392. The Infinite Burdens Proposal

392. The Infinite Burdens Proposal

“Genesis Stones, and the other half of the Nexus. It greatly influences how the Corruption works, and how much of our internal grief comes spilling out to take form. Due to the nature of that place, we send people there and harvest their Nex.”

Satania revealed unapologetically.

“But we plan to cease interacting with the Subcut. The Condemned will be replaced with forced Corruption. The Repenters will be used as our unwilling workforce before they Corrupt. For the sake of Nex. For the sake of righteousness. And, for the sake of a special power of the Archivist.”

“… You’re aware of it? Galia. Did you mention it to her?” Frost hissed.

“No.” Satania defended. “I’ve seen the power of the Second Advent in action long ago, because it was the same thing I tried to destroy. But I’m here now. Centuries. Millenniums. Eons. I wonder. I’ve been asleep for so long that all I remember was seeing that same pillar of light grow so large that our Arm was nearly dissuaded. None of that matters here anymore. My wrath is the only thing that’s left of my distant life.”

Frost assumed that she was part of one of the Bodies, so hearing that she was from one of the lesser Arms was a surprise. Moreover, hearing that she sought to destroy the Eternal Library caused her to question Satania’s intentions, to which she answered with only:

“It was tiring. What it did was arm people with monsters born from others. I don’t know the extent of it like you do, but to me – it was something I remember despising. I’m indifferent now, seeing that it’s in what I want to believe to be better hands…”

The flaming aura she wielded became cold as an air of sadness surrounded her insatiable gaze that was welded onto the Arbiter’s smug grin. Satania’s mouth parted, preparing to say more when her sunken eyes fell onto Frost, but she bit her lip.

Suddenly, the Arbiter brought her gloved hands together for a small clap, silencing the room for the nth time.

“The Subcut is expected to contain the other half of the Nexus. If it is the same as above, then it burrows deeper into the mantle of Elysia. A burrowing heaven~ Don’t conveniently leave out that the reason why you send Beholders down there was to find it.”

“And for who’s sake do you think that was for!?” Satania grinded her nails into the desk, eventually cracking it with a loud snap. “I want this Nexus to thrive. Unlike you all, a majority of our Nex is funneled into the Nexus. Without us, this Nexus would be as dark as its lower half!”

The Arbiter’s feathers rustled feverously in the wake of Satania’s wrath. Her horns glowed a violent red, her eyes beaming with a golden-red light. Like Frost, she was so close to physically lashing out but managed to contain her anger when she saw a glimmer of concern in Frost’s eyes.

Her horns slowly lost their glow, her eyes returning to the snake-like slits as she contemplated on something before releasing a long, exasperated sigh.

“... Excuse me. My outbursts will be common. Ignore them. Amalgam. What do you think of our proposal? It will also allow you to quickly gain Corrupted Personas as a bonus. Unwanted Corrupted can be sent to ImpulseWorks for additional yields. The reason why we’re asking you is not just for your permission, but your direct collaboration.”

“In what way? For our Moons to clean up after the Repenters Corrupt? My Eye, Fang, and Claw to fix your mess when they’re supposed to directly intervene with the highest threats and the Ateliers?” Frost raised a brow, still not fully convinced.

“Moons will of course be deployed to bring them back. Stars can help too. It will be difficult within the City of Spades because of the Genesis Stones, but their Corruption will also help clear them. Caldera Industries can explain. Their turn is next, after all.”

“I see. Ingenious. There are no qualms on my side then.” Knalzark immediately understood Satania’s proposal.

“Not before we pass a resolution.” Frost was not an idiot to allow something to go under her radar, and so, she asked Knalzark to explain it immediately.

Gensis Stones were known to react to a person or creature, and depending on how strongly their internal affairs were, the Genesis Stone would reflect it by altering reality in a localized scale. In short, the Repenters were the perfect bait to fish out the Genesis Stones due to how likely they were to go mad and activate the effects of a Genesis Stone.

Moons would automatically be the target of these objects. But the one thing other than the Beholders that would take precedence were the Corrupted.

Were someone to become Corrupted within the sphere of influence of a Genesis Stone, then it would allow a Moon to safely intervene. Even for a time afterwards the Genesis Stone in question would become inactive. Although, this also meant allowing a Corrupted to immediately manifest a Corrupted Zone.

Additionally, sending Repenters into the minefields of the City of Spades meant detecting them in the first place would be easier. One just needed to watch the world become distorted to know that they were within the vicinity of the object in question.

It was by far the fastest way to clear the Nex Megalopolis, although, it was preferable if the Genesis Stones were recovered without a Corrupted being born.

Frost was torn. As obvious as the answer was to reject this proposal, she was not in a position where she could spend an entire year dedicated to unearthing the Genesis Stones when the Impuritas had further bolstered their bonds.

Not to mention that the Piece of the Fallen Star was still somewhere out there.

Beholders also had far more important matters to deal with. All things considered; the Genesis Stones in the Nex Megalopolis paled in comparison to the size of the ones Caldera Industries actively sought after.

Therefore, it was regrettable that Scarlet Logic’s approach of using fodders became a lucrative option. Furthermore…

That is one fucked up way to gain Corrupted Personas…

Frost mentally lamented, her conscience being put to the ultimate test.