Y/N POV

Floating monoliths in a pure white world... this is indeed a trial befitting that enigmatic atmosphere of an outerworld.

Subaru and the others slowly wandered around the hall, and soon he noticed many other monoliths floating further in the sky.

Touch the brightest hero destroyed by Shaula.

The phrase still rang clear in my own head. As far as I know, the only people I have heard that Shaula killed are either the mabeasts who came near the tower or Witch Cultists who have somehow got past Sand Time. Could she have killed a Sword Saint? Is that what it meant by hero?

As I thought about this, Subaru accidentally touched another monolith other than the original, and scorching light filled the room.

It wasn't exactly the most pleasing filling, but the blinding light did not injure us in any way. All that remained, however, was the original monoliths.

"So there are no limit to the attempts." Subaru stated. "Could we brute force our way through this?"

"I mean... given the information we have so far, the point of the challenge would be to touch the 'correct' monolith. There are unlimited attempts, but just as many monoliths to touch. Theoretically, you could just do trial and error, but you probably need ladders or spells to reach the higher ones." I replied, carefully analyzing the situation.

"I agree with Y/N said, but..." Julius stared at the trial with shame. "We tried it multiple times with each other before you guys got here, so it must mean that it's a puzzle only you two or your battalion members could solve."

"A puzzle only we can solve." Something suddenly clicked, but I needed more confirmation. "Subaru... about that phrase. What do you think it means, to touch the brightest hero destroyed by Shaula?"

Subaru's immediate response to my quizzical question was to turn to the Sage's Apprentice, but she seemed to not be of any help.

"For now let's go with a name that you remember...Yeah. Ah, how about Reid? That dude was the first ever "Sword Saint"; You killed him, didn't you?"

Shaula's reaction was something interesting indeed. A high-pitched scream that echoed throughout the room. "AIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

This scared Meili so much she would've fell back down the stairs if Elsa didn't catch her in time. Meanwhile, Colette and Palmyra put on their winter earmuffs to reduce the sound's amplitude.

Immediately after yelling in fear, she literally ran all the way to a corner of the room that I didn't even know was there since it was all white, and hid there. Subaru, feeling exasperated, asked her what's wrong and so scary at the first sword saint. At this, Julius decided to recite propaganda fed into his brain since he was a child since he could not take offense regarding his most valued 'hero'.

"Huh, is the First "Sword Saint" such a scary person?" Subaru asked as Shaula moved a bit more away from them.

"How foolish. Reinhardt, Wilhelm-sama and such are esteemed individuals worthy of the forefather of the Astrea family. He definitely wasn't just skilled with the sword, but a man of character as well. Certainly, there are some parts sprinkled into the anecdotes that were left behind as rumours that indicate that he was rather strong-willed which don't overlap with Reinhardt and the rest, but... If it's not like that, then wouldn't that'd mean the history of the Astrea Family has been twisted till this current generation?"

"Uh, Julius, I think after 400 years of history, not everyone will stay the same, especially if personality wise. I mean, do you and Joshua even have the same exact personality? I'm not saying Reid is a bad person, but his temper and how he presents himself might be a reason to why Shaula is acting this way."

"Your impressions regarding The First "Sword Saint", Reid Astrea. Miss Shaula, I'd like you to tell us your candid impression of him."

"He was human garbage."

"I'd like you to tell us your candid impression of him."

"Don't pretend like she didn't say anything!"

Julius obviously did not heed my obviously logical statement and Subaru's shove, as his sense of patriotism was undeniably way too deep. Unable to change this situation any further, I turned to Omega, arguably the most knowledgeable person in this room.

"Have you done this challenge before, Chid-chan?"

"No, I have not. The Watchtower's Trials were constructed after I finished my part, so I have absolutely no idea what it is. However, I do believe it has something to do with your world, that's for sure."

"My world... because it's unsolvable..." Huh. Something feels amiss, but I can't really grasp on what it is...

"Hold up. Could it be the colour?"

"The colour?" Omega seemed puzzled at my sudden phrase, looking at the monoliths again. "Do you see something we don't, Y/N? Because all I see is black and white."

"No, that's not what I mean. So far, this entire Watchtower has been quite the sham in terms of design, so I wouldn't be surprised especially if a Trial room decided to mess with us."

"And your point being?" Anastasia also seemed curious in my explanation now.

"That the monoliths... are supposed to be white. And the room... is supposed to be black."

"But if the room's black, we can't see anything by that point, and it's..." Subaru trailed off his argument, slowly realizing what I was saying.

"Also, adding onto Y/N's possible observation... wouldn't this trial be similar to the one in the Graveyard?" Emilia said as she titled her head.

"The Graveyard..." Subaru gulped in I'll memory of Chid-chan who played with his soul. Then again, to be a comrade of Echidna in any moment, that much teasing is to be expected. I'm already used to it. After all, our contract is basically 'use to be used', so we're mutually benefiting. She needs her greed to be satisfied, and I need her help. Maybe Subaru realized that in Kasaneru IF, but unfortunately I filled that row before he could in any way.

"In the Graveyard, The "Witch" had tested people out in her "Ordeals" but she didn't give them any hardships that couldn't produce results. Then if the "Sage" tested people in his "Trials", then he shouldn't give them any hardships that couldn't produce results." Subaru muttered, with my enhanced hearing barely catching onto his train of thought.

"In addition to Y/N's colour swap, and the fact that we never needed Shaula to complete the trial... means that Shaula here is simply a distraction for our real goal. And the only other Shaula that could be one in the trial is-!"

Subaru had his moment of epiphany and called Beako over, and they leapt off into the air as Subaru gave a smile when he noticed the seemingly irregular structure of the floating maze of monoliths.

"So, did he beat you to the answer, Y/N?" Omega asked me in slight hope that Subaru didn't, and evidently I did not fail to meet her expectations.

"It became clear the moment I mentioned the colour change. White lights in a pitch dark environment- the bright starry night is the picture that comes to mind. I suspect Flugel didn't turn it pitch black with white monoliths was because the trial takers couldn't see well, and the answer may be given away easier than it was supposed to. Once you link the 'stars' and 'brightest hero destroyed by Shaula, the answer to us Earthlings who specialize in astronomy becomes self-evident."

"Ah... no wonder even I had trouble figuring this out. That's what he meant by the Shaula in the question is not actually 'Shaula', because Flugel was also..."

"Yes. And in a sense, this trial was never meant to be solved for anyone except people like me and Subaru. Flugel knowingly hid this floor's true nature away because it would only be privy to us outerworlders."

"If you were to specifically test your knowledge against Subaru's in terms of astronomy, who would win?"

"Obviously him."

"HEH? Y/N's actually bad at something?!" Omega seemed absolutely surprised, but I'm pretty sure she's just trying to mess with me.

"Of course. I sucked at many things, despite being a 'genius'. I did not have the best stamina, lacked physical training, failed to beat my former colleagues in PvP games, and stayed a virgin until recently so I think yes, I do believe I sucked at many things. The only reason I'm even thriving now is because of the Authority of Deceit and my Pure Truth. Anyways... my knowledge of the stars is limited, unlike Subaru's dedication and passion for them. I can piece things together eventually, but he can do so with efficiency."

"Is that why you let him go ahead and figure it out instead of helping him directly?"

"Of course. Everyone needs to utilize their brains sometime sooner or later. If I did everything for Subaru, which I obviously cannot, then he would end up a vegetable when we're in serious trouble."

"Heh, and here I thought you were just using him like our mutually beneficial parasitic relationship..."

"That is a mouthful. And did you really have to describe it like that? I am sooooo disappointed. I thought we were closer than that, Chid-chan... aren't we?" I prodded my face next to hers, and she shoved me away in slight annoyance. I would say she blushed, but her Ryuzu Shima's body showed no difference in emotion. Now that I think about it, when Sphinx gets mad or jealous, she has to try really hard to even express anything. Sometimes I feel like she's just simply yelling commands as if she was still the commander of that war.

"Speaking of Subaru, we really need to work with him on his authorities. I suppose it's fine to keep rejecting his Sloth and Greed, but he has to overcome the barrier, which is the fear of being consumed by the sins. You have to tame them, and make it become yours. I mean, come on, Minerva and Carmilla were perfectly sane people, and they wielded much greater power."

"Oi, Y/N! I know the name of the hero." Subaru said as he waved me over, since everyone else has already gathered around him. "I solved it. Along with the line of thinking of this errant examiner, for now."

Shaula seemed nothing but happy as Subaru declared his victory. "That's Master for you! You're makin' me feel all tingly! Oh how I yearned for this!"

Julius seemed to take a more serious approach and threw the whole 'worship Reid Astrea' train of thought behind him. "I don't mean to doubt you right now. But please tell me how you managed to get the answer."

"It's not your fault that none of you didn't understand." I chimed in, stealing Subaru's line for a moment. "Flugel was especially merciless when he made this trial. After all, it's only those with exceptional knowledge regarding a certain topic in Subaru's and my hometown that can solve it, and we just happened to be the right candidates."

"Y/N's right. Flugel's wicked, but I suppose this just shows how much he didn't want people to pass the trial. Anyways, the hero destroyed by Shaula, his name is Orion."

"Orion?" Emilia managed a frown, unable to recall any information about this person. Even I, who was somewhat well-versed in astronomy, failed to see the complete connection until I realized the connection between mythology and the stars. And this was one of the only few I actually knew about.

"Nopenopenope, I've no idea who that is. And even if for a sec we assume I did kill them, what sort of person who can't even make it all the way here gets called a hero, it's totally ridiculous. Soooo, I don't think I'm the one to blame here. How, you may ask, well by this argument from theory! I'm suuuuper smart!" Shaula started immediately denying any involvement of hers. But it was evident at this point that the trial had nothing to do with her.

"As you can see, this woman's not smart at all." Oh... OOF. That was a merciless blow from Subaru. "At first, I'd suspected that she may have actually forgotten, but that's not the case. Reason being that the "Shaula" from this problem isn't this woman in the first place."

Shaula yelled that she was the only Shaula that could've existed, since Flugel gave her her name. However, Subaru shot back that her name's origins were different from her.

"It isn't just me who knows, though I suppose not everyone would know. ――The name of a star in my hometown is called "Shaula". The meaning of its name is the "Stinger", but if I had to specify which kind of stinger, then it'd be the "Scorpion's" stinger. According to legend, the Hero Orion was stung by a scorpion which had been sent out to besiege him due to his boastfulness, and he ended up dying. After his death, he became a star. So, the scorpion that killed Orion also became a star due to its deed, and it's said that even now in the sky Orion lives in fear of the scorpion."

"Ah... I see. The woman of Scorpius, then."

"Precisely. And since with Y/N's deduction that room's colour was switched with black and white, the idea of stars in the night sky came to mind, and the picture was complete. The original Monolith is right in the middle. Well, I just gotta keep my eye on Alnilam, the centre of Orion's belt, and if I keep following the shape of the constellation... If I keep following Orion, then..."

Subaru's hands arrived at two stars. If my memory serves correct, they are Betelgeuse and Rigel. How interesting. Although I knew instinctively which star shone brighter (A/N: it was Rigel because Betelgeuse is still a fairly young star and a red supergiant, while Rigel is a blue supergiant. Blue stars shone brighter than red stars as their wavelength was shorter and thus had a higher frequency, which results in larger amounts of energy and luminosity) both stars served as interesting plot points. Betelgeuse was the fourth main antagonist Subaru has ever faced... and Rigel was the name of his unborn son with Rem.

Subaru touched Rigel with slight hesitation due to his bad feelings towards Betelgeuse, and he was luckily correct. And thus, the Trial of Taygeta, the Third Floor, was solved. Fairly quickly, mind you. If it was any other team in this world, they might've taken days or possibly months due to the sheer number of stars that existed.

As soon as Subaru's hand left the monolith that represented Rigel, the bright white light of the room shone once more, before dissipating into nothingness as it revealed the true nature of the Third Floor: stone floor encompassed by bookshelves, hundreds and hundreds of them.

A sharp pain suddenly lodged into my head, as if an involuntary migraine struck on purpose. I tried to keep my eyes open, but my consciousness was fading.

What is this?

Chid-chan, help! Hello?

My telepathic links aren't working.

I tried to yell, but my throat was blocked. When I awoke, six doors stood in front of me.

A second voice entered this mysterious domain, and it spoke:

Welcome, Challenger, to the second phase of the Trial of Taygeta.

The journey of sins and virtues alike, converge at a single end and diverge at the same beginning.

Secrets that lie buried deep, waiting for the chance to resurface, claw at the minds of curious travellers.

So, challenger, prove that you are worthy and step forth.

To endure the pain and memories of the sins across time.

Discover the pasts and paths behind seven seals...

...may you then be granted access to the True Library of the Dead.