“Have you heard about the Demon who travelled far away from home? Hehe…. She rode high seas of a trickling storm. Endured the pelting hailstorms of lands far away… And braved through monsoons of Regions she thought were only just fairytales… because they were told by Fairies. Get it? Fairy tale? Or is it a Fairy’s tale?”

Carpalis recited in a tantalizing voice.

Frost joined her on the rooftop of Carpal Tower. The cityscape ran so far with so many dazzling lights that she had to wonder just how large the world was. The horizon stretched further than Earth’s, reaching the first wall that separated the City of Diamonds to its lesser Sectors, all the way to the great walls of the Nex Megalopolis.

“You never fixed your apparel? It must be chilly for you Frost.” Carpalis made the nth pun about her name being Frost, causing her to smile as she pondered on the reason why Carpalis called her here in the first place.

Alone as well.

“It’s fine. I kind of like this coat. It’s pretty comfy.” Frost said, ruffling it.

She only wore a shirt and loose pants underneath. The tights were all tattered, and her Coat of Prejudice was so worn out that she couldn’t feasibly wear it unless she required its lie detector ability, which turned out to be highly unreliable.

The truth was not an objective thing. It was murky and constructed of pure subjective thoughts that could be interpreted as objective. If someone believed the lie, then that was their truth. The ignorant and uninformed were also susceptible to the same fallings.

Frost was in the middle of catching up with the ex-slaves not too long ago. They had gained professions and jobs within the Golden Index, with some training to become combatants of the Golden Middle whilst others took administrative jobs. The bunny-woman not only became a bunny-suit dealer, but also a stand in supervisor for the upper floors of Carpal Tower.

The cat-girl on the other hand was more or less a mix of a combat maid. Kind of like what Cer was like for the better part of their trip to the Derma layer, except the cat-girl could actually cook. In fact, she may have already surpassed Frost in cooking.

Despite how tired she was and still currently is, Frost could never say no to a meal.

Frost touched her stomach from within the giant coat.

“It’s bursting tonight. Can you feel it in the air? Their emotions are so intoxicating… hehe… Or maybe I’m drunk? Isn’t that sunset beautiful?” She pointed off towards the setting sun.

An orange glow highlighted the distant horizon, which spanned all the way to the great mountain of Dwarhelven. The lands that rested beneath its massive visage were plunged into an early night as its shadow crept along.

“Did you know about the Nex?” Frost needed to ask once and for all.

“You asked many things but the nature of Nex. Emotions are what drives it. Without Nex, our technologies cannot operate. Hehe… Ateliers exist for that reason. Before there was an organized structure, there were kingdoms of the old, and further back: bearers of these powers were revered as Gods. Our… beginnings were chaotic. It’s reasonable now… but it can be better.”

Carpalis eagerly gazed into the darkening skies, but no matter how dark it became the stars never appeared due to the immense light pollution of the city.

“350 years ago, huh?”

“It was worse further back. Some of the Beholders of today were from that era where cradles of civilizations first emerged. Others had influence long before they became Beholders. Beholder E. comes to mind… Hehe… As does Marduk, an old self-proclaimed God.”

“Beholder Marduk is how old?” Frost was morbidly curious.

Morbid, because she could not fathom anything living for over a hundred and fifty years. The number of generations they would have seen come and go would have been incredible.

“Several hundred. Or nearing a thousand. Difficult to comprehend an existence of that timespan, but so are the cosmos. Haha… Oh. It’s time.” Carpalis merely blinked and the entire City of Diamonds fell into complete darkness.

Every conceivable light was snuffed simultaneously. But in its absence they were greeted by a beautiful stary sky.

“I’ve been told they never had the chance to see them… hehe… but they don’t know many of those stars are already gone. It’s like a window to the past.” Carpalis hummed, before she took a small, delicate lens and peered through it.

Her perpetual grin softened all of a sudden.

“That’s how light works unfortunately. Nothing we can do about that, but on the bright side that’s a couple billion years before we notice them dying out.” Frost wasn’t too bothered by the very real existential crisis that was a dying universe.

They would have been long gone before anything could have changed, although, she would be lying if she said that it wasn’t sad that all things inevitably do come to an end.

Even if it does take an incomprehensibly long time.

“Oh? But have you peered through this window to the present?” Carpalis chuckled, passing the beautiful, glistening lens to her.

 

< Your Appraise Object level is too low >

 

“Huh?” Frost gently took it and peered through the glass, wondering what was so special about it.  “… W-woah… What… wait, wait wait – what am I looking at exactly?”

“The present.” Carpalis simply stated.

She was greeted with a sight she could never forget.

There were countless blue stars and a universe thriving with celestial bodies; far more than what could be seen by the naked eye. The lens allowed her to somehow see the worlds beyond in the present, bypassing the limitations of light itself through an entirely anomalous process that defied all Earthy logic.

Her knees became weak, and her mind was frozen by the sheer beauty of it all. She realized that the universe itself was thriving, and while they were seeing ghosts in the naked eye, what they didn’t realize was that countless celestial offspring were repopulating the great void more than ever.

Hope. Hope welled in her heart. After the memories of a dead universe, she could not be happier to see that this one was so very much alive.

“Star-tinted Lens. The process of creating Atelier Items such as this is a head scratcher.” Carpalis itched her head, before she gently took the lens back and pocketed it into a Dimensional Storage. “It is a precious gift from our friends at ImpulseWorks. If you are seeking to repair your Corrupted equipment, then it is best that you head there. They’ll gladly arm you well for the future.”

She pointed her eyes towards the giant city that depicted many hearts along its walls, and one colossal one that oversaw the Sectors of the City of Hearts.

“I’m assuming we can trust them.”

“They’re considered our allies. Hehe. Unless they’ve gotten tired of my always giggling to myself. Haha… Or because I refused to show them my skin. Good luck there.”

“Skin?”

“The City of Hearts is otherwise called the City of Lust. You will be thoroughly investigated. Hehe… I am formally going to send you there carrying all favors I possess to leverage them into accepting you into their cradles. Please don’t make too much of a mess of them if they get too touchy. Hm… I really… really hope this mess doesn’t continue to any more than it has.”

Carpalis suddenly set her sights upon the City of Spades, the territory of the Scarlet Logic. A cold breeze suddenly swept by. Carpalis’ hair was as stagnant as stone, as were her apparel as if they were weighted.

“We have a traitor in the midst. It will take some convincing to get other Ateliers on board against the Scarlet Logic. You must have arrived at that conclusion already… hehe… Their replication process has one fatal flaw, and that is the soul. Without it, they lose themselves entirely. Poof. Vanished… It’s painfully sad.”

She then turned to Frost and held out her hand. Frost took it and they suddenly shook on an unspoken promise. Frost knew exactly what Carpalis wanted, or rather, what she didn’t want.

War. Carpalis feared war.

“Let’s hope to avoid another Atelier War.

Hehe… Because I fear that our precious city will burn into the ground this time around.”

A potential Atelier war wouldn’t merely just be with the 2^nd Branch and the Scarlet Logic this time. In all likelihood, it would involve every present Atelier of the Nex Megalopolis if they found out that the Scarlet Logic were working with the Hearts and the Dungeons they all despised.

And more than that,

They had the Impuritas on their side to make up for the multifrontal war.

 

* * *

 

Frost eventually returned to the lobby where she was met with Snap. It presented her the two Corrupted Items she had yet to investigate.

The first was a small pin badge shaped like a red love heart. Upon closer inspection she found that the heart was made of many thousands of tiny hearts, which animated like water trickling down a wall.

 

 

EFFECT: Resistance to the Civilization Affinity. Wearer’s heart cannot be swayed or tugged. Impose your heart upon others to fragment them. If target was an enemy, then they will fight for your heart until they have taken 10% of their total base HP. Target’s RESIST must be lower than 100 to take effect.

 

The second object was a pair of black gloves made from velour or a similar type of material. She couldn’t exactly tell what it was, but it was delightful to touch. The gloves fit almost perfectly, and the cuffs around her wrist were made of a fur somehow softer than Snap’s fury.

Before Frost could even put on the second glove Snap rubbed its head against her ungloved hand, nearly pushing her over in jealousy.

“You’re so cute!” She happily embraced it.

 

 

EFFECT: Instantly awaken the unconscious and remove all Torpidity stacks at will. Those on the receiving end of your attacks may never pass out or lose their mind. They must witness reality come crashing down till the bitter end.

 

Frost finally received a weapon after all this time. But it kind of bummed her that it was just a glove, meaning her fists were still essentially her weapon. Not that she complained. A hefty boost to her ATT and MAG ATT was a welcome addition to her already unstoppable stats.

The only next logical step from here would be to eliminate an Apocalypse-classed Corrupted.

Then she could finally be on par with the Beholders.

But if the Big Red Heart was just a Woe of the Fallen Star, then she could not imagine the magnitude of devastation that Apocalypse Corrupted hailed.

 

* * *

 

< PROFESSIONS >

 

< ACTIVE SKILLS >

 

< PASSIVE SKILLS >

 

< ABILITIES >

 

 

< PROFESSIONS >

 

< ACTIVE SKILLS >

 

< PASSIVE SKILLS >

 

< ABILITIES >

 

 

< Unfortunately, this is all based on what the Moons were willing to tell us. They only wish to reveal all relevant Skills. Maybe if we Realize them one day, we’ll be able to confirm their skills >

 

< ACTIVE >

 

< The stats do not match up with their levels. But this is not unheard of. They are only limited by their level. Skills can still increase despite this >

 

< Cer does not want to show you her Passive Skills. Neither the other triplets. It is not that they are hiding things from you >

 

< There are simply things that shouldn’t be unveiled >

 

< But let’s pretend that ‘allergy to baths’ is here >

 

< ABILITIES >

 

 

 

 

< ACTIVE >

 

< Ber is a little more willing. It shows that they weren’t born fighters. Circumstance have merely carved them into who they are now >

 

< ABILITIES >

 

 

< ACTIVE >

 

< PASSIVE >

 

< ABILITIES >

 

 

 

< … Snap requests that you do not pry >

 

< As a friend, I will comply >

 

< Snap hopes that you will one day understand >

 

< By the way, when will we be leaving? Our next destination will be none other than the City of Hearts! >

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