The Blue Moon held a blue-pallid instrument. It was a birdcage with a dull, white light within. It was connected to a long handle, and it swung slowly like a broken pendulum.

“Strange how the White Rabbit can interact with the consciousness.” Azure marveled, walking amongst the children who could not perceive her. “The Caged Glimmer rattles. They must be close.”

The bargain the White Rabbit struck, one-sidedly may she add, was to simply see her. There was nothing more that the White Rabbit wished, and Frost had returned after assessing the situation around H5 to fulfil her end.

And to directly communicate with the White Rabbit.

Frost stood at the base of the tree, dipping a hand into the black well. It was cold, and she felt its emptiness ravenously chew at her flesh. She pulled her hand out after battling with a pain that transcended her bodily form. It felt as though her soul was being devoured, much like the pain of when she held the Corrupted Ignis.

Her hand was relatively untouched. A normal person would have immediately lost their arm. She did not know if this was because the White Rabbit did not wish to injure her, or if she was resistant to whatever that darkness was.

Jury wore a displeased expression as she watched something approach Frost. Only she could see the White Rabbit, who was identical to the younger version of herself. The only thing she lacked was her blackened claw.

“Let me know when she’s here.” Frost said, staring blankly at the ground as the White Rabbit brought her face close to hers.

She played with the stray strands of Frost’s hair unbeknownst to her. “Was that a micro breeze or something?”

“The wind’s picking up, huh?” Ber said, tapping her foot impatiently as the White Rabbit unexpectedly walked between her legs, slightly displacing her skirt. “Must be a low current. Think its coming from the hole?”

“Hmm. I wonder.” Azure spoke quizzically, watching the lantern sway side by side. “The physical world cannot meaningfully interact with the Lantern. May I say that it is an honor to work so closely with the Head. Descartes 3 told me you would approve. I had my doubts, but I am elated to know that you’re not so different from her.”

“In what way?” Frost wondered, still unaware of the White Rabbit who patrolled around her like she was a work of art, running her eyes and tail across every inch of Frost’s body.

“It’s just my first impression. Hmm~ Oh. By the look of Beholder Jury’s eyes, we are now in the presence of the White Rabbit.”

“Jury?” Frost asked, causing Jury to point right at her.

“She’s ogling you while you can’t sense her.” Jury revealed, causing the White Rabbit to wear her own face of displeasure.

“I must make sure this is the real one. I can’t be tricked again.” The White Rabbit suddenly spoke, finally allowing Frost to see the girl up close. “You’re real. Different face. Different body. Different name. Different eyes. But same soul. Maybe you ate my tail too.”

The sudden introduction was easily the most awkward of them all for Frost. For what was supposed to be an entity akin to a God, she appeared more like an ordinary child happy to be reunited with a friend. She smiled as innocently as Jury did in the past, and Frost was almost convinced this was just the Innocent.

But she’d be a fool to forget that this being was the reason why so many children had disappeared.

 

 

Her stats were unfathomable. Frost could instinctively tell that this was leagues more powerful than a Beholder. Yet her touch was gentle and sincere, so much so that Frost found it difficult to believe that she was responsible for this mess.

“Would you like to eat my tail?” She asked in a deadpan voice.

Her eyes were golden just like hers, but they were also cloudy. A certain dull, blankness overlapped her dazzling eyes. They could not reflect the world, and not an ounce of moisture could be seen within.

Though she appeared human, Frost knew that she was far from it.

The world around her seemingly fizzled away. Before she knew it, a black egg concealed them both, hiding them away from the world as a subtle ticking from her chest alluded to the change in the flow of time.

“If not, then that is ok. My tail can be eaten by someone else. We are alone now. Finally… after so long, I can finally say hello to the Captured Star. Do you remember this place?” She asked Frost in their cramped prison.

Frost had still yet to gain her bearings, shaking her head to snap herself free from her trance.

“A little. This was where the Captured Star was kept, right?”

“You don’t refer to yourself as such?”

“Sorry, but my memories of this place don’t exist anymore.” Frost revealed apologetically, controlling her breathing as she found herself uncharacteristically out of breath.

This place was also what inside of the Star Child’s Floor, wasn’t it?

She tried to maintain a smile, wanting to appease the White Rabbit who was their only lifeline. The impatient side of her urged her to begin bargaining for access into the wonderland she called the ‘Escape’, but before she could utter a word, the silence strangled her.

When the White Rabbit’s lips moved, hers were immediately sealed.

“Lucky. You wouldn’t be smiling like that if you still did.” The White Rabbit’s head tilted at an irregular angle, her smile extending to her ears. “Which means… you really have changed. So earnest and inconspicuous. For better or worse? I couldn’t tell you. I’m only happy that you also exist in this world.”

Suddenly, her smile disappeared as she approached Frost, her eyes glowing like the bulb of an angler fish.

“But I cannot forgive that I am not the only one… An imposter calls itself Jury. How can there be another one of ‘her’ and me?”

As it turned out, the Aberrations of Elysia were not aware of the existence of one another aside from the Original. Although, Frost wondered if others were even aware of Elysia’s existence in the first place. Perhaps they believed they themselves were the Original.

Such thoughts came to her mind, all in the span of a fraction of a second.

“No matter. It has not taken a bite from you. You… have come to me for help, as I have come to you for yours.”

“What can I do that you can’t?” Frost was curious, considering her insane Stats. She was practically a Goddess.

Frost expected something incredible. A mission far surpassing her wildest thoughts. She gulped, preparing herself to hear something outrageous. But if it was for Res, then she’d do anything.

To her surprise, however –

“Help me find out why the Duchess and her Child smell just like you.”

– Her request was no simpler than to hug her.

Or so she believed.

“What about the Fractured Nilhim that are in there right now?” Frost asked, causing the White Rabbit to simply stare at her. “What if Res Corrupts? You’re the one who started this mess. As much as I too am overjoyed to see you, you’re not exactly clean in my eyes.”

As soon as the silence ungripped her throat, Frost began to passive-aggressively lash out at her. She bet her cards that the White Rabbit wouldn’t go as far as to maim her just because she opened her mouth. After all, she was different from the Beholders as far as she could tell.

And to begin with, Frost wasn’t the type of person who’d listen idly just because she was outmatched.

“Corruption?” The White Rabbit was taken aback, insulted that by the very idea. She walked towards Frost; her eyes widened with unconceivable fury. Frost knew that if she wasn’t who she was, then she would have died on the spot.

“I don’t contort, twist, mangle and violate the bodies of those I try to help. I want them to imagine a better version of themselves. Not to become it, but to wear it. Illusions shouldn’t just be limited to the world. People can do more when they’re able to pretend they’re someone better.”

She made her philosophy crystal clear to Frost, speaking as if to prove it even to herself. Her steps were small, but they were impossible heavy. Dread followed in her wake as she stood directly underneath Frost, gazing up at her with the same dull eyes that she had no doubt could not reflect the stars of the night sky.

“No one is going to Corrupt in my Escape… But someone has passed through using an instrument of man. I found it odd that she wore two consciousnesses. I have no obligation to arbitrate or intervene. That is not my duty, because it is not my Escape that hath led to the path of her Corruption.”

The White Rabbit’s tone shifted, moving to a pronunciation and manner of speech befitting that of a Goddess.

“… Res? Two consciousnesses?”

“One was inactive, likely used for whatever blasphemous item she possessed. It was of a strong individual. An Incandescent Soul. That monster – the Fractured Nilhim – seem to be able to invade and tamper with minds… brave of them to come so close to me.”

“Send me there. Send me to your Escape! Let me save my friend and get rid of the rot inside!” Frost demanded, to which the White Rabbit easily nodded her head in approval.

“So long as you can find the scent I spoke of. I shall ask you a question. Do you know what happened to my tail?” She asked a mysterious question.

“Isn’t yours still on you?” Frost pointed out, proving her innocence as the White Rabbit brushed it across her legs, nodding again.

“It was stolen. Severed. By a power that contradicts mine. No matter. I will find it. Hope will find a way for my tail to land into the hands of someone who needs it the most.” The White Rabbit was certain of the power of divination.

Frost could not imagine what would have happened to her if she answered with ‘yes’.

The White Rabbit then unexpectedly wrapped her waist with her tail, just like how Jury would. She buried her head into her chest, inhaling her scent.

I didn’t do anything, and I’ve already tamed a God-like figure.

Frost hoped the following Aberrations of Elysia would be just like this. So far, she has had a positive experience. Although, it would be a stretch to call them ‘good’. There was still much she didn’t know.

And if they truly had all the time in the world here, then she planned to get some answers out of the White Rabbit before her descent.

 

* * *

 

Later, Azure approached Frost when she finally snapped out of her trance.

She asked if she could come as well as she dangled the Lantern above her head.

“The Electric Eye’s Atelier Item carried the preserved mind of the Blue Dhalia. The old Blue Color, before the Blue Chorus. She was prominent during beholder Galia’s rise when she was still rambunctious. It takes a powerful member of Fractured Nilhim to invade a consciousness like hers.” Azure hummed devilishly, her lips carving into a wicked smile. “If we succeed, it will be the first time we’ll be able to get our hands on one of ‘them’ if this is who I think it is.

Hahaha…. Let’s go catch ourselves a Disciple of Nilhim.”