Jury couldn’t believe that they were Stars and Moons of the Nexus. While it was no secret that the Stars despised those that weren’t Blessed, she could not imagine them being this sadistic.
If anything, she would have believed them to be the Stars and Moons of the lower half of the Nexus, if that was even possible. She witnessed over the course of only a few days how the forest that separated the north from central Grandis was replaced with a forest of hanging Impuritas.
The ghostly figures of the Black Moons haunted Grandis, and they would curiously watch as various installations like the Isolation Spheres were erected. They’d poke, prod and peer into places that could easily snap their neck in two without a care in the world, and as if they were invisible to the naked eye.
This was all done under the supervision of the Iron Stars, who were more like irresponsible parents that had taken their children to work.
“Beholder Jury~!” A child-like Black Moon cried, hopping in place. “Are you an Aberration or the real thing!?”
“Neither.” Jury swiftly dismissed. “I’m entirely separate from Elysia. Do all Iron Stars and Black Moons know of her?”
“Always! She tried so hard to make us ‘better’, but she ended up giving up on us! You won’t give up on us, will you?”
Jury had heard about how Cer was able to resist Elysia’s influence. She congratulated Cer at first and could not have been happier. But seeing how the Iron Stars and Black Moons had achieved a similar feat and were this deranged, she could only hope that Cer would not turn out like them.
“As long as you’re loyal to the Nexus.” Jury was stumped by their manner of speech. She didn’t know whether to speak to them like they were a child or not. In the end, she wanted nothing to do with them.
Not right now when she had other things to attend to.
For starters, the smoke was confirmed to belong to the Memento Mori which posed communication problems. Jury foresaw major issues down the line, but she did not fully grasp just what that smoke was.
Somehow sensing this, the Black Moon hopped again and answered:
“Side-steppers of light and rightful deeds! The smoke is really problematic, and they dare claim that they seek to be a ‘Star’!”
“Are there properties we don’t know about it?” Jury inquired.
“Just things consequential to us.” She said, pointing at herself. “It severs the link between us and the Nexus. Stars that are intertwined with the Nexus; they who feed from its light like animals to a wet rock in a desert; require its presence to fully utilize some of their powers. It’s up to us Black Moons to reflect it properly to them, or they can’t do wonderful things!”
“Which is why we must eliminate it first.”
Galia entered the conversation. She smugly looked down at the Black Moon.
“Scourer of Souls. Are they not terrifying? They carry the same soul-devouring abilities as Carpalis. You can imagine how the world feared them.”
“You weren’t alive at the time.” The Black Moon said, not remembering Galia’s face at all.
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“History has taught me enough. In any case, the Memento Mori are only aware of the arrival of the Iron Stars and the Black Moons. That is their countermeasure.”
Galia pointed at the smoke. It suddenly made sense to Jury now. Scarlet Logic were fearful of Carpalis’ soul-devouring power. If that smoke could ward away the Iron Stars and Black Moons who could do the same, then it made sense that the City of Spades was consumed by it.
“The Black Box… it cut us off from the tether of the Nexus. When a Star loses all of its own light, it can only draw upon it from others. A Star is a self-sufficient reactor, albeit a dying one. We, as Iron Stars and Black Moons, can only shine when we are able to absorb that light into our receptive vessels. Cut off the ray of light, and we’re kind of useless~!”
The Black Moon knocked on her head, her eyes crazed all of a sudden at the mention of the light.
“Powers… like this…” She then drew a speck of light in her fingertips.
It disappeared almost immediately.
That light was similar to the power of Absolution – the ability to transform Nex into ‘Light’.
“Stars can do it better! As long as we have access to the Nexus’ light, then we are plenty strong! But if not, then it’s ok~!”
Suddenly, the air surrounding the Black Moon changed. The hand that knocked on her head became rash, and she drew a strand of congealed blood. Her pupils shrunk, and her eyes were pried wide as if in the presence of a higher being.
“We can just make our own, no matter the cost. Because that is what it means to exist. Things are not perpetual. Isn’t it sad, that the Memento Mori want to be Stars in this Degenerate Era? Between you and I, Beholders of the Nexus – those touched by the Gifts of Stars – they will be something worse.”
Then, she skipped backwards. Her innocent demeanor returned as if what they saw was just an illusion.
“Goodbye~!” She cried and disappeared into the black forest of impaled Impuritas.
“Moons are generally too fearful to glance in our direction.” Galia began, sighing deeply for the first time. “Why do you think that is?”
“They’re used to Beholders? Didn’t they play a large role in the past during the wars?”
“Correct. Which means they also have experience fighting against the Beholders. We’re the crème of the crop. Beholders are no more than people that possess a Gift from a Star. A measly coffee bean brewed into a golden chalice. But it makes you wonder what they can do with just a fraction of that ‘Light’ in their arsenal.”
“Absolution… Do people have to ruin themselves just to be able to use that power?”
“We do not know. The concept of the ‘Light’ is still mysterious. It’s a powerful ability, no doubt. But it is not like it’s something that can be understood as of yet. Emotions are key, but so is the control over it from what we are aware of…”
“Galia?” Jury whispered, wondering why she trailed off.
“I recalled Frost’s words. She said we should be open to speaking our minds and our hearts, no? For that ‘Resonance’ she spoke of.”
“When did she say that?”
“She never did. I simply wanted a reason to talk. I doubt speaking my mind would induce such a Resonance. But you’re smart, Jury. This whole talk of the ‘Light’ brings back quaint memories from Earth.”
“Was there ‘Light’ in Earth too?”
Jury pulled her eyes away from the black forest and stared at Galia. The woman shut her eyes and smirked before announcing:
“I wonder myself, whether it was light or ‘Light’. There were always miracles in Earth that could not be explained. ‘Light’ was a concept that was interwoven with the divine. As you are aware, I came from a time of scientific revelations.”
Galia then, after another short pause, continued.
“I had a thesis in the mechanisms of light in the physical sense. Like how you understand time, but different from how Knalzark understands space, and Umbra of the cosmos. It bothers me that the same thing I tried to understand is the same thing that governs impossibilities in this world… and perhaps even on Earth too.”
Galia’s mind swam with unnecessary thoughts. It was rare to see her unsure of herself. Could the light of Absolution have caused this? Jury didn’t think so.
Because Galia would not have stared so deeply into the smoke beyond the black forest. It was like she was caught in the sightlines of a beast.
“Jury, do you think darkness is the absence of light, or is there something truly tangible within that darkness that allows it to expand endlessly? I’ve cut myself off from trying to make sense of these things long ago. There is too much conflict in both worlds. All theories are ultimately made in accordance to war. In the end, the truth will be what remains.
Jury, I do not know what a Resonance entails, but I feel like a small weight in my heart has lifted.”