Opening AN: Bumped up the fic's rating after realizing that the following scene may or may not be a bit too graphic for a "T" rating.
(Begin Yuque OST: Ashes)
The Usami sisters had a look of shock and horror on their faces when they realized that they were looking at a person being burned at the stake in broad daylight. While Madotsuki and Urotsuki had become somewhat numb to sights such as this, as they had seen similarly horrific things before, both in dreams, as well as the real world once, they were still surprised at just how realistically grisly the scene was, with the few saving graces being that the person being burned seemed to already be dead, that the body didn't appear to actually be burnt to a crisp and wasn't too detailed other than it being charcoal black in color, and that the fire partially obscured the body.
"Well, that's a horrifying sight," Urotsuki commented.
"I thought this was supposed to be a fun tour, Maribel," Sumireko said as she collected her nerves.
"Unfortunately, this dream world is the only way that gets us to the dream world I want to visit," Maribel replied.
"Hey, Maribel?" Asked Renko.
"Yes, Renko?" Maribel replied.
"You said that your chasers looked like medieval European people, correct?" Renko asked. "These people in this crowd sure do fit the bill."
"Yes, the people you see are a crowd of chasers. They are currently not in their chasing phase, and I recommend that you leave them alone. Asides from harming them, in this world, trying to put out the pyre will also trigger the chasers here."
Maribel then began to walk towards the direction of her destination by following a pathway, and the rest of the Sealing club soon followed. As the Sealing Club walked around the crowd of passive chasers, they, except Maribel, looked at the burning stake with morbid fascination. Eventually, the Sealing Club made it out of the village's square, putting the burning pyre out of sight.
(End: Yuque OST: Ashes)
After a while, the Sealing Club made it to the outskirts of the village, revealing that the pathway they took led to a forest. As the Sealing Club made it to the outskirts, Maribel stopped to turn towards the rest of the Sealing Club, who also stopped.
"I'm sorry if the burning at the stake soured your view on this tour, everyone," Maribel said as she bowed, "I'll make sure to plan out my tours better if we decide to have them again."
"While it was an unpleasant sight, to say the least, Madotsuki and I have seen similarly horrific things on our journeys through our own dreams," said Urotsuki. "Considering that this is your first time taking anyone on a tour through your dreams, it would be understandable that you would make a few mistakes here and there, so I forgive you."
"I also accept your apology," Madotsuki added.
The Usami sisters didn't immediately respond, but eventually, Renko was the first of the two sisters to reply to Maribel's apology. "I agree with Urotsuki, as if I was in your shoes, I would've also made a few mistakes while taking others on a tour. This is a novel experience, after all, so I forgive you."
Sumireko nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I also forgive you. Just make sure you don't take us through similarly nightmarish worlds next time if we ain't up for them."
Maribel smiled at the rest of the Sealing club's responses as she stopped bowing. "Thank you all for accepting my apology. I'll make sure that the next tour will be better planned out next time. Until then, is anyone still willing to continue this tour?"
"Yes, I do," Madotsuki answered.
"Yep," Sumireko responded.
"I'm up for continuing this tour," Urotsuki replied.
"I'd also like to continue the tour," Renko said in response.
Upon hearing everyone's responses, Maribel turned back around to lead the Sealing Club. "If that's the case, then without further ado, let's go," Maribel said before beginning to walk in the forest, with the rest of the group following along.
While the Sealing Club's mood was back up compared to before, especially with how scenic the forest looked under the noon sky, their mood was tempered by the memory of the burning at the stake, and as a result, had mostly walked in silence. Eventually, they saw a clearing some distance away. As the group got closer, they began to see a brick wall with a steel-colored gate in it, with a pathway going through said gate. Beyond the walls and gate was a mansion that was mostly made of brick, with the mansion having a black rooftop and two tower-like protrusions on either side of it.
"This is our destination," Maribel said. "The Flower Manor."
(Begin: Yuque OST: Monochrome Mansion)
The Sealing Club eventually reached the gates. Maribel touched the gates, which caused them to slowly open inwards on their own, revealing that along both sides of the pathway were flower fields containing flowers of various kinds.
As the Sealing Club entered the Flower Manor, they, except for Maribel, looked around in awe of the manor's beauty.
"Wow, this mansion is so beautiful!" Sumireko exclaimed. "And the flower fields, just look at how pretty they are!"
Urotsuki whistled in appreciation. "Wish I could live here."
Maribel smiled at the compliments, though her smile also held a hint of sadness to them. "Thank you," Maribel simply said as she bowed.
Renko chuckled at Maribel's actions. "Didn't know that you were quite the distinguished lady, Maribel-sama," Renko jokingly said as she bowed playfully.
Maribel had a brief look of confusion upon realizing that she didn't know exactly why she bowed when she did, but she brushed it off just as quickly as it came. "Come, and let me show you the inside of this mansion." Said Maribel. "After all, if you liked the outside, just wait until you see the interior." Maribel then took the first steps towards the Flower Manor, with the rest of the Sealing Club following suit.
Eventually, the Sealing Club, led by Maribel, reached the front doors of the Flower Manor. Maribel opened the doors, revealing the spacious and beautifully decorated entrance hall. The walls and ceiling of the hall, and by extension, the mansion itself, were white with gray decorations, while the floor was made of dark gray wood tiles. The entrance hall also had a stairway up ahead that led to the second floor, as well as two doorways, one on each side of the room. As the Sealing Club entered the mansion, they, with the exception of Maribel, made exclamations of awe and wonder as they looked around to admire the foyer.
Urotsuki let out an amused huff. "Damn, the mansion sure looks beautiful despite it being monochromatic."
"Despite how big the mansion looks, it doesn't actually have that many rooms to explore," Maribel said as she gestured at the mansion. "Despite that, however, I'll give a brief tour of the mansion. Once that mini-tour is over, you're free to go where you please, with one notable exception."
"Where is that area, and why can't we go there?" Sumireko asked.
"The room's located on the second floor," Maribel replied. "I'll show you the exact room once we get up there, and the reason why you can't go in that room… Well, let's just say that it's a private matter and I don't want you to see it."
"So this restricted area is something sensitive to you?" Renko asked.
Maribel simply nodded in response. "With that out of the way, any questions?" Maribel asked, to which the rest of the Sealing Club responded with a chorus of denial. "If that's the case, then let me show you around."
Despite the Usami sister's outward feelings of awe at the beauty of the mansion interior as the Sealing Club trailed behind Maribel, the sight of the burning at the stake was seared into their memory and made them on edge. While the Usami sisters recognized that the burning was likely not as grisly as an actual burning, it was close enough to the real thing, so the sisters decided to deal with it in their own way. While Renko decided to simply bear with the memory for now, Sumireko wanted to soak in the sights of the mansion as much as she could in an attempt to bury the memory, even if that meant getting scolded by Renko for straying from the group before Maribel finished her tour.
Currently, the Sealing Club was in a large room that contained a black piano in one corner of the room and numerous chairs along the walls. The room also had a large window that gave a view of a field of flowers, a fireplace on one side of the wall, and various paintings on the walls.
"Don't wander around, Sumireko," Renko said as Sumireko began to drift away from the rest of the Sealing Club. "At least wait until Maribel gives an ok for us to freely explore."
"Come on, Renko, I'm not gonna go too far away," said Sumireko. "Besides, I don't exactly know where the off-limits room is on the second floor, so I won't even touch it until we actually get there."
"Let her be, Renko," Maribel said as she turned towards the Usami sisters upon realizing what the commotion was about. "If she wants to do her own thing while knowing her limits, then I trust her to follow through."
Renko mentally debated with herself and eventually came to a conclusion with a sigh. "Fine, I guess you can go, Sumireko," said Renko. "Just don't go too far, ya hear?"
"Yeah, I hear ya, I hear ya," Sumireko said as she began to leave the group and explore on her own.
After Sumireko left the group, Maribel resumed guiding the rest of the Sealing Club through the manor.
"Hey, Maribel, do the paintings in this room hold any meaning to you, by any chance?" Madotsuki asked as she and Urotsuki looked at a group of paintings.
"No, not really," Maribel answered. "In fact, the only painting in this entire mansion is the one in the restricted bedroom."
"I see," Madotsuki said.
"Now that we've seen this room, let's head over to the next and last room on this floor," said Maribel as she led the group out of the current room they were in.
After passing through the foyer once again, the group entered what could only be described as a library, as there were many bookshelves within the room, as well as a table and a few chairs surrounding the table. As the group entered the library, they stumbled upon Sumireko, who was reading a book with a confused look on her face. Sumireko looked up from her book as she heard footsteps and saw the rest of the Sealing Club.
"Oh, hey, didn't expect all of you to get here so fast," said Sumireko.
"Maribel did say that there weren't that many rooms in the manor, so it would've been inevitable for us to see each other again," Urotsuki said.
"Oh right, I forgot about that," Sumireko said as she chuckled.
Renko had also forgotten about the manor only having a few rooms, but she made no mention of it.
"Hey, Maribel, since you're the Dreamer of these worlds, you know how to read books?" Sumireko asked as she pointed at the book she was holding.
"No, unfortunately," Maribel answered. "They are gibberish to me, so I can only assume that it would also be gibberish to you."
"Yeah, you're right," Sumireko replied. "The language here doesn't look like anything I know, but that could just be the work of dream logic making up a gibberish language."
"Now that we're all here, let's go upstairs, as this is the only other room on this floor," Maribel said as she began to leave the library.
"Wow, you really weren't kidding when you said that this mansion didn't have that many rooms," Sumireko said as she and the rest of the Sealing Club followed Maribel.
(End: Yuque OST: Monochrome Mansion)
After leaving the library, the Sealing Club returned to the entrance hall and walked up the stairs, revealing that the second floor was just a hallway that had three doors, one on each side and one at the very end of the hallway.
"And here's the hallway that leads to the second-floor bedrooms," Maribel said as she gestured at the hallway.
"Hey, Maribel?" Sumireko asked.
"Yes, Sumireko?" Replied Maribel.
"Can I go ahead for a bit?" Sumireko asked. "There isn't much else for you to show besides these bedrooms."
"You may, just-" Maribel answered, but she stopped herself when she saw that Sumireko immediately left the group to wander off on her own.
"Sumireko!" Renko said in a scolding tone. "At least listen to what Maribel has to say before you go!"
"It's fine, Renko," Maribel said as she sighed. "I'll just quickly shout to her on where she shouldn't go, since the restricted room is up ahead."
However, before Maribel could inform Sumireko where the private room was, Maribel suddenly had a look of horror on her face as she noticed that Sumireko was heading right towards the restricted bedroom, which was the second door down on the right of the hallway. "Sumireko, wait!" Maribel yelled, but it was already too late, as Sumireko had entered the restricted bedroom.
Renko clicked her tongue in frustration. "Sumireko!" Renko yelled in frustration as she ran ahead to get Sumireko.
"No, no, no, no, they shouldn't go there!" Maribel said, her voice full of panic as she ran after the two Usami sisters.
Realizing that things could get really ugly for Maribel, Madotsuki and Urotsuki briefly looked at each other with worry on their faces before nodding and wordlessly agreeing to get Sumireko out of the restricted room and began to run after Maribel.
By the time Renko had reached the restricted bedroom's entrance, she saw that Sumireko had already touched the human-sized purple Chinese Bellflower that decorated the room, which soon caused Sumireko to be teleported.
While Renko briefly noted that the flower was the only splash of color in the mansion, she had a far more pressing matter to think about. "SUMIREKO!!" Renko yelled in anger as her sister's impulsiveness tested her patience to its limits and entered the bedroom, eventually reaching the large Chinese Bellflower.
Maribel soon entered the restricted bedroom and saw Renko touch the Bellflower. "RENKO, WAIT!!" Maribel shouted at Renko as she reached out to Renko, but just as Renko turned to Maribel, she suddenly disappeared, having been teleported to wherever the Bellflower took her.
Upon seeing Renko get teleported to the restricted area, Maribel froze in a catatonic state. As the realization that the two Usami sisters had already entered the one area they were not supposed to be in, she began to move forward once more as she let out a roar of frustration and sorrow with tears beginning to form. Maribel soon reached the Chinese Bellflower and touched it, causing her to be teleported to the restricted area.
Madotsuki and Urotsuki reached the restricted bedroom just as Maribel touched the large Chinese Bellflower, and upon seeing that the room was empty after Maribel got teleported, they realized that it was already too late. Not wanting to add more fuel to the fire, as well as wanting to respect Maribel's privacy, the two remaining members of the Secret Sealing Club decided to stay behind and wait out any consequences that might happen.
The first thing that Sumireko saw was that she was standing in a vast field of various flowers at noon, extending as far as the eye could see with the flowers swaying along with the wind.
"This area is beautiful, so why did-" Sumireko was about to say when she stopped as she noticed a woman standing some distance away with her back turned towards Sumireko.
A blonde, long-haired woman who was wearing a purple dress and white mob cap with a red ribbon tied on top, and was holding a pink parasol that shielded the Purple-Dressed Woman from the sunlight.
"SUMIREKO!!" Sumireko heard a voice say with anger. As she turned to see the source of the voice, it was none other than Renko, who had a furious look on her face. "JUST WHY DID YOU HAVE TO RUN OFF LIKE THAT?!!"
"Why? WHY!?" Sumireko said, her anger rising. "Because I just wanted to have fun on this tour, that's all!"
"By ignoring Urotsuki and Madotsuki's advice, as well as Maribel's wishes on where not to go!?"
"How was I supposed to know-?!"
"You would have known, if you had STAYED, and LISTENED, to Maribel, BACK, at the HALLWAY!!"
"Renko! Sumireko!" The two sisters turned to who was addressing them, revealing that it was none other than Maribel, who had tears in her eyes and turned into a child.
"Maribel?" Said Renko, not knowing just what happened to Maribel.
"What happened to you?" Sumireko asked.
"Why did you two-" Maribel said when she gasped and stopped herself upon noticing the Purple-Dressed Woman.
The two Usami sisters slowly followed Maribel's gaze as she took a tentative step towards the Purple-Dressed Woman and a feeling of longing began to fill her.
Maribel slowly began to take a few more steps, eventually picking up speed until she was sprinting, but despite Maribel's speed, the distance between her and the Purple-Dressed Woman seemed as if it didn't decrease at all.
The Purple-Dressed Woman took notice of Maribel's running, so she began to turn to face Maribel, but before the Purple-Dressed Woman's face could be revealed, Maribel felt reality pulling at her, and she, along with the rest of the Sealing Club, were forcibly woken up.
When the Secret Sealing Club came to, they found themselves back in the real world and in the classroom they were in for their meeting. Madotsuki, Renko, Sumireko, and Urotsuki immediately began to look at Maribel with various emotions as they noticed that she held both of her hands at her mouth and was struggling to hold in both her tears and her emotions, with Madotsuki, Renko, and Urotsuki looking on with ever-growing worry, and Sumireko with horror and guilt on her face as she realized what she had done.
Eventually, Maribel's emotions were too much for her to hold in, and she began to sob loudly as an overwhelming flow of sorrow and longing began to pour out of her. Renko immediately moved in to hug Maribel and did her best to comfort Maribel as everyone else was paralyzed with uncertainty on what to do.