Whew! Back to writing after a VERY long hiatus! Boy, I sure did miss writing this! Still, this chapter took me a long while to write, which is also why it me so long...

Enjoy!

Chapter 12: Putting an End to the Nightmare

"I seriously can't believe it's been allowed to get to this…" Angelo sighed, as we were all staying in the kingdom's local inn waiting for night to fall.

"Agreed. The King needs to pull himself together already, for the sake of the kingdom and for his people if nothing else." Alice agreed, being not in her usual calm and indifferent self this time – this is the first time I'm seeing her that angry.

"I know, right!? It's one thing to mourn the death of someone you love, but making an entire city mourn over it is completely different. And for two years!? Get over it already!" Marisa complained.

"I don't know…" Jessica sighed. "I still remember how I felt after Alistair's death, and I don't think I'd cope with it very well either if I still felt like that. That's because… when you lose someone you love it's like losing a part of yourself." after a short pause, she turns to me, Yangus and the Gensokyo girls and went on, "You guys do remember how sad I was back at the Tower, right?"

"Yes, we do. You must have loved him very much." Reisen said quietly as Jess nodded, her face completely pale. At this, Yangus went over to her and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder, as she smiled weakly in return before continuing:

"So, from what I said, I can kind of understand what King Pavan might be going through; this type of loss feels awful, and the more you love them the more it hurts."

"I understand where you're coming from, and I'm by no means unsympathetic towards your brother's loss… I did lose Abbot Francisco after all." Angelo replied. "But for two years?"

"…Okay, I'm actually with you on that one. Not even I would go that far."

"Yeah, that's the thing." Youmu spoke up. "Living creatures die all the time, but you don't often see others moping about it. It may sound harsh, but they eventually get over it and move on with their lives. You remember them, but you shouldn't let their loss blind you to everything else – your life isn't utterly ruined just because of that."

"Well, there are some people that never stop grievin', ya know?" Yangus pointed out. "They don't wanna forget the ones they care 'bout an' so just keep on rememberin' an' missin' 'em. So either they deal wiv it, or they die o' it. Nothin' else they can do."

"And they certainly don't inflect their grief on people like what's happening here." Aya added.

"Nah, nothin' like this. That's way too extreme, an' not to mention the fact that the townspeople 'ave nothin' to do wiv the loss. Then again, most o' 'em don't 'ave the power a king does."

"How someone as weak-willed as Pavan became king, I will never know." Remilia grumbled. "And if he keeps this up, he certainly won't be king for much longer. There's only so much the townspeople can put up with."

"Then let's do something about it." I finally spoke up, after being silent this whole time as I stood up from my bed with a serious expression on my face. Immediately, everyone else went silent as they all stared at me.

"…Guv?" Yangus blinked after a small moment of silence. "Wot exactly are ya sayin'?"

I folded my arms as I replied, "Well, the situation can't get much worse, and if nothing changes in here then the kingdom will eventually fall. So if there's no one else, then we'll be the ones to do something."

Another brief silence followed, until Cirno broke it, "Okay, what brought this on all of a sudden? As far as we know, Dhoulmagus hasn't done anything to this kingdom, so why should we even bother?"

I sighed; I've been hiding this from them for too long since we got to know the unfortunate truth of this kingdom. Maybe it's time I reveal my reason, and I did just that, "…Because I don't want this kingdom to end up like Trodain is now."

At this, everyone's eyes perked up in realization. "Oh yeah… Because of the curse, Trodain could be declared a fallen kingdom since no one is running it." Reimu concluded.

"Exactly. But at least it's only temporary since it will return to normal once we break the curse. Ascantha, on the other hand…"

"Right… If it falls, then it's permanent." Alice finished, and I nodded.

Yangus then stood up. "Alwright, wotever you say, I'm always wiv ya, Guv."

"No arguments from me – I'm in." Angelo agreed.

"Yeah, this just can't go on. Count us in too!" Marisa added, while the rest of the Gensokyo girls nodded.

"Same here." Jessica said. "It's not right to leave someone so consumed with grief without any help."

I smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, everyone." then I looked out the window, and saw that night has finally fallen; now's our chance to go see the king! "And just in time too, since it's already night."

"Finally! I was sick of waiting!" Cirno exclaimed.

"Let's go. For this kingdom, and for King Pavan's sake."

After we shared one last nod, we all left the inn and were back out in the streets. Now that it was nighttime with pretty much nobody roaming around, the definition of complete sorrowful silence that defined this kingdom couldn't even be comparable to when it was still daytime. It almost felt like a night the dead might walk, and just thinking about that gave me the chills.

Nevertheless, we made our way back into the castle… but as we arrived back into the third floor where we first met the Chancellor, we could hear a faint wailing that came from upstairs. It undoubtedly came from Pavan, we assumed as we exchanged glances before going up the stairs to the royal suite, the wailing getting louder and louder the more we went up.

Finally, we arrived at the royal suite, and sure enough: kneeling in front of the throne, face buried into the seat, was King Pavan himself, also dressed in black clothing. The wailing and sobbing coming from him was very heartbreaking to hear; he must've loved Sasha so much, that he feels that his life is incomplete without her. We silently approached him, and even thought he might've heard our footsteps, he didn't bother to lift his face, probably because he was more focused on mourning than greeting us.

"…Why?" we heard him whimper once we were close enough. "Why did you have to go to heaven and leave me all alone, my dear Sasha? It's been two long years. Time stopped for me when you left. I'm sure my heart died with you. Just one more time, even in my dreams… If only I could just see you one more time." after a pause for a sniffle, he continued, "Without you, my crown and my throne mean nothing. I'm helpless here, left all alone. Please, my darling Sasha. Come to me one last time. If you don't, I, I…"

…Wow, so I thought right. Pavan really believes that he can't live on without his wife. Marisa was right: this just can't go on any longer. I'm sure that if Sasha herself saw her husband and her kingdom in this situation, she would be devastated. Looking back at my party, I could see that they have a lot to discuss about this, but not while in front of the king. So silently, we left the royal suite and back to the lower floor.

As soon as we did, we were about to have a discussion… until we heard someone coming over from the stairs connecting the third and second floors of the castle. We gazed over to them, and saw that the person was Emma.

"…Oh!" she exclaimed as she spotted us and darted over. "Did you meet with His Majesty in the royal suite!?"

"We did, but… He isn't willing to talk to us." I responded.

"I must explain! The King is refusing to speak with anyone at present. Please forgive him if he caused offence. You see, he's never been quite the same since Queen Sasha died two years ago. If only it were possible to meet with those who've passed away… It would mean the world to the King if he could see his Queen once more."

"…I'm sorry." I sympathized. "We really want to help out, but we just don't know what to do."

"At this point, it feels as if only divine intervention can shake the King out of his grief." Angelo said.

Emma nodded. "Yes, sometimes it does feel that way-…" she broke off abruptly as her eyes widened, possibly from something that just popped into her mind. "…Wait. Unless…"

"What is it? Did something come into your mind?" Youmu asked.

"…Well, my grandmother used to tell me lots of stories when I was small. Lots of very strange stories. I'm sure there was one about a way to make any wish come true… It's no good, though. I just can't remember it. I'm sure she'd be happy to tell me if I went to see her, but I'm so busy with work here at the castle…"

She then looked back at us, a faint sight of hope shining in her eyes. "I'm afraid I must ask you all a favour. I'd like you to go and see my grandmother. She lives in a house west of here, next to a bridge. Could you ask her to tell you the old story about how to make wishes come true? Maybe it's just a fairy tale, but if there's any chance it might be true then I have to try and help the King. I wish I could go and ask her myself, but as I said before, there's so much to do here at the castle. And I… I can't leave him on his own… I even pray at the church every day that the King will be happy again. Please… help me to help him…"

Even though this tale about making wishes come true sounds too good to be even true, I couldn't refuse this favor; especially if it's the only way to save Pavan and his kingdom. The more I looked at Emma, her hands being clasped together and her face pleading for help, the more I saw how vulnerable she appeared. She wasn't a fighter like us. If the kingdom were to collapse, there's no doubt that monsters would be drawn over and prey on the helpless and defenseless people like Emma, with no way to survive on their own. And for the ones who were lucky enough to escape, they would either starve or die trying to search for a new place to live. If there really is something we could do to help, to stop all this from ever happening…

"Don't worry, we'll go to her in your place." I said with a genuine smile. "Anything to restore King Pavan back to his former self."

"You…You will? Oh, thank you so much!" Emma cried in relief. "I'm really counting on your help. Remember, my grandmother lives west of Ascantha, in a house next to a bridge. Hopefully by the time we see each other again, you'll have found what it takes to save the King. I wish you the best of luck!" and with one last bow, she went back down the stairs.

"I never thought it'd be that bad, but wow… That man REALLY gets under my skin!" Jessica exclaimed as we were back at the silent town, making our way to the gates. "Someone needs to give His Majesty a good slap. I know he loved the Queen, but it's been two years now."

"Says the one who previously sympathized with him because you also lost someone you loved." Angelo reminded. "But it's not exactly the same as losing your beloved spouse. You'll understand one day, when you've experienced true love for yourself." as he said that, he began leaning closer to Jessica with his usual flirty demeanor. There he goes again… "…Perhaps I could offer my services on that front?"

As expected, Jessica looked away from him with a scoff. "Bring your services anywhere near my front and I'll cut them off, you floppy-haired choirboy!"

Angelo merely chuckled in amusement. "My, you're a feisty one, aren't you? Anyways, I wonder if the Queen was a near-perfect specimen if the King loved her so dearly. Hmm… I'd like a chance to meet this Ascanthan rose, dead or not."

This earned an appalled look from the girls. "Admiring the dead…" Reisen trailed off, a bit creeped out. "Sounds a bit unpleasant if you ask me…"

"Yeah, especially if it involves Seiga." Youmu spoke up, leading her and Marisa to shudder.

"Seiga?" I asked.

"She's this wicked hermit who prides about Taoism and can draw holes in any wall to pass through." Reimu replied. "Oh, and she has a living corpse as her servant."

I felt my eyes widen in disbelief. I was about to question it, but Jess beat it to me first, "…I'm sorry, what!?"

"Having a living corpse to serve her… Has she no regards to human rights!?" Angelo questioned.

"Well, I did say she's a wicked hermit, didn't I?" Reimu pointed out.

"…Fair point."

'Geez, the more I'm hearing about some of the people in Gensokyo, the more I wonder if it's a safe place or not…' I thought.

"Anyhoo…" Yangus interfered to change the subject. "A decent bloke don't go back on a promise. We've gotta go to that Emma's gran's 'ouse an' ask 'er about this fairy tale she was on about."

"Right." I nodded, then I placed a hand under my chin. "You know, I wonder if that fairy tale would end up being true?"

"I mean, Gensokyo itself feels like a huge fairy tale." Marisa said. "So I wouldn't be surprised if it does end up true."

"Either way, it sounds like it's the only option we have if we want to save Pavan and this kingdom." Alice stated.

"Yeah, it does sound like it." Remilia nodded.

[BGM: Strange World – Dragon Quest VIII]

Eventually, we made it out of the town and reunited with Trode and Medea, where we immediately told the troll-king everything that happened.

"Hmm, I see…" he mused, taking in the information we had told him-… huh, where have I seen that before…? Oh wait, I know what's coming next… "Magnificent!" yep, he blurted out excitedly in the exact same way he did back when we accepted Valentina's request… And yes, that made me flinch in startle once again. "What a dutiful maid, worrying about her master so! I am impressed!"

"…Am I the only one getting déjà vu from this?" Youmu whispered to the rest of the Gensokyo girls. Glad I wasn't the only one.

"A faithful retainer like her is a most precious treasure to a king. And you say she's about the same age as my dear Medea?"

"…Yeah, about that." I replied with a nod.

"Very well! Now, this is an order! I want you to help this maid with her request!"

"Will do, Your Majesty. But first, we need to take a detour."

"I beg your pardon? A detour? Well, if you get onto it quickly, it won't be a problem, will it!? So off we go! We must lend a hand to this delightful maid of yours!"

'Now you just made it sound like she's MY maid…' I thought with a sweatdrop. Seriously, what's with Trode getting so excited over requests from young girls?

"So all we need to do is look for a house at a bridge, eh?" Marisa said. "Say… haven't we passed by a bridge before while we were makin' our way here?"

"Oh yeah, you're right!" Aya exclaimed. "It was back yesterday where we spent the night in a chapel at the riverside!"

"And come to think of it, I did spot a house on a small hill before we crossed the bridge…" Alice recalled. "Maybe that's the house where Emma's grandmother lives."

"Well, there's only one way ta find out." Yangus said. "Zoom us there, Guv!"

"You got it! Back to the Riverside Chapel!" I exclaimed and casted the Zoom spell, sending us right back at our destination.

Once there, we began to look around. "Okay, now where was that house, Alice?" Reisen asked.

"Hmm…" Alice mused. "Ah! Right there!" she pointed over to the area across the bridge as we followed, and sure enough: a small but cozy house stood at the top of a small hill, exactly as Alice had described.

"Good, now let's go! There's no time to lose!" Jessica said as we darted over to it, then we went in.

[BGM Pause]

Inside the house was an elderly couple, with the husband sitting by the table along with a soldier (probably giving him shelter) while the wife was sitting by a spinning wheel. There was also a cat lying on the family's bed, purring quietly in its sleep.

"Hm? Oh, we have more visitors." the old man said. "Have you, by any chance, come here looking for the mysterious Wisher's Peak as well?"

We blinked in confusion. "Wisher's Peak?" I asked.

"Perhaps I can help you shine some information of it." the old woman spoke up.

"Oh… So you must be Emma's grandmother, then." Reimu said.

"That's right, my dear. I'm getting on a bit now, you see. So I know all the old Ascantha folktales. This 'Wisher's Peak' my husband spoke of is based on this old story about making wishes come true: It's said that if you go there on the night of a full moon and wait quietly all night, a door to another world will open. But it's probably just another silly old fairy tale though. People around these parts don't even go there, so I'm afraid I can't tell you whether it's true or not. It gets so cold and spooky up there, you see." I noticed Youmu paling up a bit at the mention of 'spooky'. "I've never known anyone willing to stay the whole night to find out! Ha ha ha!"

"I did go investigate that peak one day, but it was a bit of a letdown really." the soldier spoke next. "It was just a crumbling old wall, nothing more. So I came straight back down again." he let out a sigh. "All that trouble I went to, climbing up there and worrying that there might be a monster waiting for me around every corner… What a waste of time!"

"And it was from that moment where I found him wandering right outside, so I took him in so he could spend the night here." the old man retold. "Admittedly, I, too, was curious about that peak… but apparently there's nothing over there but a boring old hill with a nice view, at least according to this young fella."

"Well, we don't care if what's up there is boring or not; it won't stop us from heading there anyways!" Marisa settled.

"Yeah! I could definitely write a good article about it!" Aya added.

"Oho! Persistent, are we? Ah, the good young days…" the old man chuckled amusedly. "Very well, if you're so insistent on finding this peak, then follow my instructions: If you go round the back of this house and follow the river downstream a while, you'll come to a path down to the embankment. Once you're down there, turn around and head upstream. Somewhere over in that direction, there's a cave. Just venture though it, and you'll reach the old hill."

"Alright, got it! Thanks, gramps!" Cirno exclaimed.

And with that, we left the house as the elderly couple wished us luck.

Later…

[Resume BGM]

"On top of a mountain at night, who would've thought?" Jessica remarked as we were walking along the riverside, while also keeping an eye out for any monsters that might jump at us.

"And it's even a full moon night right now, so we're extremely lucky." Reisen added. "Sometimes, I do wonder if Tewi is secretly giving us support at times like this…"

"Or maybe the wheels of fate have turned in our favor, as always." Remilia said, in her usual charismatic tone.

"Maybe so." I chuckled, but then my mind reeled back on the unfamiliar name Reisen had mentioned and asked her, "Wait, who's this Tewi you spoke of, Reisen?"

"Ah, she's an earth rabbit living at Eientei alongside me, Eirin and Kaguya." Reisen explained. "Her ability is conferring good luck to anyone, usually to humans."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Well, it is said that a rabbit's foot is an amulet that brings good luck." Angelo said. "So this isn't too far-fetched, if you ask me."

"I just hope that the top of that hill isn't really 'spooky', like the old lady mentioned…" Youmu trailed off cautiously.

"What, you're scared that a ghost will jump up on us or somethin', scaredy-cat?" Marisa teased.

"Hey, don't call me that!"

Marisa laughed. "Just kiddin'."

"Even if it doesn't end up spooky, there ain't no doubt we'll encounter monsters during our trek." Yangus pointed out.

"No doubt about it." Alice chimed in. "We did encounter monsters in pretty much every dungeon we've been, after all."

"Well, dungeons in general are monsters' favorite habitat, especially the more dangerous ones." I stated. "They would often stay in during the day, and then come out at night."

"I think some dangerous youkai in our world also do that." Reimu said. "In general, youkai are more active at night than during the day… probably because they have an innate connection to the moon, if that Eternal Night incident is anything to go by."

Eternal Night incident… I wonder what that was about? Maybe I could ask Reimu about it later. Regardless, these youkai beings are definitely starting to sound even more interesting to me the more I listen about them. And to think I would even befriend them the same way Reimu did…

"Oh! I think I see it! The cave that will lead us to the top of the hill!" Aya exclaimed, pointing over to a cave entrance on the very bottom of a tall mountain, which I assumed must be the Wisher's Peak.

"Oh, nice!" I smiled. "Let's go in!" and we all darted straight into it.

[BGM End]

Luckily, the interior of this cave wasn't as dark as the Waterfall Cave so I didn't need a torch this time. An odd green tint filled this cave, probably due to the moonlight shining down on the few patches of moss that surrounded some stone columns that kept the place stable. The green definitely helped giving this cave a more mysterious and mystical feeling, compared to the Waterfall Cave's serene feeling with the cascading blue waterfalls. Maybe this mystical feeling could be a sign hinting that the tale is actually true, and that we will really find a door as the old lady said?

Unfortunately, not too long after we took in the scenery… You guessed it: monsters came out of hiding, those being Bodkin Bowyers and Fat Bats.

[BGM: Night Survivor – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana]

"Oh? How nice of you to give us a welcome." Remilia smirked, spreading her wings as her eyes appeared to emit a faint glow. "I've been waiting so long to unleash my full might again since back at the Ruined Abbey!" and without warning, she charged directly towards the monsters.

"I figured you'd say that…" Reimu sweatdropped.

"Night Lord: Dracula Cradle!" Remilia called out as she was surrounded in a red aura and effortlessly rammed through the Bodkin Bowyers before they could even fire their arrows at her, knocking them upwards and disappearing once they hit the ceiling. Seeing this, the Fat Bats attempted to divebomb at the young vampire, but she swiftly flew out of the way.

"Ah ah ah! Let me show you how it's done!" she taunted as she planted her feet against the wall. "Night Sign: Bad Lady Scramble!" she divebombs straight into the Fat Bats, destroying them all. "Ha! How'd you like that?!" she boasted.

"…Dang, she sure wasn't kiddin'." Yangus blinked while Angelo whistled in approval, then we proceeded on to the tunnel ahead.

After getting past two branched paths and obtaining a Wizard's Staff (that Jessica happily took) from a treasure chest, we made it to the second level of Wisher's Peak via a staircase, which led us outside. But not too long after we began to climb the mountain, a group of Night Sneakers suddenly ambushed us and blocked our path.

"Oh, yeah? Take this!" Marisa exclaimed as she fired several magic star-shaped missiles at the Night Sneakers… only for them to cast Bounce on themselves that reflected the missiles back. "Ack!" Marisa yelped, quickly ducking to avoid being hit by her own missiles.

"Agh, the Bounce spell…" Jessica groaned. "If monsters cast this, you can forget about using any magic spells or projectiles on them since those will be reflected right back at you."

"Oh, that's just lovely…"

"But luckily…" I smirked as I pulled out my Reinforced Boomerang. "These won't work against physical projectiles!" and with that, I used a Power Throw to take out the Night Sneakers.

"That… theoretically shouldn't work, but okay." Reisen said as we continued our trek upwards, where more Night Sneakers appeared to ambush us the moment we took a right turn, and this time all of them proceeded to cast Bounce immediately instead of waiting for any of us to attack.

"Leave this to me." Youmu stepped forward, a spell card in hand. "Arcanum: Slash of Saigyou Spring Wind!" and she straight up zig-zagged through the Night Sneakers while slashing them as quick as she had called out her spell card, while leaving a trail of cherry blossom petals behind as they fell right at the spots of their fallen enemies.

With those monsters cleared out of the way, we moved on by circling around the right side of the mountain, where a few more Fat Bats would attack us but were quickly wiped out by Remilia using a spell card that was simply called… "Red Magic" (I wish I was joking…). From there, we took a left turn and climbed the mountain a bit more until we encountered a new group of monsters called Diemons that were blocking our way. Those masked demons proceeded to Roll a Die (from their eyes, as they're conveniently positioned in a way that resemble numbers on a die) and launch Wind Sickles at us, but Aya suddenly stepped in and, using her wind manipulating ability, she directed the Wind Sickles away, leaving the Diemons utterly shocked.

"Pfft, is that all? Let me show you how it's done!" she smirked, and with a single swing of her fan, she launches a tornado projectile that swept the Diemons into the air, then Angelo took this opportunity to cast Whoosh to actually damage them… and then Remilia flew up to them.

"I'll finish this." she said. "Scarlet Devil: Scarlet Devil!" and despite this spell card having a very redundant name, it sure proved to be quite a powerful one as it caused a gigantic pillar of red flaming aura to surround her, instantly turning all of the Diemons to ash. Well, she sure wasn't kidding when she said she was more powerful at night… I definitely wouldn't want to mess with her.

Anyways, now that the Diemons were history, we wasted no time and rushed upwards.

[BGM End]

At last, we all made it to the very top of Wisher's Peak, so what did we find there? Nothing but some remains of an ancient building, probably from some sort of chapel or shrine. Little more than the frame of a large window, which was empty of glass, remained standing.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that it was quite cold up there? Because it was. Very cold.

[BGM: Rest Spot – Xenoblade Chronicles 3]

Thankfully, we immediately thought on the idea to build a campfire. Alice even offered to make some tea for us, which we were all on board with, and so she made her dolls carefully set up a kettle over the fire after she poured some water. While we waited for the tea to be ready, we huddled together around the fire for warmth… but as we did, I heard Jessica doing a hard swallow next to me.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I glanced at her.

"What am I doing? I'm swallowing!" Jessica replied. "You know how your ears get clogged when you're in a high spot? That helps clear them." That's…actually true.

"Really?! I didn't know that!" Cirno said.

"You didn't know? You should give it a try!"

Cirno did it so, and after that, a big smile spread across her face. "Wow! It does work! I can't wait to tell Dai-chan about this!"

Jessica giggled. "Glad I was able to offer some advice."

"Anyways…" Yangus spoke up, looking around. "Just some ol' ruins waitin' fer us up 'ere, eh?"

"Looks like it." Remilia said. "Even if I'm able to see in the dark, it doesn't look like there's anything else here."

"Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find ruins here in the first place." Angelo admitted. "I just can't imagine why anyone would want to build anything on top of a very tall mountain, let alone how."

"Yeah – this mountain is full of narrow paths and steep cliffs." Reisen remarked. "And that's not even mentioning the monsters."

"Well, we did meet a bearded man living in a house at the top of the Waterfall Cave previously." Aya reminded. "So this same logic could be applied to that, too."

"You have a point there." Youmu said. "But still, who would've thought that there was a way up this mountain from a cave that started by the river? Or that there would be stairs leading to the halfway point of it?"

"It does seem like there used to be a route made specifically for people to come up here, doesn't it?" Marisa pointed out. "But for what purpose, I don't know."

Reimu sighed. "What I don't know is why we're even bothering with this; we've already waited for a little while, and nothing's happening. I'm almost starting to think that this whole thing with the tale was a colossal waste of time."

"Hey, don't say that, Reimu! At least we can say we tried."

"I know, I know. It's just that this idea of a magical doorway appearing on the night of a full moon to those in need sounds weirdly convenient, if you ask me."

Marisa gave a shrug. "Well, you know what they say: behind every legend is a grain of truth. I learned that from the Urban Legend incident, if you know what I'm talkin' about."

"I guess so…"

"Ah, it looks like the tea is ready." Alice spoke up as she took the kettle away from the fire, then she made her dolls pick up the cups while she gently poured the tea into each of them. Once she was done, the dolls passed the tea to each of us and we waited for it to cool down a bit before drinking it.

"Mmm, this is such a delicious tea, Alice!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Such a delightful taste… I don't think I ever had tea as good as this one." Angelo smiled.

"I ain't much o' a tea guy, but this is somethin' else!" Yangus complimented.

"I appreciate the compliments." Alice said with a small smile. "It's my all-time favorite hot red tea. Everyone whom I offer shelter to loves this tea as well."

"Oh, so you provide shelter for others too?" I asked.

"Only if they get lost in the Forest of Magic, which is where I live. I treat them to some food, then I would show them the way out."

I smiled. "Seems like you still show care and kindness to others, despite your aloofness."

"Oh, knock it off…" Alice blushed bashfully, and from there, we resumed drinking our tea while chatting a bit more…

[End BGM]

…Until right after we finished drinking, Jessica suddenly stood up abruptly from her spot, catching our attention as we looked up at her.

"Wot is it, bird?" Yangus asked.

"…Can you guys feel that!?" Jessica said, her eyes wide as if she just made a shocking discovery. "I sense magic! Powerful magic! It's coming from the mountain and the full moon!"

"Now that you're saying it… I can feel it as well!" Youmu exclaimed.

"You do?"

"Yes. I happen to have strong sensitivity, you see."

"Oh. Anyway… Look at that wall over there." Jess first pointed over to the ruins' back wall, or at least what remains of it. "And the shape of that window…" then to the old window. "Something's going to happen there. I can feel it."

"How do you even know about it?" Reimu asked.

"Don't ask me. I just do." Jessica shrugged.

"Either way, we'd better stay here and wait a bit more." I said. "We can't leave now."

With a chorus of agreement, we all stood still while shifting our gazes between the back wall and the window in anticipation, waiting for something to actually happen.

And then… it did.

As time passed, we noticed that the shadow of the window frame was slowly inching itself up towards the back wall. Once the half portion of its shadow was up against the wall… sparkles began to emerge from it, twinkling like stars.

"No way…" Reisen whispered as we all stared at the silhouette created by the window's shadow on the wall in astonishment. "I'm not the only one seeing this, right?"

"Nope, we're all seeing it too." Remilia replied, not averting her gaze.

Curiously, I strode closer to the wall and slowly reached a hand towards the silhouette. The moment I touched it, the wall suddenly moved inwards along with the shadow as if it was a double door opening, and bright lights escaped through it. As we all breathed in awe, the lights began to envelop us… and then the last thing I knew, the world seemingly faded away around me.

[BGM: Poet's World – Dragon Quest VIII]

When I regained my sight and my bearings, I was left amazed at what I was seeing; we were no longer standing at Wisher's Peak. Instead, we found ourselves standing on a platform above a large pool of water (how deep it was I have no idea), and there were more platforms ahead of us that were seemingly connected by invisible bridges with outlines made out of sparkles. The area itself appeared to be an empty black void, with tiny pinpricks of light all around, almost resembling stars, as well as cascading waterfalls.

"Whooooooa…" Yangus breathed.

"Wow! Pretty!" Cirno's eyes sparkled.

"I feel like I'm in a fairy tale! This is so amazing!" Jessica gushed.

"Now THIS is some front-page scoop material here!" Aya exclaimed, flying around and snapping photos.

"…Well, seems like being kicked out of the abbey has proven to be a passport to some pretty strange experiences for me." I heard Angelo speaking. "This is the perfect location for a bit of after hours socializing… Not too public… Yes…"

"What was that?" I asked.

"Hm? What? Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself. Don't worry about it."

"If you say so… So, what is this place?"

"Whatever this place is, it is definitely part of the tale we were told about." Reimu stated.

"Says the one who thought it was a load of rubbish." Marisa teased.

"Hey, at least I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong. It happens to me all the time when I'm solving incidents." Reimu replied agreeably. "It's just that I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that it's real."

"Even so, it's no doubt that there's more to this than what we had heard from the tale." Remilia said. "For instance, I don't recall Emma's grandmother saying anything about a fancy building like that one."

At these words, I glanced over to the area lying beyond the platforms ahead. And sure enough, there stood a large fancy building with walls and roof made out of translucent crystal; almost see-through, delicate but at the same time tough.

"Hmm… Maybe whatever is in that building is where we'll find what we need to make wishes come true?" Youmu guessed.

"Maybe so. Because I don't see any other places we can go to, at least from here." Reisen said.

"In that case, then there's no point in just sitting around here." Alice said. "Shall we go?"

"We should." I agreed. "Plus, if there's actually someone living there, then it'd be rude to keep them waiting."

With that said, we walked our way down the platforms that led the way through this… empty blackness (how else can I describe this place as?) towards the glass building, where I would open the door for them and step inside.

The interior, which was much bigger on the inside than on the outside, consisted of a circular stone chamber surrounded by several different musical instruments that were proudly on display: harps, violins, French horns, trumpets… and they all appeared to be playing by themselves!

However, our attention would immediately shift directly to the person standing at the center of the chamber: it was a man with long blue hair, blue eyes, and pointed ears like those of an elf. He wore a beige dress with a blue half robe over it, a long silver necklace around his neck, a silver circlet with a blue stone dangling off the front, an orange sash around his waist, and tan sandals. He was also carrying a harp on his hands, and was playing a gentle melody on it.

"I am Ishmahri, keeper of the Moonshadow Land." the man, Ishmahri, spoke in a soft and almost lyrical voice as he stopped playing his harp to greet us. "Welcome to my realm. Many moons have waxed and waned since human foot last trod this earth." he said as he approached us. "…Weary travellers, I welcome you now to the Land of the Moonshadow."

"Yeah, yeah, you kinda of already said that." Marisa said in an inconsiderate manner… and Reimu elbowed her as a result. "Oof!"

"Be nice, Marisa." Reimu told her.

Despite this, Ishmahri didn't seem bothered by that and continued as if nothing had happened, "Enlighten me, what desire opened the Moonshadow Window on this night?" before I or any of us could say a word, Ishmahri held up a hand for silence. "No words… Your shoes can tell the tale." and then he plucked at his harp.

'Our…shoes?' I thought while blinking. What did he mean by that? How can our shoes possibly-…

Suddenly, a bright flash shone from the floor at exactly where my feet were planted against, causing me to jump and yelp in surprise. "…So, Pavan longs to be reunited with his dearly beloved, Sasha." Ishmahri said with a smile. "I see you stand amazed, mouths agape in wonderment."

And indeed; we were just standing there, staring with wide eyes at Ishmahri in a mixture of shock and amazement. "Ah, forgive me. I have yet to uncloud your eyes. Children of the light of day… Do you believe that memories are yours alone? Your clothes, houses, tables and chairs… The sky, the land… They too remember each passing day. Silently, they sleep in a dream world of memories. The moon's light may give shape to these dreams…these memories. I cannot stir this daughter of the sun from her eternal sleep, but perhaps I can end your friend's waking nightmare. Lead me to the castle. Lead me to the scene of Pavan's misery."

"…Alright." I nodded after snapping out of my shocked trance and led the way for everyone, with Ishmahri following close behind… by floating. Well, it's safe to say that he isn't human at all.

In fact, even Angelo seemed to have caught on to that quickly, "…What IS that? Human? …No. He looks normal enough, but…"

"But?" Youmu asked.

"…Never mind. Well, anyway. He doesn't look like he poses a threat. I say we trust him."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Aya asked.

"Take my word for it, I can read people's intentions. It's one of the things that makes me good at cards."

"I'm also able to perceive the truth in almost everything just with a quick glance." Alice threw in. "People with twisted souls always give themselves away."

"I can sort of do that as well." Reisen interfered. "By reading people's brainwaves with my ability to manipulate waves, I can determine their personality and behavior. Brainwaves of higher frequency means the person is short-tempered and irrational, while lower frequency means the person is apathetic and depressed."

"Huh! How fascinating…" Angelo mused. "So that means you're able to manipulate these brainwaves at will and completely change a person's personality?"

"Yes, I can. But because I never intent to cause harm, I rarely do it."

"I see."

"Y'know, I don't mind 'avin' my behavior changed." Yangus said. "People 'ave been tellin' me I've got a brain the size of a pea ever since I was small. The outside o' me might 'ave got a bit bulkier, but the old grey stuff's still as small as ever."

"So in other words… You've got a clue about nothing?" Reisen asked.

"Nuffin' at all, bunny!"

Reisen sweatdropped. "Figured as much…"

"Geez, I can't believe this guy is even making Cirno look smarter in comparison…" Reimu muttered.

"I'll gladly take that as a compliment!" Cirno grinned.

"So… let me get this straight." Jessica changed the subject. "Ordinary things like clothes and houses have memories? And they have dreams!?"

"You know, it reminded me a bit of how tsukumogamis work." Marisa speculated.

"Tsukumo…what?" I asked.

"Tsukumogami. They're a type of youkai that are born from inanimate objects that reach their 100th anniversary of their creation, gaining life and sentience." Marisa explained. "Basically, if the object has acquired a spirit or a kami, it can become a tsukumogami. Depending on how they were treated prior to their birth, tsukumogamis can either be friendly or vengeful."

"Blimey… Then we all better take good care o' our tools to avoid bein' attacked by 'em later, ha ha ha!" Yangus joked.

"Oh, Yangus…" I chuckled.

By the time we finished this conversation, we had arrived back at the Moonshadow Window that would take us out of this place. Determined to get Pavan back to his senses at any costs, we all passed through and arrived right back into Ascantha Castle-…

*record scratch*

Wait… WHAT?!

"H-How did we…?" I stammered, looking utterly disoriented.

"Lead me to the castle. Lead me to the scene of Pavan's misery." Ishmahri simply said, as if this whole situation was completely normal for him.

We all exchanged glances – none of this made any sense. But right now, we have a much more important thing to worry about than that, so it's best if we should just stop trying to understand what was going on and simply go with it.

"…Of course." I replied to Ishmahri numbly. "Right this way." and by retracing our steps previously, we arrived back at the royal suite… where Pavan was still lying down on his throne grieving. Then, we watched as Ishmahri plucked a few strings from his harp, obviously catching Pavan's attention as he slowly rose his head from the throne and looked around to find the source of the noise… until his eyes met us and Ishmahri.

"Oh, grieving soul. May the moon's rays trace the scenes enacted here long ago…" Ishmahri cried before he started playing a strange melody on his harp.

[BGM: Expressing My Thoughts Through My Harp – Dragon Quest VIII]

As he played that strange melody, glowing lights started to appear all around the room, flashing and sparkling brilliantly… and suddenly, translucent images of Queen Sasha began to appear, flickering from one side of the room to another. My guess is that Ishmahri had found the memories of her and was now shifting through them, looking for the ones that'd serve Pavan's purpose.

Speaking of Pavan himself, he was just standing there looking around the room mesmerized by the images of his long-dead wife. He took a few steps forward, where an image of Sasha appeared right in front of him. "…What is this?" he finally found his words. "A dream? An illusion? No… No… I remember this…you…" he reached out to her, but she disappears.

"…is wrong…?" Sasha spoke, having appeared behind Pavan. "What is wrong?"

By following her voice, Pavan turns around to see her again. "…Sasha!" he gasped. "I've missed you so! These two years, I've thought of nothing but you. Ever since you passed away…"

Sasha giggled. "You're not still fretting about this morning's missive, are you? You mustn't. You made the right decision. You're always so lenient with people. But sometimes you need to be firm too. That's a king's duty. Everybody believes in you. You must stand tall and proud. Ascantha is your country."

Sasha fades away again… only to reappear by the throne, looking down at, surprisingly, an image of Pavan sitting on the throne, dressed in presumably what was once his original royal garb: a bright green tunic with a red cape, in contrast to the drab black clothing he now wore.

"Oh yes! I have news! The innkeeper's dog has had a puppy! He wants us to think of a name!" Sasha exclaimed as Pavan once again follows the direction of her voice, and was obviously surprised to see himself (or rather, his old self) standing there.

"Is that…me?" Pavan asked incredulously, before reminiscing, "Yes, I remember this. It was the spring before last. So this is a memory from the past?"

His past self chuckled brightly. "A puppy, you say? …What do you think? No doubt you've already thought of a good name for it!"

"It's a secret." Sasha teased.

"Why? If you've thought of a name, then I'm sure it's splendid. Tell me!"

"Surely you have a suggestion too? A name for this puppy?"

"But I'm sure yours-" Sasha cuts him off by cupping both sides of his face.

"Shush, now, Pavan. I think any name you came up with would be simply perfect. My dear King. You're a wise and kind man. You should follow your own instincts. I was planning to use the name you thought of. That's all I'd decided."

The images soon faded right as Pavan was staggering towards the throne, then he sat down on it and started to cry. "…Ah, yes. She was always like that, always giving me so much encouragement. Sasha… Why…"

"…Sasha. Why are you always so strong?" just then, he heard his own voice speaking again as he stood up and saw another image of his past self, who was standing right in front of Sasha in the middle of the room.

"Because my mother gives me strength." Sasha replied.

"Your mother? But she passed away years ago…"

"I never told you, but I was very timid as a child, so weak and afraid. And every day, my mother would try hard to encourage me." hm, now that sounds familiar, doesn't it? "When she died, I was so sad and lonely… But then I realized… If I went back to my old weak self, I would have nothing left of my mother at all. It would be just as if she had never existed." wow, this is getting deep really fast…

Pavan took a step forward as she continued, "I realized I had to be strong. That I must remember her words of encouragement and everything she taught me. That way, she'll live on inside me for always. For ever…"

"Sasha. You're right… I should be more like you…" Pavan whispered, reaching out for her while almost phasing through his past self. Sasha once again disappears, but later reappears at the stairs leading to the terrace outside.

"Shall we go out onto the terrace?" she invited. "The weather's so nice today. It would be lovely to enjoy the breeze together."

Pavan, now smiling for the very first time since the last two years, took Sasha's hand… as both he and his past self appeared to have been merged together, and she leads them outside. Without hesitating, we all followed them outside… and much to our surprise, we saw that it was already at the break of dawn, the sun slowly rising over the mountains in the distance. Man, I couldn't believe we actually spent the whole night venturing to the Wisher's Peak!

"Look! Your country stretches before us as far as the eye can see! Oh! Ascantha is so beautiful!" Sasha smiled, she and Pavan looking out at the balcony and overlooking not only their kingdom, but also the countryside beyond.

"…Yes. Beautiful, Sasha… So beautiful." Pavan agreed.

"My darling King. For people to live their lives happily…you must be strong…" but as Sasha said that, she begins to fade away… only this time she was surrounded by glowing orbs, signifying that she would disappear for good now. Pavan attempted to grab hold of her as this was happening, desperate to not lose her again… but his attempt was futile, and she was gone.

In response, he shuts his eyes while collapsing on his knees to the floor and hugging himself, taking in deep and ragged breaths. "…I remember. Everything you ever told me lives on inside my heart. Forgive me, Sasha." he opens his eyes. "…I've finally opened my eyes. I'm sorry for being so sad and lonely."

[BGM End]

Soon enough, he stood up, now firm and strong as he looked out over his kingdom once more. "…At last, I've finally awoken from my long and terrible nightmare."

Meanwhile, we all smiled proudly to ourselves, glad to see that things will finally be back to normal in Ascantha.

To be continued…

Eight: Finally! We managed to save Ascantha!

Yes, indeed! Now, where will our party go next after that? Find out next time!