The one-sided massacre didn’t end in the Middle Sanctums.

3,500 Impuritas were spread across the Floors of the Upper Sanctums. This number did not include the Librarians who entered the Eternal Library through an unidentified route.

Warning appeared in the prompts for all Blessed within the Nexus. The type of warning varied between the regular Blessed who were closer to citizens of the Nexus than its defenders, and those who could be deployed to cut out the rot.

Of course, there were Blessed who could not help but feel like they had a duty to help. It was apparent that leaving the Residential Floors would result in an untimely death, but even so, the sentiment was shared.

After all, the Blessed of the Nexus were primarily Adventurers. Being incapable of assisting the Nexus left a foul taste in their mouths as they remained in their homes or underground bunkers. These could be found spread throughout the Residential Floors, and possessed enormous doors made from the same near indestructible material as the Nexus.

As a result, it was one of the safest places within the Nexus.

They marinated in self-distain. Adventurers had their pride to caress. To cower and hide was an insult not just to themselves, but to the Nexus that provided everything they could have ever wanted.

As the Blessed ruminated on these thoughts, Time Reverberation levied a mass scale response against the invasion. Candidate Moons, Aspiring Moons, Eclipses, Lunars, Auditors, and the few Seci Response Moons saturated the halls of the Nexus within the Upper Sanctums.

Hundreds of boots strode through the halls like the drums of war. An opportunity had presented itself to the Eclipses who oversaw the combat curriculum of the Candidate Moons. Impurtias of this level were rarely, if ever, fought by normal people. Those who did usually did not return to tell the tale.

Inhabitants of Elysia were used to the Dungeon, Infestation and Plague-level Impuritas. It was only natural for the Eclipses to want to teach their Candidate Moons about the enemies of the Nexus.

And what better way than for a practical demonstration?

Time Reverberation descended from the Upper Floors, annihilating the 1,000 stray Impuritas who roamed the halls. Their deaths were far from swift. The swarm of highly augmented beings like the Aspiring Moons and the Moons themselves was like a tidal wave crashing upon a small boat.

How could have the Impuritas known that Time Reverberations headquarters was located inside of the Nexus, when nearly every Atelier was built outside?

Such questions were useless. The entire reason they were here boiled down to two things: cause as much damage as possible and gather information.

The former goal was a fruitless endeavor. Aside from facing the full brunt of the Nexus’ strength, there was little else to find.

Their blood painted the walls as they were hunted down. Even the Candidate Moons proved difficult to fight, as they were backed by Lunars and several Black Wings who would riddle their backs with Healing Bullets.

Those bullets had enough force to shatter a person’s sternum into a hundred pieces. And yet, the Candidate Moons, thanks to the high-quality cloth of their suits, were able to tank them. The pain could not be ignored of course, but the fact that it did not hamper their assault was a testament of how rigorous they were trained.

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One had to remember that a single month in Universal Time equaled a year in Relative Time. The few months that they had been training were well over several years already. It was expected for new recruits of an Atelier or any organization to be weak.

But the Candidate Moons, who were at the bottom of the barrel of Time Reverberation, could hold their own. Their numbers and sheer variety of combat techniques made it difficult for the Impuritas to properly assess their strengths and weaknesses. The dead could only tell of how Time Reverberation possessed a myriad of combat styles and weaponry, making it impossible for the likes of the Crimson Hunger to manufacture countermeasures.

This was also why the Moons did not go all out. It was like Galia said; the most dangerous thing in war is what you don’t know. The sloppy assault of the Nexus was the result of this. 25,000 Impuritas was a lot, but clearly nowhere near the many millions out there.

But would a million of them make a difference?

* * *

The Impuritas’ findings only brought even more confusion. For instance –

“Why are the Moon Triplets still inside of the Nexus!? If they are the Head’s strongest pawns, then shouldn’t they be fighting in Grandis!?” A dark aberration that resembled a human shadow exclaimed.

This was a Fractured. Accompanying him in the lower floors of the Upper Sanctums was a Memory Bistro and a number of Scarlet Logic monsters. Blood trailed behind them as they rushed through the corridors, unable to find their way through. It quickly became apparent that the Nexus possessed unique characteristics.

“There was no mention of the Nexus being this large. The Brightest Star remembers the halls being straightforward.” The Memory Bistro spoke.

It didn’t matter which direction they went. Even moving backwards did not bring them to the same place. Space itself had distorted around them; a phenomenon that was documented to only occur in the Middle Sanctums according to their Brightest Star.

“Did it change because of the Amalgam?” He spoke again, the name itself causing the Fractured to tremble. “Has that terror not left your kind yet?”

“We’re still recovering from that ordeal. It’s odd. Just what did the Fractured before me see that caused them all to lose their minds? The only reason why we can come here is because that thing is not here.”

“But you still felt it? An instinctual fear that you don’t quite understand?”

“Indeed. Our bodies are scarred. But if there is one thing our Disciples of Nilhim has taught us, it is that the only way to conquer fear is to face it. Those who can and cannot – they are the only two types of people in Elysia.”

A new wave of Fractured was born after the incident with the Amalgam. Additionally, the old Fractured who had lost their minds had their memories wiped. The Fractured Nilhim had powers eerily close to CogitO’s. Erasing such memories was child’s play to them, but it did not address a fundamental issue that poisoned them.

This Fractured had never met the Amalgam in person. Despite this, he instinctively feared her. It was an irrational response that wrecked him both psychologically and physically. He could not help but tremble whenever her name was spoken. Memories that he did not know of haunted him – as it did for every Fractured and every Specter of the Fractured Nilhim.

The ‘Amalgam’ was a name that could not be said aloud.

“I wonder where you would fall.” A cold, distinctively feminine voice addressed the Fractured directly. “If the only criteria to determine if a person’s life was worth sparing hinged on whether or not they lacked the capacity to face their fears…”

The voice was both spoken and transmitted telepathically into the mind of the Memory Bistro and the Fractured. The following Impuritas reacted strangely, indicating that they too had heard the voice. But no matter how much they flailed their heads they could not find the origin of this voice.

“... Then why does Nilhim bother to keep you alive? He must have forgotten about his creed, or else he wouldn’t tolerate this level of hypocrisy. You chose a time to attack the Nexus without its owner? I always knew your kind would stoop low enough to target innocent people, but this level of stupidity goes beyond my expectations. I’d love to lobotomize you. Take a cylinder slice of your brain to see what made you think this was a good idea.”

Finally, their eyes were drawn to a short figure who stood at the front doors of the Floor of Wrath. She had black hair that carried a tinge of dark blue, wore glasses and was adorned in a midnight-blue two-piece suit.

The woman’s hair was tied into a long ponytail. Various pieces of CogitO technology decorated her body and hair like medallions. One of these medallions carried the symbol of CogitO; a large, blue gear with a brain in the center.

“Descartes…? You’re in the Nexus as well? Since when were you so fond of the Nexus?” The Fractured trembled.