Somewhere, deep beneath the lands of Brandar, past its ancient caves, caverns and tombs was a living hell. A complex system of impure Hearts wove with one another, creating tunnels much like arteries.

They called this place the Derma layer.

A pair of crimson-furred cat ears twitched. They scanned the surroundings like fluffy radars, searching for a sound.

However, they failed to pick anything up. Not even the sound of her own heart could be heard within the bowels of the Derma layer.

Ignis found herself in a similar cavern that Frost and Jury described. The only difference was that all sound was muted by a mysterious force. The lack of sound was awfully disorientating as she navigated through the tattered terrain.

As a feline Demi-human, sound was far more of a vital sense when compared to most races. It made it difficult to exactly determine what lurked in her surroundings. Her eyes were honed, but they could only detect so much.

Ignis felt afraid.

No matter how intrepid and stoic she appeared, she was still a child at heart. The soundless cavern and the emptiness of it all bored uncertainty into her chest. The only source of comfort she had was through Nav’s voice, and the warmth of a certain pale-armored Paladin.

This person was none other than Perla; the pale Paladin who specialized in barrier magic. Not that Ignis knew what it really was. In fact, Ignis didn’t know much at all about magic in the first place. She grew up as a relatively normal girl until tragedy struck.

Perla was a strange person in her eyes. Kind, but strange. On occasion the woman would glance over at Ignis and put on a strange, wry smile for some reason. Did she hate her?

Ignis feared that may be the case and so she tried smiling with all her heart!

When her lips curved upwards, the black-haired Paladin’s face went slightly pale as if she had seen a ghost. Suffice to say, the happy smile Ignis thought she made failed to transmit her appreciation.

But even so, Perla seemed to understand. The communication barrier and her razor-sharp gaze was not enough to stave the Paladin away. Instead, it only incentivized the woman to stick closer to Ignis.

Because she knew that this girl was afraid. The strength she possessed was second to none, but deep down beneath her red-tinted skin was a heart just as fragile as any other.

A beautiful pale-blue light appeared in the air like a firefly. It dragged a ribbon of light, bouncing around in a mesmerizing manner as it wrote the following words.

“Come on. Let’s keep on going. I know you’re afraid and miss your friends, so let’s stick together.” Perla wrote.

The floating, cursive writing hovered before them for some time as Ignis held onto the hems of the woman’s plated, metal skirt. It was a heartwarming sight, and Perla more than gladly would have taken her hand, but Ignis resisted the temptation.

After travelling for some time, she found that Perla’s kindness reminded her of Frost and Jury’s.

The cavern was far more claustrophobic compared to what Frost and Jury described theirs to be. Tight, narrow corridors and gorges needed to be navigated. It was here were boulders tended to collapse into the ravines from above. Without any sound, it became near impossible to detect them aside from the sifting ruble.

Perla kept various barriers overhead. A circle around twice the size of a human chest decorated with astounding symbols best described them. Like Ignis, this woman was a Blessed.

A high levelled one to boot! But still, she was far weaker than herself.

Perla deeply understood the sheer difference in strength. And just like Ignis, she was afraid. Rattled. Traumatized by the Greed Counter, and now by this. Yet she remained steadfast, as if to put Ignis’ heart at ease.

She’s really kind. And pretty too! Like a princess from a fairy tale! Or was a Knight from one!

“Really? What’s her appearance like?”

Oh that’s right! You can’t see, can you voice in head?

“Young Ignis, how many times must I tell you that my name is Nav?”

Ignis was what one would call a ‘cinnamon bun’. She was a docile girl that very rarely spoke. The reason for this wasn’t due to some biological restraint, but rather because of the events that transpired in Divas Pass…

… and mostly due to her past.

It always sat at the back of her mind. As a result, she desperately yearned to prove herself useful. That she wasn’t a liability. It frustrated her that she was so afraid now that she was separated from Jury and Frost.

And even Snap.

She described the woman’s appearance to Nav. She was a black-haired woman with a fair complexion. Her eyes were blue, and she was built similarly to Jury, just with a little less muscle tone. And a bit taller than Frost.

Now that she realized it, Frost was a lot shorter than most people. She was like a chihuahua in a way, except she was actually capable of backing her rabid bark with an all-devouring bite.

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“Oh. That’s a good one.” Nav took a liking to her analogy.

That aside, Perla’s armor was easily made from high quality materials. From what Ignis recognized, it was crafted from Oxidime.

Oxidime was a pale metal that specialized in anti-magic properties. It explained why her DEF was higher than her ATT stat. Interestingly, Ignis could see the stats of fellow Blessed since she was in the possession of the Blessing of the Amalgam, rather than the Blessing of the Nexus.

She really had to wonder just what Frost was exactly, aside from being an Archetype. Lucky could not even begin to describe how she felt just by being alive. Being here, and not as a blob anymore.

Merely remembering that bone-crushing transformation caused Ignis to gulp instinctively as her face sharply twisted.

They eventually reached a land littered with hundreds of pitfalls. They formed a crosshatch pattern, with the land bridges being so thin that it would be akin to walking a tightrope.

Perla and Ignis peered into the abyss, finding a graveyard of trains somewhere beneath. The fall was over a kilometer long. Perhaps more, and Ignis doubted they’d have any means of lowering themselves. The walls underneath seemed to terminate at some point, meaning that the landmass they were currently on was somehow floating above another.

Frost was likely directly underneath, judging from the description she gave of the train graveyard she stumbled upon.

“Up ahead the land starts to slope downwards. Towards the light. We can follow it and maybe we’ll reunite with everyone over there.” Perla wrote, casting her magic into the darkness.

It did not illuminate it. The darkness instead swallowed the light like a malevolent, acrid haze.

“I can see you somehow surviving that. After what you did to save us back there. But not me!”

Their only choice was to head forth and tread carefully. One wrong step would spell disaster.

But Perla had a plan in mind.

She placed a barrier on one side of the ledge and confidently planted a foot on top. It easily supported her weight and acted as a steppingstone one would use to cross a river.

Except here only certain death awaited beneath.

“Enough to hold our weight. But nowhere near as strong as what you used back there to protect us. Did I ever tell you thanks? Thank you!”

Ignis wished she could smile in response. If only more humans in Grandis were just like her…

Perla’s mouth moved as she continued to write whatever came to mind. There was no risk in misplacing a step, as Perla’s barriers seemed to form directly beneath their feet as they took a daring step across the void.

“I’m lucky I got kicked out into the City of Clubs when I ran out of NEX. You’d think that after buying a home up there you’d be excluded but no, that’s not the case. You don’t pay up to the Nexus, then it exiles you. Same thing happened to you?”

Ignis couldn’t answer that. She didn’t really know much about the Nexus itself to begin with.

“Probably not. You’re strong enough to have thousands in reserve. I’m sure of it. The Nexus… really makes you appreciate life more. I’m sure you must have gone through something terrible. Like a lot of us Blessed.”

Perla then went on about how she was afraid of Ignis because of her gaze when they first met in this empty world. But upon seeing her dropped ears, the woman realized that Ignis was a good girl just wanting someone to accompany her.

Ignis suddenly wished to hear someone’s voice. And so, she turned to Jury. Not Frost unfortunately. She was… somewhat shy towards that person.

No. Ignis felt like she didn’t want to bother Frost with meager complaints and nonsensical talks. Whenever she did speak to her, it’d always be regarding something serious.

The reason for this was because she saw a bit of her father in Frost. She knew that Frost would go out of her way to achieve her wants. It was another contributing factor to her silence, amongst various others.

“Don’t be so reserved. Frost made a promise with me. An impossible promise no less. There is nothing more troublesome than what I personally wish. Therefore, I believe you shouldn’t hold yourself back.”

I want to be better. I want to show Frost that I’m reliable.

“You already proved it no?”

More. Just once isn’t enough. That way, I can grow faster. Jury told me how she used to be a child just like me. Then she grew up and even became an aspiring Beholder! I… I don’t want the same thing that happened to my father to them. Because of my selfishness.

Nav didn’t respond. At around the halfway point of their balancing act, Perla seemed to notice something in the distance. Ignis saw it too, but it was still too far to make out just what it was exactly.

It appeared like a giant ball of some sort. Sort of like a giant spider egg, with webbings anchoring it to towering pillars. These pillars rose from the ground and held the ceiling. They were spaced incredibly far apart, leaving the ball to suspend in the air defenselessly.

It was hard to say if it was a Heart or not.

“Frost says to take care of yourself. She promises to find you soon.”

You did you tell her?

“Call it intuition.”

You didn’t snitch? Promise?

“I have no pinky to make such a promise.”

Aww. One day you will!

“Until then, please focus on your survival. The Archivist wishes the same.”

Ignis did not really know much about this person, aside from that she was essentially a deity just like Frost, and a close acquaintance of Jury. From what she understood, the power of the Beholders was born from the Library that Jury frequented in her dreams.

She wondered just what kind of power Jury was on her way to receive.

“And Ignis. Selfishness is not a bad trait for a child. It is a parent’s happiness. Please remember that.”

She only remained silent, wondering if it was Frost who said this or Nav. She clutched at her uneasy heart, wondering if it was ok. But in the end, her fears greatly outweighed her heart.

They eventually reached the lip of a massive crater. A forest of gigantic columns surrounded it as the strange egg hovered directly above the center. The two froze at the edge, squinting as they tried to figure out just what exactly they were looking at.

Or potentially dealing with.

The egg was wrapped in paper; written with indecipherable symbols. She remembered seeing them parked outside of the Dungeon earlier. So the question was – what were they doing here? Why were they suspended as well?

Moreover, the egg appeared like it had already hatched.

Its underbelly dribbled with liquidized paper and blood redder than crushed cherries. The congealed mass accumulated in the center where a familiar face stood, showering in the mess absentmindedly.

And to Ignis’ shock – that person was none other than the missing triplet.

It was Ber.

Her back was turned to them. Her hair was drenched in the horrid liquid. And for some reason, Ber seemed a little smaller than she used to. And not to mention that she was… naked.

Ignis immediately relayed the good news to Nav. Although, what was strange was that she couldn’t exactly see Ber’s stats anymore. She couldn’t call out to her either, so she had no choice but to approach the wolf.

But upon taking a single step forward, the wolf turned around and bared her fangs, her eyes smothered by her hair as she lifted her hands…

… Her hands which had been severed clean.

Ignis instinctively retracted her step.

And in that split second of weakness, the ground ruptured beneath Ber as she flung herself straight for Ignis, screaming silently as electric claws formed from the stubs of her wrists.

These claws were unrefined and wavered like static. Furthermore, her rapidly approaching movements were crude unlike the Ber she knew and were almost twice as slow.

But if there was one thing she did know, it was that this Ber harbored a blade of insurmountable fury.

And it was pointed straight for her.