519. The Wedge Between The Stars and Moons

519. The Wedge Between The Stars and Moons

The mocking applause and laughter of the Red Giants ceased abruptly. Dead cleaved their pride as silence took hold of their throats. The cell that contained the Arachnid was filled with the nonsensical whispers of the woman before suddenly – The Arbiter’s Trumpet warning appeared before their very eyes.

Normally the Arbiter’s Trumpet was delayed. After all, it was Scarlet Logic who first assessed the difficulty of a Corrupted. This was how it worked for those outside of Frost’s unique Blessing.

But for some reason they were given the prompt immediately. Whether it was due to the Amalgam’s presence was not known, though they could not care less about the semantics of the Arbiter’s Trumpet.

“A Red Giant… A Star was just…”

“That’s impossible. People can’t Corrupt. People can’t…”

Their voices trembled. Every ounce of their willpower tried to fight off the instinctual terror that reigned over them. The light of a Star was snuffed by the Amalgam to the point where it imploded, resulting in what they had always believed to be impossible.

A person Corrupting was viewed as an existential crisis. It was a core fear that plagued the minds of countless people who dabbled in the conjectures of what ifs. Seeing was believing, and the Amalgam dragged the body of the Corrupted out from its cell.

What was once their compatriot was now a headless, bipedal being that had a dark stalk dangling over where its face would be. At the tip was a star that was quickly snuffed out by the maw of the Amalgam. She approached the nearest cell, slowly munching on the body of the squirming Corrupted like a wolf carrying the carcass of a bunny in its mouth.

The lack of innards also further proved that this was indeed a Corrupted. To think that an Eternal Night Corrupted – which required a Moon or a Color at a minimum – was effortlessly devoured before their very eyes.

“You became Stars because you were lost.” The Amalgam spoke to the first Star, watching their eyes tremble as she plunged a hand into their chest.

The agony they had become accustomed to struck them at a level beyond what nerve endings could sense.

But they did not scream. The existential terror of an individual becoming a Corrupted silenced them. It mused Frost. The Corrupted she wielded was called the Silence of the Stars, and even though she had not yet received its ability – she felt like it was already working.

“The Nexus offered you its hand and you bit it. You dragged others down because you felt inferior. That you needed to matter. Your magic was stolen, and you lost everything again. I have a feeling that Corrupting you will not yield anything different from this thing.”

Frost spoke down to them. She never considered them as equals, let alone a ‘human’. They were irredeemable, and as such, did not deserve a chance at redemption.

Threads were dragged from the hole in their chest as steam violently rushed out.

“But no matter. There are so many more ways to harvest a Star. You should be happy. You’re going to serve a brand-new purpose. Threads can be made from you. Infinite Nex generation. Experimentations. A material. Or someone can spread you open and wear you like a coat.”

Frost did precisely that with their compatriot.

A dark-green, tail-like illicium grew from the base of her spine. It dangled over her face with a bright emerald light as her body became nearly impossible to see. Two more micro liliums formed on her head as her ears disappeared.

“Secrets… Scarlet Logic’s secrets. We – I

know them! I can tell you everything!” The Red Giant broke down.

Desperate yells soon followed.

“They don’t know a thing!”

“I know more than him! More than what you need and want! Amalgam! I’ve lived longer than him!”

“They’re lying! Scarlet Logic kept everything a secret from even us! But I know something! Just let me keep my mind and I’ll be able to tell you!”

“We’re like this because of Scarlet Logic! The Blood Moons know it! Blood Moons! Tell the Amalgam that we’re just as innocent!” One called as all eyes fell onto the Blood Moons.

Mimicry was with them. Several Liquidators carrying ampules of Healing Serums descended the pit and began treating the Blood Moons. Their eyes were still largely dull, but when they fell onto the Red Giants they widened as if vindicating them.

“S-See! Amalgam… Believe them! We, just like the Blood Moons are innocent! The Nexus can always use more Stars!”

Suddenly, their eyes narrowed tightly. Scorn born from the bottom of their heart was directed to the Red Giants. They didn’t flinch as meter-long rods were removed from their bodies.

And finally, the Blood Moon that Frost had touched uttered with pure vitriol:

“They’ll backstab you… like what they did to us. Die already so we don’t have to suffer listening to you anymore. It’s so nauseating. We all just want to scream and tear out our heads. Not once were you innocent. Neither are we.”

The Blood Moons were aware of the fate that would follow them too. But what set them apart was that they understood where they went wrong. Appeasing the Amalgam was a wasted effort, and the Blood Moons couldn’t stand to hear them any longer.

There was nothing more they wanted than for the Red Giants to die miserably.

Then, another Blood Moon continued:

“We indulged in the violence because that was all we knew. It was the only way we could make sense of anything. We had to if we wanted to belong! They don’t know anything! They are the cause of everything! I’ll gladly die if it means watching them die right here and now!”

Both sides were torn apart. Neither saw eye to eye anymore. The repressed emotions the Blood Moons carried over years and hundreds of deaths erupted as they condemned the Red Giants.

The Liquidators temporarily stepped aside as Mimicry handled the removal of the rods alone. The Moons were able to move despite their broken bodies, fueled only by the miracle of unadulterated spite.

“I’ve had enough!” Another roared, prematurely tearing their arm free. “I’m reclaiming myself! None of us wanted to live that way!”

“Go to hell! When we meet you down there, we’ll pay you back for everything you’ve done to us!” More and more Blood Moons awakened from their catatonic slumber.

They no longer cared whether they lived or not. All they wanted was to witness the death of the Red Giants that had dragged them to the depths of despair. An absurd amount of Nex was generated by their combined emotions, to the point where Frost would not be surprised if a Disorder Corrupted appeared soon after.

The Blood Moons ironically felt alive for the first time since the beginning of their Replication Cycle. If this was their final death, then they wanted to go down with the Stars that morphed them into who they are now.

It was clear cut for Frost.

“The Moons say otherwise.” She silenced them in an instant.

The short tentacles that served as her ears wiggled as she spoke, and when she opened her maw to take another bite from the Corrupted – her entire being morphed into the jaws of a horrific angler fish.