136. Hearts at War

“So you’re aware of how they’re made!?” Frost charged at him, sending her Touch of Golds to wrap her six-armed nemesis.

He simply stood there nonchalantly. Almost mockingly, knowing that no matter what they did he would remain unharmed.

No matter how hard she squeezed or strangled his body it did not break. Not even his fingers could be moved.

Such was the unfairness of the Invulnerability Condition.

“I wonder. But you would know, Amalgam! We are aware that people can become them. People like us are damned to these incomplete forms, never allowed to reach our full potential. Something in this world artificially hampers the growth of all but the Blessed! But that won’t matter soon enough!”

Their attacks were utterly useless against him. An impenetrable veil surrounded his body, absorbing the attacks as he hummed melodically to himself.

However, this did not mean he could escape. So long as Frost held onto him then he was entirely at her mercy. She dragged him into biting distance and began to gnaw at his face. Fear instantly engulfed him for a moment.

For only a split second he thought Frost had somehow gotten through his invulnerable spell.

< [Gushing!] >

“Isn’t it about time now, my Herring friend!? The Train Core will soon bring us to the gates of the Golden Index! They will all fall! Carpalis is truly a pacifist fool. But she is the greatest threat to us. We can thank our friends at… Hmhmhm. Almost slipped up! Even if we perish, we will forever return! IT IS FUTILE, AMALGAM!”

Frost dragged him along the marble floors, trying to crack him open like a stubborn nut. In the meantime, the others split up in search of the Train Core. The Bloody Herring was guaranteed to possess it, and with Jury’s speed, he’d stand no chance against them.

Also… She noticed something strange. Leitmotif spoke involuntarily whenever they were hit with [Gushing!]. It seemed like even he was afflicted by the Heart of Ours, as if threatening to overtake his own.

It may explain why he refrained from using [Aspirating Aspirations]. For someone invulnerable like him, she imagined that his exposure to pain was severely limited.

He was a coward.

“WHERE IS THE TRAIN CORE!?” Frost demanded, throwing him along the audience stands. Like a giant chain, she pulled him around in a massive circle, obliterating nearly every pillar along the way.

“I’d refrain from destroying my humble auditorium if I were you! You might injure an innocent dove!”

“SANA!?” Cer cried. “She’s alive!? FROOOOOST! RIP HIS LEGS OFF! HE HAS A HEALER STOWED AWAY SOMEWHERE!”

“Why do you have a healer!? Was she fun being tortured as an Instrument!?” Frost drew him back, clutching onto his throat with both hands as her vision turned red.

“No need for torture. But she sang quite beautifully. I wonder if you’d make a similar voice! That heavy masculine curtain you drape yourself with will be unveiled, you female dog! ANY MOMENT NOW HERRING! HERRING!?”

“I’d love to hear what sort of voice you’d make. Use your Aspirating Aspirations. Or are you scared of getting hurt!?” Frost taunted, salivating not at the thought of devouring him, but at his suffering.

No… his Nex. She wondered how much Nex someone like him would give.

“I’ll start from your legs and work my way to your head. Or maybe I’ll peel you like an apple. Take your time to think about it while you’re in that little bubble of yours.” She purposefully sewed fear into his heart.

“HEEERING!? THE TRAIN CORE!? IT SHOULD NOT BE TAKING THIS LONG! THEY ARE ALREADY HERE!”

Frost didn’t know if this was a bluff or not, but there seemed to be some sort of conflict between him and his partner in crime. The Bloody Herring alluded to disobeying a certain plan, which was no doubt their invasion of the Golden Index.

She was highly cautious of this considering the last time she followed through; she was baited into having a piece of her history stolen.

Still, it was oddly satisfying to see some semblance of fear seep through his invulnerability. She continued to swing him around like a flail, eventually tearing through the ceiling of the auditorium.

< [Shattered Dreams] >

He instantly sealed the cracks before the light even had time to spill through. He was eager, almost fearful in a way as his beady eyes behind his shuttered visage erratically glossed over the ceiling.

< [Shattered Dreams] >

< [Shattered Dreams] >

< [Shattered Dreams] >

< [Shattered Dreams] >

The cycle repeated. He did not use the jets of darkness to attack them. They were only used to keep out the light.

“What the hell are you trying to hide from us!?” Frost demanded, finding this all too odd for her liking.

< [Gushing!] >

“The healer will be crushed by the debris! Is that what you wish for!? To kill an innocent girl!? You don’t have to destroy my home!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Res snapped, further destroying the ceiling, and its supporting pillars. They were not so stupid to notice that this place was entirely empty. “FROST! YOU’LL NEVER HEAR FROM ME AGAIN IF YOU DON’T GET RID OF HIM! Please… Please don’t let him breathe!”

“Kill him till he dies! What did Sana ever do to you! She’s a healer!” Ber joined her, their voices echoing as the ceiling crumbled all around them.

“I AM NOT GOING TO LET ANOTHER HEALER LOSE THEIR INNOCENCE BECAUSE OF ONE STUPID WISH!” Cer screamed, lamenting over D-11’s tragic incident.

“I hate it. I hate that everything wants to take things away from us and people who did nothing wrong! Just because she can’t fight back means it’s fine to hurt them!? DOES IT MAKE IT OK TO BREAK THEM!?” Res was at her breaking point, clearly affected by the buildup of Gush stacks as Ponea rushed to her, offering her aid.

“… Hold still, Moon… It’s not always we get to hear how strongly people think about us. Well, maybe not us Scarlet Healers. You must think I’m disgusting.” Ponea uttered, gushing from the bottom of her heart. “But it’s comforting to hear that at least the cleaner healers are getting the love they deserve.”

It was sobering. The chaos slowed as if time was being manipulated. The sensation was always strange to her, and it always occurred in times of heightened emotions. But it was ever powerful in this instance, and for a moment, she felt Jury’s ticking heart quiver.

Jury then spoke.

“I hate it as well. People like Frost who did nothing wrong shouldn’t be punished. All they wanted to do was help. A musician makes music to help people or to express themselves. I read all about it. So why does yours only hurt people?”

The ceiling finally collapsed, revealing the light of the star beyond the shadowy veil of [Shattered Dreams].

< [Gushing!] >

“Because music resonates in the body. It must be felt. I was never acknowledged by the Green Conductor. The great Haydn, whose music changed how we viewed the profession. That bards and musicians were not useless. But only he was ever acknowledged. Isn’t it unfair? That we, no matter how hard we try, will never reach those great heights?

That is why we must have our wish granted. Otherwise, how else can we reach them!?”

I can understand that much.

Frost had similar experiences in the past. Before she became a nurse, she wanted to become a doctor. But she realized that it was far too high of a bar for her to reach, so she tempered her expectations and chose an easier profession.

Getting hung up on those aspirations only caused people to remain stagnant. Never moving. There was nothing wrong with chasing stars. But when it was done literally rather than figuratively – Then that was when it became a problem.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have tried to reach one to begin with! Realize that there’s much more down here than a big ball of burning gas! You’ll only burn yourself… And everyone else.” Frost slowly spoke, as if offering him advice.

< [Gushing!] >

“The most feared Amalgam telling me this… How cruel. To not only wish to devour me, but to also devour my aspirations. I will destroy you to secure our future. Everything… all of this is because of you!”

She didn’t know why she even bothered speaking to him in the first place. This was how he truly felt. Everything was her fault all because of one falsely interpreted text. Her feathers ruffled as if beating like a shaken heart.

Leitmotif was unredeemable.

< [Shattered Dreams] >

< [Shattered Dreams] >

< [Shattered Dreams] >

“HERRING! HURRY IT UP!”

“DESTROY THE STAR! That’s – That’s the tether! It’s what’s keeping everyone connected to him! Please… Please hurry!”

Suddenly, a voice then broke out from seemingly nowhere

It was neither the Bloody Herring’s voice nor anyone Frost knew. But from the faces of the triplets, she realized that this voice undoubtably belonged to the missing healer.

It was Sana, and without warning, her body convulsed as she entered a screaming fit.

“YOU MUST NOT! DO NOT DESTROY THIS ASPIRATION OF MINE OR I’LL KILL HER –!”

“Don’t… DON’T WORRY. I won’t die. I won’t die! I won’t die!” Sana could only repeat these words as she clutched at her throat, appearing from one of the pillars, struggling to breathe.

Frost was not so stupid to leave Sana behind.

She snatched the girl and cradled her in a nest of Touch of Golds, keeping her close to Ponea as she instantly flung herself towards the light. She also tried brining Leitmotif along, but an unknown force kept him locked to his auditorium, likely due to him being the Host of the Heart of Ours.

The tendon that was wrapped along Sana’s neck was severed, allowing her to breathe normally as Cer, Ber and Res entered the glowing nest.

They were elated beyond words to see that Sana was ok.

“Sana!” Res exclaimed.

“Train healer!” Ber smiled.

“Remember us from that train trip!? Guess this is our way of saying thanks for the coin!” Cer grinned.

“You… You… It’s you…” Sana nearly burst into tears, seeing familiar faces in her unfamiliar hell.

Ignis cut herself free from her construct, following suit now that they had a definite way of taking Leitmotif down in one fell swoop.

Sana wouldn’t lie.

As a healer, they were incapable of lying. From this truth alone Frost entrusted everything in this final stretch as they climbed the spire to reach that false star.

It was time to put an end to Leitmotif once and for all.

Then, it would be the Bloody Herring’s turn.

“HEEEEERIIIIIING!”

Leitmotif disgustingly shrieked at the disappearance of his closest aid.