A/N Word Count: 4704. Also trigger warning for this chapter.
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"Remember my dear." Said a deep motherly voice, "be sure to make plenty of friends. It'll be hard to find good people out there but once you do, you'll form a bond that will live forever. Okay, Elizabeth?"
Unlike most fakes who are usually given multiple fragmented memories of their original counterpart,
that one single line, spoken by that deep mother voice,
was the one and only memory that Elizabeth0466 was ever given.
Because of those words, she always wanted friends.
For as long as she remembered, it was her only desire.
It wouldn't matter who or where they were from.
Her dream was to make as many friends as possible.
Fortunately, she came into existence with a group of other Elizabeth fakes who all looked exactly like her.
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"Alright ladies, let's practised our fan holding."
The original Elizabeth's skill tree is called "Villainess". Their starter weapon is just a solid wooden hand fan that couldn't even fold and was useless in battle. It also didn't start with any combats like the Angel or Paladin skill tree so Elizabeth fakes in particular tend to even more defenceless.
Despite that, this small group of 6 Elizabeth fakes sat around in a circle on the grass and summoned their starter weapons.
Their leader took the time to observe and critique each person in the group, "Good. Good. Good. Ahh, a bit closer to your chin, closer. Closer. Good! Good."
She was elected as the leader since she was older, more knowledgable and most important, she had more fragmented memories about the original than others. To the other five Elizabeth fakes, she was like a mentor. So they always followed her like a small herd of sheep following their shepherd.
"Does the original hold it with her left or right hand?" One one of them asked.
"I think it was the right."
"Really? I thought she was left handed?"
"She's ambidextrous."
"Ooooohh!"
Elizabeth0466 was the newest member of this group. She sat with them and copied whatever she was instructed to do. She would occasionally look left and right to check whether she was doing it right or not. Elizabeth0466 never fully understood the purpose of these activities but regardless, she found it fun. If it meant she could spend more time with her friends, then she was determined to be the best Elizabeth she could be.
"Alright, let's practise our speeches next," Said the mentor Elizabeth fake, "let's see how much you've memorised."
They were a travelling group. Travelling with only one purpose. To visit every place that was related to the original Elizabeth. Whether it be the first place she defeated a B-rank monster, her origins or even minors places where she had just visited.
One of these places was a certain remote town. Located in the middle of this town was a large silver statue. It's said that the original hero Elizabeth was against it, but the townspeople built it regardless in honour of her helping them out in the past.
It was meant to be a sign of appreciation but nowadays, it's a tourist attraction for Elizabeth fakes. This location had long been tainted by their unending desire to become just like her.
Elizabeth0466 and her group were no exception. They all stood in front of the statue, arms held out and their palms pressed flat against the base of the statue.
As they did, their mentor explained, "It's said that this place used to be a ghost town, riddled with debt and poverty. But then the original Elizabeth came along and solved all of their problems. So they built this statue to honour her name. Now focus... what do you feel?"
The six of them went silent with five of them closing their eyes so they could over analyse how smooth the texture felt when they rubbed their hands against it. Some of them were pushing their hands against it a bit too hard as if it was going to unlock something. Even though it's been weeks since they last unlocked a new skill.
"I-I think I'm feeling something." One of the Elizabeth fakes said, most likely mistaking their hunger for something else.
"Good. Good. Cling onto that feeling. Be in one with your inner Elizabeth."
Once again, Elizabeth0466 didn't fully understand the purpose of this but she enjoyed looking at how excited the others were. Her hands may have been on the statue but her eyes were focused only on her friends. When they were happy, she was happy.
"Hey!" It was a pair of low ranked foot solider. Some of the civilians must've reported them, "Get away from there!"
While giggling, the group hurriedly ran away. They technically hadn't done anything wrong so the guards couldn't arrest them but that only seemed to make the humans even more spiteful.
"Bunch of cockroaches." One of the guards hissed.
Elizabeth0466 was the only one who heard that since the rest were way too excited with their "achievement".
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-o-o-
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They were hungry. They always were. 'But their hunger to be like the original was always stronger', at least that's what their leader always said with a growling stomach. Rather than food, their hunger was always filled up by their many sessions of theory crafting about different aspect of Elizabeth's life. Although, 'distracted' would be a more accurate term to describe it.
As the night sky took over, the group fortunately found a nearby camp of fakes, similar to the one located near the capital city (Bostina) but smaller. The ground was wet and mushy but it was the safest option they had so they decided to spend the night here. Other groups of travelling fakes would come and go as they pleased with each group mostly minding their own business.
Elizabeth0466 tugged on the mentor's sleeve and pointed at another nearby group that piqued her interest.
"Hmm? Oh those are fakes. They're just like us, but they want to be like the other original heroes." The mentor answered casually before stopping abruptly. A slight frown appeared on her face, "Wait hang on, have you never seen them before?"
Elizabeth0466 shook her head. It didn't seem like she was lying. There would be no reason to lie about that anyway.
"That's weird, we've interacted with a lot of other fakes in the past so..." The mentor tried hard to think of an explanation as to why Elizabeth0466 wasn't aware of the existence of other types of fakes before giving up and just shrugging it off, "Oh well, at least now you know."
Once they found a suitable place, they set up their small ramshackle tents before seating in a circle to continue their discussions.
"What's Earth?" One of the other Elizabeth fakes asked when the topic randomly came up.
Elizabeth0466 huddled in even closer.
"You don't have any memories of it?" Asked their mentor.
Half of the group shook their heads. It seems all of the fragmented memories they had on the original Elizabeth were centred around the hero's life in Elacia. As for Elizabeth0466, she was only given a single small memory of her original counterpart. This was quite odd since most fakes usually have multiple. This meant that she never had much to contribute whenever it came to their discussion and she was always the one learning from others.
Someone else in the group asked, "I thought she was born in Bostina?"
"Well yes she was. But she originally was born on Earth. Then she died on Earth and then she reincarnated here in Elacia."
This answer only made them more confused. Elizabeth0466 and two others in the group titled their heads like a trio of curious cats.
"Shouldn't we go there then?" After all, if they were wanted to be like the real Elizabeth, surely they would want to go to her original birthplace. It was fair question but with an obvious answer.
"We can't. it's a completely different world. No one's been able to travel there, not even the original heroes themselves." Their leader answered.
Another answer that didn't really answer anything for them. But rather than asking why, they were more interested in-
"What's it like over there?" One of them asked with eager eyes.
Elizabeth0466 found herself leaning in even closer.
The mentor paused, "Ahh... Well I myself don't have any memories of it. But I have heard from other Elizabeth fakes who do have some memories of what Earth is like. I heard the people over there use giant fast snakes to travel everywhere."
The entire group responded with multiple differently timed "oooooooos" as each one of them pictured a completely different image of what a "giant travelling snake" might look like.
At that moment, two of other fakes in the group slowly rose their hands and said, "Actually, the both of us have a single memory of Earth."
Within an instant, the attention of everyone else in the group went towards the two of them.
"Really? Tell us! Tell us!" Even the mentor was intrigued. The slightest hint or clue was always enough to build up their hopes and dreams.
The two closed their eyes and focused on the memory they were given when they first came into existence.
"I see a sky."
"What does the sky look like?"
"Ah, it looks... exactly like Elacia's."
"So how do you know it's a sky from Earth?"
The Elizabeth fake frowned at herself as if she too was questioning her own mind, "I don't know, actually... I just know it is."
The second Elizabeth fake who was focusing on their memory then spoke up, "I see... a bed."
This really got everyone excited. They all huddled in closer and closer to her, shoving Elizabeth0466 aside and leaving her in the back of the group as they barrage the Elizabeth fake with constant questions. What colour was it? What did it look like? Can you see the room? How big is it? Is it the original hero's bed?
The Elizabeth fake did her best to recount everything she could spot but not only was the memory somewhat blurry, she saw objects that she wasn't really familiar with.
"I see what seems like books, I think. Very think books. I... I don't know how to describe what's on them though."
"Just describe it the best you can. Give us every detail." The mentor encouraged, "This could be the revelation we've been looking for. Focus."
"Okay, okay."
Elizabeth0466 tried her best to look over their shoulders and rejoin the circle but it seemed incredibly tight. So she simply sat in the back and waited patiently for the opportunity to rejoin the circle and be apart of the group again. She could still hear them anyway which was more than enough.
As she waited, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
It was an Aria fake. It was the first time Elizabeth0466 had even met one.
Her number was located on the back of her arm and her clothes were just as ragged and dirty as Elizabeth's. Despite her state, the Aria fake silently smiled at her. Without saying a single word, she pulled out a small piece of bread and handed it to Elizabeth0466.
Elizabeth held the piece of bread in her hand, completely shocked and confused by this unexpected act of generosity. She looked up at the Aria fake whose smile now looked like that of an angel. She silently bowed her head as a form of thanks.
The Aria fake bowed her head back before waving goodbye and walking away. Throughout that entire exchange, neither of them had spoken a single word.
Elizabeth0466 silently kept watching as her unknown benefactor walked away. The Aria fake eventually disappeared into the crowd of many other fakes, never to be seen again.
She looked down at the piece of food in her hand and felt it with her fingers as if checking if it was real or not. It was definitely not a hallucination.
Naturally, the first thing she did was break the piece of bread into multiple smaller pieces so she could share it with all of her friends. Although, her friends were so engrossed by their sudden "revelation" that when Elizabeth0466 offered the pieces, they quickly thanked her before promptly resuming their barrage of questions directed at the other Elizabeth fake.
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-o-o-
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That was their life.
They would travel from place to place, gathering whatever information they could find about the original. They visited towns, certain tourist places that the original Elizabeth helped build and would even mingle with other travelling groups of Elizabeth fakes to share their findings.
Whenever they weren't walking from place to place, they would practise their fan holding, the specific way of how to wave it like the original and even made sure they memorised all the different speeches that the original Elizabeth have said in the past. Their mentor would help and critique their tone and mannerism so that it was as accurate as possible.
Although when it came to practising the speeches, Elizabeth0466 never participated which the group didn't seem to mind thankfully.
They would get by but just barely.
If it rained, they huddled together for warmth.
If they were hungry, they talked even more to distracted themselves.
If one of them got tired, they would stop to rest.
Whatever they had, they would share it evenly among all six of them.
It was definitely not a comfortable lifestyle, far from it. Some of them dreamed of living in castles and wearing new dresses just like their original counterpart but for Elizabeth0466, she already had everything she wanted. She didn't mind their harsh circumstances and cared little about the actual journey.
She cherished her friends, and they cherished her in return.
As long as she was with them, she was happy.
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At the time...
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Elizabeth0466 truly thought their time together would last forever.
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-o-o-
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They were adventurers. Around 8 of them, all heavily armed with bows, daggers and large hammers. They didn't seem like the friendly type. They were quite big compared to the group of Elizabeth fakes. The muscles on their arms made it look like they could snap a fake's necks like a twig.
One man, seemingly the leader of this adventurer group, slowly approached the Elizabeth group. He stroked his chin as he spoke with a twisted smile, "Hey there, ladies. "
Elizabeth0466 and her group instinctively backed away as a shadow of fear and uneasiness filed the atmosphere.
"Want to hang out with us for a bit?" Despite being a question, it didn't sound a request, "It's okay. We don't bite."
His predatory tone and hungry eyes were betraying his deceptive words. Despite his attempts at subtlety, his hand reaching for the rope on his waist was unmistakably visible to them.
One of the Elizabeth fakes in the group turned around and started running away as fast as she could, leaving behind the others who were still left petrified with fear.
One of the adventurers pulled back his bow and fired. The arrow flew so fast that Elizabeth barely saw it until it impaled the running Elizabeth fake straight through her head.
All she could do watch. The incredulous expression on Elizabeth0466's face remained unchanged as her eyes watched her friend fall to the ground with an arrow impaled through her head. Her friend didn't move after that.
Everything escalated from there.
The other four Elizabeth fakes screamed and started running in four different directions.
Her mind didn't know what to do as she was still processing the lifeless body of her friend laying on ground. But her body knew she had to run. Panicked and scared, Elizabeth0466 instinctively followed after her mentor.
"What the hell man!" One of the other adventurers scolded the other, "We're suppose to keep them alive, you know! ...Unless you're into that kind of stuff."
"It's fine. There's still plenty of them. It's not like your method was working anyway."
Elizabeth0466 didn't look back but she heard the screams. The screams of her friends. She could tell the others had already been caught or killed.
She and her mentor were the only ones left.
As the pair ran together, Elizabeth0466 desperately started tugging at her mentor's shirt to tell her that their friends had been captured. But in what seemed like a panic reflex, her mentor briefly turned around to face Elizabeth0466 and forcefully shoved her aside.
At that moment, their eyes met for a fleeting instance, a silent exchange of confusion, fear and regret.
By the time Elizabeth0466 fell to the ground, her mentor was already sprinting away.
Elizabeth0466 laid there, stunned and breathless, her eyes wide with disbelief as she watched her mentor's retreating figure.
Did she misunderstand her intentions? It was the first explanation Elizabeth0466's mind could grasp in denial. If that was the case, then all her mentor would have to do is turn around and see on Elizabeth0466's face that she didn't mean any harm. But her mentor didn't look back. Not even once. She simply kept running, her figure growing smaller and smaller with each passing second.
Left alone on the ground, Elizabeth0466 began to feel a mixed range of emotions that felt so foreign, she could barely describe them. But one thing remained clear, it hurt.
Two of the adventurers zoomed passed her. They were so quick that a gust of wind slapped her as they went by.
The first adventurer, the one who tried speaking to them in the beginning, knelt down next to Elizabeth0466 and wrapped his arm around her.
He leaned in closer and whispered into Elizabeth's ear, "Sshhh... Don't be scared. It's okay... We just want to be friends."
In the distance, Elizabeth0466 began hearing the faint sound of her mentor's cries for help.
That was the last time she ever saw any of her friends.
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-o-o-
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Elizabeth0466 couldn't remember what happened after that. But what she does remember is that after they were done with her, they dumped her body in a forest they just so happened to be exploring. At that point, she was so filthy that they probably didn't want to contaminate their weapons by killing her. Her other Elizabeth friends were all dead. She was the only one who was left alive, either through sheer luck or severe misfortune.
She laid there, motionless like a dead body.
She was alone.
She was cold.
She was hungry. So unbelievable hungry.
There was nothing to distract her from her hunger this time. Just the plain grass and the trees that seemed to move around her.
She missed them. All her life, she had always followed whatever they went. Without them, it felt like she had no purpose. Like a wandering lost sheep with no legs. She could probably crawl forward if she tried hard enough but where would she even go? She had no idea where she was or what she should even do.
She wondered whether she should continue to survive or just lay here. Would it even be worth it? It felt painful to even breathe. All she could think about was all the memories she made with her friends. The more she remembered, the more it hurt.
"Remember my dear.
Be sure to make plenty of friends.
It'll be hard to find good people out there but once you do, you'll form a bond that will live forever.
Okay, Elizabeth?"
That memory had been ingrained into her since the very beginning of her life. She knew too well that this memory was not hers. It belonged to the original hero Elizabeth and the person speaking in this memory was most likely her mother. Words that were meant for the original and not for a fake like Elizabeth0466. However, regardless of all that, those words always deeply resonated with her.
A bond that will live forever. It was all Elizabeth0466 ever wanted. She thought she had a bond like that but maybe it just wasn't strong enough.
She was feeling sleepy now. Considering her state, it seemed to be her only option of relief at this point. Her eyelids grew heavy, weighed down by immense levels of despair. Despite the harsh reality of her situation, sleep beckoned to her like a distant oasis in the desert of her suffering.
But then something woke her up. A certain ping noise she had never heard before. What was even more strange was that this noise seem to come from inside of her mind. Her eyes were mostly closed and yet the following words appeared in her line of vision:
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You have met the required conditions.
Would you like to change your Skill Tree?
"Yes" or "no"?
Warning: this change is irreversible.
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These words were visible to her, regardless of whether her eyes were opened or closed.
She had never seen something like this before. Her skill tree had always remained the exact same throughout her whole life so this was very foreign to her. She has heard that a certain sound will play when you unlock a new skill but she has never unlocked a new skill in the past so this was her first time hearing it.
She wasn't even sure how she was meant to select an answer.
For the next few minutes, Elizabeth laid there as the floating words in her eyes waited patiently for her answer.
Did she want to change? She honestly never cared much about the villainess skill tree itself other than the fact that it allowed her to fit in with her friends. But now they were gone. What other reason did she have to keep it?
Her stomach cried out as the hunger gnawed at her insides like a relentless beast, its claws tearing at the fragile threads of her resolve.
She was so hungry she could barely think about this choice that the system had randomly presented to her.
What difference would a change in skill tree make at this point? But then again, what else did she have to lose?
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Would you like to change your Skill Tree?
"Yes" or "no"?
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In a way, this question almost had the same feeling as 'would you like to keep living?'
She considered denying the offer as part of her just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up again. Above all things, she never realised just how painful loneliness can feel. Was this the real reason why she wanted friends so much? During her past journeys, she would occasionally spot a few fakes walking by themselves. It made her realise just how lucky she was to come into existence with a group of friends already waiting for her.
But reflecting on her good fortune made her realize something profound. For the first time in her life, she actually did have some kind of 'revelation' or 'realisation' that her mentor used to always talk about. There was one part about the words of Elizabeth's mother that she had always been neglecting until now:
"It'll be hard to find good people."
She never found her first group of friends. She was practically dropped into it. Maybe that's why. Maybe a good friend is something you have 'find', she thought to herself. Maybe that's how you form a 'bond that will live forever'. But in order to do that, she had to keep moving forward. Giving up here would mean she would be alone for eternity. But continuing to live would give her the chance to find new friends, as low as that chance may be. It was going to be hard but as long as that chance existed, it was enough for her to push on. And so, after what seemed like an endless back and forth of inner thoughts, she made her decision:
Would you like to change your Skill Tree?
"Yes" or "no"?
She didn't know how she selected yes but she did.
Are you sure?
"Yes" or "no"?
She selected yes again.
Even if it turns you into a monster?
"Yes" or "no"?
She paused... before selecting yes one last time.
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The select screen disappeared and when it did, it all went to hell.
First, she clutched her neck as she began to suffocate. She could no longer breath.
Extreme levels of agony began surging through every vein in her body.
The sound of her cracking bones echoed throughout the whole forest.
The trees watched in silence as her inner body began rearranging itself in the most brutal way imaginable. Her limbs began twisting in unnatural ways and it felt like her organs were destroying themselves from the inside.
She started vomiting blood. So much so that her entire body was soaked in it.
Each second felt like years of agony all compressed into one.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. This was all she could think about as she writhed in excruciating pain, her body contorting with each agonising movement.
Finally, it all came to a sudden halt when she blacked out completely.
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-o-o-
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You have entered the Doll's Domain
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After she woke up, she no longer felt hungry.
She no longer felt cold.
She no longer felt sleepy.
She had a fresh set of new clothes.
Her body made faint creaking sounds with every movement.
Her hands and cheeks seemed rigid as a solid surface.
Her mouth was now a completely different shape and it made a 'klack' noise every time she closed it.
A large wooden house had appeared around her.
After the transformation, she was no longer a villainess.
She was now a puppet.
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To be continued.
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A/N Probably one of the darkest chapter I've ever written in my life hence the trigger warning in the beginning. I'm aware that this chapter is potentially a very abrupt shift in tone since most of this story up to this point has been fairly light hearted so far, so I'm interested if anyone has any feedback on that. Considering what I have planned for this character's backstory, there will be one or two more dark moments like this chapter, however, when it comes to this story overall, I do want to keep it bright and fun. I'm the type of person who writers based on what "feels right" (which I admit, is not the best way to handle a story XD) but this just felt like the right direction I had to take when writing the Puppet's back story. If I say any more than that I might accidentally spoil something so yeah.
Also, I apologise for such a short chapter considering how long it's been since the last chapter. I ain't dead XD. I'm just really busy with classes and assignments again. However, I do want to try stick to that 3000-5000 word range that I gave myself when I first started this story so that I can hopefully write chapters faster. With that said, updates will be very slow due to my Uni. Once again, if you want to keep track of my progress of future chapters or just ask me anything, feel free to join the discord sever which should be linked in my biography or profile page.
As always, thank you so much for reading this far and still remembering that I exist XD. And thank you again for those who leave comments, it's always a great pleasure reading those.
Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one.
This chapter was finished on the 15/04/2024
ns 15.158.61.6da2
