard and a panel of light burst into life nearby, hurting Madoka's eyes. A chorus of clicks followed and the massive room she found herself was blindingly white and sharp blues, droplets of ice hanging from a metallic ceiling. Her eyes stung from the amount of light pouring in.

Madoka gasped.

A towering monument bore its presence over her with a chained alien sculpture standing upon it. Large, black tubes wrapped around its many limbs and stretched infinitely into the darkness above the light. She paused. Darkness above the lights? The glowing panels' illumination could only stretch so far above her head. However, what was more disruptive to her was the condition of this vast room.

It was so messy from being neglected for so long! Had there not been a giant sculpture of a kind god standing above her, Madoka would have began her cleaning duties immediately. She swept nearby debris and ice in a neat pile with her axe nervously.

Now what?

Curiosity drove her to feel the smooth platform that the statue rested on and a large stairway allowed her to approach the statue. She could not even reach the top of its boot. She squinted upward from beneath it. It had four arms and a feminine face covered by a wicked helmet, adorned with what appeared to be many weapons or tools. A halo floated above her head. Wait, Madoka paused in her head. She has seen a halo before above another entity. Another loud clunk reverberated through the chambers, nearly forcing Madoka to her feet.

"Urk," was all Madoka could muster. What was that phrase Audrey used? Curiosity killed the cat? Madoka regretted getting near the statue. She just wanted to dust it off!

The massive helmet's visor lifted, revealing a cavity inside as the sculpture looked down at Madoka. Was that a person? It was a woman, who looked asleep and sat on a throne within the sculpture's head. It marked the strangest thing Madoka has ever seen in her life. She realized the sculpture's head tilted further, causing the woman to plummet. Was this a test by the kind god?

Madoka had to time this just right or else she would have a bloody mess on her hands. She swooped to the left and caught the woman with ease. The woman's weight was light, most likely because of her malnourished state and being here for who knows how long. The woman's features were strange, slanted and beautiful, with her ears pointed like... Madoka gasped.

"C...Z... something," She muttered to herself. Whether this woman was dead or not, she looked a lot like the woman from her visions in the afterlife. Madoka peeled back her memories of the event. "Ella?"

The woman was frozen over and most likely dead, Madoka fussed as she lay the girl on the ground. What would Audrey do in this situation? Freak out over safety regulations or whatever? Overtime? Cracking and popping noises came from below her. The ice was slowly breaking and freeing the woman. Madoka watched in anticipation. She put her axe away but had her hand on it at the ready.

The woman's exposed eye cracked open and stared at Madoka, who gasped. More ice fell off, leaving a frail and skinny woman lying in a puddle. She was unsure what to do, until the woman sputtered and coughed out water. How was this woman alive?

"You..." the woman spoke to her in Noble after some more coughing. Madoka instinctively wiped her face down without hesitation. Something in her wanted to protect the woman at all costs. "You're the...! Nevermind, I have been waiting for you! For a long time!"

The woman's voice was youthful despite her ancient history. Silver hair draped like soaked curtains down her shoulders and fangs showed when she smiled. Madoka paused as the woman shook her hands with a frozen grip of her own. She was certain that she probably got swallowed whole by the monster and she was dead again.

"The Holy One has spoken so much about you, Child of the Stars," she said. Her eyes were reptilian. On second glance, this person was definitely not human at all. Madoka resigned herself.

"Is the Holy One you speak of named Ares?" Madoka stammered. Feelings of loneliness churned within her, like the gears and mechanisms in the great palace miles above her. What would Audrey do in this situation?

"Huh?" The woman bowed her head. "My apologies! I am being rude. I should have introduced myself but I couldn't help myself! I am the Dragon Pelé. Once upon a time, I was known as the Frost Queen."

"The F-Frost Queen? D-Dragon?" Madoka backed away slowly and bowed as sincerely as she could. "Forgive me, Your Majesty."

Pelé burst into laughter but then broke into a coughing fit. Madoka moved to clean the ground but the strange woman waved her off.

"You have arrived way past the end of an Empire," Pelé said with a sigh. A sharpened look furrowed her brow at Madoka. "Just as you have witnessed the end of your own kingdom, no? No need for formailities."

"You remind me of the Princess," Madoka grumbled, though she relaxed into using the Commoner's tongue. Pelé stumbled a bit so Madoka tore her cloak off and lay it on the ground for her to sit down. The Queen scoffed but chose to sit down eventually. "You and her would get along."

"And you would have loved this palace. It was a gift from the Holy One," Pelé laughed. "Plenty of places to clean. I can tell your dedication by the maid's dress beneath your armor."

"T-That's none of your concern!" Madoka folded her arms and looked away. Pelé laughed. More ice melted off of her and color returned to her skin, like flowers in the spring.

"What were we talking about again?" Pelé began. "Long ago, this world was invaded by a strange and war-like being. Your kind cannot say his name, only loose translations of his name have been spoken. He has allowed Ares to be an acceptable moniker. His invaders built a gate from another world and he sent his champion out. It was named Conqueror."

"Is t-that the horrible monster frozen below the palace?"

"You catch on quick! Ares sent his champion out to destroy this world, but!" Pelé rapped a fist against the sculpture. "Me and her make a good team, no? Now, my power has long since faded. I am hardly able to keep up with this form."

"Hai," Madoka said, not quite understanding how a statue could help her against a monster that is capable killing others by simply being looked at. "How did I get here?"

And how do I get out of here? Madoka thought, but did not ask the question.

"You see," Pelé already sensed Madoka's desire to leave. She merely pointed upward. Madoka's eyes followed up her scaly arm and ended past her pointed finger. The bizarre and stretching creature's eye twitched far above the abyss and this room's lights. "We are inside the belly of the beast. Right now, your friend is trying to wake you up."

"Am I... dead?" Madoka stumbled over that question.

"No, you are not dead," Pelé sighed. "We just needed to have a small chat, you see. Don't pout!"

That command only made Madoka pout on purpose.

"The gods are watching you, Child of the Stars," Pelé said. Madoka did not know if that was a threat or a good thing. "Ares wishes to speak with you but your eyes have yet not opened to the Celestials."

"Didn't you defeat him already?" Madoka interrupted.

"Er—" Pelé stopped halfway through her sentence. "I defeated his physical form here. However, gods cannot be killed so easily. After I drove him off, he made me his new Conqueror. Now that I met you, Madoka, I wish to give you a gift before I let you go."

"I am a servant," Madoka protested. "I do not deserve gifts."

"He told me you'd say that..." Pelé laughed again and suddenly grabbed Madoka's left shoulder. Madoka seized up as she felt the woman's cold and clammy hand.

Madoka's shoulder began to swell with light beneath her surprisingly strong grip. A burning sensation gathered underneath the Queen's hand and made Madoka's heartbeat pound as a crunching noise stormed within her mind. Pain burned her. Pelé's hand eventually stopped glowing and fell to her lap. After the pain subsided, Madoka was clutching her shoulder. A part of her cloak was burned all the way down to her bare shoulder. Something glowed on it but Pelé collapsed, distracting Madoka.

"Y-Your Majesty!" Madoka leaned over the deteriorating Frost Queen.

"This will help you reach the Celestial," Pelé's voice was a whisper now. "Ares has called for you to be his new Conqueror. Go forth with this gift."

A red rune was burned onto Madoka's shoulder. She suddenly recalled Audrey's warning about red runes. She knew not what a videogame was but if it was bad, then this rune must mean...

"W-Wait," Madoka cried. Pelé was dissolving into golden sparks. "You haven't even said what it does!"

"That's for you to find out, Child of the Stars," Pelé smirked. Madoka sighed. The giant statue began to move an arm on its own, startling Madoka.

She drew her axe and prepared herself for the worst. It's a golem? Madoka growled at it. The statue moved its arm and aimed its hand at Madoka. Before Madoka could say anything, her conscience was pulled upwards like she was a puppet on a string.

Not this again...! Madoka groaned and found herself struggling to get up on her feet again. She felt a familiar rough texture of wood on her sides. She was in a box? A familiar voice pierced her thoughts.

"What do you MEAN those small lifts aren't actually lifts? You mean to say the main lift has been broken for centuries and those were just gears and guides? What the hell?"

Madoka shifted and stuck her head over the box she was in. Audrey was sitting on the altar, yelling at someone or something. That perfectly circular and pure white platform had red glowing runes surrounding Audrey. Like the one back in the forest. She heard a low hum from those runes.

Suddenly, Madoka panicked as she realized the monster still was below her but after a glance she noticed she could look at the horror in the deep without being troubled. Though, it still was disgusting to look at. So that vision was not a dream, Madoka thought. She took solace in the fact that it was truly dead.

"Madoka!" Audrey sprang up. The runes and humming. "It worked! My box method worked!"

"What happened?" Madoka asked. Audrey's skin was glistening. "And why are you glowing?"

"Why are YOU glowing?" Audrey pointed back. Madoka realized that her shoulder still tingled from Pelé's gift. Madoka shrugged.

"I got a gift from Ares," Madoka said, covering her shoulder. Audrey touched it and Madoka yelped. "Y-Your hand is hot!"

"Huh? Oh, right," Audrey said excitedly. "I leveled up! I'm one step closer to you, Madoka!"

Audrey took a spare cloak out for Madoka to cover her bare shoulder with.

"Leveled... up?" Her tongue tripped over those English words.

"It's a joke, but it just means my magic..." Audrey's magic core burst forth in a brilliant and fiery light. Her eyes lit up as she saw two bands orbiting Audrey's heart instead of the usual one. "You're not the only one receiving gifts from the gods, Madoka."

Audrey lifted a finger and she could see a small luminescent blue orb gather at her finger tip. "Watch this! This is our ticket out of here! Yeet!"

Audrey whirled around and launched the blue orb with Wind magic. Madoka's eyes could barely track it. The projectile split into a salvo of even smaller blue fireballs crashing towards the cave wall. Audrey turned to Madoka.

"On second thought—" Audrey was cut off by her own spell. The blue fireballs exploded into a spectacular light and plumes of smoke billowed in the aftermath of the spell. Madoka had to look away as specks of debris and gusts of winds smacked her clothing.

Has this girl learned a thing about prudence?!

"I looked away," Audrey said in a funny accent. "Because cool guys don't look at explosions. Eep!"

"Audrey..." Madoka started but daylight trickled in and as the smoke settled something on the horizon caught her eyes.

"I know, I know!" Audrey complained. "My fire magic is way too powerful! When Ares taught me how to take from the univer- I mean cultivate it all clicked! Okay? Madoka?"

Madoka was staring out of the giant hole Audrey made with that explosion.

"Do you see that?" Madoka pointed at it. Audrey gasped. The two ran to the edge of the crater, leaving the ruins of the palace and horrible monster behind to get a better look.

Above the mountain peaks and the valley was a massive ring made out of a material that looked like alabaster. A pure white ring, clad in the arcane energies bigger than any mountain, Madoka realized that this was the gate Pelé spoke about. It floated peacefully, blotting out the sky and reflecting the sun in some spots. She could not even see the top of the enormous ring.

"What in the fu—" Audrey could not complete her sentence as the sky twisted in colors neither of the girls seen before. The space around the ring warped and suddenly it disappeared leaving nothing but a pure blue sky and sunlight behind.

"Okay then," Madoka said standing at the edge of the crater Audrey made. Audrey gawked as she tried to process what she just saw. A slope followed into an easy terrain for hiking on. "Where to next?"