257. The Heart of the City

The descent was eerily silent. The violent flutter of their apparel made no sound. Neither did the flames. Darkness had taken a physical form, absorbing all light in this endless well.

*Badump*

*Badump*

There was a crimson glow far below. If it were not for the rushing wind, they would not be able to tell which way was up or down. Not a single word was shared as they braced themselves for the inevitable encounter. Even though there was nothing to be wary of given their individual strength, never mind their combined might, Frost expected the worst.

Above there were only a handful of bodies in spite of how frequently people fought along those platforms.

This pit could therefore only mean one thing.

It was a chute to toss the deceased. And her suspicions were conformed as the scent of rotting flesh assaulted her entire being, appearing like a red mist. The pungent smell rocked her to the core as her eyes reflected the crimson light beneath. Soon, the golden luster of her irises dulled as the walls began to widen.

The end was near. The light beyond was nothing but pure red. After their momentary blindness they found themselves in the skies of a subterranean ocean. A deep crimson sea stretched infinitely for all Frost knew. They held their breath, greeted by the hellish dreamscape that had no right to exist, and yet it did. A world beneath a world was allowed to exist. To fester and hide within ancient sediment.

To Frost, this world was like the stomach of a beast.

“Those are all bodies…” Ignis was beyond shocked.

The islands that littered the oceans were in fact the amalgamation of thousands… no, hundreds of thousands of bodies, clumped together as they sailed into the distance. Some were still alive, whilst others were long gone but could not decompose due to the Nascent Fluids.

“They got one hell of a dumping ground. This isn’t the Derma Layer yet by the way.” Cer noted as they continued to descend, the False Heart leading them. “Killing them and stealing their souls weren’t enough, so they go and defile their bodies after death.”

“You’re wrong.” Carpalis solemnly uttered. “It is not postmortem. Those here are as alive as those outside. I did not expect to be greeted with this sight. It’s disappointing, no matter how many times I must see this.”

“Have you seen this before?” Jury asked as Carpalis began to increase in size, becoming a giant in the blink of an eye as her legs plunged first into the ocean, reaching the deep sediment of bone and flesh underneath.

It reached up to her waist, and she gently caught everyone with her lonely hand.

“Eleph and Zeiyea. The forefront of the conflict between Humans and Demons. A war of righteousness. Of who to blame for the emergence of the Corrupted… beings that have always existed. The seas in the south are no different to this. Beaches here will see seaweed wash ashore. There, you will find the innards of disemboweled victims, tangled on the memories of a broken sandcastle.”

The world resonated with Carpalis who had seen the worst the world has to offer numerous times during her extensive lifespan. Her voice, however monotone and emotionless it was, carried the weight of insurmountable emotions.

Frost’s flames became hotter as Carpalis walked towards the very place the icebergs of people conglomerated, all the while the others did what they could to end their misery. These people, according to Carpalis, had only a fraction of the original soul, and therefore could only hold a minute aspect of themselves.

Mouths began to move. Hands reached towards an invisible sun. Eyes stared up, twinkling at nonexistent stars.

“Did we have to fight? I can’t take it anymore. Which one is the real me?”

“Pressures. Burdens. What is there to strive for other than our orders?”

“The city sealed us away. We were brought from all over the world into a place worse than our homes.”

“Hello! Fighting again I see… Does it always have to end this way?”

“The bird had one thousand eyes. The bird had one thousand eyes. The bird had one thousand eyes –”

They mostly repeated the finale phrases of their life, or the things that mattered the most to them. Names. Family. Wants. Needs. Desires. Aspirations. Despair. Hopes. Dreams –

Frost became lightheaded. The beating of her False Heart had almost all but subsided in favor of the one ahead.

“What do you believe the soul is?” Carpalis asked no one in particular, saddened as the triplets gave them their final goodbyes.

“Us.” Jury answered.

Carpalis shook her head to say ‘no’.

“The soul is the identity. As much as our bodies and our egos are. Together, along with components you may or may not believe in, create ‘us’. But without the soul, I do not believe we can truly be alive. It may not make sense to you, but it does because I can see it.” She answered, instilling the importance of the soul.

Frost did not know if such a thing existed on Earth. She didn’t know what she believed in, but the medical side of her tended to disagree. Still, that did not change the reality of this world.

“… it sounds like it’s one component of the whole.” Frost answered, drawing in labored breaths.

“Beholder Descartes would agree. He preaches this to his Big Five. The soul has a shape, but it is so easily molded by the whims of the world. Factors internally and externally. I am bringing this up because your soul, Frost, is indecipherable now.” Carpalis stated. “I have never seen one of such… impotence. Is this the result of those flames?”

“Likely.” Frost answered briefly as they spotted a certain being in the distance. “… Hey. Isn’t that the Bride?”

“She looks dead. That’s her body alright.” Res confirmed.

The body of the Bride resided in the center of this world. The clumps began to climb onto one another, and they did not even give it a chance to do whatever it planned to. Electric magic bombarded it, erasing all as Carpalis’ Faustian Bargain unlatched from her waist, preparing for the worst.

Then, the center of the sea rippled as though a giant droplet had fallen into it. The corpse of the Bride was washed away.

“I am ready to lend my hand in this fight against whatever emerges.” Carpalis said, sharing the sentiments of the others as they prepared for a fight.

But the fight never came. The same ripples emerged elsewhere, then, it occurred everywhere at once. Confused, they scanned the world, seeking an answer until the voice of a nightmare entity spoke in a feminine tongue.

“Drifting on this sea, they are like rotten apples fallen from the tree, washed away to a place no one will have to taste their putrid puss. But an apple is a fruit, yearning to be eaten. But what does the apple eat?”

They did not see it at first, but something swam underneath them. Then, suddenly, the entire horizon before them became a wall of red. A colossal heart emerged from out of nowhere, encapsulating an entire section of the cavern, its height causing the ceiling to crack.

“W-What the fuck is that!?” Cer blurted out.

“… that’s… a Heart…?” Res could not begin to comprehend the sight, a part of her rejecting the entity’s very existence.

“No way. This was hiding underneath the City of Spades all this time?” Ber couldn’t believe it either.

“… I am so ashamed of my lackluster courage.” Carpalis could only blame herself for failing to notice its existence. Or rather, she perhaps had, but could never step forth into Scarlet Logic in fear of another Atelier War.

It was easily… hundreds of meters in size, and attached to a long appendage was the upper half of a female with long, red hair.

“That’s the enemy…” Ignis growled as Jury cried:

“Mm. A heart that size. Disgusting. Hey – Frost… That’s –!”

“The Heart of the City.”

Heart of the City
Nex Megalopolis

Crimson Hunger
< Radix Immunditiae >

< This city was built with our blood. Our veins. Our nerves. Our hearts. A million collective lungs breathe life into this incomplete us. When millions are damned who can blame them when their screams morph into violence? We must be fed in this city of eat or be eaten. We will become united as one collective self to ease this pain >

ORIGIN : Impuritas     HP : 125,000,000     ATT DEF : 50,000     MAG DEF : 50,000

“This whole time Scarlet Logic’s been throwing the dead to feed them.” Frost was at a loss of words.

The colossal Heart had stats of unbelievable proportions. Nav flashed the warning, and it was roughly equal to a Woe of the Fallen Star Corrupted.

“Is that what the Heart of Ours took after?” Jury couldn’t help but to connect these dots. “How – How does something like this go unnoticed!?”

“Beholders don’t normally leave the Nexus. I, for one, would have been punished severely for breaking the sanctions. I sensed an abnormality within the City. But I could not have imagined it to be like this.” She truthfully spoke. “However, I believe Justica Arms may have known.”

This infuriated Frost who could only blame the Beholders for their negligence.

“SO WHY DIDN’T THEY PRESS ON!? WHY DID JUSTICA ARMS HOLD BACK INSTEAD OF MARCHING INTO THE CITY OF SPADES!?” Frost was rightfully livid, her flames reaching even greater heights as her heart was instantly reignited.

That Heart was an affront to everything she stood for.

Ignis’ shock turned into a similar fury. If she was given the order to fight, then she’d do it even in spite of her inability to damage it. Normal Moons and Stars could not begin to dream of penetrating such a mass, and Frost could not understand why Nav classified it as a Woe of the Fallen Star.

“It is vulnerable as Usa said. The presence attached to it is a weak point. That is the Queen.”

Just as Nav pointed this out, the woman in the great distant extended her arms as the heart marched forward. Then, with an omnipresent voice, the ‘Queen’ spoke again, as though to answer Frost’s question.

“We were allowed to fester after an abruptly cut assault by the Beholder in the black coat, and her Star in grey much like yours.”

“… Galia gave up? She – She gave up just like that!? CARPALIS! WHAT WAS SHE THINKING!? WHAT SENSE DOES IT MAKE TO KEEP THESE THINGS ALIVE!?”

“I… do not know. But I recall that it was a swift retreat.” Carpalis spoke, her hand beginning to tremble to Frost’s growing heat. “… it’s permeating through my defenses… I am against needless bloodshed. But that thing is something I am more than willing to remove if it means to make amends for my wrongs.”

In that instant, Carpalis’ Faustian Bargain extended as she marched forward. If she grew any more it would make fighting all the more difficult.

“That sounds like something she’d do.” Cer was annoyed to admit this. “Wanna take this thing down up close, or do you need more Nex Jury!?”

“Handing over the Nex right now!” Res exclaimed.

“Got it!” Ber added.

“Carpalis! Is this kind of enemy strong to you!?” Jury had to ask as the triplets huddled around her, replenishing her Nex.

“Hardly… it is a hidden nuisance. Woe of the Fallen Stars are no more difficult than an Eternal Night… Ouch. Ouch. Ouch… Frost. I do not want to drop you.” Carpalis hummed. “But I don’t think you can help it. Oh well… I will endure.”

“The cleansing flame that erased the city of old. A prophecy unfolding. Destiny manifesting. It is laughable that you believe your flames will cleanse the filth that you depict us as.”

“BUT THE DEATHS YOU CAUSE ISN’T UNFORGIVABLE!? YOU ALL THREW ME INTO THIS GAUNTLET AGAINST MY WILL TO BEGIN WITH! IF IT REALLY IS A PROPHECY, THEN IT’S A SELF FULFILLING ONE!” Frost’s flames brimmed once again, causing the others to rush to the edges of Carpalis’ palms in complaint, unable to bear them any longer.

“Calm the hell down Frost!” Cer barked. “You’re going to get us caught in that!”

“Please Frost – Please just – Just stay levelheaded!” Jury begged.

“… Papa…” Ignis trembled, reliving the moments that transpired in Divas Pass.

All manner of voices tried to reach her including Nav’s, but they all fell onto deaf ears as her eyes rapidly became bloodshot.

“It was no act of malevolence. It was of necessity. You, Amalgam, are the enemy of all life. While you call us the impurities you fail to understand the filth that is your existence, and that celestial rock that forever tainted this world.”

The ceiling began to shake. Something was happening on the surface. But Frost could not care any less. She wanted nothing more than to destroy that thing as Carpalis’ eyes began to visibly twitch in response to her rising heat.

The others had to abandon the palm, plunging into the sea. Jury tried to reach in to help, but her hands singed as a result. Still, she never stopped trying until the flames completely overran Carpalis’ hand.

“You have no idea what you are. What you have done. What you are doing now. Do you feel those tremors? Hundreds of Seeds have been sewn and are sprouting monsters across your precious city. Your Nex has been their sustenance.”

Frost was at her breaking point.

She just needed one last push now.

And the Queen gladly did so.

“Don’t you understand that you have already discarded many in your futile efforts to cleanse us. Amalgam. That Piece of the Fallen Star will be ours. You will be wished out of existence!”

//////// < WARNING > ////////

< The Will of the Amalgam Has Reached the Fifth State >

“And we will build this world into a paradise in our image!”