317. A Passage Within the Lower Sanctums

Navigating the Lower Sanctums of the Nexus wasn’t as straightforward as expected. The problem with Frost’s search for the hidden passage was that she was looking for a staircase. An elevator was the next thing on her mind, and she was not alone as well.

Beholder Galia became their guide, as the Arbiter could not easily move her way around. A tail was always looped around the Beholder’s waist, and Jury did the same thing to Frost. The similarities between both groups were noted down by everyone.

Cer did mention that Frost would get along with Galia in some capacity. But she never would have expected them both to have an Angel by their side and a contrasting coat. Galia walked beside her as they moved through the halls of the Common Hub, passing through grand architecture that moved from a mere airport terminal to something less hospitable for life.

At least in Frost’s perspective.

“The Nexus is the oldest Advent in the world. Its purpose is as ambiguous as a person that does not begin like a coffee bean.”

Galia’s suffocating manner of speech was to be expected of a Beholder, but there was a tantalizing quality that caused Frost to become enraptured by her words.

“But it does seek to offer people its salvation in the form of its Blessing. It’s a theme readily apparent no matter which part of the world you fall into. Healers. Wandering healers. People. Sects. ‘Salvation’ is heavily ambiguous in of itself. But you’ll find that it’s used as a rationalizing tool to justify one’s actus and state of mens.”

Those words were like the coils of a snake.

Her tongue led her more than her long legs and unraveled the world better than her purple eyes. She was an enigma in Frost’s mind. Where she had grown to become comfortable around Carpalis, Galia was an entirely different beast.

“Care to elaborate? I don’t see what you mean by a ‘coffee bean’.” Frost responded, the clapping of their footsteps against the marble floor answering her promptly as Galia’s eyes narrowed ever so devilishly.

“Big mistake.” Cer sighed, plugging her ears.

“How come?” Jury questioned.

“The way we deconstruct the world is similar, so it’s no surprise that it can bog the mind.” The Arbiter stated.

The further they ventured into the grand halls, the less stores there were. It reached a point where no structure other than the endless pale stone and rising pillars could be seen. Various archways looped endlessly above them, and in the distance, they could see two figures clad in pale, golden trimmed robes guarding a chained opening.

Galia answered the rising questions that quickly assaulted their minds. The triplets had never seen this place before. Granted, they never strayed off the beaten path and relied solely on the Hyperlinks to get around.

Normally, those individuals – the Stars of the Nexus – would be placed much closer back from where they came to prevent people from wandering into that place. Galia thoroughly explained that the Lower Sanctums collectively acted as one major reception for the Nexus long before the Hyperlinks were introduced.

“A time when Beholders were feared rather than worshiped. The skies of the Nexus knew no peace. It was a long war in our heaven.” She nodded at the Stars, and they revered at the sight of the Arbiter.

Then, as their eyes fell onto Frost…

“T-That is…!”

“… Oh Nexus... They’ve finally arrived…!”

The Stars immediately trembled in the presence of the Amalgam. They had been informed ahead of time that they would be arriving. These Stars belonged to Justica Arm, and as one once stated, their sense of existence revolved around the Nexus.

Naturally, they’d revere Frost as their Goddess.

“Keep watch. An Arbiter’s council will be held in 7 days. Do not be late.” Galia said in passing.

Frost couldn’t help but to give them both a subtle: “Keep up the good work,” just as a small greeting. She could tell they cherished her words as they shook; moved like they had fulfilled their life’s purpose.

She made a strange face as they lifted the chains and passed through its threshold.

I’m not too keen on being treated like this, but it’s unbelievably useful. If most Stars respond to me like this, then I have a good chunk of the Nexus on my side. It’ll make things easier. Still, the root of the problem is the Beholders and their Ateliers. That’s what I’m most worried about.

Frost felt her body press against an invisible membrane, and when she made it through the other side, she appeared in a completely different area from what she saw.

“Huh!?” Cer blurted out.

“Where… are we?” Res wondered, her jaw dropping at the sight.

“This wasn’t listed in the Hyperlinks. Don’t tell me they’ve been hiding even more things from us.” Ber growled, baring her teeth in frustration.

While the triplets expressed confusion for having never seen this place in all 30 years living in the Nexus, the others had far more profound reactions. Ignis and Snap were taken aback, their eyes sweeping through a pale landscape broken up by thousands of craters.

The ceiling was only several kilometers high here. Only because in other rooms they were virtually endless. Ruined monoliths and all manners of rock formations scattered this place. They were made from regular stone judging from the coloration. It was only the thousands of fragmented pillars that seemed to be formed by the supposedly indestructible Genesis Stones.

“A sea of broken swords and war. Was this place a battlefield?” Jury wondered the exact same thing Frost did.

“Chariots. Siege weapons. Canisters. Even firearms?” Frost could not believe what she was seeing. The amount of weaponry in this place coincided with the ‘war in heaven’ Galia mentioned only moment early.

But this was all secondary to the single greatest thing that rose to the skies in the vast distance.

“U-Um. Wait a second. Does… Doesn’t that remind you of the Pillar of the World?” Anna pointed towards a collection of a central pillar of light that rose perhaps from the Lower Sanctums all the way to the Upper Sanctums.

“The Nexus is the Pillar of the World. There’s nothing that can convince me otherwise. But why does it look like it’s damaged?” Frost questioned, noticing that the base of the pillar was severed clean.

Streaks of light shot from the trunk of that colossal structure like the branches of a tree, impaling the walls. A matrix of inhospitable, inconceivable pale architecture sprawled around it like a pale ball of fuzz. The chamber it found itself within was larger than the one they were in by a significant margin.

In fact, it was larger than the Central Relay itself.

The Arbiter moved to the front, gently brushing a hand along the heads of all Frost’s companions. She could sense its light, and she raised a hand as if trying to capture its light.

“It was damaged in the process that brought it up to the skies. The nature of the Genesis Stones can alter and distort reality. Bear with me for a moment. Listen to my voice… The Nexus used to exist underground. What we now call the Subcut, the Derma Layer and many of the underground anomalies are attributed to the Nexus. Hence why Caldera Industries are adamant to find all traces of the Genesis Stones.”

The Arbiter revealed a bombshell that caused Frost to reconsider her perspective of the Nexus as a whole.

‘One’s heaven is another’s hell’ had a literal meaning in regards to the Nexus.