Weird Stories: Gothic Lolita Begins

"I'm not satisfied with this, but unfortunately... the 'boundary' is there, and I don't see any hope of crossing it."

Euphilia finally said this, her slow, hoarse, inhuman voice was as steady as ever, and there was no emotion such as frustration or sigh in it.

After a moment of silence, Carlodila asked her doubts:

"Why are you so honest all of a sudden? Didn't you try to fool me before?"

In response, Euphilia's tone was still calm: "Even if it becomes like this... my eyes can still see part of the 'truth'."

"I didn't believe that 'God' really existed, but your two unopened 'holy books'..." After a pause, Euphilia continued, "It made me understand that 'God' does exist, and what kind of existence it is."

"I see..." Carlodila nodded, and the topic jumped again, "So, do you have any suggestions for 'recovering the orb of the other shore'?"

Euphilia's plaster-like head shook slowly:

"Unfortunately... I can sense its existence, but I can't locate its coordinates, because it does not currently exist in the 'reality' of this world."

"Okay..." Carlodila sighed slightly disappointedly.

Then, she became energetic again, and her tone unconsciously carried a hint of coaxing:

"If - I mean if - I can successfully solve the matter of the 'Otherside Orb', are you willing to come with me?"

What is "a new village after a dark tunnel"? This is it!

I thought this trip was in vain, but I didn't expect to find a better employee in this unexpected place... Well, it may be two depending on the situation.

Two!

"If you mean 'leave this world'... I am willing." Euphilia said calmly without hesitation.

"... You decided so quickly?" Kalodila couldn't help but look sideways.

"I am a seeker of knowledge, but the 'boundaries' of the world limit my continued strength and hinder my pace of seeking the truth."

"The ocean of knowledge is vast and boundless, and there is certainly more than one way to seek the truth, but after seeing the wider world, I no longer have the patience to slowly promote the overall progress of 'civilization'..."

This sounds... a big shot!

Carlodila blinked, and while complaining in her heart, she felt more and more satisfied.

"I understand..." Carlodila looked at Euphilia's strange plaster-like body and asked as if to confirm, "If the 'Otherside Orb' is solved, can you handle it yourself in your current state?"

"Yes." Euphilia nodded slowly, "This state is reversible."

"That's good..." Carlodila nodded, and just as she raised her foot, she suddenly remembered something and slapped her head, "Oh, right! I almost forgot to ask..."

"?"

"According to what you said, most of the eight 'heroes' are actually representatives of various forces, so... are they really willing to be the 'core medium'?" Carlodila did not hide her curiosity.

Euphilia smiled.

Before this, Kalodila had no idea what a strange plaster-like humanoid figure would look like when it smiled. Now that she had seen it with her own eyes...

Well, it was even more strange, but surprisingly pretty good?

"It's not up to them." Euphilia said with a smile, her slow, unpleasant voice rising in pitch. "After all, this ritual formation only requires their bodies and souls to be 'alive' to a minimum."