Frost worked like a self-appointed diplomat, establishing relations and trade wherever she walked.

Secur-80 became tightly lipped, as if speaking to someone in his head. One of the powers they had was the ability communicate with Carpalis over extended distances because of how much of their soul they had sacrificed for her, as well as the rings that made death impossible.

Unfortunately, they were the only ones within the Golden Index with this impressive ability.

“Her most benevolent does not mind. It’s a checklist if anything. A series of yes and no to tick off. When she created it, I don’t think she ever thought it would become something important to the Moons.”

Secur-80 spoke fondly about her before suddenly moving his gaze elsewhere.

“How far has the ‘Girl Far Away From Home’ come…”

The tale was an abbreviated, almost fairtale-esque story of Carpalis’ journey from Zelmori to here. It depicted an unwanted, lonely child with nothing to her name travelling the rugged seas of the world and facing the hardships of a chaotic Grandis.

There was not much else known about the tale…

… no. There were too many interpretations, rewrites, and retellings that the true one was long lost, known only to Carpalis herself.

Frost became silent as the reunion party continued as normal. She took a swig from a glass of cold apple juice as she observed Revy. She was the only one that seemed dissatisfied with her role in the Golden Index and was the only one Frost considered turning into an Aspiring Moon.

Gnite was also a good choice, but her gut told her otherwise. To begin with, Revy was due to become a Moon. Frost wished to speed things up. She watched for an opening, wanting to smoothly offer her invitation without making it feel too awkward or forced.

Because regardless of whether they wanted to come or not, they would not be able to refuse her.

And Frost did not want that.

“Jury? Have you always been here?” Revy suddenly asked, right as she was allowed to indulge on Jury’s tail.

“Nope. I’ve always been next to Frost. Is this about the White Rabbit?” Jury wondered, snacking on balls of cheese like they were apples.

The servers spoke amongst themselves, bringing out meals that were purposely difficult to eat, such as lobsters and unopened mussels. Jury, never having eaten such lavish things, picked the tail of the lobster up and began eating it like a giant chicken drumstick.

They were shocked enough as is by their appearance. Imagine if they knew that Jury was a Beholder too?

“You know about it? Yes… it’s about that. I was so sure it was you!” Revy was shocked by the revelation, inspecting Jury’s tail down to each strand of fur. “It’s identical to it. And it feels like it too!”

“That thing again? White Rabbit this, White Rabbit that… how come we’ve never seen it before?” Gnite’s sentiments were the same as the adults in the room, but it was also something they didn’t just shrug off.

There have been efforts to pinpoint what exactly they were seeing. All, however, bared nothing of value. The White Rabbit was hot topic, yet at the same time only so few knew of its existence. One of the reasons why was because people had mistaken it as Jury in these parts, which led to a lot of internal confusion.

“How does everyone keep thinking it’s me when my tail’s different now?” Jury also brought up a good point, because if it was her tail alone then how did they think it was her? Just from the color? The fluffiness? The tip?

It was all confusing because Revy didn’t have a way to describe it, other than that it ‘felt’ like Jury. Indeed, she had touched the tail of the White Rabbit and from alone she was sure it was her.

“… this is so weird.” Jury spoke to herself as Nav tried to calculate a hypothesis on the situation, finding nothing other than it being a likely Corrupted entity.

If it was so widespread then was it a Woe of the Fallen Star? Did it have a Corrupted Zone already established right in front of them? Was it fast? Why didn’t it harm anyone? Was it like Snap then?

Too many questions, but just because no one was harmed was not an invitation to believe it had good intention. Secur-80 was aware of the matter, but believed it was likely the Fractured Nilhim rather than a Corrupted.

However –

“The Scourge are entities of the mind. They can’t physically interact with people. It does not mean that it still can’t be them.”

– He was also lost.

The situation was currently under investigation by ImpulseWorks ARU forces in collaboration with the Golden Middle. It was not something he could feasibly control.

The Scourge were ill known to begin with, and usually clashed with CogitO. In fact, there had never been a report of the Scourge attacking anyone outside of CogitO aside from ImpulseWorks’ Sites.

The fact that so little was found was concerning, and it was also the nature of the Scourge as they presented themselves as the nightmares and fears of people. They were the harbingers of terror, known for their Trepidation negative conditions.

But never for physical attacks.

My Summit will be beginning soon. This is something I need to bring up either there with Iscario and Grandis, or in the next Arbiter’s Council.

“That is if nothing happens beforehand.” Nav spoke bluntly, uttering a truth Frost wished she never heard.

Her blood ran like ice right before her veins bulged across her body, the ice melting into steam as her blood flash boiled. Overwhelming hatred oozed from every pore of her body, the thick aura spilling to her feet.

… If this turns out to be an Imprutias…

A furious Frost was frightening no matter what she wore. Just as her mind was about to enter a dark place, and as her form began to darken like a shadow in their eyes – a voice suddenly pulled her right out.

“F-Frost!”

It wasn’t Jury’s. It was a childish voice that was accompanied by careful steps, as if they were being careful not to fall over. The rage disappeared as she turned to the staircase nearby to see two figures descend, both hand in hand.

Frost’s heart melted at the sight of the black-haired Stella, who waved in their general direction with the brightest smile in the world.

But who’s that beside her?

A friendly girl helped her walk down the stairs. Her skin was dark, and her face was familiar to her. The light-blue coat she wore was the same the healers wore. Her eyes were a vibrant blue but were fuller. Dangerous even in contrast to her smile.

Frost knew she was a healer. It was obvious. The telltale signs were all there.

However, her long hair was completely dyed black.

“It’s been a while since I saw you.” She smiled, happy to see them again as she kindly brought Stella off the last step. “The Golden Index are miracle workers for trying to get me back in the right state of mind. Don’t I look good now? Oh… you don’t seem to recognize me. Not even a little bit? I’m sure those wolf Moons would have spotted me right away.”

Her aura was on a completely different level compared to the Black Wings. It was menacing. So full of hatred that Frost was rendered speechless. Her Nex was seemingly visible. It oozed and formed a singular black wing behind her. It was a figment of Frost’s imagination, but one that she decidedly believed to be real.

The girl brought both hands to her back, tilting her head to the side innocently as the murderous aura disappeared in an instant.

“It’s me. Sana. Remember? You saved me from the musicians!”