28. The Conclusion of the Tale of the Black Forest

“Why… do you sound so surprised? I thought you had faith in me.” Frost could hardly believe it herself as she reached a sudden catharsis. “… not that I can blame you. It’s… over, huh. Aha… I’m so tired…”

“… thank you, Frost. Thank you for your hard work.”

“The pleasure… was mine. And besides, don’t thank me for trying to survive.” She deeply exhaled; her voice now more somber than ever.

The emotions that drove her forward faded away almost instantly now that the battle was over. What she was left with was the warmth of Jury’s hands as she watched the golden feathers sway in the air like leaves to…

To what? A wind? No. It was a breeze. A cool, winter air brushed by them from a world beyond this dark place. Frost couldn’t find exactly where it came from. The world was still so dark.

Regardless, they slowly approached the body of the One Thousand Eyed Bird.

It was strange looking at it now without its eyes and… with her shouting at it. She still harbored hatred towards it. Even being within its proximity irritated her. But it was food. And it needed to be eaten. Though strangely enough –

< Unique Ability Gained >

< All Unique Abilities of the One Thousand Eyed Bird Condensed >

< ABILITY : The Eyes of Judgement >

< EFFECT : See what all cannot, and what judgement could never >

< One Thousand Good Deeds Yet They Cannot Be Seen >

– She did not need to directly consume it to gain its ability.

“System… what are you trying to tell me?” Frost was confused by the blurb at the end as she reached down and began stuffing her mouth with its body, all the while Jury childishly played with the floating feathers.

“It is what is written underneath the Eyes of Judgement. The one directly underneath the Effect is what you would call ‘flavor text’. There are many weapons that possess this...”

“But this is an ability, no?”

“Precisely. It is as you say. It should not have this blurb at all.”

“… one thousand good deeds that cannot be seen. It sounds like an unfair judgement. It’s related to this ordeal, no doubt.”

“Connected to this story in some way…”

“No. It’s not connected anymore. This… This is the conclusion of the tale of the Black Forest.” Frost corrected. “There is no Black Forest any longer.”

“A reference it shall be then. I’m thankful you’re alive.”

“Thankful!” Jury exclaimed, gathering a bunch of the feathers.

She then scurried to Frost’s side and held it in front of her face like a bouquet.

“… and I’m glad I’m still alive to experience these new things. Call it a silver lining after all the crap we had to deal with.” Frost whispered and, after wiping her hands, took the feathers and warmly smiled at Jury. “It’s beautiful Jury… it really is beautiful. I’m glad you’re still… still by my side.”

“Frost! Jury! System!” She exclaimed.

“Exactly. That’s the sort of energy I wish I had right now. I’m just… elated beyond words.” Frost nearly choked on her emotions.

She managed to fend off the tears as Jury joined in on the feast. It was not a time to cry. It was a time to celebrate their success. And what better way to do it than to eat…

Good food?

“Jury. This will be the last time you ever eat anything like this. I’ll make sure of it” Frost said as she stuffed her mouth with more of the creature’s meat.

“Eat skewers?”

“Yeah. I’ll make skewers for you. We’ll store some of its meat. Or, actually, how about boar meat? I’m sure you’ll love it.”

“Good?”

“Amazing. Just you wait.” Frost was swept away by the moment as the gentle breeze steadily began to seep into this lonely world.

The darkness that once prevented the light from entering the Black Forest dissipated like a fog as rays of orange light penetrated from above. And before long, the orange glow of the sunset blessed the lightless land for the first time in years.

Jury looked down at herself as she felt its warmth for what Frost realized was the first time in her life and smiled motherly, watching the woman’s curiosity in action.

“… Frost?”

“That’s… that’s the warmth from the sun. That giant orange ball in the sky.”

“Warm…?” Jury tilted her head slightly “Frost. Frost warm. W-Warmer.” She hummed, sounding almost afraid as she shuffled closer. “There’s… skewer?”

As she did, she brushed a hand against something in the pile of feathers underneath. Frost, wondering what it was, dragged it free and was rendered shocked by what she had found.

EFFECT: Resistance to the Judgement Affinity. Immune to Scrutiny.

The coat was made of a glorious meld of black and gold feathers. They were irresistibly soft to the touch. The outer layer was made primarily of the black feathers, whilst towards the shoulders giant feathers protruded upwards, creating what appeared like the hem of a fur coat. The insides were lined with the same golden feathers found within the One Thousand Eyed Bird.

It was no doubt a comfortable piece of article… and a much needed one considering she had none at all.

“This thing even has an origin.” Frost commented.

“A wear made from the remains of the Corrupted… an Object. There are a number of artefacts similar to this, some coming from the Corrupted themselves. It was thought they were merely unique weapons not… ‘entities’ if that makes sense.”

“This is a living coat?” Frost took a closer look and found nothing that pointed that it was… well, alive.

“Can you call the Corrupted living creatures?”

“… yes and no. Alright. You got me there.” Frost had no real way of answering.

The System nailed down how much of an enigma the Corrupted were with those words alone. Jury looked up to Frost expectantly, as if waiting for her to put the coat on.

How could she say no to those eyes?

And so, she slipped it on. The coat was long. Extremely long. It reached as low as her calves, and the giant, feathered hem behind her neck acted as a pillow in a way.

It fit her nicely. Too nicely, actually. It felt like a second skin. She basked in the disappearing sunlight with Jury for a while after. The black world overhead became a beautiful orange horizon dotted with countless whisks of clouds. Little by little, small shimmers of light appeared before the light surrounding her body disappeared.

And with it, so did the lights of all nine hundred and ninety-nine of her invisible eyes. But she could still feel their presence with her. All the eyes she had gathered were all just rebranded and combined as the Eyes of Judgement.

Frost noticed Jury curiously gaze off into the sky as she finished devouring the last of the One Thousand Eyed Bird.

< Stats from the One Thousand Eyed Bird Gained >

“Jury. Stand up. C’mon… let’s go see the stars.” Frost whispered as they both moved up to their feet and began to walk in the direction of the setting sun. “The food… music… adventurers – everything.”

They wondered for some time before they reached the border of the Black Forest, which met with the main path and the woodlands across. Frost walked out, but she couldn’t hear Jury’s footsteps follow.

The woman had stopped at the edge, clutching onto a tree as if frightened by the outside world.

Frost turned around and walked up to her. She stopped at the very edge of the forest and wore a smile devoted only for this woman who offered her own hand in her darkest hour.

“Jury. Here. Take my hand. Let’s go see the world. Together.” She clasped onto Jury’s hand and dragged her free from the Black Forest.

Her dark work shattered as she was pulled into the light of Elysia. The world somehow turned slowly for the two as Frost watched tears form around Jury’s shimmering, golden-opal eyes.

Jury, with tears suddenly tumbling down her cheeks, happily sobbed with a heartfelt voice:

“Together!”

* * *

< The First Milestone Level Has Been Reached >

< HP and MP have increased >

< A new Profession has been granted >

< Additional Active and Passive Skills have been granted >

< New title has been granted >

< Title has been revoked >

< The Amalgam >

< Of course no title would be able to override it >

< LEVEL : 66 >     < The Amalgam >

NAME : Frost     HP : 30,000 ^5/Min     MP : 5,350 ^5/Min     AGI : 55     RESIST : 50 (+100)
AGE : 0     ATT : 2,000     ATT DEF : 500 (+350)     O :42     D : 0
ORIGIN : Archetype     MAG ATT : 350     MAG DEF : 450 (+250)     S : 83     E : 35

< PROFESSIONS >

OFFENSIVE                 DEFENSIVE                             SUPPORT                          EXPLORATION
BRAWLER : 42     COUNTER OFFENSIVE : 0        GREATER HEALER : 83         APPRAISER : 10
                                                                                                                                       COOK : 25

< ACTIVE SKILLS >

OFFENSIVE                          DEFENSIVE                                  SUPPORT                     EXPLORATION
Punch III [0/10]             Solemn Counter [0/10]                                              Appraise Object I [0/10] 
Double Punch O [2/10]                                                                                         Home Cook II [5/10]                                                                                            Greater Healing III [8/10]
                                                                                           Cure Disease I [2/10]
                                                                                      Prolonged Stasis III [0/10]
                                                                                              Area Heal [0/10]
                                                                                                    Cleanse [3/10]

< PASSIVE SKILLS >

OFFENSIVE                        DEFENSIVE             SUPPORT                      EXPLORATION
Tooth and Nail              Fine Line Hyper     Saturated Blood    Dimensional Storage I (17kg/20kg)
                                                                   Medical Attention Please!
                                                                           Coordinated
                                                                        Mana Profusion

< ABILITIES >

Archetype of Amalgamation
Blessing of the Amalgam
The Eyes of Judgement

< CORRUPTED COLLECTION >

JUDGEMENT

ETERNAL NIGHT | One Thousand Eyed Bird

Second State

< EQUIPS >

NEX : 0

Coat of Prejudice

Accuser Feathers