The Trial is an end-game event that occurs in Hello Charlotte Episode 2; it's here where the player's choice of who to vote for leads to the game's three main endings: Grey End - Eternal Rest for God, Black End - Everlasting Oblivion, and White End - Stargazer's Journey.
Introduction and Endings[]
The Trial is first mentioned on the first day in class during the teacher's lecture, which also addressed Soul Cubes. The stated purpose for the trial is to "correct the defective"; the Trial is an annual event through which it is determined each year who among the current students has a "defective" Soul Cube. The teacher goes on to explain that those who are chosen have their cubes formatted and debugged, and that usually only one student gets picked per year, but sometimes two are chosen. It's then explained that the Trial is structured as a public vote among all attendees by which the defective is determined.
Despite the initial explanation, how exactly the voting process works and what happens to the student(s) that is selected is kept vague throughout most of HC2. The Trial is mentioned several times afterwards, often in a foreboding light, but the details remain cryptic. Much later in the game, Charlotte and C escape The House and find a place called "The Forest of the Defective"; they discover that the remains of the Trial's victims are disposed of here, which illustrates the grim nature of the Trial and answers what happens to those unfortunate enough to be deemed "defective".
Grey End[]
The Grey End is achieved by voting for Anri. Upon seeing Charlotte vote for her, Anri votes for Charlotte. After the votes are counted, C ends up with no votes. As he is dragged to the Smile Room, Charlotte sees Umbrella Man in the crowd, in his Umbrella Boy vessel. She calls to him telling him that his employer is in trouble, which causes him to laugh. He tells Charlotte that C is just an ordinary boy, who isn't special and any way. Charlotte looks at C, and sees just another student, Vincent. Charlotte tries to follow him to the Smile Room, but Anri tries to stop her leaving. Charlotte leaves and heads to the Smile Room. After she arrives at Vincent's side, Frei appears, saying something's wrong. Vincent no longer has any soul data, and that there is just an empty shell left.
This causes Charlotte to merge with the Oracle and uses it's power to eat the whole world. Charlotte was left crying in front of Vincent' calling him a liar because he said he would become a god after his death, but Charlotte is unable to find him. Umbrella Man then appears before her, much to Charlotte's surprise. He then brings out an object, and soul cube with a copy of Vincent's soul data. He then tells her that data backup is essential, and that every time she died a copy of her soul data was loaded into a new vessel, instead of time being rewound. He then tells her that she can release his soul data by opening the soul cube, and he may decide to stay by her side afterwards.
Umbrella Man asks Charlotte what she plans on doing now she has merged with the Oracle and eaten the world. She tells him that she's tired and plans on staying there. He tells her that there are countless versions of her in parallel world struggling and would she abandon them. Charlotte tells him that she still wants to protect everyone, and asks him if he can watch over her world while she rests. He tells her he can, but it would cost her her name. She accepts, causing the Umbrella Man to tell her she really doesn't value herself. He tells her that Puppeteers and Observers never existed, because she invented the concept. She asks the Umbrella Man if he has a true name, and he tells her she can call him Charles. He then leaves her because she still has things to do before her slumber.
Black End[]
The Black End is achieved by voting for C. Upon seeing Charlotte vote for C, Anri asked her why she voted for him, calling Charlotte a traitor and refusing to vote for her. After the votes are counted, Charlotte ends up with no votes. Anri tells her that nobody wants to be friends with her, and that everyone tried to teach her a lesson, causing Charlotte to realize the truth to what happened to her. Charlotte heads to the Smile Room, telling C she's glad that she's saved him before she'd dragged into the Smile Room.
Frei appears before Charlotte, and doubles up in pain and starts to mutate. When Charlotte reacts, Frei tells her that he's been a walking corpse for a long time, that Charlotte has kept him alive, and that he is unable to leave her side and never would. He hugs Charlotte and dies in her arms. Just before she dies, she remembers a conversation between Felix and herself about The Tale Of Ink Princess. Charlotte gives a happy ending where the Ink Princess and Paper Princess become friends. Felix thinks it's too cliché, suggesting the Paper Princess dying from intoxication after touching the Ink Princess or Paper Princess using Ink Princess for Ink production until she drained dry, which Charlotte thinks is even more cliché. Felix then asks if she is suggesting a sugarcoated fantasy, which Charlotte telling him that not every story has to have a cruel ending and that she wanted Ink Princess to be happy, even though she is a plague that doesn't deserve it.
C then enters the room and cries over Charlotte's corpse.
White End[]
The White End is achieved by withdrawing from voting. Anri tells her that her choice was dumb, and that she should have expected it from the School's "infamous oddball". Voting finishes before Charlotte can say anything, and C and Charlotte end up with no votes. They are both escorted to the Smile Room, where C tells Charlotte that he was lying and that everyone was right about him being a false god, but Charlotte tells him she knew who he was, that he isn't a loser god and that she thinks he's wonderful.
Charlotte wakes up in her Mind Library, only to find it has been completely destroyed. Frei is waiting for her, and she tells him that she wants to end all trials, save C from the world and save Anri from herself. Frei tells her she knew she would save that, and that in the end she chose everyone else over him even though he was always there for her, causing her to reply that he was a manifestation of all her destructive urges born from the remnants of the Oracle, making him part of her, and she couldn't love herself. Frei muses on how pitiful they are and tells her to repaint the world in her colours and to consume him whole.
Charlotte wakes up in the Smile Room, noticing how quiet everything is. She goes outside to ask why everything is so quiet, only to realize everyone in the School is repeating what she's saying. Umbrella Man, back in his usual form, is waiting for Charlotte in the crowd, and asks Charlotte what she wished for. She tells him "I wished for all the painful things to end. I wished for everyone's happiness. Just that." Umbrella Man tells her that it was a foolish wish, but that it did come true, since as long as human ego exists, people would always hurt each other, and that the only way to end it was to have complete control over everyone, which she has achieved by eating the ego of everyone in the world. Umbrella Man then congratulates Charlotte on becoming the Oracle of the world.
Charlotte asks Umbrella Man if everyone has really gone, and he tells her they have, as she ate their soul data and all copies of it, leaving their bodies as vessels for her. Charlotte then asks for one last favour, for her death, as if she disappears he world would surely be a happier place. Instead he hugs her and tells her that all this time she didn't want to be alone and tells her that they will travel across the skies, and that she would learn to control her power, then she might be able to rebuild her world from scratch. He them tells her "let's go stargazing, shall we?" Charlotte asks if this is okay for someone like her, he replies by saying it's not about deserving, but what's destined to happen. Charlotte then leaves with the Umbrella Man.
HC3[]
The Trial returns in the third episode of the main series, but is now more of a background event that happens offscreen rather than being integral to the game's ultimate outcome like it was previously. This time it occurs in the True Realm, before Charles' suicide. Scarlett Eyler, Charles' tulpa at the time who was obsessed with the Trial, was both harsh and strict in her treatment of him, fearing that he'd never pass the Trial without her. Yet in spite of her grasp on him, Charles fails the Trial.
As The Trial is never witnessed at any point during Episode 3, it can only be assumed that the one that takes place in the True Realm is similar to what was seen in Episode 2. This version of the Trial does not seem to be fatal to those who fail it because Charles survived it despite having failed.
Trivia[]
- The Trial that is held at the climax of Hello Charlotte 2 is the 75th one.