Through the rose bushes was the main garden, full of tall trimmed hedges that Nox could barely peek over and flowers of all sorts lining the numerous pathways. Trees rose up in the garden, their branches reaching for the clear sky above. They walked until the straight passageway opened up into another clearing, this one smaller than the one from before.
Without the overwhelming aroma of the roses, Nox could appreciate the smell of these flowers, lined with the fresh scent of grass. He let out a sneeze. Even if the sickening sweet mix of blood and roses had dispersed from the air, the other side still held a lot of pollen.
Roxanne gave an echoing sneeze. "It's like getting spring allergies all over again," she complained, rubbing her irritated nose.
Rose let out a small laugh, showing a happy expression for the first time. "But isn't it a shame not to enjoy this lovely view?" She bent down and touched the violet petal of a flower nearby. It bobbed happily under her fingers.
The peaceful moment was soon interrupted by the dolls.
'The next game is a treasure hunt!'
The dolls waved the players over to where a large two tier marble fountain rested in the middle of the area. Clear, crystal water sprouted from the top where a pair of birds were delicately carved, shimmering under the sun as it gushed merrily.
Nox wandered over with the girls in tow, standing next to the fountain as the dolls explained the new game. 'In this treasure hunt game, you need to look for a golden egg,' the brunette doll explained. 'You win if you can find it.'
'Or if you find the nightingale,' the black haired doll chimed in. 'It's the only black bird in the entire garden.'
The dolls snickered as if they just heard an amusing joke.
The other players shifted around, glancing around restlessly.
"Is there only one golden egg?" The thin boy that won the game from before raised this question.
The brunette doll responded, 'There are three golden eggs in the garden.'
Everyone looked at each other with faint hostility, stepping back warily. Nox watched their actions from the back of the crowd, assessing.
'It's a group event, so be sure to do your best~' The black haired doll giggled, twisting a strand of her life-like hair with a flourish.
Ah, there it was. The dolls always seemed to say the right things to let down their guard.
Some players shuffled back together, clinging onto a falsified hope. With a rustle, the circle of hedges parted again into three pathways.
Nox slowly coaxed his ability to the surface, ready to use it at a moment's notice. If there was a catch to the game, it was better to go in prepared, even if he didn't have complete control over his ability yet. He had a rose stem in his pocket; if there was a desperate situation, he could get blood by stabbing the thorns into his skin.
One by one, everyone chose a path and left.
Nox asked Roxanne and Rose which one they should head into.
"The middle one," Roxanne said immediately.
"All paths will eventually lead to the same place," Rose answered cryptically.
… The middle one it was.
'I almost forgot!' The black haired doll yelled at them as the hedges began to merge back.
Nox could barely hear her as the wall regenerated.
'You can die in this game, so be extra careful!'
The sentence echoed into silence as the hedge closed fully behind them, cut off from the dolls.
Nox, "...."
Roxanne coughed into her fist awkwardly.
Looking around, Nox saw that their path led them to a sea of flowers in soft shades of rose champagne and coral, gently brushing against the breeze as flower beds further down showed off a mix of sunset and amber. The sound of chirping was close by, a small symphony to match the peaceful surroundings.
"Weren't there other people that came in this direction earlier?" Roxanne asked in puzzlement.
Rose looked around. "The hedges should magically alter the pathways even if you choose the same path."
... Then what was the point of them choosing a path? The trio fell into an awkward silence.
"Should we start looking by that tree?" Nox asked, clearing his throat. He pointed to a giant tree near the next bend of the garden. A punch came out of nowhere towards his shoulder. Nox looked at his sister in confusion, rubbing his aching arm. She punched him directly on one of the large bruises left behind from the minotaur fight. "What?"
"Do you just assume all birds nest in trees?" she teased. Nevertheless, she started to walk in the direction he pointed in.
Rolling his eyes, Nox followed after.
Rose walked silently next to them, her eyes roaming over the beds of flowers. Her hands swung next to her side happily.
When they arrived at the base of the tree, the birds had stopped chirping. Nox tilted his head up, scanning the trees for any sign of movement. "Are they just going to come flying out?"
"Maybe they're waiting to see what we do?"
Nox reached out with his ability, concentrating on the branches swaying above them. Oddly enough, he didn't get a responding tug. Looking up at the silent tree, he said, "I don't sense anything there." Fay would be useful about now, Nox thought, thinking of the athletic duo. Even Chang Feng would probably be able to climb the tree with ease despite his big frame.
Roxanne, being the more athletic one of the group, volunteered to climb up the tree to check.
"What if you hurt your feet?" Nox argued, looking at her shoeless state. Because of the sudden teleportation, Roxanne didn't have time to put on her shoes when they came here.
She rolled her eyes, pointing at her socks. "Relax, I go rock climbing with my friends all the time. Bark won't be that painful with socks on." Her tawny eyes glinted mischievously at him. "Unless you want a go?"
"... No thanks. Be careful."
Nox watched vigilantly, paying attention to any sudden movements around him.
After Roxanne disappeared between the leaves, he waited for a few tense seconds before she shouted down, "I found a nest here! Th- ack!" With a shout, her sentence was cut short. In a flurry of heartbeats, the birds started to chirp furiously as Roxanne tumbled out of the tree.
"Rox!" Nox ran forward to catch her, grunting as her body slammed into his. Heavy.
The previously silent birds started to emerge one by one until a whole flock was present; they stared at the trio in eerie unison, flapping their wings in tandem.
Shit.
In all honesty, he should've expected it. The giant mechanic robot in that sea of limbs, and the dolls- they were all non-living beings. It would explain why he didn't feel anything with his ability when he reached out towards the trees.
He helped Roxanne stand up, yelling at Rose, "Run! Those birds are mechanical dolls!"
With renewed energy, the birds cawed and swooped in to attack, their sharp beaks pecking away mercilessly.
Their attack inevitably reminded Nox of the giant bat pterodactyl he fought before, forcing a shudder to run down his spine as he avoided their incoming attacks. Even with his efforts, sharp jabs hit his body in succession, strong enough to draw blood.
Blood… maybe he could practice with his ability here, if he didn't get pecked to death first.
Ahead of him, Roxanne was ducking and swearing as the birds stabbed at her hair and her clothes. "Who trained these birds?" she yelled, waving away the flapping wings only to be pecked fiercely on the finger. "Ow! Come here, you damn bird!"
The birds relentlessly continued their assault.
Wiping his bloody hand, Nox focused on the small drops of blood dripping from his new wounds. The numerous pecks had been enough to draw blood, but the trickle wasn't enough to do anything extreme like forming another crimson blade.
Regardless, it should be enough.
Forming the idea in his mind, Nox fashioned the thin droplets of blood into sharp blood needles and shot them towards the mechanic birds, letting out a short, disbelieving laugh.
So he could control his blood even if it separated from his body.
Remembering how easily the doll stopped the robot, Nox tried to spot a weak point. The first needle shot cleanly through its head, but the bird was unaffected. It opened its beak in a soundless cry and dived down again.
The next blood needle shot through the chest, successfully making the targeted bird crash to the ground. The other birds quickly filled in the gap, cawing in succession.
"A little help here, Nox- ack!"
He ran to his sister, directing his ability to shoot down the birds around them. Sadly, his spatial awareness wasn't the best so they had to endure the piercing stabs until the needles hit the right spot. At the very least, it gave him more blood to work with.
The end result was a small mountain of wooden bird corpses beneath his feet; because they were made out of materials and not flesh, they didn't look particularly out of place with the garden. The lack of blood from the birds gave the sense that they were simply toys left behind after some rough handling.
Nox's hands, bloody from the persistent pecking, could say otherwise. Thankfully they were easier to deal with than the minotaur and the bat monster.
"Cawwrk!"
Large talons aimed for the siblings with astonishing speed. Alarmed, Nox pulled Roxanne by the arm and they crashed onto the ground, avoiding the attack.
"Woah! Hey, don't just push me around like that!"
"Sorry for saving your face from being torn into shreds," Nox shot back, looking up at the attacker.
It was a hawk, cawing as it flapped over them. It stared at the pair with beady eyes, undistinguishable from a living bird on the outside.
"... I'm getting really tired of birds," Nox sighed as he stared forlornly at his new opponent. What he wouldn't give to have Chang Feng here just to smash the thing easily. It was only now that he realized companions like them must be hard to come by naturally- people with a good head on their shoulders and enough strength to stand their ground.
He took in a deep breath, focusing his ability in one spot. When the bird dived down again, talons extended, Nox shot two miniature blood blades through its wings, causing it to flap awkwardly in a spiral descent. He reached out with a hand, focusing on controlling another blade to stab it through the chest.
It looked like his guess was right; the bird made an abnormal jerking motion before it slumped onto the ground. It was a bit ironic, that the weak points of these mechanical birds were all located where the heart was on a real bird.
Finally, the chaotic surroundings died down. With a sigh, he fell on the ground, overcome by sudden fatigue as the adrenaline faded away, wincing as the motion pulled on the small wounds already starting to clot. His hair was sticking up in odd directions. Out of habit, he ran a hand through it to flatten it down, only to curse as he realized he just ran blood-ridden fingers through his bangs.
Roxanne didn't look any better, parts of her hoodie ripped away and other parts bloodstained. There was a look of exhaustion on her face. "This is… okay." Her eyes held a complicated emotion. "This…" She took a deep breath to calm down.
As expected of Roxanne. Her level headedness could rival someone who claimed that they've seen everything the world had to offer. Despite Roxanne's usual carefree personality, she had an astonishing ability to adapt.
Nox had seen it before, at their grandma's funeral where little Roxanne stood crying uncontrollably. The day after, she was back to her usual self despite her close relationship with the old woman.
When their mom accused their father of cheating on her with an old acquaintance, Roxanne watched their confrontation with a cold face. She was only in middle school then.
Sure enough, some people just had amazing mental strength when it came to these things. The same expression rested on her face now. "Talking dolls, giant robots, and dream-like tea parties didn't do it, but I'm finally convinced after bleeding a bit from mechanical birds." She let out a harsh laugh, giving Nox a derisive grin. He didn't know if it was directed at him or at herself.
She'd lost it. Nox looked at her with a blank face, wondering if Roxanne could be suffering from an identity crisis at the moment.
"... Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?"
"You look like a mess. As usual. Just with more blood."
"You're a bastard, Nox."
Nox snorted, pressing his fingers against a particularly deep wound. "Not as much as you."
A soft hum sounded from the side, breaking apart their back and forth exchange, directing Nox's attention to their blonde haired companion. He hadn't sensed her at all during the commotion- it was like her presence had been completely erased.
She stood amidst a flock of birds he had missed, humming an unknown melody as the birds watched with rapture. They moved closer obediently, listening to her song as the flowers swayed in the breeze.
Compared to the ruthlessness they showed Nox and Roxanne, the difference was too great. He watched with wide eyes as Rose finished her song, letting one of the birds land on her finger in a gentle flutter.
With the sunlight now directly streaming down on her, Nox noticed that her skirt was overlaid with a feather-like texture that curved around her. "You…" Nox started, feeling his mouth go dry.
Rose gave him her usual smile, sending the birds away as her song ended. She explained, "If you sing to them, they'll come without any harm."
That's why she was uninjured, because she knew the secret to pass this trial.
Or rather, she was the secret of this trial.