306. This Heart Is Ours!

Cer didn’t need to be told what to do. An instinctual drive sent her in the direction of the crimson path, her ethereal hands carrying the Archivist. The road seemed to endlessly stretch. A red, crystalized heart stood at the furthest end as Sinder relentlessly swatted the Arbiter and the Beholders.

< [A Million Wicks and One Light] >

“Frost’s become the opposite of her name, huh! Makes you think we should’ve seen this coming form a mile away, but I seriously believed that Frost of all people would’ve stayed sane!” Cer blurted out, the scenery transforming once again with the combined memories of the Archivist, Sinder and Frost. “Oh, and the name’s Cer by the way! You’re the Achivist I’m guessing! Didn’t think you’d be that small!”

“W-We’re the same size though…”

“That’s foot to head! Measure us from foot to ear like any normal person! Cause’ I’m absolutely taller!” Cer smirked. “WOOOOOOO!” She suddenly howled, startling the poor girl.

“I-is she supposed to be like this?” The Archivist wondered as visions of people dressed in all manners of uniforms, suits and wear dragged themselves to a roaring meat grinder at the furthest end.

< Cer’s Cer. That’s the only way I can feasibly describe her. She must be in a great mood >

The mechanical object, which sat high above the crystal heart relentlessly fired their processed hearts at them as the Archivist recalled and visualized moments of her past.

“… Not many people could shout like that. People were too broken to chase shattered dreams. Bodies took them in and made it impossible to get out. Everyone followed a common goal, and the worst part was that not everyone knew it…”

< “Suppression of the heart – of the aspiration – was a heinous flaw of our civilization. Because without it, change could not be made. The individuality was suppressed as one greater heart took them in. I despised it.” >

“THAT!” Cer bounced from side to side, dashing on all fours as electricity surrounded her, propelling her ahead like a speeding bullet.

The oncoming hearts were dodged with ease. Those that were unavoidable were either swatted away with her many hands or shredded apart with her electric fangs. The Archivist recounted the many times she saw people wearing the same faces in a city that demanded the death of all dreams as she set her sights to a starless…

No…

The Floor of Civilization wasn’t starless.

Asterism painted their skies with a painting of the stars, a contrast to the dark world on the border of a black hole she remembered. Here, in Elysia, the stars that symbolized hope were ever prevalent in their skies.

“IS!” Cer continued, grinning from ear to ear menacingly.

If Frost were to ever see her like this, then she probably would have called her cute. This was what first came to Cer’s mind, and somehow, it served as fuel for her drive to save Frost.

“BULLSHIT!” If the world was cursed to become forever mute, then Cer would be the only one that could speak. Her voice could not be tamed. It rubbed off onto the Archivist, causing her shock to transform into a small, endearing smile.

… none of us are voiceless. None of us are unvalued. This is the proof you wanted to see, right Sinder?

“So when you took Res and your lover into your heart, you thought that you weren’t doing the same thing you sought to eat with big mouth of yours!? I could still see from that crystal you know! And if that’s how it feels to be a Corrupted –!”

One giant heart was flung towards them, and Cer masterfully shredded it to ribbons. There was no gore or blood associated with the hearts. They were fake. A mere illusion vulnerable people fell for and surrendered their hearts, hopes and dreams.

“– Then all the more reason to save you! That isn’t you Frost!”

“That’s… not you too Sinder!”

< “What could you possibly know about me – I, who knew so little of myself?” >

< “This heart ached. It beat for billions in our city. No one heard my cries in that chamber. It was merely turned into a form of energy. My dreams were shattered from the very start.” >

Sinder’s woes changed from civilization to something far more personal. The Archivist and Nav simultaneously thought back to the Attributes and Affinities. Amalgamation was called Identity. The prevailing theme of civilization and identity blended into an existential woe.

< “I lived in the city streets. I saw the world for what it was. No heart was their own. People willingly allowed themselves to suffer for another’s dream. I… became a victim to it unknowingly towards the end of my life.” >

< “Those I knew and loved were driven to death by those dreams!” >

< “The girl who tried to archive it all couldn’t stop me. I was the only thing she couldn’t ‘save’ in her books!” >

< [World Ablaze] >

Sinder used his strongest move, drowning the stars – the symbols of wishes and aspirations – with the light of a thousand suns.

“But you’re still trying to suppress them. You’re a hypocrite!” The Archivist cried.

Cer then growled. “Not a bad howl for a human… Or, whatever you Archetypes are. Hey! We’re getting close! Archivist! Got a sliver of an idea on how to deal with that crystal!? You were shouting all kinds of things at me, so maybe I gotta do the same too!”

“N-Nav –!?”

Crystalized Suppressed

HP : 1

< CONDITION: The Suppressed wants to know where their heart lays >

< SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Make them remember their hearts! >

Suspended within the giant crystal were Jury and Res, both arranged like a love heart. Their eyes flashed open as they entered the last 200-meter stretch, and at once, both sent a wave of attacks to dissuade them.

In the meantime, Galia obliterated the crystals as the familiar sound of a camera shutter filled the air. Polaroids fell, and despite not supposed to be able to see the happiest moments of others –

“Heh. You hate to admit it, but you totally see Frost like she’s our mom! And Jury! T-These are – Tch. I didn’t know Frost could even make that kind of face!” Cer showed a particular picture to the Archivist, and her face instantly flushed red.

“W-what are you showing me in the middle of a fight!? A-and – Hey! Watch out –!”

“You’re underestimating the power of a Moon! After all, what’s a shiny rock to a bigger rock that floats in the sky!?” Cer howled, avoiding electric beams and Jury’s claws, which sent out invisible slashes that mowed down the faceless crowds.

Jury

< “I want to be with Frost… so it’s not so bad being trapped in here.” >

Res

< “People tried to tug at my heart. People saw me as an object of desire. I overshadowed my sisters. I hurt them by just trying to dream a little.” >

Nav, once again, funneled the words to the Archivist as she and Cer shouted at them.

“You simple minded skewer-eating glutton! Does that mean everything you said about wanting to be with us all is a lie!?” The Archivist awkwardly shouted, causing Cer to grin as she found it humorous that Nav hurled an insult towards her.

“Res. If you keep harping on that then I’m seriously going to hit you! Hear this from your eldest sister – and I mean it! You know how we now feel! Don’t let that past influence your heart! Ber wouldn’t want to see you like this either!”

They arrived at the crystal in the blink of an eye thanks to Cer’s immense speed. She was Empowered, so she carried twice the strength. Her many hands reached them first, but it was not until both placed their hands upon the crystal did it begin to crack.

Jury

< “My heart is muddied by a past I don’t properly remember. Is that how people will define me moving forward? That I destroyed our world for the sake of a wish that was never mine?” >

Res

< “I hate the Ateliers. I stopped trusting people and created this cold shell to push people away. I don’t want to get close. People can’t go near my heart… it’s delicate.” >

“Idiots. Jury is Jury! You think that thing up there is Frost!? Fuck no! The Frost I know is the kind of person who… who…!” Cer punched the crystal, then, she leaned against it with tender eyes. “WHO DIDN’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHO OR WHAT WE WERE! Frost put up with us! Don’t fall into the same pitfall as her, Jury! So shut the fuck up and listen to your own heart already! You were born in this world! Don’t you ever forget that, so I don’t care who you think you are!”

Cer strangely had a way with words. Each sentence she yelled caused the cracks to grow further until –!

“– YOU ARE JURY!”

Jury broke free from the crystal, and at the same time –

“You too Res! These people we’ve come to know are the only ones we can rely on anymore! You opened your heart to them! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE DID! Don’t let anyone sway that heart! Because that heart –!”

Cer couldn’t even finish, and the Archivist was so deeply mesmerized by Cer that she didn’t say a word. Nav didn’t either, as if in awe of the little wolf’s passion.

< Now I truly, sincerely wish to meet them in person… >

Res’ crystal prison shattered.

Jury

< “… I am Jury. I know that. I know that I’m not the monster people will mistake me as. And even if they do, so long as I remember who I am, then they can’t change me or any one of us. Because these are –!” >

Res

< “Our upbringings made me close my heart off to others, because people wanted it to be theirs. But no more. I’ve met people who’ve let me grow. Let this heart beat again! And now more than ever I know from the bottom of my heart that no one can change us because these are –!” >

< Jury and Res Have Manifested as the Heart of Ours >

“”OUR HEARTS!””

Both cried simultaneously. Res took upon a form reminiscent of the mature Ber, except her hair was cut much shorter. Jury hardly changed, but if one listened to the tempo of her ticking heart, one would find that it closely resembled one of a heartbeat than a clock.

< … The layers of meaning… I am… stupefied… >

“That’s… isn’t that the beauty of words! Of language!” The Archivist laughed, right as Jury fell onto her, embracing her with loving arms.

“I’m sorry~!” Jury cried.

“Res. No hugs?” Cer pouted.

“Fine… I guess you deserve a little something. Cer. Good work. You always somehow manage to come through.” Res rolled her eyes, but she genuinely also wished to embrace her sister.

They shared a reuniting hug, and Cer politely kept her head away from her sister’s newly grown assets.

“Nothing’s changed in that department!” Cer grinned.

< “Even though it is painful to go alone? Even though that dream will be the end of you? Can individuals thrive with untampered hearts in such a hell we made?” >

< “Unacceptable… Those hearts… to keep this dream of ours alive – they must be MINE!” >

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

< UNAVOIDABLE ATTACK >

< [Heart of Mine] >

The tiny red crystals shattered, sending their power to Sinder’s hands as his flaming sphere dispersed. In both hands were crimson spears, each more than a kilometer in length. The sheer size was staggering.

But they stood defiantly in what seemed to be the face of certain annihilation.

And so, Res threw her fist forward, as did Jury out of pure instinct, derived from the Corrupted they manifested as. Sinder threw the spears, hoping to impale their hearts. The world turned black. But unlike last time, they had all the stars in the world to cheer them on.

A red blob took shape in front of them, and it rapidly grew to a colossal, burning heart reminiscent of the Big Red Heart.

“The Frost I know isn’t so selfish to impose their heart onto us!” Res shouted. “Frost… what she did was show us the moralities we lost. Even she understood that there are things that can’t be done so easily! She tried to teach us! Not force us! Even if she did try to threaten us, she isn’t the kind of person who’d give up on us and try to take us over by force!”

Res referenced the times when Frost reprimanded them for their wrongs. There was never a time when they felt like they were being ‘forced’. Even if she was the Amalgam – an Archetype – they followed her not because of fear or because they were suppressed.

It was because they too agreed.

But their 30 years spent fighting the Corrupted just made it difficult to regain what innocence and sense of ‘right and wrong’ was lost.

“This dream is our dream! It’s not something one person can hold, and you know it more than anyone else Frost! You… can’t carry the weight of the world on those small shoulders alone! That’s exactly what’s going to hurt you!” Jury exclaimed.

Finally, the spears impaled the giant heart, skewering it as it burst into a fountain of ribbons and flames.

< [Determined] >

ATT : 50,000,000     MAG ATT : 50,000,000

< EFFECT: Ignores all DEF stats >

“I don’t know who you are but we’re going to get you out of Frost’s heart! She’s not yours to take!” Jury added, her tail slamming the ground menacingly as the light returned, and Sinder was hit by an invisible force, sending him into dozens of buildings, a bridge, a canal, a circus – he seemed to never stop flying backwards.

Crowned

HP : 220,000,000

< “Your determination… in the face of a greater heart…” >

< “I wish I could have seen that… I’m sure that maybe have… Regardless…” >

< “… You’re doing well…” >

The Nexus shook.

Again, the words came from an ambiguous source. One last path of the crossroads opened, revealing a lane smothered in darkness as the group rushed ahead as one collective unit.

< Jury. It’s a pleasure to speak to you again! The Spades is now next! >