Our Happiest Moments followed them. On occasion it would get close enough for Frost to touch, sitting passively on the half-wall by her head. However, the little Corrupted critter would jump away whenever she moved even a single finger.

Was it scared of her? Maybe it thought she was going to hurt it. Maybe even eat it. Its AGI made it impossible to catch it, so she ended up leaving the creature be. It took various pictures of Calfasio whenever the topic of his daughter crept into their conversations.

It went without saying that he missed his daughter more than he could express.

Before long, a pair of massive, stone gates emerged from behind the mountain. The trail became rocky again as they approached Divas Gate.

“No way… How could have this happened?” Via uttered in despair.

Ruins. Only ruins laid beneath those 50-meter-tall gates, which both saw immense damage across its exterior. Chunks originating from the gates themselves could be seen scattered across the path and amongst the collapsed, stone-bricked homes of this place. A landslide from both sides of the mountain pass had also buried half of the settlement underneath numerous tons of loose rock.

“… a storm? How could have a storm destroyed the gate?” Calfasio uttered.

“The landslide most likely. But this is weird.” Via noted, also confused by the display of devastation, right before Jaris cried:

“EVERYONE! STAY VIGILANT! WE ARE NEARING DIVAS PASS!”

“Could it be another Corrupted?” Hellen asked Frost.

“No. Not a Corrupted. It was the ‘storm’ that caused this. But let’s be careful.” Frost answered, knowing well that this was caused by Iscario’s usage of Infusion S.

The path was hardly visible anymore. The steeds had to tread carefully and weave between fallen stone and rubble as they made their way towards the mouth of the gate. The sifting of material was all they could hear. Not even the bodies of those that lived in this place were found, for they were buried meters beneath.

Frost kept her eyes peeled to the world ahead. It was hard to see with the mounds of rubble around them. Eventually, they came to a final turn and made it through the blasted gates. Before them was a valley many tens of kilometers long, which then abruptly turned to the right at the furthest end.

Walls of stone, soil and uprooted forests surrounded them. However – it was not the valley that blew them away. It was the column of devastation that ran through the entire length of the valley itself.

“Every… forest… it’s all gone?”

“Was there an explosion!? Hey, you’re telling me a storm did that!?”

“What in the world could have passed by? From Divas Pass of all places?”

A canyon better described the valley now. It appeared as if an oversized drill-bore had carved straight through. There was no sediment to be found. Only thick bedrock existed here.

Is the onset of Infusion S stronger?

“The Infusions are disproportionately stronger within the first few minutes of administration. I believe you are witnessing its true power now. That is the strength of Inflow Direct’s technology.”

Frost, completely bewildered by this power, could only imagine what the other Beholders were capable of. It was no wonder they were revered as Gods. The amount of time it would take to carve out a piece of a mountain on Earth would take days, likely weeks, maybe months.

Here? A few minutes at most. And that was for multiple mountains.

She also didn’t want to imagine the aftermath of Divas Pass now that she realized this. The caravan’s moved forward again as Frost looked over to Calfasio’s face. The man tightly clutched onto the polaroid, his face pale and his eyes widened with shock.

Snap.

Snap.

As much as they hoped for the best, the writing was already on the wall. Frost sincerely hoped that by some miracle, their families were all safe and sound. No one shared another word. The sorrow thickly stirred in the air as Our Happiest Moments landed on the cat-eared girl’s stomach and watched on.

Its camera lens-like eye shimmered, as if shedding a tear.

A ‘good’ Corrupted, huh. Well… It’s not like I can catch it and eat it in the first place. I’ll let it be. For now. And it’s not like the others are bothered by it.

“Frost… um… are you’re going to let that spider sit on her?” The cat-woman pointed out.

Never mind.

“It’s a friend of ours. A mini-Anid. Isn’t it cute?” Frost presented, being careful as to not startle it.

“Is there such a thing?” Alice asked, curious by this discovery.

“Of course not dear~” Hellen ended up laughing, lightening the mood. “Mister Calfasio. Shall we show Ignis Frost’s friend over there?”

“Ah – oh? Me? Um… aha… yeah. I think she’d find it funny. Ugh. Sorry. I wonder… if maybe things could’ve been different if I was stronger.” He was wracked with emotion.

The smile he made quickly turned to a self-depreciating frown as she sunk into his knees, holding his hands together as if in prayer.

“You have the ticket now. Bring that back to her and go live a happy life in Brandar. You don’t need strength to live in there, do you? In one of the cities?” Frost said, trying to encourage him to have hope.

“No. Not at all. Someone like me can live there happily. I wonder if I would have gotten this ticket if I stayed with them. It’s not easy supporting a family in Brandar without strength. It’s the truth. Weak people like me are…”

“Hey. You have the ticket. Don’t delve on what you lack. You made it this far, so you do have something going for you.” Frost reminded him. “Vent. Vent if you have to. I’ll happily lend an ear.”

“Us too! She has cat-ears right!” The cat-woman exclaimed.

“Don’t be sad mister! We… we haven’t reached Divas Pass just yet!”

“If she’s a Demi-human then she’s bound to have the wits of one, right!? Have hope!”

The energy of the caravan returned as the slaves tried to cheer the man up, causing him to finally smile from the bottom of his heart. He took Frost’s advice and began to talk.

About his life, how he met his Demi-human wife, his daughter, and finally – why he left Divas Pass in the first place.

To find a way to protect them. To get into the Nex Megalopolis. But they needed money for it. And to gain money in Grandis or Brandar one first needed strength. Everyone in this world lived in the mud of titans, as he put it. The weak had to trudge through whilst remaining wary of their footsteps. One footstep was the war that ended 5 years ago, and the other was the events that led up to the loss of Paradise.

How could the weak possibly be expected to survive? To protect what they love, especially when their loved ones were widely despised? The roots of suffering in Grandis were deep.

One question stuck firmly with Frost as day turned to night.

“Is it enough to protect my family?”

Strength was everything. Frost knew that already. But it hurt her having to hear someone from the very bottom admit this. She fell into deep thought as she stirred away at a giant pot atop an open flame. She was preparing dinner for the group with the ingredients they brought along.

Jury still hadn’t woken up yet, and neither did the girl. She was worried that maybe something happened to her in that dream.

I want to help these people. Surely… I can do something as the Amalgam. But I wonder how many people know what I even am. Haah. At least he has a future to look forward to in the City of Diamonds. Nav?

“Territory of the Golden Index, maintained by its subsidiaries: the Golden Thumb, the Golden Middle, the Golden Ring, and the Golden Pinky. Within the city he and his family are guaranteed their utmost protection.”

Those names… all of them are fingers. This Beholder is called ‘hand’ I’m guessing?

“Close. I believe this Beholder’s name is Carpalis.”

Sounds a lot like ‘carpal’. For wrist. What a weird naming sense. Do you know any other names?

“I was only fed this one by the voice.”

Meaning you didn’t know it from before. What a helpful voice. Is it the same one that told you about the story?

“I believe so.”

Then I think that might be the Archivist. Who else is going to talk about a tale other than a librarian?

“Frost. They just said not to call them a librarian. It is derogatory.”

Ah. I’m sorry. They’re rather talkative now, huh?

“… they stopped talking. You really should keep those thoughts to yourself.”

Nav… you first need to get out of my head. Frost deeply sighed before breaking into a small laugh.

 

* * *

 

They shared a hot stew beneath the moon and the starlit sky as they shared stories with one another; deepening their bonds, which Frost knew would be broken as soon as they reached Brandar. She wanted to ensure that at least these slaves would be placed somewhere safe with her authority as the Amalgam.

She vowed to make sure of it.

They sat atop felled logs and ate away. The other Adventurers kept some distance, but over time, more and more came over into the circle and before long – everyone was present. Our Happiest Moments didn’t take any pictures, strangely enough.

Could it only take photos of past events? She took this mystery with her as the crackling of the campfire fizzled out, lulling them to rest.

Divas Pass was only half a day away now. They’d reach it tomorrow for sure. There was angst in the air. She could sense the uneasiness as she sat atop the caravan roof, observing the world around her with a ball of steel string at her fingertips.

There was no telling what they’d find there. If their families were safe. If anyone was there at all. In the end, there was only one way to find out.

And while lost in these thoughts, Frost closed her eyes and hoped for the best. Then when they opened again –

– she saw something.

A caravan. Three caravans actually; all coated in a shade of red. Driving them were giant wolf-like creatures clad with crimson fur. They took an abrupt turn from one of the narrow passageways in the valley ahead, almost flipping over onto its side.

Thankfully they didn’t.

Because behind them followed a swarm of bloodied boulders, about 1 meter in size each.

But to her horror – these were not normal boulders. Bulging from their flesh-like mass were giant eyes that stared back.