346. The Prospect of New Moons

The one, single-most important leverage to sway the Beholders of the Nexus could not have arrived at a better time. The Ability to remove the Blessing of the Nexus meant that she could cut them off from the Nexus permanently.

Because once the Blessing was taken away there was no method of reinstating it. The only other roundabout method she and Nav theorized was if they were Realized or saved like Ber. It was saddening that Cer and Res couldn’t adopt the superior version of the Blessing. Nav would have loved to communicate with them all regardless of the distance that tore them apart.

The Blessing of the Amalgam could be summarized as a link between its users and the Nexus, facilitated and overseen by Nav. She was the one who interpreted and produced every piece of information from the Nexus, or from wherever this information was derived from in the first place.

This then begged the question.

Was there someone else that did this for those with the regular Blessing?

The Nexus itself didn’t seem to be Advent that held authority over the actual ‘System’. Rather, it only decided who was allowed to receive it. Still, it didn’t change that the Nexus played a large role in how it functioned. After all, the Nexus was required for people to grow with the ‘System’.

There was no answer to this question. Currently, it was a matter of Occam’s Razor. The simpler theory of the Nexus being the sole authority of the Nexus was the simplest, and perhaps the right answer all along.

Either way; there were other abnormalities with the Nexus Frost wanted to place attention to. The Arbiter mentioned that Elysia had some sort of influence over it as well, and Frost wondered if it resulted in her now being susceptible to the Instability Condition.

Or, was the Nexus like this all along? Some great, unfathomable power. Spending time brooding over its mechanisms was futile.

This was definitely not the case. At least in Frost’s eyes.

The whole concept of being able to manifest one’s deepest, most selfish emotional despairs had a root; Elysia. Its mechanisms were still ill understood. Hell, even Frost didn’t know everything about ability to bring the best out of people, whether through Salvation or Realization.

Of Darkness and Light held an indomitable, thematic tone that set the differences between her and Elysia’s power. But at the same, confusing, disturbing time – that same light she bared was not as benevolent if the flavor text was anything to go by.

Could the light positively reinforce someone’s ill conceived, internalized outlook of themselves and the world?

Perhaps. If the darkness blinds, then the light leads. To where, however, may be another case of Stella and the children of the Derma Layer following false stars towards irreversible despair.

Frost thought long and hard regarding this because serious implications were due ahead. She was no stranger to administrative work, but she could already begin to feel the pressure of having this level of responsibility as essentially the ‘head’ of the Nexus.

Things need to change.

Frost persistently vowed to herself as Jury held her close. She laid in her lap, as Nav did in the arms of the Alter Frosts. They were both currently too weak to meaningfully move themselves, as there was much more to uncover.

For starters – Frost’s newfound powers had yet to be fully detailed.

< Nexus Ability: Those Who Reach >

< Where stars may no longer form, there are many more ways to stave off the darkness >

< EFFECT: Appoint Moon Candidates into Aspiring Moons >

< Moon Candidates are chosen by the Nexus >

< But you may also appoint others as Moon Candidates, or remove them at your discretion >

< When Aspiring Moons reach a certain point, they will become Moons of the Nexus >

< Methodology of creating Moons is complex >

< It may be best to leave this when we decide to appoint more Moons >

Good idea. Getting more Moons would help immensely with keeping order. They’re only weaker than the Beholders and the Corrupted.

“It will take time before Aspiring Moons can become Moons. The triplets are an outlier due to Serum S. But I believe it will be a good start. Having people fiercely loyal to you, and perhaps Jury’s Atelier will be beneficial at keeping the Ateliers in order.”

I don’t know about the ‘fiercely’ loyal part though. I’m not trying to indoctrinate them, but having a loyal force wouldn’t be bad.

“Mind you, the Moons universally come from the most abhorrent of backgrounds. Your gesture of kindness will build that loyalty. If Ateliers of the likes of ImpulseWorks can have Workers willingly throw their lives away, then imagine these future Moons. I am inclined to believe that current Stars will also be on board, however, the future had many obstacles.”

Yeah. Too many to count. I don’t want Moons to throw their lives away, but it won’t be any secret that they’ll have to fight Corrupted too. Galia and the triplets are bound to have useful insight.

“I agree.”

Stars unfortunately could not be created. That didn’t seem to be a power of hers, or if they could be created anymore. The same with Exalted, but their creation was no secret.

Frost thoroughly explained their findings to the others, causing a major burst of celebratory cries. This was the affirmation they needed to know that they were finally at the top, or as Cer called them, the ‘Top Dogs’, ‘Big Wigs’, ‘Top Brass’, ‘The Head’ – Cer vomited as many names as possible.

It wasn’t like they needed confirmation to begin with. But hearing that the Advent located in the center of the world – their Celestial Heavens – was under the control of the same, shabby person from so long ago caused their hearts to throb with delight.

“How many times have I already said it?” Cer began, her tail wagging wilder than ever. “You really were our one-way ticket to heaven!”

And now, it was time to have a look at everyone’s stats, Abilities and Skills.