//////// < 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…”

Her smile became neutral. Her black iris absorbed the world as she pushed forth, finding it morbidly humorous for whatever reason as she chuckled internally. What made her laugh was her body’s clear deterioration due to her technology.

“Faustian Bargain can only take the souls of normal people. I’ve never tried it on an Archetype. But I can tell that your soul... is different. I’ve seen all manners of Angels and primordial Demons. No soul radiates like yours…”

Carpalis’ Faustian Bargain lurched over her, further carving the ceiling as she entered a thick veil of heat. The temperatures were so extreme that they took a near physical form, creating a bubble of red and white that ate all within.

It caused her to wince.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“When people call their world a black forest, they look to the skies seeking a star. In desolation there will always be hope. In nothingness, one will wish for there to be light. I have clutched onto this strand of hope my entire life, and it had led me to better horizons. It came with an equal share of shortcomings.”

Carpalis monologued, fighting through barriers of red. Soon, she began to trudge through the minced consistency of the burning Heart of the City, all the while thousands of Memory Bistros watched on, applauding as though to taunt her.

Such a thing could not get through Carpalis’ thick skin.

“… so they show themselves when we are alone at our most vulnerable. Hehe… If they had the chance, they would take us both. Us, who can tamper with souls. It burns. It hurts. But death is a faraway concept. Frost… I too have gone through a similar road seeking hope. This is the price we pay trying to achieve paradise…”

Now, she entered a wall of flames. The ground was like mud, created by molten rock. It sloshed around her knees, but such a heat was nothing compared to the core of the flames itself.

If there was anything to describe Frost, it would be a star.

“It is a road paved in blood. But we mustn’t stop. Frost. Hear this voice. Feel this hand. Know that your plights are the same as ours!”

An impervious barrier prevented her from progressing forward. It repelled her enormous mass as she tried to shove herself through but to no avail. Frost was just behind this barrier, and so, with her Faustian Bargain brimming with a golden light, it thrust itself downwards like a lance sent from the heavens.

|| Dealer of Hands – Salvation ||

This was a power meant to bring peace to a soul by absorbing its throes and emotional clouds. Basically, it was an offer from Carpalis to take upon whatever burden was afflicting Frost. This method was used to help Sana and many of those rescued from the Derma Layer without having them to offer a piece of their soul.

She had attempted it earlier, but the same bizarre repulsion kept her hands separated. It was why Carpalis’ golden hand was never able to touch Frost. What she did earlier was never meant to be an attempt to contain the heat, contrary to what the others believed.

Repercussions never crossed her mind. Her act of selflessness would have caused Frost to cry happy tears if she knew. But also, it would have thrown her straight into the deep end. Because if this kindness was what the Impuritas wished to remove, then they deserved to be burned to cinders.

The repulsive barrier shattered much to her surprise. Multiple layered barriers additionally shattered as the Faustian Bargain pierced through, descending closer to the core where Frost resided. The heat had begun to visibly damage Carpalis, particularly her only remaining hand, which hung limply beside her, blackened and smoking.

“A repulsion… this mock invulnerability… it’s… it’s just like –!”

After one last shatter, her Faustian Bargain collided with the thick shell of a white egg, and in that moment Carpalis eyes widened. She frowned for the first time, horrified to see the pale object encasing Frost.

“… A Genesis Stone. How… why… No. I would have noticed earlier if it was here prior. Did – did you make that, Frost?” Carpalis dragged her golden hand free, her body instinctively retreating from the object. “… I cannot pierce it. Frost… what exactly are you…?”

She recognized the object. It was the same material that made up the Nexus. What made her so certain was not the coloration. Rather, it was the churning, grating sensation she experienced long ago when she first visited the Nexus.

There was only so little she knew of them. But she vividly recalled the moment she tried striking the walls of the Nexus, only to have her hand rebound by its impenetrable make. These things had no known origin much like the Nexus.

But seeing one crystallized around Frost before her very eyes confirmed one thing.

They could be created, these things which were supposed to only belong to the Nexus itself.

Carpalis retreated, understanding well that her efforts were now futile. If not even the strongest Beholders could break such a thing, then how could she possibly do it? The compounding heat and her watered down Eminence Zone guaranteed that no miracles could ever hope to shine in this hellscape.

The ceiling melted, revealing the fleshy interior hiding within the crimson rock. Blood spilled only to be superheated into a red mist. The scenery, now that she had retreated far enough, appeared like the sunset of dying star. The inferno sought to expand its reach, quickly consuming a third of the red sea as Carpalis watched the mayhem unfold with sorrowful eyes.

“… I am ashamed that my hand was unable to reach you. The last time it happened… was when I lost my right hand.” She uttered, climbing with her golden hand, for her normal one was beaten and scorched beyond use. “So long as this is attached, I will still cling onto this hope.”

Carpalis vowed before finally abandoning Frost.

Clambering through the collapsing tunnel, she emerged at the surface where the others waited with hopeful eyes. It quickly soured. Despair took over as Jury clutched onto her tail, trembling at the realization of their failure.

Frost could not be saved.

Geysers of magmatic flames burst forth from bulges formed along the ground. One by one, hundreds of flaming pillars overran the City of Spades, climbing past the City’s blanket of fog.

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!”