Part 50: With Apologies To Lewis Carroll

It should be noted that Lawrence's entry in the library has changed now that we know his true identity. We also have new entries for Sarah and Bishop Jovis.

Once you feel ready for this trial or whatever it is, just tell Bishop Jovis.


But the altar is right here.


And there's an Evasion Down 2 hidden behind it.


Okay, the altar Lawrence was talking about is actually behind the chapel, through this metal door at the back.


It leads into an inner shrine.


By hugging the wall and moving counter-clockwise toward Jovis, we bump into Ring Soul!



.........



...Nothing to say?
Um...yeah... Listen, I've been thinking, and...I was outta line before. I didn't realize it was so hard on you, being the Ring Soul. I just wanted to be friends.

Holy cow, he even got the name right this time.

...No, it's my fault. I'm sorry. I'm so embarrassed I lost it like that.

Aw, everyone's friends again. Group hug!

Don't worry about it. Just do what you do! Like normal!
Oh, okay! Um... Ahem, ahem! Uh... I am the Ring Soul... The will of the Judgment Ring, the administrator of all fate... The world drowns in its own history... And in this time, you must carry the burden of fate...
Jeez, you can talk, though!
Huh?
Um...nothing! Nothing at all! Please, continue!

Good save. Don't want to do anything to make the shinies stop coming, after all.

I can see it... I can see your future... This I entrust to you...

You got Attack Boost

At this point, the only ones with slots left are the mages, but I'm going to save this for now. There's still one party member we haven't recruited yet, you see.

Ha ha!
The power to command the Judgment Ring. Such power will help you carve your way through destiny... I will appear to you again, to bestow upon you more power... But beware! I am always watching... Watching to see if you are truly the one to command destiny...
Hey, Ring Soul!
What is it?
So what's your wife's name, anyway?
M-my wife's name?! What's that got to do with anything?!
Just tell me! We're friends now, right? Is she cute?
She's called... She's called Miyabi. She's very young and very beautiful.

It is at this point that I started to picture Ring Soul as a middle-aged Japanese salary-man. Why his job consists of telepathically pestering Yuri, I have no idea.

Oh, Miyabi, is it?! Any kids?
J-just one... Aya. She just started to call me papa!
Aya! Great name! Sounds like the name of a star! Maybe she'll be a singer or something when she's older?! Miyabi and Aya, huh?! Say hello to them for me, okay?
Sure, okay. See you, then!



That's more like it!


Aaaanyway, moving on.




And night finally falls on Goreme Valley.


Bishop Jovis prepares for the ritual that will let Yuri and Karin search Yuri's soul for Amon.



My children, all I can give to you is my prayers. May God grant you strength.



Karin, there's still time. Give it up!
Oh, come on, it's too late.
Yeah. But Karin, you don't really wanna...see the inside of my heart.



Something embarrassing there?
Bite me.



Maybe you just...wanted to hold hands with the old man.
Bite me.


Jovis finishes his chant, and everything turns purple.


Karin and Yuri close their eyes...





Yeah. Welcome to the inside of my soul! It's really screwed up, huh?!

To be honest, it was really screwed up even before the Mistletoe.


Karin finally notices the Creepy Tree™.

Hey, that's you growing out of that thing!
Yup. Ever since I was stabbed by that Mistletoe thingy. Looks like he's sleeping, huh?
Yeah... He's alive... Looks like he's having a really good sleep.




Where we need to go is the door directly behind the tree.


Jeanne is there.

Nice to meet you! ...But I guess we've met once before.



Y-you're...!



...Y-yes, that's right.
I almost didn't recognize you out of uniform. I guess you really like to tart it up when you're not on duty, huh?
What?! No! It's just... This was the only thing I had to change into! It was an emergency!
And you haven't passed through any cities where you could buy something different, I suppose?
.........



Well, she's a curious little ghost. She says she's looking for something here in my heart.
A while ago, I heard this big rumbling sound coming from that creepy tree. And then I heard a horrible scream.
Maybe that was when Rasputin was putting that spell on you?
...Yeah, probably. He he, I give up. I don't think there's anything I can do about that curse...



You're going to get Amon next, right?
Yeah.
Good luck! And I'll try to find out more about the creepy tree, maybe find a way to break the curse.





...I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say about your village...
I understand. You're trying to find a new way to live too, aren't you? I just know you're going to find it! Your true path...


And with that, Jeanne disappears again.


The next place to go is the Door of the God of Wrath.


As they start to go through, Yuri suddenly doubles over in pain.



No problem! Just a little tightness in my chest...
Because we're trying to go against the curse, right?
...I guess. He he. At least the weird headaches haven't started yet.

Yuri...


And we suddenly find ourselves inside a palace. Welcome to Mirror Castle!


The map is fairly simple.


The second we move, a fight is triggered.


It's just with one of the normal random encounter monsters for the area, Ogoroja. The other two monsters roaming the castle are Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

The fight itself is easy. After the fight, however...



Are you okay? Is the pain really bad?



You're...Karin, right...?
What do you mean?! Of course I'm Karin! What's wrong with you?
I dunno. I just couldn't get your name out all of a sudden. Trying to remember makes my head hurt. It feels like my memory's getting more and more hazy. Ugh, I feel really sick.
Yuri...



Ha ha. I think I'll pass on that!


Anyway, let's hurry up and get this over with before Yuri's brain melts.


The layout here is pretty straight forward. Basically, just follow the linear hallway until you reach the door at the end, ignoring the mirror for now.


This opens into another hallway. Again, just follow it to the end.


At the end, there's an open archway on the right.


There's another door just past the opening.


My, isn't this cozy. The blue door at the north just leads to a dead end for now, so let's explore the right side of the room.


Hello, what's this?



Well, it's inside my heart, after all. We've got to expect things to be kind of screwed up. Look out. Here they come.


This triggers a special fight. Not that it's actually any more difficult than the regular encounters.


It's special because Yuri and Karin are fighting...Yuri and Karin. The fight's a cakewalk, however, because the mirror doppelgangers only have the starting equipment.


They also rip you off!




The mirror shifts...


...and teleports us to the other side.


Then the Cheshire Bishop shows up.


Oh, I could make so many "Alice In Wonderland" jokes if this level had been in the first game. "Yuri In Wonderland" just doesn't have the same ring. Plus, I really don't want to see him in a blue dress and apron.

The mirror path is a single ray of light. There's no turning back.




Basically, we can use the mirrors to travel between the two sides, but we can't use the same mirror twice in a row.



Yes. Looks like I did the right thing, Karin, sending you. Here, now let me do something to help you.

HP and MP fully restored!

This is a sealed field in your heart. To get back, you must break Amon's seal. Come to me whenever you need healing.
Thank you, Bishop.


Leaving through the blue doors on the north side of this room leads to a dead-end hallway. There's a chest at the end with a Third Key.


Then we turn around and go all the way south to the mirror-image of the entrance room. There's a chest here with the Glass Key inside.


Now that we have the Glass Key, we can use one of the two mirrors in the hall to get back to the "real" side of Mirror Castle (after fighting Yuri and Karin's doubles again).


Then it's back to the large room and through the blue doors.


This time, the hallway ends in a pair of doors. We have the key, so we can go through them. I wonder what waits on the other side?