319. A Glimpse of the Common Residential Floor

319. A Glimpse of the Common Residential Floor

The orientation of their ascent was sickening. To Frost everything appeared perfectly normal but to the others, they could not tell their left from right. Jury and the Archivist were no stranger to walking along walls. The Eternal Library hardly followed Euclidian logic.

But this was different. At times it felt like they were intersecting with themselves. Objects appeared and disappeared on a whim as they travelled through their slice of the 3rd dimension. At least this was what they believed. In truth, they could only describe the homogenous mass of white architecture as a non-Euclidean staircase.

Frost shared a small conversation with Galia regarding their world. Unfortunately, not much was shared since Frost knew so little in the first place. Not even the year was known, but she explained that she lived in a time where people around the world could communicate as if they were on the same street, with handheld devices that stored the entire human history and knowledge, and a world of vast technological, moral, and ethical advancements.

It made Galia’s eyes glisten with wonder as she pictured such an ideal world.

The opening she pointed to earlier led to the Common Residential Floor. The same pale chambers they had seen for the nth time acted as a checkpoint where another assortment of Stars gathered to defend it.

Frost noticed that Stars seemed to have a more internalized role in the Nexus compared to Moons on top of being guides. Speaking of guides; she never really understood what that meant.

The Arbiter explained that even regular Stars were somewhat affiliated with Justica Arms because of their culture that revolved around the Nexus. Unlike other Ateliers, Justica Arms strove to better it rather than themselves directly. The proof was in their widespread worship which Frost had seen before in the 6th Branch, and the fact that Galia had offered her technology to the Nexus.

“A hundred more years from now and I’ll remain the same. A hundred years from now and the Beholders we thought were sane will have deteriorated as it consumes them. The trick is to live alongside it, rather than to let it define you.”

Galia lived by these words, and Beholder Umbra likely did too considering their tech was also within the Nexus. Having a technology assimilated by the Nexus meant that there was certain things Galia could not do. For starters, she could not wield her Beholder powers like the others. Rather, she used products of her technology, namely the Justica Arms.

However, she could use far greater variants of her tech that no others could.

In essence, Beholder Galia solely relied on human ingenuity and her tough skin as a Beholder.

It was fascinating to Frost, who seldom used tools in her body that could just munch and punch her problems away.

The Arbiter spoke highly of Galia, singing praises as the triplets winced like her words were nails along a chalkboard. Jury then joined in to talk about Frost, which caused the triplets, especially Cer, to shift faces depending on who received praises.

They’re in the presence of the Arbiter, but they can act like that because they’re with me. I don’t hate that part about them though.

Eventually, as they walked through another invisible membranous barrier, they appeared in a vast plainlands where settlements sat like little towns for the Blessed. It was a cozy place where the sun shone, and the bustling life of utter peace thrived in this place. Farmlands with fields of crops stretched as far as the eye could see, farmers claiming their harvest using magic.

“So this is where the Blessed live, huh. It’s beautiful.” Frost was awed by the sight. “I’m guessing stronger Blessed tend to live further away.” She noticed that some houses were built extraordinarily far.

“Put me at the top brass! No wait, make me top gold!” Ber posed with her sister proudly.

“Top diamond you mean!” Cer grinned.

“Yeah, diamond!”

“I’m so sorry.” Res apologized with a straight face that hid her mental anguish.

“Keeping Beholders in line? That sounds rather interesting. I am not opposed to that idea.” Galia surprisingly condoned the approach.

Galia herself was at major odds against the other Beholders. It was no secret that she herself had tried regulating them, notably Caldera Industries regarding their mining practices around villages. But she was just one Beholder, and the Arbiter could not leave the Nexus to confirm certain atrocities. Furthermore, the Arbiter in general did not appear to be as strict as Frost initially believed.

But Frost would not be as lenient. They would know hell and she’d make sure of it. Even if she wasn’t as strong as a Beholder now, they likely didn’t know that. In fact, they would consider her as a being that not even the Arbiter herself could defeat.

Knowing that the Amalgam backed Jury’s Atelier would absolutely keep them in line.

That being said – the group eventually backtracked and ascended the white column again.

As it turned out, Galia had previously eliminated 4 Ateliers in the past all on her own. The legitimacy of her claim was up for debate, but she revealed an interesting tidbit of information.

“Slain Beholders can have their technologies harvested. There is no rule that states that a Beholder should only be limited to one piece of technology. They’re usually corroded, however. Mostly unusable. You’d be surprised with what a normal human can do with a fraction of a Beholder’s might. What a sharpened tongue can do to bring people of power to succumb to the warm wraps of temptations.”

She hissed like a serpent.

“People are shaped by the world around them, but they also have inherent qualities that can change the outcome. People are like coffee beans. They go through the processes that brew them into a cup of coffee. Creamy. Strong. Bitter... rancid. And in spite of worldly and pressures, those inherent qualities can be tasted through the brew. Some processes seek to mask it. Others seek to bring it out. In the end, it’s a fundamental aspect that can never truly be removed from us.”

Galia monologued as they neared the top.

The next stop was the Middle Sanctums.

The place where the assimilated technologies resided, as well as the Eternal Library.