720. A Second Opinion

720. A Second Opinion

There was only one condition to fulfill before they could assault the Palace. Gerina needed to be present within the Palace as soon as Frost arrived. That way, the Impuritas could not execute their scheme at the flick of a switch so long as she was alive.

All precautions needed to be taken now that they were at the cusp of war. Galia and Jury were prepared for the most part on their side, and with the Exalted rapidly approaching their designated Towers, it was now only a matter of twisting the keys to war.

The moment she stepped foot into the 5-kilometer complex of Frontier’s Royal Palace was the moment war would be upon them. Frost recognized that it may be impossible to remain covert with the sheer number of Librarians in the Capital.

Furthermore, the supposed Heart of the City belonging to the Librarians was nowhere to be found in the Capital. At least from what the Tear Retrievers could find. Frost listened to every word that ran through her communication channels, all the while Terrent repeated the ‘Imprints of the Capital’ memory of the Memory Bistro.

“The Librarians are attempting to preserve Frontier by stealing the pages of its people. They have an extraordinary ability to copy the living, albeit in the form of a cutout page of their past. But the ones that roam the Capital are fuller. Closer to being complete.”

“Usually, and from what I’ve seen, aren’t they supposed to just take pages away from people? What’s the point of making their own versions?” Frost inquired as she watched over the relieved faces of a few hundred freed slaves.

They remained on the ship, with few daring to step onto the harbor. She’d be leaving them to fend for themselves down here temporarily until a Tear Retriever could haul them to the mines, or somewhere safer.

Frost had no plans to stick by them; a fact that caused Autumn to make a conflicted face as she was torn between wanting to say something out loud. In the meantime, Frost stood stiller than a statue, her arms folded with her back pressed against her Hired Arm in the middle of the desolate harbor.

Terrent answered:

“Vessels. Physical vessels of the living. Every one of us has an ideal concept of totality. The Imprints of the Capital is no more than an effort to completely replace what exists with their own to archive it. They are effectively saving the Capital into a book, so to speak. The Palace is a major point of concern. It seems that they specifically are after the Gift within.”

“So we’ll be fighting the Librarians now… I want to know something before we depart. What was your ideal concept of totality? You were human once. I’d hate to turn into something I’m not by the Hearts, but you willingly allowed that to happen. Why?”

“Because I truly believe that fear can make us better. Make the world stronger. Those who face the fear, can brave the future. I still wholeheartedly believe in it. Master. I come from the Subderma. My region is illuminated by only one light. There were only two kinds of people in that miserable world. Those who ventured into the dark, and those who cowered in the light.”

Terrent then likened it to the world of Elysia itself. How Nilhim sought to move beyond the seas. To reach wholeness so that they could reach the places that no other dared to venture. To Terrent, such recklessness and temperament to fear was a necessity to survive.

It was difficult to understand him. In a survival perspective, she could vaguely see where he was coming from. But only in that circumstance.

What for did they break the minds of people who tried to live normal lives? To prepare them for a future they were artificially constructing?

It annoyed Frost that the Librarians seemed to be doing the same thing – ‘saving’ people as pages for an impending future; but then also using them as materials for personal gain. Nevermind the incident that saw a Librarian themselves become the material for a Masterpiece.

Everyone is looking to be whole. Complete. Totality, in different ways. Impuritas don’t see themselves as impure. I want to say it’s a matter of perspective, but there is an objective wrong in what they’re doing.

“Other me.” The Hired Arm suddenly spoke with a hearty, dignified voice, causing Frost to tense up as her eyes locked onto the distant sea. “Hearts of the City, and Orbis Impuritas are like worlds, or as Elysia will call them – Eggs. Were the world replaced by a single Impuritas, then would that world still be considered occupied by an Impuritas, or would you call it reality?”

“… Reality, unfortunately. It’d be normal. If everyone was made of pages, then the one that bleeds is the monster… I didn’t know you can talk.” Frost was taken aback. She wanted to see the Hired Arm’s face as she spoke, but the other her kept her back firmly pressed against Frost’s back like a warm wall.

“Thank the Light you’ve accumulated. I’m only speaking now because those talking heads can’t talk succinctly. If they could illustrate their thoughts like the Objet D’ Art, then we’d have a stronger understanding of them. But I digress. Information doesn’t come easy. Not from pawns or fodder. Don’t dabble in it too deeply, Frost. We’re nearly at their throats.”

“Yeah. We’re almost there… Does anyone else know you can talk?”

The Hired Arm fixed her cap.

“Stella, Aster, and the Star Child. Aside from them, I’d be surprised if anyone knew that I could think for myself. Keep in mind, while you can command me as you wish, I also have things I’ve begun to desire. It grows in accordance with your accumulated Light. It’s a pleasant sensation.”

The Hired Arm explained that her existence was like a reflection, or a refraction of Frost’s Light. It stemmed from the Corrupted they were based on, for they were integrated into Frost through her Collection.

“No. It’s closer to an aberration of Light.” Nav said. “A distortion or deviation of the light source. Reminds you of a certain other bearer of Light.”

That never occurred to me until now.

The Alter Frosts were similar with the Aberrations to begin with, save that Frost’s were based on Corrupted and aspects of her past; whereas the Aspects of Amalgamation were more so pieces of herself – even though she didn’t know what Mimicry represented.

The Aberrations of Elysia were probably closer to the Aspects than the Alters, but the fact that the Alters improved with her Light said otherwise.

“You are my Nexus.” The Hired Arm spoke. “The reason why I want to fight beside you is because I am aware that my Light is yours. If you were to die in battle, then I’d follow you to the grave. I swear upon my life.”

“Good. I’m going to need you by my side for a little longer.” Frost was pleased by her Hired Arm’s pledge. “We’ll be assaulting the Palace immediately.”

“Then?” The Hired Arm turned her head around to look at Frost.

Frost mirrored her and locked gazes.

“Snap will ferry us to the north. A Hyperlink Relay has been moving through Grandis for a short while now, thanks to Inflow Direct. Snap’s just waiting for it to come online.”

Indeed. It was the same vessel that left Jury and Galia the Infusion canisters. The Hyperlink Relay was originally meant for them, but through the Little Frost and Snap, they were able to redirect it to the south-western frontier – near the place where they first found Gerina.

“And if we’re lucky, then we’ll have much more than just Moons to defend the 1st Tower.”