313. Within the Nexus

“Finally. It took 4 months, but we’re finally back here. Remember when we thought we’d be returning soon after Divas Pass?” Frost couldn’t help but grin at her ancient optimism. “Yeah… whew. I can’t stop smiling. It’s more vacant than I remember.”

Indeed. After her eyes adjusted to the bright lights, she noticed that there was no one loitering around the Central Relay compared to when she first arrived. The calm and relatively joyous atmosphere was replaced with an eerie air.

At least for Frost. The others marveled at the pearlescent pillars, the walls and the ceiling that rose higher than one could possibly imagine.

“W-Well, you kinda shook the Nexus up with your attacks. I think everyone’s hiding. I think?” The Archivist… no.

She was Anna. Anna said as she struggled to adjust to the lights, rubbing her eyes multiple times.

Cer begged the differ.

“Not really. If I had to guess, the Blessed were moved to the residential floors following whatever the hell you ended up doing to the Nexus. It’s one protocol I’m aware of.” She explained succinctly, scanning their surroundings. “What’s weirder is the whereabouts of the Stars. I was expecting someone to at least greet us, you know. No Arbiter or the Beholders.”

“That protocol was taught to us when we became Receptionists. It’s never the job of a Moon to manage people.” Res added, her ears twitching in the direction of the colossal tunnel which led towards the Common Hub. “The Nexus can have that ‘bird in a cage’ feel when things go awry.”

“Doesn’t feel right, does it?” Ber chimed in as she swept the floor with her giant tail. “Someone’s been cleaning it.”

“I thought the Nexus cleaned itself.” Frost said as Jury, Ignis, Snap, the Alter Frosts, the Star Child and even Anna was left to slowly wander around the Central Relay, totally enraptured by the sights.

“Huge…” Anna whispered to herself. “I’ve never been to this part of the Nexus before.”

The Star Child waddled beside her, drawing the symbol of infinity and the mathematical equation of E to express the limitless nature of this place.

“So pretty!” Jury whispered, fawning over every little nook and cranny with sparkling eyes.

“Well, off duty Receptions do. The Nexus can but when you have a thousand people moving at once then grime can build up. Also Ber, that’s filthy! A wolf’s tail is their life!” Cer scolded Ber, appearing like a child throwing a tantrum to her older sister.

Ber just held onto her tail and presented it to Frost like a bouquet of flowers.

“Nothing [Cleanse] can’t handle, right!?”

“Yeah. Right. It’s been a while since we’ve taken a bath, huh. Cer. You too. Come over here.” Frost beckoned her to come close.

“What for?” Cer barked defiantly, but she could never refuse an invitation from Frost. And so, she proudly presented herself, both hands on hips.

Slightly damp areas were highlighted in various areas along her pale, buttoned shirt. She had the stench of a wet dog as always, and Frost wondered how she managed to sweat so much when they did virtually nothing for the past two days.

“Heh. So I’ve been figured out.” Cer suddenly said as Frost cleansed her, Ber, and whoever wanted a quick clean. “I’m 10% physical, and 90% mental. You see, I’m always thinking 20 steps ahead at all times. That’s why when it looks like I’m doing nothing, I’m actually just engaging my immense brain power.”

“90% mental sure is right.” Res slighted her, and Cer remained unaware of it as the others found themselves chuckling.

Jury waved her tail beside Frost’s face, poking her cheeks with the large tip. Now that she realized it, her tail had grown much larger than she remembered. It had a weird mechanism that allowed it to dynamically alter its size.

Also, the bulbous tip seemed larger, and when Frost moved to brush her hand along her tail, she felt as though something other than the fur was brushing against her fingers. Jury’s tail was as mysterious as the Corrupted themselves.

Her tail slithered around Frost’s waist as Jury gently tugged her away from the others. Once they were close, she pecked Frost on the forehead, her eyes sparkling with affection and unfounded excitement.

“This is the place you were ‘born’. It’s beautiful! Hey! What’s in that tunnel over there!?”

“The Common Hub. If you think this place is pretty, then wait till you see what’s ahead!” Cer riled them up, her ears also twitching to something ahead. “Sounds like people might even be there too. Lots facilities to check out. Food –!”

“C-Can we check it out before we move on?” Jury interrupted Cer at the mention of food, causing Frost to softly laugh.

“I’m not in any rush. Besides, I wouldn’t know the first thing to do or where to go aside from the Floor of Amalgamation.” Frost assured.

“Sounds like a task for the Arbiter, since she was the one who wanted you up there in the first place. You sure you don’t want to head up there directly?” Res said, staring off as toyed with an invisible prompt.

Suddenly, her face contorted.

“Wait a second… are the Hyperlinks not working inside of the Nexus?”

“No way. Let me see.” Cer checked for herself and much to her surprise. “Huh!?”

“Are you serious…? What the – Nothing’s appearing.” Ber also couldn’t find a teleportation target. “It just worked before. Do we need a physical Hyperlink crystal now?”

“That may be the case.” Nav answered. “I feel a strong resonance above. But the question is…”

“How do we get above, huh.” Frost answered, finding the sudden conundrum intriguing since all parties had the same issue.

“My status isn’t working either. Great.” Cer sighed as all eyes naturally fell onto the tunnel. “Only one way to figure things out. By the way Frost! Can’t you do something about it?”

“Not that I can tell. I wouldn’t know where to start either.” Frost tried to mentally invoke the power of the Nexus but to no avail.

“F-For my Advent, it was a matter of exploring my library until something resonated with me.” Anna offered her piece of advice. “Maybe if we explore a little, then you’ll come to understand this place? Or – maybe the Floor of Amalgamation can help.”

The Star Child nodded for the most part, drawing thumbs up symbols as the Alter Frosts also threw up similar emojis.

When did those three get so close?

“Discovery, huh. So it’ll just be matter of time.” Frost concluded. The others seemed to agree as they began to make their way towards the tunnel.

“Advents are not like machines with a lever to move them. For Archetypes, they can only be felt. I also had the Blessing to help me manage it.” Anna further revealed. “Reinstating the Blessing might help!”

“And Nav’s resonance is our only clue. At least until someone shows their face.” Frost sighed before suddenly asking Jury a question. “Hey. Jury. How do you feel?”

The reason she asked this was because of Carpalis’ general wariness of the Nexus.

“It feels warm. A bit tingly. Just like when I was in proximity to Scarlet Logic’s tech. I can’t tell if it’s unpleasant or comforting. This is what Carpalis was afraid of, hm…” Jury mentioned, tightening her tail around Frost’s waist. “It’s nothing bad. Just strange.”

Frost clasped onto her lover’s hand, interlocking their fingers together as they entered the tunnel, seeing all manners of bright lights ahead. As ominous as things seemed, their spirits were at an all-time high.

Right now, it was just a matter of time before things would fall into place.

And until then, she wished to spend her time smiling with her precious friends.

Suddenly, Jury’s tail made a discrete, second loop as she tugged Frost even closer, the tip wriggling against her back.

“I can’t wait until we’re alone again. I really, really want to spend time with you. So much of it was stolen from us. So, I’m sorry if I’m a clingy all of a sudden.” Jury whispered with a slightly flushed face.

As it turned out, the sensation she felt in her chest had nothing to do with the Nexus.

She just wanted to monopolize Frost.

That was why she shoved her tail in front of her face after Ber presented hers.

A warm fuzzy sensation filled Frost’s chest.

“Mm. Me too. And I don’t mind it. In fact, I like it when you’re like this.” She rested her head against Jury’s arm with yearning eyes as they finally entered the vibrant lights of the Common Hub.