259. The Fire To Cleanse The World

259. The Fire To Cleanse The World

//////// < WARNING > ////////

Nav constantly blared out warnings for a reason it could not understand. The emotional turmoil was the only thing it could describe as familiar. It was at a total loss for words, unable to comprehend the foreign sensation.

Why was it this that was so eerily familiar to it?

“Jury. Ignis. Ber – Please do not engage! Please distance yourself immediately! Vague memories have returned. While I do not recall fire, I do recall this emotional surge!” Nav warned with a speedup voice, conveying its abrupt panic.

Fleeing was the last thing on their mind. Frost was someone worthy of being saved because she herself had saved every single one of them. Abandoning her was not an option, but hearing the warning from Nav caused them to reluctantly reconsider. Visible frustration spawned from bleeding gums, palms, and contorted faces.

It was not an easy decision to make.

Hanging onto the inner walls of the hole, Jury cried at the top of her lungs:

“CAN WE SAVE FROST!?”

“I will leave no person behind. But... can you feel it?” Carpalis ominously uttered, her voice heavy with disbelief.

“I can! What does it mean for Frost!?” Jury shouted.

Carpalis could only clutch onto her normal hand with the Faustian Bargain, as if seeking reassurance.

“It’s the same thing you will feel when you approach the Advent of Amalgamation. Our technology emits the same thing on a lesser scale. It is... repulsive.”

No. It wasn’t reassurance. It was disgust.

“Will you be ok?” Ignis uttered.

“Please, dear child. I am used to this agony. But the loss of a friend cuts deeper than any physical wound.” She assured, shooting them her signature, creepy smile. “... Please head for the Piece of the Fallen Star immediately. I will meet you in...?”

“The City of Clubs.” Ber firmly answered. “You better bring her back. Pathetic... that we have to run away when Frost did everything she could to save us! Voice – isn’t there a power up I can at least achieve!? I can heighten my emotions too!”

< It is not that simple I’m afraid >

< Other abnormalities are occurring with the Nexus as well. The Archivist for one has fallen into a deep sleep >

“Does that mean Frost is also asleep? Is she operating unconsciously?” Jury asked, still unable to bring herself to move. “... isn’t there anything I can at least do?”

“The Piece of the Fallen Star. I don’t like this either, but don’t forget that they’re trying to wish her out of existence!” Cer reminded them all. “... I believe in Frost. There’s no way that someone like her is going to break! If you love her, then you’ll trust in her too! What’s worse!? At least there’ll be a Frost if we can get to the Piece of the Fallen Star!”

Cer was correct. In the event that the Impuritas or Scarlet Logic claimed the wish granting Advent then there would be no Frost. Jury and the others as a result reclaimed their conviction to follow through. Turning away from the flames was like pulling one’s teeth out. Jury, as always, was the last to turn around, grieving the fact that even Beholders were powerless to the Archetypes.

“Frost. Don’t lose... don’t lose to that Black Forest!” Jury’s voice resonated with her heart. She shouted like it would change everything, but alas, it did nothing as the flames reached the Heart of the City, carving through the mountain of corpses like a flame thrown into a pile of steel wool.

The Fifth State allowed Paradise Lost Corrupted to be manifested. But even without one Frost had undergone a catastrophic transformation. The culprit was undoubtedly the We Discarded Many, which began the fiery chain of events.

Nav and Jury did not know the significance of this Corrupted.

But what they did know was that both Frost and the Archivist reacted to it.

Carpalis was soon left alone to face Frost. Her goal was not to fight. The Heart of the City was already rapidly dying. Instead, she wished to save Frost by offering her the same hand she had given to those who needed it most.

“... please do not bite the same hand that tries to help.” Carpalis asked this one favor, her voice lost to the chaos beyond. “I wish to laugh, to ease this uneasiness. The Archetype of Amalgamation. The Advent of Amalgamation. You both carry the same stench.”

Carpalis thrust herself forward. Her speed was laughable due to her growing size. Her fennec ears carved through the ceiling as she followed the path of fire and bones, her Faustian Bargain emitting a low-pitched whine.

“I hope that my Faustian Bargain can at least invigorate your soul. Now that they are this far, it should not affect them...”

Following it then were the dark pillars created by the transformations of the Seeds. Countless had been fed with Frost’s Nex, giving birth to monsters within the walls of the Nex Megalopolis. Pillars of red and black, and the faint glow of the Advent made it appear as though the world was ending.

Standing side by side, Carpalis clutched onto her ruined hand, drawing her eyes upon the world around her.

“War was what I feared, when in reality, I should have feared an apocalypse. Our Cities will never be the same. Everyone. Thank you for not blaming me when I arrived. This despair is enough. Frost is alive, but overtaken by ill emotions...”

“What... what can we do now?” Jury abruptly asked, desperately searching for a way to quell her heart. “Can she still be saved? Nav...?”

“Possible. She has yet to become a Corrupted...” Nav trailed off.

Carpalis thrusted her eyes towards the gloomy light. She then answered with a deep, near commanding voice.

“We march into the City of Clubs with the full might of the Golden Index. The Piece of the Fallen Star... is of utmost priority.”

“Agreed. But... Do we just leave her here?” Cer wondered. Despite her words, her eyes constantly glanced back into the hole, her ears flattened and her tail drooped sadly. “We’re asking you because you’re a Beholder. I don’t have a clue on where to even start!”

“... Sis. Those flames are moving towards us.” Ber pointed out.

Indeed. The pillars of flames were moving, and they were growing ever larger as the ground bulged ever so slightly upwards.

“Shit – Shit – It’s – This City’s going to erupt, isn’t it!?” Res exclaimed.

“Frost... is she also going to follow? With all that fire?” Ignis wondered, her moist eyes dazzling with the flames. “I don’t want to lose another one...”

“We’re not losing anyone!” Jury cut through the chaotic voices with a shout, her tail splitting the ground like a tile.

Ignis was startled. She trembled, not knowing where to look before tears began dribbling down her cheeks.

“I-I’m sorry...” Ignis sniffled. “I lost... papa... to fires... and mama...”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Ignis... We’re all feeling the same thing. No one is being left behind this time.” Jury motherly harped, embracing the girl. “It’s ok. I’m sorry. Don’t cry. All of this has been hard for you especially.”

“... I just... don’t want to lose people special...”

“Don’t blame yourself either. This whole thing can be blamed on the Beholders... You included, Carpalis.” Res stated with folded arms, her ears sporadically twitching in tune to the tremors beneath. “20 minutes before this place is gone.”

“I am well aware.” Carpalis softly spoke.

“21 minutes. When you round it up.” Ber said, tapping on her ears. “My sensory organs got an upgrade.”

“20 minutes now with all the stalling!” Cer shouted. “Go! GO! You need to talk to Snap, right!? Ber – You can talk with that imaginary voice! Let’s not waste time! Get to it already!” Cer was surprisingly diligent, likely because of Frost.

She did see her as a mother figure, after all.

“Nav you trailed off earlier. You had something you wanted to say! Please... we need to hear it. It’s about Frost, isn’t it?”

After a long pause, and as the group rushed towards the Chained Theocracy’s gates to facilitate the entry of the Golden Index – Nav revealed something to finally lift their spirits.

“I am able to communicate with the Archivist. But strangely not Frost. Both are present within the Floor of Civilization!”

“She’s in the Nexus!?” Ber cried, elated to hear the news.

Nav then clarified.

“No. Not the Nexus. This place... it appears like the Floor of Civilization, but it is lively.”

“Are they inside of a memory then?” Jury asked, arriving at this conclusion due to the dreams she had of the Eternal Library, as well as the past.

And her guess was correct.

“Both are inside of a dreamlike state following the memories of their world! It’s... near identical to the Floor of Civilization. Be at ease Jury! Everyone! Frost is – she’s... no pardon me. ‘He’s’ alive!”