Frost’s imagination was vast. Having been exposed to the worst of injuries in her past profession, she thought of herself as someone who could swallow their disgust and push forward with an iron will. But her past reality and current fantasies were only but a fraction of the misery caused in this world.

They took a moment to consolidate everything the Archivist confessed at a crossroads of their own. Nothing but cracked earth ran in all directions. The night concealed the silhouettes of all prominences as a night barren of stars and moons sat above. Only small weeds and what remained of the wooden signs accompanied them.

Frost silently read the smeared names of the old places they once pointed towards as Jury and the others ate. No matter how hard they tried, or how painfully her stomach turned, she refused to eat a single speck. It was neither frustration nor stubbornness. It was pure spite. The only thing that could sate her was the cannibalistic Syndicate waiting far ahead.

The entire City of Spades whistled late at night as powerful winds blew by. In the distance one could find Flesh Clots rolling around like tumbleweed. Frost clasped her Justica Longarm, pointed it into their general location and fired. The shattering sound accompanied the formation of a small magical circle at the end of the barrel and at once, a bullet teleported towards her target.

They were simple creatures. To others, the Flesh Clots were walking nightmares. Frost never allowed herself to truly rest. It was a way to combat her rapidly encroaching emotions, and with a frustrated sigh, she slid down against the face of a boulder.

“… The Archivist knew about the paper balls you touched, Ber. She knew that the Librarians and several Impuritas groups were plotting against us. She mentioned you three specifically as well.” Frost uttered, leaning over her knee as she avoided their gazes. “She knew about the Seeds. She knew that they were preparing to eliminate Carpalis… And now she knows that they want to do everything in their power to heighten my emotions. For Nex… What do you think?”

“I think it’s typical, coming from someone from the Nexus. But what do you want us to do? Cry? Scream? Shout?” Cer said. As much as it also pained her, she was used to this, as were her sisters.

“You get used to it. It’s frustrating, because we could have stopped them from hurting Ber but it’s too late to lament.”

“Pretty big blow to us though. Turns out even Archetypes are full of flaws… Not like it matters to us. We know what they’re planning now, so I guess there’s that.” Ber said, poking at Frost’s foot.

Frost, Ignis and Jury on the other hand were furious. The Archivist barely had a backbone and clung only to her precious book. Was disregarding the future more important than preserving that book’s story? Frost felt Jury’s hand wrap around hers, and for a moment she empathized with the Archivist but at the same time, Frost wasn’t the kind to allow the past to drag her along the mud.

“Someone once said that attachment is the root of all suffering.” Jury said. “They were right after all. But… Frost. That book has just as much meaning to her than you to I. I don’t think you should judge her. Believe me Frost, I’m furious as well. She’s… not the kind of person who’d betray us.”

“… Could have papa been saved?” Ignis asked to which Nav answered with:

“She was unaware. The Librarians had no hand in it.”

“It’s not about betrayal. Or trust either. It’s just… I feel like we’ve been working alone all this time.” Frost admitted. “I don’t mind helping the other Archetypes. But if they have the capacity to help but won’t let us know that we were walking right into a trap, then how can I feel like it’s worthwhile? Just… ugh…”

Frost pressed the back of her head against the rock, exhaling deeply.

“… at least there’s a silver lining. She’s taken her first step, so the excuse of ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I can’t explain why I can’t tell you this’ is no longer valid. Archivist… welcome aboard. It’s going to get rougher.”

“She’s aware. But she doesn’t want to sit around doing nothing anymore…” Nav said, suddenly trailing off.

“Nav?”

“Nothing. The Archivist acknowledges her wrongs and wishes to amend them. You know what lays ahead now.”

“Is there anything further?”

“Nothing I’m afraid, aside from the required lovers for their unknown ritual. It was called a ‘Masterpiece’ by an entity known as Stircube – an Author of the Librarians.”

It was incredibly challenging to grasp all this.

“What about the ‘Seeds’? They sounded important considering the Bloody Herring was after Leitmotifs.” Frost sought to wring every little detail she could out of the Archivist, including those involved and others that could be identified.

For now they were aware of the Expositionist, the Scraper, the Sect of Gears and Act X much to her surprise. It was a shame that the Missionary Nav spoke of refused to wipe them out. She had to wonder just what Act X had to gain from allowing them to live, or rather, if it was truly worth adhering to the Scripts no matter what.

She couldn’t understand it at all.

“The Seeds require Nex.”

“… Impuritas require Nex? Since when?” Frost was stumped by this realization.

“I thought they required bodies? That doesn’t sound right…” Jury noticed the bizarre discrepancy and brought it to their attention. “Ateliers use Nex, don’t they? The Nexus does as well.”

“So does a lot of things. Technologies. The Nexus as you said. Beholders. Ateliers. Certain weapons. The Site Core as we’ve found out as well.” Res listed.

“Frost. Probably Archetypes while you’re at it.” Ber added on, humming in a rather cute tone.

“Advents even. Cause you know, the Nexus is an Advent after all.” Cer concluded. “But Seeds right? That Archivist said something about the Seeds coming from what? An apple?”

“The Forbidden Apple. The Librarians mentioned it. Do you recall that there is a suspected Advent guised as an apple?”

“… You’re telling me we’re up against an Advent of their own?” Frost slowly spoke.

“Dunno about that. It’s never been confirmed.” Cer shrugged, right before smirking as she moved over towards Frost. Then, as she stood over her, she drilled her foot into the ground beside Frost’s shoulder as if to assert dominance.

“But we’d be idiots to think otherwise. Guess it’s true~” Ber hummed.

“Don’t even try to ask us what it is. The Apple was something Justica Arms wasted valuable manpower on with no fruit to show… Actually, a lot of fruit.” Res rapidly explained.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Just not the right one.” Ber commented, causing Jury to ask:

“Are you talking about the golden apples we found in the Derma Layer? Those fake apple trees?

“Something like that. I don’t know the specifics, but they bit onto a red herring pretty hard. Looking at it back now, I think the Bloody Herring had a hand in throwing off track.” Ber replied, rolling her hands around.

“Let’s not forget they had Iscario of all people right up there. Galia blundered real hard. Tch. And it alllll leads down to here. Our crossroads!” Cer shouted, presenting their dark world with outstretched hands.

“It doesn’t sound like we’re at a crossroads at all. I’m speaking symbolically, not literally, because I’m certain we all know what we have to do… But Frost. I think I’m the most scared about you, because… what if they really can hurt you?” Jury cupped Frost’s head into her arms, embracing her as Frost gratefully returned the hug.

“I don’t know. Really. I don’t. I want to laugh and smile, but right now there’s just so much going on up here.” She tapped her head. Her turbulent heart was mellowed by the ticking once again, and Jury’s warmth assured her that there was little to fear…

But there was also so much more to lose.

“There’s no ultimatum for me, so the path’s straight forward… Until we reach that Syndicate… Listen. You’ve all seen all kinds of nightmares. I came from a world where those kinds of things were tucked away from plain sight.” Frost continued.

“I… Haaaah. Probably? No, I’m absolutely going to lose it once we get there. That’s a guarantee. More than just me, I think you all should be careful. I can survive anything. You’ve seen how I stood against the Heart of Ours, right?”

“… is that supposed to be a good thing?” Jury’s raspy voice whispered into her ear, instantly causing her eyes to widen.

“Yeah. What’s with that logic? That’s like saying it’s ok for a lizard to lose its tail just because it can regenerate it. Or a healer should suffer because they can heal it all back. You and I both know damned well how dumb that sounds.” Cer scolded. “You’re worrying about the wrong people by the way! Moons? Against those Impuritas?”

“We’re taking every precaution we can. If this is their plan B, then it’s going to be just as potent as plan A.” Frost argued. “Then, we’ll be up against the Scarlet Logic. There’s only three of you, and a replenishable amount of them. What I am saying is – Just be careful. We’re getting close to them. If the Archivist is telling everything to us now, then we need to expect the worst.”

“That’s all you had to say!” Cer patted Frost’s head, right before she scrubbed it with her tail and returned to her sister’s side with sass. “Heh. Nothing’s gonna happen to you Ber, and you too Res! I’ll guarantee it!”

“Exactly!” Ber shouted.

“… As usual. Ignis. Jury. We ready?” Res sighed with folded arms, allowing Cer to snuggle up to her.

“I’m wondering how I’m going to get revenge on the Crimson Hunger…” Ignis muttered. “Who’s going to take responsibility for it…? I want to find out…”

“I just want everyone to stay together. I miss… that fishing village. If it were up to me, then no one here would have to fight.” Jury whispered. “We could eat all kinds of things. See more of the world…”

“More of this madness… Haaaaaaaaaaaah. We’re practically the cleanup crew. One change at a time, am I right? Haha. Alright. ALRIGHT!” Frost roused herself awake with a vicious slap, leaving a slightly red mark along her cheek as she gently pardoned herself away from Jury. “Thanks Jury. As always, you have the knack to read my mind. I’m kinda jealous, cause I can’t tell what you’re thinking sometimes.”

“L-O-V-E~” Jury rubbed her nose against hers, causing Frost to lightly moan.

“I wish I was that attuned. I hope you don’t take that as my love being less than yours.” Frost managed to joke, finally cracking a smile much to all their delight. “I hate being pessimistic and this serious, but… Ignis. Jury. Cer, Ber, Res – Stay safe. Fight well. It’s going to get messy soon.” Frost pat their heads one by one, then, as she took a stance ahead of the group –

– They all lunged in for a massive group hug.

“Gotcha!” Ber cried.

“Stop getting so sentimental with us!” Res shouted but appreciated Frost’s sentiments.

Especially as Moons who were hardly appreciated for their work over the last 30 years.

“Was hoping to hear that you’ll finally dine in on me. But this isn’t so bad!” Cer cheekily grinned.

“We’ve gone through the Black Forest and the Derma Layer together. I’m sure that if we put our heads and hearts together then we’ll finish this! Scarlet Logic won’t see it coming!” Jury excitedly exclaimed.

“… I believe… because papa would’ve done the same.” Ignis rallied with her sweet voice.

Soon, they set off towards the base of the Blood Filter Syndicate in complete darkness. But not before the triplets suddenly shouted:

“Good luck, Nav!”

“One day, I’d love to speak to at least one of them directly.” Nav said, to which Jury relayed to the others, causing Cer to answer with:

“Guess we’ll need to be Realized or whatever by Frost. Heh. Maybe I’ll go get myself into trouble.”

“If it’s Frost, then we’ll be saved. No problem! Just punch and bite away!” Ber exclaimed, throwing electrical punches as Cer sent crackling bitemarks into the air, illuminating their path like artificial moons.

Ignis, however, frowned at the mention of becoming a Corrupted. Her tiny paws tugged on Cer’s sleeves, causing the woman to quickly wipe her smile away and return to a serious demenor.

“… please don’t joke about it. There’s nothing good about become a Corrupted, even if Frost could save you.”

“I-I… Yeah. I was kidding. Don’t worry Ignis~! We’ve been through enough where nothing can bring us down!” Ber shot her an encouraging thumbs up.

“Right, cause we’re all the way up there!” Cer pointed into the sky.

The sky which bared no moon.

* * *

Frost thought back to the idea of an Advent as she tried to keep her mind busy; away from the gnawing, churning thoughts of what laid ahead. She took Nav’s warning to ‘brace herself’ and felt herself begin to sweat, even though nothing left her pores.

There was the mention of the Forbidden Apple. The triplets had once mentioned that one of the few known or suspected Advents was an apple of some nature. If Nex was what they required, then it was likely that they were trying to power an Advent. The Seeds also seemed to be derived from this ‘Forbidden Apple’.

Whatever it was, Frost connected it to the story of the Price of Paradise – the apple which the princess of Puritas, Iscario’s sister, had eaten. The Bloody Herring mentioned that it was their ‘Brightest Star’ who would give him this Seed.

It was likely that Iscario had control over this Advent.

This was the key takeaway from the Archivist’s reveal. Knowing how powerful the Advents were, Frost realized that perhaps meeting with Iscario one day would be far from easy.

However, these thoughts were soon nothing but subtle whispers in the back of her mind. By dawn they had reached a place called the Severed Fault Line. A vast, arid savannah without trees extended all the way until a distant gaping hole easily engulfed their vision.

Underneath that pit was S4.

But Frost’s heart did not scald because of this. No. Such a sight would normally bring her marvel. Before the pit was the fault line itself, and above was an elaborate wooden fortress, rising far into the grey skies.

Her heart continued to burn, and her body felt like it had suddenly caught alight as she could no longer hear the voices of her companions.

“Frost. Your emotions are rapidly heightening…”

She didn’t respond.

Before her, laying in a vast field before the fortress itself, was a banquette table made from flesh and bones. Around 50 cannibalistic members of the enemy Syndicate gorged themselves on human flesh, whether dead or alive.

But if was the end of it then she would have been lucky. Surrounding them were stakes driven into the ground, and atop them were living people, completely impaled from the bottom, out through their mouths. It was something out of the handbook of Vlad the Impaler, and the fortunate ones were spit-roasted over an open flame.

Pots of pickled people swirled and gargled within giant glass jars. Their organs continued to move despite the unbelievably horrific condition they were in. Like the innards of an Octanid, the people devoured were kept alive despite being in a near liquid state.

… Alive for what…? What’s with this needless suffering? To eat people is one thing, but to preserve them is another… All this bloodshed. All this pain. Grief. Sadness… Why? Why?

Why? Why? Why? Why?

WHY!?

Her hair suddenly grew until it fell past her shoulders. Various red symbols quickly surrounded her as flames burst forth from the palms of her hand. They had successfully displayed the worst of their ‘cooking’ techniques to Frost and harvested the exact reaction the Librarians had hoped for.

However, were they prepared to face its consequences?

Frost would be the judge of all of this.

< The Will of the Amalgam Has Been Raised to the First State >

< Borrowing the Active and Passive Skills of the Listening Bird >

< The First State Has Manifested as the Listening Bird >

< Show them the fire they so fear >