333. Wait, We Can Rematch Them!?

333. Wait, We Can Rematch Them!?

The One Thousand Eyed Bird and the Listening Bird were now one within the Floor of Judgement. The process had little to do on her part aside from the intention. The Arbiter touched Frost’s forehead with a hand, and at once, particles of pale-golden light lifted from Frost like a piece of her soul was taken away.

Not a moment later, a black, giant fuzzy ball manifested behind the Arbiter. It was as large as a small car, its feathers ruffling almost playfully. Snap’s ball form immediately came to mind, and it caught sidelong glances from the others, wondering if this was a long-lost twin of Snap.

Suddenly, as a moment of marvel enraptured them, many tens of golden eyes appeared over the black, feathery ball, reminding them of the great monstrosity that was the One Thousand Eyed Bird.

… Right? Wasn’t this supposed to be the monster that nearly broke Frost so long ago? The monster with a layered maw that tried to devour the Amalgam herself?

“Michaela. Can I ask you something?” Frost spoke, weakly pointing a finger at the black, fuzzy creature who trembled. And within this shrunken version of the One Thousand Eyed Bird resided a miniaturized version of the bleeding Listening Bird, using it as though it were a nest.

“But of course~” She hummed, her eyesight now emitting its full, golden luster as she observed the world with wide eyes, taking deep, fulfilling breaths.

Finally, after 15 years, the Arbiter could see the world for what it was, and when her eyes landed upon Frost, her tails began to wag, whilst few resisted touching her. There was an overwhelming sense of adoration, melded with an air of passion oozing from her eyes, prompting Jury to inch closer to Frost like the Arbiter was about to snatch her away.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It made the Arbiter smile pleasantly, especially at the sight of Jury.

“Why do the Corrupted take that form?” Frost finally asked.

“You mean the miniaturized form?” The Arbiter asked, sinking a hand into the ball, where the Listening Bird showed its head and brushed it against her palms.

… that little thing killed so many fucking people, and now it’s living its life as the most adorable thing in the world.

“I’d call them cute more than miniaturized to be honest with you. What’s the purpose of it?”

“That would be a question for another Archetype I believe. The answer is not so clear to me either. But I find it humorous. Finally… my Throne, eyes, and the language I’ve long awaited to learn have arrived.” She fell into the sea of feathers, disappearing entirely before remerging at the other side, instilling more confusion as that was one of Snap’s special features.

“Not so unique are you now, huh Snap~?” Cer teased the poor spider before suddenly, Ignis tugged on her tail. “O-Ouch –!?”

“Don’t bully Snap.” She warned.

“Brrrr…” Snap whined sadly, causing even Cer to feel a little guilty.

A wire scrub bath would be her punishment for sure. But for now, their focus was on the miniaturized Corrupted. Frost didn’t sense any hostility. Also, the intentions they bore in their hearts were a resounding pale. Of course, this inadvertently inflicted Scrutiny upon the Corrupted, which caused them to freeze in place.

Both Corrupted then suddenly approached her. She raised her guard, glaring at the pair as the others too prepared for the worst. But to their surprise, conflict never arrived. Instead…

“Weird. I feel icky just thinking about a friendly Corrupted. No offense, Snap!” Ber exclaimed, patting Snap.

“Do all Archived Corrupted have some kind of affection for Frost or something? Wait, it’s trying to Jury too. What the…?”

“But not us…?” Res’ ears drooped slightly, her tail lowering to the ground.

The One Thousand Eyed Bird and the Listening Bird went around rubbing themselves along with almost everyone present. The only ones spared were Cer and Res, which caused Frost to theorize that this was because they weren’t in some way Corrupted.

If one thought about it, Cer and Res were the most normal of everyone in the group, as weird as that was. Frost was dumbfounded by this, but a part of her still remained wary of the creature even though it could do no harm. It was a core trauma of hers, after all. Just looking at those eyes reminded her of Iscario.

To think that her trauma was so bad that even a Corrupted had formed after it.

She deeply exhaled.

“Haaaaaaah. Sorry. That thing’s brought me hell when I first arrived in this world. Seeing it like it’s an innocent animal in a petting zoo rubs me the wrong way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not mad. Just irritated.” Frost vented, bringing Jury to calm her down. “Thanks. Haaah. So that’s it?”

“Indeed. It’s not an arduous process as we’ve seen. Now we currently have…” The Arbiter trailed off, looking to the Archivist to finish off her sentence.

“3 chapters of the Book of the Price of Paradise complete. Only 2 chapters remain.”

“What are the chances of the last chapter being another Amalgamation?” Frost needed to ask.

“Very high. I’m willing to bet that all final chapters are Amalgamation Corrupted. I don’t know how they form, but from what we’ve seen…” The Archivist refused to finish her sentence.

Jury then continued for her.

“… A breakdown is needed. At least from what we’ve seen with Frost. Never, ever again.” She vowed, embracing Frost’s waist with her tail.

A still silence brewed. Everyone seemed to have something on their minds, but the words refused to come out until Frost shattered it with a voice of conviction.

“All the more reason to get the Ateliers to change their ways. The less egregious things there are, the less likely I’ll break down. Hah.” She suddenly laughed, brightening the mood with a smile. “That’s another thing to throw in the faces of the Beholders. This cannot continue.”

“Agreed.” Res nodded.

“Whatever you say!” Ber threw a fist into the air.

“Goes without saying. I still have problems with that mindset, but I guess it’s fun either way. Hear that Galia? Maybe you should focus on those Impuritas things.” Cer barked haughtily, knowing that she was now untouchable at Frost’s side.

Frost imagined a poodle barking at a giant serpent.

“The Hearts are our main enemies. They cannot change. They take everything away from people.” Ignis whispered to herself.

“Even worse when we’re aware that they’re born partially due to the Ateliers.” Jury chimed in, causing Nav to slowly nod her head in agreement.

“Ateliers have a matching Impuritas counter force as we’ve learned. I believe it is in the Nexus’ and all Atelier’s best interest to unite just as they are.” Nav announced. “But I’m 99% sure you are already aware of this.”

Galia then spoke, stroking the feathers of her coat.

“We are, but it’s not as easy as you believe. One way for the Condemned to be used was to send them straight into the Derma Layer in search for Hearts to destroy. The issue stems from the fact that it is difficult for even us Beholders to descend. Us who bears a technology are prone to being ruined by it down there.”

This also explained why technologies were removed from Condemned Beholders before they were sent off. Access was also an issue. Due to the nature of the Spatial Distortions, it was impossible to accurately tell where one would appear.

This was where Frost’s Spatial Distortion Ability would finally find a great use.

However, there was one prevailing issue.

Manpower, and their strength. 50 Moons were nothing. Especially when they could so easily die against a Woe of the Fallen Star. Personnel were expendable when they couldn’t afford to be.

Nav made a joke about this truly being the Degenerate Era; a belief held by the Iron Moon of the Chained Theocracy. In astronomy, it was a conceptual era where no stars or moons could ever form again. It was the total descent into nothingness, and the state of the Nexus’ Moons and Stars allowed it to become a perfect metaphor.

This was when Nav then brought something interesting.

“What if we allowed Moons, and aspiring Moons to fight Corrupted in here? More of my functions are returning, and standing here I realize that I am able to initiate rematches with Archived Corrupted.”

She then turned to a shocked Frost with deadpan eyes as the One Thousand Eyed Bird nestled into her neck.

“I have a solution for your irritation Frost. Allow me to help you vent.”

* * *

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One Thousand Eyed Bird

“All seeing. Ever watching. Who would be accused hung all those that could testify against it. Little by little, its innocent coat of white feathers turned black to reflect its unrightful prejudice. It lurks in the black forest, seeking only one thing: to enact judgement against the Skewered Beast.”