If the war in the Derma Layer was the War in Hell, then what would a war in the Epiderma be called? The answer was not so simple. There were enough wars in the Epiderma.
The Eternal War of the South; the endless war between the Insectids of Gnawers; the Demons of Emvita; the Dwarves and the Dragons; Monsters of the likes of Goblins and villages.
What difference would one more make?
Everything.
It was a steppingstone that determined whether they would sink, or if they would push through against the Impuritas. There could be no mistakes.
If the previous wars revolved around life and death, ideology, resources, or was simply a matter of exerting natural order – then theirs would determine the course of Elysia itself.
The Light of the Nexus verses the darkness of the Impurtias.
Moons of the Nexus salivated at the thought. Their blood boiled with eagerness to exercise what they knew best – violence. The Seci Response Team would be paramount, and they returned to Time Reverberation’s Workshop as though they were only minutes away from departing.
In the meantime, and as Nexus personnel briskly moved along its halls, Stars were sent out in search of the Scarlet Healers. As powerful as the Black Wings were, they were far from durable and were not intended to face the Impuritas, never mind against a potential Heart of the City – or even multiple.
Scarlet Healers were authorized by Satania, who spoke on behalf of Lucifinia. Curiously, whenever she did speak for Lucifinia, her pupils would shift into slits as if someone else had taken over her body.
Frost was the last to leave the Summit. After seeing everyone off and leaving the chamber spotless, she returned to her Floor of Amalgamation to finally settle down.
* * *
A cool breeze carrying thousands of petals greeted her when she stepped through the wide doors. Fields of flowers and crops danced as if to welcome her, their petals blossoming like she was their sun. The paradise of the Floor of Amalgamation never failed to make her smile.
The Healers that often ran up to give her flowers were long asleep in their cozy homes. Moons were similarly readying themselves to sleep. They could be seen shedding their formal and combat apparel as they collected their towels from homes or from a communal storage.
The Moons and Healers of this floor tended to do things as a community, be it bathing, eating, training or otherwise. It was an initiative enforced by the Healers, which the Moons – known for their vast strength and unsociability – embraced.
Even they could not decline a Healer. Joking aside, it was also their way to better themselves and to move away from the curse of Serum G.
As for sleeping, the Moons had vastly different schedules, so they had their own personal cycles, usually between only 12 hours anywhere between 24 – 100 hours, like the Triplets who infamously worked for 3 days straight as Receptionists.
I can see more smiles since the last time I was here. The Black Wings look happy too.
It impressed her how the Moons were able to go back to living comfortably after the Summit. Granted, they’d be mobilizing in a few hours’ time. The Stars on the other hand immediately departed from the Nexus to deliver their messages. Stars did not require rest.
Rest only came in the form of a cataclysmic death, much like real stars.
She walked along the stone and gravel path under the light of the moon. She could feel the and hear the heartbeats of everyone within this Floor. It was a pleasant sensation. A warm throb that seemed to thank her as she watched tiny Healers playfully tap on the backs of larger, surly Moons towards their bathhouses.
In another world, those two would not have gotten along. It also didn’t surprise that various romances between Moons and Healers had been springing up on this Floor. She began to hum to herself along the way.
That was until she spotted a certain Moon at a rustic rosy pergola. It sat in the middle of the flower field, just beneath the base of her manor. The figure basked in the moonlight; their head raised to its light as they leaned against an ivy-wrapped handrail.
The floorboards creaked as Frost approached them. The woman’s wolf-ears flapped, but she did not turn around with surprise. Her sunken tail began to wag softly like a pendulum, for she knew who this person was.
“Cer? Is everything alright?”
“Just thinking about stuff.”
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“What kind of stuff?” Frost asked, joining her.
“A girl I used to know. Her name was stuff.” A cheeky grin grew on Cer’s face as she stared up at Frost.
“Haaah.”
“I got that one from Nav. Not a bad joke, right? I knew it. You can take jokes waaaaaay better than Jury. I tried telling one to Jury where I said I’m Stuff in response to something she said, and she got mad all of a sudden. Your wife is pent up. Go do something about it.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” Frost immediately regretted coming here. After a long sigh, Frost turned to the moonlit town and spoke: “Cer. Why aren’t you over there?”
“Duh, because I’m still here. You could make a thousand jokes about me hating bathtime, but I’ve already taken mine before the Summit. Come. Smell me… Or not. Fine. Don’t then. It’s your loss.”
Cer smacked Frost playfully with her tail numerous times. Slowly, those smacks became softer and softer. Eventually, her tail drooped silently behind her. A short silence crept between them as they both oversaw the town.
“Why am I not there, huh.” She finally broke the silence. “Really, it’s because I’m still here. I don’t mean it in a coy or dumb way. I really do mean it. I’m here because I’m still…”
Her eyes moved onto the roses and a pile of broken thorns beneath the railing. Then, they moved to a blue dahlia before sweeping the landscape. Eventually, her distant, giggling sisters came into view.
“… trying to catch up with everyone else. I had a bit of an introspective and I started thinking about suff. How much everyone’s changed. Things like that. And I’m still back here trying to take steps to go forward. Problem is…”
She then turned her sight to the moon again, her eyes glistening.
“… things keep getting further away the closer I get. I’m not afraid to tell you, this Frost. Because it’s you.”
Cer dove straight into the root of her woes, exposing it to the world without a care. They were like brambles holding her back, and she did not know how to snip them off.
“I want to be there, right beside them. I can always do that. I just have to walk. But it’s hard to not think about how much they’ve grown while I’m still acting like a Jester.”
She unloaded her problems onto Frost, who happily lent her ear.
“Then there’s Raoul. At one point I really thought that if I kept making problems, then he’d come snap me out of it. Scold me in front of everyone. Or just… talk to me. Part of problem is me. Looking at my sisters now, I can’t believe it took me this long to realize that I can’t be the one waiting.”
A small smile formed on her face.
“Because no one is coming to me. They’ve already left.”
She had a lot on her mind, enough that it caused her small shoulders to tremble lightly. She shouldered everything on her own. Cer was the only person who had never asked for nor needed help from Frost. All she wanted now was someone to hear out her heart.
Cer’s tail wrapped around Frost’s hand as it moved to land on her head. Just as Cer said this, her sisters waved at them and began walking in their direction.
“That just means I have to try to catch up to them even faster. It’s weird. Heh. To me it feels like it all happened instantly, but to you or anyone else this change happened over the course of months. Years. Decades. All just lost like that.”
“I can punch Raoul for you.” Frost offered, moving from the pergola and into the garden. She reached out towards Cer, hoping to take her hand and bring her forward.
However, Cer walked past her, chuckling:
“That’s gotta be done by me. Besides, I have a feeling that he blames himself for a lot of things in the past too. We have our own twisted versions of the past. I just want to reach him and settle it once and for all.”
She then turned back to Frost, twirling on her heels. Petals showered over her form, and for just a moment, the golden spark in her heart flickered with immense intensity.
Cer wore an empowered expression.
“So I gotta walk the walk. Or is it run the run? Who cares. Whatever it is, I can’t be taking someone’s hand to pull me out of my rut. The only right way is the one in front of me. I just need to be faster so I can’t get left behind anymore.”
Then she gave Frost her own hand, to which Frost gracefully accepted.
“You’re strong, Cer. Really, you’re the strongest person I know. Just know that if you ever end up straying from that path, then I’ll always be there right next to you. I won’t run in front of you. I’ll just be here.”
Cer rubbed her chin into her collarbone, her ears flicking wildly as if Frost had just confessed to her. Usually she’d revel, boast, or place her hands on her hips and grin. So this reaction took Frost by surprise.
It was one of the rare moments where Cer could be called cute.
“I guess I can live with that. You know, it would be nice if that instantaneous feeling of lost time could translate into speed.” Her eyes seemed to glow brighter than the moon all of a sudden. “Hell, even I can tell how delayed our senses are. You’d think a wolf with electric blood wouldn’t have any delays, but nope. It’s like we’re constantly experiencing the past. Can’t have everything in this world.”
Cer laughed.
“Did Jury tell you that?”
“Yeah. Kinda. A bit. Maybe a lot. No, Ignis did. Point is, it’s bullshit that it’s all delayed. I know ours is much shorter, but still! Ahh! And you’re leaving again tomorrow. Well, so much for staying by my side.” Cer jabbed.
“About that – Cer, I was actually thinking of brining you along.” Her jaw hung open.
“Huh…?”
Her one braincell could not process this.
So, Frost reworded the question.
“Cer. I want you to come with me to Grandis.”
“Wait, what about Jury?”
“She’s coming too, remember?”
“Tch.” Cer grunted. “Alright. I’ll come along for your ploy to restore Grandis. Not like there was anything to restore in the first place. You’re better off writing palimpsests over Grandis’ history. It’s settled. I’ll be ready to depart by sunrise.”
With that said, Cer left Frost’s side to join her sisters. It felt lonely watching Cer walk off on her own. Of the Triplets, felt the closest to a daughter somehow, mostly because of how many heart-to-hearts they had over the course of their relationship.
Cer only wants to move forward. There’s nothing she wants to unearth or bury in the past.
“Are you worried that she may soon Corrupt?”
Frost drew a long breath and began walking towards her manor.
Cer’s the only one that hasn’t experienced it. The Impuritas went after the others and successfully caused them to Corrupt. No doubt they’ll be going after Cer now.
“You missed the point of my question. I meant Cer herself. She does not have repressed desires like Ber, neither does she bury her trauma like Res. She’s openly embracing them.”
It’s hard to say. But Cer being Cer might be the reason why I don’t think she’ll Corrupt. It’s as you say – she has nothing to hide. Although… if she does end up being left alone, then I think that could be an avenue for Corruption. That’s why I’ll be staying close to her this time.
I will not allow her to Corrupt.