"Are you guys ready? Once we enter this place, there's no going back." Big Bro reminded us.
Three weeks ago, Big Bro had learned that there was a place called the Dwelling of the Spirits in a small country known as Ur Gracia. There, we should, in theory, be able to find high-level spirits to possess each of the kids, getting their magicules under control.
The only problem was that nobody had ever come back from the Dwelling of the Spirits. Ever. At least, there were no documented cases. In other words, this was an incredibly dangerous place that we were taking these kids into.
"Do we even have a choice?" Kenya asked. The answer was no.
So, we entered the Dwelling of the Spirits.
The first thing I noticed about the labyrinth was the energy inside. It felt completely different than the energy outside… like home…? It was a tough thing to describe, but as a spirit, I felt like this was where I belonged. Almost like I did when I was in Tempest. It was home.
But the second thing that I noticed was a bit more perturbing. The Dwelling was completely sealed off, dimensionally. Warp Portal, shadow travel, nothing worked. The only way to get out was through the door.
As we began walking, Big Bro and I realized something even more annoying than the fact that the Dwelling was cut off from spatial magic. Someone was using a strange form of illusion magic to make multiple pathways seem like a single one. If a normal human were to enter the labyrinth and begin walking forward, assuming that there was only one path, they'd simply wander in circles for eternity. Luckily, I had Curiosity, and Big Bro had Wise One, so we had no problems with it, but we made sure to remind the kids to stay close. If they'd wandered off, they'd get lost forever.
As we walked around, keeping to a straight path, dozens of voices began echoing in our minds irritatingly. Some sort of telepathy.
It just annoyed me, but the children seemed to be rather scared of these new voices.
Basically, these voices were the beings that normally lived in the labyrinth. Spirits, in other words. They were annoyed that Big Bro and I had seen through all of their tricks, though they did get a kick out of the childrens' fear reactions.
I imagined that they were very bored spirits.
"Hey. If you guys live here, we need to talk to some high level elemental spirits. Could you lead us, you know, instead of getting in our way?" Big Bro asked.
Giggling, the spirits opened a pathway in front of us, a pathway of solid light.
Following the pathway, we found ourselves in a large open space. An arena of sorts, with a giant golem in the center.
('Let me explain the rules of this trial-') The most self-important sounding spirit thing started, but I interrupted them.
"Is that a golem?! It is, right! But it's soo big… how do you regulate the weight, and all the systems? It's not just magic, it's also part mechanical, so-"
"Risa!" Big Bro called out, stopping me mid-rant.
I pouted as the spirit continued her explanation. ('Yes! Yes! It's my greatest masterpiece! The pinnacle of spirit engineering, and incredibly strong to boot! The only way that you beat my trial is by beating my Elemental Colossus!')
"Mmkay." Big Bro responded. Telling Ranga to stay back and protect the children, he walked up to the golem.
And ate it whole. Though the golem counted as 'living,' apparently, the Wise One had told him that it didn't have much willpower, and was therefore weak to the effects of Glutton. It couldn't escape Big Bro's stomach.
('No… way! My Elemental Colossus!') The spirit whined.
"Alright. Come out, or you're next. I've already got your location." Big Bro said, conjuring a black flame in his hand and looking pointedly in the general direction that the telepathy had come from.
Though there were blocks in place, stopping even Big Bro from pinpointing their exact location, finding the general location wasn't too difficult.
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I hab-" Aww. The cute little pixie that flew out from seemingly nowhere bit her tongue.
"Umm… you okay?" Big Bro asked.
"Soo cute!" I grabbed her in my hand, rubbing my face against her, to her annoyance. She was too small and weak to do anything about it, though.
"Stop! Staahp! I am the master of the labyrinp!" Aww. Bit her tongue again. "Bow down before me! For I am one of the Ten Great Demon Lords!" She tried to struggle out of my grip, but I held fast.
"Ohh. You're little Ramiris, aren't you? That's what Milim called you, at least."
"Precisely! I am the great Ramiris! So unhand me! …Wait. You know Milim? Who are you, exactly?"
"You're a demon lord?!" Big Bro exclaimed.