“Did you hear? Something strange was delivered into the Nexus.”
“People are calling it a casket, but don’t you think it’s strange for them to let us see it?”
“Yeah I thought so too. But it’s nice, isn’t it?”
“Mmm. It feels good to at least see what’s going on up there, even if it’s just a hint.”
“Right? Makes you feel proud to be a Blessed!”
The topic of the casket became a hot topic within the Nexus. It spread like wildfire from the Common Hub to the Residential Floor, and even amongst the Associations surrounding the 6th Branch.
“Those giant Instectids marched down the roads. Did you see the size of them?”
“What? You didn’t see the size of their swords?”
“I thought the Heralds were the highest in Act X’s hierarchy. Insane. We were only exposed to the tip of the iceberg.”
“Me too. It was like watching an Undead skeleton parade.”
“C’mon. Skeletons are too brittle to hold up a sword.”
“Undead? You have got to be kidding me. I'll play along: Good thing there’s no Atelier that dabbles in the Undead. Pfft. Like those are a thing anyway. Closest we got are the Mycelli."
Missionaries were far from a common sighting and were considered worthy of being called legends. It was rare for them to allow themselves to be seen, and unlike CogitO’s personnel they had no CognitO Filters to hide them from plain sight.
One had to wonder how and why they were rarely seen by the world despite their large involvement with the strings of the Acolytes and the masses.
After all, their responsibility was to punish those that defied the orders of the Script.
* * *
The Middle Sanctum was exactly as how Frost remembered it. Puff Puffs lunged at her the moment she descended down the stairs which embedded around the central pillar. The playful and immensely powerful beings stuck to her like burrs.
“It can’t be. Are you supposed to be living burrs?” Frost asked one that sat perched on her shoulder, smudging its cheek with a finger.
It purred in delight.
She walked onto the grass with the escort of the Triplets, who were also attacked indiscriminately by the lovable balls of fluff.
“Why, am I not living enough for you?” Ber mistakenly thought she was talking about her. “You wouldn’t expect these things to be so strong. I wonder if they taste any good.”
The happy faces of those that stuck onto Ber’s clothing instantly changed into that of fear.
“I’m kidding, wait, don’t leave me!”
They migrated to Res who colored them using magical paint much to the Puff Puff’s delight.
“They’re just like slimes. I still can’t believe Magicallis can exist inside of the Nexus. You did well. Thank you for always looking after the people down here~” Res hummed.
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Cer on the other hand was being overwhelmed by them. No matter how much she tried to get them off they’d constantly swarm around her ankles, with some even latching onto her tail.
“… Annoying sheep. Do you want me to eat you that badly?”
Unlike with Ber, the Puff Puffs didn’t fear Cer. There was now enough where Cer looked like she had a layer of wool growing from her body. It caused Frost to laugh quietly. She became the literal meaning of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
But they were not here to play around as much as Frost would have loved to. They hopped down several of the branching platforms – which were large enough to be landmasses. Along the way she greeted the Galia’s Sacral personnel, thanking them for their good work.
Many of the crystals that grew here had grown considerably since their last visit. It was mainly thanks to the Isolation Spheres which Galia used to her heart’s content as one of Jury’s major partners.
After soaring through the air and falling from heights that would instantly kill any normal person, they eventually reached a platform devoid of fauna and human life. Beautiful flowers replaced every inch of grass here, and in the center of it all was a pale casket with brilliant golden decorations.
Unfathomable power radiated from the container. The embellishments alone were worth more than any of them could imagine.
“The casket. You never told us what’s in there. Or why you made us come along in the first place.” Cer said as Frost approached the casket.
Floral scents invited her to stop and admire the flowers around her, but Frost resisted the temptation. These flowers were clearly abnormal. Despite their appearance, they were actually a magical species of flowers called Enraptura, which came in the form of any and all flowers known.
They only grew in places with immense concentrations of mana, and their roots must have direct access to it too. They were highly dangerous in the wild as they were often used as lures for man-eating plants or for the manufacture of highly potent drugs.
But the Nexus had the tendency to make things evil become pleasant. The miniaturized Corrupted came to mind.
“Idiot. You’d be the first to complain about not being allowed to come along with Frost.” Res reached down to stroke the petals of a red rose. “It’s beautiful. This place I mean. I still can’t believe this place exists inside of the Nexus.”
“It’s a world within a world. But look out there.” Ber pointed to the expanse that laid beyond the circular veil of the Middle Sanctum.
The oceans that stretched on endlessly were not infinite.
It reached an invisible barrier just at the tip of the horizon.
“I’m willing to bet that there’s nothing outside. This place looks and feels big, but my wolf-senses are telling me that it’s finite no matter how big the Nexus is. Got an answer for us Frost?”
“Who knows.” Frost answered nonchalantly. “I don’t think it’s that important to know what’s out there. At least not now. This place will get bigger the more technologies we add. But that won’t be possible until another Beholder shows up. It’s not like you to ask something like that, Cer.”
“I was thinking about it. The whole talk about the Stars and the Glimmers, and what Res saw beyond our shores. I hate it when someone says, ‘legend this, legend that’. I want to see things with my own eyes. You and I know how big this world is. We all do. That was the first time I’ve ever heard anyone call that place the ‘Expanse’.”
Cer was right. Many people believed that there were more landmasses out there just like their own. But to hear that it was completely inhospitable irked Cer because how would they know if they hadn’t seen it with their own two eyes?
Frost took Cer’s words into consideration. She was brighter than she let on, and it was surprising to hear that she had her sight laid somewhere far away this time. Cer never broke her gaze from the invisible veil that surrounded the Middle Sanctum.
“I don’t even know what I saw to begin with.” Res answered as Frost stood before the casket – which in truth was just an oversized weapon case.
It was high enough to reach her waist. She unlocked the weak locking mechanism of the casket, click after click as Res continued.
“Bear in mind I wasn’t in the right mindset at the time. It was just a blob of nothing, but it felt like I saw something.” Res crouched to touch the flowers, creating a colorful batch as if to ward off an encroaching terror. “My mind blanked out like I saw something I shouldn’t. Its mouth moved to scream but I didn’t hear it. And yet it was the loudest scream I have ever heard.”
“Contradictions like that are the reason why no one can figure anything out. But it’s not like it doesn’t make sense.” Cer said, patting her sister’s head. “It’s alright, Res.”
“The Impuritas want to become what Res saw? I can’t understand that. Being something so hideous instead of being a being true to yourself.” Ber emitted a low-pitched growl. “So Frost, when are we going to take those scum out!? Say the word and we’ll leave to every corner of the world!”
Res shook her head in disagreement, though the glint in her eyes said otherwise as did Cer’s.
“If we act like this then we’ll be isolated and plucked off one by one.” Frost reminded them that even the Impuritas could manage against a Moon.
She lifted the heavy lid of the casket, revealing an artifact that glowed with a cleansing light.
And that light came from a black object.