The finale was finally upon them.

Their promised end resided at the end of the black highway. Ignis and Ber were all they needed left. Afterwards, it would be Frost’s turn to be saved. The journey was plagued with fire as Sinder turned his attention to them, weaving past the Arbiter’s grasp.

< [Violence on Violence Action] >

The ground moved like a wave in his wake. Everyone knew that his target was now the Archivist, and he’d do anything to eliminate her. His speed was tremendous, easily beyond that of 3,000 AGI.

But he was not the only one capable of moving that quickly.

“Beholder E.”

Res uttered, watching the trail of blue and red form a double helix as they collided with one another, tearing the Floor of Civilization apart from the seams like two celestial bodies were at war.

Infusion S was a spectacle to behold. The devastation that followed was incomparable to the one Iscario left behind in Divas Pass. They intersected them further ahead, obliterating every building in their field of view.

Just one use of this held the power to bring a nation to their knees, and yet it did nothing but stall time for them.

“See that Jury! That’s going to be you one day!” Res exclaimed, ecstatic at the thought of an all-mighty Jury.

“A cripple Jury requiring all kinds of augments?” Cer made a displeased face. “Ewww. I don’t think even Frost would want to eat you –!”

“U-Uh…?” The Archivist, having seen the lewd photographs earlier, turned red again.

“Really? Believe me Cer, you’d be the first to be put into a walking life support machine!” Jury snapped back, but she did so with a wide smile, simply happy to hear Cer’s voice again. “Plus, you’re still so small~!”

“The hell does that even mean!?” Cer growled.

“It means you’ve lost your older sister privileges! So shut up already and keep moving forward!” Res commanded.

< [World Ablaze] >

< “What about the bonds of people? Greed. Hearts. Disposition. Despair. Opportunity. Doubt – so many things can drive a person to murder a friend. The bonds I was familiar with, and saw were no thicker than water.” >

“But you can’t see what the fuck we’re doing for you!?” Cer barked.

“I can’t believe I’m hearing you say that… That’s not Frost’s woes!” Jury was certain of this fact, for she knew that Frost had always reminded them that they were what kept her happy.

< “But what about Scarlet Logic? The Ateliers? ImpulseWorks workers who will happily feed themselves for the quota? The Impuritas that have little regard for their friends, foes and the unaffiliated?” >

< “A common goal is not enough to create formidable bonds. Battle does not strengthen them when desires overlap. There was no sense of comradery. Even those I partnered with were the first to turn on me.” >

A mixture of Frost and Sinder’s woes came to light. The first was Frost’s. Sinder’s manifested around them, the darkness taking form. People adorned in the same uniform betrayed one another. Mercenaries worked for coin and towards a false aspiration, rather than principle.

They watched memories of Sinder dealing with entities wearing the same black military garbs, belonging only to those of one of 12 Bodies. Their first interaction would always be with an exchange of hands, and in the end, an exchange of blood and weaponry.

< “Those that knew were paralyzed by a collective illusion. Those who sought to bring peace were at odds with loved ones. Children spied on their parents, and reported to affiliated Bodies and Arms, for they loved them more.” >

The Archivist fell into deep thought. Memories of a distant past haunted her as she recalled the faces and names of the people who tried to sabotage her.

“All I ever wanted was to archive things. For that… Advent. We all had a goal. To achieve the betterment of the world. Of our city. But it never worked out. One wrong move and you were expelled to the outer rings of the city. People I thought were friends hurt me.”

Poison in her coffee.

Torn pages.

A burning dorm.

Glasses shattered.

A diamond brooch spat on.

A heart-shaped button folded in half.

Her notebook vandalized.

Her back riddled with the bladed gazes of the envious.

Her stomach pierced with daggers.

And in the end… her life lost to someone she trusted the most.

The Archivist, while she knew her experiences of broken bonds were not quite like Frost, were as powerful as his. They were her own, and to her, they hurt her more than anyone could imagine. People willingly threw their lives away, even just to discourage her the slightest. Peers fighting amongst one another to have their names written first on an upcoming thesis.

But even so…

“That didn’t change that I still had people I could count on. You… Elysia. All those warm people that I can’t even remember anymore were there for me! And I remember…! I remember that I was there for you…!”

The road suddenly transformed into a river of blood. The Archivist stared down at her own reflection. Their footsteps did not disturb its calm surface. Within, she saw sparkles of blue. Her brooch was inside of the river of blood as she faintly recalled her final moments in their past world.

< “We had to fight alone. All had their excuses to stay away. There was no such thing as a true bond. All of it was a lie. A parasitic tether that blinded countless to do the bidding of others. To those exiled beyond the city to a world plagued with desolation.” >

Beyond their city was a world barren of all life. Their super Earth only had a small percent that was habitable. But that little percentage was worse than all the lands beyond combined. The Archivist knew it was through artificial means. Why this mattered to her was unknown until she recalled the flower meadows.

“… before those flowers, traitors were buried en mass by you and the Bodies. Those flower fields were more flesh than soil. I remember now. Because that place is what we call Brandar in this world.” The Archivist grueling spoke through clenched teeth.

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< “They were once friends.” >

“So what, you thought about turning us into fertilizer too!?” Cer shouted. “Do you also believe that we were once friends!?”

< “… ‘I’ no longer have friends…” >

< “Only enemies…” >

Soon, at the 500-meter mark, Nav revealed the crystal encasing Ignis and Ber.

Crystalized Directionless

HP : 1

< CONDITION: The Blinded wants to know the strength of their bonds >

< SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Make them remember their bonds! >

The conversation with Sinder did not seem to get anywhere. But in a way, the Archivist could sense a bizarre form of sincerity emerge. His attacks were as brutal as ever, but for some reason…

“… if you really wanted to kill me, then I’d already be dead. How come you only just started to target us?” The Archivist could only speculate.

In the meantime – the others began their verbal assault on their precious friends. Nav did not even get the chance to order her, for her friends were more than enough.

Ignis

< “I feel like I’m a wrench in the –!” >

“IGNIS IF YOU CALL YOURSELF A PAIN OR USELESS AGAIN, THEN I’LL SHOW YOU HELL!” Cer screamed, interrupting the poor girl.

Ber

< “I want to distance myself from people. Keep my mouth shut. These chains are the only things keeping me alive.” >

“Those same chains were the ones eating at you! Don’t forget you became a Corrupted because of it! So don’t – Don’t you dare say something like that! Don’t… hurt me like that, Ber!” Res whimpered, saddened to hear those words leave her sister’s lips.

Electric claws and bone-tipped tentacles were thrown their way, swiping at everything they could indiscriminately as if trying to sever their metaphorical bonds. Each slash was random, like they were blind.

At the 200-meter mark, their attacks became furious. Beholder E. and Sinder made their rounds again, tumbling far behind as the shockwave propelled them forward.

< [A Million Wicks and One Light] >

< [World Abalze] >

He became desperate, and so did the Beholders to stop him.

Ignis

< “I burned bridges before. I hurt people in my home. I don’t want to do it again. My mama used to sleep beneath that tree… I always wondered what she was like.” >

“Don’t forget what you did for all those people we couldn’t save! Our fights we’d never be able to complete without you! Ignis!” Jury wagged her tail happily as she confessed: “You’re like a daughter to me, you know that!?”

“S-Since when!?” Cer blankly blinked.

“She feels like an extension of our family too, if you think about it. Besides… Ignis has become irreplaceable to us. Especially to Ber.” Res couldn’t help but to melt at Jury’s confession.

Nav… I always knew these people were close, but…

< You severely undersestimate them >

< At this point, I don’t think there’s an individual book for them each. They may as well all be written in one great book >

That’s a great metaphor… It feels warm hearing them speak. Beholders, and visitors to my Library were cold. Calculative. Manipulative. But with them, it feels natural. Like they all come from the same womb. I-if you know what I mean!

< They say that the water of the womb is thin. But here, it’s thicker than blood will ever be >

Finally, all four of them reached the black, spade-shaped crystal and placed their hands upon it, instantly forming cracks along its pristine surface.

Ber

< “Just leave me alone. I don’t want to have to do anything with anyone. My sisters are all I need. This water is all I want…” >

“Bullshit!” Res snapped.

“That’s not true at all!” Jury exclaimed.

“BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!” Cer simply shouted her name, her words alone conveying more than a thousand messages to her beloved sister.

And then –!

Ignis

< “… But now, I have people I can not only protect, but also rely on. Papa may be gone, but he entrusted me with Frost. And Frost, while not a replacement, is still someone precious to me, as is Jury. Cer. Ber. Res. Nav. Snap. The Alter Frosts. The people we saved. Everyone… I’m… no longer just a flame to hurt people. I’ve become a flame to be there when it’s cold.” >

Ignis shattered free, falling into the loving hands of all her friends. Her body was lightly wrapped with black ribbons, with one covering an eye. They were one with her body.

Ber

< “No. What am I saying? If those idiots heard me then they’d never let me hear the end of it. Not after everything they’ve done for me. Not after the blood, sweat and tears we all shed fighting together. I don’t care what ideal you want to impose on me. These people are more than just friends. They’re my FLOCK!” >

Ber broke free, also wrapped in the black cloth albeit in a more suggestive manner. Again, a single eye was covered up as she embraced them all in one giant hug, her ribbons wrapping them tightly as she howled for the world to hear:

“I’m going to save you Frost even if it means dying! Because you’d do the same! This is OUR COVENANT! And I’ll happily bleed for my friends!”

< Ignis and Ber Have Manifested the Blood of the Covenant >

Ber’s howl was received by all as Sinder took to the skies again, forming an arm out of tens of thousands of black ribbons. After a brief moment, Ber turned to her sisters with a sheepish smile.

“Water. Blood. Does it really matter~?” She uttered, causing Cer and Res to turn a slight red in response, elated to hear her voice again.

< “Can such emotions be absolved so easily?” >

< “Does it not hurt to know that you were wronged? That at any moment those bonds can break?” >

< “How can you possibly know what the world has in store for you? The anxiety… it ruined me and countless. So many were made directionless. So many were blinded and lost their way.” >

< “Betrayal is not the only means… and I will show you!” >

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

< UNAVOIDABLE ATTACK >

< [Spades of Watered Bonds] >

< “Be buried by the spades of those you trusted!” >

“Are you fucking stupid? Of all the people that I’d want to bury me, it’d absolutely HAVE to be someone I trust!” Ber shouted, her ribbons also transforming into a giant tentacle-like structure as the city lights faded.

“I’m sorry Frost but isn’t that how things are! We don’t know what’s going to happen, but that doesn’t make us directionless! I took comfort just by moving forward with everyone!” Ignis confessed, her precious voice causing her ribbons to combine with Ber’s.

< [Bonded] >

ATT : 50,000,000 MAG ATT : 50,000,000

< EFFECT: Ignores all DEF stats >

And at once, both sides threw their colossal tentacle forward. They snaked through the city, and while Sinder’s destroyed everything in sight, Ber and Ignis’ spared them.

“We’ve fought each other to the death! And look at us! Still hasn’t changed a bit but it was all to save each other! This time, I AM NOT GOING TO FAIL EVEN IF IT KILLS ME! Because you… did everything to save us. That’s our bond!”

The tentacles clashed, coiling into one another. But it was abundantly clear that Ignis’ and Ber’s had the upper hand. It wrapped Sinder’s ribbons, trapping it in place. The tentacle picked up speed, and before he knew it, the ribbon wrapped him, solidifying their bonds as it suddenly squeezed the life out of him.

< “… these dreams you carry… I wish someone could have shown me this when I was lost.” >

< “… but…” >

And with one heave, he was thrown down into the earth, emitting a thud that reverberated across the entirety of the Nexus.

Galia finished off the black crystals as light flourished in their world once again.

Crowned

HP : 110,000,000

< Sinder is on his last leg! >

< “Do you think conquering all my woes is enough? There is one thing you have forgotten about. The one true, ever prevailing woe that plagued all of civilization!” >

< [Rekindled Woe – Crowned] >

< Language of Violence >

Suddenly, the entirety of the Floor of Civilization caught alight as a certain flaming book appeared above Sinder’s head. The pages flickered as the words were absorbed into his body. What was left of Frost was entirely overwritten as the true, dominating personality became Sinder.

It went without saying that this was the end.

< It’s here. The finale. Everyone! Good luck! >