“Princess. I don’t know if you’re aware, but this is –!”

“Don’t say it! Please… please don’t say it! I know what it is! I know why they have all of this set up! It was to stop mother from leaving! Because of me… because I gave her the apple, she had to sleep downstairs all this time!”

“… So the destination is the dungeon. Where your mother is. I don’t know what’s going on, but this Angel must’ve despised her. That contempt then spread to you.” Frost whispered.

“I don’t know why! I never did anything wrong to her!”

“Princess. Whether you did something wrong doesn’t matter to people that think our existence is a sin. They already blamed us for their misery. People like them don’t need any other reason to want us gone.”

Frost spoke deeper than she ever had to the Princess, silencing her as she gulped heavily.

“The Angel that set this into motion wanted you to die if you survived against the Icon of Judgement. That much is clear to me now.”

Frost prepared to obliterate the Hemorrhagic Effigy as its pointed wings stared back at them, ready to eliminate them at will. It didn’t move, and Frost’s precognition didn’t see it attack either.

Its sole purpose was to protect the basement from this girl.

“Then… Then what about Miss Colorless?” The Princess groaned. “She’s the one who told me to feed my mother the apple!”

“How long ago was that!? I thought your mother’s tears made this city!”

“She did even before that! And after! The same apple you ate is the same one she took a bite from! I thought that if I let her take another bite then she’d be ok! But I never understood why she was always crying!”

A presence from behind emerged unexpectedly as the Princess cried:

“That’s why I know that the bird was my mother! Otherwise… why would she call to me? It’s obvious now. The red Angel wanted us both dead. Maybe mother wanted to see me one more time. Please tell me… Frost. You… You know something! I know you do! But I don’t understand why… why you know so much for someone I’ve never seen before! For someone that looks just like me but with different eyes and hair!?”

Her Emotional State had just heightened. Frost instinctively knew. Thankfully, this girl didn’t have any Corrupted to manifest. However, her emotional state caused the castle to rumble, like how Frost’s own emotions would to the Nexus.

“… The castle is reacting to you? Tearstone isn’t the same as Genesis Stones. Unless…?”

*BANG*

A bullet passed over their shoulders, silencing the girl who yelped out as the Hemorrhagic Effigy exploded. Several more beams of light passed overhead, evaporating the blood as well as breeching the hatch which led into a dark basement.

“The reason shall be told as we unwind what has been wounded.”

Galia’s voice came from behind.

But Frost knew better who that truly was.

Their appearance was close to the real thing now, save for her golden eyes.

“You’ve decided to learn the truth. To pursue this fruitless endeavor to the bitter end. Fine. It shall be as you wish.”

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Dark Memoria announced her appearance with thunderous resolve. Her eyes sank, clearly filled with ire over Frost’s decision. However, her strides towards Frost and the Princess were friendly, her body hinting at notes of relief.

“The roots of our attachment shall open, and we will descend to unwind it. It’s conflicting. To see you still standing…” She reached towards Frost’s hair, but eventually settled on the Princess. “… But you’ve proven me wrong. She would be happy to see you like this.”

“Feel like telling me who you’re talking about?”

“We’ll be discovering it. All of us. A flower like you has unimaginably deep roots… How you’ve blossomed only makes me wish you could have remained umoving. No matter. What’s done is done. I have learned something watching you, for better or worse.”

She spat with vitriol, moving past Frost.

This made Frost smile for some reason. Hearing that she managed to get through to an Aberration of Elysia was delightful.

“Consider this form an act of theophany. Strange things are happening here, just so you are aware.”

“The Sins, right?”

“Partially. Frost. Seal the Subcut Layer.”

< This Aberration is correct >

< I didn’t notice it at first, but there is leak from the Subcut Layer >

< That is how these Sins are entering the Epiderma >

Dark Memoria explained further before Frost could even have a chance to speak. In the meantime, Frost used [Oblivion Lock] and to her surprise – the bleeding that originated from around the room ceased entirely.

“The Subcut Layer houses things of the old, present, and future, like Deep Time. But they are two completely different things. The Subcut Layer is home to a soup of cognitive malevolence. Deep Time is merely a gateway to the past, present and future – a place with no meaning, but it is a place that Aberrations remember being born from.”

She explained in detail to Frost as if to make up for her wrongs. Her back straightened with confidence. There was still an air of doubt surrounding Dark Memoria for handing this information to Frost so easily.

But those slumped shoulders screamed that Frost, at the very least, deserved to know for she had earned it.

“I have things I also wish to tell you as we descend into the source of the Rewound. As you are also aware, an active Genesis Stone exists within. Before you ask, they work within our domains. They are an Eden of the mind and heart. But even we can interfere with it.”

Frost approached her with the Princess. The young girl stared at Galia. It was clearly hers, but her mannerisms and eyes said otherwise. She remained silent and on Frost’s back like a baby koala.

“Infinite possibilities are drawn from within. It just so happens that the Wound is in the same place as the Genesis Stone. We’ll be seeing a combination of the two. Emotions take such abstract forms. The reproduction of my Rewound may be affected, but otherwise, it shall make no difference.”

Frost peered down, finding a long, thick, metallic-white ribbon that ran down into the deep, ladderless abyss.

That was the enormous mainspring of a clock – its engine.

“… Frost is a strange name.”

“So I’ve been told.” Frost murmured.

“But it oddly suits you.” Dark Memoria hummed, mellowing slightly as she met with Frost’s eyes longingly. “I recall snow being where that child came from. Long before she set foot into the White Forest. I don’t possess such an archaic memory. But I… have always heard of that interaction upon every loop. Attachment is a dangerous thing.

I am warning you Frost, this is your last chance to back down. We can forget any of this happened.”

Frost sat at the edge of the hatch, dipping her legs into the darkness. She had already made her decision before she was asked this.

“I need to know what happened here. I want to know more about myself. If it means getting hurt in the process, then so be it. I have people I trust who can catch me when I fall or break. People that can comfort me when I’m at my lowest point. People that know me only as Frost, and not some Star or Light.”

Her resolve reached Dark Memoria. As much as the Aberration wished to refute it, she kept her lips sealed and only accepted Frost’s indomitable heart.

Dark Memoria dipped her legs into the darkness as she sat across from Frost. Their eyes met, and if it weren’t for Frost’s impatience, then she would have locked her eyes with her forever.

“Then may you find what you seek within.”

Frost descended into the darkness, falling towards a golden light at the end of the white ribbon.