Labyrinth: Great Farche Labyrinth

The entrance to the ruins should be close...

But the situation here is much worse than I imagined.

There are monsters and Suin rampaging everywhere. It's total carnage...

It's the work of that black mass in the distance. The Mystic Sphere.

The Mystic Sphere's energy has gotten stronger since we arrived.

It's almost like it's been waiting for us...

If this energy, which sends Humans, Suin, and monsters mad without prejudice, spreads across Ritania, this land will become a living hell.

Ras, I want to warn the Suin living around Farche Frontier about this.

This area needs to be sealed off... Will you be alright on your own?

My own? Mercedes and Arky will be with me.

Go tell the Suin. This is an emergency.

Thanks for understanding. I'll see you soon.

Alright, shall we get going too?

Kyuu... I hope the berserk Suin and monsters don't see us...

Ras.

Do you feel it too, Mercedes?

Yes, someone is following us.

Ah, I thought so too. And I get the feeling I know who it is.

Yes, in all likelihood...

I'm sure it's someone who was after the treasures in this ruin!

Considering the hostility I'm feeling now that we're this close to the ruin entrance, I'd say that's obvious.

Shall we go say hello?

Wait!

Stop!

We were waiting for you, Mirsa.

Huh? You knew it was me? Then this shouldn't take too long.

What won't?

Don't play dumb, I'm talking about how we're going to divide the treasure.

You really are a treasure hunter through and through.

But we didn't come here for the treasure so we really don't mind how you want to divide it.

Really? Then I can have it all?

More importantly, weren't you the one who told us it's dangerous here?

But you still followed us here?

Didn't you see the berserk Suin and monsters on the way here? It's dangerous, you should go back.

I thought I should at first too, but weren't you fine even when facing that strange woman?

So I thought if I stayed with you... Ugh!

Huh? What's wrong?

Ugh! M-my head!

Ugh... Ahh...!

Arghhh!

Ras! Mirsa is losing herself!

Damn it! Get ready for a fight!

Uh...

She's woken up, Ras.

Ah... My head hurts...

Are you alright?

What just happened? I remember a terrible headache...and then nothing.

So memory is affected as well...

Mirsa, you fell under the effects of the Mystic Sphere and lost control of yourself. We just managed to stop you.

Lost control of myself? Like the monsters and Suin?

Yes. We went to great lengths to incapacitate you. We didn't want to hurt you in the process.

Ah...I'm sorry about that. I thought I would be okay if I was close to the Heir.

Do you realize how dangerous it is now? Your safety is more important than some treasure. Head back to where it's safe.

I think that would be for the best too. There are too many riches in this world to die here.

Thank you for saving me. I'm in your debt. I'll repay you one day.

I'll look forward to it.

Then I'll see you next time!

Now, shall we enter the ruins?

So these are the ruins...

Outside wasn't so bad, but inside it's a complete mess!

From the broken pillars and shrapnel everywhere I believe this destruction was man-made.

It seems that way... We aren't the first people to come here.

Huh?

The Mystic Sphere's energy has gotten weaker. I wonder what's happened?

Ras?

What's up, Master? Do you sense something?

No, nothing.

Let's check further inside.

Ras! There are Ilryos Church cultists and Unknown directly ahead of us.

They must be the ones who arrived before us. Phantom's prediction that there would be Unknown here was right as well.

They seem to have gone berserk due to the energy as well... Arky's terrified!

So not only is there the black energy of the Mystic Sphere but also the Unknown who cause mental confusion to anyone nearby...

Being able to maintain your sanity in this environment would be abnormal.

How this all happened is beginning to become clearer.

When the black energy weakened, the Ilryos Church cultists entered the ruins.

After coming into contact with the Unknown they became confused, and then the black energy strengthened once again. They were assaulted from two sides.

I assume that the cultists caused the damage to the ruins while fighting in their confused state.

Ras? Shall we deal with them?

We must. Let's bring them back to their senses!

Ugh... Who's there...

Who are you?

I have abandoned everything the world and the Goddess have ever given me...including my name.

He still seems confused... Maybe the Mystic Sphere has already eroded his mind.

It's likely he'll go berserk again while in this state. Before that I have to...

Ugh...berserk?

Did you say I would go berserk?

Hahaha!

If that allows me to destroy this world, abandoned by the Goddess!

Then I would gladly let rage consume me!

After everything, did you believe I would take the hand of a believer of the Goddess just for fear of losing my sanity?!

The Goddess has abandoned us!

I will show you that only darkness is freedom!

Ugh!

Not...yet! I cannot lose to some nameless wanderer like this...!

Stop. You can't fight in this state.

I don't know what happened to you, but I'll tell you one thing.

The Goddess...Diche never abandoned you.

Not even for a moment.

You mock me with such lies!

Ugh...!

It isn't a lie. If Diche had truly abandoned this world, it would have been lost long ago.

And the fact that I am here is the greatest evidence that Diche has not abandoned you.

Your face is familiar. Could you be...the Heir of the Covenant?

Why did the Goddess bring our savior back to us so late? Why now!?

At our most desperate, when we needed her the most!

Why was she silent?!

I...

I believed in the Goddess. Believed in and pleaded for her mercy...

Right now, with the castle abandoned by the king and the moment of the Archdemon's advent right in front of us!

Castle...abandoned by the king? Archdemon's advent right in front of us?

Does he not know what time this is? Is he still stuck back in the Archdemon War?

I know now what this sense of discomfort is...

Maybe every living thing in this labyrinth is an illusion made by somebody...

What happened here...

It's like we've entered another world!

This isn't natural...

It's as if a smaller dimension was placed in a larger one...

Have the Celestials projected another world here?

That Celestial being who's so similar to Mercedes... They must want to amuse themselves on a much bigger level than we originally thought.

But why did they take on Mercedes's appearance...?

There are monsters ahead!

They're different from the monsters we've been encountering so far!

It's possible that the people turned mad by the Mystic Sphere are being turned into monsters.

If the Suin on the surface turn into monsters...

We have to end this before that happens!

The monsters' leader has appeared!

Tsk! And the Mystic Sphere's has gotten stronger too!

At a time like this!

Kyuu...? My head? No, my entire body suddenly hurts... Kyuuu.

Arkasus?

He's showing signs of going berserk! It's even affecting Guardians...!

Ras! I sense the Mystic Sphere's power within the monsters' leader as well!

Let's deal with it first! Quickly!

Arky? Are you alright?

Kyuu... I feel much better now.

That was close... I didn't realize the dark energy was this powerful.

I'm glad you're safe.

We have to hurry. If a power capable of turning even Guardians mad spreads throughout the land...

The entire world might collapse into war.

We have to stop this.

Let's hurry!

The monsters' leader has appeared!

Tsk! And the Mystic Sphere's power has grown stronger too!

Ugh...? What is this pain... Agh!

Master! Mercedes is acting strange!

Mercedes... She's being affected as well!

Master! The monsters' leader is also giving off an energy similar the Mystic Sphere's power!

Out of the frying pan and into the fire! We'll deal with the monsters first! Quickly!

Mercedes, are you alright?

Ah, yes, I'm alright now.

Ras, I'm sorry for worrying you.

No, it's alright. I'm just thankful that you managed to maintain hold of yourself.

Ras...

I'm glad you're okay, Meru!

We have to hurry. If a power that can send even Wraiths mad spreads across the land...

It might signal the beginning of another Archdemon War, or rather, a Wraith War.

Let's hurry!

Hmm? This feeling...

I'm impressed. I wanted to scare you, but you've already noticed I'm here.

You...!

We meet again.

I didn't come here to fight you, so no need to worry.

I'm only a projection this time, so I doubt you could even attack me.

Why have you come here?

I got bored of just watching.

I knew the Heir of the Covenant would manage to break through my special space.

That wasn't a natural space.

It was like an extra dimension had been added on top of another...

You understand well.

From back there to where you stand now, and where you'll be going after this, they're all spaces that I created.

There's just so much raw material in this land after all.

Since I created this space I can do anything I want here. And destroying a space I made is easy as pie too.

I wonder what would happen to you all if I destroyed this space right now? If I really wanted to, it would be so easy to imprison you all.

But will you?

Just trapping you here is no fun, of course.

I've always been interested in the power of the Heir of the Covenant.

I want to see that power again. Do you understand?

What do you mean?

You've always been interested? You want to see my power again?

Have we ever met before?

And what if I escape from here?

If you do, I think I might turn the entirety of the Farche Frontier into a new space.

If I were you, I wouldn't risk it. But maybe the Heir of the Covenant is willing to make that choice?

Unlikely. I want to know more about you as well.

Haha, then we have an understanding.

This is a space I made especially for you.

Will you show me what you can do?

What's that...? It looks similar to one of Reingar's machines...

Yes. But it isn't the same.

It looks older than Reingar's technology and yet it seems more refined and advanced...

I guess this means she can create even life and machines within her spaces...

I've never heard of anything capable of this on Orbis.

She's scary. She isn't normal at all.

That Suin...

It's the Suin who got in our way in Savara, Purrgis!

But why is he here?

...

He isn't talking.

Something's wrong...

He's different from the Purrgis we met in Savara.

I think so too. It's possible that's...

A being created by the rumored Moonlight Effect?

But something is different...

Agh! He's charging!

No time to think too hard about it!

He disappeared like smoke!

It must have been an illusion...

I could have sworn he was real... Was that an illusion?

No, it was real.

It just returned to being an illusion once its time was up...

An illusion with mass...

We're in a much more dangerous situation than I thought. Let's head to the final area quickly.

An Elf? There is a female Elf ahead of us.

Why is there an Elf here?

...

She didn't look like a normal Elf...

She's clearly alive, but I felt no life force coming from her... I don't understand...

Agh! She's charging!

No time to worry about it!

The Elf disappeared like smoke...

It must have been an illusion...!

Truly...this is beyond what I imagined. I didn't even think it might be an illusion.

I could have sworn it was real...

This space must be able to make even illusions real.

If the entirety of the Farche Frontier is like it is here now...

Then it would be the beginning of a distorted world where reality and fantasy coexist.

We should hurry. Let's head to the next area.

What in the world is this place...

It's like we've entered an entirely new world.

Is this... Have we come all the way to Outer Space...

You've finally arrived. I expected as much, but you still deserve some praise. How was everything?

This is the first space I created after arriving on this world.

The surprises never end.

Why don't you stop with the tricks now?

Oh, I'm just getting started.

If you can defeat me, I'll consider it.

Do your best. I'll be waiting at the end of this world.

She's gone.

Mercedes, how do you feel, or rather, how are you right now? Did you feel anything?

Nothing out of the ordinary...

But...

But?

When I see that peculiar being, who looks so much like me, I do feel something strange. It's like seeing another version of myself...

Hmm...

Ras? Have you figured something out?

It's still just a theory.

But tracking down that Celestial being is more important right now. Let's hurry.

...

Ras, ahead of us!

Another illusion...

No, it must be real...

That isn't a simple illusion...

Considering they disappear without even seeing their original, they can't be Moonlight Shades... But then what are they...?

Ce...ci...li...a...

Agh! The illusion is talking?!

Isn't this the first one that's talked to us?!

It definitely isn't an ordinary illusion.

Let's...fight...

We can't avoid it!

Here it comes!

Again it disappeared like a puff of smoke...

But it talked this time. Like you said, it can't be an ordinary illusion.

Indeed...she said she could do whatever she wanted here.

She has to be hiding something...

Ras?

I think...we've been overthinking things.

What do you mean?

The illusions. I think they are illusionary copies of real people.

Otherwise there's no way they could feel so real.

Real people...

I think all the illusions we've encountered exist somewhere on Orbis or perhaps even another world.

This is starting to get messy...

We meet again.

I can't sense any immediate danger when I look at you like this.

I stopped by here and there hoping that there might be some more usable pieces, but I just realized that there isn't anything better than you.

Pieces?

Didn't I tell you?

All the beings you met here, they're all things that I saw on other worlds and recreated. Didn't you realize?

So my theory was correct...

I thought the Heir of the Covenant would realize right away. I overestimated you.

Then you probably don't know that this space is just another version of the land where you live.

Another version?

Yes. Everything here exists on another world and was copied and brought here.

Or rather, they were copied from the Orbis that exists in a different world line.

Another world line? You mean you can travel between world lines at will?

Come and amuse me if you want to know more.

You've finally come. Welcome to the end of the world.

I'm surprised. Not only is the space you created massive, but it's something you copied from the Orbis of another world line.

How many different Orbises exist on different world lines?

Who can say. Even I haven't been able to visit them all.

I've only put my favorites to memory so that I can visit them whenever I like.

Countless versions of Orbis... Is this also a result of Diche's weakening?

Possibly? I wonder? It's about time you showed me your strength, Heir of the Covenant.

You've exceeded my expectations. Where do you find such strength?

I'll ask you again.

Turn this place and the Farche Frontier back to their original states.

I can't do that in my current state. My power is limited here.

But as a reward for defeating me, I will weaken the thing you call the Mystic Sphere.

Its power will no longer escape beyond the Farche Frontier.

At least we don't have to worry about that.

I had thought our battle would be dull, but I'm glad my expectations were betrayed.

I'll leave this space and the illusions here for you. Have fun with them in future too.

You're finally leaving?

I've had enough fun here. It's time to visit another world.

She's gone.

Is she really gone? I don't trust her.

At least she left quietly.

Once the Goddess's power has been restored, we should be able to return this place to its original state. But we'll have to leave it until then.

That was so tiring... When I lost myself... Kyuukyuu!

I was also so...

But I'm glad we're all safe.

For now...let's head back.