Frost tried to gather more information out of Enoch, particularly if she knew anything before following Uriel’s light. Unfortunately, that was where her memory began.
“I can’t say for certain if I’m from the ‘Old World’. I’ve remembered the dunes for as long as I was born till one day, I woke up in a facility. I was marked as a traitor for a sin I never committed. It was all determined by my blood. Blood doesn’t lie.”
Enoch’s expression did not change. The color of her heart did not waver. Nor did her blood respond to what was undoubtedly a turning point in her life. The more she listened to Enoch, the more she wondered how she did not break.
“Amalgam. Does it bother you that my blood is as guilty as their origins? Uriel is my Progenitor. My original blood belongs to a traitor. I didn’t care about it. I lived for the sake of living. The star was my first aspiration. It became my last.”
Then, she peeled the buttons of her suit and shirt, revealing a disfigured mark to the left of her chest.
That mark... Autumn’s Teacher has it. Twice is a pattern. Galia experienced it too.
“Three makes a triangle.” Nav joked. “The Taleor urges you to be careful around Enoch. That mark is familiar to her for the wrong reasons. Namely, it existed on the transformed beings during the book burnings.”
I wouldn’t call Enoch untrustworthy. Not in the slightest.
Frost looked over at the coffin. She remembered the weapons Enoch had created for her. Moreover, Enoch assisted in the defense of H5 and the Nexus. This woman fought alongside the Beholders, but she was still not considered as one of the greats.
She was so used to being an outcast that it no longer bothered her.
Enoch stood still like a loyal dog. She had no expectations in her eyes. Frost’s decision mattered little to her. And yet, Frost couldn’t help but feel like it was everything to Enoch.
G-Z7 holds the secret to Enoch’s past. As does Uriel.
“What will you do?”
What I came here to do.
“As I said.” Frost began, approaching Enoch with folded arms. “Your answers won’t change the way I see you. I just was curious. If my curiosity brought up unwanted memories, then I apologize.”
She tapped Enoch’s head with a hand, causing the woman to seize up.
“Wha?” Enoch blankly blinked, unable to comprehend this gesture.
“I’ll be relying on you for the next two weeks. The conference starts in two days UT, so we have more than enough time.”
“It will be on the thinnest of margins, but I will make it happen. No, one and a halfs week is all I need.” Enoch confidently assured. “I’ve brought your equipment with me. Please, do let me know what you think of my handiwork. I poured my blood. Sweat. And tears – into modifying your equipment to best suit your blood-manipulation abilities.”
She turned the inside of her suit out, revealing thin, red veins that ran throughout her suit.
“Blood-reinforced clothing. You will never have to repair them again for as long as you are able to bleed. Ahaha~ It will be a little uncomfortable in the beginning. The catheters have to pass through your vein and artery to cycle your blood.”
Frost flicked the locks holding the coffin together. It was a simple lock, but the sheer weight of it would not allow anyone outside of a Beholder to unlock it. Submerged within a pool of blood was her coat of prejudice.
It was the same as she remembered – a black coat made of black feathers, except the feathers were now mostly concentrated around her shoulders. They were movable, and she set them aside to her left shoulder.
It looked like a massive, draping scarf hung from her back. At certain angles it appeared like a mantle.
Golden feathers ran sparsely throughout the black. Belts and other tightening mechanisms could be found around the Coat of Prejudice.
Lined within was a complex system of artificial arteries. Her blood would be pumped through it. A pair of prongs attached to catheters sat within each sleeve to be installed in both arms.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
She did precisely that, puncturing her flesh without reacting to the pain much to Enoch’s joy.
“As expected, you can’t feel it either.”
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s telling of the lives we’ve lived.”
“Really? It reminds me of the life I could have lived.” Enoch smirked.
50% of Frost’s total blood capacity was suddenly drained from her system. A red outline temporarily flashed around every feather. One sole red feather then emerged within the bundle, its size serving as a gauge to tell her how much blood she had left in her apparel.
Paired with it were tights. Frost had somewhat missed the freedom of tights in her early days as the Amalgam. They too could be enhanced with her blood, as well as her new pair of boots.
Coat of Sanguine Prejudice
< Its feathers ruffle at the truth. Blood does not lie >
ORIGIN : One Thousand Eyed Bird
AFFINITY: Judgement
ATTRIBUTE : Wrath ATT DEF : 0.1% of total HP
MAG DEF : 0.1% of total HP
TYPE : Apparel
EFFECT: Resistance to the Judgement Affinity. Minor resistance to the Wrath Affinity. Immune to Scrutiny. Immune to Blood loss-related Conditions. It cannot be destroyed so long as 1% of blood remains. Increases total blood volume by 50%
The Soverign’s Tights
< A second skin >
ORIGIN : The Amalgam
ATTRIBUTE : Wrath
TYPE : Apparel ATT DEF : 6,200
MAG DEF : 6,200
RESIST : 200
EFFECT: Cool to the touch
The Soverign’s Boots
< Unbounded footwear >
ORIGIN : The Amalgam
ATTRIBUTE : Wrath
TYPE : Apparel ATT DEF : 7,100
MAG DEF : 7,100
RESIST : 150
EFFECT: Nil
Together, Frost’s defensive stats skyrocketed to jaw dropping levels.
LEVEL : 400 LIGHT : 25 (May not go lower than 1) The Amalgam TEMPERED : Second State NAME : Frost HP : 83,500,000
MP : 1,100,000
AGI : 105 RESIST : 1,300 (+350) AGE : 1 ATT : 30,000
MAG ATT : 30,000
O : 298 D : 39 ORIGIN : Archetype ATT DEF : 35,000 (+131,800)
MAG DEF : 35,000 (+131,800)
S : 291 E : 100
Frost promised that the next person to bully Enoch would be rightfully struck down.