179. The Origin of the Biggest Red Sniping Hood

“Have you ever gotten a positive outcome from it?” Frost asked, looking at the counter which had a giant ‘X’ on it, indicating that the Corrupted was incapable of escaping.

“Once, that’s how we know it’s useless. But it produces a substantial amount of Nex when two or more people interact. We think It’s Obsession because it’s probably a flower meant for one person.” He explained, and further added on its revealed backstory.

Apparently, this flower was born by an obsessive lover, who was rendered miserable due to a rejection. The Corrupted, which was revealed to be a tiny green, fern-like flower closely resembled the Mimosa Pudica.

Or in other words, the Touch Me Not flower.

Giant, spiky vines infested the enclosure, and they instinctively slithered to the furthest end of the containment unit the moment they both stepped foot inside. Frost couldn’t help but marvel at the Corrupted, which anyone could have easily mistaken for natural fauna.

Nav even confirmed that flowers could reach meters in size and possess teeth to chomp on unfortunate victims. Frost knew of the Touch Me Not flower and found it odd that it would be a representation of love.

She watched the man approach it, reaching down for the flower but Frost instantly casted Scrutiny and froze him where he stood.

“Wait. Is this a flower that represents love?” She wanted to know from him directly.

“No. It’s a foreign flower from the jungles of Emvita. At least in resemblance. W-Why are you asking, Black Dove?”

“Don’t tell me you believe that all flowers are a representation of love.”

“Forgive me for asking, but is that not what they’re for?”

Nav revealed this this was indeed called the Touch Me Not in this world, but the true meaning behind it was locked away in both the Regions of Emvita and Spirtas. They were not native in Brandar, so it came to no one’s surprise that they didn’t understand what it represented.

The Touch Me Not was symbolic of fear. Isolation. Timidness.

As an Attribute, it was undoubtably Trepidation, confirmed by its Ego Affinity.

“Flowers have meaning behind them. With the Corrupted, please never believe it’s as simple as ‘love’ or ‘rejection’. However, I think you might be right about the rejection part. Just not the Obsession.” Frost urged him to back away as the flower glistened slightly.

Beneath it were a pair of seed pods, which shivered to the slightest change in air. Their breaths were enough to stimulate it.

“The seeds of the Touch Me Not are explosive. Proceed with caution.” Nav warned.

< “Get away. Get away. Get away.” >

< “I live in this one spot. Why must you trample on me? Please go away. Don’t touch me and leave me to curl up and shrivel away.” >

Even though Frost did not understand the backstory as well as this man, she could already guess that this Corrupted was the manifestation of a person’s traumatic past. To what degree was unknown, but the fear it exerted caused Frost to feel pity towards it as she motioned for the man to leave with her.

He didn’t attempt to say otherwise.

“If it was Obsession, then it would have chosen a different kind of flower. A rose might be Aspiration (Desire), and a Corpse Flower might even be Obsession (Attachment).” Frost explained this to him in layman’s terms as he looked at Frost with confusion, as if still unable to believe her.

Then, suddenly, as the doors shut behind them, a face appeared on a reflective, obsidian stone above the unit. It was a bright-blue face with love-hearts for eyes, meaning they had achieved the most positive outcome.

The Unit Manager was left stunned by the revelation, realizing that Frost did indeed tell the truth. He immediately apologized in quiet breath before he tidied up his coat and cleared his congested throat.

“You struck me as another one of the higher Atelier members. Don’t get me wrong, none of us are happy with how you handled things with our subject of that wish-granting mystery. But… I can’t deny that your knowledge has weight. Good for us as well.”

“I take that those Atelier members aren’t that friendly, huh?” Frost understood what he meant, remembering that arrogant Red Giant she Judged almost immediately on the spot.

“Look at them wrong outside of Brandar, and you’re already dead. A lot of them still remember past Atelier wars and are itching for some fresh blood. Not to mention that… well, you know how it was like during those times.” He said.

Elysia’s past was brutal. Earth was much the same, but the biggest difference was that the people in this world lived for upwards of a hundred, to hundreds of years, meaning that old, gruesome traditions crash and burn much, much harder.

Such was the tragedy of this world, where rulers only knew how to lead through fear. ImpulseWorks was in the same boat, although, they did have some very lucrative benefits. One being that their families get to stay within the walls of the City of Hearts, away from the world that despised them.

Frost mentally sighed, having heard enough of how deeply rooted all this madness was. So, she asked if she could ‘taste’ one of the liquid Nex batches, just to see if she could perform a deep dive as well.

The Unit Manager slipped one out from a hidden pocket within his coat and offered it to her.

“It’s from another Site. This one’s on its way to the new General Site. Our temp Navigator’s going to look after it, but between you and me –” He whispered to near inaudible levels. “– She’s going to get them all killed.”

“She’s new. Don’t forget that. And I wouldn’t bad mouth the people who dictate what Corrupted you’re allowed to interact with.” Frost stated, despising his slight against the Navigator, who Frost really didn’t mind at all. “There’s no lid. You get this open how exactly?”

Liquid Nex

< A vial of liquified Nex. The conversion process is unknown >

< Corrupted >

< A-V-121-01 >

< “Biggest Red Sniping Hood” >

< True Corrupted Name >

< Vengeful Red-Hooded Assassin >

“I would open it, but that glass is near indestructible. The acid we use to open and seal them is currently being –”

Indestructible? Frost would be the judge of that. Like a grape, she hung it over her mouth and snapped her jaws shut.

Crunch.

The man was left in a state of complete and utter shock when he watched Frost munch on the vial like it was no more than crunchy biscuit. She devoured it and was surprised to find that the taste was similar to… bread? She at least believed, except this also had a metallic, iron taste to it as well.

Frost prepared to see visions, stories, dreams – Everything. From the way the Unit Manager described it, she thought she would be sent into an induced psychosis, but instead… Nothing happened. At all. She wondered if her RESIST was too high, but that shouldn’t have been the case.

Then, Nav revealed something.

< ORIGIN: Vengeful Red-Hooded Assassin >

< Specific Nex Received >

< Do you wish to hear the blurbs of its Origins? >

< Yes | No >

Yes please.

< Please give me one moment >

< Odd… Frost. Can I say something before we begin? >

What’s wrong? Please tell me what’s wrong.

< I believe… I am experiencing this Corrupted’s tale. But I unfortunately cannot begin to describe this sensation. In… In any case… S-strange. I see. I believe this Corrupted is relatively unknown even to the Archivist as they are not archived. She only knows of it by name. But its deeper story is right here. She will store this knowledge well >

< Here it is, Frost >

* * *

Vengeful Red-Hooded Assassin

ORIGIN: Trauma AFFINITY: Wrath

< 1 >

< Be warned Frost, this isn’t sufficient enough Nex to complete its story >

Once upon a time, tucked away deep in the forests beyond the green pastures and civil life of the town. Every morning of every day, for the last 2 years, a black-haired girl delivered a basket of bread to her ill grandmother. In exchange, she would always give her a tasty biscuit.

She donned a simple, white hooded robe, a skirt, and a long stick for poking at high-handing fruit.

One day, a bright light blinded her and a white wolf suddenly stopped her in her tracks, wondering where she was headed to. He was a kind, generous wolf who was known by the inhabitants of the forest as a helpful animal who loved guiding people.

“My grandmother’s house!” The naïve girl exclaimed, and the wolf calmly warned her to be careful and let her go on her way.

< 2 >

“Grandmother! Grandmother!” The girl knocked before she strode into her grandmother’s home. She was met with red-stained sheets and a weirdly animalistic-looking person wearing her grandmother’s normal apparel.

But the naïve girl shrugged it off, asking: “Grandmother! You’ve gotten so fluffy!”

Her white-furred grandmother burped: “Only to hug you with!”

“And your eyes are so big!”

“Only to see you more!”

“And your mouth is so big!”

“Only to swallow you whole!”

Suddenly, as the naïve girl drew in close, the white wolf sprung from the bed sheets and bit the girl’s arms. Her naivety and misplaced trust on the white wolf had made her an easy target, and she realized that her grandmother was long inside of his belly.

She cried as she was bitten from stomach to chest, her white robe turning red as her near-lifeless body was thrown into what was left of her grandmother’s body. Luckily, his belly was already filled with her grandmother, so she was left there to sleep in a pool of her grandmother’s blood.

“You shouldn’t trust strangers so easily!” The white wolf judged her.

She was blamed for her naivety, despite it all being the wolf’s fault. He left howling in laughter in the middle of the night as the forest turned black.

She was left stabbed and skewered in place so she would be eaten by tomorrow. But the black-haired girl did not wish to die and wished to get back at the white wolf who had betrayed her trust.

< Frost. Please do not be alarmed. I’m sure you’ve noticed it as well >

< This Corrupted may be a manifestation of your trauma with Iscario >