Farah''s POV

    My scenery around me suddenly changes again.

    -It''s not it... (Farah)

    It''s still the same as the hut where I first find the child and the mother.

    -The mother... (Farah)

    I look down and find the mother still lying alone on the ground. But she is closing her eyes and looks like she is having a hard time. I also notice my body has become normal again.

    -I can''t find the child. (Farah)

    I look around the room, and can''t still find the trace of the child inside the room. There is only one conclusion I can come up with.

    -Maybe she is outside. (Farah)

    I shake my head and leave that topic out of my head for now. I turn to the mother on the bed and try touching her.

    -Will the time flow once again if I touched her body? (Farah)

    I have no choice but to test again, since it will be the child or the mother who can trigger this phenomenon. I slowly put my hand on her forehead.

    -Hot! Is she sick? (Farah)

    I keep my hand on her forehead for a while.

    -The temperature doesn''t show any sign of going down at all. (Farah)

    I nod as I put my hand away from the mother.

    -So, someone really stops the time in this village. (Farah)

    But if there is a magic circle of time installed in this village, how could I not notice any fluctuation in the mana?

    -Urgh! (Farah)

    I can''t understand anything. The phenomenon inside the dungeon is not something I can explain with common sense.

    -But everything still froze when I touched the mother. That means the child was the one who triggered that phenomenon. (Farah)

    I sigh since I can''t help the mother in her current state.

    -Let''s find that child. (Farah)

    I go out of the hut and decide to wander near it.

    -She is not here. Maybe she is inside the village? (Farah)

    That is the only possibility that I can come up with. Since the child can''t be too far from here with her physical.

    -Muh, I need to walk to the village again to confirm my theory. (Farah)

    I make up my mind and head to the village again. I am quite tired because the curse had reduced my physical to a terrible state.

    -Umuuu, almost there. Huh, Is that...? (Farah)

    On the way to the village, I find a familiar figure.

    -That is the child I found in the hut. Huh? (Farah)

    The child is not alone, but there are other children beside her.

    -Is...she being bullied? (Farah)

    The child lies on the ground and shields herself by shrinking her body. I hastily reach out and touch the child. Once again, the time came back to this world when I touched her.

    -Hey, witch!

    -Where do you get that clothes?

    -Urghh... (Little Girl)

    The other children keep kicking at the child''s body. I try to stop them, but I can''t touch them in this state. At this moment, I can hear a sneering voice in my head.

    -Tchh... (Hale)

    -Hale? (Farah)

    -I''m here, Farah. I have watched this drama until now. (Hale)

    -Drama? What do you mean by that, Hale? (Farah)

    -This world, everything you have seen so far, is made artificially. (Hale)

    -Well, we all know this is the work of the goddess. (Farah)

    -That''s right. But all those puppets you have seen so far. Do you think these puppets are much different from ordinary humans? (Hale)

    Puppet? Does Hale mean these people?

    -...I think they act like ordinary humans. (Farah)

    -That''s right. The goddess barely injects the fake memory into them. They are just puppets who will dance and die in her hand. (Hale)

    I stared at the bullied child and felt bitter in my heart.

    -You want to save the child, right? (Hale)

    -... (Farah)

    -That child was like us in the old time. Those guys must have let you see some fragments already... (Hale)

    -I... (Farah)

    -You must feel sympathy when you look at her. (Hale)

    -Yeah...Can I...? (Farah)

    -I know what you want to ask, Farah. But the answer will be no...You can''t save them. (Hale)

    -Why? (Farah)

    -The little girl in front of you and the people in this village. (Hale)

    -Yes? (Farah)

    -They are destiny to die the moment this dungeon collapse. Let me show you... (Hale)

    Hale asks me to give her control over the body. I don''t hesitate at all and pass my body control to her.

    -Let''s start with a simple experiment. (Hale)

    Hale reached out to one of the children and said out loud.

    -Conquer! (Hale)

    The energy comes out from Hale''s palm and swallows the child.

    -Let''s see... (Hale)

    A golden life suddenly comes out from the child''s body and disperses Hale''s energy. The child turns to us and speaks in a monotone voice.

    -First caution: Don''t intercept the subject in the trial without permission. (???)

    Madeus