292. Blood of the Covenant

Cer was no longer among them. Her fossilized form invoked unprecedented horror. Ber and Res were immediately thrown into the depths of despair, calling out her name as Jury and Ignis desperately reached out for Nav, seeking an answer to quell the delayed shock.

The world turned red. Buildings rose higher than ever before. The concrete jungle blocked the light above and their horizon. The crossroads never changed, and Frost remained in the center of it all, now with a compact Cer floating above her head like the overheads prompts of the little Frost.

Distraught could not even begin to describe the emotions that coursed through Ber. She vomited, staining her beautiful dress and feathers in murky fluids all the while Res, whilst also wracked with despair, tried to bring her sister back together.

“Crystalized… Is Cer – Cer can’t be… B-Ber!?” Res wished this was all just a dream. A nightmare. But their unchanging reality caused it all to sink in as the Corrupted Frost set her bleeding gaze upon Jury and Res.

“GET OFF ME! CER! CEEEEEEEEEER! CER!” Ber shouted, her emotions at an overwhelming high. They dictated her movements now, throwing her forward headfirst at the stationary Frost, whose heartbeats reverberated within the chests of every living being within the Isolation Sphere.

< [Aspirating Aspirations] >

Her body was far more developed than usual, akin to the size of the Big Frost. The Heart of Ours began with perhaps its most powerful attack, dominating the hearts of all with self-destructing insecurities spawned from fruitless aspiration.

< “For the Atelier. For our masters. For them. Never for ‘us’. In one way or another people never operated on their own accord. When they did, they were disposed of from the collective.” >

< “People in the Derma Layer. People in Scarlet Logic… people beaten down by the throbs of one collective heart, never to know the sound of their own.” >

Ber was the first to strike. Thanks to fully manifesting her Corrupted Persona, her base ATT and MAG ATT were elevated enough to at least inflict damage upon Frost. [Aspirating Aspirations] only furthered fanned the flames of her mental anguish, generating substantial Negative Nex.

| < [Futile Galvanism] > |

| < [I Wanna Be a Swan!] > |

The electric claws gashed at the pulsating Frost, causing bloodied tears to further stream down her face. An attempt was made to reclaim Cer, but the crystal that encased her was unbreakable, only causing her claws and colossal, winged blade to be violently repelled.

“GIVE HER BACK! GIVE CER BACK! I’m coming for you Cer! I’m right here! Don’t take things away from us like you’re one of them Frost! You’re not like that! You wouldn’t hurt Cer like this! Cer is… Cer is…!”

| < [Desperate for Love] > |

It ate at Ber. But it also ate at the others as much as herself. Her claws increased in size by tenfold, enough to squash Frost like a bug. She brought down her oversized hand to enact her unholy smite, and yet Frost remained unharmed as the immediate 50 meters of stone and concrete shattered in an instant.

Each transformation reset the landscape. The world was molded to Frost’s whims, shaped into the form of a distant memory. Frost’s face seemed to sadden in response to Ber’s assault, and as her heart raced with the beats of a thousand hearts, it suddenly burst forth with hearts-like projectiles.

< [Gushing!] >

< “One Atelier. Many phantom hearts, tethered with invisible veins all to one central cavity. Pumped full of poisoned blood. InflowDirect Workers easily accepted that they were expendable, even though they have dreams of their own…” >

< “I’m here to listen. So please… just talk to me.” >

Ber, with her wings, defended herself as she nearly lost half of her HP in that one instance. The shotgun of hearts that burst from her chest each dealt 20,000 ATT, breaking off the feathers from her wings like thorns from a hedge of black roses.

[Roost of the Knowledgeable Swan], the Corrupted Skill that caused her feathers to bombard the world like fallen black needles became a deadly shower. The Shackles Removed eliminated Impuritas as she fell back, giving Cer’s crystalized body one last glance.

Unvalued
Cer
< False Diamond >
HP : Infinitas     ATT DEF : Infinitas     MAG DEF : Infinitas

“JURYYY! YOU CAN FUCKING DESTROY FROST IN ONE HIT, CAN’T YOU!?” Ber shouted.

Indeed. Retrocausality in combination with Jury’s Determined boost would easily smite Frost. After all –

< CONDITION: Heart of Ours seeks the Determined. The will of all will be undermined. Heart of Ours takes significantly less damage from those that are not Determined. Only the Determined may Suppress it >

< SUPPRESSION REQUIREMENT: When Heart of Ours’ HP reaches 0… >

< SUBJUGATION REQUIREMENT: Nil… >

“FIRSTLY, GET OUT OF THE WAY! Brooding isn’t going to bring Cer back! Cer wouldn’t want to see you like this!” Jury shouted as Res assaulted Frost with a relentless array of [Electric Lance]s, illuminating the world as structures caught within were instantly vaporized.

The scent of ozone was pungent, and it melded with blood, grime, and the scent of pure dread. What remained of Scarlet Logic disappeared. They resided along the rims of the Isolation Sphere, unable to break free as they entered an eternal loop in their futile attempts to escape.

Impuritas perished as quickly as they arrived. Unlike their group, who possessed incredibly resilience considering they had experience with embracing their aspirations, the Impuritias were subjected to the torment of Frost’s Corrupted Skills.

< [Beaten Desires] >

Their hearts rampaged within their chest akin to a rabid animal seeking freedom from its cage. Those without hearts were relatively fine, others were instantly enslaved by Frost’s heartbeats, which became a palpable, red wave.

Crimson Hunger and the musical Maestros of Flesh, who were mangled, humanoid beings carrying instruments were hit the hardest, for their concept of existence coincided with Frost’s woes. In a way, Frost did exactly what she wished for. To cleanse this city – this world – from impurities, hence why they and the stowed Healers did not seem to be affected as much.

However, it did not change that Frost was dangerous beyond comprehension.

< … I can no longer hear that one’s voice. It is hard to put into words how I am supposed to feel when I cannot express such a thing >

“IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY!? GET A HEART! FROST TOOK CER AWAY!” Ber spited, creating distance from the Heart of Ours as more of its Corrupted Skills ravaged the crimson city.

“Can – Can we get Cer back!? Jury!? Jury…!? Hey! Cer’s not… she’s not…” Res begged Jury – anyone – for an answer. For a sliver of hope as her heart crumbled under the weight of Frost’s.

Even though she was supposed to be Determined, her will was chipped away by the chisel that was Frost’s heartbeats.

< [Unwilling Unity] >

The bodies of the heartless and the bursting hearts meshed into one, becoming abominations that crawled towards the Heart of Ours, melding with her flesh. Individuality perished. Like a collective organism, Frost acted as its Queen, drawing the lives of countless. They were highly aggressive against the others, but they were of little match.

“It’s possible! I believe we can still save them! Both of them! Steer clear of the middle! And Ber!”

“What!?”

“You’re scaring Ignis!”

“… Don’t tell Nav to get a heart. Being a cold machine must be sad enough.” Ignis defended Nav. But she never judged Ber, nor scorned at her. Rather, she was just saddened by Ber’s raging emotions.

Nav did not come with a proper conclusion. Cer’s state was unknown for the foreseeable future. Whether dead or alive seemed to matter little to Nav, and Ber suddenly despised its monotone voice.

“Tsk… Tch… Fuck this world for taking things away from us. Fuck everything for trying to keep us down!” Ber groaned, holding onto Res as her sister clutched at her heart like it was about to burst.

“… my ambitions

Seeing Ignis in such a state calmed her down somewhat as the skies tore open once again, this time from the side. The barrel of her grand weapon pointed straight at Frost as clumps of flesh began to leap into the sky, forming giant meatballs that then fell…

… onto Frost.

< [Collective Leap] >

< “Their lives were not their own. They say talk and they bark. They say farewell, and they die. Our sense of self has degraded. An Atelier is but one heart, as are the Impuritas. When they go against the gradient their ambitions drown them.” >

< “This destruction of self. The destruction of ambition. Drowning in aspirations. Beaten by desires… Come to me. My heart is open to ease those pains.” >

Frost’s heart became a gaping maw, lined with thousands of tentacle-like teeth, expanding many meters in all directions. The clumps of flesh were devoured as her heart grew to the point where her body was insignificant in comparison.

Frost’s tears became crystal clear for a moment. The overgrowth was the physical representation of Frost’s will to carry all on her back, and the rendition of this Corrupted showed just how painful it was.

Jury hesitated to attack her, but upon hearing Ber and Res’ wails, she followed through, uttering with sullen eyes.

“I couldn’t help you after all. All this time I thought that I was also holding onto that burden. I didn’t realize just how heavy it was… all that on your back. All those lives you want to protect….” Jury’s will wavered at the sight of Frost’s destruction.

The mounds never stopped. Even after the glow of [Retrocausality – Smite] obliterated the collapsing mass, the parasitic heart still remained untouched, eating away at Frost.

Heart of Ours | HP: 1

< “I carry the weight of countless lives. I am the center of many aspirations. Please let me keep you all afloat, less you all drown.” >

Frost’s voice was less distorted than usual. Jury and Res were the only ones to react, for they could hear this distinction. Frost was calling for help. Their hearts were ruined, and Jury’s mind was filled only with Frost’s cries.

Silence lulled the world, the mass growing infinitely larger until it reached a critical point, throbbing as if ready to burst.

Jury trembled, as did Res. Neither tried to attack Frost anymore as both fell into a sudden reflective state. The same that had claimed Cer prior.

“I know where my heart is supposed to be. With everyone. The Stuffed Teddy Bear took everyone away from us. I promised myself that I wouldn’t allow it to happen again. Heartache after heartache… we all saw what the world was. Everyone wanted me. So I know how you feel, Frost, to be at the center of it all… I…”

Res paused, gazing into Frost’s teary eyes as Ber’s heart dropped.

“Don’t do it! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!”

< [Shattered Dreams] >

“… just want to be surrounded by people I love.”

Res’ desire was twisted in a way that made her seek to become one with the Heart of Ours. To become one with Cer. Her senses were violated, just like Cer’s and as a result –

“REEEEEEEEEEES!”

“No… Not you too!”

Res exploded into nothing but black clouds. The same clouds ate at Jury’s chest, and they frothed from her eyes. Jury too fell into the same trance, her heart no longer belonging to hers.

It belonged to the Heart of Ours.

“This dream of helping people… I wanted nothing but to see you happy. I hated it whenever you cried. Stop crying. Please just… stop crying. Frost. I failed. I… failed to save you. You were always there for all of us. It’s suffocating…”

“Ju…ry…!?” Ignis reached out for her, but her tentacles only entered a caustic black mist as Jury also exploded, leaving behind but white feathers. They fell like snow, and soon, it was only Ignis and Ber left alone to face Frost.

< [Suppressed] >

< “Just… let me be the boat the keeps you afloat. This heart of ours is rife with prejudices of my own. But I will make it the most comfortable place of all, even if it means ruining myself.” >

< [False Heart] >

Above Frost, joining Cer, was a red, crystalized heart containing both Res and Ber. They clutched dearly at their hearts, sleeping blissfully in their eternal prison before Frost shattered into a million golden particles.

Suppressed
Jury and Res
< False Heart >
HP : Infinitas     ATT DEF : Infinitas     MAG DEF : Infinitas

< The Heart of Ours has successfully been Suppressed >

* * *

Ber broke.

Ignis collapsed onto her knees as crackles of electricity formed around a Ber whose eyes glowed a violent red through the shadows of her hair. Dust. Rock. Debris. It all began to float by her side as black electric currents soon lifted entire slabs of concrete and granite.

The world turned black. Hideously so as a Frost wrapped by the brambles of razor sharp, black cloth floated in the air. The mass bondage kept her in place, wrapping each limb until a web spanning the entire 10km city of skyscrapers was formed. Frost was blinded, her mouth gagged by the bounds as one eye wept tears of blood, and the other tears of sadness.

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

< WOE OF THE FALLEN STAR >

< THE ARBITER’S TRUMPET WAILS >

Blood of the Covenant
Frost

< Blinded by others, we preyed on those with blood like ours. In time, blood tasted no different from water. When connections ran as deep as ours, the blood spilled so readily. To this day none of us knew why we fought in the first place… Can you show me what a real bond looks like? >

AFFINITY : Civilization
LEVEL : 210     ORIGIN : Disorder     HP : 30,000,000     ATT : 32,000     MAG ATT : 30,000
ATT DEF : 25,000     MAG DEF : 25,000     MP : 200,000     RESIST : 1,000     AGI : 450

Unlike the previous Corrupted, The Blood of the Covenant possessed a Corrupted Zone now that Jury was no longer present. It took control of the Isolation Sphere, turning the distant backgrounds into one of a dark, thorny forest. Those that tried to escape were enveloped by it, bounded. Their bleeding bodies were like roses in Frost’s thorny garden.

The fight would be insurmountable.

However…

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

UNSTABLE CORRUPTED PERSONA

< BER HAS BEEN CONSUMED BY THE BLACK SWAN >

Ber’s face was no longer hers. A shadowy beak filled with teeth replaced her head, and her beautiful feathers had become nothing but ragged blades. Her field of electricity extended to over a kilometer away, causing buildings themselves to rise.

<><><> [UNSTABLE: I AM A SWAN!] <><><>

< “Don’t judge me. Am I hideous? That can’t be right… I can only be beautiful!” >

This voice did not belong to Frost.

It belonged to the insane Ber.