The cogs of the machine were falling into place.
Afterwards, they’d have to grease them thoroughly before the Head could finally begin cleansing away the impurities of the world.
There was still much to be done before the year ended. Thankfully, time was their friend this time around. The definition of the Head had expanded dramatically over the course of a few days. It became an entity that represented the Amalgam, extending over to the healers, Moons, Stars, Time Reverberation, Frost’s closest companions and most importantly, the Alter Frosts.
The Archetypes were initially going to be included in the definition, but the Arbiter figured that it was better to be able to differentiate the Head from the Archetypes. The days leading to Frost’s formal invitation of the Moons into her Floor of Amalgamation saw Jury borrowing Galia’s Workshop.
She tinkered with the White Light Apparatus and her surplus of Nex, generously gifted by Oboros Infinitas who would be one of Time Reverberations’ closest partners. Jury relayed as much as she could to Frost, whilst also keeping some secret developments to herself until her Workshop was up and running.
She did not want to reveal her tech’s power to grant invulnerability. Not even to Galia. As much as the Arbiter trusted her, and as much as Frost wanted to trust a fellow Earthling – they needed to restrain themselves from mistaking their complacency with trust.
Frost’s goal later on was to oversee Jury’s Workshop. Apparently it was a straight forward procedure that did not require an Archetype. However, Galia had expressed that she had issues with some of her personal installations ever since Frost acquired the Nexus, hinting that from here on out Nexus-affiliated Ateliers would have to be approved by her.
“Kind of annoying that the Nexus has a voice of its own but can’t think for itself.” Frost complained, breaking the silence of Anna’s grand library.
She sat beside the silver-eyed girl who was dressed in a frilly Victorian-styled dress as she prepared for them both. The kettle hissed over an orange feather that sat on top of a cute wooden coaster. It pulsated with a haze of spectacular heat that not even Frost could linger by for more than a couple of seconds.
Anna on the other hand was able to freely move it as though it were any regular feather, using it as a handy heating element for her sudden tea breaks. It appeared like an ordinary magical item akin to the fire crystals, but this was none other than a Corrupted Item gifted by Sinder himself.
Final Feather of The Scorched Dove
< Write your story anew in a world worth cherishing. The feather is a reminder of the day memories were burned. Never let them burn again. The final gift to you >
ORIGIN : Object
AFFINITY: Civilization
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
TYPE : Misc ATT DEF : 15,000
MAG DEF : 15,000
RESIST : 200
EFFECT : Resistance to the Civilization Affinity. DEF stats are converted to ATT damage when touched by those that are not Anna. Text written by the quill cannot be erased without Anna’s permission. The feather serves as a protective memento in homage to the blue false diamond Sinder once gifted to Anna.
Nav? Did you add that last part or is it part of the Corrupted Item?
Frost asked as she took a long sip from a tiny porcelain cup decorated with painted flowers.
“I did not. To have it in the EFFECT segment is bizarre. It’s as if Sinder left that message there in the item itself.”
Does Anna know?
“She always has.”
She looked over at the giddy girl who lapped at her tea, burning her tongue as she stuck it out like a child.
“Ouch!” Anna cried.
“Have you tried drinking tea while wearing Sinder’s coat?” Frost proposed, downing her tea and even the loose leaves like it was nothing.
“I’ve twied wit.” The girl spoke whilst wincing from the burn, right before a she was healed with a swift [Area Heal]. “T-Thank you. But it’s not as tasty when you can’t savor it. That’s what I think. When you drink tea it’s never to invigorate you like coffee. It’s meant to calm you down and to be enjoyed in mellow times. Just like this.”
She said whilst tapping a certain pale, rectangular object that stabilized the uncertain timescale of the Eternal Library.
“It’s amazing what magic can do. We call it technology but really, it’s just magic.” Anna hummed, blowing on the surface of her cup.
“Honestly, anything that breaks physics is magic to me.” Frost said, causing Anna to laugh.
“Ahaha – I thought you’d say that. You’re not really into trying to understand all of this mind-bending stuff. To be honest with you, I’m also the same. I’ve read so many books that it’s kind of embarrassing that I’m not smart enough to say otherwise.” Anna smiled as she stared into her own reflection, right as shuffling could be heard just beyond the bookshelves that isolated this warm place like a secluded sanctuary.
“Genesis Stones are the answer.” A cold, calculative voice spoke as a figure suddenly emerged from around the corner with an open book hanging on their head like a hat. “Discoveries of certain materials have revolutionized the way technology works in Earth. Take the silicon chip for example. I could recite all it enables for the next five years straight and still have more to say. The Genesis Stones are no different.”
“Very different, but I get what you’re saying.” Frost quickly answered. “Genesis Stones feels like a technological singularity. Nothing even comes close to it as far as I’m concerned. Pair that with the fact that it’s a natural resource and you have yourself a recipe for disaster.”
“Except that Ber has proven that emotions can create them too.” Nav reminded. “The growth of the Pillar of the World in the past is also proof.”
“Linked to me as always.” Frost deeply sighed as she sunk into her seat, slipping down until her back was against the butt of the chair. “You have to wonder how the hell they managed to get their hands on it in the first place. Aside from… well, that light being harvested.”
“I would like to know too.” Anna nodded, kindly refilling Frost’s cup and one for Nav to enjoy. “Like how that star fell and was captured.”
Nav suddenly stood over Frost, casting a dark shadow over her as she drilled into her eyes inquisitively.
“You won’t refer to yourself as the ‘light’?” She tilted her head, wondering why Frost avoided it at all costs.
“… it feels weird. I know that was pretty much me, but I’d just rather not be called that.” She admitted quietly, repositioning herself appropriately before twisting herself to face Nav. “My memories of Earth don’t make any sense if that really was me in there. Maybe they called Otherworlders that ended up in the old Elysia ‘Captured Stars’?”
There was a bit of denial on Frost’s part. She would honestly rather not think about it and focus on the now. It annoyed her having to remember it, but the unfortunate truth was that she couldn’t keep running away.
One of these days they’ll find the truth.
She just hoped she’d be ready for it.