Unfortunately for Frost, the Train’s Core was nowhere to be found. Not even the healer and her remnants were present.

The immediate surrounding area showed no signs of the blue-robed woman, who she came to understand was named Sana thanks to Res’ input.

Somehow, that very healer and the Train Core were either crushed to a pulp by the accident or were taken away. It was possible that coins may have been aboard, but there was no evidence that suggested this.

A clean hole would have been carved into the train’s cadaver if this was the case. But the only apparent damage was caused by the crash, and perhaps the malfunctioning of the Train’s Core itself.

Ultimately, Frost could only pin the blame on the Impuritas that lurked here in the Derma layer. There was little anyone knew of this place aside that the Hearts originated here, as well as its countless Impuritas monsters.

Frost wanted to grumble, but she kept herself silent out of respect for Res who silently mourned the death of a friend. Train Conductors were among the most well known and respected individuals, alongside the healers and the Receptionists.

They were civil workers that maintained the functions of the train networks along Brandar and distant Regions on a daily basis.

So Frost had to wonder if Atelier members were ever allowed any day offs or breaks. As it turns out; they were quite abnormal in a way and could work for as long as 50 consecutive hours at a time without rest.

Such was the life of many Atelier members, made possible either by skills or the influence of the technology their worked directly with. Whatever the case was, it remained as no more than a distraction for Frost as she keenly scanned the area, balancing atop a towering pillar.

“Our situation’s changed for the worse.” Res softly spoke, placing a stone, carved effigy onto a mound of loose soil. “The healer’s missing as well. As are the others. Frost! Do you see anything from up there!?” Her voice picked up as soon as L.S set down the man’s folded uniform beside the effigy.

“Yeah! There’s a faint light far ahead!” Frost relayed. “It’s around a couple kilometers out from what I can tell. Between us and that is nothing but darkness and rising plateaus! It looks like a canyon!”

Indeed. A strange, mysterious golden light emanated from somewhere far ahead like a light at the end of dark tunnel. Or a lonely, guiding star submerged in the darkness of midnight. It was inviting and radiated a strange warmth.

But Frost knew better than to trust such a light. Even so, it was not like they had any other direction to follow.

“What about people!? Do you see Cer!? Ber!? Anyone!?” Res cried out desperately, rising onto her toes, as if hoping for a miracle.

Frost stared down at her and regretfully shook her head.

“Nothing. Just rocks and the red glow of everything here!” Res’ ears drooped as L.S peered closely at the wolf woman, wondering what was wrong. “But! Cer’s with Jury right now! Believe me! Cer’s fine!”

Res’ ears flapped delightfully upon hearing this news, as her fluffy tail momentarily wagged with relief. However, Ber was still yet to be found; a concern that afflicted her heart with a rending strain. And soon, her tail and ears dolefully drooped.

Frost sincerely sympathized with her, also having been separated from her loved one.

The only thing that retained her sanity was Nav, as she still had the means to communicate with Jury. Not to mention she also had confirmation that Jury was ok, albeit that she was missing a tail.

Hell, she could even speak to Snap, who was currently returning to the Golden Index in search for help.

Therefore, Frost considered herself lucky. But it was hard for her to see Res, who normally possessed an unbreakable demeanor, appear so distraught.

Her face did not show this. Neither did her bodily gestures. It was her wolf-like ears and tail that gave it away. They remained sunken despite her stern, unchanging expression.

And so, Frost dropped from her great height and joined the two underneath to decide on their next course of action.

But first, she needed to tend to Res.

“Listen. Hey. We’ll find Ber. And we’ll reunite with Cer as well. I’ll let you know straight away if anyone finds her, ok?” Frost knelt, meeting with Res’ eyes as she spoke in a gentle, motherly tone. “Derma layer or not – you have the Amalgam with you. Ber’s a Moon as well. She can take care of herself, right?”

“I know that. But you’re comforting the wrong person.” Res sighed, taking Frost’s hand, and placed it onto her head despite her words. “We need to find them. For their sake. And my own.”

She didn’t expand any further, and neither did Frost pry. The triplets were a tightly knitted family that didn’t bode well with separation. Their circumstances were blurry, but Frost understood this much and patted Res’ head to the woman’s gentle delight.

“I can see why Cer really likes you. You have this… this certain motherly aura.” Res praised, squirming only slightly.

“Is that so?” Frost softly laughed, enjoying this wolf’s presence.

“Hmmm! You know, I could’ve used some head pats myself instead of a choke slam.” L.S interrupted, giggling at their rather foul first encounter. “By the way, shouldn’t we get moving? You mentioned a golden light. Do we follow it?”

“We’ll use it as a guide. If anything else interesting pops up then we’ll head there first. You’re a non-combatant, so stick close to us. There’s no telling just what else might be down here.” Frost explained, finding it almost impossible to remove her hand from Res’ fluffy head.

Not because of how enjoyable it was to scruff through her ears, but because the woman had a firm, possessive hold over her hand.

Either she’s like a wolf and enjoys being pet, or it might have something to do with my Touch of the Black Dove ability. A nostalgic warmth, huh.

I want to know more about them.

 

* * *

 

They ventured forth into the darkness. It was nothing compared to the pitch blackness of the Black Forest. But it was enough to become a hindrance in the form of their newest companion; L.S.

The woman was subject to the whims of the uneven landscape without any form of light or night vision, stumbling and staggering at the most inconvenient moments.

Cer’s electrical powers only illuminated the world for a split second, and Frost’s glowing eyes revealed only her visage and little of her immediate surroundings.

Frost, therefore, had L.S keep a firm hand onto her shoulder. The question of how tight seemed to frighten the woman, considering the Frost she knew was somewhat of a loose cannon compared to the tamer Res.

Suffice to say, she did not want to have her legs broken again by…

“A healer~ Wandering. Scarlet. Normal. You. All doves, or angels depending on how one looks at them! As abnormal as a healer you are, at least you are still winged.” L.S chuckled, ruffling through Frost’s feathers.

“Is this really the time to be talking about that?” Frost sighed, glaring at her once which prompted the woman to instantly cease.

“No, it’s not. Can you communicate with Beholder Carpalis? Or with your Underboss?” Res wielded similar sentiments.

“Impossible. I am no longer under the influence of Carpalis power. You could say that her hand is no longer clasping at my soul. Ahaha. I miss its mechanical coldness. Hehe. Like yours, miss Frost healer –”

“Black Dove. Would it kill you to just call me by name?” Frost groaned, cutting the woman off.

“I, a Captain of the Golden Thumb and a trustee of my superior, Pollex, must refer to our friends in full.”

“Then as your ‘friend’, I want you to call me Frost.”

“Hmmm. I’ll think about it!”

This woman was in a world of her own half the time. Frost could only guess how helpful she’d be in actual combat. And it wasn’t a very bright picture at all. Though interestingly enough, L.S’ body functioned as a storage compartment that housed various weapons.

Apparently, the reason why she laughed so much was because these weapons tickled her whenever they rustled within.

Prior to leaving the train, she had stored the red skewers inside of her by swallowing them whole like one of those crazy circus actors that plunged a blade down their throat. She was a walking arsenal, and it made sense as to why she accompanied that Broker person who was more combat focused.

“But this lack of influence over my soul is lonely. But intriguing! It may be why our friend Bloody Herring disappeared all the way down here!” She then added, shattering the silence from out of the blue.

“Meaning?” Frost was then swiftly answered by Res.

“Meaning that they aren’t monitored or bounded to Carpalis. It’s likely that she was aware of his presence if he used to be a Golden Index personnel.”

“So she sent us there in hopes of what?” Frost growled, realizing that Carpalis was likely aware of the Bloody Herring’s presence within that grotesque dungeon.

“Eliminating him.” Res answered confidently.

“Quite the contrary for us actually! Ahahaha! We’re trying to figure out why the Animals have a certain taste for Golden Index personnel. They’re content in draining Carpalis’ trusted – oh dearest, most trusted people and taking them away. And for what? Our mission is to figure that out!” L.S pointed at a different more intriguing reason.

And as it turns out, Carpalis had a lot more enemies than Frost realized.

Carpalis has nothing but betrayers, huh. Why are they so keen with betraying her?

“Time will only tell. Do try to keep a firm grip on that fish when you catch it.”

Trust me, I’m going to give that fish hell when I get my hands on it. If it doesn’t die first, that is.

“And good news. Ignis has come across the Paladin Perla. Although, communication is impossible between them.”

I can imagine.

“No. I mean that they cannot hear anything. Jury also expresses that she cannot speak, and neither can Cer.”

Odd. Nav explained that there were 3 distinct caverns, and Frost’s was the only one that was encased in darkness.

One cavern diminished sight. Another their voice, and the last their sense of hearing. It was bizarre considering nothing of interest had appeared as of yet.

But they were undoubtably within the influence of something greater here by the sounds of it. Almost like they were inside of a Corrupted Zone; adhering to a set of unusual rules.

I hope it’s just a matter of time until we find Ber.

The landscape shifted between staggering canyon, arching bridges and mazes of towering plateaus. When faced with a cliff face or steep descent, Frost had L.S hold onto her like a baby koala. Except she appeared more like a human mantle, dangling almost comedically as Frost climbed over and under as fast as she could.

The layers of dirt soon disappeared and were replaced with signs of battle. Cracked rocks began appearing, as did fissures and fault lines created by enormous impacts fit only for a meteorite.

But nothing could have fallen into here.

Having a more complex vision than Res, Frost was able to bring this to their attention as the wolfwoman began pondering on the possible causes. Eventually, the only logical explanation was that this was a battlefield, or perhaps a feeding ground for the Impuritas.

And yet there were still no signs of life in sight as they approached ever-growing golden light.

“Derma. Derma. Derma. You Blessed have some bizarre names. Ahaha. We’re screwed down here, aren’t we? Beholders. Moons. Stars. They become lost down here, don’t they?” L.S brought up as they approached the very edge of a drop.

It was vast, and it stretched up to a few hundreds of meters across. They could not yet see the bottom even though they approached it from its furthest end.

“Have hope. I’ve pulled through worse, and so will you as long as you stay by my side. Res. L.S. Watch your step and do not walk in front of me.” Frost warned, slowing their approach until they arrived at the very edge of their landmass…

… And she could not believe what laid underneath.

“I see it. Shit… just how big is that pit? It’s like a sinkhole. Or a caldera even.” Res pointed out as Frost’s eyes widened by tenfold.

“A sinkhole might be right. But there’s a bottom to it… fuck. Fucking hell.” Frost’s voice shivered, trying to decipher the very sight before her.

What she saw was a boneyard of wrecked trains. Some ranging from the small, 6 compartment ones, all the way to the multi-floored behemoths. Those monolithic trains were found either on their sides or standing like decaying buildings, teetering on the edge of collapse.

“W-what do you see down there!?” L.S exclaimed, hiding behind the much smaller Frost as Res took a stance beside her, wondering what she witnessed.

“More Impuritas?” She could only ask, glancing back and forth from the darkness to those golden eyes.

Frost gulped and revealed the sight that left her baffled beyond words.

“No. There are trains. So many fucking trains.”