Beholders were deities in the eyes of the world. Galia was the only one known by name, but her visage was lost to the ebbs of time and the purge of all records. Her victory against Beholder Knalzark came at a steep cost.

One price she paid was the elimination of the old Galia who graced the world with honorable virtues. No history book knew of the old name she once wielded like a blade. It was a name that inspired hope in the depths of despair, for it was one that vindicated the innocent from extreme prejudice.

That name was uttered as a figure in black coat walked past stragglers caught in the mayhem. Debris showered from the second floor of the buildings, falling onto fleeing civilians. Magical barriers were cast by students of nearby Academies.

Galia walked confidentially through the carnage towards a ravaged circus tent. The canvas that covered it was nowhere to be seen, revealing a pole with a heart suspended in the center like meat on a skewer.

“Ma’am!” A small, young man dressed in black robes approached her. He took off his pointy witch hat out to see the face of the tall woman before him. “You can’t be here –!?” Suddenly, a cold chill jabbed his neck and ran down his throat.

His voice betrayed him the moment he gazed into the cosmos that were her eyes. Saliva dribbled down the side of his cheek as Galia paid him no mind, moving forward as her presence was known to all.

“That’s the Black Dove, isn’t it!?”

“Her skin color is different. But she might be related.”

“Do you think she’s the same as that person with the winged arm?”

“W-We’re safe…”

She was seen as a symbol of hope. However, none of their words reached her ears until she passed by a collapsed storefront. There, personnel from Caldera Industries upheaved rubble to retrieved buried victims. They were not used to the gratitude shown by the people they saved and wore cold, blank looks as they worked hard until they unearthed a green-haired elf.

“Thank you! Thank… you! There’s more of us down there! And…” Suddenly, their eyes fell onto the passing Galia.

“That’s… That’s the Colorless –!”

Her voice was the only one she reacted to.

The Elf was youthful. But despite her appearance, the fact that she recognized the passing ghost was a testament to her age. Galia merely looked in her directly, smiling solemnly as she clicked her fingers, silencing the Elf as she clasped onto her lips.

“Blood-bound promises must be kept. Protectorates are doing what my people did during your past tyranny. How nostalgic.”

She spoke to herself, embracing the light of the sun as she savored the heartbeats of the Heart perched above. Her hands curled into fists.

“Now then, shall I stretch my old wings?”

She would not be fighting it with her Beholder powers. Instead, she planned to use her bare hands just as she did so long ago. If only the Protectorates knew the extent of the destruction Galia brought to Caldera Industries.

And this was before she gained the Warped Stone.

 

* * *

 

“Hm. Hm. Hmhm~ You’re not really that much different from the Big Red Heart. And here I thought that we were up against some kind of aberration of it.” Elsewhere, Enoch had her fun impaling the Hearts. “As if those exist.”

Blood dripped from her palms as she smeared it across the air. The blood instantly congealed, transforming into a web with eyes that spanned multiple streets. A crimson, thorny hedge soon formed, impaling the Hearts that tumbled from the bowels of a green Heart.

It groaned like a pipe bag, emitting a discordant symphony as she watched Justica Arms shoot down orbs of light.

“Micro Luminaire. Pretty annoying that those things can keep your kind alive. Just like Carpalis’ rings.” Enoch poked at a rack of hearts that quivered along her barbed blood.

They were impaled and incapacitated. Normally, the hearts would lunge at any living thing, but they instinctively tried to avoid Enoch at all costs.

This was because her heart was not easily replaceable.

The tempering of G-Z7 had caused her heart to forever be her own, and like the halls of that Site, there was no street that was left untouched. She moved casually, strolling without a care in the world.

But her crimson eyes were filled with absolute bloodlust. As her namesake as the Artificer of Rupturing, it was only fitting that she fought in a messy yet clinical manner. Her prey was never killed immediately and were instead left to bleed.

“Bloodletting is good for the soul. I’m upset that the musical insects didn’t decide to show their faces. I’d love to get my hands on another one again.” She patted all the hearts along the way, taking some into her arms as she cradled them like children.

And when she had enough, she crushed them all in her arms down until they became nothing but red pulp. They had the consistency of crushed cherries, and she used their blood to further stretch her crimson web.

“For musicians that see people as instruments, it’s ironic that they make the most beautiful sound of them all. Desires shouldn’t be imposed on others. A desire…”

She dropped to her knees, giggling to herself as she scooped the grounded hearts in her hands and began smearing them across the pavement like a form of haruspicy.

“… should come from one’s heart. It’s otherwise unfair if it can be so easily exchanged. That’s why –

She reared her head back and shouted at the top of her lungs:

– I FUCKING LOVE THE AMALGAM!”

 

* * *

 

“Descartes. Why are you making that kind of face?” A Blue Moon asked the short woman.

Her normally emotionless face had distorted unexpectedly, amusing the blue, short-haired woman who too was dressed in a blue suit.

“I thought I overheard something despicable.” Descartes 3 replied, glaring down at a handless body. “Raoul was warned against severing hands again. What ticked him off?”

“The Green Thing. A relative of the Green Composer. Imagine my surprise when the big bad wolf turned out to have a semblance of a heart left.”

“I see. As long as he’s operating on Descartes 2’s leash.” She turned her attention to the Blue Moon, able to see through her CognitO Phantasm. “The Fractured Nilhim have disappeared I take?”

“I believe the White Rabbit played a hand in their efforts here. Either that, or it was by pure coincidence.” Azure, the Blue Moon answered. “The White Rabbit has some frightening similarities to our enemies. Two of the Three Heads of Security were dragged down into one of the holes that had been randomly swallowing children. I witnessed both fight something extraordinary.”

Azure licked her lips, elaborating with: “I couldn’t even see what it was. Is that what we call the Aberrations of Elysia? If so, then I’m beginning to wonder if we survived because of their mercy, or if they’re specifically looking for something.”

“The two Moons were the only ones taken. So I’ve heard. The confirmation concerns me.” Descartes then peered into the bloody waters, staring at her reflection. “The Eye was among those taken. As was the Fang. But the Claw has remained untouched. Any abnormalities regarding the two?”

“The Eye suffered the most causalities by far, all by the doing of her hands.” Azure folded her arms. “My conclusion: the CognitO Filters were tampered with. The Fractured Nilhim’s appearance and the disappearance of the two is no coincidence. I’ve never watched someone rot away as quickly as Res.”

Descartes fell into deep thought all of a sudden. Azure noticed her sudden fixation with the color of the water and remained silent, daring not to interrupt her train of thought. Descartes, like Carpalis, was seen as a non-threatening Beholder.

However, it did not change that they possessed the physical might of one.

Suddenly, Black Wings began rushing along the canals. The sound of rustling equipment and the patters of small bodies emerged from behind a pillar, revealing a group of heavily armed, black-stranded healers.

Talons were cradled close, and a secondary miniature version was strapped to their waists. Their black uniform made it clear to the uninitiated that they were far from normal healers. The leader of the group, whose hair was cut short and carried a shortened version of the Standard Talon noticed the body and shouted:

“One body! Excuse us! If you’re not Atelier people, then you shouldn’t be here!” She also wore a peaked cap far too large for her head. It seemingly covered her eyes, but by some miracle she could still see clearly.

“It’s fine. We’re here temporarily.” Azure urged them to keep it down as she brought a finger to her lips, watching as they brought out a retractable shield made from composite metal.

It was this world’s equivalent to a riot shield, but it could be lengthened and used as a ladder. They were about to throw it across to create a bridge, but Azure soon announced:

“Don’t waste your time with a Syndicate corpse –”

“Yeah, we can see that they’re dead. Let us announce our own thing and get on our way.” The leader of the group couldn’t care less for what they had to say, crossing the canal, and marching their way past them. “If you have time, go send him to a Verdanian. They could use him as a fertilizer for crops. Syndicate bastard.”

“*Spits* I can’t wait to raid their base.” Another growled with excitement.

Azure could never get used to the polarizing nature of the healers. They were cute, cuddly, and adorable. Even she couldn’t say no to a healer’s honest request. But to see them like this caused her to grin to herself.

It only made them cuter in her eyes.

“Do you know why Res relies on the CognitO Filters?” Descartes suddenly asked, her voice nearly drowned by the passing Black Wings.

“No, I don’t. Even I find it odd for a Moon to limit their senses, never mind a Demi-Human.” Azure patiently spoke, her eyes moving to the red waters.

“You’re aware that unchosen Moons are destined to die in battle.”

“Glaringly.” Azure nodded, her hands curling into fists. “We’re constantly at risk of Corruption. That’s why Serum G was given to us. The more fortunate ones like me never needed an intervention. But that was because of special circumstances.”

“Res was included in that special program to become a Blue Moon. Of all the Moons she was at the highest risk of becoming a Corrupted. The color red was enough to nearly break her. Serum G was evidently not enough in their encounter against the Stuffed Teddy Bear.

She ended up refusing because we never included her sisters. At that time, we thought it was a shame, but it was what ultimately kept her sane for these past 30 years. Our Filters were an intervention, but also her one fatal flaw.”

Descartes explained in thorough detail.

“But evidently not risky enough for the Eclipses to take them out?” Azure was suspicious about the story, finding it odd that such high-risk Moons were left to run around in the Nexus.

Color suddenly left the Beholders eyes.

Descartes suddenly reminisced about her fateful meeting with a desperate Galia. It was the first time she had seen her make such a face. The stone-cold Descartes, who cared only to understand the mind, was left perplexed for the first time in her life.

Because Galia of all people had come to her asking for help like a mother seeking medicine for her children.

“An unlikely friend asked me for help in exchange for one small favor. That favor became a leash for a certain Star.”

She didn’t say much at all, and her tone evoked little other than disinterest. Yet Azure could only grin to herself, as if understanding her boss at a fundamental level.

“I always think that I’m lucky to be close to a Beholder like you.” Azure hummed as color returned to the eyes of the Beholder. “So, what do you need me to do?”

“Inform the Amalgam in my stead. The chances of the Fractured Nilhim using Res’ Atelier Item as a vessel is too high. In all likeliness, they were aiming to enter wherever the children ended up.” She answered, looking ahead at a winding path.

“Then what will you do?”

“Gather my thoughts. You know how I feel about the Amalgam. I dislike their approach because it makes no sense to me. I’m blamed for things I have not done. My efforts look like a sin in her eyes. Yet she has saved people from Corruption. I have not…”

There wasn’t an ounce of jealousy in her voice. She was just saddened that despite how long she had been in power, not once was she able to reverse the Corruption. To her, Frost was an anomaly that erased decades worth of effort, but even so, her ego stayed out of it.

“This not just for the triplet’s sake, but for my friend’s sake too. So – I hope she can also save that blind wolf from her hell. Get the Amalgam into the rabbit hole. We’re fighting against the clock… also, did you happen to come across a blonde-haired girl?”

“No, unfortunately. The Stars are desperately searching for her.”

“Report the site to the Amalgam when it’s found immediately. Act X predicts that the girl will become our first point of contact with the White Rabbit.”