The world watched in stupor at the small band of Demi-humans. Showers of light sparkled in their eyes as people funneled past the guarding Liquidators, leaving the safety of their bunkers to witness the birth of a legend with bated breaths.

It was like a firework viewing. Places as far as the City of Diamonds witnessed the birth of an ethereal moon in the shadow of the Nexus. For just one moment, the fighting across all Sectors of the City of Clubs ceased. Sounds of clashing steel and the pulverization of bones were relinquished. The eyes of many Ateliers and Impuritas stopped to watch the miracle of who they believed was the Black Dove.

The many hands reaching for the Piece of the Fallen Star cramped.

Ber’s metal rod flew like a comet, hailing pale particles of light. The torrent of flames failed to devour it this time. It pierced through the membrane of the Big Black Spade, causing it to turn transparent as it revealed the central orb, which mashed violently with Frost’s embryotic shell.

The spear did not degrade. It did not fragment. A vacuum formed as it cut through the unbearable heat. Ber’s accuracy was frightening, and before one could even blink, the rod pierced through the Blood of the Covenant, safely exiting from the other end coated in watery blood.

It popped. Its protective Big Black Spade transformed into a giant ball of water, flooding the city as none could believe that they had just witnessed the defeat of a Woe of the Fallen Star Corrupted by merely a handful of individuals. Frost’s flames came to an abrupt end, as if extinguished by the water. Steam enshrouded both orbs, and as the shadow of the Nexus finally passed they witnessed her shell devour the Corrupted, attaining the 4th chapter of the Book of Cinder Civitas.

Only one more chapter remained now.

Ber floated there motionlessly, still holding the same throwing stance. She couldn’t believe that it worked so flawlessly, and to her surprise, Jury was indeed unharmed thanks to her Invulnerability Condition. None shared a word. Only breathless pants left each of their lips, including the White Wing who was impressed by the spectacle.

She glanced over at the Advent of Desire, suddenly biting her lip in abrupt disappointment.

“Inferior materials…” Was all she could utter before Frost’s shell expelled light, rivalling that of the Piece of the Fallen Star.

Ber instinctively shielded herself and Jury using her wings. The light Frost summoned could be seen as far as the distant continents of Elysia as the Nexus rung with another hollow hum like that of a trumpet before her embryo flung past them at a speed that distorted space.

It hurdled somewhere to the side closets to the walls of the Nexus in C4, crashing into the urban sprawl like a meteorite. When the flash of light subsided, it became their mission to retrieve Frost now that her flames had disappeared.

“It’s… is it over?” Ignis wondered, losing the Bonded Condition as Cer regretfully shook her head, pointing her fangs at the animated mound of flesh ahead.

“Not until something’s done about them. Hey. White Wing. What the fuck was that?” Cer growled, right as Ber and Jury made the abrupt decision to leave ahead without them.

“There they go. Are they leaving it to us?” Res deeply exhaled, exhausted from the ordeal. “… ‘inferior materials’. You sound like you’re with the Librarians. What the hell do you know?”

“That no wish from beings like Jury and myself will be granted in full. Look at them pitifully reach for another’s wish. They’re just Nex and they don’t even realize it. It’s concerning. That a Faux Angel has yet to arrive.”

“Sounds like you were in on this war because you wanted to have your wish granted. I knew it! You’re a fucking enemy!” Cer spat.

“Believe me, I will be the least of your concern.” The White Wing assured, scouring the skies with sudden desperation. “I’m hating this by the second. Why hasn’t anything arrived? A Faux Angel should have appeared by now...”

She ignored their protests. When Cer attempted to scratch her, her nails simply bounced off the White Wing’s apparel. The Angel gave Snap a fond pat, then Ignis, and regretfully was unable to touch the other two.

She stood, suddenly turning her back to them to hide her growing concern.

“… take care of yourselves. Something is terribly wrong.”

With that word of caution shared, she disappeared, leaving behind speckles of luminous feathers. Snap took a sudden turn and ran into the direction of Frost after it received a message from Nav.

< The Advent of Desire is under the control of the Archetype of Desire >

< No Angel or similar entity can interact with it so long as I occupy it >

< It must be removed before further harm to the city can be done. Lesser wishes are being granted across the Nex Megalopolis. Until then, please leave this endeavor to me >

< Please, go to Frost! >

* * *

An unnamed city square became the impact site of the pale embryo. The densely built structures crumbled as the faint sounds of distant screaming could be heard.

The eggshell cracked. Those screams roused the being within. Shards of pale stone collapsed as black strands of hair fell through its cracks. Eventually, a clothed woman broke free, crawling into the world with the same strength of a newborn chick.

Frost couldn’t stand yet. Her body felt numb. Her baggy clothes fooled her into thinking she had shrunk, but in reality, she felt a little larger. All she could see was the cobblestone. All she could feel was its coldness against her cheek.

The air of this world was welcoming, and the screams ceased before she had the chance to notice them. For a moment, Frost’s eyes glistened with moisture. The world she saw was unaffected by war as far as she could tell. Her many invisible eyes couldn’t see much, like they had yet to open.

“… did they do it…?” Frost asked herself, smiling fondly as sensation slowly returned to her body. Gradually, she was able to push herself up onto her feet as she followed a tall wall for support. “Where… is everyone? Nav? Jury? Hello? Is anyone here?”

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It was not until she reached a window that she saw her changes. Nothing was substantial aside from her eyes, which glowed a vibrant red, as if she was possessed by a spirit of wrath. The trauma of the memory was still fresh in her mind, but seeing the world left mostly untouched instilled her with hope.

Her legs began to move faster. The skies were still hard to see with all the buildings obscuring it. The city was like a maze, capable of housing many. But she could not find a single soul.

Confused, she knocked along doors only to be answered with silence. Eventually, she barged into one house only to find it ransacked, with belongings taken like someone had left in a hurry. The same was true for every following home.

Suddenly, she was greeted with the sight of death after she turned a corner. Bodies laid buried beneath fallen debris. Her gag reflexes kicked in for the first time in what seemed like years, and her stomach twisted to the horrific sights of death.

… Is it not over? Is this the aftermath? It… it has to be the aftermath.

Suddenly, after several more corners, she ran into a healer of all people. She was soaked in blood, and the moment her eyes fell upon Frost the woman began to weep.

“You’re alive! Finally… I’ve found someone that’s alive!” She ran towards Frost with open arms, having seen unimaginable horrors.

A healer. Poor thing… another of them died over there.

She noticed the body of another healer. It laid almost hidden away within a cart. The pale strands of hair made it clear that it was indeed a healer. She guessed that it was her friend judging from how distraught she was.

And so, Frost weakly accepted the offer to comfort this healer.

“Thank you. It’s awful! Dungeons – they’re everywhere! I couldn’t heal anyone!” She complained, confirming to Frost that the war was still…

“… it’s still not over? How… long has it been going on? Hey… hello?” Frost slowly asked, feeling the hands of the healer suddenly snake their way behind her back.

“Not long enough~”

“Huh –?”

Frost’s gasp was not one of pain, even though the needle of a Serum vial had just touched her neck, as did the tip of a dagger. Both shattered upon impact, shocking the healer almost as much as Frost was with her sudden assassination attempt.

“N-no way. What the fuck!? HEY! There’s a strong one over here! OBLITERATE IT!” Her unapologetic scream caused Frost’s heart to wrench as she looked back at the felled healer, watching as other false ones barged through, flipping the wagon to reveal the naked, violated body of this world’s equivalent of an Angel.

And it was not just one or two. But more than a dozen healers were collected and routinely stripped of everything they owned, including their life.

“… I don’t believe it.” Frost was already at her wits end.

Their deaths and the unapologetic cheer of both Scarlet Logic forces dressed in civilian wear, and Impuritas entities caused something to shatter within Frost. It wasn’t a metaphorical shatter. It was the literal destruction of her mind. Frost’s gaze disappeared behind the veil of her hair as projectiles, acidic bile, and all forms of magic bombarded her.

But their relentless effort to purge her was in vain. Not a single scratch was left. Not a single strand was cut. Frost could only stand there, wallowing in every through, every memory, and every event that had led up to this one moment.

“She’s not dying!”

“Got a clue on what that thing is!?”

“Kinda looks like that black Angel we saw earlier! Hey! Ain’t that heartbreaking! She’s crying!”

“You think she’s a healer? By a normal person would have retaliated.”

“Hey, they’re not pale enough. I think some are still alive. Quickly, get the containers. We need more of their blood!” One beaconed, injecting a thick needle into the base of a healer’s skull.

“A healer with black hair? Don’t make me laugh. Not a scratch. Monster… just – die for our mission already!” The same false healer spat, thrusting a blade straight for Frost’s face, only to have it snap in half. “A-again!? Where the hell are the Midnight Teams when you need them!?”

Frost grasped onto her hand, locking her in place as her crimson eyes stared back at her through the strands of her hair. Their voices soon disappeared. The bombardment may as well not exist. Frost fell into a state of mental turmoil, trying to make sense of their actions as imagery of the many innocent lives she had claimed came back to haunt her.

The woman struggled. She tried to flee. To cut herself loose but her body violently regenerated even before the blade could sever her arm clean. A kaleidoscope of every single one of Frost’s woes of civilization played in her mind endlessly.

She despaired not because of her actions. But because of the way these people responded to their own actions. Where Frost lamented them, these things… these impurities reveled in it.

Frost recalled her moment within the cavity of the Express Train to Hell. How she wished she could just… burn it all down. Slowly, she brought the woman close, holding her face into her palms as tears fell down Frost’s cheeks. Her reality shattered before her eyes. The woman in her hands did not even appear like one anymore.

The Nexus throbbed with a low-pitched thump.

Everything was unforgivable. Frost couldn’t even hear herself think in the cacophony of revolving memories. The guilt was insurmountable.

“Why… can’t we find another way? Why… does everything have to be like this? Why is there nothing we can do to change it? In this endless cycle of repletion… Why is that people like us who want to end it are made enemies?” Frost wept, speaking through her tears as her body began to change.

She could not even see the familiar faces that arrived at the scene. Her mind had become her world as shades of blue began to creep into the environment. Gradually, the woman in her hands was molded into the shape of a green suit of clubs, Frost’s body shrinking until she became no taller than a child.

Their voices did not reach her. Their voices carried little weight.

“… That I am the cause of all of this? I just wanted to help. I wanted to end this. I was villainized for it. I wondered time and time again why we couldn’t just speak. Why is it that violence… is the only thing that can stop it from breeding?”

The Nexus throbbed again, and its pale exterior turned to a shade of black for only a moment, the golden veins turning red like it was infected with a disease.

Frost, in the back of her mind, heard the words of Elysia as her body became blue. As she fell to the floor in the middle of a blue crossroads, holding onto the green club like a frightened child.

“The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is a world. Who would be born must first destroy a world.”

< All I can feel is regret >

< Every street I’ve walked was lathered in blood. Every unturned stone hid a body >

< I trampled on them with my good intentions >

On each signpost above her was the symbol of each suit of cards, aside from clubs. The largest of the signs was one of a burning crown. Everything within a 10km radius was transformed into a blue-tinted city, with four major paths intersecting where Frost knelt, weeping into her green pillow, still assaulted by barrages of magic.

< Why was it only me who cared? >

< I sat at the crossroads of morality, wondering how else we could have dealt with it. Was there truly no other choice than bloodshed? >

< Innocent lives lost >

< This caring me is a shackle, isn’t it? >

< Motivated by greed; the Ateliers will turn a blind eye >

< Motivated by the heart of one; people will justify their wrongs for their unified cause >

< Motivated by nothing but conflict; bonds will be forever broken >

< Is there no other language than violence? >

Frost’s weeps echoed throughout the manifested city as her grip tightened around the cushioned club.

< I hold onto what’s left of my humanity. Without it… I will become no better than them. This is my courage. Please don’t take it away from me >

< We… no. I discarded many >

* * *

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

THE AMALGAM’S BREAKDOWN EVENT HAS BEGUN

These were the words Jury and Ber feared the most. The one person who should never have despaired broke down, and now, the world would feel its wrath. Ber had believed her manifestation of her Corrupted was arbitrary considering how quickly things had ended.

But unbeknownst to them was that this was only the beginning.