Ray was entering the city with the lady he just met. She introduced herself as Lucy, and asked Ray to help her carry some of her luggage in return she would answer any questions Ray had until they reached the inn in the city.
As They were walking through the narrow ice walls Ray got a chance to take a good look at Lucy. At first glance Ray already had a feeling that she was a beauty but seeing her up close she exceeded all of his expectations. Lucy had a long red hair flowing down her back with a red rose ornament at the top of her head. She also had vivid red eyes that seemed to stare you down to the depth of abyss. With a symmetrical face and that calm look she looked captivating but innocent at the same time. She wore a long white dress with red ribbons that highlighted her beauty even more. She looked as beautiful as Saint Sera if not more.
As if sensing his gaze on her she turned to look at Ray with a questioning gaze. To avoid any awkwardness he started asking his questions.
"So.. what's up with those life like statues?"
She glanced at me for few more moments before turning back and started answering.
"They are not just lifelike they are actually the ones responsible for the protection of this city"
After hearing her he was shocked, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
"Then.. why didn't they.. like attack us"
"Could it be that they can sense humans?"
Ray asked as he got a little curious.
"Umm.. something like that.. I guess"
Lucy made a hesitant expression for a moment but soon calmed down and returned to that calm and kind expression. Ray noticed that too but didn't pursue any further as she seemed hesitant to speak of this topic.
As Ray was going to continue his questioning the narrow ice wall ended and what greeted him was a city square. A lot of people could be seen busy installing something that looked like a light bulb seemingly made out of ice and other could be seen building a platform out of ice. As they moved ahead many people glanced at him with weird expressions most probably due to his attire. Ray had his face turned into tomato from this utter embarrassment. To forget his situation he again asked.
"Are they having festival of some sort? The city looks so festive right now"
Lucy too glanced at the busy crowed and answered.
"Yes.. Isn't this the reason you came here.. To challenge the trial?"
"What do you mean by trial?"
Ray asked with a amused look. A trial? what was it about?, what will he get out of it? he had many wild thoughts running in his mind.
"So you don't know.. This trial is related to a local legend so you should try asking a local about it to better understand it"
She said while keeping an amused expression.
"And about the festival.. You remember those ice sculptures? Its related to them"
Ray was immediately interested in this festival. Anything related to those ice sculptures had to be special.
"How so?"
"Well, they are-"
Lucy shook her head and after a second corrected herself.
"They were once living and breathing people"
Hearing those words nearly scared his soul out of his body. He hesitated for a while and asked.
"Do they sacrifice our soul or something"
Lucy glared at me and suddenly made a mischievous expression at me.
"Sort of"
If before Ray was just paranoid now he was really concerned.
'Is it too late to run?'
Looking at my scared expression Lucy suddenly laughed.
"They do need a soul sacrificed but it wont be yours Ray, They sacrifice the souls of warriors who died during battle"
Hearing those words finally made me relaxed. He wanted to ask more questions but they arrived at the inn.
"See you during the festival"
After saying those words Lucy suddenly left.
'I should probably get dressed properly'
Ray didn't want another round of embarrassment after all. As he was navigating the city He noticed something spectacular. everything in this city was made up of ice be it the streets, houses , local structures everything. It looked almost dizzying. He finally saw a shop with a sign of clothes and a sewing needle. That had to be a textile store.
As he entered the shop via the ice door which was surprisingly not cold at all he looked inside. A middle aged man with glasses seemed to have been maintaining clothes until disturbed by Ray. He glanced at Ray and gave a warm smile.
"How may I help you sir"
Surprisingly he didn't seemed to be affected by my attire at all. Was it his professionalism or he simply didn't care?
"I need some clothes, My budget is around 40 divine points"
40 divine points wasn't a small sum for clothes. For reference he only needed 0.5 divine points to buy that bowl of noodles. He had to invest this much because anything made in this world was made by an awakened hence the prices.
The tailor nodded and started giving him some options. Ray particularly liked the one with long sleeved shirt with a custom jacket to suit the design. It came with a whole set including some ornaments. After changing to his new attire totally satisfied he was about to leave after paying.
But then He remembered Lucy suggesting to ask locals about the trial and the tailor seemed friendly enough to ask that.
"Can you tell me about the festival that's going on"
The tailor looked at me his expressing turning to a one of sorrow.
"You want to know about the trial?"
"Yes"
Ray answered unhesitatingly.
"Hmm.. Where do I begin.. you must have seen the carvings on the gate when you entered right?"
Ray nodded to his question. Indeed he had seen some carvings on the gate while entering It seemed to have inscribed some happenings of the past.
"Do you remember the contents of the carving"
I tried to remember for a while but still shook my head at the end.
"No.. you see.. I was in a rush so I didn't have enough time to look at it properly"
The tailor nodded then sighed as his eyes glanced at the void as he recounted the story.