An Arbiter’s Council was held on the 3rd day of 351 PA.

Frost had gotten used to the formalities and the attention she received during the Councils. By now one had to wonder if the Stars and Moons attended out of duty or to solely see her.

Eclipses were now allowed to join the seats of the regular Moons, though calling them regular now would be incorrect. Each row of seats housed different ranking Moon. It began with the Eclipses at the very bottom, the Lunar Haruspex, the Minu Auditors and finally, the Seci Response Arm.

Above them were the Stars. Aspiring Moons were not allowed within the Council due to the risk of information being leaked through them. Being trusted by a Moon was one thing, but being trusted by the Head was another. Frost was not an idiot to leave critical information in the hands of their – for a lack of a better word – weakest links.

The rounds were done as per usual. Issues of the Beholders and their Ateliers were either brought to light or an update was given on a pre-existing problem. For now, the consensus was that most Ateliers were massively separated from the rest of their organization, meaning they each had plans of reinstating their connections.

“Eight Branches have been snipped off.” Beholder Marionette claimed. “Two from Emvita have been re-attached to our web. I shall leave the remaining six to the strings of fate.”

“Six Branches of ours are unresponsive. Seven if you include my 11th in Spiritas. Eight if we entertain that the 12th was ever mine to begin with.” Galia announced. “Most of us will soon be moving to make amends. A grand departure of the Beholders from the Nexus will significantly weaken our presence here.”

“Which will be problematic.” Knalzark interjected with a small slam of his fist. “We have an active frontline directly beneath the Nexus. Only a traitor would leave the Nexus when we have personnel to deal with such matters! Did you forget that the Impuritas can only replicate our powers!? What can they do when faced with us Beholders!?”

Overwhelming strength.

This was Caldera Industries’ way of dealing with problems. If they were too big to handle, then they only needed a larger machine to steamroll them. However, the bigger the machine, the more points of weaknesses it had in the eyes of the cunning.

“They learn our weaknesses. Being a brute often means having shortcomings elsewhere. Don’t pretend that Beholder Galia swiped an Industry with brute strength alone.” Beholder Umbra giggled creepily as if to taunt Knalzark. “They are not stupid when they’ve learned to fight the Moons by breaking their minds, wrenching their spirits, and spitting on their pride.”

“So you disagree!?” A vein popped on Knalzark’s forehead as a dangerous aura overcame him.

“You’re a funny old man. I’m in agreement. Let things be handled by our personnel while we condense our powers beside the Nexus. That is how a tree grows, no? The roots grow so strong so the branches can go so far out.” Umbra hummed and continued:

“So long as we are within proximity of the Nexus then things shall be fine. Hehehe~ Isn’t it better to let things develop on their own? Worrying about such miniscule things. Fearing loss. Allowing these thoughts to fill the mind… It’s all so tiresome.”

She yawned, clearing uninterested in the situation. “War is war. Loss is to be expected. In other news, we may have a front of our own elsewhere depending on our movements.”

“… The Eternal War of the South.” Knalzark stroked his beard, calming down. “That’s between you and the humans of southern Emvita.”

“And partially Scarlet Logic.” Enoch swiftly announced as she raised a proud hand like a student.

No one really knew when the war began.

The fated bloodshed between humans and Demons could have been going on for as long as the dawn of this world. Millions of souls fought every day at those front lines whether it be out of wrath or for a purpose not belonging to themselves.

What history did not know was that the war began from a feud between Scarlet Logic and the Chained Theocracy. But it was never supposed to be a ‘serious’ war, rather, it was a breeding ground for them both to pluck valuable assets and useful souls for their ministrations.

It still functioned exactly as that, but they were no longer deeply intertwined with the conflict which had become culturally ingrained into the humans and Demons. After all, Demons preyed on humans. What other reason did they need to fight?

This was one of the many developments of the world. Though this one had every possibility of being the source of a second front.

“It would be wise to make developments in Emvita then. But that’s why some of us will be heading there.” Beholder Marionette coldly said, hinting at Frost’s future endeavors. “As the strings foretell – Developments in Emvita will be instrumental. Ehehe…”

Marionette could not reveal any more. Whether she knew the reason for this or not mattered little as she would not have revealed it anyway.

“It only took a few hundred years, but the Beholders are finally nestling around the Nexus.” Satania shrewdly said. “We centralize our powers and branch off as needed. Our over reliance on our friend Galia’s Hyperlink Sites has highlighted the importance of having presence.”

“Had we known then it would have been a different story.” Knalzark grew frustrated at any reminder of the loss of the Hyperlink Sites.

“Which means that your Headquarters and Workshops will have to be moved closer to the Nexus too. Preferably within but that’s not necessary.” Frost then said. “All that matters is that we’re in close proximity and contact with one another until we can expand properly this time.”

“Starting from Grandis, I presume?” Satania raised a brow. “There were a number of Kingdoms in that report. Some from Grandis, but so many more from Emvita that’s honestly concerning. Everyone wants a Healer all of a sudden.”

“Strange timing too. Scarlet Logic were eagerly collecting them. The same with the Impuritas.” Jury added. “There’s no way that isn’t connected.”

“That’s why we’ll need to investigate them thoroughly.”

Frost’s plan was to personally investigate them whilst Exalted and Repenters were sent off to gather information. Some Stars were planned to be sent as well, as well as Moons depending on the situation.

Exalted could not Corrupted. So if those Kingdoms – in some way – were an elaborate trap for her Moons, then the Repenters could return with information after their death.

This was agreed upon with Descartes 3 and Satania.

“And at the same time, prepare for the worst. We’ll all be involved in the war against the Impuritas, so it’ll be good to focus on developments here rather than elsewhere. But depending on the circumstances, the Arbiter and the Head will allow a Beholder to leave Brandar.”

“I’m in full agreement!” Knalzark wanted nothing more than to be able to stand his ground and fight against the Impuritas. “No cowards shall leave the proximity of the Nexus! One traitor is enough! And who knows if the Abyssal Mother is another one!”

“Daring are we? We’re now like birds in a cage.” Galia hummed. “This is news to me. Are their conditions for our leave?”

“Direct permission from the Head. This is absolute.” Frost answered immediately as the Arbiter threw a tail into the air. “The second is a reasonable excuse if permission cannot be given.”

A second tail arose.

“And the third is permission from an Archetype.”

A third and final tail joined the two.

“Fulfilling any one of these three conditions will allow you to leave Brandar to conduct business elsewhere. Your assets out there may be valuable, but never forget that if the Nexus goes down, then all of it will be reduced to nothing. Not only that, but if you also turn out to be a traitor…”

The Nexus quaked – the irrefutable proof of Frost’s absolute command over the very thing they revered.

“… Then becoming a Condemned will be a mercy. I trust everyone here. Please don’t make me look like a fool for believing in you.”

 

* * *

 

The topic about the Healers only lead to more branching questions. It was not known why the Healers were required, but if Midas Company was still alive, then the process Beholder E. discovered in Frozen Springs was likely what they were trying to accomplish.

It very likely had something to do with their ability to mimic their Aspects of Technology and imbue them into Etched Coins.

Frost had an insurmountable task ahead of her, but she at the very least would be shouldering it with the Beholders. After all, none of them wanted the Nexus to fall. Even the purposeless Marionette was motivated to promise to lend her hand.

“Then what about the Advents? Desire and Judgement are at large now.” Descartes 3 asked the last reasonable question.

“We have a reliable method of detecting where they vaguely are.” Frost revealed but refused to mention Aster. “The issue is triggering the Advents. The Piece of the Fallen Star for example needs Nex and amassed desires before it can manifest. We don’t know if we can handle it in its dormant state either. Then there’s the issue with the Advent of Judgement – or the Apple Advent as we’ve previously called it.”

It was one thing to discover an Advent, and another entirely to transport it to the Nexus. In fact, how was one supposed to bring it to the Nexus? By defeating it like a Corrupted? The Eternal Library only managed to enter the Nexus because they overlapped with each other during the War in Heaven.

“No matter what happens, the Nexus must be our absolute priority. The first skirmishes of the War in Hell are already underway. It won’t be long before bigger things start to arise.” Frost warned towards the tail end of the very first Arbiter’s Council of the year.

“Such as Corrupted? Woe of the Fallen Stars…? Perhaps even Paradise Lost Corrupted? There is little to fear when it comes to the Impuritas when they come face to face with us.” Knalzark adamantly stated.

The Arbiter grinned in response and uttered:

“But what if the Impuritas were able to handle even a fraction of a Beholder’s power? As the Amalgam has said – be wary. The oceans we voyage are deeper than you can begin to imagine.”

The ominous warning concluded the Arbiter’s Council.

By the end of Frost could only hope that the Impuritas were utterly incapable of reaching the power of a Beholder.

Otherwise, things were going to become bloody.

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