The Arbiter wore a different kind of face today. It was not the usual one that exuded the untouchable splendor of an Angel. Neither was she accompanied by an overbearing aura.

She stood behind them all simply observing them with both hands tucked behind her back. It was as if she was waiting for someone to speak.

Frost hummed something incoherent underneath her breath before speaking. For once she was able to comfortably refer to this person as –

“I guess you’re right, Michaela. No need for a reason to go see someone. Do you come here often?”

She asked this as Galia moved to Frost’s side, shouldering her weapon as if to prove hers was the better rifle.

“Frequently. It’s the only place in the Nexus that’s substantially different from the rest. Both here, and in your Floor. But setting foot in there has become difficult with the number of people you’ve amassed. I do not blame them for being so afraid.”

Cer wore a weird look on her face. It was the kind that said: “Do you enjoy speaking like that all the time?”, but she did not dare to say this out loud. The fear of Michaela was deeply ingrained into all but a select few.

Was Michaela lonely because of this?

“The day that happens to me will be the worst day of my life.” Frost said. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen that weapon on you, Galia.”

“Astra Inclinant. This piece of art was my lightning rod for as long as I can remember.”

Galia assumed a shooting stance – a clumsy form that greatly took Frost aback. The buttstock was not even tucked into her shoulder properly. It was far from bad, but it was nowhere near as adept as she imagined Galia to be.

In her mind Galia was possibly beyond the marksmanship of Sinder.

“Res. Give us a scene to fire down.” Galia commanded.

“Are we having a shooting competition? Right now?” Frost wondered as Res’ tail began painting the air with fabulous strokes. “I guess so. Alright. I’ll take you on.”

Colorful birds sprung to life from her painting. They flew outwards into the distant skies. Despite their artificial make, they were as close to imitating the real thing as Frost could even see the fluttering of their painted feathers.

“On my coin toss.” Galia said, flipping a gold coin with her thumb. The satisfying ding instantly brought Frost into a firing position – one that was obviously more refined than Galia’s.

The outcome was decided before it even began. Beneath the cushions were stacks of black bullets. In the time that coin was falling Frost was able to load another round into the slot found on the side of the weapon.

And in that instant, she fired the weapon as the coin dropped beside their feet. An array of gunfire broke out. Like the De Jure, the Astra Inclinant fired physical bullets using a non-magical mechanism. The smell of gunpowder immediately filled the air as bullets hosed down the colorful birds.

Frost tuned down the destructive power of her weapon. What she focused on was pure accuracy. Her reload speed was similarly impeccable, her hands moving like a blur. She reloaded faster than Galia could even shoot.

In the end the display left the others utterly mesmerized. Frost had destroyed over fifty compared to the fifteen that Galia was able to. During the shootout Frost was able to destroy the ones Galia had targeted before she could, hence why the gap was so large.

“Is it that surprising?” Galia began. “I never was good with a gun. What raised me to those fabled heights was this. I should let you know now that I was the only who could use it. In one hand it was because of my Earthly knowledge. Dwarves. The Elves. Aquatids. My own kin. They all flocked to me – the creator of my first Justica Arm.”

She shouldered it again before walking towards the very edge of the platform.

“In the other – I executed anyone that dared to hold a firearm outside of Justica Arms. That way I could be come something far more extraordinary when in truth, I’m not as proficient as you may believe.”

This was why Galia specialized in massive area of effect attacks with her bullets, such as [Heaven’s Fall]. A personal weapon did not suit her as she never was someone who could wield it with such expertise. But even so, because she was the only one, she was able to one-sidedly destroy her opponents.

It was an eyeopener to Frost who saw her as untouchable – no, infallible.

“Power is the ability to control people. You only need to be unique enough to separate yourself from the other. I’ve been shooting at people’s knees before they can run for as long as I can remember. Do you think that’s wrong, Frost?”

“All I can say now is – it depends. If you asked me a few months ago then I probably would’ve called you insane. Nowadays it seems reasonable. There’s not much leeway for normal people to survive in Elysia with just strength alone. But then you have people that end up making Syndicates or an Atelier because of some unchecked obsession.”

Frost said this as she joined Galia at the edge.

“Galia. When you came into this world… Were you like me? Did you have nothing but the clothes on your back?”

Galia didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes were still cast out into the ocean. A well of sorrow brimmed within her eyes as she reminisced of a time, she both yearned to forget and simultaneously hold close to her heart.

She answered with a devilish smirk.

“Nothing. I was left to the ebbs and flows of Elysia from the moment I appeared. The Blessings that we take for granted were not a luxury I possessed. Magic was something so foreign for I who came from another world. Otherworlders like me were a rarity, and a delicacy for those who knew the very value of our knowledge.”

She then tapped the weapon against Frost’s shoulder, allowing her to use [Analyze Object] on it.

 

 

< EFFECT: The more the user is able to follow their heart rather than the fables of fate, the more damage Astra Inclinant will deal. Merely holding Astra Inclininat draws powers from elsewhere >

 

//////// < EXTREME WARNING > ////////

 

< May you never be compelled by their calls >

 

Frost held her breath. She had seen ‘Caution’ and ‘Warnings’, but never ‘Extreme Warning’. Not even the Icon of Judgement gave her such a warning.

So why did Galia’s weapon display such a thing?

Not to mention just how…

… Weak. Why are its base stats so weak?

“Don’t be mistaken. Elysia does not speak to me. Nothing does. Nothing ever will. Aside from Michaela who perches over both my left and right shoulders.” Galia assured her, handing over the weapon to Frost to hold it herself.

It’s fridged. And I don’t hear anything either. Nav. What is this weapon?

“In all likelihood it may not be something created by Galia herself.”

You mean it’s a Corrupted Item?

“Possibly. But it could also be a relic of the past. She did frequent the Timeless Ruins, after all.”

That’s right… Galia must have found it down there. That must’ve been how she was able to survive in Elysia without magic.

“I can confirm your thoughts right now.” Michaela spoke, drawing their attention to behind them.

Frost was so entranced by Galia’s weapon that she did not notice Michaela was standing right behind them.

“It comes from Deep Time. From the very threshold that separates it from the deepest Depths. It’s not a relic from a Corrupted, neither does it come from the heart of man.”

Michaela swung one hand downwards, and the oceans split perfectly in half. A path was created for Frost to collect her bullets, but so was a path towards the very boundaries of the Middle Sanctums.

“That thing you hold – Frost – Is a Gift from a Star. A singularity manifested, born from the collapse of a conceptual entity.”

“… This weapon… came from a Star?”

Frost could not begin to fathom those words.

She did not even know what a Star looked like, let alone truly meant. All she knew was that humanity gained technology and knowledge from them, as well as being responsible for the destruction of the majority of the old world.

Galia kindly received her weapon back and shouldered it again.

The Triplets marveled at the sight of what they once called ‘trash’.

“Artefact. Relic. Technology. They all mean the same thing in the end – A Gift. When a Star dies and collapses into a singularity, they can become many things. When a Star lives, they can produce exotic material. When they find something that can stimulate their drive for purpose, and when they find someone interesting – they can produce an item harboring their powers. That thing is what we call Gifts.”

“Sounds awfully just like the Corrupted.” Ber pointed as Michaela wrapped a tail around each of them before they descended into the exotic seabed of the Middle Sanctums. “They die, and they give items. They live and they can be harvested. Just like the One Thousand Eyed Bird. That fluff-ball gave out its feathers.”

Despite the inherent fear Ber felt towards the Arbiter, she somehow managed to address her semi-casually.

“Aren’t they?” Michaela did not deny this. “But Stars are more abstract than the Corrupted, for they seek what the Corrupted are born with. A purpose. Drive. Intention. If the Corrupted harbor stories, then the Stars seek to make their own.”

Michaela’s tails brushed over the giant coral. Tube worms did not flee in her presence. They were instead drawn to her, aspirating as though her tails could conjure water with the snap of her fingers. The tube worms were Magicalis as were the majority of living things within the Nexus.

As Frost picked up her bullets one by one a sudden thought came to her mind.

“Stories again. Now that you mention it, everything is pretty much its own book, huh? Our personal journeys are also books.”

“Believe what you wish.” Michaela adamantly refused to believe that everything could be condensed into words. “The books and the strings are but pieces that govern our reality. They are, after all, the powers of Gifts granted by the cognitive Star closest to the Source.”

The Advents governed immense laws of the world. They were leagues above the Gifts of Stars according to Michaela. More and more secrets left her mouth as they followed Frost to the very boundaries of the Middle Sanctum.

“… I wonder kind of story the ‘Captured Star’ wanted to make when it was pulled into this world.” Frost was oddly somber all of a sudden.

A similar expression befell Michaela as well, and Nav audibly breathed as if in deep thought.

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